John and Mykhail meet under some rather confusing circumstances.  John catches Mykhail raiding their garden and insulting the family tomatoes.  In this post-apocalyptic world, there is no longer the use of electricity and every man for himself.

John and Mykhail have an obvious immediate attraction to one another.  John can barely breathe when they are in the same room.  He gets mixed messages from Mykhail in return.

Meanwhile, there are more surprises outside of their little farm.  John's family accepts him and that stuns Mykhail since he no longer has one.  He wants to go back out and locate a college professor of his who he believes can solve this energy crisis.  They embark on a journey alone together to the college to see the professor.

On the way to the college, John finds out that Mykhail has feelings for him too.  He has just never acted on them with anyone before and is uncertain.  John is still feeling out of sorts since he has a past with men who cannot be trusted.

So much going on and several surprises for the reader in this book!  It is entertaining and charming to read. This is book # 2 in the Off The Grid Series.  Cannot wait to see what is next!  I give this book a 4/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

***This ARC copy was given free from Netgalley.com and its publisher, for review purposes.  My honest opinion does not reflect Netgalley, nor its affiliates.

It goes without saying that Ilona Andrews are one of my favourite authors ever, and their Kate Daniels series is one of the best UF series around. I am going to try to avoid huge spoilers because it would really spoil the story for the reader if I go into detail.

Magic Breaks is a book that heralds the ending of a huge arc that spanned the last seven books that builds up to a huge confrontation that Kate has to face–her big, bad father who has been a looming shadow throughout the series.

I also found that the pacing was very tight and tension filled, and I was left in tenterhooks because the action doesn't let up until the culmination of the huge climactic ending that literally reflects the title of the book which is beyond fitting. I also loved the changes between the characters, especially with Kate and Curran, whose chemistry is a pure delight to watch from how much they’ve grown as a couple. I loved how committed and supportive they were with each other when they were facing huge uncertainty and danger.

The confrontation was well worth the wait with a few twists that I really loved because it showed how much growth and development that Kate went through in the past seven books. The other characters also illustrated similar development and changes and the outcome at the end of this book is going to bring out some delicious elements in the series, and I am eagerly awaiting to see how this pans out. Ilona and Gordon have unleashed new changes and a wonderful nuance to the characters and new ongoing story arc which keeps this series fresh and engaging. I think it will be fabulous to see how Kate and co will deal with a world things have been turned on its head.

This is one of the few series that seriously gives me the giddies and entranced with great cast of characters and heart-pounding and fast pace action sequences.

When I first saw the blurb for The Pulse I was instantly intrigued by its premise. I love dark and gritty romances and I thought this would be an interesting post apocalyptic romance. However, by the 10 percent stage of my e-arc, I suspected the plot and characters weren’t going live up to its promise, and the book became a huge letdown for me.

Emily is a nurse struggling to survive a post Pulse New York city by avoiding the army, who has gone rogue, and others marauding the streets and roads of the city.  But she is soon caught by the army who offer the only sanctuary in the city–a FEMA camp which is a hellish choice because rumours abound that young women don’t fare well. A year later Emily finds herself becoming a prostitute herself to survive. But after overhearing a conversation and radio transmission which shocked her because all electronic devices died during the Pulse, she goes on the run and allies herself with a man called Mason who helps her to escape the city.

I hate being disappointed in a book, especially when the premise is something I really love. But I have to say this was one of the worst books I have read this year because it ticked off some of my hot buttons.  This book features sexual assault and rape so I am going to give a trigger warning for those who may feel that this is not the book for them. But that wasn’t the aspect of the book that let me down the most.

Let’s start with the heroine and hero. When you are on the run from the bad guys, I find it too stupid to live to have sex, especially when the environment you’re in is not safe, and especially if you’re being hunted down because Emily holds a damaging secret that could break down the authority of the power crazed colonel in charge of the camp. I like my smex but this book had too much of it and there was no real build up of tension between the hero, Mason, and Emily. I especially didn’t like the fact that Emily, who was coerced in having sex in the camps to survive, got over her past issues pretty quickly and was instantly in lust with Mason without any real depth or build-up. And add the fact she finds out he is an ex con for murder, she trusts him very quickly. This becomes the basis of their relationship and she views him as a protector, and I would have believed it if there was more to their romance. But it was sex, sex and more sex. They escaped from from the city and army and then quickly, it’s lets have some sex when there’s a break. They were on the road, taking a break, and decided again to have sex – forget the fact there is real danger out there.

Then there’s the world-building. I really didn’t like the subtext on how the army was viewed to be this brutish and dictatorial force and was able to control thousands of people, especially the size of the city of New York. There is martial law but where were the police and other Governmental bodies that allowed this to happen? And what about the gangs because the way Mason and Emily traveled the streets, escaping the city, was pretty easy – other than being approached by an ex-psych patient who has a nasty appetite for something other than rat meat.

I also couldn’t believe in a chaotic and crazy aftermath of the Pulse. The army wouldn’t have placed Emily, who is a qualified nurse, to be on the tracks where she is forced to prostitute herself. There was no real questions or answers on why the Pulse happened. It was a nameless enemy and it looked pretty vague that other countries escaped the fate of the Pulse but there was no offer of assistance so I suspect they suffered too. And let’s not forget there was a lot of gung-ho patriotism with America being great and how horrible this has happened and it didn’t need no help from any other countries because it will rise again. *HEAD DESK THUD x1000*  It was just plain dumb to think to turn down assistance when you have a country facing that’s facing post apocalypse. Of course help and assistance is needed and if those countries are facing the same fate then it’s even worse. This was why the world-building didn’t work for me because it was so weak.

The rest of my long ass review can be found at The Book Pushers in the URL link.