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    Unavailable
    After Life Lessons: Book One: After Life Lessons, #1
    Unavailable
    After Life Lessons: Book One: After Life Lessons, #1
    Unavailable
    After Life Lessons: Book One: After Life Lessons, #1
    Ebook340 pages5 hours

    After Life Lessons: Book One: After Life Lessons, #1

    By L.C. Spoering and Laila Blake

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    After Life Lessons is an emotional journey of grief and tentative romance in a world infested with zombies.

    A year after a devastating epidemic swept the world, Emily and her 6-year old son Song are struggling South in search of more hospitable climates. A snowstorm traps them in an abandoned gas station, where starving and desperate, they encounter Aaron, an Army medic on a mission of his own, who offers them a ride to ease the journey.

    The road is a long and dangerous place to travel, but it's not only the deadly infected who pose a threat. The newly enforced proximity to another human being awakens feelings, long numbed and forgotten in a world of such abject scarcity. And that's when the pain really starts to hit, when places thought lost prickle back to life, when hope opens them up to a new dose of devastation and heartbreak.

    Eventually, they will have to fight not just for survival, but for a future together, or their broken world will swallow them whole.

    Genre: General Fiction / Women's Fiction / Post-Apocalypic Love Story
    Length: 80k words
    Tags: Love Story, Road Adventure, Family Drama, Zombies, Survival, Character Study, Grief, Hope


    This novel contains language some might find offensive, some gore and situations of a sexual nature. Reader's discretion is advised.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLilt Literary
    Release dateNov 20, 2014
    ISBN9780996005418
    Unavailable
    After Life Lessons: Book One: After Life Lessons, #1

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    Reviews for After Life Lessons

    3.5/5

    7 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.Let me start by saying I am not one for zombie/apocalyptic stories, but if the stories were wrote like this I would be first in line for them. The characters have depth and are relatable and the storyline was flawless! Once started I found it hard to put down! I would recommend this to anyone who just loves a well written story!
    • 4/5
      See my blog (link in my profile) for a little note on the subject of reading/reviewing an indie published novel.My Review:I was generously provided an advanced e-book copy of After Life Lessons from the Authors/Publisher. This has no affect on my review process.After Life Lessons was a romance story, first and foremost. If you are looking for "brains" and romance like I was, be forewarned that while this does include a fair amount of zombie violence- it wasn't what I was expecting.... and that's a good thing. It tackled issues that one might face given the chance of survival in this situation.In the beginning we find Emily and her son Song walking along the snow covered road virtually on the brink of freezing to death. They find a gas station to hide out in as a last attempt to stay alive. This is where we meet an intimidating stranger, Aaron, who later becomes Emily's love interest. What I found so unique about this story compared to other adult romance novels I have read was that there was no instant attraction. Emily's feelings for the stranger and his interaction with her son and his inevitable involvement in their lives (because there was no one else around) was believable. With the small "adventures" they had on the road trying to survive the elements their relationship grew slowly. Emily's past unravels throughout the story all while she finds out information little by little on her companion, Aaron and what it means to be alive in this new world.I found Emily a little bit aggravating. At times she was so trapped in the past; she was fretting about things that ultimately didn't matter. I know this was a complicated romance (with brilliant growth), however, Emily caused problems with her constant anxiety over her dead fiance. Major problems. Her attitude almost caused all of their deaths and she was all over the place with her emotions afterwards; apologizing and then causing bigger problems for herself and Aaron later on. Her actions were believable, yet I didn't feel that they were entirely appropriate for an apocalypse, especially with a young son to watch over.When Emily wasn't fretting over "real-world" issues rather than "gone-to-shit world" issues she was a clever character. Her slow-burning romance with Aaron was adorable and believable. She was able to bug him enough throughout their "adventures" to have him fall in love with her and unveil his secrets. Aaron was a strong male character-non violent and caring with a military past. Perfect for an apocalyptic romance, I think.The writing kept the story going at a nice pace, the story wasn't too predictable, and I found myself caring for the characters despite their shortcomings.The ending was entertaining. Everything happened so fast. I really appreciated it after such a low zombie count. I am looking forward to reading the next installment. I want to know what happens next... and if I have predicted what might happen for the future of Emily, Song, and Aaron!
    • 4/5
      The author, Laila Blake, gave me a copy of this novel in exchange for my review. When I first read the description for “After Life Lessons,” I was intrigued. Blake has written a story of the human experience in impossible times that just happens to feature zombies as the element of danger in those impossible times. How insignificant do the little tragedies of daily life seem in a world where you may not survive beyond the next day? Once the story gets going it is a beautiful tale of people thrown together by chance struggling to survive and knowing that no future is certain. Emily is 23 years old when she attaches herself to a man who lives on the road and his child is left with them by a neglectful mother. She quickly realizes that whatever cool factor she had as the hot alt girlfriend is negated by her at-home self. Aaron is running from his life. He fell in love with someone he simply couldn’t have and he ran to the Army. While Emily is the more developed character what we learn about Aaron in the course of their association is fascinating. Emily and Aaron share a natural bond that both feel awkward about and both know on some level that they shouldn’t because their old lives don’t matter anymore. Blake’s setting is quite appropriate for the year we’ve had. Snow and biting cold ushers us into the story and while at least some of the tale takes place in Ohio near the Kentucky border there is a definition of setting in the world they’re traversing being vast and cold. They are wholly alone with the beasts. Anyone striking out on their own will not survive. “After Life Lessons” is truly a poignant and well written look at life after the fall of humanity. Once the story got going it was a masterpiece of emotion stoically faced and life going on even if for the moment. I highly recommend this novel to those who like literature and stories of the human experience.