To live through the zombie apocalypse they have to survive each other first.
College freshman Parker Osborne is having the worst day ever. He humiliated himself trying to pick up a cute guy, he hasn’t made any friends at school, and his stupidly hot jerk of a TA gave him a crappy grade on his paper. He’s going to drop Adam Hawkins’ film class and start fresh tomorrow after he’s had a good sulk.
had a good sulk.
But Parker’s about to find out what a bad day really looks like—if he can survive the night.
A virus is unleashed, transforming infected people into zombie-like killers. After these quick and deadly creepers swarm campus, Parker only escapes thanks to Adam swooping him onto the back of his trusty motorcycle. Now they’re on the run—and stuck with each other.
When they’re not bickering, they’re fighting off the infected in a bloody battle for survival. Their only hope is to head east to Parker’s family, but orphaned Adam has a secret he’s not sure Parker will accept: he’s a werewolf. Can they trust each other enough to find some light in these dark days?
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I’m a huge fan of Keira Andrews but Kick at the Darkness and the follow up, Fight the Tide, are some of my all-time favorites! I’m not usually into the idea of zombies or post-apocalyptic books in general, but I absolutely loved the world building in this series. Zombies, surprise werewolves, peril, action, and page-turning excitement. Looking forward to the third book in the next year!
What an incredible combination of elements that come together so powerfully. Keira Andrews’s ‘Kick at the Darkness’ (audio)book, splendidly narrated by Tristan James, shows us an apocalyptic world ravaged by zombie-like humans. The pacing of the work is exceptional. Mx. Andrews gives the readers time to adjust to the norm of her world by showing us Parker Osborne, a college freshman who is feeling displaced after choosing to attend university all the way across the country. His parents are in Boston, his older brother is in England, and his high school buddies are in other colleges far away. He is then blindsided by a ‘C minus’ grade in what should be an easy ‘A’ course. The writer lures the reader into this mundane ‘horror’ before giving them the ole ‘slam and wham’! SLAM! The virus causing humans to become these zombie-type entities wreak major havoc as it spreads throughout major cities… and it goes virtually unnoticed by our protagonist as he agonizes about his loneliness and ever-increasing workload from university courses. WHAM! The virus finds its way to Parker’s university campus and he is saved by the very teaching assistant (Adam Hawkins) giving him the ‘C minus’ on his essay. (Keira Andrews’s ‘slam and wham’ is all kinds of awesome! The book earned five stars for it alone!) Fortunately for Parker, Adams is a mature young man with integrity that refuses to leave him to manage all on his own. In addition, Adam possesses especially acute senses that better their chances of survival.
With Adams having no living relatives, both guys set off for a cross-country trip back east where they hope to join Parker’s parents. The entire narrative is incredible and mostly unpredictable. The world-building is interesting and the character development is absolutely incredible. The writer put a serious engine under the hood of this series. I thank Emily Curtis of the LGBTQIA Audio Books Facebook group for such a wonderful recommendation!
This is my favorite book! I first read it a couple years ago and I was very doubtful. I’m not that into zombie/apocalyptic books and I’m not that into shifter books. But I love Keira Andrews so I dove in and what a huge surprise! This book just did it for me. Don’t ask me to explain what “it” is because it’s a feeling I get when I read a book that I absolutely fall in love with.
Parker first comes off as a whiny, entitled brat. I wasn’t sure how I’d like him but once the action starts, and it starts quickly, his naïveté is quickly shattered. Survival instincts kick in plus the hot TA he had a bad interaction with earlier comes along to save him on his motorcycle.
Parker and Adam go from disliking each other to having to rely on each other to survive this zombie attack that has taken over the world. They work so well together and in the midst of the horrifying things they experience, and the huge fact that Adam shares his biggest secret with Parker, they become closer. The sex is off the charts hot and the fact that it’s them living on the edge of death really makes it so much hotter! They don’t just have hot sex though, they fall in love. They rely on each other and they each will sacrifice themselves for the other.
This ends on a total cliffhanger and when I first read it the second book wasn’t out yet so I was shouting no!!!!! But I’ve read and loved the second book and now I await the third! I re-read this book over New Years and it was just as good as I remembered!
**As a side note, I am extremely disappointed in the audiobook. This is my opinion and I respect others who may love it but Tristan James is the wrong narrator. His voice is too old for Parker and he doesn’t change his voice much between characters. He doesn’t act out the story and I’ve tried listening to him a few times and this is what I find every single time. I tried this audiobook and was so disappointed. I love listening to my favorite books on audio. I can live without it but I needed to voice my dissatisfaction somewhere.**