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Survival Instincts
Love trumps instinct in this fast-paced lesbian dystopian novel.
Civilization ended long before Lynn Tanner was born. Wild animals roam the streets, but mankind is still the biggest threat to a woman alone in the ruins of a world reclaimed by nature. Lynn survives by sleeping with one eye open at all times and trusting no one but her dog.
When she is forced to go on a dangerous journey through the concrete jungle of New York City, Lynn does all she can to scheme her way to safety. Her guard, Dani Wilson, won't be played that easily, however. As their lives become entwined, Lynn finds herself developing feelings for Dani and is forced to find the answer to the question that scares her is staying alone really the best way to survive?
Fast-paced and full of adventure, Survival Instincts introduces a post-war dystopian world where the only person you can rely on is yourself…unless you fall in love.
Civilization ended long before Lynn Tanner was born. Wild animals roam the streets, but mankind is still the biggest threat to a woman alone in the ruins of a world reclaimed by nature. Lynn survives by sleeping with one eye open at all times and trusting no one but her dog.
When she is forced to go on a dangerous journey through the concrete jungle of New York City, Lynn does all she can to scheme her way to safety. Her guard, Dani Wilson, won't be played that easily, however. As their lives become entwined, Lynn finds herself developing feelings for Dani and is forced to find the answer to the question that scares her is staying alone really the best way to survive?
Fast-paced and full of adventure, Survival Instincts introduces a post-war dystopian world where the only person you can rely on is yourself…unless you fall in love.
374 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 7, 2018
113 people are currently reading
4489 people want to read
About the author
May Dawney
13 books124 followersAuthor signed at Ylva Publishing. My motivation to write comes from the desire to build worlds that are somehow more (or less) than our own. I want to write stories where miracles are logical manifestations of the supernatural or divine and discover what it means to be human when humanity is no longer a given. What I want to add to the amazing body of literature already out there, both to the mainstream fiction written within the genres I am drawn to and lesbian fiction as a genre onto itself, are stories where women turn to women once they stop the apocalypse—be it a global or personal one.
Survival Instincts [Coming March 2018]
Civilization ended long before Lynn Tanner was born. Wild animals roam the streets, but mankind is still the biggest threat to a woman alone in the ruins of a world reclaimed by nature. Lynn survives by sleeping with one eye open at all times and trusting no one but her dog.
When she is forced to go on a dangerous journey through the concrete jungle of New York City, Lynn does all she can to scheme her way to safety. Her guard, Dani Wilson, won’t be played that easily, however. As their lives become entwined, Lynn finds herself developing feelings for Dani and is forced to find the answer to the question that scares her most: is staying alone really the best way to survive?
Fast-paced and full of adventure, Survival Instincts introduces a post-war dystopian world where the only person you can rely on is yourself…unless you fall in love.
Survival Instincts [Coming March 2018]
Civilization ended long before Lynn Tanner was born. Wild animals roam the streets, but mankind is still the biggest threat to a woman alone in the ruins of a world reclaimed by nature. Lynn survives by sleeping with one eye open at all times and trusting no one but her dog.
When she is forced to go on a dangerous journey through the concrete jungle of New York City, Lynn does all she can to scheme her way to safety. Her guard, Dani Wilson, won’t be played that easily, however. As their lives become entwined, Lynn finds herself developing feelings for Dani and is forced to find the answer to the question that scares her most: is staying alone really the best way to survive?
Fast-paced and full of adventure, Survival Instincts introduces a post-war dystopian world where the only person you can rely on is yourself…unless you fall in love.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews
March 17, 2018
I was really excited about this book. I’m a big post-apocalyptic fan and they seem to be few and far between in lesfic. But I’m also an animal lover, and when I heard about some of the violent scenes, I started to worry. It came to a point instead of rushing to read this, I kept putting it off. After some advice, from a friend who had read this already, I finally felt okay with reading it. I’m so glad I did because I flat out loved this book.
I do want to give a warning first, yes this book is violent. After war has ravaged the world, predator animals are back on the top of the food chain. Not only are animals a worry, but humans are too in this extremely dangerous new world. Due to the violence, this probably won’t be a book for everyone, but if you can handle it I highly recommend reading this.
I’m not going to go into a summary; there are a lot of reviews already if you need one. I do want to mention there are two main characters Lynn and Dani. This book is in third person, but we are only ever in Lynn’s headspace. I actually thought it was an interesting choice for a book like this, but it really worked. Lynn is a fantastic main character. She was one of those strong badass female characters I just love. Dani has her flaws and Dawney (the author) is not always that nice to her, but I loved learning about her as Lynn did. Even not being in her headspace, you still felt like you really understood Dani.
There is a romance. For this being an adventure book that keeps you on your toes with danger at every corner, the romance really worked for me. It progressed at a nice slow pace as these characters slowly learned to depend on each other. I loved the dialogue when the characters would discuss their feelings. The one main sex scene was so well done. It wasn’t steamy but it felt like a love scene not just sex. There was so much emotion behind it, it actually blew me away a bit. I think it would actually go into my top ten favorite intimate scenes in lesfic. I usually reserve them for super steamy scenes, but this was just so well written I won’t forget it anytime soon.
There are a few tiny negatives. There were a few times that I had to suspend disbelief a bit. Or I thought the time period didn’t match up perfectly with what the characters knew. This take place (If I remember correctly) 200 years after the war that really ended civilization as we know it. I think if Dawney would have cut that time in half, everything would have lined up so much better. But in the grand scheme of things, these complaints were so tiny they didn’t affect my love for the book at all.
The book is long, but in a good way. The pace of the book hardly even slowed down enough for me to catch my breath. I soon found myself staring at my Kindle’s percentage complete, wishing it would slow down. But it ended and I was left knowing this book would stay with me for a long time. It ended and I knew I was going to write one of my rarer full five star reviews. When a book is this damn good, it’s hard to do it justice in a review. If you are a post-apocalyptic fan, an adventure/action fan, I absolutely recommend this. I can’t wait to see what Dawney puts out next.
An ARC was given to me by YLVA, for a honest review.
I do want to give a warning first, yes this book is violent. After war has ravaged the world, predator animals are back on the top of the food chain. Not only are animals a worry, but humans are too in this extremely dangerous new world. Due to the violence, this probably won’t be a book for everyone, but if you can handle it I highly recommend reading this.
I’m not going to go into a summary; there are a lot of reviews already if you need one. I do want to mention there are two main characters Lynn and Dani. This book is in third person, but we are only ever in Lynn’s headspace. I actually thought it was an interesting choice for a book like this, but it really worked. Lynn is a fantastic main character. She was one of those strong badass female characters I just love. Dani has her flaws and Dawney (the author) is not always that nice to her, but I loved learning about her as Lynn did. Even not being in her headspace, you still felt like you really understood Dani.
There is a romance. For this being an adventure book that keeps you on your toes with danger at every corner, the romance really worked for me. It progressed at a nice slow pace as these characters slowly learned to depend on each other. I loved the dialogue when the characters would discuss their feelings. The one main sex scene was so well done. It wasn’t steamy but it felt like a love scene not just sex. There was so much emotion behind it, it actually blew me away a bit. I think it would actually go into my top ten favorite intimate scenes in lesfic. I usually reserve them for super steamy scenes, but this was just so well written I won’t forget it anytime soon.
There are a few tiny negatives. There were a few times that I had to suspend disbelief a bit. Or I thought the time period didn’t match up perfectly with what the characters knew. This take place (If I remember correctly) 200 years after the war that really ended civilization as we know it. I think if Dawney would have cut that time in half, everything would have lined up so much better. But in the grand scheme of things, these complaints were so tiny they didn’t affect my love for the book at all.
The book is long, but in a good way. The pace of the book hardly even slowed down enough for me to catch my breath. I soon found myself staring at my Kindle’s percentage complete, wishing it would slow down. But it ended and I was left knowing this book would stay with me for a long time. It ended and I knew I was going to write one of my rarer full five star reviews. When a book is this damn good, it’s hard to do it justice in a review. If you are a post-apocalyptic fan, an adventure/action fan, I absolutely recommend this. I can’t wait to see what Dawney puts out next.
An ARC was given to me by YLVA, for a honest review.
March 10, 2018
*I received this book from Ylva Publishing for an honest review*
This was one of those dense rich stories that took a while to read. If I recall correctly, and I might not, there was a similar denseness/richness in the short story I read by this same author – the only other work I’ve read by them. ‘What does that mean?’ Um . . . hmms. Boiled down: there’s a lot of ‘stuff’ packed into the words/actions/scenes. Right. So.
This story, entirely seen through the perspective of one character, Lynn Tanner, is a future post-apocalyptic world. And the majority of the story takes place in New York (well, all of it, really, just there’s references to Lynn having been elsewhere, like ‘up north’ in Canada). It is unclear what exactly happened – there are references to ‘bombs falling’ but this story takes place centuries later and I’m not sure Lynn herself knows what happened. I pause here to insert a paragraph as this reminded me.
