Nightfall by Ellen Connor

First of all I want to apologize for being out of the loop for awhile. I was working on a few projects at work. But thankfully I am back reading books and ready to dole out my opinion. I hope I can help you find a book or two to read and enjoy.

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Growing up with an unstable, often absent father who preached about the end of the world, Jenna never thought in her wildest nightmares that his predictions would come true. Or that he would have a plan in place to save her-one that includes the strong, stoic man who kidnaps and takes her to a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest.

The mysterious ex-Marine named Mason owes a life-debt to Jenna's father. Skilled and steadfast, he's ready for the prophesied Change, but Jenna proves tough to convince. Until the power grid collapses and mutant dogs attack-vicious things that reek of nature gone wrong.

When five strangers appear, desperate to escape the bloodthirsty packs, Jenna defies her protector and rescues them. As technology fails and the old world falls away, Jenna changes too, forever altered by supernatural forces. To fight for their future, she and Mason must learn to trust their instinctive passion-a flame that will see them through the bitter winter, the endless nights, and the violence of a new Dark Age.

Nightfall is actually a throwback for me. I found it on my bookcase when my husband moved things around in the garage. It seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. So I picked it up and delved right in. I remembered bits and pieces, but for me that is unusual. I can usually get to about the 5th page of a book I have read and it all comes back to me.

Nightfall was copyrighted in 2011. So a 4 year old book isn't that old. Berkeley Publishing cast it under their Paranormal Romance category, but for me it was more of an Urban Apocalyptic Survival story. I love to read about people surviving in a world that has gone totally wonky and haywire. (Can you guess I am an avid Walking Dead viewer?!)

Nightfall is the first in the Dark Age Dawning Series by Miss Connor. This is Jenna and Mason's story. Miss Connor has an AWESOME mind for taking our everyday world and recreating it into a living hell. She has created monsters from the ordinary people who looked each other in the eyes. I like how she took different types of people and had them effected differently by the "change".

I like how Miss Connor takes a dysfunctional family and turns it into an important survival factor. And a boy, who is raised in the typical, abusive foster system, finds his way to a "cult" and survives because of the dysfunctional way he was raised.

Miss Connor has taken the concept of yin and yang to the extreme with Jenna and Mason. Together they band a group of people into a unit and teach each other what it really takes to survive. But unlike most stories, this hero and heroine do not come out unscathed. But they do come out stronger and more balanced.

Miss Connor weaves the action, turmoil, human angst, and typical stress together to create a story that hits home with the reader. Yes, the details of the story may be a little "out there" (or could they?), but the fact that we could find ourselves in an apocalyptic event makes this story a little more "edge of your seat".

I look forward to looking into the other books in this series. Miss Connor is definitely an author that has gained my attention!