Far from Safe

Far Series, Book 2

By: Kate L. Mary

Narrated by: Nicole Jones

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's Summary

After crossing the country in the hopes of reaching the safety of home, Rowan finds herself in a world turned upside down. Her parents are gone and she’s surrounding by people she barely knows, and the only refuge she’s ever known is anything but safe. Zombies have taken over not just her hometown of Troy, Ohio, but the rest of the world as well, and now she and her fellow survivors, Devon and Kiaya, must work to find a way to survive in this strange new world.

©2020 Kate L. Mary (P)2020 Kate L. Mary

Far from usual...

Our group of survivors from the prior volume; Rowan, Kiaya, Devon, and Miller cross the dangerous countryside, heading for Rowan’s home in search of family. The last Rowan knew of her father, he was working at the hospital. She hopes she will find her mother alive but fears the worst. Along the way, a few survivors joined the party; Lisa a nurse from Miller’s camp, Hank a young native American, Buck an older gent who likes his liquor, and Uncle Randall caring for the children Mike and Lexi. It seems that the group tends to wander in the wilderness, searching for food and supplies without making any measurable progress. Kiaya has come out of her shell and made quite a turnaround in coming to terms with her past, and expressing herself as a young woman. Devon also has shown growth, surrendering the hard-line police officer pose, and curt retorts for a more amiable personality. Unfortunately, Corporal Miller is still a PITA to all concerned. Rowan, on the other hand, is an enigma. My opinion of Rowan, consistent with the prior volume is that she is an indecisive, insecure, crybaby. Yet, she can turnabout to be sincere, sympathetic, and forgiving. Rowan expressed it clearly herself, “I wasn’t built for this world. I was an only child and coddled. Never had to work, never had to struggle, never had to fight. My parents had made sure I had grown up in a cocoon of security. But now the safety that had always surrounded me was gone. And I didn’t know how to fit into this new reality. Didn’t know for sure if I could.” According to Rowan, her reactions towards Devon were crazy and ill-timed. At first, she didn’t even know if she liked him. What initially bugged her about Devon was that he reminded her of her first boyfriend Doug, which didn’t end well. But the familiarity of the small group and Devon’s persistent flirting began to take their toll on Rowan. As a final point, I believe the conclusion to Far from Safe reinforces my opinions. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

OMG stupid girl

I tried. Really I tried to get behind the main character through the series. Usually Kate Mary does a great job of making her characters flawed people you can root for. This story had promise - taking an entitled American girl through the arch of becoming her strongest self. It fell short and focused too much on the main character’s vapid inner monologues instead of rounding it out with telling the story from other characters perspectives. The Broken series fleshed out several characters with whom to identify. It made for a richer story overall.
The narrator wasn’t bad but she was more monotone and robotic than I prefer.

OK...

Far from Safe (Far Series, Book 2) by Kate L. Mary and narrated by Nicole Jones is an overall OK addition but not the norm for this author. I felt this was more of a filler book (sorry Kate!). The narrator was good and I would listen to her again.

What’s it about? Rowan and the group continue their fight for living in Rowan’s home town. The group learns the fate of those in her town. There isn’t much zombie action and there’s a huge focus on Rowan’s love life (past and present). They meet another group. I struggled to make it though and it took me several days instead of what would normally be one sitting. I honestly don’t know what else to say about this book because it was just meh to me compared to Kate’s others (which are fantastic).

*I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you for allowing me to listen and review the book!

fantastic

in these days of virus and pandemic it is quite apt to be listening to this series so I now have to get the third in the series xxxxxxxxx

Cliff hanger

A good read, fast paced with plenty of action. It didn't take me long to get immersed in the story, hanging on every word, I really enjoyed more time with my favourite characters Rowan, Kiaya and Devyn and some interesting new additions, there were some great plot twist but unfortunately ended on a cliff hanger, which left me desperate to find out whats next, I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

Queen of Post-apocalyptic did it again.

I received this book via a promo code and this is my voluntary review. Book 2 of this branch in the Broken World universe (I do recommend starting from Broken World->Silent World.. followed by Alone then the Oklahoma Wasteland Series 1-2 and Broken World Stories Novellas then Twisted World-Twisted Fate) There are some other short love stories dotted around in different time lines which are nice to enjoy afterwards.

This book follows another group of survivors at the start of the viral outbreak, Having travelled home from Phoenix University, in Arizona. Rowan is now taking refuge in her home with Devon, Kiaya and the rest of their group. Dealing with the knowledge her world has ended and her mother is dead, she tries her best to keep her group together because there's safety in numbers despite any as Buck's drinking becomes increasingly worrisome, they might need Miller to stick around, even if he hasn't been pulling his weight so far. Whatever her doubts about her Z World Motley Crew, they have to choose to trust one another fast when they discover another group during one of their supply runs complete with a familiar face, her ex-boyfriend Doug. Deciding there is definitely better odds against the undead in building up their numbers and that the kids in their group would benefit from the extra backup... they make a choice to join Gabe's group at the School but the promise of safety is short-lived. Gabe's leadership flawed and reckless as he prefers to arm only the men in his camp. An oversight which has grave consequences as this book ends on a cliffhanger.

I had initially read this book months ago after listening to Far From Home and though narration can come across as a little monotone but I still enjoyed it. Looking forward to jumping into the Book 3, Far From Lost before picking up with my favorite character in the Broken World Series. Angus James.