There are two specific things I had ‘trouble with’, which were ‘problematic’. First is easy enough to mention – I despised all side characters, who were basically one step away from being evil, with the possible exception of Toby – no, strike that, he was way too loud to survive – and was a massive liability. Though some of the side characters grew on me, mostly Dani Wilson. Right, with that out of the way let’s get to the second major specific trouble spot – remember how I mentioned this is a future world, and that Lynn herself might not know what happened? Well . . . that was a mixed bag type of thing. There were things she knew, things she didn’t know, and it didn’t always make sense – considering this sometime in the future after a traumatic event, that’s somewhat reasonable. Some weird and wacky things get remembered, other things get lost. This area she’s in had once been called ‘New York’? Sure, reasonable for that to either get remembered or forgotten. Was remembered here. Remembering that a particular type of building was an ‘office building’ when their culture, their being the centuries later people living on earth, eh, okay. Remember a certain area was the ‘receptionist area’ . . . um, really? Seriously? She ‘learned’ this fact from someone? Who learned it . . . how exactly? Bah, sorry, as I said, some things get remembered that are wacky to remember, and maybe this is just one of those wacky things. But Lynn’s ability to ‘know’ the world around her was oddly off and on – like ‘knowing’ that a particular area was the receptionist area, and not knowing what a zebra is. That’s the off and on – there’s parts where she calls them zebras, and other times calling them weirdly colored stripped horses (and hey, what are zebras but stripped horses, eh?). I suppose here it’s more an off and on on what she called the zebras.
Which leads me to: one of the things I had to remind myself almost immediately is the fact that I’m reading a story set far (ish, it’s unclear how far in the future) into the future and the people and whatever culture cannot really have ‘our’ (as in 21st century) ideas forced upon them. Or, more specifically, for a while there I was thinking that Lynn was quite immature for her stated age, and seemed to be acting more on the level of a teenager (as did most of the others), until I recalled that she was – in ways, quite immature – and quite mature. Depending on the thing talked about. I think I messed up noting what I wanted to note. Basically I needed to, initially, remind myself that I wasn’t reading about characters living in my own time period, and that I couldn’t put my own time period standards and stuff onto them. This is way too many words. I move on.
Lynn has lived the vast majority of her life as someone who wanders the wilds – as someone Dani Wilson’s people call ‘Wilders’. As opposed to Wilson’s people who Lynn called ‘Settlers’. Lynn had a mother and father and . . . let’s not reveal the whole plot here, eh? Lynn has lived in the wilds most of her life and is now something like 39. While looking for food she hears something in the distance and creeps closer. Watches as a group of humans ‘take down’ an elephant. She remains hidden until she can’t – for the dog she’s with charges forward to get into the fight. And Lynn runs out to get her dog. Whereupon she’s almost immediately tackled, pummeled and almost killed by some kid. For . . . reasons. One thing leads to another and Lynn’s now these other humans captive. Based entirely on the dog – for, you see, the other humans know this dog – it’s the dog that had been with the scout that they had sent out – the scout who isn’t around anywhere. How’d Lynn get the dog? Did she kill Richard?
Eventually, after 99% of the settlers show how much of a dick they can be, Lynn meets up again with Queen Bitch (who had been off doing something or other), Kate. Who tells Lynn to lead them to Richard, the dead guy, or Lynn will die. One thing leads to another, and before you can say boo . . . Lynn’s in a closet like it’s a cage. Then later off on a journey with one of the settlers, Dani.
And that’s the story the book tells. The quest of Dani and Lynn to retrieve a dead body in the wilds of post-apocalyptic New York. Lynn is wild and, at times, feral. But the settlers, as . . . well I didn’t show did I, well, they aren’t as civilized as they might appear.
I liked the story of Lynn and Dani. Though Dani really comes off quite badly in this story. It seemed like every time you turned around let’s reveal another bad personality trait of Dani’s. But, meh, she was still okay-ish.
I liked the book and enjoyed it. For those wanting to know – there’s a bit of romance, a lot of action/adventure/thrills, a bit of sex (here or there, barely), and . . . ums, stuff.
One last bit: Warning, there are scenes that occur in this book that you do not want to read while eating food.
Rating: 4.44
March 9 2018
This was one of those dense rich stories that took a while to read. If I recall correctly, and I might not, there was a similar denseness/richness in the short story I read by this same author – the only other work I’ve read by them. ‘What does that mean?’ Um . . . hmms. Boiled down: there’s a lot of ‘stuff’ packed into the words/actions/scenes. Right. So.
This story, entirely seen through the perspective of one character, Lynn Tanner, is a future post-apocalyptic world. And the majority of the story takes place in New York (well, all of it, really, just there’s references to Lynn having been elsewhere, like ‘up north’ in Canada). It is unclear what exactly happened – there are references to ‘bombs falling’ but this story takes place centuries later and I’m not sure Lynn herself knows what happened. I pause here to insert a paragraph as this reminded me.
There are two specific things I had ‘trouble with’, which were ‘problematic’. First is easy enough to mention – I despised all side characters, who were basically one step away from being evil, with the possible exception of Toby – no, strike that, he was way too loud to survive – and was a massive liability. Though some of the side characters grew on me, mostly Dani Wilson. Right, with that out of the way let’s get to the second major specific trouble spot – remember how I mentioned this is a future world, and that Lynn herself might not know what happened? Well . . . that was a mixed bag type of thing. There were things she knew, things she didn’t know, and it didn’t always make sense – considering this sometime in the future after a traumatic event, that’s somewhat reasonable. Some weird and wacky things get remembered, other things get lost. This area she’s in had once been called ‘New York’? Sure, reasonable for that to either get remembered or forgotten. Was remembered here. Remembering that a particular type of building was an ‘office building’ when their culture, their being the centuries later people living on earth, eh, okay. Remember a certain area was the ‘receptionist area’ . . . um, really? Seriously? She ‘learned’ this fact from someone? Who learned it . . . how exactly? Bah, sorry, as I said, some things get remembered that are wacky to remember, and maybe this is just one of those wacky things. But Lynn’s ability to ‘know’ the world around her was oddly off and on – like ‘knowing’ that a particular area was the receptionist area, and not knowing what a zebra is. That’s the off and on – there’s parts where she calls them zebras, and other times calling them weirdly colored stripped horses (and hey, what are zebras but stripped horses, eh?). I suppose here it’s more an off and on on what she called the zebras.
Which leads me to: one of the things I had to remind myself almost immediately is the fact that I’m reading a story set far (ish, it’s unclear how far in the future) into the future and the people and whatever culture cannot really have ‘our’ (as in 21st century) ideas forced upon them. Or, more specifically, for a while there I was thinking that Lynn was quite immature for her stated age, and seemed to be acting more on the level of a teenager (as did most of the others), until I recalled that she was – in ways, quite immature – and quite mature. Depending on the thing talked about. I think I messed up noting what I wanted to note. Basically I needed to, initially, remind myself that I wasn’t reading about characters living in my own time period, and that I couldn’t put my own time period standards and stuff onto them. This is way too many words. I move on.
Lynn has lived the vast majority of her life as someone who wanders the wilds – as someone Dani Wilson’s people call ‘Wilders’. As opposed to Wilson’s people who Lynn called ‘Settlers’. Lynn had a mother and father and . . . let’s not reveal the whole plot here, eh? Lynn has lived in the wilds most of her life and is now something like 39. While looking for food she hears something in the distance and creeps closer. Watches as a group of humans ‘take down’ an elephant. She remains hidden until she can’t – for the dog she’s with charges forward to get into the fight. And Lynn runs out to get her dog. Whereupon she’s almost immediately tackled, pummeled and almost killed by some kid. For . . . reasons. One thing leads to another and Lynn’s now these other humans captive. Based entirely on the dog – for, you see, the other humans know this dog – it’s the dog that had been with the scout that they had sent out – the scout who isn’t around anywhere. How’d Lynn get the dog? Did she kill Richard?
Eventually, after 99% of the settlers show how much of a dick they can be, Lynn meets up again with Queen Bitch (who had been off doing something or other), Kate. Who tells Lynn to lead them to Richard, the dead guy, or Lynn will die. One thing leads to another, and before you can say boo . . . Lynn’s in a closet like it’s a cage. Then later off on a journey with one of the settlers, Dani.
And that’s the story the book tells. The quest of Dani and Lynn to retrieve a dead body in the wilds of post-apocalyptic New York. Lynn is wild and, at times, feral. But the settlers, as . . . well I didn’t show did I, well, they aren’t as civilized as they might appear.
I liked the story of Lynn and Dani. Though Dani really comes off quite badly in this story. It seemed like every time you turned around let’s reveal another bad personality trait of Dani’s. But, meh, she was still okay-ish.
I liked the book and enjoyed it. For those wanting to know – there’s a bit of romance, a lot of action/adventure/thrills, a bit of sex (here or there, barely), and . . . ums, stuff.
One last bit: Warning, there are scenes that occur in this book that you do not want to read while eating food.
Rating: 4.44
March 9 2018
April 28, 2018
Survival instincts
Violent. Gritty. Graphic. These are some of the first adjectives that come to my mind when I started reading Survival Instincts. And pretty much throughout the book. But by the end, I'd add to it pulse-pounding, heart-breaking, and quite simply--effing awesome!
