I never read anything by Keri Lake before. And I can't remember the last time I read a zombie or apocalyptic story that had me this engrossed. But boy, am I glad that I picked up this book.

Juniper Unraveling started slow, with many twists and turns, it was equally dark as addicting. The author's writing was thrilling, captivating and the storyline utterly gripping. Apocalyptic, dystopian, the story focuses on the survival of the strongest. Dark, and raw, it was a story depicting a world that punishes mistakes, and rarely allows for second chances. That on its own was nothing special. The romance was what made it stand out and prevented me from putting it down. I inhaled this book. I was totally absorbed, from beginning to end.

The love story was right up my alley. The author wrote a couple that ignited the pages. They had a love that conquered all. The passion, trust and faith between the main characters was addicting. I fell in love with both of them. Astonishingly the author managed to balance the dramatic and heartbreaking storyline with a sizzling and palpable connection that was HOT and unexpectedly explicit. The contrast between the at times dark plot and sizzling hot sex scenes kept me glued to the pages. In the end, after I finished this book in one sitting, I felt absolutely exhilarated, and utterly satisfied.

Juniper Unraveling was an utter surprise. I didn't know what to expect. I certainly didn't expect to be swept away by the story or by the characters. I wish Keri Lake would write a sequel. There is so much more to write. Because of the fantastic writing, I've already downloaded three of her other books. If an author can write such a stunning dystopian romance there is a high chance that her other novels are equally fantastic.

Review will be posted on March 21st 2018

This book was well-written enough, I can see why other people like it, but it didn’t quite work for me. It was enjoyable, but nothing in it really left an impression on me, and it had a bunch of small-ish problems that built up.

Things I Liked:

– The writing was fine.

– Six was an intriguing character, especially when he was first introduced. He was mute, so you didn’t really know anything about him, he was covered in scars, and he was kind of feral but still sweet and innocent.

– I can see people liking the main characters because they were tough and kept fighting even when things were awful.

– The relationship between Wren and her Papa was touching.

– There was some complexity in the characters regarding the darkness in them.

– I had issues with some specific things in the plot, but overall it wasn’t bad.

– There were a few thought-provoking moments.

Things I Disliked:

– Dani made frustrating decisions sometimes (e.g. she argued about staying with her brother when first brought to the place even though she saw firsthand that anyone who misbehaved at all was killed).

– I found the sexual scenes uncomfortable (e.g. Wren just staring at Six’s penis, him showing up in the bathroom to watch her shower and then washing her). Even when normal things were happening, it still sounded kind of dub-con at times and… old-fashioned? But I suppose Wren’s strange word choices and innocence and whatnot made some sense given her life.

– The bad guys were too outrageously evil. They tortured, they experimented on, they killed, they raped—they did these things to children even—all without a second thought. It wasn’t just one or two men, it was pretty much all of them at the compound where Dani was taken. Even the non-evil things were a little too extreme seemingly just for the sake of being extreme (e.g. the horribly painful inoculation thing that had to be injected into your armpits and the bottoms of your feet). I love dark books, but it felt over-the-top forced, and the book lost some believability for me because of it.

– I also had believability issues with something in the second half. *SPOILER* I couldn’t deal with Wren not recognizing Six at first. It was so painfully far beyond obvious that it was him. *END SPOILER* But luckily that was fairly short-lived and didn’t actually impact the plot.

– Dani’s hallucination seemed to know things that she didn’t (factual things, like when a truck would leave, which direction she was supposed to be walking).

– Around 50%, the book jumped forward in time eight years. After that jump though, I felt like the story dragged some.

Other Things You Should Know:

– This book is very dark and graphic. Trigger Warning: *SPOILER* On-screen rape, pregnancy from rape, miscarriage, self harm (cutting), implied suicide attempts, sexual assault, extreme violence, gruesome torture of and experimentation on non-POV characters. *END SPOILER*

– As for the ending, *SPOILER* it wasn’t a perfect “everyone survives and the world is saved” ending, but it was happy/hopeful enough to be satisfying for most readers, I think. *END SPOILER*

– Both Wren and Six seemed to have PTSD or some mental illness, but that’s not stated, that’s just my best guess. But they both also said they heard voices in their heads telling them to do bad things, and Wren hallucinated a specific recurring person, which sounds like schizophrenia, except it didn’t seem like either of them actually had schizophrenia (though I could be wrong). Is that a thing? Can trauma/PTSD cause you to hallucinate/hear voices like that?

