I did not like the book initially. It took me a few chapters to get used to how the author expressed things. I almost quit. But once I got used to the style, I had a tough time putting the book down. I enjoy zombie apocalypse stories where the main character thinks and plans about what to do. And this is definitely that. I will be continuing on to the other books in the series. ( )

I struggled between a 3-star or 4-star on this review but eventually decided upon a 4. The story, itself, kept my interest throughout with plenty of twists and turns. The author spent a lot of time going back to the heroine's earlier days when her prepper father spent a lot of time training / testing the three kids in self-defense while growing up, honing their survival skills and submitting them to periodic tests that could have gotten them injured. All this was necessary to show readers that Alex was a badass gal.

Alex escapes Las Vegas with her two kids after a virus spreads from Florida throughout the country. Her goal is to reach her father's safe haven prepper compound in Montana. Her brother had been managing the complex since the father's death and her sister is also making her way there from the east coast. Although there is no mention in the story about the siblings, it's only Alex and company. Along the way, characters come and go as they battle zombies for survival.

What I didn't care for was the author's constant reminder of ensuring the safety of her children along the way...this is a given but repeated every dozen pages or so. There were also many typos, grammatical errors, and words used out of context (i.e. passed instead of past). She cites an editor's help in the afterwords, but honestly, these errors should have been spotted and corrected.

I was surprised to see that the next book in the series does not follow-up on Alex and her family, but instead, follows the trip of her sister, Max, from South Carolina to Montana. Then book 3 talks about her brother's story. So, I'll pass on continuing the series for now but might revisit it again in the future. Not a bad book and worthwhile reading. It is a diamond in the rough. ( )