It's a completely immersive and truly visceral experience. But it's not for the squeamish. Life in this dystopian future is more akin to life in prehistoric times--raw, wild and brutal. It's a literal dog-eat-dog world. Predators and prey roam the sprawling concrete wilderness formerly known as cities.... A few hundred years ago... Before the bombs fell. Now the rusting car husks and abandoned buildings are just like caves where one can just as easily hide from danger as they can meet their end.
The main character Lynn is a "wilder", a futuristic nomad. She's chosen to live a life of solitude, relying solely on her wits and well-honed instincts for survival. She chances upon a small settlement one day but is immediately accused of being responsible for the death of their leader, because she has his dog. A foolhardy decision to retrieve his buried body results in the most horrific trip to hell.
Lynn choses a single travel companion for the job--someone from the settlement who isn't likely to kill her--and someone she thinks she can dump the first chance she gets.
But things don't go exactly as planned...
The most noteworthy and in my opinion, authentic aspect of the book is how it draws its dystopian world. Though the time frame seems a bit too long (it's a little hard to imagine humanity still hasn't gotten its act together..a few hundred years after the apocalypse), for the most part, it was easy for me to get behind the author's vision of the world. I thought the scenarios depicted and the characters’ reactions to them stayed true to the author’s vision, however off-putting they may be to some romance readers. I'm one of those. But I always look for a great love story underneath the veneer, or in this case, the dreck. It's absolutely there and it's developed just the way it should be...super slow burn, with lots of low-key, understated but no less dramatic, heart-tugging moments. Okay, I must admit that the romantic development part of the book has a bit of a modern feel to it but that, I think, is the book’s only concession to romance readers. Everything else is pretty much what you’d expect a wild and dangerous world like that to be--where survival means having to kill in order not to be killed, where human life is reduced to the basest of animal instincts--survival.The many scenes of violence, gore and animal kills, none of which are gratuitous, reinforce the book's bleak dystopian reality.
Rich character development is another aspect I loved about the book. I thoroughly enjoyed how the MC slowly, subtly and quite reluctantly grew from a self-centered, almost-misanthropic lone wolf to someone who was willing to lay down her life for another... And how her natural, life-long instincts for self-preservation struggled mightily with it. I thought that was such an incredibly honest and incisive characterization.
The book is also a very effective thriller. The trip to hell and back is fraught with danger and unknown risks, and death and dismemberment always seem to be just lurking around the corner waiting to pounce on our heroines. The action and thrills are well sprinkled throughout the book, and there is seldom a dull moment.
As a book, this is great. As a debut novel, it is simply amazing.
5 stars
ARC from Ylva
Violent. Gritty. Graphic. These are some of the first adjectives that come to my mind when I started reading Survival Instincts. And pretty much throughout the book. But by the end, I'd add to it pulse-pounding, heart-breaking, and quite simply--effing awesome!
It's a completely immersive and truly visceral experience. But it's not for the squeamish. Life in this dystopian future is more akin to life in prehistoric times--raw, wild and brutal. It's a literal dog-eat-dog world. Predators and prey roam the sprawling concrete wilderness formerly known as cities.... A few hundred years ago... Before the bombs fell. Now the rusting car husks and abandoned buildings are just like caves where one can just as easily hide from danger as they can meet their end.
The main character Lynn is a "wilder", a futuristic nomad. She's chosen to live a life of solitude, relying solely on her wits and well-honed instincts for survival. She chances upon a small settlement one day but is immediately accused of being responsible for the death of their leader, because she has his dog. A foolhardy decision to retrieve his buried body results in the most horrific trip to hell.
Lynn choses a single travel companion for the job--someone from the settlement who isn't likely to kill her--and someone she thinks she can dump the first chance she gets.
But things don't go exactly as planned...
The most noteworthy and in my opinion, authentic aspect of the book is how it draws its dystopian world. Though the time frame seems a bit too long (it's a little hard to imagine humanity still hasn't gotten its act together..a few hundred years after the apocalypse), for the most part, it was easy for me to get behind the author's vision of the world. I thought the scenarios depicted and the characters’ reactions to them stayed true to the author’s vision, however off-putting they may be to some romance readers. I'm one of those. But I always look for a great love story underneath the veneer, or in this case, the dreck. It's absolutely there and it's developed just the way it should be...super slow burn, with lots of low-key, understated but no less dramatic, heart-tugging moments. Okay, I must admit that the romantic development part of the book has a bit of a modern feel to it but that, I think, is the book’s only concession to romance readers. Everything else is pretty much what you’d expect a wild and dangerous world like that to be--where survival means having to kill in order not to be killed, where human life is reduced to the basest of animal instincts--survival.The many scenes of violence, gore and animal kills, none of which are gratuitous, reinforce the book's bleak dystopian reality.
Rich character development is another aspect I loved about the book. I thoroughly enjoyed how the MC slowly, subtly and quite reluctantly grew from a self-centered, almost-misanthropic lone wolf to someone who was willing to lay down her life for another... And how her natural, life-long instincts for self-preservation struggled mightily with it. I thought that was such an incredibly honest and incisive characterization.
The book is also a very effective thriller. The trip to hell and back is fraught with danger and unknown risks, and death and dismemberment always seem to be just lurking around the corner waiting to pounce on our heroines. The action and thrills are well sprinkled throughout the book, and there is seldom a dull moment.
As a book, this is great. As a debut novel, it is simply amazing.
5 stars
ARC from Ylva
March 18, 2020
I must preface this to say that it is St. Patrick's Day in amongst COVID-19.
I might be slightly drunk on Irish whisky.
But don't let that sway you from this review. This book was SO GOOD. It was exactly what I needed and at the exact right time. Post-apocolyptic NYC, who knows the exact year, with two MCs from different worlds. MC Lynn is a "Wilder" who stumbles upon a settlement in NYC and other MC Dani. They end up having to navigate the wilds as strangers on an expedition of sorts. The adventures are high stress and well written. There are wild animals and obstacles and humans combined to make this journey a full on gooder.
I was so in the mood for this kind of book so colour me impressed. Whew!
I might be slightly drunk on Irish whisky.
But don't let that sway you from this review. This book was SO GOOD. It was exactly what I needed and at the exact right time. Post-apocolyptic NYC, who knows the exact year, with two MCs from different worlds. MC Lynn is a "Wilder" who stumbles upon a settlement in NYC and other MC Dani. They end up having to navigate the wilds as strangers on an expedition of sorts. The adventures are high stress and well written. There are wild animals and obstacles and humans combined to make this journey a full on gooder.
I was so in the mood for this kind of book so colour me impressed. Whew!
August 28, 2019
Mother Nature's Revenge.
That would have been a perfect sub title to this book. A post war crumbling New York taken over by flora and fauna serves as the backdrop for this dystopian novel. This book was not at all what I was expecting because let's face it, everything dystopian lately is all about zombies or walkers or mutants etc. The concept of a concrete jungle turned into an almost literal jungle made for a very interesting read.
The other thing I wasn't quite prepared for was the amount of carnage involved. Be it human or animal, if it had a pulse, it didn't have it for very long. Animal lovers must have been horrified when they read this book. I feel like I should also warn other readers not eat or drink anything while reading this if they have a weak stomach because May Dawney paints a very detailed and absolutely disgusting picture of what it's like to survive in a dystopian world.
That brings me to what I loved the most about this book, the worldbuilding. Throughout the entire story I had a very clear image of the main characters surroundings and really felt the unease that Lynn was experiencing. What I liked least about the book were the secondary characters. I didn't for one second understand the need to send Dani and Lynn on their suicidal 'mission'. What was the point? Then again without that stupid mission there would be no book.
So why should you read this? Great worldbuilding, strong female characters, excellent pacing and the best dog ever, what more do you want? If you're curious about the sex scenes they're gross, literally. It's the apocalypse and no one is carrying around any travel sized bottles of Purell.
That's probably how I would end up dying in the event of an apocalypse though. Not because of a fatal shot or stab wound or even a wild animal attack. No, my tombstone would say:
Here lies Lexi, she died because her girlfriend didn't wash her hands.
That would have been a perfect sub title to this book. A post war crumbling New York taken over by flora and fauna serves as the backdrop for this dystopian novel. This book was not at all what I was expecting because let's face it, everything dystopian lately is all about zombies or walkers or mutants etc. The concept of a concrete jungle turned into an almost literal jungle made for a very interesting read.
The other thing I wasn't quite prepared for was the amount of carnage involved. Be it human or animal, if it had a pulse, it didn't have it for very long. Animal lovers must have been horrified when they read this book. I feel like I should also warn other readers not eat or drink anything while reading this if they have a weak stomach because May Dawney paints a very detailed and absolutely disgusting picture of what it's like to survive in a dystopian world.
That brings me to what I loved the most about this book, the worldbuilding. Throughout the entire story I had a very clear image of the main characters surroundings and really felt the unease that Lynn was experiencing. What I liked least about the book were the secondary characters. I didn't for one second understand the need to send Dani and Lynn on their suicidal 'mission'. What was the point? Then again without that stupid mission there would be no book.
So why should you read this? Great worldbuilding, strong female characters, excellent pacing and the best dog ever, what more do you want? If you're curious about the sex scenes they're gross, literally. It's the apocalypse and no one is carrying around any travel sized bottles of Purell.