– I classified the book as having zombies, but technically they’re just people with a virus that makes them cannibals and reverts them to a reptile brain state of survival.

Overall Thoughts

Like I said, the book just wasn’t for me. But if you enjoy the good things in the book more than I did, it might outweigh the negatives. Or you might not have the same issues I did. But overall, this was a post-apoc with a lot of evil and darkness, a little bit of hope, and a romance between two broken characters.

DNF AT 30%, STORY WAS TOO SLOW AND A BIT CONFUSING. I MAY PICK THIS UP AT ANOTHER TIME

Review can also be found on *Milky Way of Books*

This was a very, very nice surprise. Not to mention that this book is underrated and it should be known more. This read was one of the cases where I found a nice cover on Netgalley, got hooked up with the cover and read it.

The zombie theme is a touch or leave for me. I've read some zombie related books which were pretty good and others that left me in the 'meh' case. But Juniper Unraveling was a pleasant surprise.

The book is told from a double POV and later only through one. There is quite a mystery concerning the POVs which I won't spoil for you! There is brutality, a world which has already ended and on the horizon a faint hope of rebuilding. I did enjoy the romance very much. It was sweet and heart-breaking and it progressed into something more intense as the plot unravelled and the characters changed.

There is action, torture and there also should be trigger warning because some themes are not for younger readers.
But in the end was book was well developed with realistic characters and a really good ending!

4.5 Stars

Keri Lake wrote an evocative story of despair and hope but ultimately, the survival of the fittest. Keri did not hold back. She let her readers experience the hardships of this dystopian world. It was dark, gritty, and heartbreaking. I will admit, the first half was a hard read but the end result was very satisfying.

This book is set in a world where a contagious disease has plagued the world. This disease will turn you into a zombie-like state, or leave you infected which can have a similar end result. While there’s hope for a cure, experiments are not always humane. There are those living within the walls who are perfectly safe and that outside wall, well, let’s just say survival is very difficult. Its sort of like The Walking Dead meets Mad Max type of world.

I love that the first half of this book was told in two different points of views from two different stations of life, experiencing different situations. I knew at some point that the stories will connect, but I couldn’t predict how. The hardships are heartbreaking but as you connect with the characters, you will trudge through right along with them…rooting for them to get some kind of reprieve.

A bit of warning, there were some characters that will not get any kind of peace. I suppose in a life where death comes so easy, it’s to be expected. I won’t mention specifics on the characters, as to avoid giving any spoilers, but know that I loved them all, villains included. Please note that this book contains explicit sexual content and violent scenes that some readers may find disturbing.

And, with all that said. I’m rating this book four and a half, making it one of the best books I’ve read for 2017. I’m hoping Keri Lake writes more of these books. She has the knack for creating fictional worlds I can easily immerse to.

This was such a good book. The characters were fantastic in their realness and the world created here was completely believable. It showcases so much of the horrible things that humans are capable of, but at the same time the whole point of the story is to have hope and just live out your life in a way that makes you happy. It was dark, dirty, and appalling. There's so much death and torture. But it's also refreshing in the way that good doesn't always win. That's simply not how the world works. Especially one as horrible as what it has become here. What I loved the most though was the monster we meet who is also the roughest sort of sweet that had me swooning.

