I love dystopian fiction and this book did not disappoint! I was gripped from the opening chapter. I cannot wait to read more by this author!

Riley lives in a safe and secure perimeter, but then why did she wake up to find her sister murdered? The world as we know is gone, chaos and distruction is the new norm. Outside compounds is the unknown, it's unsafe, and you have no idea who to trust. Riley lives within the boundaries of a safe place, but decides to venture outside those perimeters to get answers.

This was a book I couldn't stop reading once I started. There was so much action, there was never a dull moment. Everytime I thought that the book had reached its action amount another event would take place.

I enjoyed the relationship between Riley and Luc. The way it was written, telling 2 different timelines and finally joining them together, was written in a way that I couldn't figure out how they would match up or come together right away. I'm looking forward to reading book 2 in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley, Shalini Boland, and the publishers for this free ebook. This review is 100% my own and honest opinion.

Dystopian
Follows Riley's mom in the past and Riley as she goes and tries to find her sisters killer.
Riley's mom is a teenager as the world changes from terrorism.

Dystopia isn’t my favourite kind of book to read but it is popular within my library which is why I wanted to read this book.

I enjoyed the book on the whole, but it didn’t really grab me and was more of an average read.

Having said that I think this was more of a reflection on the genre rather than the book itself.

The book did set itself up well for a series and I think my students would like it.

The plot was fine, but who's running around in flip-flops in a post-apocalyptic world? It took me a while to figure out what the two perspectives were. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree with the decision-making between Elenore and Riley.

I will never say no to any book with post apocalypse theme. This one is not to be missed if you love post apocalypse, cult theme. I am looking forward to reading the sequel

A decent enough read from one of my favourite authors. Her over this genre isn’t for me. Thank you for the chance to review it.

Shalini Boland's YA dystopian fiction book "Outside (Outside Book 1)" is a thrilling tale of truth, survival, and an unorthodox love story. After tragedy, the protagonist, reared in a high-security complex, seeks justice. She enters the mysterious world beyond the complex when her younger sister dies, shattering her prejudices.

Boland's story follows the heroine and her resourceful best friend into the bush, meeting unforeseen hardships and bonding. Romance ignites among the harsh realities of the outside world, exploring the complexity of emotions and survival.

The novel's speed and Boland's evocative descriptions make the apocalyptic world come alive. Well-developed characters and narrative twists give complexity to the story. The heroine faces fresh threats, building tension and making readers curious about her sister's murder and the dystopian society.

I am a big fan of post apocalyptic style settings, so Outside was right up my alley for themes for a book series. I did enjoy this first one and look forward to the rest.

I really enjoyed this book, for me it was a great and strong start to the series. The world building was brilliant and I loved the characters. Would definitely recommend!

Interesting premise, though not totally unique. It had been a while since I had read a true dystopia. The book seems to have disappeared from retail sites, which seems odd.

I loved the concept of this book and found it incredibly interesting to read. The different compounds and the wild world outside them were fascinating themes to read about and I loved reading both about the characters and the various relationship dynamics. The plot twists in the book were amazing and surprising in the best way, and I can’t wait to read more from this author. I would definitely recommend this to any fans of dystopian books such as Divergent or The Hunger Games.

I really wanted to love this book especially since I already have Books 2 and 3. Unfortunately, I couldn't relate to any of the characters. This was not because the book is directed at the YA crowd. I couldn't respect Eleanor's decisions, and both Skye ad Riley acted like the spoiled children that they were, but more so. Riley's decisions were as stupid as their mothers. I kept saying stupid idiot in my mind. I mean if you pack all this ammo, food and clothing, etc, you would think you'd wear something more on your feet than flip-flops to hunt down a killer. The story jumped back and forth between two perspectives, and it took me longer than it should have to be able to connect them. After I figured that out, the twist was a given. The actual plot was quite good, and some of the adventures that Luc and Riley got caught up in were interesting, It was also a fairly fast read.

My current country is sitting in political ruins and this book surely hit home in such a riveting way. I was equally horrified and entranced with the ongoings of this complicated story. I can't wait to read more and watch these characters who I learned to both like, love, and despise!

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is completely different from any other book I have read by Shalini Boland. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to read yet another dystopian/survival/apocalyptic book, as I read quite a few several years back; however, Sahlini Boland wrote this...

I have to say< I really enjoyed this. In a way, I never thought things could ever be as bad as they are in this book--but with all the recent disagreements leading to loss of life in our country, I guess that thought could be wrong. So much of this might actually happen if we ended up having terrorists do something like they did in this book.

The realistic descriptions were well done, and the characterization was excellent.

Title: A Riveting Start to a Thrilling Series

Outside, the first book in Shalini Boland's gripping series, promises an exhilarating journey into a dystopian world that will leave readers on the edge of their seats.

The story is set in a post-apocalyptic landscape where the outside world is shrouded in danger and uncertainty. Boland masterfully crafts this world, immersing readers in its chilling atmosphere and relentless tension. Her vivid descriptions paint a vivid picture of the desolation and fear that pervades every corner of this dystopian realm.

