This might be an odd way of doing things, but I can’t write this without explaining my thoughts on the series as a whole (no spoilers, I promise) because this is one of those times when the series is much more than the sum of its parts.

This series was intense. The physical intensity was similar to that of many dystopian/post-apocalyptic books, what with people fighting, getting injured, dying, etc., but the emotional intensity was significantly stronger than others I’ve read because the character development was fantastic, and the emotional hell of these characters came through really well for me to masochistically enjoy through them without it ever feeling contrived or over-dramatic.

The other thing I loved was the series’s amazing job of exploring humanity and just how far people will go when they get scared and desperate. That sort of issue is inherent in a lot of books of the genre, but I’ve yet to see one that explored it as realistically and heart-wrenchingly as this series, especially in the second and third books.

But the author never pushes this in an obnoxious way. You have to pay attention if you want to catch it, but I recommend that you do, that you try to understand the actions of these characters. And the way Keary Taylor stayed tightly focused on just a few characters and showed all this through their actions, the thoughts and emotions behind them, the events that led up to them, the fallout that came after them—that’s what had a real effect for me.

There was also a romance plot throughout the books, but the story is so much more than that, and Eve is a strong and mature yet compassionate girl who puts the safety of her people and loved ones above all else.

There was a love triangle, but it was resolved by the end of the Book 1, and I felt it was done right. I understood why the characters had the feelings they did and why Eve needed time to figure things out, especially when she was trying to stay focused on the safety of her colony and not get distracted. And the fact that I liked all three characters involved added to the emotion because I really didn’t want them to get hurt.

So, despite the fact that I never thought I’d like a book described as “The Terminator meets The Walking Dead” (I’m pretty sure I didn’t see that line before starting the book), I really liked it, and the next two books only get better!