With a virus having ravaged the world that turns people into vicious creatures, there are some who still manage to survive. For a select few, this survival is easy as they live inside of a wall that is self sufficient and where they have no worries as long as they follow the rules. For those outside of the wall though, life is hard with the threat of attack always over them. But not just from the humans that have lost their mind. The worst travesty that could befall them is when their fellow uninfected hunt them down, killing the women and taking the males. Taking them to suffer thru a worse kind of hell than they ever would have imagined. This story revolves around three characters, all very different, and how they try to stay alive. Dani pretends to be a boy in order to save her life but endures such horrors she will never be the same. Wren is a girl inside the wall who never fits in and doesn't always follow the rules. And then there is Six, or Rhys as he later becomes. The things done to him carve deep scars and create in him what many consider a monster. And he does do some truly awful things, but when he is with Wren he can have such a sweet side. As their lives intersect and entwine, we watch them fight for each other and for themselves in order find a life they are happy to be living.

I really did enjoy this book, and if the author ever comes out with more like it, I would definitely love to check them out too.

I could not put this book down once I started it! I was intrigued and it was so different from anything I've read by Keri Lake!

I guess you would say it's post-apocalyptic.....a strain or virus has contaminated many people and turned them into "Ragers".

But there is a place behind a wall where the people try to live as if nothing has happened, all while on the other side there is a place where experiments and testing are done on those infected in the hopes of finding a cure. Wow, what a great book!

We are told the story of a young girl Dani who is taken from her family to the other side. And then Wren, who is determined to find out what goes on in that place on the other side. She is strong and brave and ballsy, to say the least. And then she meets Six. My gosh, I just wanted to hold him and make him feel better. Scarred and beaten on the inside and out, he is a broken young man. He does not speak, and Wren is determined to help him one way or the other. Little does she know, Six is more than what she thinks.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was just the change of genre I needed and I'm amazed at how Keri brought this whole story together! And there is a little twist that I thought I had figured out, but I was wrong, and that's the best thing that can happen to me with a book!!!

Be warned, there are some serious dark parts to the story, and possibly some triggers for some.

WHOA!! talk about a wild ride!! I never got bored, it was action packed, it's dark,emotional and romantic.

3.5 Stars

First, let me get a couple of caveats out of the way. I don’t do zombies. They gross me out and I don’t like them. Though Ragers aren’t labeled as such, that’s what they are. I also don’t like motorcycle men/clubs/whatever. They aren’t my jam. Guess what’s also in this book? I got about 2% in when I figured out what was what and you should’ve seen the look on my face when I realized I’d chosen a %^&%$# zombie book! Fit to be tied, I was. God damn cover being all intriguing and whatnot.

Now, having said all that it’s a miracle I even finished this thing much less enjoyed it, but I did. I didn’t LOVE it, but there’s a lot to like about it, so bear the caveats in mind if you’re at all interested in reading it.

Keri Lake is a new to me author and she has a writing style that draws you in. There were times when I thought the pacing dragged, but the overall story arc was engaging and kept my attention despite the zombies and motorcycles, owing mostly to the strong worldbuilding.

I don’t want to get a whole lot into the plot because of spoiling but I will say the romance reminded me a lot of The Notebook only set in a post-apocalyptic dystopia that’s 14 different kinds of fucked up and you could legit have your face eaten off at any second. But, details. Anyhoo, remember how cute they were when they first meet? They’re always together just hanging out and doing nothing? I had those feels except these two like to bone. I’m not mad about that either. For some reason I liked the first half of the book better than the second half, though I can’t really pinpoint why exactly. However, the heart of the romance is one that should speak to the inner squishy marshmallow of all romance readers.

If there is a weak point in the narrative it’s these characters. They don’t really pop off the page. I didn’t love any of them nor do I feel like I know them like I feel I should. They seem mostly cookie cutter post apocalyptic/trying to survive/general badassery… think Katniss. The rest of the cast is made up of caricaturish villains and an alpha to top all the alphas in all the land and there were any number of alphas. I would’ve liked to have had his POV or maybe just to have understood his mindset better, though.

Let’s talk a minute about the violence, because there is a lot of it. Trigger warnings for off page rape, child abuse/neglect and a whole lot of gross monsters doing gross things. Some of it I thought veered towards gratuitous, but I can’t say that I didn’t get the Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! message and lest you forget I am a delicate flower so, grain of salt. I would caution anyone who is squeamish to know your limitations. Also if you’re a stickler for your protags being upstanding and moral… errrm, this might not be the book for you? Heed the dark tag warning!

