'Til The World Ends by Julie Kagawa et al

Publication Date: 29/01/13
Publisher: Harlequin Luna
Pages: 368
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi
Target Audience: Young Adults

Synopsis:
Dawn of Eden by Julie Kagawa:

Before The Immortal Rules, there was the Red Lung, a relentless virus determined to take out all in its path. For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden—as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What’s worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she’s beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems...

Thistle & Thorne by Ann Aguirre:

After a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses, self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside—in the Red Zone—is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they’ll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside... for good.

Sun Storm by Karen Duvall:

Sarah Daggot has been chasing storms since she was a child. But after the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, she becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to sense coming storms—in the cosmos and beyond. And she’s not the only one. Sarah believes the Kinetics are destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun. She’ll vow to keep trying to convince the one missing link in their chain of defense, the enigmatic Ian Matthews, up until the world ends.

My Review: I usually avoid collections because there's always at least one story in them that makes me want to tear my hair out or slam my face against a wall. Sadly, this collection was no different. But I'll start with the positives.

Dawn of Eden:

I was thrilled with Dawn of Eden and I found it a unique insight into the world of The Immortal Rules before Ali's adventure begun.  Kylie made a sympathetic  caring, yet tough protagonist and I was pulled into her story and her reasons for fighting the Red Lung Virus without much trouble.  
The story even took a romantic turn and featured a cameo from a pretty important character from The Immortal Rules. 
The ending was pretty well done, which is usually difficult with a Novella and overall, with this story, I was very impressed. Not only did it give additional background on the vamps and Red Lung Virus, but also an insight into how difficult life was during the breakout. 

Thistle and Thorne
I was really surprised with this novella. I have books by Ann Aguirre on my to-read list but have yet to read any of them; needless to say this will have to change very soon because she is an exceptional writer.
Mari and Thorne made a brilliant twosome and I really hope Miss Aguirre writes a full book based on these characters because I really want to know what happens after this novella ends, especially as it ends with the suggestion that there is more to come.
There is a little tinge of romance in this, but very little and the plot and action certainly takes centre stage.  The post-apocalyptic background is well thought out, and so different from most others I've read since I've never read anything about a chemical spill before.
Overall, this is a cleverly written novella but with quite a bit of violence and gore though not without the emotional undercurrent with the characters which make them feel more human.

Sun Storm
This is unfortunately the short story that let me down and by this point I was actually pretty hopeful that all three stories would be made of win. Don't get me wrong, the idea of solar flares and the end of the world is realistic enough, but what failed to capture me was the idea of developing powers when hit by the sparks from these flares. Having said that, It's no more unbelievable than zombies I guess so I gave it a chance.
When I got to a certain part half way through though, I thought the following: 'that could never happen in a million years' even my huge imagination has a limit and it reached it. Having said that, some people may take to it though to me it seemed a bit silly.
Character wise, though I loved Sarah, Ian just didn't gel with me and I didn't really feel his relationship with Sarah. Add what felt like a much too rushed ending and when I finally finished I was ready to admit that I didn't personally enjoy it.

All in all for the first two stories this is worth reading, but honestly, I did not get on with the third. Having said that, I'm sure some people will disagree with me. Give it a go when it's released!