{Guest Post+Review+Giveaway} Shudder by Samantha Durante

Synopsis:

It’s only been three days, and already everything is different.

Paragon is behind her, but somehow Alessa’s life may actually have gotten worse. In a wrenching twist of fate, she traded the safety and companionship of her sister for that of her true love, losing a vital partner she’d counted on for the ordeal ahead. Her comfortable university life is but a distant memory, as she faces the prospect of surviving a bleak winter on the meager remains of a ravaged world. And if she’d thought she’d tasted fear upon seeing a ghost, she was wrong; now she’s discovering new depths of terror while being hunted by a deadly virus and a terrifying pack of superhuman creatures thirsting for blood.

And then there are the visions.

The memory-altering “stitch” unlocked something in Alessa’s mind, and now she can’t shake the constant flood of alien feelings ransacking her emotions. Haunting memories of an old flame are driving a deep and painful rift into her once-secure relationship. And a series of staggering revelations about the treacherous Engineers – and the bone-chilling deceit shrouding her world’s sorry history – will soon leave Alessa reeling…

The second installment in the electrifying Stitch Trilogy, Shudder follows Samantha Durante’s shocking and innovative debut with a heart-pounding, paranormal-dusted dystopian adventure sure to keep the pages turning.

Guest Post:

Inspiration for Shudder’s Setting by Samantha Durante, author of the Stitch Trilogy

 

Ever sprint out of the movie theater for a mid-show bathroom break, only to find yourself alone amongst the rows and rows of stalls in your multiplex’s ladies room?

 

Or how about coming out of work late and realizing yours is the only car left in the big, empty parking structure, each of your steps echoing as you scurry across the lot fumbling for your keys?

 

Can you imagine finding yourself – as one of my friends did while the power was out during Hurricane Sandy – scuttling down 40 blocks of a deserted, pitch-dark avenue in NYC, with only a flailing cell phone for light, the backpack on your shoulders your lone defense against whomever might want to do you harm?

 

If you didn’t inwardly shudder in response to at least one of those scenarios, you’re made of stronger stuff than I am.  To me, there’s nothing creepier than a place that’s *supposed* to be filled with people, but isn’t.

 

Being alone in a big, quiet place just sets my primal instinct sirens wailing.  My heart starts fluttering in anticipation of the need to run or fight, and every tiny noise rings in my ears like a cannon blast.

 

It was this eerie feeling – of being utterly alone, but at the same time, not feeling in any way secure – that I sought to recreate in Shudder.  As Alessa and Isaac traverse what remains of their plague-ravaged world, the oppressive the silence in all the deserted places they visit weighs heavily on their shoulders, and every shadow, every sound, every echoing footstep could lead to a threat.

 

It’s not a fun place to be.  But then again, at least Alessa and Isaac alive – and free – to experience it.

 

And that’s more than anyone else they know can say.

I thought the concept of Stitch was so cool! I mean, it was totally creepy and kinda scary when you think about everything that this “government” of sorts was doing to people. Stitching them so that they would think they were living out various lives on tv dramas for entertainment for people. How crazy is that? But Stitch is more than just a cool concept. It is honestly one of the best dystopians that I have read in a long time. And book two, Shudder did not dissappoint. It is such a kick ass sequel. So much is going on! There is action from page one. 

Shudder follows five different point of views. I know that sounds like a lot, but it is not hard to keep track of anyone. The book flows really nicely. The different people are in different places during the story and the chapters pretty much all go in the same order so you know who is coming up next. I am normally not one for a book with more than two point of views because things tend to spiral and get confusing from there, but Samantha Durante did a great job of keeping everything organized and it was really easy to tell whose story we were on in any given chapter. I actually liked all the point of views with this story. It worked. 

My favorite part about Shudder is that you finally get some more answers about everything that is going on. Through one of the characters we got to see kind of an inside look at some of the people in charge of the whole city, or government, or whatever they are classifying themselves as. They told their side of the story and through that we got to know more about the original virus that ravaged the population in the first book. 

Samantha did an awesome job weaving in some of the backstory from the first book into this book. It really helped jog my memory about what happened in the story. I really enjoy Samantha Durante’s writing style. It is very engaging. Alessa and Issac and the whole gang of characters all play big roles in this story. Alessa has some strange things happening to her and I am not 100% sure that I buy the explanations that she has been getting for what it is, but I guess time will tell. There is another big twist in Shudder that I kind of saw coming once I started reading but it was still a nice little OMG moment at the end of the book when it was revealed. And it totally made me want to get a copy of the last book in the trilogy right away! Shudder is a story that really builds. It just kept getting better and better right until the end! I think I liked Shudder even more than I liked Stitch! This is a must read for fans of dystopian. Don’t miss this trilogy.

4/5 Gavels

 

Samantha Durante lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. The Stitch Trilogy is her debut series. Learn more about Samantha at www.samanthadurante.com.

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