Review--In the End by Demitria Lunetta

She thought it was the end of the world... But it was only the beginning of the end.

It's been three months since Amy escaped New Hope. Since she's seen Baby, or Kay, or Rice. And she's been surviving on her own, like she did before she was "rescued" and taken to what she thought was a safe haven. Then, in the midst of foraging for supplies, her former fellow Guardian's voice rings out in her earpiece. And in a desperate tone, Kay utters the four words Any had hoped she would never hear:

Dr. Reynolds has Baby.

Now it's a race against time, for Baby is in imminent danger, her life threatened by the malevolent doctor who had helped start the end of the world. In order to save Baby, Amy will have to make her way to Fort Black, a former prison-turned-survivor colony. There she will need to find Ken—Kay's brother—for he holds the key to Baby's survival.

But before she can do any of this, she'll have to endure the darkest places—and people—of the prison. And one small slip-up could not only cost Baby and Amy their lives, but threaten the survival of he people in the After.

Demitria Lunetta has created an utterly compelling conclusion to the story she set forth in In the After. Readers of the Hunger Games trilogy will not be able to pit down this book, which is gripping from beginning to end.

BE ADVISED, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FROM THE FIRST BOOK OF THE DUOLOGY WITHIN THIS ONE.


After waiting way too many years, I finally picked up Demitria Lunetta's In the End, the thrilling conclusion to In the After! My memories were fuzzy over the first book, I remembered the gist of things after reading my review, remembering a shocking last lines of the first book. Luckily, after starting the book, Amy gives a brief recap of the major events too, so I was good to go!

It hasn't been long at all since Amy escaped New Hope and that dangers within. But she's determined to go back and rescue Baby, her "sister" aka the toddler she rescued a few years ago during the end of the world crisis. Dr. Reynolds, the "evil" doctor who's at the camp is likely running experiments on her too. With help from her friends on the inside, Amy is led to Fort Black, another fortress of safety. The only catch is, the fort used to be a prison and some of the prisoners are still there.

Fort Black proves to be a scary place indeed what with most prisoners still living there, free to roam. Not all are reformed either after the flesh eating monsters known as the Floraes came about. Of course, we now know that these creatures aren't aliens like we did for the majority of the first book. Amy is looking for her friend Kay's brother, Ken, who could be the key to getting into New Hope and rescuing Baby. But as I said, Fort Black used to be a prison and it's still a dangerous place to be.

I'd say about 1/3 of this book takes place at Fort Black where Amy is looking for Ken who isn't the easiest guy to find. She does meet Jacks, a guy around her age who kind of takes her under his wing at this camp. Women are in short supply here, so you can imagine how scary it can be for a young girl. Though Jacks remains ever the gentleman despite telling others she belongs to him. It's really the only way to keep her safe. Especially, when one of the hardened criminals takes a liking to Amy.

Though it's been over 4 years since I read the first book, I was happy by how easily I was able to get back into this story. Yes, some "familiar" faces weren't all that familiar to me. I forgot about Amy's previous love interest from book one as you might imagine being locked up--sometimes literally--with Jacks, feelings are bound to happen. Yet, though it does, I found I didn't mind. Mostly because, yes, I couldn't really remember Rice, but also because Jacks was so kind despite a rough exterior...and maybe because he shares a name with another Jacks I couldn't help but love! Lol!

But romance was never meant to be apart of the story, though there is love. A sisterly kind of love. Amy is determined to do whatever it takes to save Baby, the girl she loves as a sister. And when we get to that final 1/3 of the book, the action is intense! While I wouldn't call it fast paced until the last handful of chapters, it's still rather intense! We learn things and then more catastrophic things happen and everything is just INSANE! 

The ending was truly perfect. I mean, once you dive into a dystopian toting the apocalypse, you're never sure what kind of ending you're going to get. But as I've always said, the best series finale endings are the ones that are filled with hope for a better future, more adventures, more stories...even if we aren't there to see them. In the End has that kind of ending, though it may not be the one you'd expect. I'd love to know more about what happens after that final page, but obviously, that will have to be left to my overactive imagination...I can only hope I'm not cruel to myself! Lol!

But seriously, the ending was ideal and I loved it! Though I waited way too long to finish this series, what I can remember of the first book combined with this final addition was superb! It was a shocking duology to say the least and it was an intense thrill ride that I couldn't get enough of, even 4+ years later! If you love a good post-apocalyptic story with shocking twists and amazing characters, this is the read for you!



Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars