Audible Book Review: Through the Flames by Bonnie R. Paulson

It’s hard to tell who are the good guys in this intense EOTW story.

Through the Flames
Into the End, Book 2
By: Bonnie R. Paulson
Narrated by: James Miller

Series: Into the End, Book 2
Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 10-23-13
Language: English
Publisher: Bonnie R. Paulson
Genre: EOTW, Post-Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.

Publisher's Summary
Allies = All Lies.
America is burning. The unknown blinds the citizens from fighting.
Dr. Rachel Parker's worst psychological designs are loosed on America by an unknown enemy. She leaves the safety of the mountains for the destruction of town to face her co-designer, Daniel, whose role is blurred by the smoke of deception.
Captured by militia, Rachel has to find the answers she's seeking. She's not prepared to look within her own damaged mind for the solutions. Rachel's frame of sanity and emotional stability lay on the line parallel to the country's circumstances.
Brenda Krous, Rachel's sister, possesses information that could change the face of the war. Sacrifices to get there become more and more personal until the 'Brenda' she was and the 'Brenda' she is becoming hit a crossroads. If she finds the compassion to help her sister, her patriotism to the nation might be sacrificed.
©2012 Bonnie R. Paulson (P)2013 Bonnie R. Paulson

Review:
At the conclusion of book one, the primary characters have escaped from the enemy but are scattered as they try to get to safety. Josh, is hampered by the extreme injuries of his friend, Andy. Tom was running from men blackmailing his father when an earthquake rolled rocks on him. Brenda barely escaped to get back to the mountain cabin and her sister Rachel. But Rachel heads out supposedly to get antibiotics but she walks straight into a trap set to lure her in.

Rachel discovers herself in the hands of the enemy who has also captured her injured husband, Andy, his friend, Josh, and her former patient and friend, Tom. The fourth pawn the enemy is prepared to use against her is Daniel, her partner from the traumatic psychological experiments that are the focus of the invasion against Americans. Rachel, with the help and support of Daniel, was the one who designed the alternative torture methods that are being used by the enemy.

There are several separate groups of America and local Militia. It isn’t clear if they want to learn Rachel’s secrets in order to combat the tortures or if they are aiding the invading and attacking forces to intimidate their own people.

There are repeated twists and turns as the primary characters escape and defeat their immediate captors only to be caught up in another danger. There are still a lot of questions as to the purpose of Rachel’s tests and how her completing the experiments is needed to get to a solution.

There is still good action and interest that took precedent over the confusion. It kept me wanting to read the final book in order to discover what happens. I like the post-apocalyptic elements of this series even though some situations are a bit unrealistic.

Audio Notes: James Miller is not the same narrator as book 1. I liked Miller’s emotional portrayal and energetic presentation. I was glad to listen to this in audio.

Source: I received four Audiobook Author Codes on 4/10/2020. Thank you, Bonnie Paulson! This qualifies for 2020Audiobook and author review goals.