End of the world and after the disaster books hold a certain fascination to me. Life as we know it can change in an instant as it does for the characters in Grace Hamilton's series. I have read alot of her books and they are all fresh, no retelling the same story over and over. The fact that she can write so many unique versions of a catastrophe means I am well educated on how to get from point a to point b before, during and after an event.

Emerging Chaos is the first book in her newest series. It's another winner by this expert on how to keep me coming back for the next book.

A Coronal Mass Ejection from the sun causes the world's entire power grid to collapse. Stuck at work with her creepy boss, Melanie Pearson must find a way to get home to her husband, Mark and daughter, Shona. Melanie and her co-worker Lizzie are promised supplies and aide if they help their boss, Derrick, find his teenage son, Nathan.

This was an entertaining story of survival in a post-apocalyptic setting. I always enjoy stories about the end of modern society as we know it. There were a few things that seemed a little convenient for the book, such as MC Melanie's wide variety of skills, such as picking locks. Their boss also has a whole closet of survival supplies and guns at work. Boss Derrick turns out to be not just creepy, but crazy. He has gathered a small army and is planning on taking over a factory as their headquarters. He is power hungry and has no problem using violence to get whatever he wants. He forces Melanie and Lizzie to stay with them and they plan their escape.

All in all, if you enjoy stories like this, you'll enjoy this one too. The plot kept moving and the action never seemed to end. One problem was thrown at them right after another and it seemed like the characters would never be safe. The book left off on a cliffhanger and there are two more books in the series following these characters. It was a good, solid book overall, with decent description, dialogue and pacing.

I've often said that I don't think enough movies or books set their stories in the midst of a power outage. I'm not sure why but that theme always intrigues me, so I was really excited to read Emerging Chaos by Grace Hamilton. While the summer fades into the cooler fall weather, I read a book about a city being sent into total chaos and darkness.

It all starts out normal, of course, just like any other story. Melanie and Lizzie are cleaning up after a work party under the watchful presence of their horrid boss. When they are just about to get ready to go home, the city is engulfed in total darkness. Their cell phones don't work, and everyone else around them is totally confused. Immediately, Melanie feels a sense of urgency that makes her desperately want to get home. Except their boss wants them to bring the remaining supplies back to the supply closet before they go. So, the two ladies reluctantly agree, only to end up in the wrong supply closet. The closet they run into is packed with prepper supplies, including food, medicine, and everything else someone may need.

Meanwhile, Melanie's husband Mark is teaching when he gets notice from his fellow science teachers that it's a CME event - Coronal Mass Ejection - that has caused a total collapse of the electrical event. He quickly grabs his daughter out of class to take her home and gets in touch with his wife to warn her of the catastrophic event.

Back at work, Melanie and Lizzie get talked into helping their boss find his teenage son who is gone from the office. Their boss promises to share some of his supplies with them if they can only help. On the road, while looking for the kid, Melanie and Lizzie realize something is seriously wrong with their boss, and need to get away from him. Desperately, they want to find their families and figure out what exactly is going on.

This book proved to be an exciting read and satisfied my desire to read about chaos in the midst of a major power outage. I've heard of the concept of an EMP disaster, so this wasn't a foreign idea to me. You get plenty of action in this book, and it was easy to read in just a few days. I would have liked to read more about Melanie's background because that was an integral part of how she helped her family and friend get out of some tight spots.

Overall, if you are looking for a disaster-themed book and want some action-packed plot twists, you'll want to pick this one up. The coolest part is this is one

It was the cover that initially attracted my attention and then once I read the blurb, I knew I really wanted to read the book. I have also read other books by this author so like to take a look at other releases written by her. The cover shows two armed women looking at a fire that is nearby. This could actually be a snapshot of a scene from the book, the two women being Melanie and Lizzie. The cover does its job well as it encourages you to wonder who the women are, why they are armed with guns and what is going on around them.

The book begins with two of the main characters, Melanie and Lizzie being coerced into staying after clock off time to tidy up after the Christmas Party at Beaton’s food factory, where they have worked for years. It used to be a great place to work with their previous manager, but since his son, Derrick took over things have changed and not for the better. Despite most of the other workers leaving, Melanie & Lizzie are crawling about on the floor under the tables cleaning up spilled food and drink. It’s when they are tidying reusable items away that they discover a closet full of supplies that are about to become very useful.

Then the EMP hits and Melanie & Lizzie are compelled into helping their rather miserable, overbearing boss to help him track down his son, Nathan who sneaked out of the factory and is now outside alone in a breaking down world. Things are rapidly going downhill, people are taking whatever they want from those who have it at gunpoint! It soon becomes apparent to the two women that they cannot reason with people like Derrick and those around them, they have to become tougher and fight for what they need. It becomes rapidly apparent that Derrick is more than just a prepper. Derrick has plans, big plans to be in charge of his very own safe haven, the Beaton’s Food Factory! Any supplies Derrick doesn’t have, he will send his mini army of fellow preppers out to take at gun point if necessary. When Melanie and Lizzie realise the true horror of Derrick’s big plan, and what life would be like living under his dictatorship they decide they need to get away from him, but he’s not an easy man to get away from. Despite the fact he has found his son, he doesn’t want to let the two women leave. Whilst Melanie and Lizzie are being forced at gunpoint to stay with Derrick, trying to work out an escape plan whilst avoiding being shot. Melanie’s husband has found their daughter Shona, and they are trying to find Melanie. In fact, they end up finding Melanie and Lizzie at a pivotal moment for the two women. The Pearson family and Lizzie realise just how bad things have got when they get to Lizzie’s parents’ address and find her parents injured. When Mark is possibly fatally injured it soon becomes apparent the nearest and maybe only place to access the supplies they need for Mark is Beaton’s Food Factory.

If I had to pick just one favourite character it would have to be Melanie, who seems to have had a rather chequered past, but the skills she was very proud of at the time and the fact she actually taught some of them to Lizzie’s dad end up coming in very useful. It seems like Melanie has been through a lot in her life and it only really began to turn for the better when she came in to contact with her best friend, Lizzie and her parents.

I really enjoyed reading this book and felt pulled in almost immediately! The book began relatively “normal” with two women being almost forced by their rather overbearing boss to stay behind to clean up the Christmas party. Then the EMP hits and the world changes rapidly to an extremely dangerous place when it is ruled by those with the most guns! The book ends on a real cliffhanger, with Melanie and her group of survivors under attack, though this time they are in a slightly better position.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book were, that this was a really great start to a potentially brilliant series.

To sum up I am looking forward to more of the characters, more of this world and definitely eagerly awaiting more of the series!

I am interested in the future books in this series. Will it live up to foundation of this book? Only time will tell

I love apocalyptic stories. This one focused on the aftermath of an EMP event. Melanie is a great character, balancing her professional responsibilities against her concerns for her family. This is a great start to a series and I look forward to continuing the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

A good start for a new series by Grace Hamilton. Her knowledge of the impact of an EMP event on the infrastructure is intriguing and thought provoking. A good read, you will find hard to put down.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.