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Reviewed by: Warren
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Print Length: 182 pages
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Posting: Contemporary, HEA, Thriller/Suspense, Novel
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Publisher: SelfPub (September 29, 2014)
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Book Provided by: Author
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Author: Sara York
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Posting Date: October 17, 2014
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Rating: 4.5 Star
The Review:
From the eyes and mind of a m/m author, what would happen if a world-wide epidemic hit? This is the premise of this tense, heart-breaking, and wonderful novel by Sara York. After the End follows two boys as they become friends and lovers, and become survivalists to the maximum. This is a very poignant story for our time, with what is happening in the world these days.
The story follows Dean and William, two boys from the city, one a poor boy who has been basically supporting himself his whole life due to his family situation, and the other, a rich boy who lives in a mansion surrounded by a fence with gates at the entry. Both boys go to a Blackwell Preparatory School. Dean is there on a scholarship because he is as poor as dirt, something he tries hard to keep from the other boys of the school. They have one of those relationships that seem like they are always just on the edge, although William does know more about Dean than anyone else, so they are very tentative friends.
But all of a sudden in just hours, both boys world will be changed for good.
It starts with a phone call from William’s parents, and begins the adventure of the boy’s lives. They must leave the city and learn to live on their own resourcefulness.
How can two such different boys learn to trust and rely on each other as much as these two need to do to survive the disaster that is all around them?
Sara York has imagined the scenario, and written a great look at one possibility of what would happen. She takes us on a scary, often tense trip, filled with angst and danger. She expertly describes the building of the relationship, and does a great job of taking us through the process of the two boys learning to trust, love, and lean on each other.
And when things get really scary for Dean and William, when they become separated and Dean’s life may be threatened, Ms. York shows the distinction of the good and the bad in the world when disaster hits.
I had so much trouble putting this book down. I just wanted to keep reading and reading. Her ability to bring emotion to the pages of her story is really remarkable.
If I had one complaint, and it is why I took off half a point, it is that the end seemed a bit rushed to me, like after the boys are reunited, it feels like she rushed to complete the book. The paragraphs she did put in would have been such a good continuation of the story. I won’t say more because when you read it, you will see what I mean. The boy’s lives don’t end, and could have really made a great storyline to continue the process the boys go through as they become men.
The Buy Links:
After The End – Amazon
After The End – Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble – Paperback
The Book Description:
With international flights crisscrossing the skies on an hourly basis, are we ever really safe?
When a strain of the Ebola virus mutates; it spreads quickly leaving the medical community shattered. People are dropping in the streets and life, as most know it, comes to an end. Two city dweller survivors, Dean and William, are forced to flee the city and live in the wilderness—where dangers lurk behind every tree and in every valley. Not everyone alive after the end is good, and William and Dean are faced with challenges that would bring many to their knees.
Growing up in the hood of Atlanta, Dean knows how to overcome trials, but he knows nothing of love. Can he sustain a relationship with William, or will his doubts end them before they even have a chance?
From birth William has had a silver spoon in his mouth and two in each hand, but the end brings him face to face with reality where he has to take responsibility for his life. After the end, money has no meaning, and life is lived on the edge.
Join William and Dean after the end and find out how close to the edge they come.