The Union

By: T.H. Hernandez

Narrated by: Alexa Elmy

After global warming and a second civil war devastated the former United States, two different societies rose from the ashes - the Union, a towering high-tech utopia, hugging the perimeter of the continent, and the devastated, untamed midsection known as the Ruins.

Seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor has an easy, privileged life in the Union. What she doesn’t have is any idea what to do with the rest of her life. She only knows she wants to do something meaningful, to make a difference in the lives of others.

When she’s kidnapped and taken into the Ruins as a pawn in a dispute involving her boyfriend, Bryce, her ideal world is turned upside down. What she learns while in the Ruins shakes her faith in everything she’s ever known, from Bryce to her family and even the Union itself.

Now Evan must choose whether to stay with Cyrus, the sexy, resourceful survivor who believes she’s in the Ruins for a reason, or return to the only life she’s ever known. But when she stumbles upon a dangerous plot that threatens both worlds, her decision could tear her apart.

©2020 Theresa H Hernandez (P)2021 Theresa H Hernandez

Hooked!

4.5 stars

It’s been a while since I’ve read any post-apocalyptic and/or dystopian books, mainly because I guess you could say I got obsessive. Okay, I greatly overindulged to the point of being saturated 😄. Anyway, this one piqued my interest, especially since I was being offered the audiobook, and I’m SO glad I decided to join the tour.

Evan’s story is downright enthralling, aided by the author’s vivid worldbuilding so that I understood from nearly the beginning what her young life is like and the restrictions placed upon the populace by the powers that be…and some of the consequences of flouting those restrictions. If there was anything I still don’t quite get it’s why the teens go on this sort of walkabout in the first place but that doesn’t really matter.

Shortly after Evan goes on her trip with her best friends Lisa and Colin, later meeting up with her crush, Bryce, Evan is kidnapped by a pair of very unsavory characters and her real adventure begins. Eventually, a new dude, Cyrus, enters the scene along with his family and she begins to learn the truth, the REAL truth, about the Ruins, the supposedly barren area outside of the Union where only the dregs of America’s former society live. This is when Ms. Hernandez’s story truly takes off and I was listening to my audiobook as often and long as I could. And then comes a whopper of a twist, not entirely believable but exciting nonetheless.

Speaking of the audiobook, narrator Alexa Elmy was an excellent choice. Her voice is young enough that she can easily carry off teen girl voices but mature enough that she does a more than decent job with males. I couldn’t always differentiate between characters but, no matter, the prose always let me know who was speaking.

So, thanks to an intriguing story and very engaging characters, I thoroughly enjoyed my return to this subgenre and, while there are occasional flaws, I’m hooked again. Can’t wait to listen to the next book!

Can’t wait to read the next book!

I quit watching streaming tv for this book. I don’t regret it. I’m fixing to go on to the next book.