For some reason I have been reading a lot of pandemic and ice man pandemic stories lately. This is not a unique concept and it could have been done really well but this fell in the cracks for me. It was okay but nothing kept my interest

“I love the smell of napalm in the morning...... it smells like victory”. Oops wrong review!!!! The melt by Ann Werner (thank you NetGalley). This is a light read (HA HA HA HA)about the end of the world from a virus. Sound familiar??? Or at least feels familiar.... it centers around two characters and a new world being created after the decimation. I feel like the characters weren’t properly fleshed out... the second part felt like one dimensional characters. I would recommend the book but it’s a brain wash for harder novels. (and I love the name president Tower). Cheers y’all I hope today treats you well.

In a world being ravaged by a pandemic at the moment, I wasn't sure whether I'd enjoy this or not, but I actually ended up really enjoying it!!

The plot is slow going but not in a bad way. It starts with some reindeer herders discovering a dead body. Not long after, nearly all of them succumb to a mysterious virus. From there, it's not long before an epidemic becomes a pandemic and the whole world is transformed.

Enter Rina and Ethan Hampton, who are buying their first house. When Tina enters the last house she views, she knows it's the one for them. Best of all, it has a small bunker attached. They think it will be a good place for Ethans band to practice so buy the house. Then the pandemic hits and they buy provisions and enter the bunker! They know it's their only chance of survival. They emerge 2 months later and that's what the majority of the story is about.

Plot wise, it was interesting and entertaining. I enjoyed when they left the bunker and met up with the others in the small community. The plot got even better when a certain someone enters the community and starts causing trouble. He was horrible but there's people like him in real life!! It felt authentic.

There are quite a few characters, but all were well written and developed. I pretty much liked them all....well except those ones of course (read it and you'll know who I'm on about!!)

In all, this was a really good read. It definitely echoes the world as it is today but I didn't mind that at all. Great characters and a believable plot...what more could I ask for.

I enjoy a good post-apocalyptic story, but this one just wasn't for me.
The beginning of the book starts out very strong, and I was interested to see how the Red Scourge played out. The reindeer tribe was a pretty neat aspect that felt very ancient, even though it took place in modern day. However, I was pretty disappointed in the last 60% of the story. The lack of character development made it pretty difficult to keep interest in what was going on, or care about what happened to them. More fleshing out could have been done, and would have been much appreciated.
I was also pretty disappointed in how the antagonist was introduced and portrayed. It was glaringly obvious what part this character would play in the story. On top of that, this character basically embodied literally every aspect of society that can be considered divisive or evil. Pretty much all of the things. It just seemed very over the top and extremely unbelievable. It changed the entire tone of the book for me, and when I can pretty well guess what a character is going to do or SAY next with accuracy, I lose interest very quickly.
The book also seemed very political, but not as fictional as you might expect. There were so many similarities to what we have going on in modern times now that had me wanting to DNF just for the sake of saving my sanity. I'm not a fan of modern day politics in my books, which is one reason I gravitate towards fiction. The Melt just kind of felt like a fictional 'interpretation' of what I don't have the patience, or time, to give my energy to in reality.
Overall, this just wasn't the story for me.
Thank you to Netgalley, BooksGoSocial, and the author for providing an ARC for review.

I've decided to finally give up. The politics are basically a copy of US politics right now and it's not unique or imaginative. I was also pretty bored throughout and had no motivation to want to finish it. Could have been an interesting story but unfortunately, it just didn't work.

Thanks to Netgalley for the book.

As a subgenre, novels about pandemics seem to have a secure enough place, whether or not these constitute medical thrillers, or whether or not is is a question of looking at how the survivors cope in a world of a decimated humanity, its infrastructures smashed alongside city life.

This novel falls into the second category, although the details in the telling begin with a fairly prescient description of what might happen should a Covid-like virus take hold globally. Not all world leaders might automatically make the best decisions. The means by which an infection might spread remain mysterious. New diseases might emerge with the melting of the permafrost. Or the bug could have been manufactured.

However, things move quickly from this point: this virus kills leaving only 5% of the population left. So it's about the survivors. Will they be able to start over with a clean slate, or will old social memes re-emerge as the perennial worm in the apple of our dystopia-- prone humanity?

These ideas are explored once the main characters emerge from their bunker. Being a survival novel, they did of course ghost their best friends, who knew about their shelter, but that is for starters. When they find their new community and start breadmaking, all is fine at first......

My main criticism if the novel is that the character of the antagonist to reintroduce that worm in the apple was perhaps drawn in a less-than subtle way: the writer has a point to make and shades of grey seemed to have been pushed aside somewhat to make this point.

Still, the story did engage. And who knows? As the Covid story continues to unfold, lessons may be learnt in the bear future just as quickly on how humans might need to manage themselves without resorting to older firms of barbarism.

This is a great book. It starts with the discovery of a body by some remote reindeer herders. This leads to a full blown pandemic which, in view of the current Covid situation, makes me wonder how the author knew what was coming. The description of the post pandemic world is horrifying and shows that catastrophes bring out the worst and the best in humanity. It is skillfully written and gripping throughout. Highly recommended.

Serviceable apocalyptic-virus-wreaks-havoc novel. Doesn't bring anything new to the table, but it's a enjoyable way to pass the evening. Writing is solid and characters are well-developed. Recommended for readers of apocalyptic fiction.

With all going on in the world today, perhaps a pandemic book wasn't a good choice for me. However, I was more turned off by the continual political bashing in this book. I hear it on the news, social media, etc... I go to books to get away from the negativity. I just couldn't even continue to read this book. If you're okay with reading about basically what we hear daily on the news. This might be a good read for you. I however, as I said, go to books to get away.

The book is about an end of world virus that reinfects the earth. I enjoyed the premise that a thousands of years old virus unfrozen, reinfects the planet. I did not understand how once it is released it burns itself out adter about six months. The story holds you in your seat until the end. It's an easy and a fun read.

A deadly virus is discovered in a remote area and quickly spreads to the rest of the world. People are urged to protect themselves by washing their hands frequently, wearing masks and socially distancing themselves from others. Sound familiar? But this is far worse than what we are experiencing now. This is The Melt.

Part 1 is a gripping, heartbreaking thriller and a definite must read. Ethan and Rina bought their new house hoping to start a family. Instead, they are hunkered down the the basement bomb shelter that dates back to the 1950s as most of the world dies in darkness. This story of a couple’s desperate attempt to survive rates 5 stars.

Part 2 is very different and definitely not as compelling. Six months later, Ethan and Rina have joined the small settlement of New Hope. All goes well until differences in beliefs are revealed.

I don’t want to give details about New Hope but I found several of the characters to be pompous, over-the-top and totally unbelievable as are the events in the final pages. I wish the writing style of the first part had continued. 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and Ann Werner for this ARC.

The title and cover of this book are slightly misleading. They give the impression that the story centers more on global warming or the melting of polar ice. It doesn’t.
But that’s not a bad thing, because it is still a really good story. It starts with the uncovering of a body buried in snow and ice. (That’s where the title comes in.) After that, a new virus begins making its way around the world. The story doesn’t focus on that, though it really doesn’t need to. Some of the events we read in the story are similar to events that have actually occurred in the COVID world. The story focuses more on the ones who survive the plague.
I enjoyed the story and I’ll look for the next book when it comes out. That being said, the bad guy is exactly who you suspect of being the bad guy and for exactly the reasons you’d expect. Still, the story is engaging and I liked the characters.