The Lair by Emily McKay

As I mentioned yesterday in my post on The Farm, today I'm part of the blog tour for Emily McKay's The Lair. Warning, if you've not yet read The Farm there will be spoilers below!

Refresher: so yeah, a vampire-like plague has taken over the country. The baddies are called Ticks. Lily and her sister, Mel, were saved by Carter who, along with the vampire Sebastian, hoped Lily could help save humanity. Instead it turned out Mel was the one they were looking for, which they only discovered just before she became a vampire.

While Mel is left to train with Sebastian, Carter, Lily, and McKenna make their way to Utah where the resistance camp is based. But the camp may not be the salvation they'd all hoped. When they arrive they find that the camp has recently been attacked by one of their own who was infected. With their numbers depleted and folks afraid to leave, resources are scarce. But the Ticks are as persistent as ever and the original plan to defeat them is seemingly blown. If she's to save herself and the others Lily will have to come up with an alternative and quick. 

You notice I said it's up to Lily and not Carter to come up with a plan. He's there. He's planning, but Lily is still as kick-ass as she was in the first outing. I love her. She's stubborn and persistent, but smart. Carter kind of drives me nuts in the beginning trying to keep her safe and sound. Not apocalypse practical, man!

It's strange how often a sequel can disappoint after a fabulous start. Fortunately that wasn't the case at all here. I loved The Lair just as much as The Farm. In fact, after finishing The Farm I couldn't wait to get back to the story and the characters, so I really had quite high expectations to begin with. The Lair delivered on all counts.

One twist in McKay's books that I really enjoy is the way the Ticks came about. This idea that while there have always been vampires but no one knew and then an outbreak causes the Ticks is a particularly cool twist to the more common vampire lore. I also really liked the detail that McKay employed to explain the outbreak - there's a bit of this in The Farm and more in The Lair. It added an extra layer of believability to the whole scenario. I'm a sucker for a good outbreak story. I sometimes like to say that if I'd been a stronger science student I might have ended up studying virology. There's just something so intriguing about it all.

Happily there is to be a follow up. According to McKay (and I read it here in My Bookish Ways's fabulous interview - she's doing a giveaway too so I highly suggest checking it out) it's tentatively titled The Vault. Um, big yay!

Rating: 4.5/5