Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Swarm was a fun book. I’ll warn you now: it reads pretty young. It is YA, and I didn’t mind that, because I was distracted by the horrifying bugs hanging out outside their window, but the narration does have a young voice, and I know that won’t be for everyone.

I do think there were a couple small issues. 1) there were a few typos I noticed. 2) I would’ve liked the science behind the bugs to be a big more fleshed out, or for certain things (like what the bites did) to make sense, perhaps in an epilogue to the epilogue and 3) I would’ve liked a longer ending. It felt a little rushed at the end, and I was invested in the characters enough that I wanted to see a bit more about their end.

All in all, though, I enjoyed Swarm and read it quickly. I’m a fan of apocalyptic/dystopian, so creepy bugs and fighting for survival? Right up my alley.

"Swarm" by Jennifer Lyle is a gripping tale that takes place on a normal day, which quickly becomes terrifying as carnivorous butterflies appear worldwide. Shur, our protagonist, finds herself confined to her house with her twin brother Keene, younger brother Shawn, and their friends Jenny and Nathan. For someone with severe anxiety like Shur, this is undoubtedly the most challenging situation she could ever face.

Lyle's vivid storytelling kept me thoroughly engaged throughout the entire book. The story masters the art of blending survival elements, gore, and science fiction tropes, making it an ideal candidate for a horror film. It captivated me with its well-developed plot, continuous action, and suspenseful moments. My only critique is that the ending felt slightly abrupt. I believe a couple more chapters could have been beneficial to explore how the butterflies were ultimately eradicated. Additionally, the story falls short in terms of exploring the political nuances that could have added depth, but this is subjective and depends on personal preference.

Overall, "Swarm" is an excellent thriller with a gripping pace. It kept me on the edge of my seat, provoking adrenaline-inducing jumps almost every chapter.

This is a really clever variation on a zombie attack! The giant butterflies, which may or may not be something prehistoric, are only the first wave...although they're terrifying enough. The real trouble comes when they start infecting people, turning them into mindless bags of rage who only want to spread the infection further...a little like The Last of Us in that way. Shur ends up with her twin brother, her toddler brother and a couple of friends, barricaded into their house (parts of which are lost and become available again at different times during the story due to various invasions.)
The claustrophobia this occasionally brought on surprised me - I didn't expect it to be that strong! It reminded me a little of Life as we Knew It, where the protagonist's world got steadily smaller as the novel went on. I also loved that there was no hanging around getting to know the characters and setting up the world when it was about to change so severely - the butterflies appear in the first sentence!

This is a fast paced, brilliant read about people coming together in extreme circumstances, and it has a great ending. Highly recommended.

I am now terrified of butterflies, thank you very much. Swarm was an unputdownable thrilling esdape into a world I NEVER want to visit. Such a unique premise. Loved the whole ride!

A fresh buggy take on dystopian disasters. I enjoyed the characters, enough action to keep the plot moving and twists that kept me reading. This is a title that I see purchasing for my high school library and recommending for my teen readers that enjoy end of the world books with strong characters. I do think it was just a bit long and could use some trimming but I looked forward to sitting down with this book and it didn't disappoint. Thanks.

This was such a cool young adult novel. What’s better than giant man eating butterflies that turn you into a zombie like state? Nothing that’s what! This was a very quick read and I loved it.
Thank you netgalley for this arc.

I loved this and I know killer butterflies sounds silly but it is the smallest thing that could get you. I loved the action in the book and the pacing of the book. This is my favorite genre so I might be a little biased

What a pleasant, creepy surprise! I’ll admit that I started this book with eyes ready to roll….killer butterflies?! Yes…murderous butterflies, around which this author crafted a creepy, page-turning survival tale. Despite an ending that felt a little too quickly and neatly wrapped up, this was a fast, entertaining read.

**Thanks ot NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this title in exchange for a fair and honest review**

Ooooh, this one was creepy. Like "I shouldn't read this before bed" creepy. I felt the tension and the fear of the characters as they found themselves facing unimaginable terror from the butterflies and the after-effects on those who had been bitten.

Really good, the kids at my library would LOVE this one!

“Hello, Jennifer Lyle, it’s a pleasure to meet you, or more specifically, “Swarm.””

First, I wasn’t sure if I was going to really like this novel. I love survival stories, those lost in the woods, trapped by a snowstorm, survivors of a plane crash, you get my drift. However, surviving mutant Butterflies? Hmmm…

And let me be clear, butterflies represent those pets of mine who have taken their place on the Rainbow Bridge, in that, when I see a butterfly I know my cat(s) are whispering “hello.” In other words, gentle, beautiful creatures that carry a message and make me smile. They are not finely honed killing machines on a rampage.

