A strange but enjoyable book, told from a feminist perspective. Started the book wanting to shake Chelsey, ended by rooting for her. A bit unbelievable but very creative.

Delilah Dawson gives us an extraordinary story of growth and self-reflection. Although it was a little difficult to get through in the beginning, by the end you will be wanting for more. This was a book I did not want to book down.

Loved this book--it was a read-in-one-night psychological journey. I'll be watching Delilah! The subject matter was so timely it could have happened today. People sometimes don't appreciate the complex working of the minds of flamboyant characters like this.

This book is definitely not for the faint-hearted! Major trigger warnings for mental, physical, and sexual violence.

I was very hesitant to read this based on the reviews; it was definitely a female empowering novel. Lots of action and interesting characters. The wrestling family was a great addition but that was the most unusual piece for me. After all the drama and horror, the conclusion was a bit too happy - that felt more unrealistic than the Violence pandemic.

Overall this is an extremely heavy story but I'm glad to have read it. Thanks to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Violence is set five years after the pandemic has been eradicated. Just when we think there will be peace, a new mosquito-borne virus is spreading, causing black outs and sheer violence. After surviving a pandemic, knowing each decision, such as visiting a grocery store, could result in a course that is changed forever, thanks to The Violence.
We follow various themes; illness, domestic violence, survival, revenge.
The cover and marketing for this piece are beautifully done. Something about an all red cover with a knife can grab your attention.
As far as the execution, I felt this to be less successful than the marketing promised. Far-fetched is good when it comes to a dystopian premise, but this was a bit too far-fetched for me to suspend my disbelief.

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.25 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Del Rey books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Violence follows three generations of women in the same family: Chelsea, the "perfect housewife" whose high school sweetheart husband is actually abusive; Patricia, Chelsea's narcissistic mother whose wealth gives her an advantage in a world run by money; and Ella, Chelsea's oldest daughter who is now experiencing a life with one pandemic after another while also just being a high school student.

Couple that with a new virus that causes someone to have sudden, explosive bouts of animalistic rage and attack anyone in their path, and you get total chaos.

Wow! This book is definitely violent (as the name suggests) and heavy with a lot of trigger warnings. However, I also felt myself continuously hooked and rooting for the three women we follow in this book. I thought this would be hard to read because of the recency and prevalence of COVID, but instead I found myself really connecting to the feelings expressed by these characters and the social commentary about pandemics and vaccine inequalities. I do think at time this book did lag, and we probably could've cut a small chunk out but will definitely be reading by this author again!

A LOT to unpack with this one. Believe the title, things get violent in this one! A wonderful book for discussion, and I'd highly recommend it for book clubs to read.

Such a great book and a unique concept. I really enjoyed reading this one as I have never read a book like this before.

I loved this book. The domestic violence is something I’d forewarn my students about, but the plot was easy to follow and I loved watching the characters change over the course of the novel.

The Violence is a dystopian thriller centered around a virus that causes those infected to act in extreme violence with no memory of their actions. One woman sees this as an opportunity to escape her abusive, controlling husband once and for all. Told through the eyes of three generations of women in the same family - the narcissistic mother, the woman escaping her abuser, and the teenage daughter who finds herself in a similar relationship. The Violence ends up being a feminist dystopian thriller with a fast-paced plot. Highly recommended! Be sure to check out The Violence today.

Absolutely loved this book. It sucked me in from the getgo and had me guessing all the way to the end. Did not want it to end at all.

This took an unexpected turn; still not sure how I feel about it.

-Covid is a thing within the novel
-It was a bit drug out; it could have been condensed
-Boring at times
-The writing style got me through

Delilah S. Dawson has done it again, this time with an excellent and timely (and slightly disturbing but in the best way) offering!

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Here we go - a new pandemic, following COVID, that leads to violent actions taken by those who have it. Our story centers around a family of mothers and daughters - Patricia, a somewhat cold woman, who is living a life of luxury and doesn't have much to do with her daughter or granddaughters, her daughter Chelsea, who's the perfect wife, mother, and housekeeper, and Chelsea's daughters, teenage Ella and 5 year old Brooklyn. Chelsea is being abused by her seemingly perfect husband, who also keeps her in line with his best buddy who's a police officer. Ella is starting to see problems with her very dominating boyfriend. And Patricia is suddenly dumped by her husband, and left to fend for herself.

