Another highly entertaining creature feature , this one starring giant iguanas - which sounds weird and maybe even cute at first, but the cover already gives a very good impression of what to expect on the inside (BTW, I love the slightly retro cover art on this one!).

I was surprised by the amount of character building taking place here, featuring several very different people with interesting backgrounds (teenage mayor, gangster on the run). That definitely added to the appeal of the book and made it more than just another creature story, though the iguanas definitely ruled the place...

I can't wait to visit the rats of New York in the second part of this series.

'The Hunter Shea Matinee' keeps rolling on at full steam. His creature feature romps deliver on all fronts. JURASSIC FLORIDA is one of Hunter Shea's best yet. Not only does it deliver the thrills, it delivers the chills. Hunter Shea has a knack for cryptids and obscure creatures. He also creates some pretty memorable characters. This isn't the first time Hunter Shea has taken us to Florida, and I'm sure this will not be the last.

Little green Iguanas overrun the small town of Polo Springs. It's the ideal Florida town. The Iguanas start causing damage. They eat everything in sight, but they are only the babies. With Hurricane Ramona slamming the coast, bigger Iguanas rise from the depths and show up on the scene in Polo Springs.

These giant Iguanas are hungry for human flesh. Utter terror and destruction befall the town and its residents. This is old school horror. Blood and guts fill these pages. There's just too much shit, not enough fan. The residents must find a way out of Polo Springs. People are dying in the streets. The giant Iguanas are virtually unstoppable.

It is evident Hunter Shea gets the small town tropes. The characters all have pivotal roles to play, whether it is getting killed by giant Iguanas or driving the narrative. JURASSIC FLORIDA is fast-paced and it will knock your sandals off. If you like reading on your summer vacation, then I suggest taking this one with you. Hell... take all of Hunter Shea's books with you. They're all fun and this one is no different.

Recommend!

4/5 stars!⭐⭐⭐⭐

An interesting take on a familiar(ish) subject, the title is a big hint, but the beasts in question aren’t the ones I expected. I found the book pretty good, easy to read with the theme being quite interesting. I read it quickly, finding it easy to read as the story wasn’t an intense one. 4 stars.

Poor Tony, the mob took care of him before the lizards, sort of.
I really liked this read. For one thing is was shorter than most. I have a problem with 500+ page books and 12 hour + audiobooks. There are so many other books just waiting out there.
This one started off with Frank hiding from the mob in sunny Florida. His problem was with the darn lizards that were all over the place. But all those little lizards had to come from somewhere and where were the mommy and daddy lizards?
Polo Springs, FL was about to be invaded and the 300+ residents were .............

OOPS almost gave it away. It's a very well written book with it's share of heroes, monsters, close calls, terror filled moments and a brave last stand.

Would make a great movie for TV. Loved the cover. It caught my attention right away.


Thanks NetGalley and Mr. Shea for the chance to read it.

Did you know you needed to read about man-eating gigantic iguanas? I have to admit, I hadn't really thought of them when I thought of creature features. However, when a fellow reviewer turned me on to Jurassic, Florida, and I saw the cover, I knew I had to read it. The fact that it was just under 125 pages? Pure bonus.

As I've come to expect, Hunter Shea delivers the chomp'n'stomp in epic fashion. Almost all of the residents of this tiny little town are going to die. You know that just from the cover. The only question is are they going to die via chomp...or stomp? Or people being idiots. Because people being idiots always kills a few people in these types of books and movies. This is a book to read only if you want to turn your brain off and indulge in ridiculousness. A low-budget creature feature on silent, as it were.

Now, there was some stuff that seemed to be added in here either for convenience or to up the silliness factor. I'm really not sure which one. Primarily the 18 year old mayor. That one was a bit of a head-scratcher.

My biggest gripe (only real one) about Jurassic, Florida is the ending. The ending felt rushed and anti-climactic. I kind of wonder if he was just tired of writing it and decided to end it  as quickly as possible.

