Into the Mist by P. C. Cast
Narrated by Lorelei King
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: Sci Fi & Fantasy
Published: July 12, 2022

Into the Mist is the first book a new series by P. C. Cast and I could not get enough of it!

I will say that the first chapter started a little slow as the reader is introduced to the characters. I actually double checked to make sure I was listening to the correct audiobook because it felt a little vanilla. I assure you though, once this books pick up it just does not stop!!!

I absolutely loved this book! It was a fast paced, end of the world, women have super powers kind of book!

I thought the characters were fascinating and I really became invested in their survival! The story was intriguing and kept me coming back for more! I was so sad when I reached the end...I need the next book to get here fast!

The narration by Lorelei King was so brilliant! I loved listening to her bring this story to life!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was just okay for me. I continue to be pulled back into her writing, and I just don't think it's right for me any longer. It feels very juvenile, and yet has lingo that isn't accurate for anyone to really say. The whole first half of the book was so slow. I struggled to stay engaged. Thank you for this opportunity. This one wasn't for me.

This was an intersting story - I love the nuclear bomb theme and survival afterwards. What really drew me in was the setting; I live in Oregon and it is described beautofully in this book. I did find the characters to be a bit obnoxious and very boxed into one strong trait rather than a mixed bunch of people you could expect. The names and nicknames were annoying and unnecessary.

I really enjoyed this book by P C Cast even though I am not a big fantasy fan. This was a post-apocalyptic world, as several teachers on spring break watched bombs go off and it caused a green fog to cover the area and it struck every capital. This fog killed most people especially all men. Some women it did give special abilities. These female teachers must find their way through dangerous intersections, people, this unknown biological agent to begin to build a new home again. This was the first book in the duology and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

The narrator was phenomenal and I can’t wait to listen to the characters again.
Thank you @Crookedlanebooks and @letstalkbookspromo for my gifted copy.

I am a fan of Ms. Cast and this book was as delightful as any of her previous releases. She writes the best kind of urban fantasy - the kind that seems like it could really happen. If you are just putting your toes into the great ocean that is fantasy, Into the Mist is a great place to start. The author takes reasonable real life situations and ads a fantasy element (or two) in the most interesting ways. In this case the fantasy element is a really cool yet scary way to bring magic into a non-magic world and we get to watch her characters figure out how to survive and thrive in what is now a whole new world.

The worldbuilding for Into the Mist is really well done. I had no problem imagining the world around the characters and their actions. The magic system is consistent with occasional surprises that fit seamlessly into the story. The pace is pretty quick and there are really well thought out and urgent stakes for the ensemble cast. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Lorelei King narrates this book and she does a wonderful job bringing this story to life. I listen to audio books at about 2x speed and her narration came through very clearly and with wonderful animation, even at that speed. I enjoyed her performance so much that I plan to search for other books she has narrated.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for sending me this audio book in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked the premise of the book, but struggled to get into it. The first half of the book is slow and sort of preachy. I think this would've been better as a screenplay so that some of the descriptions could be visual instead of provided with unnecessary detail.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I read some of the House of Night series years ago, which was written by P.C. Cast and her daughter, Kristin and thought they were just okay. The writing style of those books was a bit juvenile. I know that they are YA books, but the writing was more middle grade, in my opinion, so I was hesitant about this book. And while the writing style was still more YA than adult, the story made up for it.

This was a great addition to the post-apocalyptic genre. In this story a mysterious event occurs and bombs are dropped over the entire country, releasing a green mist that causes men to die quickly and causes some women to get superpowers. It was an intriguing concept and I'm glad that I gave it a chance.

I liked the feminism theme and the toxic masculinity theme. I see that some other readers found the theme to be disingenuous, but I thought it worked. I didn't see the themes of stereotyping that others saw. The characters were likeable and well developed and seemed absolutely real. I look forward to the next book in the series so I can find out more. The audio was average, but it kept me engaged. I didn't like the voice for Karen, but I can see why the narrator used that voice. All in all, 3.75 stars.