That's probably how I would end up dying in the event of an apocalypse though. Not because of a fatal shot or stab wound or even a wild animal attack. No, my tombstone would say:
Here lies Lexi, she died because her girlfriend didn't wash her hands.
March 29, 2018
Wow this is an intense read. And it doesn't let up. It's relatively long in the world of Lesfic, but it doesn't feel like it. The action is just non-stop. I loved the slow way the relationship and trust built up between our two mains. The emotional need Lynn had for Dani was palpable to this reader. As mentioned in other reviews there are a few times when the time line doesn't seem to jive...but honestly very minor to the story as a whole.
4.5 stars rounded up....cuz zebras running wild in NYC?
4.5 stars rounded up....cuz zebras running wild in NYC?
March 3, 2018
Survival Instincts is set in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian New York City where zoo animals have procreated and become the predators they once were and buildings are slowly being absorbed back into nature. Lynn Tanner, a loner, and her dog are travelling southwards to warmer winters when she comes across a settler group in the middle of a hunt. Her dog, Skeever, rushes towards them and in the uproar that follows it becomes apparent that Lynn’s dog is known to the setter’s group. Thinking she has stolen Skeever they capture Lynn and want to force her to return to where she found him to prove her innocence. Lynn refuses to go unless Dani Wilson is the only settler to go with her. (There is more to it than this but I don't want to put in any spoiler alerts.)
For the most part I enjoyed reading this but there are quite a few areas where my suspension of disbelief was broken, the story lagged or words jarred with the setting.
I don’t have a clear idea of the history leading to the present situation. It is mentioned that there were millions of people in NYC hundreds of years before so it’s possible that the war happened at least a hundred years ago. What that leads me to is: why are the characters still in ‘survival mode’ if the war happened over a hundred years before? The air seems to be clean, water is available, things grow, there are lots of animals and there are lots of relics intact, like vehicles, furniture and buildings. Why have they not made things to make their lives easier? Stuff like paper seems to be mostly perished but there doesn’t seem to be any industry so where are they getting their clothing (which, depending on the environment, wouldn’t last much longer than paper)?
The main characters are on their own for most of the novel meaning that there wasn’t enough dialogue. Lynn is a survivor who has been on her own for a long time and has kept herself alive by her ruthlessness. Dani has been with the settlers for a while and although she is a capable hunter her survival skills are not honed like Lynn’s. Their relationship is one that is fraught with distrust and at the same time, a mutually beneficial goal - unless one of them can figure out how to get out of it. This makes for a wonderful amount of tension between them that in turn heightens the suspense.
On the downside, sometimes the language they use is more indicative of people who are in counselling rather than people who have just survived a wolf attack. Dani's motivation for going on this journey should possibly have been brought in earlier particularly between 40% and 60% of the way through where the story dipped.
This is probably one of my idiosyncrasies but the characters are never very clean. The attacks, kills and corpses are so well described with blood, dirt and maggots covering the main characters with regularity but washing of bodies and clothing is rare and seemingly quite superficial. Just the mere suggestion of intimacy gives me the shudders.
I enjoyed the writing and the descriptions are evocative and engage the sense of sight, smell and touch (too much sometimes, in my case). The evolution of Lynn and Dani’s relationship was engaging and the reason I finished the book. I’m divided about how I feel about Survival Instincts because there was a lot I enjoyed and just as much that frustrated me.
For the most part I enjoyed reading this but there are quite a few areas where my suspension of disbelief was broken, the story lagged or words jarred with the setting.
I don’t have a clear idea of the history leading to the present situation. It is mentioned that there were millions of people in NYC hundreds of years before so it’s possible that the war happened at least a hundred years ago. What that leads me to is: why are the characters still in ‘survival mode’ if the war happened over a hundred years before? The air seems to be clean, water is available, things grow, there are lots of animals and there are lots of relics intact, like vehicles, furniture and buildings. Why have they not made things to make their lives easier? Stuff like paper seems to be mostly perished but there doesn’t seem to be any industry so where are they getting their clothing (which, depending on the environment, wouldn’t last much longer than paper)?
The main characters are on their own for most of the novel meaning that there wasn’t enough dialogue. Lynn is a survivor who has been on her own for a long time and has kept herself alive by her ruthlessness. Dani has been with the settlers for a while and although she is a capable hunter her survival skills are not honed like Lynn’s. Their relationship is one that is fraught with distrust and at the same time, a mutually beneficial goal - unless one of them can figure out how to get out of it. This makes for a wonderful amount of tension between them that in turn heightens the suspense.
On the downside, sometimes the language they use is more indicative of people who are in counselling rather than people who have just survived a wolf attack. Dani's motivation for going on this journey should possibly have been brought in earlier particularly between 40% and 60% of the way through where the story dipped.
This is probably one of my idiosyncrasies but the characters are never very clean. The attacks, kills and corpses are so well described with blood, dirt and maggots covering the main characters with regularity but washing of bodies and clothing is rare and seemingly quite superficial. Just the mere suggestion of intimacy gives me the shudders.
I enjoyed the writing and the descriptions are evocative and engage the sense of sight, smell and touch (too much sometimes, in my case). The evolution of Lynn and Dani’s relationship was engaging and the reason I finished the book. I’m divided about how I feel about Survival Instincts because there was a lot I enjoyed and just as much that frustrated me.
October 20, 2018
WOW!!! What can I say this book is amazing. It is set about 200 years after the world destroyed itself. The survivors are living either as settlers in the ruins of the cities or as wilders in the open countryside.
The book is centered on Lynn a wilder and Dani a settler. They set out on a journey to recover the body of the leader of Dani's group. Predators roam freely and there is possible danger at every turn. Everything is a struggle. But they persevere and bond. They learn to trust each other and that turns to love. But the return journey turns into life and death.
The settlers don't trust Lynn. But when Dani gives her version of events they also learn to accept Lynn and trust eventually comes. Lynn constantly questions herself if life alone is better than with people to care about. Dani teaches Lynn to love.
Lynn stays for Dani but finds she actually likes having people to care for and have them care in return. I have never read this author before but I will look out for her in the future. I liked Dani immediately but she made me fall in love with Lynn. This book would make an excellent post apocalyptic movie. Enjoy!!
*ARC provided by publisher via Ylva Publishing*
The book is centered on Lynn a wilder and Dani a settler. They set out on a journey to recover the body of the leader of Dani's group. Predators roam freely and there is possible danger at every turn. Everything is a struggle. But they persevere and bond. They learn to trust each other and that turns to love. But the return journey turns into life and death.
The settlers don't trust Lynn. But when Dani gives her version of events they also learn to accept Lynn and trust eventually comes. Lynn constantly questions herself if life alone is better than with people to care about. Dani teaches Lynn to love.
Lynn stays for Dani but finds she actually likes having people to care for and have them care in return. I have never read this author before but I will look out for her in the future. I liked Dani immediately but she made me fall in love with Lynn. This book would make an excellent post apocalyptic movie. Enjoy!!
*ARC provided by publisher via Ylva Publishing*
March 25, 2018
ARC received from YLVA for a fair review.
3 stars. The book has its moments and they're really impactful emotionally but a lot of the book is repetitive.
I liked both leads - the strong and independent Lynn and the strong and not so independent Dani. And Skeevers is the best character in the book, dog companions rock.
The author also paints a fairly believable picture of a post-apocalyptic world, the descriptions are rich and paint an appropriately bleak picture. But then questions start to arise. Why are they all hunter-gatherers when the world is full of vegetation? Stuff grows so it's natural to assume that people would form agricultural communities for a sustainable and predictable food source. Instead, survivors band up in small groups and are doing the hunting and gathering thing which doesn't make much sense.
And what about clothes? They're hundreds of years after the apocalypse, all clothing from that time would be destroyed yet they have a rather modern apparel from what I can tell. Without agriculture, they should be running in primal leathers.
Then there's the pacing of the book which was my main problem with it. In places, it gets too repetitive without anything of substance happening. Too much of the book is spent in Lynn's head. The interactions with Dani were the best parts but they're quite short when compared to the repetitive Lynn's thought process.
Furthermore, I was awaiting how she'll integrate within the yet that part was almost completely skipped. The main conflict was too easily resolved in quite a rushed way. The author should have cut off Lynn's repetitive thought process in half and developed the story about settlers more. There were plenty of interesting characters but they didn't get any screen time in the end.
And by the end of the book, it felt like Lynn couldn't go 5 steps without some sort of attack directed at her by all kinds of beasts and humans. What was exciting at first ended being "Not again!".
Overall an enjoyable action read that lacks proper research, has troubles with pacing but features good leads and the best dog you can read about.
3 stars. The book has its moments and they're really impactful emotionally but a lot of the book is repetitive.
I liked both leads - the strong and independent Lynn and the strong and not so independent Dani. And Skeevers is the best character in the book, dog companions rock.
The author also paints a fairly believable picture of a post-apocalyptic world, the descriptions are rich and paint an appropriately bleak picture. But then questions start to arise. Why are they all hunter-gatherers when the world is full of vegetation? Stuff grows so it's natural to assume that people would form agricultural communities for a sustainable and predictable food source. Instead, survivors band up in small groups and are doing the hunting and gathering thing which doesn't make much sense.
