Most of the world’s population is either dead or dying from a virus that looks a lot like the one Bree and Nate tried to destroy—and not all of them remain dead. Chased by hordes of zombies, they flee the city with what remains of their merry band of miscreants. But even when most of them survive the first day, they are far from safe—because there is no safe place left. The fight for survival forces them to become resourceful, and soon they realize that the undead might not be their only problem. In this new world, it’s each man or woman out for themselves—and just because someone has a pulse doesn’t necessarily mean they make a good ally.
Yet there is hope—a bunker in Wyoming, outfitted with weapons and food, and above all else, defensible shelter for the winter. Can they survive the two-thousand-miles trip across the country with nothing but the clothes on their back and what they can scavenge along they way? This is not the kind of challenge that Bree ever imagined she would have to face, but she’s determined to survive—even if that means to learn how to on the job.
Same issues with major plot holes being completely ignored. Common sense moments completely ignored. Tenses are all over the place flipping and flopping. And the narrator of the audiobook also mispronounces several words.
Have you ever met someone and was like “hey they seem cool” but then you spend more time with them and you realize “holy crap this person is intolerable!” Yeah that’s the case with Brianna in this book. She had some unlikeability in book one but in here she’s beyond saving. She gives you whiplash with her being smart and then dumb over common sense things. She’s spoiled and whiny while also trying to seem like she’s growing as a person but she seems to be becoming worse.
Nate is almost as bad and the dynamic between him and Bri is tiring. Especially when he constantly treats her like a child. He also does the “Christian Grey” BS by claiming to be strict and then immediately does the opposite. The second he tells Madeline not to fall behind and follow the rules but every single time she falls behind and breaks rules he lets it go and even seems to encourage it.
And why did everyone become so turned off and completely excluding her after Madeline fucked up and they took it out on her? She went to save Madeline and the kids and suddenly Bri is the bad guy and they take her shit away and then put her through a fucking gauntlet!?!? First of all - she did nothing wrong - Madeline did - but how stupid is it to beat up someone when that means they’re now a liability because they’re weak and injured. Was the author drunk or something when they wrote this entire section?!?!?
There are so many instances that it seems like the author repeatedly forgets what they’ve written or they just have the weirdest way of thinking. Like Nate telling Bri she deserved to be put over his knee and spanked like a little girl and then implying she’s such a horn dog she’d enjoy it and then in the next sentence complaining that Bri insists on emasculating him. Also, if the author is clueless about the LGBT+ community then don’t talk about it and make terrible characters.
meh. i listened to the audiobook. the first one was ok, 2 - 3 got pretty bad and i stopped halfway through #3. the lead characters relationship was annoying and they behaved like spoilt children. it seemed unrealistic - at least i hope most relationships aren't like the one these 2 were having....
Outbreak suffers from not having enough story to tell. It's a long dangerous dreary harrowing trudge, and we seem to take every freakin' step. The journey is the story, and it isn't enough.
Sentences/syntax continue occasional romps into huh? land, but I've gotten used to it.
This second episode in this ZA saga suffers a bit of a sophomore slump. It's good, in the sense it continues the first person narrative from the virologist's perspective, but there are some serious (at least to me) holes that just aren't necessary.
First is that if this is a group of experienced military (Army) operators, then they would know to adapt to the use of suppressors for handguns and assault rifles, and also rely more heavily on the use of melee weapons for stealth. Nothing you can do for shotguns, however. Boom. This seems a natch for being able to deal with the zombie hordes, and deserves at least a consideration (mention) by the author. Adrienne Lecter even goes so far as to mention Bree specifically not bringing her baseball bat to a situation that, of course, develops into a cluster.
The second is the (starting to become) annoying behavior of the narrator. She's constantly "seething with rage", "burning up with anger", and has some serious boyfriend issues that quite frankly could be resolved with a few conversations. I can't quite balance this out between the functional fixedness of a fish out of water (freezing at the sudden collapse of everything), and the educated nature of a PhD scientist-type who is open to new approaches and changes in environment. She's either learning new warrior skills, or she's pissed off at her all-male compatriots at their testosterone laden treatment of her. A little of this goes a very long way.
These need to be straightened out, or this series will not get completed by this gentle reader.
Read this one in one day. Just could not put it down. So easy to get caught up in the characters and they are so believable. If you enjoy apocalyptic books, this series will become one of your favorites. Start with book one and enjoy!
