Outpost | Ann Aguirre | Book Review

Yo, this is a sequel so that means this review will have spoilers of the previous book. Use your brain before reading. K, thanks bye!

You guys I am still not over this whole dystopia trend. I am still not over books with zombies and harsh landscapes and brave young heroines. I picked up Outpost by Ann Aguirre with a skeptical feeling. You see, I was nervous that the book would be slow going. I was nervous that Deuce would develop romantic feelings in the wrong direction. I was also nervous about the change of setting. However, I knew that I could not put off this sequel to Enclave any more, as the final book in the trilogy, Horde, had arrived in my mailbox causing me to feel all sorts of pressure to get my reading started as soon as possible. I am excited to report to you all that I actually really liked Outpost.

At the end of Enclave, Deuce, Fade, Stalker, and Tegan had just escaped the underground and were on the run in the above where they come across a wagon and a person who then takes them to a town called Salvation. Outpost shows what happens next (and the captain obvious award goes to ME!). In Salvation, life is totally different from how it was in the Enclave. First of all, Deuce is treated as a child or a brat rather than an adult. Second of all, sexism is totally rampant and the residents have all these sorts of old school gender norms. They totally won’t let Deuce fight because she’s a girl, LOL. Anyways, THIS WILL NOT STAND. So, Deuce convinces the villagers to let her fight at the outpost, which is a place outside of town where they grow crops. The amount of Freaks engaging in attacks are increasing. Also? The Freaks are evolving and getting smarter. If you came to this book looking for battle and fight scenes, you came to the right place my bloodthirsty friend.

I get irritable when series books do no work to develop the characters. I hate reading books where the characters are stagnate and do nothing to grow or change. Thankfully, Aguirre totally develops Deuce more. She is still totally kick ass and awesome at fighting you guys, don’t you worry. Yet, there seems to be a softer side of Deuce shown here. We see her interact with adults in a positive manner. We see that she finally gets a family — a concept that is kind of foreign to her. We see her acknowledge her romantic feelings for Fade – which I will totally get more into. I thought that Deuce really matured in Outpost and I am kind of excited to see what the author will do with her character in the final book, Horde.

Y’all, I had such a hard time setting Outpost down. That was unexpected, I will admit. However, it’s exciting and scary and intense. I think where it gets intense for me at least is where there is a pulse of SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN beneath the mundane bits. Like, okay, there’s parts where they are just watching the outpost and protecting the garden and it’s quiet but you can totally feel that something is going to happen. THEN SOMETHING DOES. And it’s cray cray you guys, I can’t even go into it because I want you to just read it and experience it. Furthermore, I have all kinds of curiosity raised about the Freaks and what exactly they are. I guess though, all the questions will be answered with the final book. At least that is the impression I now have.

You guys, I totally ship Deuce and Fade. I will not even entertain the notion of Stalker, he’s a rapist, remember, so fuck him. I was terrified that Deuce would start to catch feelings for Stalker because he’s always around and like turning his personality from douchebag to kind of okay person. Thank God she does not. Instead, there’s more development of Deuce and Fade and yes, challenges to their relationship. But you guys, we get KISSING. We get COURTING. It is fantastic and amazing and ughhhhhh. But that cliffhanger? Oh I cannot. Right now I really cannot. Actually typing this all out kind of has me dashing for my copy of Horde and with that I am not typing anything else until I read it! AHH!

Disclosure: Review Copy Provided By Publisher

Other reviews of Outpost by Ann Aguirre:

Pure Imagination – “It took me a long time to get into the book.”
Great Imaginations – “This bad decision of a love triangle continues”
The Quiet Concert – “not the sequel I was hoping for”

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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