And what about clothes? They're hundreds of years after the apocalypse, all clothing from that time would be destroyed yet they have a rather modern apparel from what I can tell. Without agriculture, they should be running in primal leathers.
Then there's the pacing of the book which was my main problem with it. In places, it gets too repetitive without anything of substance happening. Too much of the book is spent in Lynn's head. The interactions with Dani were the best parts but they're quite short when compared to the repetitive Lynn's thought process.
Furthermore, I was awaiting how she'll integrate within the yet that part was almost completely skipped. The main conflict was too easily resolved in quite a rushed way. The author should have cut off Lynn's repetitive thought process in half and developed the story about settlers more. There were plenty of interesting characters but they didn't get any screen time in the end.
And by the end of the book, it felt like Lynn couldn't go 5 steps without some sort of attack directed at her by all kinds of beasts and humans. What was exciting at first ended being "Not again!".
Overall an enjoyable action read that lacks proper research, has troubles with pacing but features good leads and the best dog you can read about.
March 10, 2018
Survival Instincts by May Dawney was absolutely stunning! It has everything you want and need all wrapped up in one glorious tale. This is EASILY the best book I have read in 2018! The romance gives you the feels, the characters are strong, badass dynamic women! Off the charts amazing read.
Lynn Tanner is a survivor. That's what she does, that all she knows how to do. In a world that was devastated by war, living by your wits and survival skills is a must. Lynn has no family left, she has kept to help and traveled the wilderness living off the land for a decade. Traveling south from Ottawa, Lynn is determined to head south to avoid another harsh winter. Traveling along, she kinds a dog, Skeever, whose owner had just passed. Meeting this dog makes Lynn take stock of just how lonely she is. Even the will to hunt has diminished. His arrival changes everything for Lynn.
What is amazing about Lynn is her mental fortitude and resilience. She is one of those characters that while her life has been so difficult, she never gives up, she fights for everything she has, every day. Her spirit captivates you as the reader. You love her for her weaknesses as much as her strengths.
Dani Wilson is the other main character in Survival Instincts. Dani is a skilled hunter, but Lynn see's her as weak, and an adversary she believes she came overcome if necessary. These two definitely get off on the wrong foot. Dani is witty, extremely smart, and tough as nails. These two go toe to toe and then become an unbeatable force. They are so different but absolute equals.
I think what really sets this book apart from so many others is how multi-layered it is. May Dawney has given you a long detailed story full of twists and turns and characters that stay with you long after you turn the final page. Dawney takes her time and draws the characters out. Backstories are cleverly crafted, the scenes are set, and you feel the story as much as see it as you read. I was equally mesmerized and terrified at the same time. What I loved most of all, and I am talking really loved, is how the character’s chemistry between each other is just dynamite. It just jumps right off the page! You have sexiness, cuteness, agonizing pain and badassness all rolled into one epic adventure. This book is so beyond awesome!
6 stars
Lynn Tanner is a survivor. That's what she does, that all she knows how to do. In a world that was devastated by war, living by your wits and survival skills is a must. Lynn has no family left, she has kept to help and traveled the wilderness living off the land for a decade. Traveling south from Ottawa, Lynn is determined to head south to avoid another harsh winter. Traveling along, she kinds a dog, Skeever, whose owner had just passed. Meeting this dog makes Lynn take stock of just how lonely she is. Even the will to hunt has diminished. His arrival changes everything for Lynn.
What is amazing about Lynn is her mental fortitude and resilience. She is one of those characters that while her life has been so difficult, she never gives up, she fights for everything she has, every day. Her spirit captivates you as the reader. You love her for her weaknesses as much as her strengths.
Dani Wilson is the other main character in Survival Instincts. Dani is a skilled hunter, but Lynn see's her as weak, and an adversary she believes she came overcome if necessary. These two definitely get off on the wrong foot. Dani is witty, extremely smart, and tough as nails. These two go toe to toe and then become an unbeatable force. They are so different but absolute equals.
I think what really sets this book apart from so many others is how multi-layered it is. May Dawney has given you a long detailed story full of twists and turns and characters that stay with you long after you turn the final page. Dawney takes her time and draws the characters out. Backstories are cleverly crafted, the scenes are set, and you feel the story as much as see it as you read. I was equally mesmerized and terrified at the same time. What I loved most of all, and I am talking really loved, is how the character’s chemistry between each other is just dynamite. It just jumps right off the page! You have sexiness, cuteness, agonizing pain and badassness all rolled into one epic adventure. This book is so beyond awesome!
6 stars
March 19, 2018
*Note: I was graciously provided a copy of this book by the publisher
Overall I think this is a good "end of the world" story with a romance. Some of it is gripping and other parts are gruesome. The story reads fluidly enough written in the third person, limited point of view. The author writes in such a way that I had no difficulty visualizing the story as a movie in my mind. The romance was a slow burn as it takes a long period for the trust issues between the two characters to be resolved and I realy liked the character, Dani. The hunting scene at the very start sets the tone for the book: The earth is a hostile environment for life, not just on the African savannah, but everywhere.
I had questions about the author's choices of what animals would survive in a northern state of the U.S. as well as descriptive terms such as "boardroom," just to choose one example. I should think animals suited to a cold environment would thrive in NYC after it had become flooded again without humans to keep it drained, and the remains of human structures had dissolved back into the earth. I do understand the desire for having Zebras running around NYC however. It's fun and helps the story not to be too grim and it CAN be grim, make no mistake about that.
Here's my one main beef. Elephants are intelligent animals with large brains, not small.
Overall I think this is a good "end of the world" story with a romance. Some of it is gripping and other parts are gruesome. The story reads fluidly enough written in the third person, limited point of view. The author writes in such a way that I had no difficulty visualizing the story as a movie in my mind. The romance was a slow burn as it takes a long period for the trust issues between the two characters to be resolved and I realy liked the character, Dani. The hunting scene at the very start sets the tone for the book: The earth is a hostile environment for life, not just on the African savannah, but everywhere.
I had questions about the author's choices of what animals would survive in a northern state of the U.S. as well as descriptive terms such as "boardroom," just to choose one example. I should think animals suited to a cold environment would thrive in NYC after it had become flooded again without humans to keep it drained, and the remains of human structures had dissolved back into the earth. I do understand the desire for having Zebras running around NYC however. It's fun and helps the story not to be too grim and it CAN be grim, make no mistake about that.
Here's my one main beef. Elephants are intelligent animals with large brains, not small.
September 7, 2021
I love dystopian/ post-apocalyptic stories and I usually get my fix from YA, so this in lesfic is a welcome change.
That's not to say this book doesn't have issues, because it does, at least for me. I found some, or maybe all, of the scenes involving animals disturbing. This story takes place a couple of hundred years after the war that ended civilisation as we know it now and all the animals from the zoos and the wild have taken over again. So there are lions and elephants roaming the crumbled streets of New York City. And what happens to prey animals isn't pretty, the detail in which the author goes for their killings to be food for the humans, I understand it, but it could have been a one and done for example. I ended up skipping over a lot of these killing scenes. The fighting scenes are also rather detailed and might be disturbing to some, especially pied on top of the dinner kills. As I mentioned it's a couple hundred years after our current time and some of the descriptions and the things that remain don't make the most sense, I think it would have been better to have it be closer to our times say 100 years from now.
On to our mains, this story is written in third person POV but we only really are with Lynn and her thoughts. Lynn is a badass "Wilder" and I like her, she is a bit skittish maybe but knows how to hold her own and survive without any help. Dani I didn't get much of a read on as we are mostly with Lynn so we only know what Lynn experiences from Dani. Dani isn't always the nicest character but she holds her own and she grew on me, sorta. This is an action-packed adventure where death is waiting, rather lurking, around every corner and I think the author did a great job of having this be a very slow romance as well. Dare I say I would even be happy if it weren't there? It does add this nice layer to Lynn's character and her development, so maybe in the end I would have missed a little something if it weren't there.
I do feel this book is rather long, I'm not saying I mind it, but if you were to cut out some of the killing scenes and maybe some of the dog feeding on his prey, it could have been a bit shorter and still have the same impact.
Usually, I end up wanting more of these types of stories but I feel like the author wrapped this up nicely and I feel like I don't need more installments. I think my survival instincts would kick in and definitely not read all the things with animals.
That's not to say this book doesn't have issues, because it does, at least for me. I found some, or maybe all, of the scenes involving animals disturbing. This story takes place a couple of hundred years after the war that ended civilisation as we know it now and all the animals from the zoos and the wild have taken over again. So there are lions and elephants roaming the crumbled streets of New York City. And what happens to prey animals isn't pretty, the detail in which the author goes for their killings to be food for the humans, I understand it, but it could have been a one and done for example. I ended up skipping over a lot of these killing scenes. The fighting scenes are also rather detailed and might be disturbing to some, especially pied on top of the dinner kills. As I mentioned it's a couple hundred years after our current time and some of the descriptions and the things that remain don't make the most sense, I think it would have been better to have it be closer to our times say 100 years from now.
