I was pleasantly surprised by this book.. I felt Patrick managed to handle transgender problems and effects in Apocalypse with humor without losing respect. The romance was sweet, and at time hilarious, while the drug investigation plot sizzled out in the end. Yet that was okay since the focus was on the characters and their relationships anyways. I read quite a few books set after the apocalypse but the diversity in this one made it stand out from others. I will definitely pick up another book in the Paradise series if it comes to that.

Whoa, this was quite the ride. I decided to go into this story blind, having read only the title and the genre, and wow was it fast paced and not at all what I had anticipated. I appreciated that I learned quite a bit about gender identity and sexuality without feeling like I was being lectured or instructed. The story arc did slow down a little bit toward the end, but it was understandable why the author made that choice. I would definitely read more books in this series or written by John Patrick.

Thank you to John Patricl, NineStar Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Wow.
This is a second book in the Paradise series and it is a great follow up to the Franklin in Paradise. I really think that more John Patrick's books deserve more interest and a lot of positive reviews. I love his writing style and always forget that i am "just reading" a fictional story.

This is a story about a world after unknown, human-made virus killed almost all people. We meet all characters from book #1 (and a lot of new Paradise residents), but the story revolves around Dallin, a sexy Mormon and Hector, a transsexual special DEA agent. It is fast paced, intriguing and sometimes hilarious. I know that the topic is quite disturbing (all the people are dead, families are gone) and I know Hector really really tried to be "the man that Dallin needed", but tbh I couldn't stop laughing because their relationship truly seemed to be doomed. I loved their friendship, easy banter and their attempts to repair their relationship [ (don't get me wrong, there was nothing funny about lack of testosterone or a missed opportunity for Hector's surgery) (hide spoiler)] The harder they tried, the worse the results were.

While the first book in the Paradise series was more about survival and the world after disaster this time we have a drug dealing investigation, monastery and some people that didn't even know about the disease. I liked the idea of monks living out of contact with the outside world and the mystery of of the monks' participation in the drug dealing.

I can't wait for the next book :)