Rebirth by Sophie Littlefield: Review Posted by Tiffany at 6:50 AM

Title: Rebirth
Author: Sophie Littlefield (site)
Published: July 26th, 2011 by Luna

Pages: 384

Buy: Amazon / Book Depository 

Rating: 4.5/5

Source: NetGalley
Synopsis: Civilization has fallen, leaving California an unforgiving, decimated place. But Cass Dollar beat terrible odds to get her missing daughter back—she and Ruthie will be happy.

Yet with the first winter, Cass is reminded that happiness is fleeting in Aftertime. Ruthie retreats into silence.

Flesh—eating Beaters still dominate the landscape. And Smoke, Cass's lover and strength, departs on a quest for vengeance, one that may end him even if he returns.

The survivalist community Cass has planted roots in is breaking apart, too. Its leader, Dor, implores Cass to help him recover his own lost daughter, taken by the totalitarian Rebuilders. And soon Cass finds herself thrust into the dark heart of an organization promising humanity's rebirth—at all costs.

Bound to two men blazing divergent paths across a savage land, Cass must overcome the darkness in her wounded heart, or lose those she loves forever. (Goodreads)

Review: Sophie Littlefield has gained a lifelong fan in me. I've even added her crime series to my To-Read list and I never read crime novels. Rebirth was even better than Aftertime. It was one of those books that won't let you go when you are away from it. I kept thinking about the characters, wondering what was going to happen when a certain secret came out, going over my favorite scenes again and again, wishing I could pull the car over and just read. It bordered on obsession. I haven't had a book and it's characters grip me this hard since I read Stacia Kane's Downsiders series. I still wonder about them sometimes. As soon as I'm caught up on the books I need to read, I'll be re-reading that series.

Rebirth continues a short time after the conclusion of Afterlife. Cass has managed to make a nice little life for herself, but everything crashes down around her pretty quickly. This is partly brought on my her self-destructive behavior and partly by a message from the Rebuilders. It broke my heart to see her finally happy and then have it  explode. She makes a Bad Decision and then continues to make it worse and worse until I thought I was going to cry. You're in her head the whole time, so you see why she's doing these things. You get a glimpse at her twisted logic, but what she doesn't realize is that all of these decisions are based upon the (flawed) assumption that she is worthless. It drove me nuts! (But in a good way). One thing that was different about this second book was the change in perspectives. We got to learn a lot more about some of the other characters in the series (sadly, not the one that I  really wanted to learn more about). It made the situation she was creating even more tense and sad for the reader. I got to see what he was thinking too, watched as he slowly began to change his feelings...which is going to lead to a very interesting showdown in the next book. Yes, I suppose this has all been very cryptic, but I don't want to give it away. Go read the book! I can't wait for the third, I was very disappointed to not have any resolution to a certain problem at the end of Rebirth. Things are about to get very, very complicated and I can not wait!

My review for the first book, Aftertime, is here.

Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield: Review Posted by Tiffany at 6:50 PM

Title: Aftertime

Author: Sophie Littlefield (site)

Published: Feb 15th, 2011 by Luna

Pages: 384

Buy: Amazon / Book Depository 

Rating: 4.5/5

Source: NetGalley
Synopsis: Someone once said that all apocalypses are experienced locally. In the case of Cass Dollar, the nightmare occurred with the violent abduction of two-year-old Ruthie, which she vividly remembers. Only later is young Cass assaulted also by the vague, twisting memories of a much wider conflagration that she herself only narrowly survived. A government experiment had turned the entire California landscape into the hunting grounds of zombie Beaters, but Cass can only think of the helpless toddler she is missing. A deeply arresting paperback original. (Goodreads)




Review: One thing that I'd like to make clear from the start is that this is NOT a YA book. I was under the impression that it was, but quickly realized that I had been mistaken. I would not recommend this for younger teens, probably not anyone under 18. Then again, I knew girls who were reading V.C Andrews at 14 and this is nothing compared to that, so make up your own mind. I will warn you that there is sexual content (short but explicit) and the heroine is a very damaged individual. However, she is a fantastic writer and I would recommend her YA series (which I haven't read yet) if you're curious.

On to the actual review now! I picked this book up after the sequel became available on NetGalley. This is my first book by Sophie Littlefield, but it most certainly won't be my last. I love the way she writes, her characters, the actual story... she's pretty much blown me away here. Yes, this is a post-apocalyptic zombie book. But these zombies aren't hungry for your brains. These zombies like to eat skin. They like to peel the skin off of a living person and eat it. Yes, this is just as horrifying and disgusting as it sounds. Littlefield has a way of never letting you grow accustomed to the world her characters are living in. There is no getting used to the horrifying creatures that hunt them. The details of the attacks are not spared, but described every time. This isn't to add shock value or unnecessary gore. It keeps you connected to the main character and what she's experiencing. She never gets used to seeing the people around her have their epidermis peeled away by ravenous (and fast, good lord I hate the fast ones!) monsters, so neither does the reader. I felt a little bit terrified, a bit sick with fear every time Cass stepped foot outside, waiting for another attack. It's not every book that can make you feel so connected to the characters and their situations.

Speaking of characters, Cass was amazing. She was definitely damaged, she hadn't been a very good person before the apocalypse, and I'm not sure that she's a good person now. Learning about her past was painful. Watching her make mistakes was painful. Following along as she tried to fix these mistakes was both heartbreaking and uplifting. She felt so real. Was she based on a real person or did Sophie Littlefield just spend a hell of a lot of time getting to know this character? I have no idea, but the result is amazing. Cass doesn't just suddenly find the strength she needs to overcome her problems. She stumbles repeatedly, making her journey difficult but realistic.

I became completely immersed in this book. I stayed up all night to finish it and had nightmares once I was done (not a great book for reading before bed). I would say that I can't wait for the sequel, but I really couldn't. I picked it up as soon as I got out of bed and read it in one day. Review coming soon for the second book, Rebirth.