The sex is fairly frequent and rough with some breath play. Some of it’s hot, some of it’s fair to middling and none of it changed my life.

What Lake does that spoke to me was subtext. This world she’s created is built on lies and illusions that led me down the yellow brick road to a comparison with contemporary society. She also has great insight into human nature that speaks to an inherent compassion that resonated.


You see the world as it is. I see the world as it isn’t. But what we see individually is molded by our past, our experiences, and our hopes of what’s to come. Always remember that everyone has a story, and you’ll never know hate for another human being as long as you live.
I pray, in time, your generation will heal from our mistakes. Perhaps you’ll come to know the truth that somehow escaped us along the way- there isn’t a vaccine in creation that can cure hatred and indifference to human suffering. They are the most virulent diseases in existence.
Preachy perhaps, but I liked it. These sentiments seem to be fitted into the narrative in organic ways rather than shoehorned in to make a point.

Recommended to zombie, post apocalyptic, dystopian and romance fans. Just watch out for that violence; it’s a killer.

Review copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was in the mood to read something completely different, a book that would take me on a thrilling adventure away from the everyday, while still providing a memorable love story. With the gorgeous cover and intriguing synopsis, I had a feeling that this book had the potential to give me the reading experience that I was looking for. Juniper Unraveling hit all the marks for me.

It had been quite some time since I had read a dystopian novel. It’s always interesting and frightening to ponder what humanity would be reduced to in the event of a worldwide catastrophe. How would we cope, rebuild, and carry on without all of the comforts that we’ve grown accustomed to? How would we interact with each other? Keri Lake’s version of a world that has been forever changed is gritty, disturbing, raw, and rife with emotion. What happens when the most harrowing threat to humankind is also the most familiar?

“But there is no monster more terrifying than the human being who lacks compassion.”

Juniper Unraveling was a fast-paced read that grabbed my full attention from the very beginning and kept me gripping my Kindle until the final page. I was immediately invested in the characters and pulled into their lives. The main characters were strong, brave, loyal, and selfless. When they loved, they loved with their full hearts, reminding the reader that even in a world that has been ravaged and left seemingly hopeless, that even in the bleakest times, humans still have the capacity to love and be loved. It’s one of the most basic needs that would continue to exist in the most desperate times.

Juniper Unraveling was an exciting and chilling read. It was everything that I was looking for from a dystopian romance novel. It contained the perfect amount of action to keep my pulse pounding, while also providing a love story that was completely captivating and magnetic. It also had a couple of twists that I didn’t see coming – I love it when that happens!

Juniper Unraveling was the perfect book to shake-up my reading list. It also gave me another talented author to add to my to-be-read list!

*4.5 Stars

4.75 stars

"Two damaged souls trying to figure each other out."

I absolutely LOVED Juniper Unraveling. Dystopian/Post-apocalyptic romances are my guilty pleasures, and I am always on the hunt for more books in this genre. When I read the blurb and early reviews of this book, I just knew I had to get my hands on it. This is the first book I read by Keri Lake, also this was her first book in this genre, so I didn't know what to expect. Keri did NOT disappoint! She grabbed my attention from the start and didn't let go of it until the end. This book was long and there was no dull moment at all. It was action-packed, emotional, dark & twisted, romantic, heartbreaking but also hopeful and uplifting.

"No one else has ever touched my soul this way, stolen a piece of me."

So much bad things happen in the first half of this book, it just broke my heart and had me in tears. I was fully connected to the main characters Six and Wren. Keri Lake really knows how to put the reader in suspense to find out what will happen next. The story was unpredictable and I loved it. Everything just fit perfectly together, and it was written beautifully. I couldn't get enough of the story and characters. I didn't want the story to end and I did my best to read as slowly as possible. There are multiple groups that are the villains in this book, and the group people you think that should protect you are the worst.