On to our mains, this story is written in third person POV but we only really are with Lynn and her thoughts. Lynn is a badass "Wilder" and I like her, she is a bit skittish maybe but knows how to hold her own and survive without any help. Dani I didn't get much of a read on as we are mostly with Lynn so we only know what Lynn experiences from Dani. Dani isn't always the nicest character but she holds her own and she grew on me, sorta. This is an action-packed adventure where death is waiting, rather lurking, around every corner and I think the author did a great job of having this be a very slow romance as well. Dare I say I would even be happy if it weren't there? It does add this nice layer to Lynn's character and her development, so maybe in the end I would have missed a little something if it weren't there.
I do feel this book is rather long, I'm not saying I mind it, but if you were to cut out some of the killing scenes and maybe some of the dog feeding on his prey, it could have been a bit shorter and still have the same impact.
Usually, I end up wanting more of these types of stories but I feel like the author wrapped this up nicely and I feel like I don't need more installments. I think my survival instincts would kick in and definitely not read all the things with animals.
March 10, 2018
Survival Instinct is the kind of book that grabs your attention early and holds onto it much too late into the night. Once I started it I found it very difficult to put the book down again. But it’s a big novel and you will be forced to wrench yourself out from time to time unless you have an entire day (or more depending on the reader) at your disposal.
I loved the action and the character progression. Dawney did an excellent job showing us what our world would look like a few hundred years after being ravaged by war. With histories forgotten and people forced into nomadic and hunter/gatherer roles, it is a true sampling of what people would be reduced to without the modern things we rely on. Lacking the modern medicine, community, and tools we take for granted every day, the world becomes a treacherous place. Your life is in danger every minute, be it from a pack of wolves, or a simple cut from a rusted out car. I rooted for our protagonists through it all as they journeyed through the massive landscape of New York City. It was a suicide mission but they were determined not to let it kill them. And while they started as enemies, that too changed as they grew to trust one another.
I was given this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I loved the action and the character progression. Dawney did an excellent job showing us what our world would look like a few hundred years after being ravaged by war. With histories forgotten and people forced into nomadic and hunter/gatherer roles, it is a true sampling of what people would be reduced to without the modern things we rely on. Lacking the modern medicine, community, and tools we take for granted every day, the world becomes a treacherous place. Your life is in danger every minute, be it from a pack of wolves, or a simple cut from a rusted out car. I rooted for our protagonists through it all as they journeyed through the massive landscape of New York City. It was a suicide mission but they were determined not to let it kill them. And while they started as enemies, that too changed as they grew to trust one another.
I was given this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
August 18, 2018
I had to force myself to finish that book.
It's well written, you easily get into the story and most character are shapely. So. What rubbed me wrong?
First, constant victimization and verbal abuse of the main character.
She survives on her own so she's selfish and untrustworthy ? What kind of moronic logic is that? They are all surviving by scrapes and we don't see the homesteaders sharing their wealth and acting honorable so their moral footing seemed completely unbelievable.
The complete intrigue left me mouth hanging open. Who put two people lives in danger for a corpse in a post apocalyptic world full of unfriendly foes ?
I'm still rubbing my head on this one.
It's well written, you easily get into the story and most character are shapely. So. What rubbed me wrong?
First, constant victimization and verbal abuse of the main character.
She survives on her own so she's selfish and untrustworthy ? What kind of moronic logic is that? They are all surviving by scrapes and we don't see the homesteaders sharing their wealth and acting honorable so their moral footing seemed completely unbelievable.
The complete intrigue left me mouth hanging open. Who put two people lives in danger for a corpse in a post apocalyptic world full of unfriendly foes ?
I'm still rubbing my head on this one.
July 26, 2021
Lovely book- vegans beware though
November 12, 2018
I Am Legend met Wall-E and The Zoo.
This was not an easy read, I worried about the hs' welfare/safety from the start till the end. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Lynn Tanner found herself travelling with Dani Wilson to dig out and retrieved a body that belonged to Dani's 'family'.
Lynn didn't want to complete the suicidal task and had been planning to ditch Dani onced it was safe to do so. Dani had an obligation to fulfill, formed ingenious plans of her own to make Lynn stick to the plan.
Lynn and Dani with trust issues as big as the North America continent between them had to rely on each other as they faced all sorts of threats -
post apocalyptic world (need I say more?), wolves and bears. Blood replaced sunscreen/body lotion, spear and tomahawk were always on hand, and strong stomachs were compulsory as the hs were not squeamish and ate almost everything except for rats.
Through all the obstacles - blood, guts and gore, Lynn and Dani began to have unusual feelings for each other and willingly explored it. When they were attacked by the , they were both baldy injured but neither were selfish and kept checking on each others' well-being. That scene and everything that happened after was really touching, I actually hugged Vader Jr.
I didn't think I would love this story, kudos to Ms. Dawney for making a surprise attack and made me fell hard for it. A special shout out to Skeever- a wonderful canine companion to Lynn and Dani.
This was not an easy read, I worried about the hs' welfare/safety from the start till the end. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Lynn Tanner found herself travelling with Dani Wilson to dig out and retrieved a body that belonged to Dani's 'family'.
Lynn didn't want to complete the suicidal task and had been planning to ditch Dani onced it was safe to do so. Dani had an obligation to fulfill, formed ingenious plans of her own to make Lynn stick to the plan.
Lynn and Dani with trust issues as big as the North America continent between them had to rely on each other as they faced all sorts of threats -
post apocalyptic world (need I say more?), wolves and bears. Blood replaced sunscreen/body lotion, spear and tomahawk were always on hand, and strong stomachs were compulsory as the hs were not squeamish and ate almost everything except for rats.
Through all the obstacles - blood, guts and gore, Lynn and Dani began to have unusual feelings for each other and willingly explored it. When they were attacked by the , they were both baldy injured but neither were selfish and kept checking on each others' well-being. That scene and everything that happened after was really touching, I actually hugged Vader Jr.
I didn't think I would love this story, kudos to Ms. Dawney for making a surprise attack and made me fell hard for it. A special shout out to Skeever- a wonderful canine companion to Lynn and Dani.
August 1, 2020
On a dystopian kick lately.
The feelings of danger really engulfed the world in this novel. Survival really was the name of the game for these people.
I enjoyed the romance between Dani and Lynn. I liked how neither was truly innocent and doing things to help their own chances with some grey areas that weren't just black and white. Until they both caught feelings of course!
The feelings of danger really engulfed the world in this novel. Survival really was the name of the game for these people.
I enjoyed the romance between Dani and Lynn. I liked how neither was truly innocent and doing things to help their own chances with some grey areas that weren't just black and white. Until they both caught feelings of course!
May 12, 2018
Such a good read! Not my genre but loved it which means I highly recommend it :)
June 5, 2018
Good lord, this is simply an amazing slice of post apocalyptic, future thriller.
What an amazing book from an author that doesn’t seem to have published a full length novel previously.
This is as full on palette cleanse as you can get after reading any number romance novels with no bite. This has bite, claws, knives, spears and everything in between.
There is absolutely no fluff, this is as stripped a novel with harsh and “real world consequences” within a fantasy setting that you will find from any mainstream publishing company.
Pick up this book, put on your big girl pants and brace yourself for a heck of a ride.
***** Oop, just been pointed out that this author has a number of other novels. Bad Mags. Apologies to the author - I will be checking out these other works.
What an amazing book from an author that doesn’t seem to have published a full length novel previously.
This is as full on palette cleanse as you can get after reading any number romance novels with no bite. This has bite, claws, knives, spears and everything in between.
There is absolutely no fluff, this is as stripped a novel with harsh and “real world consequences” within a fantasy setting that you will find from any mainstream publishing company.
Pick up this book, put on your big girl pants and brace yourself for a heck of a ride.
***** Oop, just been pointed out that this author has a number of other novels. Bad Mags. Apologies to the author - I will be checking out these other works.
March 21, 2018
So, I read this book in one go, with a brief interlude to get some shut eye in the middle. Still, I started it yesterday and finished it today. It was so incredibly good.
I have always had a weird fascination for dystopian worlds but I haven't read many books with this theme. I love(d) the 100 and I can spend all day in Fallout3.
I love the cover, the idea of New York being so run over by nature and let's face, in due time it'll be exactly that.
Some things I absolutely loved:
- the returning zebras throughout the book and the meaning of them. Is that a spoiler? Eh. I'll check the box.
- Lynn's character and her character development. I might be one of the best CD's I've come across in this book.
- The first hug. Gave me goosebumps.
- Skeever. Where do I get one?
- I probably shouldn't but I love Kate. I love that she schemes, I love that she's fiercely protective of the Homestead and will do whatever it takes to protect it. Can we get a Kate novel next?
- The details. Seriously. The details are amazing. It's like watching a movie. Dawney does an excellent job in painting a world that you can see unfold in front of your eyes, even though it's only words on paper. I say 'only' but man... Dawney is an expert at painting pictures.
- The gore. It's probably weird that I love it, but it fascinates me and the amount of research that must have gone into this book is displayed on every page you read.
I'm notorious for asking for sequels but I'd love a sequel of this book. Not that it's needed, I'm just needy and would love to see more of this world that Dawney has created.
I'll say this though, if you love your animals and you're squeamish you might struggle with some parts of this book, but it's so, so worth it.
You did a brilliant job Ms. Dawney. I don't say that lightly.
I have always had a weird fascination for dystopian worlds but I haven't read many books with this theme. I love(d) the 100 and I can spend all day in Fallout3.
