Review: State of Emergency (Book #1) by Summer Lane

State of Emergency (Book #1)
by Summer Lane

What would you do if the world as you know it ended in an instant?

How far would you go to survive?

Cassidy Hart is your typical High School graduate: a little shy, a little sarcastic, and a little naive. But when an electromagnetic pulse takes down the United States, she's forced to kick into full survival mode when she gets separated from her father.

Yeah. Things suck.

But with the help of a handsome soldier named Chris, she just might find her dad without getting into serious trouble.

Emphasis on might.

Oh. And there's the matter of avoiding getting killed in a world that's quickly turned into an active war zone.

It's going to change Cassidy's life.

It's going to be a major pain in the butt.

Genre: New Adult, Apocalyptic

Publication Date: Jan 18th 2013

Publisher: Writng Belle

Format: eARC, 360 pages 

Series: yes

Source: copy from the author

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My Review

Nobody knows how it started, only that, out of nowhere, technology turned on humans. Cellphones died, lights went out, car batteries wouldn't work... and chaos ensued.

Cassidy Hart finds herself in the middle of it all. But thanks to her well-prepared father, she has a working car, supplies and a scape plan. Until the moment she meets Chris Young, a very cute soldier who asks her for a ride... and then the whole plan starts to fall apart. Now they're both on the run from crazy starving civilians and an even crazier militia group called Omega. 

But why is Omega group so interested in them? And how come her father was so well-prepared for something like this? Was meeting Chris just a coincidence? What is really going on?

Cassie has no idea. But she will find out.

Wow. State of Emergency was pure undiluted action! I really liked the way the writing instantly sucked me into the story and just wouldn't let me go! It was the first I've read from this author and was pleasantly surprised to enjoy it so much. I love survival / post-apocalyptical stories, but they aren't always that well executed, so YAY for State of Emergency! I especially liked that it a New Adult book, meaning that the main character wasn't a teen anymore. We need some more heroines in the 19-25 age range.

However, it was not all flowers and rainbows. This book had many similarities to the TV series Revolution. There was the global shutdown of all electronic devices, the start of journey in search of a family member, the 'help of a handsome soldier', and a crazy militia group stalking them... so I really couldn't help but compare them both.

Cassidy did some really stupid stuff, too. She fell for obvious traps, she trusted people who were clearly untrustworthy, and, in my opinion, she was way too nice for someone in her situation. I'm sure that if it was real life she would have shot some people. Maybe even killed someone. I mean, come on, when people are trying their best to kill YOU at any cost, you're not just gonna stand there and do nothing to stop them when you have the chance to, will you? But, well, I suppose it wouldn't look good for the heroine to be bloodthirsty...

Oh, and there were these parts where Cassie went on and on and on about obesity in America. I was like, HELLO? It's the end of the world, people are killing and being killed all the time, there's no electricity anywhere, there's a militia group enslaving people, there's almost no food and water anywhere and all you think about is how all this is a good cure for obesity? Seriously? If she had mentioned it once or twice, it would be no biggie; sure, it does, in fact, make some sense when you think about it. But she elaborated on it over SIX times. I know, I counted. She didn't worry about people clearly losing their humanity around her as much as she worried about obesity. Well, that tells you a lot about her. Oh, and I'm not saying it's a good thing to be obese, but if Cassie had some more meat on her bones maybe she wouldn't have almost frozen to death that many times. >.<

Chris was an amazing character... he was smart, kind-hearted and unbelievably patient. I liked him a lot. Even if all he did was save our silly, self-desctructive little heroine most of the time. When he wasn't acting like total man-candy, that is. Not that I'm complaining about THAT part. 

Anyway, I actually learned quite a few survival tips from this book. Turns out I just have to do the opposite of whatever Cassie did. ha-har. Well, jokes aside, State of Emergency made me feel a bit worried about how I'd act if the same happened. I just know I'd be totally screwed. O.o It also makes you think about how people can be perfectly civil and kind one moment and then just slit your throat for an energy bar in the next. If the end of the world happens, of course. Or if they are crazy psychos. But you get my drift. It's an interesting, though frightening, concept.

Funny tidbit: All the time I was reading State of Emergency I was picturing Chris as Chris Hemsworth in the movie Thor. Coincidentally, author Summer Lane admitted in her interview to imagine him like that, as well. The guy IS incredibly hot. *-*

 (And, no, this wasn't just an excuse for me to post more pictures of Chris Hemsworth. Ok, maybe it was.)

All in all, State of Emergency does its job very well! It thrills you, it scares you, it keeps you reading like crazy because you just have to see what happens next, and, most important of all, it makes you feel. And that is not an easy feat for a book. I'm REALLY looking forward to reading what happens in the next book! XD

*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*

I'm curious. What would you do if the world as you know it ended in an instant?