"We're the perfect, twisted match, destined for pain like a sad tragedy."

I love this book, however the last quarter of it was rushed in my opinion. There are some things that ended too quickly and has left me with unanswered questions. So I really hope there will be a sequel or a book set in this world that focuses on other characters. Because there are just so many directions the author can go with this unique world. The writing was really good, and she did an incredible job in making me feel connected to the story and characters. I was living in this book and feeling everything Six and Wren were feeling. I can't wait to check out Keri's other books.

2.5 stars. This book was not very good for me. This is a dystopian book that takes place sometime in the future after a deadly disease was unleashed on the country, causing those exposed to be turned into zombie-like creatures called Ragers. The story is told in two parts, with the first half of the book in alternating POVs of two teenage girls. We don't know who the hero and heroine of the story are until much later in the book. I can't really give away very much of the story beyond that without spoiling it.

I really struggled to like this book. It took me a long time to get into it. Over half of the book was very slow moving and I considering DNFing multiple times. The first part of the book was slow moving and, because it was told in the POV of teenagers, it felt very YA. The second half was faster paced and more exciting. I wish that it had all been told in the present. The story in the book had potential, but I felt like there were many plot holes. I felt like the book had parts of many different other dystopian novels. There is a man named after a number (Hello Four from Divergent), haves and have-nots (I'm looking at you the Capital in Hunger Games), etc. There were a lot of cliches and cheap gimmicks. I didn't particularly like any of the characters or feel a connection between them. The romance did not grab me at all, especially because one of the characters did not speak for much of the book. I didn't feel any of the emotions that the characters were feeling. So much of the book was depressing, grizzly and gory. There was no resolution in sight until the very end of the book when everything was wrapped up quickly and a little too nicely.

Overall, this book was not really what I was expecting and I was disappointed. I am probably in the minority though as other reviewers have enjoyed it. So if you like dystopian books, try this one and decide for yourself!

A fantastically thrilling, if very dark, post-apocalyptic tale of love, loss, and survival! This book took me on a ride, from its new world of zombie-like people to the creation of superhuman beings by a power-hungry government. I loved the detail and thought the author put into this book, and it's one I could see becoming part of a series, if she chose to do that. The writing was very compelling.

The story follows the tale of two girls, Dani and Wren, who live in the same post-apocalyptic world but experience two very different sides of it. Dani is forced to watch her mother and sister killed as she and her brother are kidnapped by men from their worst nightmares. Forced into servitude as either lab rats or soldiers, they are taken to a male-only facility. Dani is soon discovered to be female, and what saves her is her ability to read and write, a rare skill in this age. She must work to keep her true gender a secret, while finding a way to break free of the prison that is her new home. Wren lives in an area separated from the death and destruction Dani grew up in. She aches to see what is beyond the wall that surrounds her town, and when she does, she is confronted by a reality that is far worse than she imagined. There she encounters a strange boy, who speaks to her without words and has scars that tell a tale of horrific torture. He is kept prisoner with the infected, but he is untouched. Wren knows that if he is to survive, she must find a way to free him. Two girls, one nightmare, and a boy who could save the world.

Dani and Wren were both fascinating characters, and thought Dani is only in the first half of the book, she is someone I felt drawn to as much as Wren. As the reader, you find out later on why that is. Wren is sheltered but knows there's more to what's out there than her secretive father lets on. The boy, named Six by Wren, is a particularly intriguing character for me, and he is the main reason I wanted to read this book. Though there were parts of their relationship that was difficult for me to read, you begin to understand why Six is so conflicted as you learn more about his background. As you connect the dots, you start to see a bigger picture than expected, and it is fascinating.

As I said before, this could easily be part of a series! I would love to read more about Wren and Six, or one of the other secondary characters mentioned in the book. This is definitely a must-read for those who love post-apocalyptic romance adventure reads, but be prepared for the horror that is often characterized in the genre. Keep the light on and the tissues handy!

Wow. Well. That was... something.
Certainly something that completely took me out of my comfort zone.

