This is one my favorite books ever! Fantastic, original, and extremely harrowing story. Set in a post COVID world when the new pandemic involves extreme violence, and there isn’t a thing anyone can do once it strikes. Chelsea is a mother of two with an extremely abusive husband and is looking for an escape for her and her girls. With an unsupportive mother who offers next to no help, Chelsea must take matters into her own hands if she wants to change her future. Separated by circumstances, the women in Chelsea’s family must survive a world that is much different than what they are used to. Some parts of this book deal with domestic violence and are difficult to read, but this story is so good and is so well written. Would give way more than 5 stars if possible.

Chelsea is stuck in an abusive marriage but doesn’t see a way out with no resources or support system. When a new virus that causes victims to rage out in violence hits, she has an idea for her and her daughters’ escape.

I absolutely love the plot of this book and I loved the beginning when the Violence started. It was clever how it took place following covid. It lended a realistic air to the whole story. I enjoyed following the family and their relationships and drama with each other. Once they started to veer their separate ways I began to lose interest. While the wrestling stuff reminded me of one of my favorite shows, GLOW, I just wasn’t into it. I still enjoyed the story overall but just preferred the family plot line over the other stuff.

“Everybody is still traumatized by Covid, and now lots of them are being retraumatized in exciting new ways by the Violence.”

The Violence comes out 2/1.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Delilah S. Dawson, and Del Rey Publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am so glad I requested this book! It’s been a while since I’ve torn through a book as quickly as The Violence, and I missed that need to consume considerably. There have been several books that confront Covid, isolation, and abuse lately, but there haven’t been many that connect with its subject matter as concisely as The Violence.

The character writing in this is incredible! I loved how each character grew in different ways and stayed true to who they were as people. These are the kind of characters that pull you in and make you need to know more about them and their struggles/victories. It’s also important to note that this book could quickly go down the “all men are bad!” path but doesn’t resort to doing so. Sure there are awful people, but there’s so much to be said for being hopeful or for regaining hope.

The plot is going to pull you in big time. This novel starts strong and doesn’t let up, which is impressive for an almost 500-page book. There are some triggers throughout (domestic abuse, animal death, murder, and a plethora of other things), but it is necessary to convey this story properly.

I’d recommend this book! It’s a beautiful balance of dark and light if you ask me. 4 stars ✨

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, and Delilah S. Dawson for this amazing ARC!!

I honestly wish I could give this book more than five stars. It had everything! There were great characters about whom I cared deeply, it had amazing gore, and it even had tender moments that rounded out the whole experience of reading it. Truly amazing! The Violence epidemic comes directly on the heels of COVID-19 and is so much worse. It literally causes a person to behave with extreme violence silently and suddenly. The afflicted person goes completely blank and becomes focused on nothing more than killing their target. Chelsea Martin is the mother of two daughters and the wife of an abusive man who holds both her and her girls under his thumb. When Chelsea contracts the Violence, she has to make some decisions that will keep her daughters safe as well as free them from the prison of their lives. Before I continue praising this book, I would like to add a trigger warning. I wish all books and movies came with them. If you are sensitive to animal deaths (one dog and two cats), child deaths or violence, or domestic violence, please proceed with caution although I would hate for anyone to miss this fabulous book.
The opening scene wastes no time getting to the action. I was hooked immediately. The author introduces the reader to the Violence at the very start. Right away, we know the stakes are high. We meet Chelsea Martin and her narcissistic mother and begin to see what we stand to lose throughout this story. Chelsea is a character I immediately wanted to help and when her daughters join the story, I find myself wishing I knew them personally.
On the surface, this story appears to be approaching an apocalypse, not my favorite type of horror usually, but this is so much more than that. There are a lot of political undertones here. The author weaves in clever comments on the way COVID has been handled in addition to powerful commentary on our legal system. This includes the treatment of women. I love the powerful women in this story. I also love how, in addition, we also have some male characters we can love and admire instead of vilifying all men as a common feature of these types of stories. The character of Chelsea’s mother adds depth as well, showing the reader that women can also be the villains.
This book deserves more than five stars!! I can’t recommend it enough.

I was able to be granted a wish and really enjoyed this. The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson has lovely prose, great characters, and a fantastic premise to boot. This was a crazy story that ended up being much more incredible than I expected. I am glad I was able to read this one. This is a work of post-covid fiction, a piece that speaks volumes about domestic abuse and is very timely. In the novel, a few years after our current pandemic, a new virus called "The Violence" spreads throughout the planet, causing people to become violent frenzied killers suddenly. Initially, no one knows what causes it, how to detect it or stop it. People are retreating to their homes, and the streets are deserted. This is a fun pandemic novel that blends well with the time and characters.

