TO TRULY SURVIVE YOU NEED THE HELP OF THOSE AROUND YOU, YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND YOUR COMMUNITY
This book and series is a tell of a few determined people to survive the aftermath of an EMP which takes out almost all electronics. With no power, no heat, no vehicles (or very few) to deliver groceries, fuel, and no emergency services, live is a daily struggle that takes everyone around you working together to survive.
Edge of Valor: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Thriller (Edge of Collapse Book 7) by Kyla Stone is well written, the characters are well defined and written so that they are believable and you will find yourself routing for the many heroes in a small rural town in upper Michigan. The main characters are truly the definition of heroes. They place their lives on the line to protect those who are unable to do so themselves. Kyla has written the characters as such that you will find yourself sad at their loss, happy when they pull through one conflict after another, and cheering when the bad guys are defeated.
If you are into action-packed thrillers which will keep your interest throughout the book and series, this book and series is for you.
Hope you too will find that you enjoy reading this series as much as I did.
I can’t believe I’ve finished this series, all seven books, inhaled, think these books as a whole took me over a week to read, once started I couldn’t put them down, I was invested until the very end. And I’m so glad I stumbled across this new to me author because I’m definitely adding her other books to my apocalyptic reads.
This series ticked so many boxes, giving me that adrenaline rush as it went to places I wasn’t expecting to go, from kidnapping to mass murder these characters faced every unthinkable challenge thrown at them in this changed new world.
I grew to love and care about these characters as though they were family and it was hard closing that last page. I felt their losses as though it were my own.
So many losses as greed overcame humanity..
Just a heads up, there is zilch sex in this book, these two characters only share one kiss, I thought I'd be more bothered by this fact than I am, but in reality she had to work on herself due to all her years living in captivity and Liam used all his energy just to keep everyone within their community safe, barely sleeping, never able to let his defences down, every which way you looked at it they were always forever under attack.
Though I feel this series was twice as many books as it needed to be, this installment tied up things pretty well. There's a lot of action in this one, the majority of it is spent fighting or preparing to fight. The General (whom I automatically picture as the little cartoon guy from those insurance commercials) wants both Liam's blood and his great-granddaughter. There's also the other big bad, Poe, though he was drawn vague enough to make me think he shouldn't have been part of the story at all. The General's storyline came to a very satisfying conclusion.
Liam's heart definitely grew a few sizes, finally realizing he has a family of sorts in Fall Creek. His nearly inhuman tolerance to physical pain got old pretty fast, really a body can only take so much.
The ending wasn't exactly happy, but rather hopeful, which I thought was fitting.
I love post apocalyptic stories and this one had a good hook with the Hannah story, but overall this series was not good. I had to finish the books to find out what happened, but won't be reading more by this author. The writing was so awful in points. How many times can you say the exact same things? With a real editor, these books could have been condensed to about 4 or 5. It got so tedious to read through the exact same descriptions of characters AND military terms AND adrenaline dumps over and over again. There were nuggets of goodness like the story of Hannah versus Pike. I also enjoyed Quinn and Liam, but this could have been such a better reading experience if the books had been fewer in number and better edited.
I think I just got so tired at this point of the corrupt gangs/organizations and the corrupt government officials. They were a constant threat in most of these stories. But in this book, it was a knock down, bang out fight to the end. Lots of drama, lots of subterfuge. As if just trying to survive wasn’t enough, you had to worry about being attacked on a daily basis.
All our main characters are heroes in one way or another and finally now there is promise, healing and hope for the future.
I have completely enjoyed this series. However with that said, this one, which is the last one in this series, was probably my least favorite. I still liked the story and the characters but there was definitely some sporadic eye rolling.
What I loved the most about this author's writing is the way she incorporates the action. Things are always in motion which builds up the suspense. It keeps me hanging on to see where it is going.
Another thing that I like is the way she lets her characters grow and progress. Nothing and no one is stagnant.....ever. I love that. She's also not squeamish about killing them off.
Overall, this was a fun series but I only have 3 stars for this one. All the others were 4 and 5 stars.
