Review - If The Light Escapes Us by Brenda Marie Smith @GoddessFish @bsmithnovelist

MY REVIEW

If The Light Escapes Us by Brenda Marie Smith can be read as a stand alone, but I highly recommend beginning with Book I in the Braving The Light Series, If The Darkness Takes Us. An electromagnetic pulse has created an apocalypse and their Austin, Texas neighborhood has become dangerous and unable to sustain their small community long term. Decisions will need to me made, and disagreements will arise.

It’s four months after If The Darkness Takes Us.

The story is told through Keno’s voice, a teenager forced into adulthood before his time. He is not the only one, and when his wife, Alma, becomes pregnant he vows to protect her with his life. The choices seem monumental and his nightmares haunt him. Alma, grounds him and helps him see that everything is a process. One step leads to the next and the next and the next….

Milo can be reckless and I saw what was coming. I hated it, but, thank goodness, Mazie has a connection with him that nobody understands. I also knew there would be another character or two that would cause trouble.

We shall see, in If The Sun Spares Us and I can hardly wait!

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

The standalone sequel to IF DARKNESS TAKES US. A solar electromagnetic pulse has fried the US grid. Now, northern lights are in Texas—three thousand miles farther south than where they belong. The universe won’t stop screwing with eighteen-year-old Keno Simms. All that’s left for him and his broken family is farming their Austin subdivision, trying to eke out a living on poor soil in the scorching heat. Keno’s one solace is his love for Alma, who has her own secret sorrows. When he gets her pregnant, he vows to keep her alive no matter what. Yet armed marauders and nature itself collude against him, forcing him to make choices that rip at his conscience. If the Light Escapes is post-apocalyptic science fiction set in a near-future reality, a coming-of-age story told in the voice of a heroic teen who’s forced into manhood too soon

Genre: Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Science Fiction
257 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 24, 2021 by Southern Fried Karma
Series: Braving The Light, Book 2

ABOUT BRENDA MARIE SMITH

BRENDA MARIE SMITH is attracted to stories where everyday characters transcend their limitations to find their inner heroism. She lived off the grid for years in a farming collective where her sons were delivered by midwives. A lifelong community activist, Brenda has managed student co-op housing, produced concerts, and raised a small herd of boys. She and her husband live in Kyle, Texas. They have more grown kids and grandkids than they can count.

SOCIAL MEDIA: