Kara's Book Cravings: End of Days Series (Books 6 and 7)

 

So, I did it -- I finished the final two books in this series, and boy do I have a lot of thoughts. If you've been following along, then you know I was immediately sucked into this series, and I've blown through it really fast. If you need to catch up, you can do so HERE and HERE. Okay, now that we're all on the same page, let's do this!

GRIP OF EVIL is book 6 and is basically the book where everything really just falls apart -- way more than things already have, anyway. This is the ultimate climax where we finally get more information about the madman terrorizing the town and what his goals are. All of this books so far have had quite a bit of action, but this one was definitely the most action packed by far. 

We also learn a lot more about Isaac in this book, and his backstory, while I'm sure was meant to be tragic (and it was to an extent), it also felt a little over the top. And the connections to the small town and everyone in it was also too much, in my opinion. I mean, I get it -- I was born and raised in a small town, but at times, I felt like the author was throwing everything in just to shock readers. That didn't work for me. 

GRIP OF HONOR is the 7th and final installment in this series, and I struggled with this one. It was a quick read just like all the other books, but after all the action and reveals in book 6, this one fell flat. The defeat of the madman was way too easy. The rescue of one of the main characters was also too easy. 

The overall ending was rushed, yet still felt unfinished. I was left with so many unanswered questions. Like, the town elects a new mayor, yet we never see who. The book ends just before the announcement is made. 

The characters still have no concrete answers as to what happened or when the world will return to normal. I don't know if the characters are going to stay in town or move on. 

Also, beyond the end of the world survival aspect of this, I was really intrigued by the idea of the characters being raised by preppers. While we do get glimpses into their childhood and how they were raised, the whole prepper thing seemed like an easy plot device to give the characters the skills they (conveniently) needed to survive. I would have loved to had more interaction with the prepper parents / community. 

Overall, this was an engaging series, and I did enjoy most of it. Though I do feel like 7 books plus a prequel was too much. What do I mean by that? Well, tune in this Thursday for a more in-depth explanation, because I have a lot more to say on this!