To say the least, not gentle and memory driven! These butterflies will make your skin crawl and the hair on the back of your neck raise. The descriptions of these creatures the author uses is so detailed and well described, it’s somewhat shocking. The violence, chaos, and injury they cause, is off the charts WOW! I won’t go as far to say I’ll never look at butterflies the same again, but I will say those here pack a punch.

The story is about survival of course. Our characters must stay one step ahead of the mutant butterflies. The anxiety, fear and helplessness the characters feel is well played out. Since the characters are trapped in a house you get a claustrophobic feel, almost reminiscent of the stay at home order issued during Covid. The story moves very quickly, though some characters are less drawn out than others, and the ending was pretty abrupt, it’s still a pulse pounding and great read.

Thank you NetGalley, and SourceFire Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Net Galley for this book! But ultimately I had to DNF this, I think I am a bit too old for this Dialogue and characters felt juvenile and rightfully so, I found the butterfly monsters to be interesting but not enough to keep me indulged in the story.

This book was so cool.

I am always a sucker for any type of societal disfuncional event, and giant killer butterflies?! Love it.

I think the anxiety representation was great. As someone who has it I like when we see a character empowered and living with it. More stories need to include that.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher Sourcebooks for the chance to review this book pre-release. "Swarm" was an extremely unique and VERY interesting concept, especially since I didn't even like butterflies going into this, and the writing was absolutely on point. In a world full of dystopian novels, this one's in a category all of it's own, and was executed very well! A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

Fascinating premise, interesting execution. I enjoyed the wild plot right from the start; giant butterflies sounded way too creepy. The book surprised me in a few ways later. Recommended.

This was... strange but interesting. The plot definitely hooked me and I think it delivered. This gave me the chills in the very best way. Well written and keeps your attention.

I read Swarm by Jennifer Lyle in one day. It was a fun read and a debut novel by this author.

On a sunny September morning, the creatures first appear. Shur sees one of them hovering outside the window in history class: it looks like a giant butterfly, at first too beautiful and strange to seem like a threat. But when emergency alerts light up everyone's phones around her, she realizes something very, very wrong is happening outside. These… things are everywhere.

This would make a great movie. The story combined the right amount of survival elements and horror with science fiction tropes. I really liked the characters, and the action and suspense held my interest. I felt the ending was quite satisfying.

#NetGalley @SourcebooksFire

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow, what an incredible debut! I loved this book so much that I read the whole thing in from cover to cover in a few hours! From the moment I saw the cover and title, I knew I'd be hooked. This was the perfect combination of science fiction, horror, and survival as Shur, her two brothers, and their two best friends battle giant mutant butterflies in an effort to live when the world around them is in chaos. I was surprised that such a tame creature could be written as so ferocious and scary! The action never stopped from the first page to the last! The ending left me wondering a little bit...maybe there will be a book 2?

I will definitely recommend this novel to my middle school students, who will devour it just like I did. There have been so few books like this one that I think they'll flock to it, and I think it will also appeal to readers of all levels.

A normal day turns terrifying when large butterflies carnivorous butterflies appear around the world. Sheltered in her house with her twin brother Keene, her little brother Shawn, and their friends Jenny and Nathan, Shur is facing the biggest challenge to her severe anxiety imaginable.

Shur’s anxiety disorder is realistically portrayed. The author did a really good job at creating a monster out of seemingly harmless insects by giving them a huge maw of infectious teeth that rip into people, I also love that there were many facets of the monsters to be afraid of. Yes, they were huge and had crab-like legs that made your skin crawl. Yes, they had a mouth that opened up from the middle of their body filled with teeth. However they also infected people and animals differently, creating more issues than just avoiding the butterflies.

While I think the book was on the right track, it kind of fell flat. It was very slow at times (understandable because they were sheltering in place). There were some heart pumping moments but the climax of the book was underwhelming. I actually expected there to be more to the story.

Most characters, especially, those not in the house, were not very flushed out and thus hard to care about their well-being.

The end wrapped up really neatly and I felt like it was rushed, like I was missing a whole chapter.

Overall, an interesting premise that kept me reading but it was underwhelming.

I wanted to enjoy this really but I just couldn't get over the casual pro-gun confederate flag tattoo guy and the random inserts that seem to imply "liberal snowflakes" are as bad as right-wing fascists. In a story like this, I believe human devisions are bound to show and to be explored, when a natural disaster strikes, it will hit all of us outside of the 1% regardless of our political and moral sides, but that's not what happened here. This was flippant about many things that I'm not comfortable with.

I wish these things were dealt with in a better way because I do really like the concept of this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the amazing publisher for the ARC of this title! I am so grateful to be auto-approved for this title!
I look forward to reading and reviewing. More to come!