I read the premise of this book before getting into it, & was intrigued. The intrigue turned to eye rolling within the first handful of chapters. The way the lead characters speak to one another is unrealistic and irritating (OMG? I’m jelly? - no one speaks like that!). My biggest takeaway, which the author made it Crystal Clear, is this: she has disdain for two things - Christians & men. According to this author, marriage is only valued by Christians; Drinking is freedom (even if the person doesn’t want to drink); Men ruined the world and their lives are of little to no value.

I do hope this is a satire of “feminism gone too far”. 3 stars if that’s the case. If not, 1 star, so since I’m not sure, I’ll leave 2.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A group of teachers surviving an apocalypse that kills mostly men and gives some women amplified abilities sounds great, and I overall enjoyed listening to this book.

I did think they adapted a little too quickly to losing basically every person they’ve ever known — I fully appreciate the portrayal of women teachers jumping straight in and taking care of business, but the pace felt a little forced/rushed. Loved the friendship between Mercury and Stella and their refusal to take Karen’s nonsense seriously.

The story ends on quite a cliffhanger, and I’m excited to find out what happens next!

***3.5 Stars on My Instagram Account***

"They finally did it. They destroyed the world."
"They?"
"Men. Politicians. Them. The greedy corrupt people in charge whose job it was to keep us safe."

The scariest thing about the apocalyptic sci fi drama Into The Mist by dependable author P.C.Cast is how the above quotes are not far removed from reality.

Five high school teachers are on their way home from from a convention in the Pacific Northwest when a series of bombs cause earthquakes and sonic booms bringing a cloud of strange green mist.

As they try to find safety and figure out what is going on "stranger things" start to reveal themselves. The mist seems to have deadly consequences for men but almost the opposite for women. The women begin to experience changes to their bodies and minds but in different ways.

Mercury, our presumptive leader, has Hulk like physical strength.

Stella is the Seer with a sixth sense about impending doom.

Imani is the Watcher with an earthly connection causing plants to grow.

Karen is the Priestess with a spiritual sense seeing people's auras.

Gemma is the Healer. At 16 she bravely heals all wounds by consuming the pain of others.

Not all men are dead or bad. The women meet up with Ford who has a gentle strength and whose last prophetic words at the end of the book leave the reader looking for the next book in this new series.

I was impressed with how narrator Lorelei King gave such distinctive performances for each character that I always knew who was talking at every turn.

These women face danger from people who are scared of everyone, from people who look at the apocalypse as a way to let their evil instincts take over and from the unknown "enemy" that led them Into The Mist.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Dreamscape Media via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I think the concept of this book was very intriguing and the cast of characters was strong. The beginning was a bit slow for me and I don’t always love a lot of road trip in a book, but there was enough action to keep me interested.

I always love an apocalyptic setting and I think the emphasis on toxic masculinity is done well. I liked the feminist tone of the book the most and the way the women’s powers developed. I admired the way they adjusted to their circumstances.

Karen was such a Karen but that is besides the point.

This is a good start for a series and I will keep my eye out for the next installment. I agree that this gives off Mad Max vibes and think it would make a good movie.

I enjoyed the narrators and would recommend the audiobook.

3.5/5

Easily one of my favorite post-apocalyptic books now. I enjoyed all the main characters, thou the highly religious one got on my nerves at times. I love how strong the females where in this book, none of them took any shit from anyone and in fact dealt some shit, so I'm very happy about that. The slight hint of romance was good, I rather there be no romance but the little bit in this book was a good amount. The only real issue I had was when the main characters kept talking about "in our new world we won't allow this" etc, like idk what they thought they would be deciding anything especially with where they end up, I guess I can see how their little cave town can be ruled how they want, but they make it seem like they can make the whole world the way they want it, idk, just rubbed me the wrong way. I liked the different kind of super powers the girls had, I won't spoil the book, but I thought it was creative.

I didn't hate it? It's not my typical read, but I was drawn to it because I do like PC Cast.

Basically a green mist melts all the men, which is pretty creepy and gross if you ask me. I liked the variety of characters. As someone who considers themselves agnostic, I enjoyed the way religion was portrayed.

I will say some of the graphic descriptions were a little gorey for my tastes, but it wasn't anything extremely shocking or out there.

All in all, it was a good story, but kind of forgettable for me.

