She wants her world back; he wants her heart. Tilly Morgan and her four-legged companion, Kodiak, are just trying to survive the alien arrival. Two years ago, the visitors unleashed devastation—a world-wide EMP followed by a deadly virus that wiped out more than half of humanity. Traversing the lonely landscape, she runs into an alien on patrol with one order: eradicate all human life. A … patrol with one order: eradicate all human life. A mysterious, dark-haired stranger named Jareth comes to her aid, and she reluctantly allows him to join her quest to find her sister. He even persuades her to let the damaged alien tag along against her better judgment.
As her group travels the desolate world and inches closer to her goal, she’s forced to examine her unwanted feelings for Jareth and come to terms with her heart, even if the truth threatens to destroy her and everything she’s come to believe.
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This is a super sci-fi romance.. I really enjoyed it! It is interesting and full of suspense, wit and tons of drama.. Can’t wait for more of this series!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the 2nd book I’ve read written by Melissa Riddell; she has written a good apocalyptic book; I loved Tilly’s character and can’t wait for the next book of the series.
I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the first book in this saga. Do far so good. The author brings you in and gets you invested in the hunt for Tilly’s sister during this crazy time. Keeps you entranced throughout the story. Waiti.g for the next installment.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Descendant: First book in the Baltin Trilogy by Melissa Riddell
Five Full Stars
World building
Book one in a trilogy
Ends in a cliffhanger
Firstly, I enjoyed this book immensely. The world building is wonderful, the writing is engaging, and has had me on the edge of my seat plenty. The chemistry between the two main characters (Tessy and Jareth) is . . . well . . . conflicting and not happening at the beginning. Mainly by the overuse of cold pricklies, insults, ungratefulness and a bad case of potty mouth by Tessy. You need to know Tess to understand her. Tess has so many conflicting emotions, and her mouth is her armour. Tess and Jareth’s chemistry blossoms at the 52% point.
The opening of The Descendant had bells ringing in my head, and parts throughout the novel. It has a feel of the Fifth Wave (the movie, not the book) about it, but it isn’t a rehash. It’s so much more. The Descendant is in parts a slow burn post apocalyptic, romance sci fi novel. A slow burn due to Riddel’s descriptive world building, which I enjoyed immensely. However, when it isn’t slow burning, it’s so engaging, your there, with them.
We first meet Tilly, who is 20 years old. She’s alone, and entering a gas station, she shows the survival skills she’s honed by being on the road. She’s witty, and you start to warm up to her. However, put a good looking guy in front of her, and she regresses into a foul mouth opinionated little brat. She acts immaturely and irrationally. Her carefully honed survival skills fly out the door. She does nothing but berate and belittle the main male character Jareth, who saved her life, and fed her and gave her shelter. Any warm fuzzies you had for her soon dissipate. It’s after 52% of the book that Tilly starts to become just a little bit more warm.
Tilly had lost everyone she loved and cared about, and is making her way to Florida to find her sister. She surmise that since she was immune to the alien virus, then so too should her sister. So the novel is essentially a road trip by foot, by a girl who is alone in the world, and who she meets and how she interacts with those along the way.
Early on I had a suspicion who Jareth really is. He is such a likeable character. He’d gone through a period where he said he wasn’t a nice man. We meet up with Jareth after that period. I took to him straight away, and even when he is bad, you can’t dislike him.
The robot, Sparky, learns about social mores by observing and asking questions. He’s disconnected from the net, and his other robot cohorts. He has the most character growth. There is an almost childlike exuberance as he tries to understand things and wanting to help. I loved him. However, Sparky has lines like ‘I compute not the situation.’ Which is like the 70’s Robot from Lost in Space, where since it’s from an advance civilisation, to me, it should be more Spock like and say ‘The reasoning seems flawed,’ but maybe that’s just me.
I so enjoyed this book, I’ve purchased the prequel, The Intrusion, as well as book 2 and 3 in the series.
“The Descendant” is the first full-length book in Melissa Riddell’s “Baltin Trilogy” (aka “Savage Worlds”). The story centers on Tilly Morgan, a teenager whose plans for the future came to an abrupt halt, when an EMP hit Earth and destroyed the electrical power grid word-wide, sending the planet back into a pre-technological era and forced humans to devolve from civilized law-abiding citizens to disorganized groups following the law of the strongest. The whole background information can be found in the prequel (The Intrusion), and while is not technically necessary to read it to understand the present story, I highly recommend it, as it’s a very interesting read on its own.
“The Descendant” takes place two years after the aforementioned EMP. Tilly is on her way from Texas to Florida to find her sister, the only family she has left. Along the way she finds a mixed breed dog (Kodiak) who becomes her faithful companion throughout the journey, in which she meets an alien robot and a stranger (Jared) who join the group. The mixed party continue on their quest to reach Florida, learning along the way that the journey is at least as important as the destination.
Melissa Riddell’s story is fast-paced, action-packed, with wonderful credible characters, realistic normal people caught on in an extraordinary situation, struggling to survive while trying to preserve their morals. A captivating post-apocalyptic story set in a fully credible modern world, that explores the meaning of trust in desperate time.
Brilliant!
This is brilliant, well put-together, fast paced first book in the trilogy. Tessa is distinctly foul-mouthed but under the circumstances it’s kind of forgiveable. The EMPs and virus’ have destroyed all human tech after the aliens attacked 2yrs ago. Now just surviving is difficult for the remainder of humanity that is left.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
ONE TUMULTUOUS ADVENTURE
Jumping jellybeans jasper! Melissa dropped the bomb and lowered the boom, unleashing one incredibly tumultuous, sinfully kickass rock-my-world tsunami with this tumultuous delight, laying out one action packed, heart pounding, pulse racing, adrenaline pumping, block busting dynamo, raising the stakes and keeping it real, skyrocketing this bad boy to staggering heights. Traversing the dangerous struggles and formidable triumphs while attentive to the perilous twists and wicked turns unfolding, broken barriers and sketchy lines solidify as limitations are amplified and tested, reaching deep for every ounce of strength in a fierce surge of determination, launching forward with such intensity and vigor, bursting this baby to life sensationally. Doubt and mistrust run rampant, brimming with riveting drama, gripping intrigue, underlying threats, spiraling danger, electrifying suspense and intense situations ensue, putting our characters through their paces, testing them in ways they could have never imagined, melding this bad boy together flawlessly. The characters banter, interactions and charged atmosphere along with relatable qualities and individual traits add depth and diversity, transforming into complex personalities. The scenes are abundantly descriptive with colorful details that blend and flow, creating a majestic backdrop that’s so rich and lively it feels as though you’re part of the story instead of on the sidelines, feeling everything the characters feel. Fantastic job Melissa, thanks for sharing this little jewel with us.
The first book in the Savage Worlds Series a very good start to this series, this is a saga so to know what happens to Tilly Morgan, her dog Kodiak, and Jareth. This story has drama, suspense, lies, and two different class of peoples, one human the other Baltin. I found this to be well written and it kept me turning pages. I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
loved it !!! a wonderful start for a new series !!! couldn’t put it down !!! love Jareth !!! swoon… love Tilly and Kodiak… if someone is too good to be true ? are they ? love the chemistry between Jareth and Tilly… but, trust is hard to come by… it needs to be earned… walking from Texas to Florida…
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a wonderful and confronting read. A post apocalyptic roller coaster. I loved it. Unique and superbly well written. I 100% recommend giving this book a go.