P.D. Atkerson is a homeschooled writer, living in Montana, who may or may not be a secret agent. She spends almost as much time in the worlds she creates as she does the real one. When she’s not reporting the stories of her agents, she’s learning different languages, or traveling to different worlds through the portals of books. She has a black belt in sarcasm and a master’s degree in useless facts.
5 stars & 5/10 hearts. When I finished Rebel Mind, I was so sad that this was the end of the AKA Simon Lee series & I’d never see Lee & Winfield & Stasia, etc, again. So when I discovered THIS book, I was thrilled. And I was even more thrilled to find that it’s basically a sequel to the series!
The writing style of this book was epically Killian—I was so pleased to see how it was similar to Lee, yet still very different—still sarcastic, but scatter-brained and insecure + self-deprecatory, as opposed to Lee’s quirky, focused brilliance and deeply-buried guilt. Killian was honestly a fascinating character. The combination of soft-heartedness & desire to do right, mixed with his ‘Killer’ reputation & skills, made him unique. His struggle with grief & guilt was particularly relatable to me.
Daniel was also a fun character. Obviously brilliant yet honestly naïve + helpless; willing to bend the rules a little but confused by real depravity; distrustful and still quick to take you to his heart; trying to live a life while surviving. He and Killian made a great pair—humorous but also heart-tugging and sobering.
It is hard to mention other characters without giving spoilers. Marshal Clay was never my favourite. I was extremely betrayed by a Certain Boy we won’t name. I was super excited to see Some Very Important People From The Simon Lee Series… and that’s about all I can say!
This story is set in the same sort of dystopian contemporary America as Simon Lee, but specifically in a college, which I enjoyed, having just been a university student. It was fun to watch Killian try to keep up with schedule! The plot was slow, for an Atkerson novel, but I really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Killian & his family, as well as Evan’s backstory. The adrenaline ramped up very suddenly towards the middle, and from then on it only escalated, leaving me pretty much hooked! Twist after twist left me screaming in excitement as the dots between the series connected in my head. P.D. Atkerson is the Queen of connecting stories, in my opinion. I also really enjoyed the theme of this book, as Killian navigated forgiveness, understanding, and choosing right.
In short, this is a fantastic “addition” to the AKA Simon Lee series and the start of (I hope!) a great new one.
Content: Violence; euphemisms.
A Favourite Quote: Maybe he just needed to tell Deputy Marshal Clay that he couldn’t do this. But a part of him told him he was just taking the easy way out. Killian sighed and stood up. No, he wouldn’t quit; he’d figure this out. It wouldn’t be easy, but it couldn’t be that hard, right? A Favourite Humorous Quote: “What are you doing?” Daniel asked, staying out of Killian's way but watching him closely. “We kind of need to get out of here, don’t we?” Killian asked, picking up one of the classroom chairs and weighing it in his hands[.] “Yeah… yeah, obviously,” Daniel said, frowning. “What does that have to do with what you’re doing?” “Well, the windows don’t open,” Killian said, stepping forward and swinging the chair at the window. …. “Come on, in case you’ve forgotten, we’re kind of in a hurry[.] A little bit faster, please. I don’t think they’re going to let us have a five-minute head start.” “Why do I seem to attract sarcastic people?” Daniel mumbled under his breath as he came to stop in front of the broken window…. [Killian] glanced over at Daniel when he started to move away from the window, but the boy was stock-still. “What’s wrong? … We don’t exactly have time to waste, you know; that’s why we went through the window.”
*I received a complimentary copy of this book for promotional purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.*
What do you get when you combine leather, sunglasses, athletic ability, a heaping helping of sarcasm, and plenty of danger? Why, you get Killian Young, of course!
Killian gets put on babysitting detail. . . no, scratch that, WITSEC ordered babysitting detail, ordered to protect a near genius from enemies unknown. And if that isn't enough, throw in a boatload of danger, the ever present and gasp-worthy twists of P.D. Atkerson, and enough heartache and pain to make you personally feel like you're in this guy's shoes, and you've got yourself the latest P.D. Atkerson novel.
Growing up really is the worst trick in human civilization.
Killian Young is the kind of guy who I love! Sure, he doesn’t have all the sarcasm that his best Winnie Winfield does or his smarts…but he has smarts of his own and I absolutely love this book!
