Firstly thank you Cindy for asking me to take part in this tour and so giving me the opportunity to read this series.
This series by Lissa Bryan is falls firmly in the Dystopian Romance fiction genere because it follows the love story of the main characters Justin and Carly in a post-apocalyptic Dystopian world. The are stories that explore love, respect, loyalty and the need to have people around you that you can rely on in times of uncertainty.
The End of all things, the first book in the series was a fantastic introduction to the series as well as the love between Justin and Carly or as it is in this book the developing love story. The reader also sees how they both deal with Carly’s pregnancy, unplanned, and the early days of having their daughter in the new uncertain world they find them selves in post infection.
Throughout this book the authors writing style, character development and world building all combine to make it a riveting read. It also makes it a book that I will read again in the future as well as both recommend to and buy as a gift or others.
The next book from this series that I read was Tales from the end which is a collection of short stories. Each of the stories is about a character that the reader has already met or will meet in the other books in the series. Veronica, this short story is about a little girl called Veronica who we are introduced to towards the end of the first book when she arrives with a group of travellers. It tells her back story of what happened to her in the early days of the crisis. The Horsemen, this short story tells Pearl’s story, who we meet in the second book in the series, including her escape from LA and Journey to Colby and the Quarantine that was implemented by LA’s Mayor during the crisis. “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud” – This short story is about the horse, Shadowfax, that Carly and Jason found during their journey to Colby. It tells the story her life both pre crisis and during the crisis prior to being found by Carly. This story was particularly interesting as it afforded me the reader the chance to see the crisis from the point of view of the animals. Birthday – This short story was based around Carly and Justin with particular reference to Carly’s plans for Justin’s Birthday as soon as she realized he’d never celebrated them in the past. It also enabled me the reader to get an insight into what Justin’s life had been like prior to the Crisis and what it had become since meeting Carly. Each of these short stories was as captivating as the first book because the author was able to draw you in to each one as well as she could in the first book as her writing is just so good. After reading the previous book I then moved on to read the second book “The Land of Shadows” this book was about the rebuilding of Colby’s community following the outbreak of the infection after Carly and Justin had arrived. It shows how people pull together to fight things and then are determined to carry on when it doesn’t work out how they hope. The reader also sees some of the community go into battle when they are threatened by a group of travelling nasties who threaten them and win. The author also tells the reader about how the infection burns the brains of any survivors out and about one of the couples from Colby’s Community being pregnant, but not only pregnant pregnant with twins. The authors writing style, character development and world building captivated me all the way through the book and made me want to read the next and final book of the series. The last book in this series of stand alone books is called Shadows Have Gone. In this book we finally get to meet Justin’s X-commanding officer Lewis, from when he was in the forces who just had held in high regard until he found out that he’d (Lewis) had been responsible for the vaccines that had protected he, Carly and their friends from the Infection. Meeting Lewis introduces the reader to the fact that the Infection has re-established itself again and both Justin and Lewis have it. When Justin finds out that he has the infection again while meeting with Lewis he decides to shut him and lewis up in one of the buildings on the gas plant where he’s set up a base and blow it up but as in all good books he doesn’t pull the trigger out of the granade to blow the facility up and then survives the infection as well. In the mean time Colby suffers another outbreak of the infection but most of the inhabitants survive it. One of the ones who doesn’t survive it is Mindys’ baby daughter which leads Mindy to question her faith.
I thoroughly enjoyed every single one of these books and the main books although they were Standalone stories all intertwined with one another seamlessly but were still wonderful lone reads.
Author Bio
The information below was obtained from the Authors goodreads page.
Lissa Bryan is an astronaut, renowned Kabuki actress, Olympic pole vault gold medalist, Iron Chef champion, and scientist who recently discovered the cure for athlete’s foot…. though only in her head. Real life isn’t so interesting, which is why she spends most of her time writing.
She is the author of four novels, Ghostwriter, Under These Restless Skies, The End of All Things and its sequel,Land of the Shadow. She has short stories in Romantic Interludes and Tales from the End.
Lissa is also a fanfiction author, whose stories can be found here:
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3300533/L…
http://www.lissabryan.com
http://www.facebook.com/lissa.bryan
https://twitter.com/LissaBryan
http://lissabryan.tumblr.com/
The End of All things Series: The Information below including the book images were obtained from amazon.co.uk. Book 1 The End of all things. After a ter
rible virus ravages the planet, Carly Daniels, one of the few survivors, hides in her apartment in Juneau trying to survive the best she can with only occasional forays to gather food. With her is Sam, a wolf puppy she found starving on the streets. He becomes her companion and a reason to continue when giving up sometimes seems like the more attractive option. Still dazed with shock and grief, she hopes for the world to go back to normal soon.
She is discovered by Justin, an ex-soldier who is intent on making his way to Florida before the winter sets in. Justin coaxes her out of her hiding place and convinces her to join him on his journey, because a warmer climate will be their best chance against the extremes of Mother Nature.