What a series! I never got dragged down in details, the action was nearly non-stop, laced with tension. The characters were well fleshed out. I was invested in the outcome by page 2. Truly enjoyed this series. A nice contrast to a 9 book series I recently read up to book 8 and didn't care if I finished it. Kyla Stone did everything right. If you're reading this series, sign up for her email. The free extra chapters you get are icing on the cake!
This book is at least a 4 bags of doritos. I knew going into it this would be fantastic, but Kyla blew it out of the park!!! Thank you Kyla!!! The ending was perfect. I had a good cry after. It is an emotional rollercoaster and so gripping...I couldn't put it down. The characters are so easily loved. I was on the edge through it all. I cried in several places, screamed in frustration, got scared for the people, even mourned with them. This whole series is absolutely phenomenal- it's one for my bug out bag. Every situation was well blended and described like you are standing in the room . From book one to this one you felt the emotions, fear, love, doubt, and even realization.
This last book in the Edge of collapse wraps up this series nicely. Kyle Stone has a great writing style and is great at immersing the reader into the story. This last book is the most dramatic of this series and well worth the read.
If you're someone who enjoys survival books you'll want to read this!
I feel the series could had been better with less books but I'm not an author 🤷🏽♀️.
❄️ Hannah finally showed her true colors, she cares for the town but leans a bit too much on faith and God, those things don't help on post-apocalyptic times. She can definitely ask Bishop about that. ❄️ Please give Quinn a break, the poor girl had to grew up so damn fast in a just a couple of months. No wonder is hard to trust people, talk about how she feels instead of bottling it up. Poor Milo had to suffer the consequences; the poor boy just needed a friend. ❄️ I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive the author for killing someone very important to me at the end. I'm still hurt about it. ❄️ Liam super soldier body finally said 'dude, give me a break' and actually I'm not mad about it. It just gave me anxiety because I was going to riot if he actually died. ❄️ There was a lot of time spent getting ready for the attacks Fall Creek was going to get. It felt like this small-town of normal people with the super soldier Liam were going to fight World War III and IV at the same time. ❄️ I didn't like The General but again he was also part of the Sinclair clan, another one bites the dust. My mental picture of him is living in Texas and owning a gun shop for the 'I want to feel military' aficionados or maybe he has a Ford dealership selling F-150 Texas edition 🤔. ❄️ I'm not sure about this Poe guy, besides been told all the time the guy was bad news... everything was very vague to make him feel to have any value to the story.
The ending wasn't the traditional everyone is happy, but from the situation and circumstances everyone in the small town of Fall Creek is going through, it was a fitting one.
I hate villains and their monologues. Blah blah I am amazing and will rule all. Whatever. Just once I want a book hero to shoot the bad guy in the middle of a speech.
Figured out the twist early. Got tired of repeated phrases like adrenaline dump. This one felt sloppy.
I would give this series 3.5-4 stars. Liked the characters and how they developed. Felt like bad things just kept coming but I guess what can you expect with what they were battling. Good storyline just felt long at times. I liked how it wrapped up overall. I better up my post apocalyptic game or I’ll die for sure😆 O yes, I also will need a dog.
~5🎀~ This quote encapsulates everything that is this series-friendship, love, hardship, companionship, found family, and it makes me bawl my eyes out..
“There’s something about the moments after your first battle that they fail to tell you.
You’ve won. The bad guys are defeated. You should feel thrilled, elated, joyous. Everyone around you weak with relief as they lower their weapons, cheering and jubilant.
You stand there, rifle hanging at your side, arms limp, dust caking your face, your mouth, grit in your eyes. Your muscles trembling with exhaustion and nerves. You can’t hear over the ringing inside your head.
Relieved, yes. And more than a little sick.
You lived. God rolled the dice, and you made it. A thousand bullets fired at you, and not one stuck its landing.
The town that you love still stands. The buildings, the roads, the house you grew up in. Still here. But something is missing.
