Blog Tour: ARC Review + Giveaway: The End of All Things by Lissa Bryan

Today, Edwin and Emily are happy to be a part of the The End of All Things Blog Tour hosted by The Writer's Coffee Shop.

Find the other tour stops here.

The End of All Things by Lissa Bryan

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: January 24, 2013
Publisher: The Writer's Coffee Shop

After a terrible virus ravages the planet, Carly Daniels, one of the few survivors, hides in her apartment in Juneau trying to survive the best she can with only occasional forays to gather food. With her is Sam, a wolf puppy she found starving on the streets. He becomes her companion and a reason to continue when giving up sometimes seems like the more attractive option. Still dazed with shock and grief, she hopes for the world to go back to normal soon.

She is discovered by Justin, an ex-soldier who is intent on making his way to Florida before the winter sets in. Justin coaxes her out of her hiding place and convinces her to join him on his journey, because a warmer climate will be their best chance against the extremes of Mother Nature.

Together, they begin a perilous journey through a nation laid to waste by the disaster. Challenges abound along the way. The weather, injury, and shortage of supplies all help to slow them down. In time, they discover that they aren’t the only survivors. Some are friendly but some have had their minds destroyed by the high fever. Then there are those who simply take what they want, leaving Carly and Justin with no choice but to defend what is theirs.

But their journey is not without joy and love. Together, they face every struggle, including an unplanned pregnancy. Despite the perils of bringing a child into a world of chaos, their baby is a new beginning for themselves and a symbol of hope for the other survivors they find along the way.

This is the story of their journey to find a place to begin a new life, and a home in each other.

WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS MATERIAL UNSUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 18. 

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Giveaway Details:

- One winner will receive an e-copy of The End of All Things by Lissa Bryan

- Open internationally

- One entrant per household

- Cheating results in immediate disqualification

- Winner has 48 hours to respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen

- We are not responsible for lost/damaged packages

- Ends 01/27/2013

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Review:

Once upon a time, I read a Twilight fanfiction story about a girl, Bella, brought to an alien planet to become the queen of a dying alien race. She goes through trials and hardships, falls in love with an alien king, Edward, and eventually helps save the world. The story was Written in the Stars and the author was Lissa Bryan. I adored that fanfiction piece, still do. Ms. Bryan seems to just breathe compelling story lines because I enjoyed The End of All Things just as much as Written in the Stars.

In the not-so-distant future, everyone who got the Infection either died, or was changed because of the severe affect the illness had on their brains. Carly has only seen one normal, living person since she hid away from the Infection in her apartment. The person, is an ex-soldier named Justin. Justin's presence frightens her at first, but as they get to know each other, they fall in love. Once Justin is able to convince Carly that they need to get out of Alaska, they encounter desperate thieves, dangerous villains, an unwanted pregnancy and make new friends on an epic adventure to find a place in this highly dangerous world where they can live safely and thrive.

I loved the characters! Justin was an absolutely awesome companion for Carly during the apocalypse not only because of his survival skills, but because he is a genuinely good person. You could tell that he really grew to care for Carly as a friend, before he started falling in love with her, and hated when he couldn't help someone they saw as they continued their journey, but he always made decisions that needed to be made. His knowledge on survival actually taught me something, too! It would probably take me longer to die now! Score! Carly was a good main character as well. She's my age, which made it easier to relate to her emotions and actions. I enjoyed reading from both of their perspectives, especially as the tension grew and their relationship developed. I not only rooted for them to survive, but for them to take advantage of the time they had together and realize that they cared for each other beyond just being traveling companions.

This book was good. Really good. Really, really good. I was hooked immediately and finished it in a few hours because I didn't want to put it down. Everything about it sucks you in. The writing style and setting reminded me a lot of the movie, The Mist, which is based off of the novella written by Stephen King. That may sound random, but it really felt like they could be in the same world, ya know… minus the flesh-eating monsters. Reading this from start to finish wasn't hard. In fact, it seemed to fly by and by the end, I wished it had been longer! The End of All Things is addictive and absolutely brilliant. The readers will be so drawn in that they have to continue because they just have to know how it ends.

There is going to be continuation of The End of All Things titled The Beginning. Lissa Bryan says it will be a extension of Carly and Justin's story, but there isn't a release date yet. I definitely will be reading it! This world that the author created has really left an impression on me and I'm not ready to let it go. Plus, I would like to see how the author expands the story and what is next in store for Carly, Justin and their child.

I received an e-copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley for my honest opinion and review.