Past This Point

I loved this book. I couldn’t stop reading it! I also found it very scary. The protagonist, Karis, is a New Yorker who has had one bad break-up too many. She quits going out and quits seeing her friends, and therefore doesn’t get sick when a deadly virus is released in New York City. Due to a series of events, Karis doesn’t make it out of the hot zone in time. She is stuck in her apartment as what’s left of society in the walled-off, infected half of the country completely breaks down. She and her dog Zeke are on their own in her apartment building as the city dies around them.

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I love apocalyptic storylines, but most books were written for and about hound adults. This one isn’t, that’s a nice change.
Karis, the main character, is a troubled woman in her thirties (aren’t we all?). She gets stuck in NYC after a deadly virus breaks out. She is confined to her apartment building for months. You would think this wouldn’t make a compelling read, but it does. She makes friends with neighbouring girls, and helps them. In turn they help her grow as a person too.
I don’t want to give too much of this story away, you should just read it. It’s female empowerment at its finest.

And the cover, come on, it’s so beautiful!
To me this book read like it would make an amazing movie. Bearing in mind the book will always be better.

Karis Hylen lives in New York City with her dog Zeke. She leads a reclusive lifestyle, having been hurt in her last relationships.
When a super flu virus spreads through the city, killing most of the population, she is isolated in her apartment, the area now a quarantine zone.
With only Zeke for company, occasional phone calls to her mom, and chats through the windows with two young girls living across the way, Karis fights to maintain her sanity through the crazy times.
She learns to be strong and self sufficient, foraging for food, protecting herself from bands of marauders as provisions diminish.
One day she notices a man outside, being beaten by a group as they steal his back pack and then leave him for dead. But Karis sees that he is still breathing and gathers her courage to bring him inside to her place.
At first, as Ollie is healing from his wounds, she ties him up, not sure if he is a good person. But he slowly gains her trust, and their feelings for each other becoming stronger each day.
They make a plan to travel to the quarantine border, knowing they only have each other to rely on. Will Karis and Ollie make it to safety? Will she have her heart broken once again?
This apocalyptic thriller with a dash of romance was entertaining and engaging, with a believable storyline.
I loved Karis, with her strong character and her devotion to her dog Zeke.
Thank you to Red Adept Publishing for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

I really loved this book! Karis and her dog Zeke are trapped inside her NYC apartment building when a pandemic hits and it's not safe to go outside. As more people die or leave the city, resources get scarce and Karis gets more and more concerned for her safety. She the more days she spends alone, the more and more stir crazy she gets until it becomes obvious that she will need to get out of the city if she has any hope of survival. The main character was smart and resourceful, but also rightfully scared of what was going on around her. I really enjoyed the adventure and would read more by this author.