Blood Rose Books

Elle Casey introduces readers to a world where adults have vanished and what happens to the kids and teenagers when left to their own devices:

Bryn Mathis was 16 years old when her father died, however, this is nothing new to the world, as adults have been dying for years now. The youth have been left alone for a while now and Bryn knows that it is time to move on from her family home as she is almost out of food and a gang of kids has started to roam her neighbourhood looking for trouble. Bryn knows that she shouldn't trust anyone but when a strange kid appears next door she realizes how much she has been missing human contact and they decide to set out to look for a new shelter and food hopefully some place safe. But something as happened to some of the youth that have been left behind, they have lost some of their humanity.

This book was a great read, and I was surprised how dark Casey took this book as it is a YA read. I would say that this is more for an older or adult YA book, based upon the content of the book. This said Casey does not go too far in to description or detail about what is happening, which at times can be worse as it leaves it up to your imagination, but there are several scenes and flashbacks in the book that most people would find disturbing. The one thing that is not really explored in the book is why all the adults died or whether once an teen turns 18 will they too pass away. Maybe this is not explained as the main characters a teenager, or maybe Casey will address it is further books in the series, I'm just left scratching my head about it as nothing is explained.

It always seems when the world goes to hell, humanity goes with it as well, so I guess this is almost to be expected in books like this. Casey takes the idea to a whole new level though with having youth be the ones who have lost this humanity in the form that they become cannibals aka canners. We first really learn about it through Peter and his tragic past but our main characters run in to them and the ending is one that will have you searching for the next book in this series.  They are not zombies these people have chosen an "easier" way to survive by entering into cannibalism. The Canners also become more sophisticated in their process by the end of the book,


I liked the three main characters in this book and how they play off each other, there is some intereting and funny banter that occurs. Bryn is the strength, Peter is the brain and Bobo is really the heart (and at time the comedic relief) of the team that they form, oh yes and Buster the dog, who doesn't need a dog at the end of everything. My main complaint with a character was Bobo being from Germany and the accent that was written in to the book. It took a while to get used to the words being written how someone would say then in English if they had a very heavy German accent.

This book was much more than I expected and was not only darker than I expected but also an interesting story. I look forward to picking up the second book in this series.

***Fun fact of the moment this book is currently free on amazon, so I suggest you pick up your copy ASAP*** https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypsis-Book-1-Kahayatle/dp/1939455766
 
Enjoy!!!