Through Glass is a journey into fear, loneliness, and despair as apocalyptic monsters begin a systematic takeover, quickly putting the surviving humans under their full control. The story begins full of hope, as young lovers, Lex & Cohen, are just discovering one another when suddenly the bottom drops out of their world and they find themselves trapped in their homes by strange and vicious monsters. They are forced to stand idly by as death rains down from above destroying everything they have ever known and leaving them only able to communicate with one another through the glass panes of their windows because to step outside would mean certain death.

The Ulama, the unnatural creatures bent on the world’s destruction, were terrifying yet so incredibly strange that it was difficult to understand what they were or what their purpose was. One thing was clear, these things were effective, shutting down any resistance with brutality and complete annihilation leaving any survivors in complete darkness and dependent solely on them for food and water. Lex’s fear and hopelessness was palpable throughout the story as she struggled just to live from day to day, not understanding why this was happening and with no end in sight. Her only solace was being able to see Cohen through her bedroom window each day and the encouragement they gave to one another to keep going.

I enjoyed the way the author built a sense of dread for the reader by making the Ulama so unpredictable and allowing the main characters to be harmed, not assuring the reader of a Happy Ending. I always prefer this kind of realistic desperation in a post-apocalyptic story because it pulls me in and makes it so much more believable. I find myself feeling panicked for the characters in an actual physical way, my heart starts racing and I’m practically yelling at the book “no, don’t do that!” or “Grab the lamp!!” because I’m just so invested in the story and real possibility of them coming to harm.

While there were certain aspects of the world building, which I felt was pretty choppy in the beginning and the writing style and flow that didn’t necessarily work for me, the story itself was so riveting that these things were very easy to overlook and are really just a matter of personal preference anyway. I would definitely recommend this to fans of horror and sci-fi with a post-apocalyptic theme. The Ulama were very original, I hadn’t read any kind of creatures like them before and I enjoyed trying to figure out what they were and their intentions & motivations. This is definitely a great October read when you want something that will leave you feeling a bit jittery and jumping at small sounds! ( )

At first glance, Through Glass is less a post-apocalyptic horror story than it is a story of teenage love and senior year jitters. That’s one of the book’s early strenghts, I think. It starts out completely and totally normal and then suddenly everything changes in an instant. The sky goes black and terrible creatures start to flood the streets killing anyone who stands in their way. Lex and her boyfriend Cohen are lucky. They manage to take refuge in the safety of their homes and so long as they remain there the Ulama will not harm them. In fact, they even feed them and keep them locked down – prisoners in the places they once called home. Yes, I said places. Unfortunately, Lex and Cohen were trapped apart in their respective homes and as time passes – and years pass – the only way they can communicate is through the glass of their bedroom windows.

I thought that whole premise was fantastic and I was actually disappointed to find that it makes up a very small part of the book all things considered. The whole idea of being in love and being alone in the world save for the one person who means the most to you is a really strong start to a story. Making it so that your characters can’t even console each other physical is something else entirely. It’s heartbreaking. And the moments we spend living through this part of their lives with Lex and Cohen were quite endearing. It’s interesting to see how they deal with things both alone and together over the years and all the little secrets that they have to keep because they had to form their own sort of sign language to communicate. It’s a good start to the story and the hope that our main character gets from seeing Cohen through the window is a nice lift after all the darker, harsher moments of the book.

This is not a book for the feint of heart. It’s dark; it’s violent. You don’t see children getting torn apart by these creatures but its’ very heavily implied many times. The Ulama do not have an qualms with killing even the most innocent people in their move towards complete and total world dominance. As a whole, the Ulama were a very interesting and rather unique threat. They aren’t aliens that we can tell. They are some sort of potentially supernatural force that’s come out of nowhere. Their origins remain a mystery as do so much of this book’s darker back story. I’m very interested to find more answers in the next book though we still have about four months until it comes out in January 2014.

It was a bit frustrating to not have answers. Another thing that was actually really frustrating was the formatting. It switches from sort of diary chapter titles to chapters to possibly diary chapter titles again. I wasn’t a big fan of that inconsistency but that’s more or less cosmetic – it doesn’t really effect the story at all. (Though you do want to pay attention to the dates!)

Science fiction and horror readers looking for something new in their post-apocalyptic young adult (actually, this may be more new adult) novels will enjoy the unique story spun by Rebecca Ethington. And, honestly, you can’t beat the price! Turn on your eReaders and dig in, people. There’s absolutely no reason not to at all. ( )

Good afternoon, my luscious licorices!!

Today, I am incredibly excited but a little spooked!!

Recently, I got an ARC from the ever wonderful Rebecca Ethington, for her newest book, Through Glass.

Oh, how I loves this book!

Rebecca is a great writer, sweet lady and one of many indie authors I am lucky enough to call a friend. .>

The sky goes black.

They come down.

The Ulama..

Separated by 15 feet, the dangers of an outside world..

Our young sweethearts have each other..through glass..

Oh, the sorrow and agony I felt, tore at my heart.

Imagine seeing the one you love.

Never being able to touch.

To hug.

To kiss..

Years pass in this fashion; always yearning.

Always longing.

For such simple contact.

Until one day..

Every wish comes true!

Oh, my dears, if only life were that sweetly easy.

Our dear, brave Cohen is taken from Alexis.

Left truly alone in the world, no real hope.
With nothing else..

She walks.

Runs.

Fights for her very life.

Even against someone that once, was so very close to her.

Alas! Fear not, my cupcakes.

All hope is not lost for our young heroine.

Just before her journey’s end, Alexis finds someone she thought gone forever.

Sadly, not Cohen.

No, not him.

Not yet..

We must keep our fingers crossed for Alexis, Cohen and any others that have survived this bleak, black world.

Because we must remember..

Stay in the light..

xx Tara ( )