To be honest, I'm not sure what I was expecting when I started this... Sure, some kind of dystopia, some zombie action, maybe some YA romance thrown into the mix? Oh, how wrong I was.
This was brutal - and I don't mean the gory kind of brutal (though, mind you, there was quite a bit of blood, brains and guts involved), but more of a psychological kind of torture. So much tragedy, bleakness and violence, especially during the first half of the book, that had me on the verge of shedding a few tears myself a few times.
This is an intense and unapologetic take on a dystopian world that has been destroyed and contaminated by a virus that turns mankind into "Ragers". Turns out, though, it isn't the people that are infected one has to fear the most.

So while I'll be keeping this review short and crisp as to not spoil anything you'll really want to find out yourself, trust me, just let me say this: this is definitely not Young Adult material, contrary to my own assumption before I started is (I don't even know where that assumption came from, maybe it's the cover?), due to graphic violence and, to my surprise, lots of sexual content.
But despite making me incredibly uncomfortable at times (plus a few plot holes and questions left unanswered), this was a riveting read full of twists, surprises and action. And a love story. Let's not forget the love story.

This book went from 3 stars to 5 stars within one chapter! The first half of the book is told in two perspectives, about three main characters. Both with VERY different tales about life in this new dystopian world. One is a female masking as a male so she isn’t killed while she works in a lab in a place with the most powerful and smartest working on people’s genetics to look for cures and create super humans to battle against the new world and the “ragers” (zombies). The other character is hidden away with her father up in a cabin, just living day by day. She finds a mute boy and after a while, they fall for each other.

I spent the entire first half of the novel trying to piece together these two characters, and two lives. Seeing how the connect. The synopsis gives nothing away. I was getting frustrated at the randomness of it all. Hints start to be dropped later on but nothing concrete. Reviews were saying how they love the alpha romance stuff and I was thinking that I had a different book entirely because this is very YA dystopia. And THEN the book makes sense! A giant light bulb goes off while reading.

I had immense respect for the author and her writing here. The fact that I was lost, but intrigued by both girls and their lives at the same time…sad for both of them... Is a great point in the author’s favor. THAT what I just explained is good writing. She kept me hooked on the story but then threw a twist at me. I had to step back from my reader here and really think about the OMG part that I just read. Not only is it good writing; it’s unique. Not many authors would pull something like this and I appreciate her for doing it.

This leads into the second half of the book. You have a new respect for Wren and all she’s been through, but more so, you get more of Six here. WOW…do you ever get more of Six here… Now I see why people commented on the alpha hot sex. It does indeed exist in this book and it’s written in a way that just makes you want more and more. The two characters together just warms my heart. I really enjoyed Six. While I was reading I kept going back to him. In the first half, he’s a protective sweetheart. And in the second half he’s alpha protective but equally as sweet, in his own way. I couldn’t wait to see where this book took their lives.

The overall plot is very dystopia. I enjoyed it through. Little bit of zombies, little bit of science fiction lab stuff, mixed with family, romance, and death. There’s something for everyone in this book. Even age; it goes from YA to NA in a page. I feel like I could say so much about this book, but it just won’t do it justice.

I want to thank the author and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this. I took a chance on it and am not sorry. I will definitely read this book again and will be checking out the author’s other books.

Wow what an amazing story. A world not unlike a certain television show featuring flesh eating creatures but far more of the scientific reasons are explained here. It's a very dark picture that the author paints with her words and the ugly side of humanity is front and centre. What truly elevates this from a dystopian type story though is the characters and the heart that they are imbued with. Blood, pain and death are all here but there's a profound sense of hope that life will fight to find a way.
This story is written in an unusual way as initially we get two young girls sharing their lives with the reader. The twist though is the connection that they share. Dani is taken from all she knows and thrown into an intolerable position. Yet we also meet Wren who lives a somewhat privileged life and she's about to really find love but alas without tragedy there would be no story to tell.
Horrifying situations that chill this readers heart and monsters that are closer than I'd like to think and yet this is a huge recommendation from me and most definitely an adult read.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair