Omg......... this book was amazing I flew threw the pages with Olympic speed I was hooked from the very first page. I found it full of twists and turns threw out and it kept me on the edge of my seat all the way threw  I would defiantly recommend this book if you like a good book to keep you reading threw the night hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did

This book is very well written and easy to read and understand. It's just a passable read for me though, as it isn't my preferred genre and I just wasn't that entertained by the scenario. If you are interested in the apocalypse, survivalists, prepping, lots of characters, living in the wilderness off the land, then you will enjoy this. There are multiple points of view, weapons, religion, talk of cults etc. This is book two and I would recommend you start at the beginning to understand the back story. Be aware too, that this is an ongoing series. My thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in return for my honest opinion.

This is book 2 in the Small Town EMP series and I think I would have liked it better if I had read book 1. There are at least 3 currently available in the series. Austin, his teen daughter have made it to his brother's safe house in the mountains. With 16 people in the cabin it can be a bit tense. The group finds a USB drive with the plans for human destruction and a takeover of the planet by a small group called NWO. For readers who love end of civilization stories, this would fill the bill. Not my cup of tea. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast read but a lot of fun! Will definitely read more by the author.

The second in Grace Hamilton's dystopian look at the future post EMP, this book continues on from the first, detailing the changed lives of Austin Merryman and his teenaged daughter. There are hard choices to be made to ensure survival in this cruel world. A little brutal and violent, but good reading.

Survival after the EMP shut down the world has taken an even more harrowing turn with the emergence of a radical group that pitts person against person, violence and destruction of the human race their seemingly only goal. The group of survivors that came together in the last installment set out to gather more supplies, hoping to scope out how bad things have gotten, how safe they really are up in the mountains. At the same time they are trying to decipher all the data on the drive hoping to figure out what they can do to about, or rather if they should do something about it. Things are definitely tense in the group, deception and cowardice creating life and death situations that might just destroy them all. I am definitely excited for the next installment.

As I loved Survive The Chaos, which was book one in this Small Town EMP series I was keeping an eye out for more of the series. The cover of this book fits well with that of the first book, which means that the series have a cohesive look. The genre is post-apocalyptic, which I have to admit is one of my favourite genres to read. There is a “trigger warning” about substance abuse, it is actually alcohol abuse and is only a small part of the book.

The book basically picks up where book one left off. There are some awkward questions and decisions that need to be made, some will be not be popular with the rest of the group but it becomes apparent that someone needs to take the lead and ask these questions. For the time being all sixteen people are safe at Ennis Merryman’s prepper ready house. However, with so many people staying in close proximity, including the revivalist party who originally only wanted to stay temporarily and then continue their journey to Salt Lake, their own home base. The house is seriously overcrowded which means people are starting to irritate each other as well as the food provisions are being reduced at a more rapid rate than they were ever meant to be. Broaching the subject is going to be difficult as though the house and supplies belong to Ennis it is his brother Austin that everyone seems to look at as a leader of the group. Within the revivalists, Tonya seems to be in charge though they are all looking to Malachi to lead the prayers etc stepping into his father shoes as he would have eventually been trained to do.

I have really become attached to some of the characters in this series so far. Savannah is still set on the possibilities of a relationship with Malachi and does things she comes to regret in an attempt to get his attention.

Nash is still one of my favourite characters and is staying at the house and still helping a lot around the place though sadly he seems to become more and more side lined by certain people in the house. Of course, my favourite couple in the book is Austin and Amanda, I hope they survive the series and end up together! A little romantic hope in a post-apocalyptic setting!

A character I thoroughly enjoyed disliking in the last book and became even more so in this book was Wendell. He doesn’t want to take part in any manual tasks and will only do “inventory” of the supplies they have. As time goes on it becomes apparent why he enjoys doing inventory when it is discovered he has been helping himself to large portions of the alcohol. It’s not just that he isn’t very practical, or a bit lazy, he goes out of his way to cause problems in this book, pitting brother against brother at every opportunity. Then when there’s a case of everyone making a stand, he goes away to hide with a bottle of alcohol.

There is the constant threat of the New Order searching for Austin and his family. They desperately want to retrieve the USB, and Austin is as desperate to find out what is on it! With help from Nash they try to decode it, and at one point, Austin has to go in search of a woman his friend Callum said would know what to do with the information.

Some of the revivalists, such as Tonya and Bonnie are still grieving for the loss of their husbands but all make a conscious decision to help out and create a life at Ennis’s house. Despite their religious beliefs they take part in self-defence, and weapons training. They all need to be prepared to fight to protect each other and what they have in the way of food etc.
There is much more to be revealed about the mine where Nash was when the power went out, as well as more to be learnt about the New Order. Sadly, it seems there are small bands of survivors who are often aggressive to outsiders. It seems the New Order are giving out propaganda encouraging survivors to distrust each other.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were, Seriously, looking forward to more of this series!
Lost some brilliant characters in this part of the series!
Will those remaining survive? What is on the USB drive? Will the group ever find somewhere safe to settle? Will *?*?* and the New Order catch up to them?

So, to sum up I looooove this book, its characters and I am seriously looking forward to read more! Grace Hamilton is firmly on my favourite authors list!

I love Grace Hamilton's books. This is the 3rd series of hers I've read. Her books are not just a repeat of the last book like so many others. Her characters are well developed and all have very defined strengths and weaknesses that make them believable when placed in stressful situations. The communities she builds contain all different kinds of people and personalities. The time she takes to build the story and follow through make her series one of the books I'm always watching for.