I love the cover, the idea of New York being so run over by nature and let's face, in due time it'll be exactly that.
Some things I absolutely loved:
- the returning zebras throughout the book and the meaning of them. Is that a spoiler? Eh. I'll check the box.
- Lynn's character and her character development. I might be one of the best CD's I've come across in this book.
- The first hug. Gave me goosebumps.
- Skeever. Where do I get one?
- I probably shouldn't but I love Kate. I love that she schemes, I love that she's fiercely protective of the Homestead and will do whatever it takes to protect it. Can we get a Kate novel next?
- The details. Seriously. The details are amazing. It's like watching a movie. Dawney does an excellent job in painting a world that you can see unfold in front of your eyes, even though it's only words on paper. I say 'only' but man... Dawney is an expert at painting pictures.
- The gore. It's probably weird that I love it, but it fascinates me and the amount of research that must have gone into this book is displayed on every page you read.
I'm notorious for asking for sequels but I'd love a sequel of this book. Not that it's needed, I'm just needy and would love to see more of this world that Dawney has created.
I'll say this though, if you love your animals and you're squeamish you might struggle with some parts of this book, but it's so, so worth it.
You did a brilliant job Ms. Dawney. I don't say that lightly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2018
This is a well written story set in a future world where nature are the predators. Some scenes were a little hard to read as an animal lover but that does not distract from the story.
I did find myself wanting more as how this world evolved and why people had gone back to either living in small groups or going it alone. The world is harsh and so are the characters. My favourite was the dog.
I enjoyed the story, full of action, but with 2 characters spending most of the time on their own I would have preferred more dialogue and background to the world origins.
Overall an interesting and enjoyable read.
I did find myself wanting more as how this world evolved and why people had gone back to either living in small groups or going it alone. The world is harsh and so are the characters. My favourite was the dog.
I enjoyed the story, full of action, but with 2 characters spending most of the time on their own I would have preferred more dialogue and background to the world origins.
Overall an interesting and enjoyable read.
October 20, 2019
it was good. i enjoyed reading it . the world building was really good familliar yet unfamilliar! the connections the relationships and the character develooments were really good too! though i think the romantic phase was a bit too fast...but i liked that too! in fact very much so! though i would have prefered if the ending was different ( i like tragedies) but i cant help but to think it was kinda heatlrt warming too cuz many of the lgbtq relationships at least in my country lead to disasters so...
overall a really good, fun and fuzzy read and i was able to relate to the main character soooooo much!
overall a really good, fun and fuzzy read and i was able to relate to the main character soooooo much!
May 21, 2021
Nice postapocalyptic romance/adventure book, I generally don't like those, but I truly enjoyed this one. The dog was a really nice bonus.
March 23, 2022
A very interesting post-apocalyptic book with a very slow burn romance.
March 10, 2018
I love a good, smart dystopian novel, and the prospect of a good, smart dystopian novel with lesbian characters thrills me. I tried not to get too excited when I started this book, though, because there are not too many good ones around, so I’m often disappointed.
Survival Instincts did not disappoint me. I have a few quibbles with it but nothing that made me put the book down in disgust.
I love that there are only hints of what caused the apocalyptic event or events that led to the world these characters inhabit. We know it wasn’t a natural event — we know it was human aggression but we don’t know what the causes were. But the reasons for the aggression are not really important, especially not to the humans who are struggling to survive in its aftermath.
It’s not clear how long ago our world collapsed, but there is one reference to ‘centuries’ which means at least two hundred years has passed. Again, exactly how much time has passed is probably not a particularly important issue for the survivors. Here’s my first quibble though – the timeframe is kind of important to the reader (well, this reader anyway) because it has an effect on how many artefacts have survived and what condition they’re in.
It’s hard to imagine that after 200 years any car would have much left of it, unless it had been hermetically sealed. It’s improbable that any of its mechanisms would still work. Water and weather would have damaged all buildings that survived the bombs and without maintenance most would have collapsed after 200 years.
Anyway, that really is a quibble.
I love – and kinda dislike at the same time – that Dawney doesn’t shy away from the harshness of life in this dystpoian vision. It’s dirty, and brutal and survival depends on killing animals for food. As a vegetarian and lover of animals, the gory details of hunting and killing are not something I like to read about. And when I’m reading a sex scene, I really don’t want to think about the women’s dirty fingernails! But it is realistic and I do like that.
I imagine that it’s difficult to find the right balance when portraying an imaginary future between boring the reader with too much detail yet still painting a clear and cohesive picture of the world and its people. Personally, I think Dawnay has found the right balance, but others may not agree.
There are some secondary characters in the book who help drive the narrative, but the story is really about our two main characters who are on a mission. It seems a pretty dangerous and stupid mission to me, but if it’s important to the characters then who am I to scoff at their cultural mores?
I liked the two main characters, although we only know what Lynn is thinking – not Dani. That’s important to the plot twists and scheming. And therein lies another of my quibbles – is it really possible to predict someone’s behaviour so well when you’ve only just met them? And one scheme could easily have ended the mission for no good reason. To say any more would involve spoilers, so I’ll leave it there.
The evolution of Lynn and Dani’s relationship is nicely done. As a person who has from adolescence taken care of herself in the ‘wilds’, Lynn doesn’t have much experience with society or relating to people in general. Falling in love is a new experience for her – even touching someone is unusual for her. Lynn likes the feelings that Dani inspires and yearns for even more contact, but doesn’t know how to behave or how to cope with her feelings. It makes for an interesting and poignant love story.
So, although the book is not without a few issues I still really enjoyed it and I’m happy to recommend it to people who like dystopian lesbian fiction. I know I’ll be reading it again.
I received an ARC of this work from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Survival Instincts did not disappoint me. I have a few quibbles with it but nothing that made me put the book down in disgust.
I love that there are only hints of what caused the apocalyptic event or events that led to the world these characters inhabit. We know it wasn’t a natural event — we know it was human aggression but we don’t know what the causes were. But the reasons for the aggression are not really important, especially not to the humans who are struggling to survive in its aftermath.
It’s not clear how long ago our world collapsed, but there is one reference to ‘centuries’ which means at least two hundred years has passed. Again, exactly how much time has passed is probably not a particularly important issue for the survivors. Here’s my first quibble though – the timeframe is kind of important to the reader (well, this reader anyway) because it has an effect on how many artefacts have survived and what condition they’re in.
It’s hard to imagine that after 200 years any car would have much left of it, unless it had been hermetically sealed. It’s improbable that any of its mechanisms would still work. Water and weather would have damaged all buildings that survived the bombs and without maintenance most would have collapsed after 200 years.
Anyway, that really is a quibble.
I love – and kinda dislike at the same time – that Dawney doesn’t shy away from the harshness of life in this dystpoian vision. It’s dirty, and brutal and survival depends on killing animals for food. As a vegetarian and lover of animals, the gory details of hunting and killing are not something I like to read about. And when I’m reading a sex scene, I really don’t want to think about the women’s dirty fingernails! But it is realistic and I do like that.
I imagine that it’s difficult to find the right balance when portraying an imaginary future between boring the reader with too much detail yet still painting a clear and cohesive picture of the world and its people. Personally, I think Dawnay has found the right balance, but others may not agree.
There are some secondary characters in the book who help drive the narrative, but the story is really about our two main characters who are on a mission. It seems a pretty dangerous and stupid mission to me, but if it’s important to the characters then who am I to scoff at their cultural mores?
I liked the two main characters, although we only know what Lynn is thinking – not Dani. That’s important to the plot twists and scheming. And therein lies another of my quibbles – is it really possible to predict someone’s behaviour so well when you’ve only just met them? And one scheme could easily have ended the mission for no good reason. To say any more would involve spoilers, so I’ll leave it there.
The evolution of Lynn and Dani’s relationship is nicely done. As a person who has from adolescence taken care of herself in the ‘wilds’, Lynn doesn’t have much experience with society or relating to people in general. Falling in love is a new experience for her – even touching someone is unusual for her. Lynn likes the feelings that Dani inspires and yearns for even more contact, but doesn’t know how to behave or how to cope with her feelings. It makes for an interesting and poignant love story.
So, although the book is not without a few issues I still really enjoyed it and I’m happy to recommend it to people who like dystopian lesbian fiction. I know I’ll be reading it again.
I received an ARC of this work from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
March 5, 2018
This book has been on my radar for months and months. It did not let me down. I loved it. It was extraordinary. It was everything I dreamed of and more. I love anything (post) apocalyptic. This was like all my favourite movies and TV shows come to life with incredible writing and a beautiful romance between two strong, badass women, and a fascinating exploration of the things that make us human. This book is being bought in paperback by me ASAP and I know I will probably read it again very soon.
This story begins 200 or so years after the war that has destroyed most of the earth. Nature has taken back what is their's, cities are overgrown and predators roam free. Lynn has been happy living alone and staying safe, trusting only herself to do so. She find herself in a sticky situation, captured by a group of people and forced on a journey, that is almost certainly a death wish, under the watchful eye of Dani. She plans to escape first chance she gets. She doesn't plan on loneliness, something she hasn't felt in a very long time. She certainly doesn't plan on the sudden affection and attraction she feels for Dani. Will the two women survive the journey? Will their newfound relationship survive the harsh realities of the world they live in?
