3.5 Stars Rounded Up

Novel probably should be rated 3 stars but I was feeling generous when I rated this.

An overall okay novel with an interesting plot that had tons of action, suspense and battles/fights. Most of the fights felt unnecessary as their motives were weak. I really hate revenge stories at the end of the world. You’d think you’d be more concerned with fighting for survival, not going after some guy for some minor misdeed or loss of pride.

The characters were really stupid. I found Matthew was weak as he refused to stand for things he believed in and was willing to bend over far too much for his family. He infuriated me even more when he later agreed with his initial statements because the rest of his family said they had been the right decisions.

Katherine was stupid and jaded. She put her daughter in danger at the beginning of the novel for no reason, there was a perfectly plausible alternative but she refused to take it (and I’m still not sure why). I also hated how she was so guilt-ridden over the past novel where she killed someone to protect her daughter. Her mopiness got annoying, especially when it felt she got over her PTSD after one small conversation with her family.... if only mental illnesses worked this way.

The pacing wasn’t as strong as I’d hope as the middle dragged.

Overall this was an okay apocalyptic novel with an okay plot, weak characters and slow pacing. I’m interested in the author and the series enough to continue.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Book #2 in Grace Hamilton's newest EMP series. Grace Hamilton wirtes some the best EMP series available. Her books are very well written. The characters are well developed and genuine, you'd know them if you met them in the grocery store, except grocery stores no longer exist. Each series is original, they are not just rewritten versions of each other. I enjoyed every one of her books and am looking forward to the next one.

Fantastic as usual! Mz Hamilton is an amazing write for this genre in particular and I love that as a woman, she does these kinds of works proud! Thank you and keep 'em coming!

After reading bk1 of this series and loving it I certainly wanted to read this one as soon as I could. The cover fits well with the first book and I would say depicts Matthew and his father David on the cover. Even if I hadn’t read bk1 the cover would make me pick up this book to learn more about it.

It is so hard to review this book without giving spoilers and I guess with referring to things that happened in bk1 there may be some small ones revealed, so be warned, only read ahead if you have already started this series.

This book basically picks up where bk1 left off with Kathleen and Allison faced with the daunting prospect of having to walk past some rather rough looking bikers who are looting a van of food & supplies that obviously broke down when the EMP hit. With their previous experience with gangs, that they have met along their journey, I’d say they are right to be super cautious. Kathleen instructs her rather traumatised daughter Allison that if things turn ugly, she must run off and leave her mother to get help from the hotel. It’s hard to believe they have come so far and have adapted and survived to be so close to home and then be faced with this hopefully last barrier between them and their home and family. When the crucial moment comes and Kathleen believes things are going to turn nasty, she signals Allison to run! Matthew is both elated and devastated to see his daughter running towards him on the property surrounding the hotel. He is happy and relieved to see Allison yet immediately worried and thinking the worst when he realises her mother, his wife, Kathleen is not with her. He takes Allison inside the house where his mother Ruth helps to calm the hyperventilating teen down long enough to get a rough idea what has happened. Naturally Matthew heads right off to help his wife.

What occurs between Matthew & Kathleen and the biker gang could end up coming back to haunt them later as they try to survive and make allies. There is also a brief mention of Samuel who had held Ruth and Patton hostage in their own home.

Though I went through sympathy and then cursing his character Max is certainly an interesting individual, and is pretty central in this book with his added point of view. When Max realises something is badly wrong inside the prison, with only a few of the same guards doing the rounds with meals being delivered to cells he decides he needs to get out sooner rather than later. It seems it’s only an ever, shortening matter of time before the prison guards are overcome and the prison is taken over by the prisoners. If the prisoners take over and the imprisoned Cartel members have free rein, Max knows they will come after him and there will be no guards to drag them off him. Colin has already made his feelings crystal clear with the amount and frequencies of beatings he has doled out to Max. If Colin and the other Cartel prisoners get hold of Max, they may well kill him. When Max does escape and he either naively or recklessly heads right for his sister Kathleen and the Hotel on the outskirts of Galena. At times in the book, I didn’t know exactly what to think of Max and his character. He without a doubt loves his sister and his niece and nephew, but he doesn’t think things through. It soon becomes clear if he thinks he can leave his problems behind he is naive as he encounters Colin on more than one occasion in this book. The relationship between brother and sister is quite interesting. At first it seems Kathleen can see no wrong and feels sorry for Max, almost mothering him, Max on the other is quite wily and tells Kathleen only the details of his journey that he wants her to know. It’s not long until this has to quickly change, when because of him, Max’s young nephew, Patton is placed in serious danger.

