Lauren Wilson

The Goldens was a bit of a slow burn. It focused a lot on the glitz and glamour of this rich, unmoored social media influencer lifestyle, with the manipulation never being especially subtle, but insidious enough that the main character can keep coming up with more excuses. The cult tactics mixed with the specific type of manipulation of the media through turning a person into a brand or a product in and of themself. There was a lot of building tension as Chloe is pulled further into Clara's show more orbit and Clara becomes more unhinged.

It was never really a mystery how Clara's story was going to end, but Chloe's last choice in the end threw me off. I couldn't square it with the rest of her character. Chloe did not seem very invested in the cult at all. She was obviously extremely taken with Clara, but her thoughts on the ‘community’ Clara was building and the ‘values’ she pretended to base it around were generally negative, more jealous and insecure than reveling in it. And she had almost no relationships or interactions with the other girls outside of defending Clara to them or resenting them for also getting close to Clara. So, all of a sudden, going ‘I’m going to be an even better cult leader than Clara now that she’s gone,’ felt like it was just to give the ending a little oomph rather than conclude things naturally for the character. show less

Long, long ago, when the earth was young – or at least when we were younger – my brother was determined to get on Survivor. He got so far as getting a call from a producer; I still say he would have been a lot more entertaining than half the chuckleheads they've had on. Being the data freak I am, I decided that if he could just do his part and get on, I could make him King of Survivor. I started getting books out of the library and looking up all sorts of weird and wild stuff online, and show more filled a notebook with the most relevant and useful and efficient methods of starting a fire, building a shelter, purifying water, catching fish, and more. (If the end of the world occurs, I ask that the gentle reader keep this in mind: I still have that book (since my brother never got on the show) and I still remember a lot of it… And now I have this book. Think Eugene without a Y chromosome or a mullet. That's me.)

This book is that notebook, with awesomely snazzier illustrations and a whole heck of a lot more information.

It already had my attention with its premise, but it won my heart with this sentence: "Let us set the scene. Paint the big picture (a little less Thomas Cole pastoral and a little more Edvard Munch horror)".

And that premise? TAoETtZA proposes to show how not to just survive after TSHTF (one of the authors' favorite acronyms), but to live. Why settle for bland squirrel while huddling in your improvised shelter, or flavorless fish after clearing the undead out of the local prison? There's no need, if only you read this book.

Not only is it a smart guide to how to eat well when things fall apart, it's a smart guide to basically everything you need to know about that basic survival: how to prepare while things are normal (if that's what you want to call it), what to bring when you bug out – and whether you should bug out, what you should concentrate on when foraging in the woods or in town, and the most basic basics of all: how to start a fire, how to purify water, and why you shouldn't eat cockroaches (apart from the obvious). There are recipes (with punny or otherwise clever names), diagrams (MRE's come with chewing gum?), and short- and long-range plans for survival. For living. It's fantastic.

Let's face it – there are days when I agree with Frodo Baggins: "there have been times when I thought the inhabitants too stupid and dull for words, and have felt that an earthquake or an invasion of dragons might be good for them." (An invasion of dragons would, in its end result, strongly resemble a zombie apocalypse, although dragons are smarter. And cooler. And they fly. Well, and "scorched earth" might be a relevant phrase. Okay, not so strong a resemblance.)

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review. show less

I loved these stories. Very relatable and great story-telling in general. I laughed, thought about my own life and my family/friends, and had quite a few reflective moments. There was maybe one story that didn't resonate with me. Most did. And there were a couple that I felt needed just a few more details to tie up loose ends. I'd love to read more from this author.

This book is written almost as a memoir from the main characters perspective. She’s an aspiring writer who befriends a famous influencer. What ensues is intrigue, secrets, murder, and a cult like club.

What I did like about this book is the storyline. It was interesting and unique and the characters were all different and had depth. The suspense was good.

What didn’t work for me was that the pacing was slow. It started off at a good pace and then began to fall flat, and in some places was show more particularly slow. In some areas it was interesting and in others it wasn’t. The writing was good and so was the premise for the story. I just wished the storyline was consistent. Audiobook narrator was good

Thank you NetGalley show less