Kane Allen had been one thing for the last two years and one thing only: A soldier.
The Zombie Apocalypse changed the entire landscape of his future, and turned him from a simple small town boy into a fearless warrior. Battling Zombies hordes daily, dealing with the declining morality of civilization and combatting the darkness that haunts his own mind, Kane has been a little lost and more than alone for almost two years. And he expects his world to stay that way.
That is until a routine patrol through the forest brings him face to face with something so lovely he begins to feel hope for the first time in years.
Reagan Willow is more than a well-deserved reward for his hard work, she is the goodness that’s been missing from his black existence, she is a light for his dark world, she is his redemption. And he plans to hold on to her with everything he has.
If only she felt the same way.
Even though Kane claims her as his own in front of the entire Colony, his fight to keep her is not over. Reagan doesn’t want anything to do with him and looks for every opportunity to escape. But he isn’t just planning to lock her away; Kane wants to build something with Reagan. Something real. Something lasting.
In order to do that he must make her trust him first and before it’s too late.
Love and Decay, Kane’s Law, is the first episode in the Love and Decay, Novella Series told from Kane’s point of View; and a Dystopian Romance about Zombies, the end of the world and finding someone to share it with.
This story takes place over multiple episodes, with a release date every two weeks. Approximately 20,000 words.
Rachel Higginson is the best-selling author of The Five Stages of Falling in Love, Every Wrong Reason, Bet on Us and The Star-Crossed Series.
She was born and raised in Nebraska, and spent her college years traveling the world. She fell in love with Eastern Europe, Paris, Indian Food and the beautiful beaches of Sri Lanka, but came back home to marry her high school sweetheart. Now she spends her days writing stories and raising five amazing kids.
And even after now getting to be in his head for an entire episode, I still don't think he's insane...
Does that make me crazy?
Reagan's been telling me since the beginning that Kane is crazy, and I've been trying to believe her. I thought maybe it was one of those things that I just didn't understand yet because I didn't really know Kane.
But now that I've been in his brain, I don't think he's crazy. He's not insane and he's not scary.
He's a guy.
Um...that kinda sounds bad doesn't it? It reveals how little respect I have for males around the world.
But Kane isn't really a bad guy. He just is overly possessive and demanding. He thinks he's so powerful that he can just have whatever he wants.
So yeah...I enjoyed this special Kane POV. It didn't change my mind about Kane at all. I still love him.
And yes, the reason might totally be because of his glasses.
Let's do a little test, shall we?
Justin. Glass or no glasses?
How about Johnny Depp?
James?
Ryan?
Okay, so maybe it's kinda hard to decide whether they look better with glasses or without glasses. That was one thing I found out while searching for all these images...there are way too many good looking guys out there. And Johnny Depp looks good in anything. Um...correction, these guys all look fabulous no matter what.
But I still say that glasses can make any man more desirable.
Just like a baby in a man's arms makes a guy instantly cuter. Right?
Okay, this was supposed to be a review, not a discussion on men with glasses and babies.
I'll be the first to admit that Kane doesn't do it for me. Much. Ok, he did do a little bit. But I still think he is a whack job.
This is the first episode told from Kane's POV and it pains me to say I felt his charm working on me from the beginning of the book. BUT!!! But I still didn't get the warm fuzzies some of you's got. I know some of you love Kane. And I get it. It's the glasses right? Ugh. I know. I am a fool for a man with glasses, too. But I just can't get over all his whack-a-doo ideas and his need to claim and control Reagan. It is just not right. There is only one man that is meant for Reagan and that man is Hendrix.
*** I had lost my soul out of necessity, not because I relished being a monster. There were certain lines that I would not cross-not even with a gift like this. ***
It was still a great chance to see what someone else is thinking through all this mess. I find his inner mind workings interesting. Albeit crazy...but interesting none the less. Kane is such a complicated and complex character, his story had to be told. There was no other way around it. And if I had to guess I would guess that Higginson is already thinking about another story from his POV *cough* Maybe the scene they are stuck together in the bunker. *cough*
*** Deep down, I knew that my choices and actions were for the good of humanity, that my choices to keep Reagan was for her own good. If I had to prove that to her one day at a time for the rest of my life, I would. But I was the good guy here. She just didn't know it yet. ***
Absolutely, wholeheartedly love this series. I will take it any way I can get it...even in Kane's POV. I don't think I will ever tire of reading about these amazing characters that I have instantly fell in love with from the first time I read episode one. A must read!!
