Though the narrator of the audiobook was enjoyable, I had to DNF @ 38%. I think it's time to admit defeat and stop trying with this author I liked as a teen

"Into the Mist" by P. C. Cast is an audiobook that transports listeners to a realm of magic, mystery, and intrigue. This story is a mesmerizing blend of fantasy, romance, and adventure, narrated in a way that vividly brings its world and characters to life.

The story centers on Fiona, a young woman who discovers she has a connection to a mystical world shrouded in mist. As she delves deeper into this realm, she uncovers secrets about her past and a destiny that is intertwined with the fate of both worlds. Cast's storytelling is immersive, weaving a tapestry of magic, myth, and legend that is both enthralling and believable.

The narration of the audiobook is exceptional. The narrator captures Fiona's curiosity, determination, and the range of emotions she experiences on her journey. Their voice transports the listener to the misty landscapes and the ancient mysteries of the story, making the experience deeply immersive.

P. C. Cast's world-building is one of the standout aspects of "Into the Mist." The way she constructs the mystical world, with its unique rules, cultures, and creatures, is both imaginative and detailed. The listener is easily drawn into this world, experiencing its wonders and dangers alongside Fiona.

I really enjoyed the narrator for this audiobook. Such a compelling read! An apocalypse that targets men and gives women powers… that’s what I’m talking about! I enjoyed following the group as they navigated the aftermath. It was filled with lots of action and twists. I’m so intrigued to see where this series will go.

P.C. Cast is an author that is known to me from her series written with her daughter - House of Night and Sisters of Salem - which are Young Adult ones and has a lot of magic in them.

When reading Into the Mist we are following middle-aged women and the apocalypse that just started upon the world - something completely different, is it good or bad though?

A group of teachers is facing the end of the world as it is known to us due to a strange green mist, that brings change for some reason - it kills men, strange right? So now they have to run and hide in the cities that were ravaged by survivors that not always will be nice - going crazy in those circumstances is something normal, but we have to stay sane for the others, this is what shines in minds of our teachers that try to survive and help others that they meet along the way... but it's not always possible...

Into the Mist starts relatively slowly, which got me bored in some parts, but the premise kept me interested so I pushed when reading slower moments to get to know what is to come in this post-apocalyptic read, the topics are always intriguing as in every book/film we see it differently.

What are the best parts - the beginning, was so engaging and left me speechless with the number of emotions it provided - and the ending - that got us a setup for the next book which can go in quite a few different ways - but which?

As I liked in House of Night that girls were getting powers, and the same happens here, it's not rushed, but slow and partial to getting to understand what is going on with them or their bodies, when no one is affected in the same way - I will gladly see what is to come for them as the apocalyptic setting gives so many opportunities.


*** I DO HAVE TO ALERT FOR SOME GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS THAT MIGHT BE TRIGGERING FOR SOME PEOPLE ***

***** spoiler *****

---- graphic and horrifying description of a miscarriage

PC Cast will forever and always just be someone who wrote stories that have gotten me through my past and continues to get me through my present. For that reason alone I will absolutely adore anything that is published by her. With that being said this was by no means my favorite thing that I have read by her, I think largely due to I am not the biggest fan of apocalyptic settings, but I still did enjoy it and found it to be entertaining. I also really enjoyed the narrator and thought they did an amazing job bringing this story to life.

Any story that showcases women coming into power and the dynamic they have over men is something I'm going to be a cheerleader of! It may feel so helpless in the real world right now, with so many men making decisions about women's bodies int he government, but that's why I like stories like this! It's all about women empowerment and justice and finally getting our fair due.

I loved this story and would absolutely recommend it if you're looking for a work of art that empower women!

This was sadly a DNF for me.

It started off extremely powerful, and had me ready to take on the world! But somewhere in the middle, I found myself scratching my head trying to make sense of what was going on.

The Mist has a green mist that alters women to have superhuman abilities. (It’s also deadly to men so heyyyyy. Kidding kidding. Kind of.) Such a really cool concept, but it just did not execute the way I needed it to. Instead of girl power! (Insert my Spice Girls signature pose with my peace sign) it was more we’re amazing so fuck you.. and not in the way you want it to.

