Many of the residents of Polo Springs, Florida, are annoyed by the small green iguanas that are seemingly overrunning their town. Some of the residents have even started to question why the iguanas seem so prolific this year. However, with a hurricane approaching, no one has thought to question: if these are the baby iguanas, what exactly are the sizes of the parents? Will the town of Polo Springs survive the destruction of Hurricane Ramona and the dinosaur-sized iguanas?

Giant monsters, a hurricane, and the setting is Florida? Bonus points that Hunter Shea is the author. Oh, you could easily bet I would read this one! Hunter Shea doesn’t disappoint in this short but entertaining story. Hunter Shea perfectly captures the flavor of Florida with a hurricane on the horizon. The residents’ lackadaisical attitude towards the approach of Hurricane Ramona is reminiscent of when Hurricane Charley slammed the west coast of Florida in 2004, minus of course the giant iguanas.

And oh, the giant iguanas! JURASSIC, FLORIDA is like reading a B movie with the quirky characters, crazy scenarios, and of course the giant iguanas that like to munch on humans. Don’t get too attached to anyone as everyone is fair game when giant iguanas take over. I grew up watching old monster movies and if you love those movies and the campiness of them, then you will love JURASSIC, FLORIDA!

*review is in the editing queue at Fresh Fiction*

Jurassic, Florida by Hunter Shea was received direct from the publisher. A reader can always rely on Hunter Shea to deliver a pulpy, creature feature that reminds you of comic books “back in the day.” This time the creatures are iguanas, yeah those cute and tame little color changing lizards that many have in their homes. If you or someone you buy books for likes creature features, give this a read, maybe someday someone will make a movie out of it, if Hollywood would stop it with the remakes.

When I saw this cover and read the description I was hoping it would be along the lines of Hunter Shea's Mail Order Massacre trilogy. (which I loved) This one was just not as fun for me. Even though I just this minute finished reading it I can not even remember the name of a single character. I think of them as the old man, the teenage mayor, the family, and the gardening lesbian couple. This was just an ok read for me. It lacked the humor and the terror I was expecting.

Rips through the Florida keys in a matter of pages. Constant, torrential waves of disaster, that almost suffocate the story but not quite. Keeps a human angle throughout, that occasionally gets just a little too sentimental, but is needed to balance against the gory spectacle engulfing the town. Overall, feels very similar to Stephen King's debut, 'Carrie', especially in its skipping through a series of young women as unreliable narrators and shortlived protagonists. Details on the reptilian villains seemed legit, but I'm no expert.

This was my first book from this author. An excellent application of the law of unintended consequences. A group of eco-warriors commit and act of terror on an oil platform, creating a huge problem in the form of green iguanas for the small town of Polo, Florida. Thousands of green iguanas - no real problem until the grown-ups that birthed the thousands show up. As one part of the book says looking like "Godzilla on four legs".
A quick and easy read.

Title : Jurassic, Florida
Author:Hunter Shea
Publishers:Kensington Books
Genre: horror
Pub Date 19 Jun 2018
type of book: kindle
ASIN: B075WCNTK6
Price:$1.99
pages:
book synopsis
FLORIDA. IT’S WHERE YOU GO TO DIE.
Welcome to Polo Springs, a sleepy little town on Florida’s Gulf Coast. It’s a great place to live—if you don’t mind the hurricanes. Or the flooding. Or the unusual wildlife . . .

IGUANAS. THEY’RE EVERYWHERE.
Maybe it’s the weather. But the whole town is overrun with the little green bastards this year. They’re causing a lot of damage. They’re eating everything in sight. And they’re just the babies . . .

HUMANS. THEY’RE WHAT’S FOR DINNER.
The mayor wants to address the iguana problem. But when Hurricane Ramona slams the coast, the town has a bigger problem on their hands. Bigger iguanas. Bigger than a double-wide. Unleashed by the storm, this razor-toothed horde of prehistoric predators rises up from the depths—and descends on the town like retirees at an early bird special. Except humans are on the menu. And it’s all you can eat . . .

My thoughts : WOW this brings back memories of the old black and white SCI FI movies I love to watch from the 50s and 60s , where you have gaint monsters vs the human race , and yes i know they still make them today but there's something about those old movies that I love and this story has that something. Also this one was way better then his last book which i read and didn't like , this one is right up there with is first book i ever read which is called The Montauk Monster, with that said I would love to say thinks to Netgalley and the Kensigton Publishing as well as the author for giving me a change at reading and reviewing Jurassic Florida in change for my honost opinion.
rating :5
date read: 5/1/18

I love B-movies...especially monster flicks. Godzilla, The Blob, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Sharknado......any cheesy movie with a deadly beastie in it, and I'm willing to watch. I think this applies to books as well because the minute I saw the title and cover art for this book, I put in a review request immediately. Giant lizards. Awesome!