Together, they begin a perilous journey through a nation laid to waste by the disaster. Challenges abound along the way. The weather, injury, and shortage of supplies all help to slow them down. In time, they discover that they aren’t the only survivors. Some are friendly but some have had their minds destroyed by the high fever. Then there are those who simply take what they want, leaving Carly and Justin with no choice but to defend what is theirs.
But their journey is not without joy and love. Together, they face every struggle, including an unplanned pregnancy. Despite the perils of bringing a child into a world of chaos, their baby is a new beginning for themselves and a symbol of hope for the other survivors they find along the way.
This is the story of their journey to find a place to begin a new life, and a home in each other. Format: Kindle Edition File Size: 755 KB Print Length: 264 pages Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1612131417 Publisher: The Writer’s Coffee Shop (22 Jan. 2013 Source: Cindy Bidwell Language: English ASIN: B00B4ZK9QA Price: £4.65
Book 1.5 Tales from the End a collection of short stories From the author of 
The End of All Things comes a collection of short stories about the Infection that swept around the globe, decimating the population, and leaving behind a small number of survivors, unprepared to deal with the brutal new world which had replaced the one they’d known.
The Horsemen: L.A.’s mayor has declared quarantine to try to halt the spread of the Infection. Pearl sets off across the city to buy supplies, but already the world is changing. Something strange is in the air. The Horsemen are coming …
Veronica: When Veronica’s mother doesn’t come home from work and no one answers the phone when she calls for help, a nine-year-old girl is thrown into the chaos of a world coming to an end. Veronica decides it’s up to her to find her family. “Veronica” is the story of a little girl’s courage in the face of the end of all things.
“I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud”: They called her Shadowfax– the mare Carly and Justin found on their travels. But before she was found by Carly, the retired dressage horse was known as Cloud. An unusual tale of the end, told through the eyes of a confused and lonely horse, left in her pasture.
Birthday: A previously-published bonus story. Carly knows Justin has never celebrated his birthday, and after society crumbled, no one knows what date it is, anyway. But she wants to do something special for him. Celebrating the little things helps them keep hope alive, and as a blizzard rages outside, a small gesture of love warms their home.
Tales of courage, tales of survival… Tales from the End. Format: Kindle Edition File Size: 316 KB Print Length: 75 pages Publisher: The Writer’s Coffee Shop (3 Feb. 2014) Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. Language: English ASIN: B00I8AUR98
Book 2 The Land of Shadows In the highly antici
pated stand-alone sequel to The End of All Things, Lissa Bryan returns readers to a world devastated by disease, and the breakdown of modern society.
Two years after a horrific virus swept the globe, decimating the world’s population, Carly Daniels and her husband, Justin, have made a safe home in the isolated southern town of Colby. Protected by fences and a vigilant population, the residents there had somehow managed to keep the Infection out. Until the sight of Carly and Justin’s healthy baby girl convinced them it was safe to allow Outsiders in.
Now, in the wake of fresh losses, the small band of survivors struggles to rebuild a community. With only nineteenth-century technology to aid them, they must learn skills long forgotten to provide for their basic needs. Each day brings new challenges, and every choice they make affects their long-term survival. While Carly and Justin adjust to a growing family, and to their roles as community leaders, they must rely on one another for strength and support when they face difficult questions.
Carly has to decide how to move forward in a world where equality, justice, and freedom from tyranny are no longer guaranteed. And when new threats emerge, she has to decide what she is willing to do—and how far she’s willing to go—to protect what she has worked so hard to build.
When the end has come and gone, it’s a journey down a long and broken road through The Land of the Shadow. Format: Kindle Edition File Size: 860 KB Print Length: 216 pages Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited Publisher: The Writer’s Coffee Shop (21 Aug. 2014) Language: English ASIN: B00MQ5J0IK Source: Cindy Bidwell Purchase Price: £3.34
Book 3 Shadows are Gone 
Carly Daniels knows what it is to suffer loss. She knows what it is to sacrifice. In the two years since a pandemic virus—known only as the Infection—decimated humanity, she’s made choices she never could have imagined. She’s condoned violence in the name of peace and done the unthinkable in the name of mercy. But with Justin at her side, she’s also learned there’s nothing she can’t face and nothing she wouldn’t do to protect those she loves.
But now another threat has arrived in the form of a uniformed man driving an army truck, claiming to represent the remnant of the United States military. Someone has set their sights on their community . . . and on Justin. The struggle to defend their little homeland is far from over, and the visitors may have brought more danger with them than just their weapons.
The shadows are closing in. Carly has to find out whether she has the strength to stand on her own when all of her support has fallen away. What remains when the shadows have gone? Format: Kindle Edition File Size: 860 KB Print Length: 216 pages Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited Publisher: The Writer’s Coffee Shop (21 Aug. 2014) Language: English ASIN: B00MQ5J0IK Source: Cindy Bidwell Purchase Price: £4.54