Overall, while it isn't my favorite Hunter Shea book, I think Jurassic, Florida is just the type of silly read we all need to indulge in on occasion.

Jurassic, Florida by Hunter Shea (2018)

Page count:
123
ISBN:
9781516107933

The townsfolk of Polo Springs, Florida thought the worst they would have to prepare for was a hurricane. When the lizards the size of trucks start crawling out of the ground, they realise that things are about to get much worse. Now the community and their courageous, young mayor must band together to save their town … and their lives.

I was recently burned by a book that I thought would be a spectacular natural horror novel, so I did go into Jurassic, Florida with some apprehension. I was, however, most pleasantly surprised to find that Jurassic, Florida is a fun tale about giant lizards and the people who must try to survive them.

Jurassic, Florida is fairly short but still manages to create likeable characters and introduce them quickly without bogging the story down.

There is carnage, mayhem and gory monster attacks — everything you could want from a book about giant lizards overrunning a small town. Shea has penned a story that is fast-paced and uncomplicated from start to finish. It is a simple monster movie in novel format and is a quick, delightful read if that is your bag.

Rating: 4.5/5

Jurassic Florida is pure b-grade schlock horror, with an eclectic cast of characters, breakneck action, well-timed humor, and giant freakin' lizards.

Not just big, not just massive, but dinosaur-sized giant lizard!

Although I enjoyed The Montauk Monster, it is only now that I understand why Hunter Shea has such a rabid fan base. This was monstrous fun, a riot from beginning to end. At a little more than 100 pages, it's the perfect read for a sweltering summer afternoon - so long as it's far away from any lizards.

The story does a great job of introducing the characters, establishing the quirky little town of Polo Springs, and building some immediate tension. It all begins with mysterious holes in backyard gardens, sunken sidewalk slabs, and lizards dropping from the trees. By the time the hurricane makes landfall, we're already familiar with the homeless crook, the stay-at-home dad, the lesbian couple, and the eighteen-year-old mayor and her parents, we're invested in this little town and feeling that critical sense of dread needed to fuel the horror.

Shea smartly saves the giant lizards for the last 30 pages or so, maximizing their impact in delivering Jurassic Park levels of violent madness, bloody carnage, and dark pulp humor. It's so hard to sustain these kinds of stories, much less deliver on a climax, but Jurassic Florida kept me hooked right to the very end, with a final resolution that made the chuckle with its unexpected banality. Definitely worth a read.

This book was well written and very fun to read. The characters were great and I enjoyed the world building. The author does a great job at introducing the characters and moving the plot along. There were a few things that I didn't like, but it wasn't enough to really sway me one way or the other. It's definitely a story that I can get lost in and both feel for the characters. It is definitely a go-to novel that I highly recommend to anyone who loves a great read. Definitely a highly recommended read that I think everyone will enjoy.

Hands-down, Hunter Shea is one of the most consistently entertaining horror authors I've come across. I can always count on the man to deliver some truly fun, B-movie pulp in print form, and Jurassic, Florida is no exception. Dig it:

After an act of eco-terrorism against an off-shore oil rig large enough to rock the Richter scale, the residents of Polo Springs begin to notice a sudden increase in lizard activity. Sidewalks are cracking apart, giant holes are appearing in the ground, and iguanas are literally everywhere. If that weren't bad enough, Hurricane Ramona has its eyes set on Polo Springs, causing further calamity and unearthing even more iguanas. Big ones. Like, dinosaur big. Ancient, primitive, twenty-five foot tall iguanas. And those sumbitches are hungry!

Sounds like a good time, right? Well, it is. Like I said, Shea knows how to craft some wild creature features. Jurassic, Florida is a hell of a romp, too, filled with monsters, gore, and carnage, with the pace cranked up to rapid-fire. This one's a slim novella, and the story flies by at hurricane speed, driven by one event after another.