The adrenaline dump leaves you dizzy, your stomach queasy, and you sink down right there on the curb, blinking up at the sky that you can still see, the clouds and the sun and same old trees, with the breeze that you can still feel.
Because you’re alive. Because you made it.
You search through the crowd and see the people you love and care for, but not the one you most want to see.
Because they’re gone forever.
Because they’re dead.
No matter how much you long for it or how often you dream it. No matter how many times you squeeze that trigger or how many bad guys you put in the ground.
They’re gone, and you can’t bring them back.
There will be other fights. Other battles.
You will lose more people that you love.
That is the truth that roots you in place, that pulses in beat with your heart. No matter how strong you are, no matter what you do.
You can’t stop it.
The Earth spins round and round, and the Sun rises and the Sun sets. And even now there are evil men who plot to tear down everything you will ever build.
It never ends. It’s never over.
And you know, sitting there, dirty and sweaty and spent, that you will not let that fact stop you from trying.
You stood when it was time to stand and you fought when it was time to fight. You were scared to death, but you showed up.
And when your friends need you again, you’ll be there. Every time, you will stand. And you will fight. Even knowing that you may lose everything and everyone.
Because you are a warrior.
It has changed you. Broken you and remade you. You are scarred but not defeated. Wounded but not irreparable.
This you still believe. You must believe.
Through the swirling smoke and dust a figure appears, almost recognizable through the soot and grime on his face, his blond hair gray with dust, his eyes still so blue.
A flash of white teeth as he smiles. Shell-shocked but moving, on his feet.
You know him, this boy. Your friend. Maybe more than that.
Coming toward you. Coming to find you. To bring you back.
You can still go home.
You will live with the nightmares, haunted by blood and the screams of the dying. Both diminished and more than you are, a part of something larger and greater.
Diese Buchreihe ist wirklich nur zu empfehlen. Ich würde mich so freuen wenn diese Reihe verfilmt werden würde, also Gruß an Hollywood 🙂 Es hat mir sehr viel Spaß gemacht diese Bücher zu lesen und manchmal konnte man die Bücher 📚 auch nicht weg legen ( hohes Suchtpotenzial ) Kann euch nur empfehlen diese Bücher zu lesen.
I listened to all 7 of these very quickly back to back. A little too “ ‘merica fuck ya” for me at times, will all their talk of god and country, but in all quite entertaining.
Good ending to the series. After 7 books I was more than ready to be done. 4 books would have been more than enough. The last 2 books with the General were just unnecessary. He wasn’t as interesting of a villian as his daughter. I also don’t know why Poe was brought into this, unless Kyla Stone is planning to write a future series where he is the bad guy.
The ending was predictable, but I was happy with it.
My biggest pet peeve with the series was Noah’s ending. I said much of the same on my review of the last book, but they can’t give that poor guy a break. Even in the beginning of this book he was their straw man. Hannah says that he let the militia come in… he was just a police officer at the time, the same as Reynoso and Perez. He didn’t stop it, but neither did they. In earlier books I wanted Noah to end up adopting Quinn. I still say he was a better parent to Milo than Hannah (and Liam). All he thought about was Milo and Milo’s medicine, when it was only mentioned one time in this entire book. I’m also still mad that Hannah let Noah think Milo died in that fire. His mental state at the end was directly caused by Milo’s supposed death, but oh well Liam and Hannah survived so that’s all that matters to this author.
Finally made it to Book 7 Edge of Valor. Truth be told, I became tired of the characters and could not proceed beyond page 46. The self righteousness and smugness was getting to be too much. Hannah's callous attitude towards Luther grated me and Liam's machine like death count appears as nothing but the work of a murderous bully by this point. The series was riveting at first, but as of now... I've had enough.
Hate to be the Debbie Downer but this series could have been five books. The repetitiveness just was getting to me at the end. Overall I liked the characters which kept me reading to the end.
This is a true grand finale: brutal, emotional, earned. From the first pages, you know what’s coming: the final battle for Fall Creek, the last stand, the moment where there is no safe choice left. Only meaning.