Now on to the audio, Lorelei King. She’s a true King, I’ll tell you that. I had a physical copy and it was not it. So thankful for Lorelei because that’s how I got more than halfway into the book. Her tone, inflection, and pacing was spot on. I’m always going to listen to Lorelei King, but sometimes even that is hard because of the content, not the narrator.

A hard miss for me, but always love to see what PC Cast cooks up next. Thank you for my gifted copies. Into the Mist is out now.

I was offended by some of the authors choice of words so I did not finish reading this one. I did still post a feature of this one on my Instagram and I do appreciate you sending me the influencer box and digital copy. I kept the feature positive.

Felt a lil YA-ish
Apocalyptic Story
I’ll be honest… it went onto the DNF shelf a lil over 50%
Don’t get me wrong- I’ve been a huge P.C. Cast fan for a long time but this one was sadly not it

i was so nervous to read this as i didnt care for the last PC cast book I read but i have such a love for the author that i went back into it! This was so unique and perfect. This is about a post apocalyptical world and getting through it all. I loved all the side characters. this book makes you feel all the things because it tackles love, loss, fear, cults, friendship and strength. this was epic. I want to read the next book badly. My heart hurts over this book!

Many thanks to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for access to this title.

Holy WOW this book. I feel like I've been in a reading slump lately - not reading very little but reading very little that I enjoyed and gods on hight this is doing some WORK to help turn that around (tbh everything I'm reading right now is a 10/10 its a real turn around, but more on that later). Small caveat: I love a post-apocalyptic story. This is my jam, so no doubt that influenced my basic enjoyment of this tale. But I do want to say that does not take away, at all, from the success of this story itself. This book follows a group of high school teachers as they navigate the West Coast of the US after an apocalyptic series of bio-weaponized bombs have decimated the country. Without giving too much away, the women (since it's all women who survived from among the original group of already female-heavy teachers) find out right away that these were no ordinary bombs - the green mist they give off, which seems intent on lingering across the country, is something between mystical and deadly, the later particularly so for men who breathe it in.

This book follows this group of women as they seek out a safe, sane, and stable place to establish a new society together, skirting the classic misogynistic terrifying cult-like post-apocalyptic groups that pop up along their way. Their group expands and condenses with every stop, new people joining them, some choosing to stay behind, all guided by the kick-ass core of teachers - Stella, Mercury, and Imani. This book does a truly incredible job moving through a classic trope with a genuinely unique, new approach, and the implications of the ending promise a truly thrilling second book (the series is a duology).

What makes this book shine for me though is three major factors - one that I already addressed is the uniqueness. The apocalypse trope is a near endless well from which to draw, but it still tends to get a bit repetitive. This addition brings a fresh feeling to the genre. That is really underscored by the other two shining features: the characters & the realism! Each of these individual characters - including every side-character we meet along the way - is written to gleam in their own right. They are all (seemingly) effortlessly imbued with character, uniqueness, and humanity. This lends support to the very realistic feeling of the book. Even in the midst of the magical-realism and crumbling landscape, Cast is thorough with taking the reader through the small intricacies of transitioning to post-apocalyptic world. Of course, there is the sense at various moments of a deus ex machina, a convenient solution or savior, but those pieces do not detract at all from the flow and believability of the story. And throughout they are used to create a story that feels truly plausible, even in its unearthly, unheard of absurdity.

I am truly thrilled to see the conclusion of this story. I was entranced, start to finish, in a way I did not in the slightest expect, and I'm so excited to add a new world to my collection of loves.

Into The Mist has an entertaining plot, with funny yet tough women who develop magical powers when a bomb drops releasing a green mist that seems to kill only men. The narration is fabulous ! The different characters and voice tones certainly keep you intrigued. I was hooked from beginning to end

I struggled a bit with the man hating. I love feminism, as a female myself but sometimes it goes beyond that. So it pulled me out of the story a bit. It didn’t seem empowering at all. I thought it was a unique plot. But just over the top

Into the Mist was a great intro book into what will
Hopefully be an Awesome Post Plague Woman dominant New world. PC cast did a great job with this Adult Fiction exploration. It wants t her typical YA style but was not overly Spicey! The large cast of characters that was introduced will leave lots of open character development for this series. I can not wait for this book to release and for future books! The friendship dynamic of the main two Stella and Mercury is fun and keeps the girl tribe interesting!! Good Job P. C. Cast and thank you for the opportunity to read this Arc through NetGalley!

