Shattered World

Broken World, Book 2

By: Kate L. Mary

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Stranded in the middle of the Mojave Desert, surrounded by zombies, Vivian and Axl are sure they're facing the end. They meet a billionaire who's promised them safety and security, but it's almost too good to be true. Vivian hopes she'll finally be able to deal with the loss of Emily, her growing feelings for Axl, and the terrifying new world they're facing. But their sense of security is soon shattered when they discover the shelter isn't the utopia they thought it would be.

It seems the company that built the shelter decided to solve their financial problems by selling off provisions, which means the group has to find a way to get supplies. Or face starvation. And Vegas is the closest city.... With her feelings for Axl stronger than ever, Vivian volunteers to accompany him and a few others on a trip into one of the biggest tourist cities in the world.

Vegas is overrun with zombies, but there are other survivors as well. As the emotional baggage piles up, Vivian and Axl's bond grows, but it doesn't take long to realize that zombies aren't the only thing they have to fear.

©2014 Kate L. Mary (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"I like how Ms Mary was able to balance action, suspense, and horror." ( Mama Knows Books)

This is a Great Series!

(Carbon Copy of my review in the first book in the series)

Broken world and the rest of the books in the series (which I finished as well) is a great series I enjoyed the characters and the storyline and it never got boring. it was both realistic and feasible in terms of what an end of world zombie invasion might be like. I'll tell you what IF and when it does happen I'll refer back to what Axel and Vivian did to survive! I ain't joking lol

Props to the author for a well done enjoyable series!

Updated Review For Book 2:

Book 2 continues to amaze and continues the story where it left off from book one it just gets better from here. my original review that I posted on book one and copied above still applies.

I love you but no sex

Ok we had sex now I don't know if I love him this went on and on and on besides that good story

The Zompoc Continues!

This book picks up where the first book in the series, "Broken Worlds", left off. Vivan, Axl, Angus and the rest of their group of survivors are left stranded in the desert outside Las Vegas after bringing the jerk Mitchell to a secure bunker. Mitchell has promised that he will allow the group into the bunker, but you know how jerks get their reputations!

Without spoilers, I will say that this book has everything that you would want in a zombie apocalypse thriller. Plenty of zombie action, a little romance, a few nasty characters and some tears. And, of course, just when you think that everything is going well for the main characters, something goes wrong. Can't anybody ever get a break when the zompoc hits?

But, the author has also added in a lot of emotion and plenty of unexpected twists to keep the interest of the reader. The book is fast paced, has great characters and loads of gore. Be aware: This book ends on a huge cliffhanger, so you will want to have Book 3 ready to read as soon as you finish this one.

The narrator does a great job with the pacing and her voices, even for the male characters, add a lot to the listener's enjoyment.

Good series but…

I like this series, I’m actually on book 6 at the moment, but I have to write about a few things that bother me. Mostly the authors use of reoccurring themes or phrases. In the first two books it was a hundred uses of “my stomach dropped” “my gut churned” “my stomach flipped” “my gut roiled” and so on and so on and so on. I must have heard a variation of that phrase over 100 times and it got annoying. In book 4 and 5, whenever someone says “we made it!!” Or “we’re going to make it!” you realize after the 3rd use that they are not going to make it. Also that’s where every single (I’m not kidding) action scene involves a fall a trip or a misstep which inevitably leads to weapons skittering away. Over and over again. At least the stomach churning stopped.

Even Better as an Audio Book

As usual with Kate L Mary , the story is fabulous with unconventional , well developed and lovable characters. Great storyline, lots of drama , and some steamy bow chicka wow wow time . I read these years ago , and am now listening to them while I clean or work out. The narration is top notch and really fun. Now leave me alone, I have to listen to the next one

Interesting story

So they make it to the safe shelter with clean toilets and electricity, where we can get to know the characters and they can romance without pesky zombies in the way. Sometimes it's like reading my older sisters trashy romance books when I was little. Except now I fast forward through the sex scenes, can't be bothered with them now.

The strong side of this book are the characters and interpersonal relationships; brings a lot of depth to the book. The story also feels very different from other books, it keeps me engaged. Vivian is a tough girl, but she plays the secondary role, letting the brothers take point in the fight and relying on (or manipulating) their strength to lead the group. Hadley is a really like able character, this has me on edge because I worry she might die at any time.

