New Release Blitz & Review:
Time of Ruin (Ash & Ruin #2) by Shauna Granger
BookCrushin is happy to be sharing this new release blitz for Time of Ruin, the second book in the Ash & Ruin trilogy, by Shauna Granger! In this post you will find all the book & series information, an excerpt, my spoiler-free review & a giveaway! If you are a fan of post-apocalyptic stories then this series is not to be missed!
Time of Ruin (Ash & Ruin #2) by Shauna Granger
Category: Young Adult, Post Apocalyptic, Horror
Publication: July 22nd, 2014
Purchase: Amazon, Kobo, B&N, iBooks
[book rating =4.0/5.0]
The world has ended, and hope is the most dangerous thing left.
Battered and bruised after barely escaping San Francisco with their lives, Kat, Dylan, and Blue press north – desperate to reach the possibility of a new home.
But strange, monstrous ravens are tracking the remaining survivors, food is becoming scarce, gasoline is running short, and people are becoming suicidal, making survival almost impossible.
And the Pestas are growing bolder. Somehow, their numbers are growing.
The further north they go, the harder it becomes to ignore the signs that they’ve made a fatal mistake. Kat must face the impossible truth that there is no escape, there is no safe haven, and their worst nightmares don’t come close to their new reality.
Excerpt:
Sitting on the bumper again, my jagged nails scratch at the plastic as I fight the urge to tell Dylan to hurry. Blue looks up at me and whines. I shake my head at him and pet him with the toe of my boot. His eyes are dark blue in the evening light. Blue drops his head and looks at Dylan, his ears perked up into two triangles. I follow his gaze. Dylan’s still standing, holding his instruments of destruction, and staring at the raging fire.
Blue pushes to his feet and barks one sharp, loud yelp. My hand drifts over to the rifle by my leg as I let my eyes slide from Dylan’s back to search for the source of Blue’s panic.
“Dylan.” I mean to call to him, but my voice comes out in a strangled whisper.
I swallow as I stand and pull the rifle with me. Across the street, the shadows between the houses are taking shape. They’re no longer the snapping, twisting formless shadows from the fire, but something more, something substantial. Dylan lifts the can of fluid and squirts more onto the fire, making it spike and lick the air.
“Dylan,” I try again, my voice a little louder. The rifle is in my hands now. The stock is pressed into my shoulder as I aim at the shadows peeling away from the deeper black.
Still Dylan doesn’t hear me, or is ignoring me.
Blue barks repeatedly, backing up until he hits the car. I find my voice and scream his name loud enough that it hurts my throat. Finally he looks at me, his face cast in shadows with the light behind him. I can’t make out his features, but I can make out the horde of Pestas behind him.
“Run!” I aim the gun as I walk backward around the car.
Instead of listening to me, he looks back to see what has terrified me so. They shuffle forward, lines of them spilling out into the cul-de-sac. Dylan takes two steps backward, nearly tripping over his feet and making me scream again. I rip the rear door open for Blue to get in the car. Slamming the door behind Blue, I lift the rifle and fire a shot, aiming well away from Dylan. The Pestas cringe in unison, as though they are all puppets controlled by the same set of strings.
“Run, dammit!” I scream.
Spoiler-Free Review:
**This may contain slight spoilers from book 1, World of Ash ~ You can read my spoiler-free review of book 1 HERE.**
[book rating=4.0/5.0]I am a sucker for a good post-apocalyptic or dystopian book. I could read them all! When I read World of Ash back in December of 2013, I devoured it! Absolutely loved it! I was under the impression it was a stand alone novel and when I put the first book down all I could think of is that there had to be MORE! Not because of a cliffhanger but because I just felt there was so much more to learn in this world and these characters were really speaking to me. This time while reading Time of Ruin I knew I get at least 1 more chance to revisit this world and that put me at ease while reading, however this time the ending is a little more cliffhanger-y than the last. Just a little…nothing that made me throw my book or anything! (Come on, you know those types of cliffhangers, this isn’t one of them). I am dying (not from the plague) to read the finale!
Shauna Granger has that gift that allows you to just turn the pages and the words just flow into your brain. I barely feel like I am reading, more like watching the scenes play out in my mind. The imagery is fierce and real and still damn scary. Yes, it is scary. Not too gory but the ‘give you the shivers, turn on all the lights and lock your doors’ scary. It is dark, bleak and somehow the characters still find themselves something to hold on to throughout this collapse of humanity.
As a sequel, the novel continues seamlessly and it also does a great job of expanding the story line. Time of Ruin is a growth novel. The characters grow into more of who they are, the plot grows as well as the threats. It gave you enough to keep you guessing but also to keep you intrigued. We learn a lot more about the people left in the world, the disease, the freaky Pestas and their abilities. And…well I can’t give that away, even though I want to tell you all about it! You will just have to read the series for yourselves!
Kat and Dylan are much more connected in book 2. They have latched on to each other to help them survive this fretful world and they are in it together. The two of them charm the pants off of me! I adore them together, they tug & pull each other just at the right times. Blue is less of the humor in this book as he was in book 1 and more of their fearless guardian. I have to say I do love animals in the PA genre, they really help you connect with the past as well as bring new light into a book that allows you to see that everything can and must adjust to survive. We do met a few other characters and my favorite was Tess. She was scared & brave all at the same time and what else can you ask for in this shattered world.
There are slightly adult themes and I would recommend this to any upper YA, new adult or adult reader. If you love a good post-apocalyptic novel, you should read this series immediately. It is a fast-paced, intriguing and suspenseful read! Well worth all 4 hearts! Bring on book 3 now please!
Series:
World of Ash (Ash & Ruin #1)
Publication: December 2nd, 2013
Purchase: Amazon, B&N, Kobo
Goodreads
Kelly’s BookCrushin Review & Rating: [book rating=4.0/5.0]
There are two inherent truths in the world: life as we know it is over, and monsters are real.
The Pestas came in the night, spreading their pox, a deadly plague that decimated the population. Kat, one of the unlucky few who survived, is determined to get to her last living relative and find shelter from the pox that continues to devastate the world. When it mutates and becomes airborne, Kat is desperate to avoid people because staying alone might be her only chance to stay alive.
That is, until she meets Dylan. Dylan, with his easy smile and dark, curly hair, has nowhere to go and no one to live for. He convinces Kat there can be safety in numbers, that they can watch out for each other. So the unlikely couple set off together through the barren wasteland to find a new life – if they can survive the roaming Pestas, bands of wild, gun-toting children, and piles of burning, pox-ridden bodies.
Author Bio: Shauna Granger
Like so many other writers, Shauna grew up as an avid reader, but it was in high school that she realized she wanted to be a writer. Five years ago, Shauna started work on her Elemental Series. She released the first installment, Earth, on May 1, 2011 and has since released four sequels, with the series coming to an end with Spirit. She is currently hard at work on a new Urban Fantasy series, staring a spunky witch with a smush-faced cat named Artemis.
Author Links:
Giveaway:
Wow both of these stories sound great. I’m definitely going to check them out whenever I get the chance. Thanks for the giveaway!
Thanks for checking them out Sarah!
You are very welcome!
I love it when I can pick up book 1 and book 2 in a series which is new to me! Thank you for spotlighting Shauna Granger! xo
Love dystopian novels! This looks very intriguing…