Book Review: Unstoppable by S.R. Johannes

Unstoppable (Nature of Grace Book 3)

by S.R. Johannes

Publisher: S.R. Johannes

Published: May 29, 2014

ASIN: B00KNVUG0K

Amazon Synopsis:

After everything that has happened, Grace moves to the Everglades to live with her grandmother, Birdee, and hang out with old man Rex, Birdee's "friend with benefits". Grace quickly befriends Dylan, Rex's nephew, and Dylan's girlfriend, Sadie, who is a die-hard teen activist. Sadie spends her time leading protests against the roadside zoos that run rampant in Florida with a total disregard for animals or the flimsy law. 

One day while out in the marshes of the Everglades, Grace and her friends rescue an abused—and endangered—Florida panther. She and Birdee spend time rehabilitating the animal. But when the panther runs off, Grace follows it to Uncle Bob's, a large roadside zoo they all have been protesting. One that is illegally filled with a variety of endangered and exotic animals. Before she can rescue the panther, she and her friends are kidnapped by the ruthless owner and dragged deep into the Everglades for a hunting challenge. 

Only this time, Grace is the prey. 

During a sick game of cat and mouse, Grace and her friends are offered one chance at survival, but only if they reach civilization before being caught. With a small head start and very little supplies, only time and skill stand between the hunter and the hunted. But out in the Everglades, there may be more dangers that Grace realizes. 

Against all odds, Grace must make it out alive and win, or everything she holds dear could be lost. 

Book Links

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My Thoughts:

Unstoppable is the heart-stopping story of a teen who is being chased down by a hunter through the Everglades. He is the hunter and she is the prey. And he has always gotten his prey.

The Everglades are not a place you want to be wandering around in alone for a few nights, especially when you don't know exactly where you are. There are lots of dangerous things out there to watch out for like poisonous snakes, alligators of all sizes and other wild creatures such as panthers that would happily eat you. But when you've got men chasing you with guns who've already killed at least one person right in front of you, you know you’re in trouble.

Grace is living with her Grandmother Birdee while her mom tries to sell their home in North Carolina. They will be relocating to Florida to be closer to Birdee now that Grace's father has died. While out with Birdee, her friend Rex and his nephew Dylan, Grace is invited to meet Sadie, another teen about Grace's age. She happens to be the mayor's daughter and an animal activist. Dylan and Grace meet up with Sadie at the protest Sadie has organized at a roadside zoo. There is a lot of media attention at this event and without thinking, Grace stands up in support of the animals also as their welfare is a cause dear to her heart. Unfortunately one of the reasons she is staying in Florida is to remain hidden from the man who killed her father and is still on the loose.

I liked that each chapter started off with a survival skill. You never know when those skills will come in handy and having read them, maybe they will make a difference in someone's life. Plus it gave the reader an idea of what might be coming up that would be related in that chapter.

A couple of the scenes were a little gruesome, though not necessarily gory. I think they needed to be written the way they did, and were by no means were they overdone. Animals do what animals do. It's a fact of life. If you are going to fight with knives, sometimes someone is going to get hurt. Also a fact of life.

Unstoppable read okay as a stand-alone novel, but it would have been much better if I had read the book that came before it as some of the material from the previous book was referenced in this novel.

I found it rather oddly miraculous that Mo, Grace's boyfriend should happen to find her just in the nick of time in a national park of 750,000 acres. I wonder what the odds are on that would be?

Overall though, I thought that Unstoppable was a fast-paced, suspenseful novel with quite a number of exciting twists and turns in the plot. It had everything from romance to murder to animal conservation and friendship. I gave Unstoppable 4 stars out of 5. I would definitely recommend this book to others who enjoy young adult suspenseful novels.

Thank you to the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

About the Author:

When Shelli was younger, she spent all her time outdoors, hiking, camping and living the Girl Scout Way. 

Somewhere along the way, she got away from nature and earned an MBA in Marketing, kicking off an 18-year marketing career in Corporate America.

Eventually, Shelli traded in her expensive suits, high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing. She started her own marketing & communications business, www.bilaninc.com, where she worked with Spanx, Goody Hair Products, Chick Filet, and the Boys & Girls Club of America.

In addition to juggling nap schedules and client meetings, Shelli focuses on her writing. She is a frequent speaker on marketing and book publicity at SCBWI conferences across the U.S, and runs a popular book marketing blog, Market My Words (www.faeriality.blogspot.com).

In her spare time (yeah right!) and if the kids allow (yeah right!), Shelli obsesses over movies, reads children’s books (over and over), and still dreams of sleeping in on the weekends. But most importantly, she is finally getting back to her roots by running her own Girl Scout Troop in Atlanta, helping girls get back to nature.

She currently lives in Atlanta with her dog (Charley), British-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess that someday will change the world. 

Author Links

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