This is my stop on the blog tour for the Ash and Ruin series by Shauna Granger! To read more reviews and posts on Shauna Granger  check out the Ash and Ruin blog tour schedule here!

World of Ash Book Summary (Goodreads):

There are two inherent truths in the world: life as we know it is over, and monsters are real.

The Pestas came in the night, spreading their pox, a deadly plague that decimated the population. Kat, one of the unlucky few who survived, is determined to get to her last living relative and find shelter from the pox that continues to devastate the world. When it mutates and becomes airborne, Kat is desperate to avoid people because staying alone might be her only chance to stay alive.

That is, until she meets Dylan. Dylan, with his easy smile and dark, curly hair, has nowhere to go and no one to live for. He convinces Kat there can be safety in numbers, that they can watch out for each other. So the unlikely couple set off together through the barren wasteland to find a new life – if they can survive the roaming Pestas, bands of wild, gun-toting children, and piles of burning, pox-ridden bodies.

World of Ash (Ash and Ruin #1)
by Shauna Granger
Release Date: 12/02/13
Rating: 4/5

My Review:

 Kat comes from a privileged, happy family, but that does little to prepare her for when the plague arrives. The Pestas are these monster like creatures that spread the plague like wildfire. Most of the population is dead from this virus. The government does what they can to contain the deadly virus but securing cities and bombing them. The virus is spread by touch. When the government plans to bomb Kat’s home, she makes it out just in time, but her family does not. Kat’s father contracts the pox and it doesn’t take too long for her family to realize that Kat’s mom will soon get it. Kat’s parent’s send her to her Uncles house, which is quite a distance from home. Suddenly Kat goes from a life of worrying about hair and make up to a life of brutal survival. On her journey Kat is attacked and beaten, and quickly realizes that she needs to be afraid of people she encounters just as much as she should be afraid of The Pestas. Very a good portion of Kat’s journey she is completely alone, but along the way she meet’s and befriends Dylan and a dog named Blue, and honestly if it weren’t for Dylan I’m not entirely sure she would have survived through book one, even though they both hold their own through out the book and save each other numerous times.  Kat is very leery of Dylan at first. Kat has a hard time trusting humans. She’s afraid of them just as much as she’s afraid of The Pestas, since humans are the ones that are going to such extremes in order to contain the deadly virus. Kat and Dylan’s friendship is wonderful, and it was so neat to see their companionship grow throughout the book.

This dystopian world Granger created I found fascinating. The story grips you from the beginning and it’s practically a non-stop heart pounding and palms sweating throughout the entire book, even though there isn’t necessarily a lot of action going on. The world Granger creates it just that scary, and Kat’s story is just so good, it’s a hard book to put down. And it’s hard not to be terrified for them as they set out on their journey.

Both Kat and Dylan were very well developed characters, they each had distinctive personalities and both had much to learn in this new apocalyptic world. Both Kat and Dylan had flaws and growth, and it made them very real. I enjoyed Kat’s character ARC, seeing her from being the teenage girl that pretty much had a perfect life, to having to endure many trials, and toughen up a bit. When we first meet Dylan he’s very naive and believes the government will help them, but over time and with Kat’s help he begins to realize the only ones he can depend on is himself and Kat.

World of Ash is a harsh world, but it’s an apocalyptic, dystopian story you don’t want to miss! It’s AMAZING!

This is my first read by author Shauna Granger, and I can’t wait to read the other two books in the series!

Be sure to enter the rafflecopter giveaway at the end of the post!

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes and Noble│Kobo│Smashwords│iBooks

Want more World of Ash? You don’t even have to wait!

Time of Ruin (Ash and Ruin #2)
by Shauna Granger
Release Date: 07/22/14

Summary from Goodreads:

The world has ended, and hope is the most dangerous thing left.

Battered and bruised after barely escaping San Francisco with their lives, Kat, Dylan, and Blue press north – desperate to reach the possibility of a new home.

But strange, monstrous ravens are tracking the remaining survivors, food is becoming scarce, gasoline is running short, and people are becoming suicidal, making survival almost impossible.

And the Pestas are growing bolder. Somehow, their numbers are growing.

The further north they go, the harder it becomes to ignore the signs that they’ve made a fatal mistake. Kat must face the impossible truth that there is no escape, there is no safe haven, and their worst nightmares don’t come close to their new reality.

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes and Noble│Kobo│Smashwords│iTunes

 

Age of Blood (Ash and Ruin #3)
by Shauna Granger
Release Date: 05/05/15

Summary from Goodreads:

Hope is a dangerous thing, but powerful. Hope keeps you going. Hope can keep you alive.

But hope can shatter your world.

Kat and Dylan have found a home, but the monsters are still out there. The pox and plague still ravage the world. They have hope of finding a vaccine, but their encampment isn’t equipped to develop it.

Dylan is still too weak from the pox to leave the encampment, so Kat must decide between staying by his side and protecting her last remaining family member as he leaves to find supplies. Separated for the first time since they came together, Kat and Dylan will have to fight their own battles to save what is left of their bloody world.

Kat will have to hold on to hope that she has anything left to save and someone to come home to. If she can survive.

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes and Noble│Smashwords│Kobo│iBooks

 

About the Author:

Like so many other writers, Shauna grew up as an avid reader, but it was in high school that she realized she wanted to be a writer. Five years ago, Shauna started work on her Elemental Series. She released the first installment, Earth, on May 1, 2011 and has since released four sequels, with the series coming to an end with Spirit. She is currently hard at work on a new Urban Fantasy series, staring a spunky witch with a smush-faced cat named Artemis.

 

Author Links:

Website│Twitter│Goodreads│Facebook

 

GIVEAWAY:

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