Great book! This is my first book by Deliah S. Dawson and it definitely won't be the last. It's a semi-horror thriller in a post Covid world where people get infected with a virus dubbed, "The Violence" where you go into a uncontrollable rage and destroy/kill whoever you are with when The Violence overtakes you.

That coupled, with a mother and daughter(s) who are in abusive relationships and you get a fantastic explosion of events. I felt like I knew all along where this story was ending up but given the events it's exactly how I wanted it to end.

Highly recommended! This is my first time reading one of her books and I see she is also the author of several books in the Star Wars Universe so those are going in the TBR list soon. Book was given free for a honest review.

I'm so grateful that the Author's Note at the beginning told people straight up what to expect from this novel. I can't handle reading about any animal abuse or death, so this was a DNF (though to be fair, I didn't really get far enough into it to label a DNF - maybe a did not start?) for me.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot say enough how much I loved every page of this book!

I know folks are here not to hear me gush so much as to hear wtf this book is about, so picture a post-covid Florida, three generations of women repeating unfortunate, dangerous patterns of behavior but on the cusp of realizing they can break free, GLOW from Netflix getting a modern redo, and then violently slam them down on a table a few times till there's blood.

Chelsea's story hit me the hardest, with a fair number of trigger warnings including domestic violence, unhealthy boundaries, narcissistic relationships, and, well, covid ptsd topics. Ella, Brooklyn, and Patricia's stories though are so perfectly woven in it felt like their journey's and flashbacks worked so well to show you why these women were struggling, and why they were so strong as well.

Honestly, it's probably my favorite book of the year so far and I'm absolutely cosmically grateful I received an advanced copy from NetGalley to review. I'm looking forward to the publishing dates so I can go snag it in proper form and get my friends and husband to read it.

What an exciting and twisted premise! The Violence is a post covid novel, that is very timely and speaks volumes about domestic abuse. It takes place a few years after our current pandemic, as a new virus is spreading throughout the world called, "The Violence." This virus catches the person unaware as they suddenly turn into a violent frenzied killer. At first, no one knows what causes it, how to spot it or how to stop it. The streets are empty and people retreat back to their homes.

In Tampa, Florida we meet Chelsea, her two daughters, mother and husband. It becomes apparent, rather quickly that Chelsea's husband is a very nasty man and her mother is not much better. I enjoyed the different point of views and learning what made these different people who they are today. How they react to the new pandemic speaks volumes about their characters.

The middle of the book becomes more of a quest as Chelsea and her children are separated and facing multiple obstacles to find safety and each other. I enjoyed this part most of all. Who doesn't like a good quest!

The ending was clever and I enjoyed hearing where Chelsea ended up. I will leave it to you to read more about that, it would sound too far fetched here, but the author really sold it and created a whole world in which I could see it happening.

I recommend the Violence if you like a quest, a pandemic novel, a horror novel or novels about those who overcome their abusers. Not for the faint hearted, but beautifully written, quick movie and very satisfying. Thank you to #NetGally and #DelRay for the ARC in exchange for a fair review.

A steady paced, fun house of a book that will have you fastened to the edge of your seat,
' oooh and aww', your way through.
Entertaining and thought provoking. A well crafted novel that is sure to stick with you, even long after you've done reading.

Whew. This was an emotionally wrought read. So much going on here and the weight of abuse, domestic violence, COVID, etc looms over the book and it's very very heavy. A truly fascinating plot, well written but it was hard for me to get through. I had to keep putting it down bc I couldn't read too much at at a time. That may just be me bc I find some of these themes difficult to read/watch although I find them important to address. Will look out for more from this author in the future.

Holy smokes this was a great read! The author did an excellent job of artfully combining horror novel constructs, heart wrenching realism and some truly memorable characters into a dazzling book that I found hard to put down. It felt strange reading a book that included covid quarantines as a matter of fact, but the author had me hooked from the beginning with a heartbreaking story of domestic violence that felt incredibly real and terrifying. Just when I thought I was reading one type of book, the violence pandemic started to ramp up and this turned into a horror tale reminiscent of the best Stephen King. That the author blended these stories together so well is a testament to skillful plotting and the strength of her incredible characters. I loved every minute of it.