The basics: Green iguanas begin popping up out of holes in Polo Springs, FL. The lizard problem is really starting to annoy the residents of the little town. But little do they know, those lizards are just babies......the big lizards are the ones they have to worry about. Well, that and the hurricane that's coming. Just as the storm hits, the town is attacked by giant, angry lizards. Will anyone survive?

This book is a short, easy read. It's definitely the book version of a B-movie....not long on plot and some cheesy action scenes, along with plenty of gratuitous gore. This book is brain candy -- something you read just for the entertainment value. I enjoyed it. It's nothing fancy, but it did entertain me. Fun, quick read....nice way to spend part of afternoon. The cover art is awesome! Reminds me of classic monster movie posters! :)

Hunter Shea has written other similar books including The Montauk Monster and The Jersey Devil. I enjoyed this lizard-filled adventure. I'm definitely going to check out more of Hunter Shea's books!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

3 and 1 / 2 stars

Polo Springs, Florida with a population of 317 and has an eighteen-year old woman for a mayor. They also have a big iguana problem. Most don’t worry about the iguanas, for they are common and harmless. Right? Some blame the plethora of iguanas on the terrorist-caused oil spill, others are not so sure. With another major hurricane on the way, the town’s residents are nervous.

Hurricane Ramona has come to town and it is far worse than predicted. As the storm rages on, giant dinosaur size iguanas come out of the ground. They are thirty feet or more from nose to tail. They are destroying all in their path – and they are hungry.

The solution to the problem is unexpected and more than a little humorous. I laughed in delight. Gotcha, you green aberrations.

These are fun little stories. Hunter Shea writes of impossible situations with unlikely heroes with great success. I’ve always liked “creature features.” Sometimes when my reading list gets too heavy, I like to delve into the improbable world of Mr. Shea. He amuses me – if one is allowed to say such a thing about giant iguanas eating people. He writes with punch and with no wasted words. He creates great pictures with his prose. I can just see the monsters running amok in a little town. Well done, Mr. Shea! Bring on the next one!

I want to thank NetGalley and Lyrical Underground for forwarding to me a copy of this fun little book for me to read, enjoy and review.

I requested to review this book without reading the description. All I had to see was Hunter Shea's name. I can't help it - I have liked everything I've read by him.

Polo Springs, Florida, is a quiet town with people who generally keep to themselves. Problem is, they are having an infestation problem. Only instead of rats or roaches or termites, the problem is lizards - those cute little lizards that seem to run rampant all over the southeast US. However these lizards are coming out in droves, enough to relocate gardens, sidewalks, and lawns. And while Ann, Polo Springs' 18 year-old mayor, has contacted an expert to help, there's a hurricane a-coming so everything is on hold. The so-called expert does have one disturbing piece of information. He believes these lizards are all babies, which begs the question: where are the parents and how many are there? Then Hurricane Ramona hits much harder than predicted, but that is the least of their worries. The real question and worry is just how big can an iguana grow...?

I knew I was going to enjoy a book whose description starts off: "FLORIDA. IT’S WHERE YOU GO TO DIE." The characters were varied, the plot action-packed, and the gore abundant. Imagine - those cute little lizards suddenly growing to epic proportions and attacking! Another delightful creature read.

Just a fun book, like a Saturday evening monster movie in novel form. The action is fast and non-stop, with plenty of blood and gore. Quick read, too. The author has talent; this would have been interesting in a longer form, with more background and more rampaging.

I loved this book! It was exciting, action packed, but best of all it had monsters!! I love a good monster story and this one delivered!

Jurassic, Florida by Hunter Shea is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. It is a hoot! I can picture this as the next hot B movie like Sharnado or Tremors! It has suspense but just enough silliness to be fun. I loved it! Action, adventure, lizards everywhere! A good brain break to enjoy a good dino/horror book, yeah, it works for me! LOL

4.5 stars.

JURASSIC, FLORIDA, is Hunter Shea's latest "creature-feature" novella with a Nature-Gone-Wrong theme. If you're looking for a unique animal turned homicidal, with plenty of non-stop action and gory scenes, then this story has you covered!

"FLORIDA. IT'S WHERE YOU GO TO DIE."

In the small town of Polo Springs, on Florida's Gulf Coast--population just over 300--things are going wrong all at once. After an oil-rig disaster launched by a group ironically claiming to want to "save the earth", small iguanas seem to be popping up from everywhere.

". . . The ecosystem was off its game, and the little critters were in a kind of freakout . . . "

If the residents were surprised about the amount of damage some adolescent lizards could cause, they were about to be astonished even further. Led by Ann, the teenaged elected Mayor, townspeople are encouraged to seek shelter in another town while yet another force--Hurricane Ramona--was set to cross over them.

Of course, these are Floridians--they've handled hurricanes before, and nothing could persuade them to leave their homes.