I cried. Real tears. I laughed, rarely, but deeply. I held my breath more times than I can count. And yes… the death of one deeply beloved character shattered me. That kind of pain that makes you stop reading for a moment because your chest actually hurts.
The final confrontation is epic in the truest sense: losses, sacrifices, small victories that matter, and one great, hard-won victory that comes at an immense cost. There is suffering and grief everywhere, but also something just as powerful: hope. Not naive hope. Earned hope.
The characters are extraordinary.
Quinn and Milo… what a relationship. What a gift. Milo’s generosity, his open heart, the way he welcomed Quinn into his family and gave her the courage to keep living, that was beautiful. Quietly, deeply beautiful.
Ghost. Loyal. Fierce. Unforgettable. I will always love when authors include animals like this, not as decoration, but as soul.
Hannah and Liam, FINALLY. A romance that stays a little elusive, a little restrained, exactly as it should be in a world like this. And Liam… what a man. What a human being. Steady, principled, strong without being loud. Hannah, brave and resilient, standing tall even when everything hurts.
Every character deserves applause. Even the villains. Especially the villains. They are well-written, terrifying, human in the worst ways. And yes, even Luther gets a redemption arc. Nothing is wasted. Everything matters.
This story is brutal and magnificent.
In the end, what stays with me most is this truth: a small rural town ,just over a thousand people, ordinary people, with fear, doubts, flaws, and dreams, stood together and defended their right to live. They set aside uncertainty, lack of resources, pain, and loss… and they endured.
This series shows that ordinary people are not weak. They are capable of making the impossible possible, if they truly choose to.
A masterpiece of survival fiction. A devastating, hopeful, unforgettable ending.
Thank you, Kyla Stone, for writing this story. Truly.
I really enjoyed this series, although emotionally it was draining. I became so invested in these resilient characters that my emotions were all over the place. I felt horrified, heartbroken, scared, inspired, frustrated, angry and heartwarming at what they went through and who they became. They were courageous and wouldn’t give up on their home and their family and found family.
I’m sad and glad it’s over. I’m glad because personally I don’t think I could handle anymore aching sadness or total panic. But I’m sad to say goodbye to my friends…these amazing and special characters. This was a wonderfully vivid post-apocalyptic thriller, along with inspiring acts of kindness, heroism and love! I highly recommend this lushly crafted story and would recommend not missing out on it!
I finished the seven book series. The first 3 were the best in my opinion with a terrible psychopath on the loose. I also enjoyed how the surviving people used home made inventions and medicines to make a better life for themselves.
I just finished this 7th and final book in the Collapse series by Kyla Stone.
"If this is Fall Creek's last stand, let it never be said we didn't go down without one freaking hell of a fight!" Quinn
This one touched my heart and had me on the edge my bed too! I was crying in some parts from sorrow and at other parts from relief. Falls Creek is still in deep danger from competing hostile forces that want to claim power. Hannah and Liam are good together and Quinn really finds her groove too. The city has to come together to fight for survival. Not everyone survives.
I absolutely loved the growth of these characters. Especially Quinn and Liam.
How bleak and unfair life could be. And yet, so fierce and wonderful and spectacularly beautiful. How much he would miss. Liam.
This series is full of action and bravery. Bravery is facing the danger in spite of fear. It's when you want to protect the ones you love without a thought for yourself. This is an unforgettable read.
This was a gripping and good conclusion to a series that really holds the attention of the reader. My wife and I read it at the same time, but she gave up after saying it was unrealistic because so much happened in so little time (e.g. Liam not given time to heal from one traumatic injury before he suffers another, etc.). I hadn't really paid attention to the timeline until then, though the dates are listed frequently. After finishing the book I suppose I have to agree with my wife. Initially it seemed like way more time had passed, but looking over the dates it becomes hard to suspend your disbelief surrounding how fast things move. On the other hand, the author was trying to illustrate how resilient the town folk and Liam were and probably also trying to wrap things up before having to deal with another Michigan winter. Maybe in a few years there will be a spin off series showing what a 20 something warrior Quinn is up to - that would be really great.