The descriptions in this book was off the chart! It wasn't just that I felt like I was watching a movie in my head, it felt like I was there. You could feel the branches brushing against your skin and you could smell the blood and campfire and the food. The smells were a huge part of the story, it really drew you in, connected you to the story and the characters. Colours too, were so vibrant. Textures.
This book is from Lynn's POV, but you still have a really good sense of all the other characters. The characters were definitely a strength in this novel. Lynn relies on her observation to stay alive, and because of her keen observation skills the reader knows every intimate detail of the people around her. The people at the Homestead were really fascinating. Each one unique and a strong character, playing a role in the Homestead and in the story. I would love to read more about their stories. Skeever, the dog, was an all around hero. He was so cute! Dani is awesome, she's strong and baddass and brilliant. I really loved being inside Lynn's head to follow her evolution as a character throughout the story.
A lot of people were weirded out by grime and intimate scenes. But didn't bother me, maybe because I watch a lot of the Walking Dead and The 100. I think too if you've been living like this your whole life, its not grime its your normal. The intimate scenes were stellar, not only were they sexy, but the emotions and the connection between Lynn and Dani was so powerful. It was really beautiful.
The descriptions and the characters were really really strong, I was instantly immersed in the story and connected to the characters from the beginning. I certainly be reading more of this author. If you love a good apocalypse story or just a good adventure and a beautiful romance, please read this, you'll love it.
I received an ARC from YLVA in exchange for an honest review.
This story begins 200 or so years after the war that has destroyed most of the earth. Nature has taken back what is their's, cities are overgrown and predators roam free. Lynn has been happy living alone and staying safe, trusting only herself to do so. She find herself in a sticky situation, captured by a group of people and forced on a journey, that is almost certainly a death wish, under the watchful eye of Dani. She plans to escape first chance she gets. She doesn't plan on loneliness, something she hasn't felt in a very long time. She certainly doesn't plan on the sudden affection and attraction she feels for Dani. Will the two women survive the journey? Will their newfound relationship survive the harsh realities of the world they live in?
The descriptions in this book was off the chart! It wasn't just that I felt like I was watching a movie in my head, it felt like I was there. You could feel the branches brushing against your skin and you could smell the blood and campfire and the food. The smells were a huge part of the story, it really drew you in, connected you to the story and the characters. Colours too, were so vibrant. Textures.
This book is from Lynn's POV, but you still have a really good sense of all the other characters. The characters were definitely a strength in this novel. Lynn relies on her observation to stay alive, and because of her keen observation skills the reader knows every intimate detail of the people around her. The people at the Homestead were really fascinating. Each one unique and a strong character, playing a role in the Homestead and in the story. I would love to read more about their stories. Skeever, the dog, was an all around hero. He was so cute! Dani is awesome, she's strong and baddass and brilliant. I really loved being inside Lynn's head to follow her evolution as a character throughout the story.
A lot of people were weirded out by grime and intimate scenes. But didn't bother me, maybe because I watch a lot of the Walking Dead and The 100. I think too if you've been living like this your whole life, its not grime its your normal. The intimate scenes were stellar, not only were they sexy, but the emotions and the connection between Lynn and Dani was so powerful. It was really beautiful.
The descriptions and the characters were really really strong, I was instantly immersed in the story and connected to the characters from the beginning. I certainly be reading more of this author. If you love a good apocalypse story or just a good adventure and a beautiful romance, please read this, you'll love it.
I received an ARC from YLVA in exchange for an honest review.
April 29, 2018
This story is from Lynn's perspective and in the third person. She is a strong character who survived all this time pretty much on her own. Meanwhile, Dani, also a strong character in a different way is used to living with others. It was interesting getting to know the characters and how not everything is at it seems.
There is romance in Survival Instincts and I enjoyed the slow burn romance that developed between Lynn and Dani.
I thought that the action was well described and well done although some details made me a bit squeamish. I was especially pulled into the action of the story towards the end of the book.
I recommend this book if you don't mind the gruesome details and a post-apocalyptic story. I thought this was well done for a debut novel and will definitely read future works by May Dawney.
Review also posted here: https://wp.me/p4Pp9O-KB
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
There is romance in Survival Instincts and I enjoyed the slow burn romance that developed between Lynn and Dani.
I thought that the action was well described and well done although some details made me a bit squeamish. I was especially pulled into the action of the story towards the end of the book.
I recommend this book if you don't mind the gruesome details and a post-apocalyptic story. I thought this was well done for a debut novel and will definitely read future works by May Dawney.
Review also posted here: https://wp.me/p4Pp9O-KB
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
April 6, 2018
Right off the bat:
I love the post-apocalyptic setting. And somehow I still haven't read a post-apocalyptic wlw book before, so I am just really glad this exists.
And the cover? I ADORE it. The aesthetic of the setting and cover together already makes me so, so happy.
Survival Instincts is fairly long (for a lesfic novel) and it's very thorough with the setting descriptions, so it wasn't a one-nighter for me, but I still really liked it.
I also want to note how well researched the setting and everyday struggles of it seemed to me.
It brought up a lot of dangers and aspects of living in a near-future destroyed world (that still holds parts of everything we know, but lacks the basic technical and medical advances we're used to) that I didn't really think about before, no matter how much The Walking Dead and other fitting media I consumed.
The plot is summerized pretty easily:
What fills the pages beyond that is the personal growth of the characters, their changing perspectives of themselves and their lives and of each other and the building of a connection between them.
And a lot of action, of course. There's character development and awkward flirting, but there's also fighting and blood and death. That much was to be expected of the genre, but is not done in an amount or an unnecessary gory way that it would bother me.
There aren't many characters. Most of the book centers around the two MCs and their mission alone - and it's kind of the point that they're isolated out in the wilderness.
The only other people they interact with are the group of settlers one of them belongs to - and to be honest, none of those characters is likable. They're not badly written characters, it just bothered me that there was no one I came to care for at all.
The ending paints a fairly positive note, with a lot of hope for a better future in this broken world for Lynn and Dani (that I also would really like to see more of).
I love the post-apocalyptic setting. And somehow I still haven't read a post-apocalyptic wlw book before, so I am just really glad this exists.
And the cover? I ADORE it. The aesthetic of the setting and cover together already makes me so, so happy.
Survival Instincts is fairly long (for a lesfic novel) and it's very thorough with the setting descriptions, so it wasn't a one-nighter for me, but I still really liked it.
I also want to note how well researched the setting and everyday struggles of it seemed to me.
It brought up a lot of dangers and aspects of living in a near-future destroyed world (that still holds parts of everything we know, but lacks the basic technical and medical advances we're used to) that I didn't really think about before, no matter how much The Walking Dead and other fitting media I consumed.
The plot is summerized pretty easily:
What fills the pages beyond that is the personal growth of the characters, their changing perspectives of themselves and their lives and of each other and the building of a connection between them.
And a lot of action, of course. There's character development and awkward flirting, but there's also fighting and blood and death. That much was to be expected of the genre, but is not done in an amount or an unnecessary gory way that it would bother me.
There aren't many characters. Most of the book centers around the two MCs and their mission alone - and it's kind of the point that they're isolated out in the wilderness.
The only other people they interact with are the group of settlers one of them belongs to - and to be honest, none of those characters is likable. They're not badly written characters, it just bothered me that there was no one I came to care for at all.
The ending paints a fairly positive note, with a lot of hope for a better future in this broken world for Lynn and Dani (that I also would really like to see more of).
July 11, 2018
I thought this is a zombie book. I never read that blurb or reviews. My partner just gave me this as a present along with some other books and it’s on my TBR so I gave it a try.
Funny because I kept on waiting for the zombie to have an appearance. Well, until almost half of the book and I decided to checked Goodreads. Can’t stop laughing. Why did I think of zombies just because of the title?
I’m not really a fan of post apocalyptic/dystopian genre but I like this one. I’m thinking of Survivor and 100 while reading this.
Although their journey was only a few weeks but I felt like they were together longer than that.
Wheeww!
Funny because I kept on waiting for the zombie to have an appearance. Well, until almost half of the book and I decided to checked Goodreads. Can’t stop laughing. Why did I think of zombies just because of the title?
I’m not really a fan of post apocalyptic/dystopian genre but I like this one. I’m thinking of Survivor and 100 while reading this.
Although their journey was only a few weeks but I felt like they were together longer than that.
Wheeww!
December 17, 2019
I really enjoyed this. Really. Enjoyed.
Full-on Post Apocalyptic survival with very strong character evolution. Secondary characters are as vile as they tend to be in PA. Trust is hard to come by in a world that tries to kill you every step of the way.
It is genre fiction first, woven in with the evolution of characters and relationship that comes from time, circumstance, and lots of misfortune. There is plenty of action, lots of depth, and the romance element is very secondary. It is wrapped into an intriguing plot so that the genre is strongest and the romantic element is about the character.
I also like the single POV throughout whilst maintaining the third person. Also very well written.
I would like a little more about the timelines, and maybe a little more about hygiene etc, but it's PA and it isn't our world. I just would have liked a little more clarity on that. But I think I am nitpicking.
I would recommend this without a second thought to Spec fiction readers and PA fans.
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