Imagine if we were in another pandemic, but instead of COVID this time it's a pandemic that makes people suddenly and inexplicably turn violent. The theme of survival amidst domestic violence is central to the story. A captivating premise is executed with masterful writing by Delilah S. Dawson. This timely and suspenseful novel receives my highest recommendation!

This book was a hard pill to swallow. The beginning of this book starts with a very terrible and shocking act and continues with more similar scenarios. I usually like to start a book of this genre without reading the synopsis because most of the time the blurb gives too much away. But I would definitely recommend everyone to read the synopsis on this one as I believe it will be triggering to a lot of readers.

Although this book was well written with strong characters, I had a hard time getting past all of the depictions of graphic violence. I am a seasoned horror reader but this one made me very squeamish. When it comes to senseless violence and torture I just can’t go there.

Unfortunately, I have PTSD and it was triggered by some aspects of the plot, (which is my fault I should have researched the book more before agreeing to read it) but I do think a lot of readers will enjoy this one. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

The Violence introduces us to a near future, where, coming on the heels of COVID, a new virus causes infected people to blank out and attack nearby victims. Amidst this backdrop, we meet Chelsea Martin, a wife, a mother, a daughter, who knows all too well about the violence of abuse. This is her story and a story about women like her who find hope through the most terrible of situations.

The Violence
A Novel
by Delilah S. Dawson

I loved the book. From the get-go. Maybe not for everyone, but it was my strong cup of coffee . I read it in a couple of days. Delilah Dawson can make you envision the book . Kudos for this read.

3 1/2 ⭐️ rounded up

I didn’t know much about this one going in, but it turned out to be a compelling, timely read. Set just a few years in the future (post-COVID), the story centers around a new pandemic: The Violence. Infected people suddenly attack victims at random, not stopping until their target is dead, at which point they snap out of it with no memory of what they’ve done.

While horrifying, the scenario provides a means of escape for one woman who has been victimized by her abusive husband for years. Her storyline intersects with those of her teenage daughter and her wealthy, cruel mother. The women are forced to examine themselves and their lives and ultimately find their way not just back to each other, but to themselves.

There is much to take away regarding wealth, privilege, the patriarchy, family ties…this novel runs the gamut. I found the plot interesting, the characters well developed, and the ending satisfying. Those with a history of abuse or domestic violence may find certain scenes triggering. And (not surprisingly), there is quite a bit of violence and gore described in the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Interesting story line. It was well written and had me reading it through the night. Recommend for horror or thriller lovers.
Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for allowing me to read this ARC. I will be on lookout for more by this author:

Interesting but somewhat not really my cup of tea. A mystery thriller crime. Imagine COVID ends and there’s a new pandemic - everyone can develop the ability to be violent for no reason at all. Well written. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Violence scares the daylights of me! Especially that ominous opening at the grocery story is a quiet decision maker scene for you: you can get hooked up and dive into the well written, chaotic madness or you give up and choose a lighter book don’t disturb your entire mental state!

I have to admit I’m the one get hooked! So I keep on my reading journey!

Three women of the family: a mother, two daughters build a quite brilliant of happy family image. Chelsea Martin- the mother lives at a perfect home, playing the role of perfect mother, homemaker, wife but behind the close doors nothing as it seems. David- the father of the family always likes to get his way: if he doesn’t : the chaos knocks the door! Chelsea and their seventeen years old Ella know it from the experience. They have been manipulated, harassed for years and they have no one to help or support, isolated from outside, trapped in abusive relationship. Chelsea’s ultra narcissistic mother Patricia rejects to see what’s her daughter dealing with. She likes to see things from her own perspective, living in a safe cocoon without taking any responsibilities!

But things are gonna change because now outside world is also as threatening as their home! A mysterious epidemic pushes inner violence out of the people by turning them vicious murderers! Nowhere is safe! Could Chelsea turn this outbreak into her own benefit to help herself and daughters Ella and Brooklyn to fight against her abusive husband.

Firstly this is more than epidemic apocalypse scenario: it’s mostly about women’s evolving, changing when the violent threats knock their door. They both have to act differently to survive and they test their endurance to see how far they can go!

It was truly soul crushing, shocking, unique, one of a kind plot they definitely terrifies and affects you deeply but you cannot put it down even though the things you read hard to digest!

I’m giving my standing up women, fighting against abuse and violence, apocalyptic, eerie, dark and intense four stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballentine’s for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.