Looking back at the book after finishing it, a lot of it is about the different relationships between the featured characters. Matthew and David are continually butting heads in this book almost vying for the “alpha male” position. Kathleen is closing herself off from her husband Matthew hiding what happened to herself and Allison. At times, Kathleen appears paranoid and is really quite nasty towards Jade, declaring she doesn’t want her to stay and continually saying she isn’t part of the family. Though her attitude softens when she see’s Jade put herself between Allison and Patton and imminent danger. They also have a heart to heart which actually ends up helping Kathleen come to terms with what she did to protect Allison in bk1 and results in her finally opening up to Matthew. However just as Kathleen is becoming more accepting of Jade, Matthew turns on the teenage girl demanding she leave despite the protests from David, Allison and Patton.

New character to the book is Wyatt Carpenter who is living with a small group of people at the Carpenter gun club. The fact he reaches out to the Riley family at the River Rock Hotel. To begin with Matthew insists the hide the attempt of contact and invitation to meet up with those at the Carpenter Gun Club, but once again he butts heads and finds himself on the opposing die of an argument with his father, David.

Theres a lot of instances where the characters head off alone, not thinking of any possible consequences and end up landing themselves in trouble, needing to be rescued by the others.
These incidents along with the Riley families experience with bad people out to take what they have from them, do eventually show them that they do need allies and friends in the area. They just need to choose them wisely.

The book ends on yet another great cliff hanger with David experiencing chest pains and another probable heart attack. Its not just the immediate attack that presents worries and difficulties, it sets Matthew off thinking about what will happen when David’s medication runs out? What if someone is seriously injured?

My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were that I had found it to be
action packed, with amazing imperfect believable characters, set in a world that has suffered a catastrophic change.

To sum up there is still much to do at the River Rock Hotel to ensure it’s a place of safety for his family, along with creating a wider circle of friends with the necessary knowledge and trades that will make surviving and living somewhat easier. All this and more certainly make me want to read the next and final book as soon as I can!

I really loved Book 1 but felt disappointed with this one. It was still a decent read, well written and pacey, but I had too many issues with it to rate it any higher.


The book started with a stupid decision. After what had happened to Katherine and Allison on their journey back from Chicago, Katherine's choice regarding getting past the bikers was ridiculously stupid - too stupid to live in fact. She really didn't think through what might happen or the risk she was putting Allison and herself at. Any normal person would have tried to [ find an alternate path, perhaps through the woodland. Walking up to and past the bikers was just asking for trouble!


I also had issues with the Max storyline. Given he set off well before Colin and walked continuously for the best part of 2 days before stopping he would have been well ahead of Colin, (Colin mentioned how they had realised Max had escaped, rioted, took over the prison, then left so he would have been a good day behind Max) . It was, to put it simply, impossible for Colin to have caught up with him a few hours later! SIGH. Whilst I can allow for some stretching of reality, given this is a dystopian tale, I can't accept unrealistic actions/events.


The final third of the book was much better, for me, even if I had to ignore the fact that Colin now couldn't catch up with a man so injured he kept passing out. There was just enough character growth to keep me invested, this is perhaps more of a plot driven story which may have coloured my view somewhat. I'm not sure if this suffers from middle book syndrome or if I struggled with it because it sailed so far from the shore of believability that I could barely see more than a dot on the horizon. I do know that had this been my first experience of the author it would also have been my last. However I AM invested in the story enough that in all likeliness I will complete the trilogy.

5 stars, Society has ended, now what?

ERUPTING DANGER: EMP CATASTROPHE BK 2
by Grace Hamilton

This is a well-contained novel, I haven't read book 1 in the series, yet I had no issues with knowing what was going on. The ending seemed to come too fast, but there was some conclusion, yet you know there's another book.

The Riley family is trying to keep themselves together since the EMP took down society as they knew it. Ruth and David, senior citizens; Matthew-their son with his family Kathleen, Allison, and Patton; Max, Kathleen's brother; Jade, a young woman who mistakenly thought David and Matthew were the enemy but is trying to fit in with the family.

The Riley's own a large hotel in rural Illinois. They are trying to hold off evil forces and fortify their boundaries to keep themselves safe. They find out that it won't do them any good to be paranoid about everyone left in the world, they are going to have to trust some people, or these city folk won't survive.

Much appreciation to #netgalley @gracehamilton for the complimentary copy of #eruptingdanger I was under no obligation to post a review.