4.5 stars -- This was a weird one for me, because it's so hard to be in the head of someone who's not altogether right... I don't think he's like uber insane or anything, but he's not completely sane either. He's been affected by what I can only guess has been some emotional (maybe more) abuse from his father, and frankly that was kind of fascinating. To see how someone would cope with that and how it would shape them into who they are today. Add in the end of the world, zombie apocalypse, and an amped up tyrannical father, and you might just get a Kane.
But that doesn't mean I was comfortable being in his head. The number of times he tried to justify his actions and thoughts and tell himself he wasn't a bad guy....well sorry Kane, but your beliefs are a little whacko, and NO, everyone would NOT have come to the same conclusions.
His obsession with Reagan is remarkable. It's just that side of fanaticism that is hard to stomach, but also hard to look away from. His desire for someone to *see* more in him was so human though....he actually tugged on my heartstrings. But then Reagan had to go and piss him off. And holy cow, did he go batshit.
I'm currently rereading the first season so I can finally read the rest of the series, and it will be interesting to have this in my head when I get to the parts of the story where he comes back....gives me some different things to think about over the second half of season one. So yeah, not really much of a review so much as a reaction. :)
So, I always thought Kane wasn't as bad as he seemed while reading L&D... that was up until Episode 12. Then I wanted to see him get run over by a bus with his head getting smashed under the tire... POP! Seriously, I hate, hate, HATE him now.
With that being said, I was excited to get into his head - especially when we first met him (when I still thought he was a good guy deep down). But this was hard for me to read. I just kept going back to what was going to happen at the end of the season, and I just wanted to grab a gun and shoot the man. Seriously, so pissed off at him!
It was great getting into his head - and if this had come out shortly after Episode 5 came out, I would have LOVED it - but like I said, it was so hard to get past what happens in the future.
Anywho - seeing how he ticks was great. I knew I was right when deep down he is a closet good guy - possessive as hell, but he just wants to be loved. Overall I loved it, but I still want to see him get run over by a bus.
For some reason Kane reminded me of Warner from the Shatter Me trilogy. Except he will probably actually end up pretty crazy and deranged. Idk. I'm interested to see what happens with Kane in future episodes.
Please stop thinking I'm a monster. Please see something that nobody else sees.
I went into this one thinking I wasn't going to be happy either way, because it would be confirmed that Kane is essentially a lost cause or the ideal guy to be trapped with at the end of the world and since Reagan just isn't available, it's frustrating. Where can it go from there??
And then we get this:
"I'd earned this place with a patient ruthlessness and resolved insensitivity that I was proud of."
"I had lost my soul out of necessity, not because I relished being a monster."
Absolute brilliance from Rachel Higginson, but it's heart-tearing-apart stuff!! It's basically been set out so Kane doesn't even have a chance with Reagan, even though I honestly see more connection between them than her+Hendrix (she met him first, so what? he's lovely, yes, but c'mon there is a reason she resisted him so strongly and flirted with his brother. Kane makes me a little delusional, forgive me, I'm a sucker for the bad guy with the damaged psyche).
"I reveled in the synchronization of our bodies. She could read mine as easily as I could hers. That meant something." They have always been in synch. Even when they are at odds, they make hell of a team! Her heart, his persistence, they could accomplish world-changing things together.
"I needed her as much as she would need me. More so." The book has Kane calling himself sexist, but I don't see it, at least no more so than the Parkers, who can easily be bossy and think they know what's best. I see him as someone who acknowledges that she's a girl he wants to protect, yes, but he also sees her as an equal, with a fire and strength all of her own.
"[...] she seemed to soothe those dark pieces of me, heal the damaged, suffocating parts that I wanted to pretend didn't exist."
Anyway, at this point I'm not going to tear my hair out hoping Reagan wakes up and really notices the option in front of her. I just hope that there is a girl written in for Kane that is worthy of him and that their love is epic+magical and worthy of unicorns springing into existence and all that good stuff! Oh, and not easy, I love when Rachel Higginson writes romances for tough-to-love-at-first guys, they are gorgeous to read. I adore the easy-to-love guys too though haha, I can't wait for Vaughn to get a matchup and Jericho has to be one of my fav Star-crossed boys! So pretty much just anything Rachel Higginson, I'm along for the ride! ♥
This is an interesting series. It has humour so things don't get too heavy but at the same time they do loose people and there is violence and killing.
The series is a long one and these main characters stories continue for 3 seasons. There is also a spin off series that deals with the sister later.
There is little intimacy. There is touching, hugging and a few kisses but no sex until much later in the last season. The main 2 characters have love interests but due to the nature of the start of the virus and the constant threat there are no intimate scenes until the end of season 3.
