Sundered - Shannon Mayer (The Nevermore Trilogy Book 1)

As the author of Dragon Badge, I am always looking for something original in urban fantasy and paranormal suspense. SUNDERED, by Shannon Mayer is hard to put down. I read 99 percent of it in one sitting. It is a post apocalyptic story and delivers exactly what you would expect. She is a master of moving the tale forward, upping the stakes, and creating characters you want to make it (and you can take make it a couple of different ways).

SUNDERED has a strong romance theme, but an unusual one. Of the few romance novels I have read, the woman and man seem unlikely to get together (though you know the will). Mayer broke this formula perfectly. Since I have only just now bought the second book, I am not sure how everything works out, but I have some theories.

Mayer did a good job breathing life into what is now a very popular theme in fiction, so I would recommend buying this book. But if you are someone who buys a lot of books in this price range, make sure you put this one at the top of your reading list. Especially if you are a new author, because she knows how to get a story started and push it on down the road. Note: I really hate giving 5 star reviews and normally reserve them for books by George R.R. Martin, but this is a totally different kind of  book and how can you not give a high review for something that you read straight through without a break? I am in reviewer’s agony; even now I don’t know how many stars to click.

Not every review can be perfect. I’m a writer, I know. So here it is. In some places, the story moved so fast that opportunities for deepening aspects of the story were missed. I struggled with whether or not to include this criticism, because even as I read these portions, I did not want to slow down, and I bet Mayer did not want to slow down writing. And I am not sure such elaboration was needed or would be desired in the story. You will have to figure it out yourself. I did not notice any grammatical or spelling errors, which normally stand out in indie books, but again, I stopped looking for such things very early in the story. So my only real criticism is the length of the book; take it as you will. I am now rambling, so I will stop. Go forth and read like a rock star (and remember that writers dearly love feedback, so write a review for
everything you read).