Up till now Kate L. Mary was the only author who wrote zombie books I would read. Ms. Lecter has now been added to the list. The first book was good, no grand slam, but definitely a good start. Along comes book 2 and wow the difference. The flow is so much better, it's seamless, the characters have grown and continue to evolve, and the setting/backdrop has expanded exponentially. The amount of research that went into developing this story is staggering. Well done!
This second book did not disappoint! The characters are real (as real as any characters can be in a zombie apocalypse book), and the story arc of Bree learning the ropes of being a badass is entertaining and realistic at the same time. She slowly becomes part of the group, and gains their respect as well as learns to respect the rest of the group. I could have done without the whole "madeline" story line, but you can't win them all. Overall, a solid, entertaining book.
This was a decent zombie adventure marred by the main character's constant "I hate you you so much, pay attention to me!" mentality. I very much like the concept of how the virus was spread, and sincerely hope the author goes into more details on it. The story also felt more realistic than many zombie stories I've read.
Ultimately this was a weaker book than the first one, but I still plan on reading the sequel.
Okay, I am at a loss as how to rate this book. While the story line is good and somewhat realistic in the problems it approaches, the grammar and syntax confuses me and interrupts the flow of the story. Maybe it's just me as so many are rating it a good read, but I had to give it cautious three stars. Hope the next one is better.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the story . I have read a lot of zombie books some good, some bad, and some truly horrible and was one of the better ones. I like the characters and I found they were for the most part believable
Continuation of a great storyline. Zombie fiction is a guilty pleasure for me. This Author adds to the genre exactly what I want. Stories of how people react and survive in tough situations. Can't wait for the next one!
Really enjoyed this book. Great characters and bree is believable. My only gripe was the unnecessary punching scene. As with the first book and the shower scene, it just came out of nowhere and just didn't add anything to the story. Straight on to book 3
I'm a sucker for romance and didn't like it being a subplot, but boy when I saw where it was heading, I was glad that it was not a major part of this book. It was disgusting to watch. The guy, whatever good intentions he had, was an Asshole for like 70% the book. I couldn't hate him more. I can understand that Bree was being kind of stupid a lot of times but boy, couldn't he be gentler handling her? It's really necessary call her imbecile? I was almost rooting for her and Burns end up together. At least, they had a way healthier relationship. Or with whoever didn't treat her like shit. I get that was necessary someone like Miller to help her grow, but man, don't make him her love interest for the sake of whatever you believe.
I don't know what else to say about this book. The romance irritated me so much that the other things seem really small now. Generally, it wasn't a well structured novel, some of the action was confusing, the ending dragged, the zombie part didn't really bring nothing new to the genre. And I liked Bree being stupid at the beginning and emotional. I've been reading other zombie novels with people being badass just out of nowhere and they just didn't feel human. It was refreshing watching her breakdowns and watch her grow. I just didn't like the way Miller treated her. She deserved better. She should stay alone or with someone who wasn't a douche bag.
I didn't decide yet, but I think I won't read the next book. I don't know if I can swallow the idea of Miller being an ass again. Guess I'm more likely to try my luck on another zombie book.
This book pissed me off and I DNFed it. This read like a Wattpad romance novel. The love interest was an asshole the entire time to Bri and I kept waiting for this epiphany for this man to realize how he was treating this girl he supposedly liked was shitty and apologize, instead he lies to her, puts her and others in danger, then punishes her for something HE caused, and then has sex with her after the punishment?? Like the f*ck. I DNFed at that point, there was no redeeming this man.
The whole book Bri was being built up to run with the military guys, saying she doesn’t take shit but then taking a LOT of bullshit and not saying anything or standing up for herself, and then we get to this moment where she was fully capable of telling them to f*ck off and go out on her own (which I think would have made for a better story), but instead she begs for their forgiveness, then these idiots beat her in the stomach specifically (stupid as fuck to do in the middle of an apocalypse with only a combat medic and a LOT of major organs that could rupture and kill her) and she sticks around for it.
The toxic masculinity in this book was suffocating and I stuck it out thinking Bri was gonna tell them off and go off on her own and be a better person. And then she didn’t and got fridged essentially.
