Above Ground by A. M. Harte
When Lilith Gray goes above ground for the first time, she hardly expects to stay there — much less be trapped on the surface with no way home.
Hunted by trackers and threatened by the infected, Lilith is on the run, desperate to return underground. Her only hope for survival lies with a taciturn werewolf with a dark agenda of his own.
Lilith’s old carefree life has been reduced to one choice:
Adapt. Or die trying.
About the Author: A.M. Harte writes twisted speculative fiction, such as the post-apocalyptic Above Ground and the zombie love anthology Hungry For You. She is excellent at missing deadlines, has long forgotten what ‘free time’ means, and is utterly addicted to chocolate. She lives in London, a city not half as foggy as some seem to think.
Buy the Book: Amazon (US) and Amazon (UK).
Excerpt:
Emma sank onto one of the cots, her line of questioning derailed by King’s casual comment. Lilith had been above ground for two hours. Who knew what had happened in that time? Who knew how many people had died?“The theatre has been secured,” King continued, “and all vampires exterminated.”
Emma bit on her tongue—bit hard—using the pain to push through her emotions. There was no time for shock or disbelief; she shoved the feelings into the smallest corner of her mind and focused on what truly mattered: uncovering the truth.
She swallowed, forced her voice to remain even. “Who do you work for? Precision Horizons, the DEI, or both?”
“You should rest,” he said. “It’s been a long afternoon.”
His avoidance of the question only made her more determined. Emma crossed her arms. “You have the DEI uniform and the PH logo. I’m thinking you work for both, which leads me to believe that PH isn’t quite the innocent technology company it pretends to be.”
He shrugged. “There are many conspiracy theorists who would share that opinion.”
“And what is the truth?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes!” She stood, the adrenaline making her legs tremble. “You may not care but I do, Mr King. I’m in prison and my best friend’s in danger. Of course it matters!”
This time he looked at her—properly looked—and seemed to finally see her as something more than a schoolgirl. “King,” he said, abrupt. “Just King.”
But Emma wasn't done. “Speaking of Lilith, why are you so interested in her? She wasn’t even supposed to come to the theatre because her mother forbade—”
The dawning realisation was a bitter taste at the back of Emma’s throat. The special ops, the surveillance room, the tracking device they’d implanted in Lilith....“You knew,” she accused. “You didn’t just think the attack would happen, you knew it would.”
King’s face grew cold. He stood still, back straight, head tilted to one side. He had enviable cheekbones, a delicate nose and generous lips, but the hard edge in his blue eyes belied the femininity of his features. His was an alien, frightening beauty, and Emma could not help but shrink away.
“You’re jumping to conclusions,” he said slowly, eyes flat as he appraised her. “I thought you were cleverer than that.”
Review: Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review.
An intriguing book that combines myth and science, magic and technology, and fantasy and dystopia.
The world Harte has created is fascinating. She does an incredible job of creating a fascinating world where technology, science, and a dystopian world exists underground and magic, supernatural beings and a fantasy world exists above ground. Each world would be fine on its own, but Harte combines the two. It brings up a lot of questions and I very eager for the answers. I personally feel more partial to the underground world because I am a big fan of dystopian fiction. The connection between the affected and those who live underground is a tantalizing one.
I must admit to being wary of Silver and Lilith's relationship at first because of the bond that forms between them. I dislike reading most fiction about werewolves since I don't like the idea of soul mates and that occurs too often when werewolves are involved. Luckily, they are both wary of the bond and even dislike it at times like logical beings. I was not expecting the ending, but it's always nice when the author doesn't take the easy way out. I hope to see more of Emma, Liam, and the underground world in the next book.
Rating:
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy werewolves, fantasy, dystopia, or any combination of the aforementioned items.
Giveaway:
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