"What level of Jumanji are we on?"

I am one of those readers who will read a novel and sit on the review. I'd like to say it's because I'm deeply contemplating the text, but truth be told I'm waiting on the pub date to get closer or work has drowned me. There comes occasions where these instances actually do make me contemplate my read more as I decide on what I want to say. Into the Mist is one that landed on my Contemplation Caboose recently and the rating altered the more I thought on it.

When I first finished this novel I was thrilled. It has action, friends, found family, gorey deaths, apocalyptic bombs and male killing death mist. Yes, you read that right. I closed this novel with a smile on my face and ready to tell everyone I loved it. In my head, Cast was back baby! I really think this fits a big majority of the readers too. It was fast paced, I dove in hard, came out thinking it's a great read. Didn't need much thinking, it was a great escape as a book should be.

Then I started thinking about my review and noted a few things that were too much. Now I don't mean too much in the sense of things can't be believed or too far fetched, this is fiction and I'm no stranger to weird and out there. I found the mixture of messages and perspective to be too much. On one hand you have a beautiful message of embracing different faiths, not forcing your faith on others and accepting those as they are. Then you have one main character being pushed to continually test her personal comfort zones and values who also happens to be a devout Christian. BUT... You could ALSO  see it as the characters trying to be  supportive and help her break the shell she built around herself from the mental abuse of her father. It really depends on perspective and there are multiple areas in this book that could be read in an unbecoming light or an uplifting light.

Religion seemed to creep up a lot actually. It pushed the devoutness of other faiths to the extreme while making another faith seem like the all loving, caring faith of choice above others. I feel this could've been left out. If you're reading Cast, you know the beauty of the way both authors can pen the intricacies of earth magics and faith. I prefer that type of representation without stereotyping others.

The tear down of men was a bit sad too. Yes I believe that there are many people who would show their true brutal selves come an apocalypse. And yes I had an evil little glee as the meaning of jello was reinvented for me, but almost every male was a horrible human being in this book. I would've preferred less of the male bashing and blaming. It didn't do well for woman empowerment and instead belittled it since it was so frequently stated. Subtle would've done so much more.

I would've liked a little more maturity from the teachers but in my head it kinda reminded me of Bad Teacher. The way they talked gave me may or YA vibes too. I also needed more time for the jump from chaos to organized groupings. The seriousness was lacking too, even though I'm a joker when I'm stressed and going through hell. I mean seriously, who the hell knows how they'd act in a crisis?! However, their world implodes and in the blink of 2-3 days groups are gathering woman for powers and everyone has remained calm, drank, joked and accepted to leave their old lives behind for a new world in the mountains. Too fast in the plot department even for me.

Lastly, the audio is read phenomenally by Lorelei King. I honestly spent the last 65% listening and just utterly transported as she narrated. Especially the last few chapters.

With all of that said, I still enjoyed this novel. I still embrace that enjoyment and escape I felt by the time I finished. Do I think that some themes went too far? I do, but I'm also not an author and, truth be told, read over a lot of that in the beginning. Call me too focused on the parts I liked. I have a feeling most readers will land on one side or the other with this one and I totally get it. For me though, I'm excited for book 2.

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media for the gifted review copies in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts are my own. True rating 3.5/5.

This audiobook was great, the narrators did a fantastic job bringing the story to life. However, I felt like the story fell a little flat. I loved the idea of how only the women are surviving and that they now possess some magical abilities. But I felt as though the story focused more on the patriarchal males that ended up surviving and the females that just want to control everyone and everything. If feels like there might be more to the story so I am very interested in what may happen in a sequel.

I really wanted to like this book. I have read House of Night by the same author(s), but I am sad to say this one didn't do it for me. I don't know if it was the excessive mention of Tulsa-based places. I live in the area, so I knew about the references, but I can see how this would be a point of frustration for those not familiar with Tulsa. I also was not a fan that every male in the story was either a bad person, died, or was a child. This played nicely into the all-women savior team. I'm all about girl power, but that just seem too much for me to hop onboard with.

