Book Review - The Survivors

About the Book

The Survivors is the first installment of five tantalizing tales of the fourteen ill-fated Survivors and their descendants, who have been content in hiding for over three centuries. Isolated on a Montana mountainside, only Sadie, the rogue daughter, dares to abandon the family’s sacred hiding place. But no matter how far Sadie runs, something always pulls her back.

On a muggy summer night in Tennessee, she witnesses a shocking scene that will change her life forever. It is the first in a sequence of events that will drag her from the human world she’s sought to belong to for over a century and send her back to her Puritanical family and into an uncertain future filled with cunning witches, mysterious nosferatu shape-shifters, dangerous eretica and vieczy vampires, millennia-old mythology, and the search for her own mortality.

Breakout young adult fiction author Amanda Havard, who just released her auspicious debut novel The Survivors (Chafie Press), has teamed up with artist-to-watch/internet sensation Chris Mann to record an emotionally charged, original song based on her book. Co-written by Havard and Deanna Walker, “Pretty Girl” was recorded in Nashville and features vocals from Mann, one of the principle voices in Fox’s hit show Glee (Warbler #6). Mann has also been featured in numerous film and TV shows including Avatar, Letters to Juliet, Sex and City 2, 2012 and many more.

Inspired by lead character Sadie Matthau, “Pretty Girl” takes the literary experience to another level by helping set the musical tone displayed throughout the book. It’s one of many songs featured on the “soundtrack” for The Survivors, which also includes everyone from Coldplay and Nick Drake to Ingrid Michaelson and Old Crow Medicine Show.

My Take on the Book
Over the years I have read a number of books dealing with the supernatural. This book I knew would follow in a similar vein, but seeing that this was a new author, I did not know what to expect. Once I got into this book I was surprised to find that the book itself took a unique view of the supernatural. I loved the fact that the author takes old stories and myth and weaves them into the tapestry which is her book.

I found that Havard does a great job at engaging her reader and has built a strong base of characters through which she can continue this series. Through the subtle intricacies of her writing you are drawn into the book and into the immortal life of Sadie. I was impressed at how well the author pulls the reader into the story and allows the reader to sympathize and relate to a character who has lived a truly supernatural life.

The book is full of action and relationship tension, and at the end you are definitely left out on a ledge awaiting the next book in the series.

For a first book, this author has definitely started on a positive note, and I for one am looking forward to the next book in the series!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.
 
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