ARC Review: Horizon by Sophie Littlefield

Book 3 of Aftertime series

Book provided by Netgalley and Harlequin

Release date:  January 31, 2012

 Synopsis from Goodreads: Of living things there were few….but they carried on. Cass Dollar is a survivor. She’s overcome the meltdown of civilization, humans turned mindless cannibals, and the many evils of man. But from beneath the devastated California landscape emerges a tendril of hope.

A mysterious traveler arrives at New Eden with knowledge of a passageway North—a final escape from the increasingly cunning Beaters. Clutching this dream, Cass and many others decamp and follow him into the unknown. Journeying down valleys and over barren hills, Cass remains torn between two men. One—her beloved Smoke—is not so innocent as he once was.

The other keeps a primal hold on her that feels like Fate itself. And beneath it all, Cass must confront the worst of what’s inside her—dark memories from when she was a Beater herself. But she, and all of the other survivors, will fight to the death for the promise of a new horizon…

AH’s Review – B+

Why is it that in zombie books, the humans never seem to run out of bullets?

All kidding aside, what an incredible ending to a great series!  Set in a world devastated by biological warfare, the human population subsists on a plant called Kaysev. Unfortunately, the wrong strain of the plan was released and the blue-leafed variety caused people to turn into zombies. These zombies or Beaters as they are called in the book are one of the threats to our survivors.

The Beaters are not the only threat. Groups of survivalists abound, each with their own agendas and levels of violence. Society has become dangerous and groups of people band together for protection.

Cass and her daughter, Dor, and Smoke have hunkered down in New Eden. While the situation seems idyllic, Cass is relapsing back to her old self; her addictions have returned. Cass is not well liked by the female population of this community. She often acts selfishly and because of her addiction has become careless.

Of course, all good things come to an end and New Eden is threatened by Beaters. The small community packs up to head North with another group of settlers. The journey is long and dangerous, and their escorts are not what they seem to be.

It felt as if each character was tortured or damaged by an event in their past. Finally, those events are revealed and was I ever surprised. The ending was perfect and I did need a few tissues.

I feel the need to address the love triangle. I understand that many readers hate love triangles, but this has got to be one of the best handled love triangle I have read. Cass must choose between Smoke and Dor and she loves them both. In the end, I believe that she made a good choice.

While I enjoyed this series, there were a few things that bothered me about this book. The story is told in multiple points of view: Cass, Dor, Smoke, Sammi, and another character. The points of view are not clearly identified and I found that I had to flip back and forth to figure out whose voice was used. It made for an abrupt and distracting read. I also found Sammi’s voice to be a little annoying. I could not understand why she was so angsty, especially after the events of Rebirth.

The Aftertime series is an engaging read. I highly recommend it. I can’t wait to try Sophie Littlefield’s other books.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin for a review copy of this book. 

Rating:   ☠  ☠  ☠  ☠  ☠ 

Series reading order:

1. Aftertime
2. Survivors (Novella – 1.5)
3. Rebirth
4. Horizon (January 31, 2012)

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