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labraden's review against another edition
3.0
After Sundown is the story of a small town in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee that undergoes a radical change after a worldwide power outage due to a solar storm. Sela Gordon and her Aunt Carol, who run the local gas station and convenience store are elected to take control of the town. Their job would be much easier with the help of local survivalist, Ben Jernigan, but he has vowed never to get involved with the problems of others again. His days in the military have left him jaded and bitter. When Aunt Carol is hurt falling down a flight of stairs, shy Sela must assume leadership, and once again looks to Ben for help. If her attraction to him isn't one-sided, then she might be able to talk him into stepping up.
This is an unusual story for Linda Howard. She usually writes romantic suspense with lots of action and suspense, but this story just rolls along at a leisurely pace as each problem that faces the community is dealt with using common sense and cooperation. It is a very topical story during the current pandemic, but other than a minor climax at the end, it lacks substance. Overall, a disappointment.
This is an unusual story for Linda Howard. She usually writes romantic suspense with lots of action and suspense, but this story just rolls along at a leisurely pace as each problem that faces the community is dealt with using common sense and cooperation. It is a very topical story during the current pandemic, but other than a minor climax at the end, it lacks substance. Overall, a disappointment.
rainnbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I am probably in the minority for this book coz I was expecting a 5 star knock me out story and it left me wanting more. C’mon it is co-authored by LINDA HOWARD so what should there be, not to like. But sorry to say, this end of the world post apocalypse story just never worked for me as it should have. The dialogues and banter which I was expecting to be a cracker between the leads was kept to the minimum but the romance was slow-burn and super exciting.
Ben is a retired marine whose lonely existence high up in the mountains is exactly what he needs. He hates socializing and community existence and being responsible for anyone after being a witness to the horrors of army life. Sela is shy and extremely reticent to be in the forefront of anything even though she is capable of always doing what needs to be done. When a solar storm hits the world and everyone is plunged into unfathomable darkness, with Ben’s warning, Sela and her aunt rallies the whole community together to survive the loss of power for indefinite length of time.
In a way this story kind of related to the pandemic situation we are currently facing with access to everything that we consider normal being shut down and it was hopeful to read about the survival techniques used by the people to fight against the odds. Of course, the going is not easy as the greed and selfishness and even hunger cause the rotters to bound out of the woods and attack the old and feeble.
The story definitely has its moments with a cantankerous aunt proving humor and I simply loved BEN, uh, excuse me but I am a huge fan of super brooding heroes who needs saving and I loved Sela’s quite strength and reliability to lead her people even though she prefers the background.
3.5 stars for this slow-burn romantic suspense.
This review is published in my blog rainnbooks.com, Amazon India, Goodreads and Twitter.
lynn_camden's review against another edition
2.0
Howard is obviously experienced and talented enough to give us a good approximation of some of her better romantic thrillers, but this fell short in a lot of ways. The beats were so predictable as to be boring. It was readable after a slow start and the main characters had good chemistry.
Maybe it hit different reading during a pandemic. Killing off half the population of the world and the characters all sort of shrug seemed so callous in 2020. Billions can die as long as the white community in this one valley are fine? Rolling my eyes at this one.
Maybe it hit different reading during a pandemic. Killing off half the population of the world and the characters all sort of shrug seemed so callous in 2020. Billions can die as long as the white community in this one valley are fine? Rolling my eyes at this one.
lucyjanereads's review against another edition
5.0
Was this the best book to read during COVID? Hell no, but once I started I just couldn’t stop!! This book was so well crafted! Both the thriller/survival aspect and the romance felt realistic and well balanced. If you have anxiety, I would wait until COVID is over. But damn it’s good. Also it’s like 2 am so sorry if this makes no grammatical sense. I couldn’t stop reading once I started.
spellboundbybooks's review against another edition
5.0
Ms. Howard is another auto-buy author for me, and this story she has co-wrote with Linda Jones engrossed me from the first page. You would think that the story line of catastrophe and panic striking the globe would be a little too close to home right now, but it was kind of cathartic to read and gave me hope and reassurance for the future.
In this scenario, a Coronal Mass Ejection is about to hit and knock out power grids worldwide for at least a year. Queue panic, chaos and a battle for survival within a small Tennessee community. The authors wove the story with plenty of tension and suspense that had me absorbed and on the edge of my seat throughout.
I've gotten so accustomed to opposites attracting in romances, but it was actually nice to read about two people with similar natures falling for each other. Both are introverted and solitary for different reasons which I totally identified with, being the same way myself. I also liked how 'quiet' the romance was in the middle of everything that is happening.
Along with the suspense and romance, there was the sense of hope from watching people come together to help each other through the hard times. Don't get me wrong, not everything in the town is perfect, but there was a wonderful sense of community as the story went on. Given current events and the plot, I'm surprised at how much I loved this story, although I really shouldn't be considering the authors!
In this scenario, a Coronal Mass Ejection is about to hit and knock out power grids worldwide for at least a year. Queue panic, chaos and a battle for survival within a small Tennessee community. The authors wove the story with plenty of tension and suspense that had me absorbed and on the edge of my seat throughout.
I've gotten so accustomed to opposites attracting in romances, but it was actually nice to read about two people with similar natures falling for each other. Both are introverted and solitary for different reasons which I totally identified with, being the same way myself. I also liked how 'quiet' the romance was in the middle of everything that is happening.
Along with the suspense and romance, there was the sense of hope from watching people come together to help each other through the hard times. Don't get me wrong, not everything in the town is perfect, but there was a wonderful sense of community as the story went on. Given current events and the plot, I'm surprised at how much I loved this story, although I really shouldn't be considering the authors!
sjroth's review against another edition
DNF. Nope, not for me, not now. I had put this one on hold a few months ago, before COVID, because I thought the premise sounded intriguing and the characters unique. But after a few chapters I have to throw in the towel. I might have been able to read this before the pandemic, but the scenes preparing for the disaster to strike just few too real to be enjoyable now. In my head, I’m comparing everything to the panic and hoarding that was happening in the US and it’s taking me entirely out of the story. It’s not a pleasant reading experience so I’m just going to stop.
cana's review against another edition
2.0
I was intrigued by the premise of this one, but ultimately there was something about the book that just sort of rubbed me the wrong way. The premise should have been exciting but there was almost no tension--I liked that the town pulled together, since that's a pretty realistic disaster response, but there was no real sense of urgency at any point.
This seems to be marketed as a romance, which it really isn't--there's a bit of instalove and I truly hated the "oh hurrah! Post apocalyptic no medicine pregnancy! Love to casually risk dying in childbirth" bit that seemed to think it was a happily ever after.
I didn't have an awful time reading this book, but it's not something that makes me want to go find either author's backlist and dive in. It's not something I'll remember in a month.
This seems to be marketed as a romance, which it really isn't--there's a bit of instalove and I truly hated
I didn't have an awful time reading this book, but it's not something that makes me want to go find either author's backlist and dive in. It's not something I'll remember in a month.