Dawn of the Apocalypse - Scavenger Hunt, GIVEAWAY and Review!

     So guys I am involved in yet another fun event, this one hosted by the lovely Diane, at Oops! I Read Again Tours.  Me and some other bloggers got together under her direction to bring you this fun scavenger hunt/giveaway and reviews of an awesomely terrifying book, Dawn of the Apocalypse by E.S.P.  Be sure to click on the banner above to be taken to the tour page, so you can visit all the stops and get the clues for the giveaway!  To join the scavenger hunt, all you need to do is collect two words from each tour stop and form three sentences out of them. The first sentence has 11 words, the second one has 2 words and the last sentence has 15 words. Once you collect all words you can try to solve the puzzle and enter the giveaway.  My two words that you will need will be bolded and in red in my review.  I am the last stop for this tour!!!  Good luck and happy hunting! :)

January 1, 2000.
May 21, 2011.
December 21, 2012

These are just a few of the days humans prophesied as bringing catastrophic events that would end the world. We predicted nuclear warfare. Drastic climate change. A call from God.

We were wrong.

Cue the gargoyle invasion—laboratory bred mutants designed to slaughter humans. When the government goes AWOL and gargoyles are swarming by the hundreds, it's up to the citizens of the United States to regroup and save themselves.

Meet Cliff Matthews, a teenage boy separated from his entire family with the exception of his younger sister, whom he is desperate to keep alive. Along the quest to save their lives, he encounters people who aren't all that they seem. Everyday's a battle, but if he can't trust his own species, where does that leave his family?

And we can't forget the man who may be willing to sacrifice Cliff's life, if it means world domination.

In terms of doomsday, no one could've seen this coming. The dawn of the apocalypse…

Review

 

     I can safely state that I have never read anything like this before!  When I first became a tour host for Oops! I Read Again and was looking at the list of available tours, this immediately caught my eye.  Killer gargoyles created from mutated genetic material in a laboratory?  Sign me up!  I'm glad that I participated.  This is definitely an example of the exception to the general rule of junk in the self-publication pile.  This was a book full of rich descriptions, heart stopping action and really sympathetic characters.  It begins in Mexico with a visit by El Presidente to a small village, where they are all attacked by the killer gargoyles.  It's a pretty horrific spectacle.  Then it goes to 15 year old Cliff, at the subway station with the rest of his family.  When his little sisters Angel and Andy have to use the bathroom before they board the train, Cliff is the one to take them.  Fifteen minutes later their entire world is in ruins, half his family is missing and it's up to Cliff to keep his remaining sister safe when Andy disappears with their older brother Todd.  Along with the mysterious Hunter, a girl with some major problems who helps save him in the bus stop, it's up to Cliff to find a way to stay alive in a danger zone.  But when the government's lying to you, the news is reporting bullshit and everything outside is chaos, who do you trust? 

     I honestly had such a great time reading this and I think a big part of that is the fact that NO ONE WAS SAFE.  That's the problem with a lot of mainstream, big publishing house YA nowadays.  If an apocalyptic book makes it to the market, there is one character who is the main focus.  They are guaranteed survival through the whole novel/series.  Maybe they'll die at the end, but no matter what happens during they will be alive.  With E.S.P.'s novel I had no clue who was going to live or die at the hands of the terrifying, flesh-eating gargoyles roaming the New York city streets.  And that's a great feeling to have when reading a book - that you can still be surprised by what's going to happen next!  The multiple points of view from Cliff, Hunter and a few others kept things fresh and especially unpredictable, but there were moments when I really thought Hunter and little Angel, or even Cliff might die.  Thanks for that Ms. ESP!  It made the experience awesome. 

     There were some minor grammatical/spelling errors, but nothing really annoying or obvious.  Plus my copy was an ARC, so maybe they're corrected in the final version.  The ending left things wide open for a sequel and had me wanting one right away.  I have to know what really happened to Cliff, Hunter and Angel dammit!  Plus there has to be more to the main villain than what we were shown.  I wish there had been a little more development on him but overall, a entirely enjoyable reading experience.  I wish there were more like it.

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received a review copy for my Kindle, courtesy of Oops! I Read Again Tours and the author, E.S.P.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review (I promise, I'm still poor! :).  This book was published August 9th, 2013.*

 

 

About E.S.P.

Being the daughter of an accomplished author, E.S.P. grew up listening to stories and telling her own to classmates. After writing for several years and even publishing some short works, she finally decided to take the plunge to write (plus finish!) a full length novel. Thus, Dawn of the Apocalypse was born. When she's not writing, she's either reading books, blogging at whoistheserialreader.blogspot.com, or watching eighties movies twitter.com/bloggerESP

Purchase Links:  Amazon

 

 

THE GIVEAWAY