Published: December 5, 2017
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Series: Chronicles of the One #1
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 419 (Hardcover)
My Rating: 5.0/5.0
Synopsis:
It began on New Year’s Eve.
The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed–and more than half of the world’s population was decimated.
Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magic rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil, and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in fetid tunnels beneath the river–or in the ones you know and love the most.
As word spreads that neither the immune nor the gifted are safe from the authorities who patrol the ravaged streets, and with nothing left to count on but each other, Lana and Max make their way out of a wrecked New York City. At the same time, other travelers are heading west too, into a new frontier. Chuck, a tech genius trying to hack his way through a world gone offline. Arlys, a journalist who has lost her audience but uses pen and paper to record the truth. Fred, her young colleague, possessed of burgeoning abilities and an optimism that seems out of place in this bleak landscape. And Rachel and Jonah, a resourceful doctor and a paramedic who fend off despair with their determination to keep a young mother and three infants in their care alive.
In a world of survivors where every stranger encountered could be either a savage or a savior, none of them knows exactly where they are heading, or why. But a purpose awaits them that will shape their lives and the lives of all those who remain.
The end has come. The beginning comes next.
It’s not every day that I pick up a book by an author who traditionally writes romance, though after seeing reviews by my fellow bloggers praising the story I had to check it out. Surely these people wouldn’t lead me astray, right? Surely this has to be something special, even amongst the countless excellent SFF books available. Guess what folks, IT WAS SPECIAL. Year One was a fantastic story and was immediately one of the most gripping books I’ve read this year.
A strange disease originating with travelers in Scotland strikes the world and chaos breaks loose. Billions are dying and those that don’t die sometimes develop uncanny abilities… not all of them good. The world is collapsing and the survivors are in a situation that would break me. Surprisingly, some of them are able to come together and forge bonds, explore their abilities, and try to fight back those who have embraced the darkness brought about by the strange disease that has obliterated life as they once knew it.
The characters in this book are really the driving force in this first installment. Yes, there is a larger story to be told, but when you zoom into the perspective of the individual it becomes so much more compelling. Lana, Max, Arlys, Fred, Chuck, Rachel, and Jonah were such a phenomenal cast of characters. I initially thought I would loathe Lana because she bemoaned the Louboutins and cashmere she had to leave behind, but that only lasted for a handful of pages and she quickly became much more practical. Arlys and Fred (who is a girl) … they went through some horrible things trying to escape New York. That particular portion really helped to show the reader how those who went dark went DARK. I’m talking cannibalism and this horrible casual cruelty that fit right in with the darkest fantasy books out there. Nora Roberts really impressed me with the execution of this book and I’m glad I didn’t write this book off simply because I know her as a romance author.
The whole storyline her is one of survival, community, and a hefty dose of good vs. evil. I like that this isn’t your usual apocalypse story containing zombies, or some such. The survivors aren’t even homogeneous – some develop strange powers, some don’t, some are good, some evil. We’ve got elves, healers, fairies, and even people who can manipulate electricity. Our group of survivors unites after going through their own troubles and they have a good thing going on… until Nora Roberts decided to utterly stomp on my feelings. Geez, as if things couldn’t get worse, right?
I would wholeheartedly recommend this book and I’m already counting down the days until the sequel is released. Interestingly, the sequel is set about thirteen years following the events of Year One and I’m so curious about how the world has changed in that period of time. I can’t wait to see where this story goes and I hope the future installments have the same engaging qualities that Year One did. I’m kind of anticipating this going full on, hardcore fantasy novel with the young chosen one fighting against a great evil. I only have to wait until December to find out what happens next!
Powder & Page 
Great review, such a good book and such a shock as she writes romance!😂
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I was very surprised at the quality and I’m so ready to read the next one!!!
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