As a group of high school teachers pull over for a break while driving through rural Oregon, they see a deluge of bombs fall from the sky, destroying Portand, Bend, and who knows how many other cities. The bombs bring not only destruction and earthquakes but a strange green mist. The mist kills any man who breathes it in, but strangely it gives many women new powers. As Mercury, Stella, Imani, and Karen cross the Pacific Northwest in search of a safe place, they discover these new powers and realize that the world as they know it has ended.

The women in this book are not so much feminists as they are man-haters. I am not sure if this is meant to be a serious book or a satire. I feel like the author meant it to be serious, but you might roll your eyes a lot less while reading it if you think of it as satire. A part of me wants to read the next book in the series to see who coordinated the attack, but I don’t know that I could sit through another book in the series.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

I'm usually a fan of this author, but I could not get into this audiobook. It might have to do with the narrator. I didn't find her voice very exciting, but rather boring to listen to.

P.C. Cast's "Into the Mist" is the author's first foray into adult writing, having written a long list of very popular fantasy young adult novels. Into the Mist being marketed as adult is a stretch though. It reads much like the author's previous works and at most is a new adult novel.

The world we live in is ripe for a novel like this, based on the fraught geopolitical situation, and the terrible toll of the coronavirus epidemic. Into the Mist imagines a future world where the United States has suffered the consequences of constant climate issues and nuclear warfare, resulting in the green mist, which kills men but gives women exposed to it superhuman abilities. It is in this situation that we find a band of citizens who are trying to survive in spite of the odds.

This is equal parts science fiction and dystopian post-apocalyptic fiction. I imagine this will do well with fans of Neal Stephenson's works or near future dystopias.

I got The Mist, The Fireman, The Stand, and Sleeping Beauties vibes. So Stephen King (and family) vibes. lol. Oh and Y: The Last Man vibes too! But I did enjoy it! And was so saddened and also confused by the ending (EEP!). Now the long wait for a book 2! It's been a hot minute since I've read a P. C. Cast book! Never read HoN but I read and loved all of her Goddess books!

Dystopian fiction and fantasy aren’t typically my go-to genres, but the premise of this one hooked me. A group of teacher leaving a conference get stuck in a bomb raid that releases a mysterious green mist that destroys cities and appears to kill men. As the group attempt to find other survivors, they learn that not only are women surviving, but they're thriving in new and incredible ways.

I appreciated how the action kicked off immediately, and how we got to see how the characters evolved individually - and together - over the course of the book. I was a little distracted by how easily the characters seemed to accept that the apocalypse was upon them; I check my phone more frequently in an area with poor service than all of the characters checked theirs throughout this book combined. Maybe that's a product of the current times? I admit I would be way less surprised by world destruction today than I would have been 2 years ago. And the cliff-hanger at the end seemed to spin the story in a totally different direction. 🤔

If you’ve read The Change and enjoyed it, this might be a fun next read for you :)

I would like to thank Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an ARC.

This is one of those books that claims to be feminist, but quickly throws its feminism out the window. This book wants to have a good take on gender, sexuality, religion, etc. but fails to do so. The "feminism" involved in this book leaves out many groups of women, while appealing to a primarily cisgender and straight audience. Men or anybody with a male presenting body, is typically portrayed as being violent and evil. The only queer character in this book is killed horrifically. While dealing with religion, (the character is a fundamental Christian who during the process of this book learns to be more accepting of those around her, which doesn't sound bad in theory) is poorly written and gives no room for different meanings and existences of equality and freedom. Yes, religions have been used to oppress minorities and those can create horrific environments for people, and this can especially be seen in fundamental Christianity. However, there is no room for more nuanced takes of feminism. There weren't any attempts at delving into the different meanings of feminism that went beyond the holier than thou there is only one way to be a liberated woman and the girl bossy men are evil pigs who deserve everything coming for them. These narratives also completely leave out trans people and just queer people in general. The characters also do not sound their age at all, and the overall tone of the book feels juvenile. Again, we are hit over the head over and over about how evil men and how great women are and women are never the oppressors in any circumstance, without any delving into issues or trying to analysis how issues have come about or overall impacts on society. Instead, we are treated to a story that is about recreating the same systems of oppression except with women at the top. I feel that this book is entirely missing the feminism it claims to have and this book is a struggle to get through because of that.