Official Review: Shattered Earth by Rachel Connell

[Kourtney Bradley]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Shattered Earth" by Rachel Connell.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Imagine that you have just been notified that the world as you know it will soon end, by being literally shattered to pieces. Out of billions of people populating our beloved planet, only a select few thousand will be granted access to the sanctuary ships that will transport to a newly found planet capable of sustaining life. Only those who prove to have a credible skill will be granted access, and even then, space is limited. Scary thought, isn’t it?

In the first installment of Rachel Connell’s Phoenix Series, disaster lurks in the not-too-distant future, in the year 2060. Shattered Earth, published in April of 2016, follows the lives of extraordinary characters embarking on a journey to find their new home. Having been dealt a pretty disappointing hand at life so far, Gaia Christianson finds herself as one of the lucky few able to have a new chance at life aboard the ship traveling to Phoenix, the new planet. Orphaned and with no money, Gaia is completely on her own... until she meets Cade. Cadeon West left Earth with his family thanks to their knowledge of livestock, and are granted access in return for maintaining the cattle and horses.

Supplied with the latest technology and entertainment while aboard, things seem to be running smoothly for the travelers beginning on their journey. However, things start to take a downward spiral when fear of the unknown causes stress levels to rise and disaster to strike. Families are ripped apart and strangers are brought together in this contemporary post-apocalyptic novel that is a one-of-a-kind in its genre.

There are many characters in the mix, but my favorite being Gaia. Having suffered from tremendous loss in her young life, Gaia is determined to make a new life for herself aboard the ship. Her strength is inspiring, and a potential love interest had me rooting for her the entire time. The author did an excellent job of building the story, causing the reader to be drawn in and form an attachment to the characters. The communication between all characters felt natural and realistic, keeping in tune with how I would imagine people would be behaving in an apocalyptic situation. Most of the book took place in the shuttle traveling through space, but also including necessary updates on what happens with those struggling with what remains of planet Earth.

I was disappointed to find a few interruptions with the flow of the story, but thankfully did not have much of a negative impact on my reading. There were a few run-on sentences and a scattering of incorrect spelling (their/there, too/to). I also felt totally distraught with the ending of the book, which was a mild cliff-hanger, so I can only recommend the book to readers who wouldn’t mind being left in the dark while waiting for the release of the second book. The book also contains mature sexual content and crude language throughout, causing me to recommend this book to an adult audience only. Overall I loved reading the story, and am eagerly waiting for the second novel to be released, so I am happy to rate Shattered Earth 3 out of 4 stars. I would have easily rated the book a full 4 stars if it hadn’t been for the minor editing errors.

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Shattered Earth
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Like klbradley's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Guppy]

Sounds like a scary and fascinating story! While saving those with skills is a common theme in the apocalyptic genre I hadn't heard of any that address the emotional side (the fear of the unknown). A good review.

[Kourtney Bradley]

Thank you! This was new to me also.

[kimmyschemy06]

Sounds like a very interesting book. However, I'm not a fan of cliff hanger endings. I'm kind of impatient because I want to know right away what would happen Great job on the review.

[Kourtney Bradley]

Sounds like a very interesting book. However, I'm not a fan of cliff hanger endings. I'm kind of impatient because I want to know right away what would happen Great job on the review.

I was already looking for the next one! But I don't think it will be out until March.

[Joy Boudreau]

Great job on the review! I looked at that book, and chose a different one. Should have chosen this one - ha!

[bookowlie]

Great review! I like that you mentioned the characters are natural and realistic. Sometimes post-apolayptic novels have characters that are over-the-top. Glad you enjoyed the book

[Kourtney Bradley]

Great job on the review! I looked at that book, and chose a different one. Should have chosen this one - ha!

Ha, It was a good pick!

-- November 29th, 2016, 3:24 pm --

Great review! I like that you mentioned the characters are natural and realistic. Sometimes post-apolayptic novels have characters that are over-the-top. Glad you enjoyed the book

Thank you very much! These characters were great, very memorable!

[bookowlie]

Sci-fi is not usually my cup of tea, but the book does sound interesting.

[Kourtney Bradley]

Sci-fi is not usually my cup of tea, but the book does sound interesting.

It was definitely interesting!

[Heidi M Simone]

I really enjoyed reading your review, klbradley! Sci-Fi can go either way for me. I can really enjoy it or feel the complete opposite. Gaia seems like a great female lead in this read, and even with its writing interruptions, I'm glad that you were able to enjoy the book!

[Kourtney Bradley]

I really enjoyed reading your review, klbradley! Sci-Fi can go either way for me. I can really enjoy it or feel the complete opposite. Gaia seems like a great female lead in this read, and even with its writing interruptions, I'm glad that you were able to enjoy the book!

Thank you! I'm really looking forward to the second book!

[DamnOuttaSyrup]

An interesting and informative review

[Kourtney Bradley]

An interesting and informative review

Thank you!

[MsTri]

Like dystopian books for YA, I'm pretty sick of post-apocalyptic stories for adults, so the fact that I'm pretty interested in reading this really says something. What a great salesperson! And thanks for the introduction.