The protagonist, Riley, is a strong and determined character who faces numerous challenges as she ventures outside her safe haven. Boland's character development is commendable, and readers will find themselves rooting for Riley as she battles not only external threats but also her internal struggles.

The pacing of the novel is relentless, with each chapter unveiling new secrets and dangers. Boland's ability to keep readers guessing and craving for more is a testament to her storytelling prowess. The plot twists are expertly executed, adding depth to the narrative and leaving readers eager to delve deeper into the series.

While Outside is undeniably a page-turner, it also delves into thought-provoking themes such as survival, trust, and the resilience of the human spirit. Boland's exploration of these themes adds a layer of depth to the story that elevates it beyond a typical dystopian thriller.

In conclusion, Shalini Boland's Outside is a compelling start to a series that promises to captivate readers with its thrilling narrative and well-developed characters. If you're a fan of dystopian fiction filled with suspense and heart-pounding action, this book is a must-read. Boland's skillful storytelling will leave you eagerly anticipating the next installment in the series.

This is a very good young adult book. About the love between two friends as they try to navigate a world full of uncertainty, revenge a d family secrets. It has a duel timeline timeline. It follows Riley who is getting revenge kg his friends who was killed. So much happens in both worlds. I really like how the setting of the worlds comes to life.

A brilliant series about the love between friends within a world of uncertainly, revenge and family secrets. Each one starts with dual timelines following main character Riley in the present who goes on a revenge mission with best friend Luc, to find the killer of her little sister Skye.

So much more happens in both books two and three.

The setting for this series overall is very well written, I loved the description of a new world where town and cities have perimeters around them to protect them from outsiders. It had a feel of ‘The Walking Dead’ to it minus the zombies. Brilliantly developed characters meant I wanted to find out what happened next so I dove straight into The Clearing.

It started out really well and interesting, then it drew very very slow and you got no explanations to anything. I have no clue what happened in the world to make it the way it is, I have no idea why there was a "before" segment at all and I really don't care about any of the characters.

I'm really sorry but this fell so flat for me. There was no depth and the whole premise was completely off compared what the book was actually about. I was expecting a dystopia with a story connected to said dystopic world, but I got a very long drive with two kids that ended up being completely useless and the whole thing could've been solved by just actually talking. This was not what it announced to be, there is nothing on anything dystopic, just gun flailing idiots and miscommunication tropes. I can not recommend this to anyone looking for a dystopia.

I was given a copy of this series from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.

I read the 3 book series in one go, which at times was a challenge as the storylines are very repetitive, but I wanted to try and really get stuck in.

The cover design (which is different from the one shown on Goodreads) was what initially drew me to the book, and the blurb drew me in further as it sounded like an exciting and unique storyline and I am.a sucker for a series as it gives the best chance of being transported into a totally different world for longer than just one book allows for!

OVERALL STORY SETUP: 4.5 /5 - The overall setup was uniquely brilliant, the idea of these little fortifications/perimeters was really clever I thought and it gave me a kind of Walking Dead (sans Zombies obvs) vs Hunger Games kind of vibe and the general idea of these little man made towns following a national meltdown I thought was brilliant.


PLOT: 3.5/5 - I actually thought the main plot from the first book was good mixing these homely perimeters with an bad perimeter stealing children and the main characters going on a rescue operation trying to infiltrate and save people was good.

Outside kind of has two storylines running in tandem with the other being historic about a time "before" the man made towns were created.
One problem I found with this is that the historic storyline had absolutely zero explanation as to why it was included at first and it was almost like another book and also was dragged out unnecessarily at times, becoming repetitive until it reached an anticlimactic end where you thought "yeah, guessed that but what's happening now with that, surely there's something MORE than just letting us know.

Another thing I took huge issue with was people doing absolutely unforgiveable things only for the characters to be like "meh, it's fine, let's all get along and trust despite you demolishing my trust to a near fatal point just last week" which seemed unbelievable

CHARACTERS 3/5- the characters were very 1 dimensional and whilst I did like the main girl, I wouldn't say I remembered anything specific about her afterwards other than she kind of flitted between katnis everdean and being scared of everything which didnt make sense. She also had a lot of internal monologue which she was didnt say out loud due to awkwardness but then she would say other things that made you think "if you are happy to say this why are you suddenly not able to say that". I much preferred the additional characters who appeared along the way, but I did find that there were too many unimportant characters that took up too much space in the book, which meant it drifted from the actual storyline.

WRITING 2.5/5 This is where the series fell down. The writing came across as just sentence after sentence and lacked any real depth or descriptive experiences. It's such a shame because the ideas were great, but it felt like this should have been a first draft before you edit out the unnecessary fluff and you build on the main things like characters.


Overall 3/5. An easy to read series and a great idea but lacking dimension and realistic character profiles

Posted to Goodreads already www.goodreads.com/reading_in_the_fast_lane