All of this plays out against the new pandemic, the Violence. Those who contract the disease become irrationally violent, and as this becomes an increasing problem, they are confined to internment camps while a cure is sought. A vaccine is developed, but it is only available to the very wealthy.

When Chelsea's husband is identified as a Violence patient and removed, she seeks refuge with her mother, who grudgingly agrees to take care of the granddaughters. Then Ella leaves Patricia's house to try to find her mother, and is not allowed back in to the gated community. Ella's boyfriend, meanwhile, was caught on a camer phone pushing Ella around, and is also interned as a Violence patient.

We follow the three separate stories, then, of how Chelsea, Ella, and eventually Patrica and Brooklyn survive.

I was a little worried when I started reading, that this book would be a horror story, with horrible violence - but to me, it became much more. It dealt with the issues of different types of spousal/boyfriend abuse, not all of which are the same, and a rather novel way of coping with this and escaping from it. It also dealt with mother-daughter relationships, and growth, both of the individuals as people, and of their relationships. All of the adult/teenage characters did grow and change, and it was a fascinating process.

Despite my general disinclination to read about horror-style violence, I found this book to be much, much more, and I was won over completely!

I really liked this story! Being a sucker for any type of outbreak story, and as someone who loved the movie The Crazies, this was the perfect match for me.. I really like the female cast of characters, and rooted for all of them along their individual journeys. Seeing them grow as strong, fierce women trying to survive was inspiring! The violence fighting ring would be so fun to watch in real life! Anyone want to get something like this going?? Ha!

Thank you to the publisher, Delilah S. Dawson, and Netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A mysterious plague that causes random bouts of violence is sweeping the nation. Now three generations of women must navigate their chilling new reality in this moving exploration of identity, cycles of abuse, and hope.
In the age of Covid, I was hesitant to read yet another book that dealt with a pandemic. But since I’d been sitting on this one for some time, I took the plunge. This story will not be for everyone and there are some serious trigger warnings if you decide to pick it up (the author includes a note at the beginning regarding these).

The story follows Chelsea, a thirty-something woman trapped in an abusive marriage, her teenaged daughter Ella, and her beyond problematic mother, Patricia. I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this and while I enjoyed the evolution of the three women, it took some time for me to connect with the characters. By midway, I was all-in though.

The author tends to be very descriptive which is wonderful, but in some places, it felt a bit too much. Almost like it took away from the actual action by focusing on some minute detail of the setting. Not a big deal, just something I noticed here and there.

Also, the story does take a bit of a far-fetched turn which has garnered mixed reviews, but I actually loved where it went. No spoilers, it's ridiculous, but in a satisfying way.

Overall, I thought it was a unique, well-written story. There were parts that made me want to throw my phone across the room (read this on audio and Kindle) because the men are so freaking terrible which I guess is a testament to Dawson’s character crafting ability. Oh, and the cover is gorgeous!

Domestic Violence is usually a subject that I steer clear from.
I always want the victim to win, to become strong and have the courage to leave, have help from wonderful people to get away and have a beautiful life and have the violent jackass get their comeuppance. In real life, this so frequently doesn’t happen and it’s heartbreaking how hopeless victims feel.

But I had seen this so much on #Bookstagram that I thought I’d give it a try.

The Violence takes place in a post Covid world, where a 2nd outbreak happens but this time, if you’re effected, a blind rage takes over that you don’t remember once the episode is over.

Dawson took this idea and twisted it around so that the reader is never bored and always wondering what is happening next. This was a really creative plot! There were a few storylines that I didn’t prefer but it didn’t really matter as everything changed so much throughout.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy Thrillers, creative storytelling and can handle domestic abuse scenes and a little bit of gore descriptions.

I had no idea what to expect from this one, but man, it did not disappoint. It was action-packed from the word go and never let up. Post-covid, most of us are just happy to get back to what the new normal now is but suddenly something much worse has come about. The Violence strikes quickly and unexpectedly and in most cases, the victim does not survive.
As we follow 3 generations of women we learn where they came from, how they got where they are now, and what they are willing to do to survive.

A lightning bolt of a novel. Scary, timely, brutal...but also a lot of dark fun. Dawson's writing is gorgeous as always, and the characters and world she has created here gripped me from the first page to the last. It's frightening how timely and important this book is right now, but I am darn glad that it exists.

Who knew it would take contracting COVID for me to finally finish this one? It took me almost two months! I think this one did have the same issue as many other 2022 releases - too long with a slow start.

A revenge story with a pandemic twist that I could totally get behind. Dark, but not too dark.