On the character front...well, this is the type of story you don't want to too attached to any one individual. Still, Shea makes a couple memorable figures here, such as Anna, the town's 18-year-old mayor. I wouldn't have minded a bit more backstory to her in regards to the particulars of her election, but screw it. You just gotta ride with it, and figure that if a real-life Alaskan town can have a cat mayor, then a fictional young adult like Anna at least stands half a chance of holding office, so why not? She gets some good moments to shine, as do Don and his family, and a sprightly, young lesbian couple. Don't expect everybody to make it through unscathed, though, and there were a few moments that manage to surprise me with just how blackhearted Shea can be. Good on him!

All in all, Jurassic, Florida is a heck of good time, and one that is reminiscent of natural horror flicks like Them!, and to a degree Godzilla, where giant animals turn the local human population into an all-you-can-eat buffet. By novella's end, I was hungry for more! Thankfully, Jurassic, Florida is the first in a trio of One Size Eats All novellas from Shea and Kensington/Lyrical Underground, so I'll be getting plenty more instances of crazy animals feasting on skewered humans. You really can't go wrong with that.

[Note: I received a copy of this title from the publisher, Kensington, via NetGalley.]

Anyone who has ever lived in Florida knows that there are a lot of cute little lizards all over the place. Ann is the eighteen year old mayor of Polo Springs, Florida. Complaints are coming in about the streets having large holes in them and people are falling and getting hurt. Only a few have seen hundreds of iguanas coming out of those holes. The little ones are everywhere. A hurricane is getting ready to hit the town and everyone is in their houses waiting out the storm. Something other than the hurricane is causing houses to be destroyed. It's like Jurassic Park has come alive with giant iguanas big enough to smash cars. Ann knows the only way to get rid of them is to fight. Guns are not enough but getting the survivors together is the only option. I love anything to do with dinosaurs, giant Iguanas or anything that might eat you. This book is well written and fun. I recommend this for any monster lovers out there. I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.

This book is mind candy for all the creepy, gory horror fans out there. Just imagine a disaster in the Gulf again with an oil rig being blown up by eco-terrorist, then you have a hurricane bearing down on your little town! Now, if that isn't enough you get overrun by iguanas. It starts as little ones, the irritating, creeping you out variety. Then the big ones come out and they are HUNGRY!

It is a race to survive. Who will make it and what will be the deciding factor? You'll just have to read to find out.

Probably a good book, just not for me. Genre just didn't do it for me. I chose it for the Florida factor.

2.5 Stars
As a fan of creature features, I was ready for an fun (not-too-serious) horror story. Unfortunately, I found the plot and characters flat and uninteresting. I just wanted an entertaining lizard romp, but this novella fell short of my expectations.

You know those old monster b-movies from the 80s and 90s with giant crocodiles, snakes, spiders and whatnot? Hunter Shea writes stories in exactly that vein.

Ever been to Florida? Supposedly, it's where people go to die. And it has never been more true than during hurricane season or in this book. *lol*
An oil spill and massive quakes from an environmentalist group's terror attack stir something deep underground, plunging what must be one of the smallest towns ever into turmoil.

A hurricane cutting everyone off from the rest of the world, lizards of all sizes eating people and smashing houses ... and that ending! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Don't look for deep thoughts or even a coherent story. There be monsters and they bring gorey fun with them!

Jurassic, Florida by Hunter Shea
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One thing you ought to know: If you're interested in this kind of book, you're probably a twisted little creature, yourself.

MONSTER MOVIE MADNESS!!!

Rules:

Don't get attached to anyone. They're probably going to become lizard chow.

Outrageous character setups. If you're not peeved at the characters for one reason or another, you're not paying attention. They're soon about to become lizard chow.

You must love blood, guts, conflagrations, oil slicks, and hungry iguanas.



Welcome to Florida -- the place where you go to die. :)

*chomp*

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was my second Hunter Shea story and my first to review. I was intrigued right from the beginning because 1)lizards, 2) Florida, and 3) Horror. Having lived there, I anticipated I'd have fun looking for places and things/names I recognized.

