This book was not my jam and I can tell you it was a me problem and not a book/author problem. This was my 1st book by Zac Topping but I will certainly give them another read!

#NetGalley

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* not what i would normally read, i thought it would be uh less military lol not bad just not my cup of tea

I really enjoyed this from beginning to end! What a wild ride- I recommend this for any adventure reading reader who loves sneaky twists and turns. Kept me on the tips of my toes the ENTIRE time!

Wake of War AUDIO by Zac Topping is a story of revolution, right here in the United States. It is a little way in the future: 2037 and there is a strong group known as the Revolutionary Front fighting to set up a new country in, of all places, California. The battle is taking place in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah and it is definitely a battle story with three fronts: government troops, revolutionary troops, and private security at a gold mine. Not all soldiers believe in what they are fighting for. That is one thing that makes mercenaries believable: they fight to get paid. As the war rages on, the cracks inevitably show up, spread, and become deeper and wider.

This book is definitely not my cup of tea although in many ways it may be a precursor for where our country is headed. I always like the societal aspects of war as opposed to the battles. This was decent for what it is and probably more about the societal effects than I give it credit for. I am not a huge fan of dystopian novels, and this falls into that category as well. I chose poorly when I chose this novel, which is no reflection on the novel itself.

Roger Wayne and Sophie Amoss were the readers and did a fine job, especially Wayne who was able to differentiate between characters with inflection rather than resorting to cheap tricks. Excellent job!

I was invited to listen to a free audio ARC of Wake of War by Macmillan Audio, through Netgalley. Al thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #macmillanaudio #zactopping #rogerwayne #sophieamoss #wakeofwar

This was more Science Fiction than military thriller. Both sides believed they were right. The plot was a little to futuristic for me. It did have some good parts to it, but it just didn't seem to flow well and I just couldn't get into the book..

𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦, 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨!

Omg, this story was brutal and so clever, I found myself living these characters stories in a way so vivid that I really didn’t knew if I was on the right side of the story. I loved the different POVs, the narrative and the pace, a fantastic experience.

Thank you Forge Books and NetGalley for this gifted copy.

𝗪𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗮𝗿 by Zac Topping releases tomorrow July 18, 2022.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

𝐖𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐫 is a look into a dark, disturbing, and not-so-distant future for the United States. It’s 2037 and America is crumbling. A Revolutionary Front, led by Joseph Graham, has taken control of Salt Lake City.

This is a hardcore military thriller. If you love being deep in the action with soldiers, rebels, and snipers, then this is your book! It is intense and realistic.

I don’t typically pick up military or war thrillers, but I will say I appreciated that Zac Topping provided three different POVs within the narrative: an army soldier, a mercenary, and a rebel. It made a difference because it showed that nothing is ever black and white; there are always gray areas.

Although I sometimes got lost in the gruesomeness of the battle scenes, the author made these characters real, with lives back home - families, girlfriends, and dreams that this war was separating them from. 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵-𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨!

🎧 The audiobook from @macmillan.audio was done very well, with dual narrators.

Thank you to @forgereads for this gifted copy.

Set in the future 2037. The book wasn’t what I expected but I did like the story. One of the main characters Samantha Cross a snipper for the rebellion got herself manipulated by the leadership. An easy accomplishment when your family was killed by the government soldiers when you’re only a teenager. Against all odds she doesn’t lose her self-worth and stands for her own principles when she realizes the contradictions in what the leadership is telling them.
Within the US Military we see a mix of characters. The ones just out of high school eager to proof they are a man and ready to fight till they encounter the real event and the body count is increasing. Then we have the kid that feels this is a way to get his higher education paid for after he finished his term. His hope to get through his commitment without getting any fighting goes out the window in his last year of service.
In the mix we have some mercenaries and then of course the town folks who end up in the middle of it all.
The two narrators did a wonderful job in presenting the story.

Set in 2037, America is crumbling and a man takes charge as a rebel leader to fight for what he believes America should be.

I love a good military thriller and this was no exception! It was full of fast-paced fighting, backstories on the characters and a rebellion to add to the intrigue.

What I found I liked most were the characters. Topping did a great job of giving the main characters a backstory that made me wanting to find out more. With each POV change, I looked forward to hearing about them and what they had been experiencing.

What really gravitated me to this book was that it was set in Salt Lake City. I live near Salt Lake and have lived in Utah all of my life. Hearing about the mountain ranges, street names and cities brought an extra sense of reality to me. It is set in 2037 and I could follow along in my head where they were.

“I just really hope I’m on the right side of history.”

There were POV’s from the army, mercenaries and rebel forces. This was amazing! I really loved seeing each viewpoint and their reasons for fighting. Each felt they were in the right but many had moments of reflection, debating whether they were on the “right side.” I adored this! I strongly believe nobody should follow blindly into anything. Having them second-guess their decisions made me want to cheer for them.

One aspect I really would have appreciated was more backstory. Maybe I felt too involved because it was in towns I have called “home” over the years, but I wanted to know why Utah? Why wasn’t the nation more involved? They talked about how California was not overrun, so how had Utah gotten so far? How had the rebels truly gained so much power? The intricate details and more backstory about how Utah got to this point would have really sold me more on the story.

The audio was fabulous! I always like to review the audio with any books I receive because why not get 2 in 1? It had two narrators, a male and a female voice. Sam Cross was such a unique character that I was so impressed she had her own narrator. Each narrator did so well with the fighting scenes. I believe those can either make or break a story and they were able to portray the intensity with fluidity and ease. It was well done!

Thank you to Forge Books and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copies!

The book releases July 19, 2022.

Thank you to author, Zac Topping, publisher, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an advanced audiobook to review.

Wake of War is a uniquely written novel that I instantly fell in love listening to. In a dystopian United States, where Salt Lake City is a major battleground the author, Zac Topping, transports the reader to the front lines of battle. Written with dual points of view, the reader gets a glimpse into the United States Military, the rebellion and the mercenaries.

The scenes are realistic, raw and gritty. There are heartbreaks, triumphs and losses. As a reader I found some sympathetic characters, even on opposing sides, and jumped around on who to root for. One specific character I liked was Samantha Cross, a female sniper for the rebellion. Samantha’s Journey was a powerful statement to the lengths someone will go to avenge her family while also learning the true impacts of war and loss.

This novel isn’t a traditional story, it’s a series of moving pieces that were weaved together brilliantly to tell a bigger story while also imparting deeper messages. Overall, I think this novel really works and heavily recommend it.