Killian Young is just an amazing book!! Forgive me…I’ve never been good at reviews, so the best I can do is either say read it, it’s blow-me-over-amazing, or dump it, it’s terrible. I have to admit, I’ve never thought any book is plain terrible. And back to the topic, READ THIS!!! ITS BLOW-ME-OVER-AMAZING!!!!!!!! Thank you, @P.D.Atkerson!!!!!!
"He growled under his breath when he realized that it was locked. If Winnie was there, he knew he would just pick it. Unfortunately, Killian didn’t have that luxury at the moment. Instead, he took a step back and blew out a breath before slamming his foot against the door beside the lock."
Killian Young, while taught many things by his childhood friend, is not Winnie. Killian's the brawl, and without the brain... well, things don't always go so well. Especially when he's sent to protect some not-so-random college kid. Daniel's got brains, sure, but that's the reason he's in danger in the first place. Well, kind of. Too bad Killian's not told all the information. Too bad people lie to him. Too bad he believes them. As gunshots fly, confusion flies higher... and one is decidedly more deadly than the other. Be warned.
I received a complementary copy of the book. All thoughts, options, and jokes are my own--but I cannot verify that Lee and the others have not swayed my thinking.
When I turned that last page of Rebel Mind, I wasn't ready for the story to end! There were so many things that were left unsaid and I feel like this book wrapped up a few of my questions from Rebel Mind. Even though this book isn't part of the AKA Simon Lee series, I felt like it was almost a sequel and I really enjoyed seeing this story through Killian's eyes.
I was pleasantly surprised with all the twists throughout this book, and again when I turned the last page, I felt like there should be more to the story. I really hope that P.D. will write another book, as the ending was a little bit of a cliffhanger and left me with more questions than when I had started reading!
This is a must read for all Simon Lee fans! Though I recommend that you don't read this book unless you have read ALL of the other AKA Simon Lee books. You will be able to understand what they are talking about so much better that way.
Wow, this is the perfect ending to AKASL!! Even though it isn't technically part of the series, I really think it makes a better ending than Rebel Mind. I thought the story was over there (admittedly, part of me hoped it WASN'T)... But I see now I was wrong, and I'm so glad! Because the way everything turns out is just... perfect. I really loved Killian as an MC. While not as sarcastic or funny as Lee, he still is a great character and I loved his story. Although, I still don't quite know what happened to him or what he was doing before the AKA SL series begins? I loved all the mentions of Lee and of their childhood - my one complaint is that I would have liked to see more of Lee! Maybe in future books? ;P I didn't like it that Evan had lied to him so much, but then neither does Killian, and it is not portrayed as having been right. Killian's backstory is very different to what I had expected, and the twists there took me completely by surprise. Actually, several things throughout the book took me completely by surprise... XD There isn't that much I can say without spoilers, but this book is an absolute must for all AKA Simon Lee fans!! (But please, please don't read it unless you've read all the books in the AKASL series. This is really an epilogue, and needs to be read as such to be appreciated.) I couldn't put it down, and I really wasn't ready for it to end! And I want more books about Killian, please. (Hint: Don't miss Domestic Conflict, previously published in the Seize the Fight anthology)
Note: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Recommended Reading Order for the Simon Lee Universe books (SLU): Note: This is the order I've put together after reading and rereading almost all of these books, sometimes at once. While there are different opinions on which series should be read first, this is the order I personally feel is best for a first-time reader. It is NOT the chronological order - and I strongly recommend that a first-time reader does NOT read these books in chronological order. That's great for rereads, but the most will be got out of the SLU books by reading them loosely in the following order Phantom Thief Nicholas Bishop Gregory's Epilogue (blog short) Christmas Hostage Guardian Eagle Murphy Lawson Ghost Hunter Most Wanted Winnie Winfield Not Enough Rebel Mind Talking Turkey (blog short) Killian Young Domestic Conflict (Seize the Fight) They Call Her Ella Deadlock First Christmas (blog short) Exploit Choices License Training Guilt My Name is Anastasia Night Crier (blog short) Only For a Moment (blog short) Christmas Bear (blog short) Everything Sick Leave (blog short) Water Boy (blog short) Школьник (blog short) Bank Robber (Classified Files) Blinded (blog short) Room Escapee (Classified Files) Dare (blog short) Wrong Number (blog short) Minor Detail Unwanted Services Off the Rails Smoke Screen Lost Time Web of Lies
I absolutely loved this book! I couldn't put it down! I really hope that there's another book for Killian's story because I'm desperate to know more! I highly recommend this book.