Into the Mist markets itself as a feminist post-apocalypse sci-fi/fantasy. And...the word feminist seems to be misused here. It is not. 🚩

A group of teachers coming home from an education conference are banded together when a biological warfare agent (a green mist) is released in the US, causing mass destruction, death, and plunging the country into a post-apocalyptic state where men are dying rapidly (as the mist seems to be targeting men) and women are developing "powers" (but not everyone, which remains confusing). The story attempts to highlight that women are strong and capable, while men are smarmy abusers of power. The story also touches on the use of religious authority in the time of crises to abuse power.

Aside from the issue of marketing this as feminist, which we will return to, the story itself had its ups and downs. The pacing was off, feeling rushed over all while also having minor plot points that were drawn out to the point of wanting to skip to the next chapter. This is also the first book in a series (it is unclear how long the series will be), meaning that the entire first book is setting the stage for the rest of the series and we don't learn anything hinting at where the mist comes from until the very last second. Not for me. I also will not forgive the author for a particular character death. However, I was rather intrigued by the "powers" that are developed and how they seem to enhance one's pre-existing qualities. These powers were really what kept me invested, I really wanted to learn more about how they manifested and worked, which I did not - though that might be coming in later books.

Now.

For a "feminist" story, there sure does seem to be a large gap in representation for trans women 🚩. Additionally, there is no LGBT representation at all, even among side characters 🚩. So, this biological agent is targeting men and the author makes no attempt to discuss sex vs gender or the biological and psychological impact of this agent for trans or non-binary individuals? 🚩 Why? Oh, because the author isn't actually writing a feminist story. Being a feminist means being inclusive of ALL women. It also means more than just killing off all the men and seeing if women can rule the country better. This story either didn't have enough (or diverse enough) beta readers to correct this or the author simply didn't care. Either way...

I will not be returning to this series for future books and would not recommend this book.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Lorelei King, via NetGalley. An advanced reader's copy of this audiobook was provided to me via NetGalley by Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Dreamscape media for a copy of the audio and Crooked Lane Books for a paperback copy in exchange for an honest review. I switched between reading and listening to this book and both formats were great.

In this apocalyptic fiction book the men are being wiped out by a strange green mist. They are melting into puddles while the woman seem to be gaining powers from the mist. Some men will live, some women will die. How will the green mist and the plague affect the survivors.

The main characters in the book are teachers leaving a summer workshop headed back home with the mist hits. After checking back in at the resort they decide to travel around to find survivors. They find both good and very evil in their travels. Using their new abilities they try to make a new life for themselves and the individuals they collect along the way. My favorite addition to their crew was Gemma, a 16-year-old who was wise beyond her years.

While the overall topic of the book was mass death and destruction it never felt like that heavy of a read. The characters were entertaining. I mean they prioritized wine in their packing list for travel away from the resort to explore for survivors and a new home.

The book is one that I could see upsetting more conservative readers so if you would get upset at foul language, marijuana use and religion not being a shining star this may be one to skip.

Overall I enjoyed enough to want to continue on to see what happens next. There is a lot of unknown throughout and at the end of the book. I am not certain we will ever get all of the answers but in this book I think I'm okay with it.

I received an ARC of the audio version of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a bit different than my normal read or listen. I did enjoy the foundation of this story and how the characters have been built. I think it was a good start to a great series.

This book had a strong premise. I love me a good apocalypse, and I love seeing it happen. Unfortunately, the social commentary and borderline political agenda got in the way of the story repeatedly. I don't mind suspension of disbelief, but the men in this book were stereotyped assholes with the exception of 2 or 3 and there was not thought given to the practicality of a society without men other than repeated statements that women wouldn't mess it up the way men had. Christian characters were also stereotyped to extremes that I have never seen in real life during my 28 years deeply immersed in Christian culture. I can recognize flaws that exist within Christians, myself included, and men, many of the men I know included, but the level of stereotyping and negative portrayal of these characters made it difficult to enjoy what could have been a fascinating start to a new series. The main characters were supposed to be in middle age, but frequently acted like teenagers making the book read more like YA than adult in genre. The mystery of the mist and the world building post apocalypse were interesting, but not enough to overcome the previously mentioned flaws. I will likely not be reading future installments.

The narrator was excellent.