Indeed, Hunter Shea did not disappoint. The plot took place near where I used to live and the story was fast-paced, creepy, and gory; just as I had suspected based on the synopsis. I loved every moment of it and it often reminded me of the old Godzilla movies or just some of those b-rated older horror films. I haven't read a horror novella that fit that bill before, so thumbs up to that.

The plot is simple: big-ass iguana-type lizards show up in a sleepy Florida town and start wreaking havoc. They destroy houses and use the town inhabitants as food source. We get to know a few of the townies on a deeper level and all characters are, in my opinion, well developed and relatable - some more than others of course but that's not unusual. I did like the protagonists in this story a lot more than the ones in Fury of the Orcas (Shea's other book I read) - they were more diverse in background, social standing, age, and such things. In fact, the lesbian couple was one of my favorite pairs. I also quite enjoyed that Shea played with my emotions a bit, making me care about a specific plot development and character and then just killed that person off. It wasn't clear from the beginning who would survive, who would step up, and who would falter - big plus here for this book.

All in all, if you enjoy some gory deaths and can suspend disbelief that 30-foot iguanas are a thing, you will enjoy this short story. I'd recommend it to horror fans that don't mind animals as main villains.

Iguanas have always been everywhere in this small Florida community. A oil rig explosion occurs, and now the iguanas are bigger...and hungrier. They are now aggressive man-eaters, and only the humans who adapt quickly to this new reality are going to survive.

House-sized iguanas roaming the streets are enough to scare anybody. How are the locals going to deal with this?

Frank is our protagonist in Jurassic Florida and by all accounts he’s a character with nothing going for him. He is in Polo Springs on the down low hoping his past doesn’t catch up with him. But he has one hell of a time trying to go unnoticed while dealing with the hurricane and iguanas. I loved the set up to the story and how it set the wheels in motion for the poor souls of Polo Springs. Hunter weaved several storylines simultaneously and they were all exciting with a great cast of characters. The towns people did their best to deal with the attacking iguanas and the hurricane. But for most of them the iguanas won that battle and the carnage was awesome. We got old school horror with all kinds of gore, tense scenes, and fast paced writing. I enjoyed the old school references Hunter tossed in, and if I know them, the newer ones. I picked up the book and didn’t put it down until I finished it. Jurassic Florida was another winner and a blast to read, if you’ve ever read Hunter’s work this should be on your list.

The quiet town of Polo Springs, Florida, (It's where you go to die!), is about to suffer from an invasion the likes of which it has never seen. Hurricanes? No problem! Climate change? No worries! Giant Iguanas? What the..what???

That's right, lizards! At first they're cute and remind you of those television commercials. Then, they seem to be larger than your average geckos. Then, they seem like they must be on steroids or something. And then? They are as big as your car and threatening to destroy your house! Will the people of Polo Springs survive? You'll have to read this novella to find out!

Hunter Shea is the man when it comes to fun creature features. That's all there is to it. There's no shame in serving up fine horror cheese, (and this is cheesy, have no doubt), because, let's face it - sometimes we are just in the mood for some chasing and chomping! What creature is doing the dining? Who cares? Who's getting eaten? Perhaps some of us like to substitute certain members of our families or co-workers for the actual characters... what? Who said that? Anyway, pretty much everyone is getting eaten and that's what's fun about it! There's no fake, drippy sentimentality here. Everyone is fair game.

Once again, I came away from this creature feature interlude totally entertained and with another story to tell my friends. "I just read this great book about..."

Highly recommended for fans of creature feature FUN!

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*

(I will be posting this review once we get closer to the release date. Hunter Shea will be doing a guest post on my blog in June and I will post this around that time. Thanks for the opportunity!)

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book

Jurassic, Florida is a decent "popcorn book"; something that is short and easily digestible without having to try too hard to get into.

It was a fun read about every day animals re-imagined as monsters, kind of like a monster movie.

I keep making allusions to cinema because that's what this book kind of reminded me of: a movie.

Overall I was entertained for what felt like the right amount of length for this book.