Shelf Full of Books

The day the bombs started to fall, Kelly was at school. Her dad had predicted World War III would happen during his lifetime, but he and his son had died two years ago from the plagues.

Racing home to meet her mom Megan, and collect her go-bag so they could find their place of refuge, Kelly finds her calmly drinking a cup of tea. Before they leave, she reminds her for the umpteenth time to remember the rules:

1. Pray

2. Trust no one

3. Stay Alive.

But Kelly doesn’t have the faith her mother does.

Once they reach the camp that Megan had invested time and money into in the event of this war, they find things have changed and this is where all the twists and turns in the story begin. Nothing goes as Megan and Kelly expected. Before long it’s just her with her mother’s rules on the run being hunted by the men from the camp.

This was an amazing novel. I loved it! Bonnie Paulson’s writing simply improves with every book she writes.

Paulson knows how to keep the suspense going in her books with just enough clean romance to balance it so we don’t have to bite all our fingernails off. I liked how she brought Kelly and Bodey together and admitted that they had feelings for each other. I also appreciated how John tried to keep the sleeping arrangements as separate as possible given their crazy situation.

I thought that much of the chaos and mayhem that went on in the book was probably fairly realistic. Already in real life we see evidence of it in a smaller scale in the riots and looting when there is a breakdown in government, so in a world-wide event, I’m sure the chaos would be even more widespread.

I thought the characters in Cost of Survival were realistic. There will always be people like Charlie who want all the power and control and are willing to do anything to get it. There will also, thankfully, be people like John, who care about others, and will help those in need.

I liked reading the book from Kelly’s point of view which was written in first person. We get her thoughts on what is going on, how she feels about the faith that sustained her mother and why she doesn’t embrace it like her mother does. Knowing her thoughts helps us to see who she is and how she changes and grows throughout the book.

Cost of Survival was definitely worth taking the time to read. Dystopian and post-apocalyptic readers alike will enjoy it. I highly recommend this romantic suspense novel. I gave it 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/07/cost-of-survival-book-tour-and-trailer.html