Outbreak was the action packed second follow up in Lecter's Green Fields series. Set in a very early zombie ground zero world, Lecter immediately starts off running her characters out of the lab as the world comes to an end. Her key players have to make life changing and hopefully saving moods as the zombie reanimate. Virologist Bree Lewis has to decide if she trusts the man who duped her or the government who possibly knew of this breach. Trusting her gut, Bree sets off across the US towards a safe haven. Physically and mentally outmatched by each solider, she toughens up while mourning the lost of her life as she knew it.
Lecter writes a jumpy tale with this one. Action packed and suspenseful, Outbreak doesn't disappoint. I love the variety of characters and Bree's perception as she struggles to survive. As the story unfolds, Lecter makes sure the reader has more than just the average reanimation story. Lots of character depth, back story and interesting takes on the apocalypse.
I was especially disappointed because it had so much potential.
The science of this virus was rediculous. One minute it behaved one way then next it did something completely different. Basically whatever random whim the author had, but even that had no clear or understandable rules. It was a mess.
The characters, sigh. The author clearly gets people enough to write them in a way that they are relatable, but…only so far? The fmc, whose he’d we are in, has almost no background. The world is ending but she never once thinks about her family? Not even to mention she doesn’t have one, which would have been relevant. It makes her feel either like a raging narcissist who never thinks about other people or….like not an actual person. Both is terrible.
The romance quickly becomes weird and flat, the mmc becoming even more one demential than she was.
The last 20% got marginally better, enough to try the third book, but I didn’t get far before dnfing and moving on to Sarah Lyons Fleming newest series even though it’s not finished. Sigh.
This was awesome asf which made me immensely happy since I liked the first book so much that I feared the next one would not be up to par.
Some zombie stories tend to focus firmly on how awfully crappy humanity can be without people to uphold laws and tend to go off into rather gruesome scenes just to prove with, this thankfully did not while still showing the mayhem that tends to happen when there are no penalties for horrific behaviour.
I like Bree, I think she's damn strong and very human at the same time, in that she doesn't suddenly turn into Rambo overnight but steadily transforms herself into someone even stronger. Nate...Oh boy, 50% of the time I want to smack him and the other 50% I'm being all impressed and even somewhat swoony.
Lately I'm on an apocalypse binge. I have been reading this series back to back.
Sometimes I shake my head, as some things are very improbable, but as it is the apocalypse, why not? Things can be a bit upside down and weird. Science has flown out of the window after all.
I have to say, when I decided to settle down and just take things as they come, I enjoyed the books very much. It is a different take, sometimes more edgy, other times lighter. Well blended action and human interest to keep the reader glued to the pages.
I am currently at book 6, but I'm a bit stuck, so I'm taking a small break.
On the road again. Loved it. Bree and bunch traveling to a safe hafen in the midst of the great invasion. Learning what it is like without the things everyone takes for granted. Her struggles with herself and the people she is with. Dealing with other survivers trying to find a place in the new world. Nate is the leader and lover trying to help her cope with the new reality. It is a hard road, and some lead to interesting things. The book is not hard to read, it just flows like her emotions. On to book number three.
Don't get me wrong, still entertaining, suspenseful, and packed full of zombies. It just felt a little lengthy. However, never boring. Although the romance between Bree and Nate is too tame for my taste, it can be slightly elevated without taking anything away from the "tough love" aspect the author is going for with their relationship. Now that they've reached their destination I have high hopes. *fingers crossed*
Overall, still 4 stars worth of entertainment and will continue the series.
I liked this one better than the first, although the first one had to be. I am still annoyed with Bree who seems to have more heart than brain, although she is a PHD in biology. Nate seems to be the asshole she keeps saying he is, but less and less. For some reason they make sense.
So the group is on the road, through the forest and encounter many challenges along the way. Now I will read the next book.
I really enjoyed the second book in this series. It's much better than the first one. Brii is getting tougher and more able to take care of herself. I liked that when she made a mistake that put the others in jeopardy she owned up to it and took her punishment bravely. The men admired her for it. Can't wait until I can afford the next book to see what happens after they spend the winter in Wyoming!
Book #2, Outbreak, was a heart stopping read. As the group moves farther west, to get to their destination, all hell serms to breaks loose on them. The dynamics of the core group get messed up, by a woman and her 3 children, that they pick up. Startling events keep happening to the group. An exciting read! Off to read book 3....
I enjoy this series of books so far. Author has a great story telling ability. Really truly a book can be enjoyed by people who may not be a big fan of zombie apocalypse books just want a fast passed thriller. Recommended to my loving wife to get her take on it. Thank you to the Author for this series.