'Kick at the Darkness' by Keira Andrews is a thrilling post-apocalyptic romance set in a world overrun by a zombie-like virus. The story follows Parker, a college freshman, and Adam, his older TA, as they navigate a dangerous world filled with pandemic warnings, zombie-like creatures, and unexpected discoveries. Forced together by circumstances, the two protagonists embark on a road trip to find safety, facing challenges, dangers, and forming a deep bond along the way. The writing style is described as compelling, with a perfect pacing that keeps readers on edge, seamlessly blending elements of romance, suspense, and paranormal fantasy.
The book delves into themes of survival, love, and hope amidst chaos and uncertainty. It offers a unique take on the post-apocalyptic genre, combining elements of enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, viral outbreak, and werewolves, creating a story that is both gripping and heartwarming. The narrative not only explores the evolving relationship between Parker and Adam but also delves into human nature in times of crisis, showcasing the characters' growth, resilience, and the power of companionship in the face of adversity.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
There are moments of horror and themes of trauma, which may not be suitable for all readers.
Has Romance?
The romance between Parker and Adam is a significant focus of the book, characterized by chemistry and emotional depth.
From The Publisher:
To live through the zombie apocalypse they have to survive each other first.
College freshman Parker Osborne is having the worst day ever. He humiliated himself trying to pick up a cute guy, he hasn't made any friends at school, and his stupidly hot jerk of a TA gave him a crappy grade on his paper. He's going to drop Adam Hawkins' film class and start fresh tomorrow after he's had a good sulk.
But Parker's about to find out what a bad day really looks like-if he can survive the night.
A virus is unleashed, transforming infected people into zombie-like killers. After these quick and deadly creepers swarm campus, Parker only escapes thanks to Adam swooping him onto the back of his trusty motorcycle. Now they're on the run-and stuck with each other.
When they're not bickering, they're fighting off the infected in a bloody battle for survival. Their only hope is to head east to Parker's family, but orphaned Adam has a secret he's not sure Parker will accept: he's a werewolf. Can they trust each other enough to find some light in these dark days?
Kick at the Darkness by Keira Andrews is a gay romance featuring enemies to lovers, forced proximity, two young men finding love in the zombie apocalypse, and of course a happy ending. Book one in the Kick at the Darkness m/m shifter romance series.
Ratings (6)
Loved It (2) | |
Liked It (1) | |
It Was OK (1) | |
Did Not Like (2) |
Reader Stats (8):
Read It (6) | |
Want To Read (2) |
2 comment(s)
Too much smut, plot was very predictable as it followed all regularly used tropes for dystopian roadtrip stories. Kinda felt like I was reading Sterek fanfiction at many points.
A zombie apocalypse. No, this does not fully reflects the idea of this book. Werewolf in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Werewolf and pert college freshman in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Well, much better!
I don’t think I have ever read a book about the zombie apocalypse. This is really not my thing. There is something about the zombies that makes me laugh. I just can’t take them serious somehow. And this book is not an exception. Every time they encounter zombies I giggled, just couldn’t stop myself.
This being said I really like the characters. However, I have to admit that I expected Parker and not Adam to be a tragic hero of this story. Parker with his ‘always the second one’ syndrome would, in my opinion, make a more convincing tortured hero (well, ‘tortured’ is probably too strong, disturbed maybe…). Orphaned Adam is somewhat inconsistent in his shame of who he is. He starts as a rather self-confident and a bit bossy hero and ends up being a rather soft, emotional one, shy even. Don’t get me wrong, I still like him, but there is something off about him.
The plot-line is okay. Even though I haven’t read books like that, I watched some movies. And the plot-line does not differ much from these movies. Everything goes more or less as expected. It’s not bad and I still enjoyed the story. But it is not truly surprising. The romance part is also pretty nice.
All in all, it’s an okay read. I’m not sure I will remember it in a month. Well, I may remember the werewolf thing and the zombie apocalypse, but not the characters or the plot… Still, I am considering reading the next book in this series. It is set at sea and it can be interesting in itself. We will see…
What can you read after
Kick at the Darkness?
About the Author:
After writing for years yet never really finding the right inspiration, Keira discovered her voice in gay romance, which has become a passion. She writes contemporary, historical, paranormal, and fantasy fiction, and-although she loves delicious angst along the way-Keira firmly believes in happy endings. For as Oscar Wilde once said, "The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means."
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