Each season ends on a HFN with an enemy thread running through the whole series. Each episode either ends as HFN with a goal set for the next or at times an immediate threat will run across several episodes. At the time I read these the whole series was on Amazon KU so it was possible to read one after the other or complete in a box set. If you start reading and want to get to a HEA you will need to read the entire 3 seasons. There is the immediate zombie threat which is constant but also the series deals with humanities reaction to survival. Often a bigger threat is the desire for power between the surviving groups and these at times use lack of resources and scientific experimentation to control the main threats. Later in the series there is a love triangle situation of sorts for the heroine. It's not exactly a love triangle but there is a dividing force between the main couple due to the interest from another man. There are no intimate details but there is a kissing scene with the other man, but at the time the main couple are not together. The characters are all very different, they have their flaws but they are college age so when they make mistakes and sometimes they are stupid ones I put it down to youth and although they have learnt survival through experience the threat is constant so it's not easy for them to be sensible all the time. There is a good bit of banter between the group and a great deal of humour. There are some serious issues dealt with too and the main human enemy threat is pretty evil.
Ok, so I didn't like Kane from day one, especially after the last episode in the series. Andddd... even after reading his POV, yup still don't like him. It was definitely really cool to get into his head and see how he thinks; but the second he decided Reagan's virginity was his... yeah he is most definitely on the train to crazy town. Then again who wouldn't be with a father like Matthias? So while I still am not a fan of his and most definitely do not want him and Reagan together, I think that he can be redeemed. Honestly, I hope that a girl comes along who can help him be a good person again; but until that happens and he loses his obsession with Reagan, he will not be among the characters I like.
Okay. My crazy work schedule FINALLY allowed me to read this very important book. Aaaaaaaaand. . .I'm still Team Hendrix. Kane is full on, no holding back, send-him-straight-to-a-padded-room cray cray. Because I'm not COMPLETELY made of stone I did feel for what at times to be a pretty intense inner struggle of realizing he is crazy and not wanting to be crazy. Plus Matthias is a straight up nut job himself and who wouldn't be just a tad bit crazy living with that?! I do freaking LOVE these other POV's though. It's so amazing to see it from the other side when you already know what is going to happen. Another amazing job by Rachel Higginson! Can't wait for Season 2 to start!
The Love and Decay series is one of my all time favorites, by Rachel Higginson. I cannot think of one thing I do not like. It is imaginative writing engulfing action, suspense, humor, romance and just hits the spot for me.
I enjoyed Kane's Law. I can't help but like Kane, even with his loyalty to his twisted father's ideology. There is just too much good in him for me to turn against him. It will be interesting to continue to follow the series to find out how Kane continue's to be a part of Reagan's journey.
How can you not fall for big bad Kane? He is not the one I want for Reagan, but he stirs things up and adds to the excitement. Every book needs a villain to love, and Kane wins the award in this series. This little story lets us see more into Kane's overly possessive behavior. I can't wait for the series to continue in February.
Well, now I am really interested and anxious. Oh, I need to find out like NOW how it will play out in next episodes. Have to tell ya… He’s not that bad, just a lil bit crazy and maybe delusional, or maybe he's just strongly passionate about things he believes in. He’s one challenging mystery and it was really fun to read his POV. Rachel never disappoints me.
OMG Kane is off his rocket. I mean the bell rings but nobody's home. I kind of feel sorry for him :( he could have been a really nice hot guy but he is creepy as all get up. His possessive streak is some of the worst I've seen. I mean talk about stalker tendencies. WOW I really wish he found another girl and let Reagan be happy ever after with Hendrix.
Love and Decay Season 1, Episode 5 from Kane's POV.
I felt this novella gave me a little more insight than Hendrix's novella. We learn that Kane struggles between passionate and crazy. And that he is very intelligent.
Otherwise, there isn't much else we learn new as it's the same story retold from a different POV.
Have to read this zombie series it's epic. I ignored the call of Spain's sea and sand to read this brilliant series. Kindle one click made me read the entire series while on holidays in Spain. An epic adventure filled with lust,love, blood, kisses, zombies, action, suspense, intrigue, fear and resilience.
This story made me love Kane and understand him more, but it also made me see the "crazy" that is truly him. Now I am positive that Hendrix is the real guy for Reagan.
Sometimes I can't stand him and want to slap him. Sometimes I feel sorry for him, But at least he goes for what he wants I suppose. Not as good as the others, still entertaining.