". . . the iguanas . . . seen so far are basically babies. Somewhere, there are a whole lot of adults making those babies . . . "

Shea gives us a very diverse group of characters here, and it was very easy to differentiate between each of them. We have Don, the family man, with his wife and son; Ann, the young town mayor; Sam, a retiree friend of Don's; Nicole and her girlfriend, Cheryl; Frank, a New York "small-time mobster", hiding out in the least likely of locations; and of course, the entire small town that exists as the backdrop to these "forces of nature".

". . . Normally straight-laced, timid people could morph into crazed killers if certain triggers were pulled . . . "

Some of the characters felt more "real" to me than others: Nicole and Cheryl, and Mayor Ann were my personal favorites, with our New York mobster bringing in the "comic relief". However, in a book like this, the ACTION is the prime driving force. This is an area Shea never disappoints in. The story slams home with scene after disastrous scene of bloody carnage, feeding frenzies, and plenty of gore to keep you turning those pages. In JURASSIC, FLORIDA, there is simply no "good" place to pause in the reading.

"Just run very fast and keep your mouth closed . . . they have a tendency to stick like glue and crawl all over you. Any opening to them is a place to explore."

Shea is one of those authors that you can't go wrong with when to comes to "creature-feature" books where the momentum just continues to build up until those final pages. However, he gives his readers the added bonus of characters that you will actually remember during all of the adrenaline-fueled devastation being wrought.

" . . . What the hell did the dinosaur throwbacks down here have against New Yorkers?"

Overall, JURASSIC, FLORIDA delivers with continuous pulse-pounding action, a "different" form of threat to humanity, and some memorable characters. The only thing I deducted for that I felt cold have been more comprehensive, was the ultimate ending. After all of the build up, it felt somewhat rushed and I, personally, would have liked a more elaborate conclusion.

". . . what you've got out here . . . ain't no typical five-footer. No sir, you have something else entirely . . . "

JURASSIC , FLORIDA is the first installment in Hunter Shea's "One Size Eats All" series.

Highly recommended!

Here’s the thing about Hunter Shea’s books… You can tell that he’s having as much fun writing them as you are reading them.

From the very first page, you’re having fun. Absolutely ridiculous things are happening and things are getting chompy.

Shea gives us a fun group of characters as well. Just don’t fall in love with them too much because, well, chompy things happen and there’s blood and body parts and screaming and yelling and…you get the picture.

I didn’t completely love the solution to everything, though it did give me a laugh.

Can’t wait for his next book!

This was an incredibly fast read. It didn't have much of a plot and was just action scene after action scene so if that's your thing this book is definitely for you.
This read just like a classic monster movie, with giant lizards killing everything in sight. There was quite a bit of gore, but it wasn't unbearable. It was a delight, although Frank, one of the POV characters was really annoying to read. I didn't like him at all.

First of let me start by saying this was my first Hunter Shea book, and second off let me say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I love killer animal books and I especially appreciate when the author does not go to deep into the story and just gives me action and gore which is exactly what Shea did! There were some elements that kept this from being a 5 Stars for me that I couldn’t get passed but other than those minor things, this was very entertaining and a fun fast read!

Review: JURASSIC FLORIDA by Hunter Shea

NOBODY handles Cryptozoology Horror like Hunter Shea. This man has an encompassing imagination and a jolly sense of humor in the face of danger. He can make you drop every nano-ounce of disbelief, make you incinerate your skeptic suit, and toss you whole-hog into the midst of inescapable terror--and love it.

On Florida's lower Gulf Coast, a tiny community braces for a before-season hurricane. No surprise there. But a few months earlier, an eco-terrorist attack destroyed an oil rig and the Gulf' s delicately balanced ecosystem. Now unleashed are creatures--iguanas--every bit as huge, hungry, and implacable as extinct dinosaurs. Mankind's on the menu--go get em', champs! Dinner bell' s rung!!

Polo Springs, Florida, already beset by a hurricane, is overrun by iguanas! Will anyone survive?

Hunter Shea is one of my favorite authors so this one was a no-brainer when I saw it on Netgalley. If it wasn't so short, I probably wouldn't have finished it.

It may be that I've read too many Hunter Shea books or I'm suffering from creature feature fatigue but I was pretty underwhelmed by this one. The first thing that made me roll my eyes was the mayor, an eighteen year old girl. I'm sure there are some eighteen year old girls out there that could run a small Florida town but I don't think a book about ravenous iguanas of unusual size rampaging a town is a good place for one. I didn't really care about Don, Barbara, and their kid, or the mobster in exile. The lesbian couple, Cheryl and Nicole, were easily my favorite characters. I found them way more interesting and likeable than the rest of the cast.

The action picked up in the second half but niggling things about the first half hampered my enjoyment. People made stupid decisions to advance the plot and the prose was a little on the lazy side of things. The action and the gore kept this from being a one. Surprisingly, I did not get tired of descriptions of lizards gnawing on people.

And that's that. I think I'm going on a creature feature break for a while. Two out of five stars.