Amongst the Ruins
(The Chronicles of 2020)
by Saewod Tice
With the collapse of modern society, the population has regressed into eight clans.
Amongst these clans, an unusual girl grows from child to adult.
Raised on the run and in hiding, Shilo wants to be free of the expectations of women. But in a ruined world where anyone could be an enemy, only the radiation-twisted mutants are clearly identifiable. A fertile female is a precious treasure, and any lapse in caution can mean a loss of the freedom she longs for.
Training as hard as a soldier would, in order to free herself from social constraints, she finds herself faced with an offer from a new clan–an offer that provides her with what she desires. But her recently found independence brings discovery, and discovery brings two very different men from her past—and each of them is determined to claim her.
One is obsessed with owning her, the other desires her as the only person who can make him love again.
About the author:
Saewod Tice lives in Central Pennsylvania with her husband and two children. A self-proclaimed foul mouthed, book nerd who loves reading genres ranging from Young Adult to Horror to Erotica.
To escape the structured, methodical confines of her day job, she delves into her overzealous imagination producing dystopian worlds and romances. When not writing or spending time with her family, she embraces her Computer Geekdom through the internet. Including being a member of Writing.com, TextNovel writing forums, and RWC group.
Website / Facebook
My Thoughts:
I love reading sci-fis focused on “the end of the world”. How would the possible survivors live? What would be the cultural effect and what would change due to the circumstances? Here we see the story of Shilo, and accompany her growing up to adulthood. She’s the only POV we see through the story and her journey starts when she’s still only 12 – and right from the start we face the numerous issues her family has to go through. I won’t say much not to spoil the book, but the romance was straightforward in some places and, at other times, it lacked emotion and didn’t succeed to show the bond and feelings between the characters.
In my opinion, I wouldn’t consider this read a YA book mainly because of the way the author chose to approach sexuality. I’m not sure I would think that a few situations would be 100% believable, but for that we’d have to see where the series will take us. I could find a few homophones and missing words, and that’s something that bothered me a few times. However, it was a very enjoyable read and I loved the setting and the groups we got to see, I can’t wait to read the next book! I believe this series will be a trilogy, exploring the other members of her family that were so important to the protagonist. The development of the main character was great and I found it very clever the elements the author used for that. The dialogues and the sex scenes could improve a lot, and I’ll expect that when I read the following title. Amongst the Ruins is a story full of action with a hint of mystery and romance that won’t get out of your head for days after you read it. Let’s wait and see what Saewod Tice will present to us next time…
Rating 4/5
This ebook was received through Sizziling PR in exchange for an honest review.