Angus seems to be a simple character, but he is probably very complicated because his personality is sometimes in contradiction to his actions. Like how is Mitchell still alive after what he pulled in the last book? The Angus I've been told about wouldn't allow that. So he seems tough, but doesn't follow through. He also continues to make remarks to Vivian even after his brother and her are a known item. That's his brothers girl he is talking to. In front of his brother. This just doesn't happen. I think the author really needs to think carefully how to fit Angus in better. I'm just waiting for a big schism to happen.

Some plot stuff left me with my sexist thoughts about the author, like how they grabbed their packs and got stranded without food or ammo, left me wondering what they carry in their packs. Tissue paper? And the unintentionally funny, we can't drive this car, the windshield is dirty! (Axl wouldn't care about driving a car covered in zombie gore to save their lives.)

Narrator, goes without saying, excellent. Especially with so many characters.

I am critical of some aspects in this series, but I still give it 4 stars because it is still that good. The excursion the hospital was very exciting and the ending, oh my! Luckily I saw the next book is out!

Extremely predictable

I'm not sure what to say. Everything was predictable. I'm not sure I understand the logic of heading into the middle of Las Vegas when there are plenty of communities on the outskirts to get supplies from. It seemed like it was added in to create drama and suspense, but all it did was create frustration. I doubt I will get the third book.

On the fence

I'm on the fence about this book. I think mostly if they had cut out 80% of the sex then the good zombie parts would be left. I mean who listens to zombie fiction for the sex? It's the zombie apocalypse for pete's sake lol But I enjoyed the first one and the in between sex storyline was good enough for me to continue the series... I probably would have just skipped to the third book if I'd known better.

Better than book one

This zombie series is keeping my attention. I liked this 2nd book even better than the 1st. Vivian is still annoying but not as much, Although her internal dialog does get repetitive at times. The story arc for this book was fast paced and kept me listening. I like the small differences in these zombies who get faster as they grow older and deteriorated. I'm definitely gonna continue with this series.
The narrator Hillary Huber does a terrific job.

Great from beginning to end!

This was great! After loving the first book in this series, Broken World, I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Once I started listening to this book, I didn't want to stop. This is one of those series that is just completely addicting. I feel like I become more investing in the welfare of the characters with each passing hour. I really had a great time with this book from beginning to end.

This book picks up right where the first book left off. This is a series that does need to be read in order since each book builds on the previous installments. It is a great series so you really want to be with the characters from the start anyway. This review will have spoilers from the previous book due to the ongoing nature of the story.

Vivian, Axl, and the rest of the group are in a dire situation as the story begins. They have brought the billionaire to his shelter in the desert but he is now refusing to let them in where it is safe. They are outside the compound, surrounded by zombies and preparing to fight for their lives when a well-known actress comes to their aid, allowing them in the shelter. It seems too good to be true. The nearly empty shelter is full of amenities and should be able to sustain the group for a long time. Of course, it does prove to have some pretty big problems.

My favorite part of the book was the developing relationships between the characters. Vivian and Axl are both great characters and I love how they are with each other. They really seem to be better in each other's company. Axl wants to protect Vivian but she is tough and can hold her own in most cases. They really make a great team and I love how much chemistry they have with each other. Hadley was a great addition to the cast. She is a down to earth Hollywood star who is more than willing to do her part and seems to fit in with the others surprising well.

This book had all of the excitement that I hoped for. It took a while for zombies to come into play in the first book in this series but this book starts out with some real zombie action and there is plenty to go around during the course of the story. I was really worried about how things would work out for the characters several times during the story. I thought the there were also a lot of more heartfelt moments in this installment. It really was a very well balanced book.

Hillary Huber did a fantastic job with this book. I think that she does a great job of bringing Vivian to life. She handles the fairly large cast of characters very well and the dialogue in the book flows very nicely. I thought she had a very pleasant reading voice and I had no problems listening to this book for hours at a time.

I would recommend this book to others. It is a very well done post-apocalyptic story with the perfect blend of action, great characters, and just enough romance. I cannot wait to read more of this amazing series!

I received a review copy of this audiobook from the author.