Mortal Tether

Jarrett creates a captivating story that sucks you in from the first page. I found myself reading chapter after chapter desperate to know what happened next.

Mortal Tether is a thrilling yet charming story that sticks to the heart of the YA genre.

I can’t wait to add a physical copy to my collection.

This truly is a gripping piece peppered with literary allusions and vivid figurative language. Her descriptions made you feel like you were watching a movie.

I appreciated that the author did not shy away from complex emotional conversations as the main characters explore their new reality. .

I loved this book and will definitely recommend to my family, friends, and followers.

I have received this book as an ARC. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

I am not joking when I say that I couldn't put this book down and I had to read it all straight away. This is just incredible.
In my eyes this book has elements of Lord of the flies (there's even an easter egg!), Stranger things, and the Goonies with a dash of The last of us mixed in. The children (that are protagonists of the story) are not taken seriously by the adults, however at the end of the day they are so much more than the adults gave them credit for.
The vibe also reminds me of the tabletop role play game Tales from the Loop.
I really hope that the story of Amaia, Liam, Sara and everyone else will continue, and I will for sure be there to read about it. Read this, you will not regret it.

Mortal Tether had me ready to turn each page as I read along. From the very first chapter, I was hooked and wanted to know how the main characters would navigate this new scary world in which they become the hunted at dusk. Character relationships are described so well. Highly recommend this read,

**No Spoilers**
The world building and character development are very well done. This book was a real page turner and kept me glued to the pages from the start.

I was given an ARC for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this, it was a nice easy read I snuggled up on a wet Sunday and slipped into a world of ash, teens and a fight for survival. I loved the difference of this book it was a unique story. I adored Liam Amaia and baby Sara for being such young kids they were strong brave and loyal. I will be buying this for my younger sister for her Christmas Eve book as I think she would love it too perfect for a young teen / adult who love post apocalyptic with fantastic characters and a good story

I wouldn't usually have chosen to read this sort of book because as much as I love a good post-apocalypse/dystopia, I'm not a fan of zombies or monsters or the paranormal and there's definitely a lot of that going on here. I am so pleased I decided to give it a go. I suspect this was because of the baby that the two main children, Amaia and Liam, find and the relationship that they build with her. Typically in stories, it would be the girl who bonds most easily with a baby but this is not the case. I also found the ages of Amaia and Liam interesting, as they're not quite old enough to try to have a parent/child relationship with the baby. She very much becomes their sister and as with siblings, they find her irritating at times as well as being fiercely protective. I liked seeing the changes in Amaia from being the younger sibling to suddenly being in the older sibling role that previously only belonged to Carlos.

There were a couple of spelling mistakes but this is the only negative one can think of and is certainly not worth knocking a star off for!

Mortal Tether follows the impulsive but sweet 13-year-old Amaia on her apocalyptic coming-of-age journey. Jarrett has created a really unique and fresh spin in the zombie and dystopian genres. Themes of found family, gang-like rivalry and perseverance bring this story together solidly. While Amaia is religious, I appreciated that this did not feel preachy in any way While this is YA, I think this could definitely be appropriate for readers teetering between young readers and YA. If you liked Day Break, you will LOVE this book.

This books reads like a tv show!

The characters are really compelling, and don’t really do the normal apocalypse stuff that is suspected, but act like someone who knows the genre. It was really interesting to see these two teens start to see each other as friends and eventually as family, because of everything that happened to them.

It’s also interesting to see some other aspects of post apocalyptic settlements that you don’t normally see. This is specifically directed at Unity, and how that whole place works.

The books feels really dynamic, and the flow is great. I might actually buy this.

"A mortal tether is what binds us to this world. It's all the beautiful things in our life that make it worth living."

Mortal Tether reminded me a lot of Michael Grant's Gone series mixed the Ghosts from Marie Lu's Skyhunter.
The story is quickly paced, focusing on Amaia and Liam as they struggle to survive in a world where all adults have been turned into zombie creatures. There was rarely a dull moment, plus a handful of plot twists to keep me guessing until the very end. My only complaint plotwise would be that the ending felt a bit rushed and left on a note of uncertainty, despite this being what I believe to be a standalone novel. I still liked the ending, it just felt awfully convenient how it concluded. Still, I'm satisfied with it.
Surprisingly, the highlight for me in this story was the characters. First of all, I just want to mention how much I loved Amaia and Liam's relationship and how it didn't dissolve automatically into romantic feelings. It's implied that Liam has strong feelings for Amaia, but she still sees him as her best friend. Good platonic relationships are hard to find in literature, but this book did a great job. I also thought the characters were portrayed very realistically. Yes, they could be overdramatic or a bit crazy at times, but I kept reminding myself that all of them were children in an extremely stressful environment. Of course, they're going to react in certain ways.
Mortal Tether is a great new dystopian survival story that fans of Gone and The 100 will really enjoy.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
4/5
"I want her to grow up knowing that a person can be both sweet and tough, fragile and strong... and just because a girl's in distress doesn't mean she's a damsel in distress. It's ok to need help."