The Lair by Emily McKay

Summary:
In the battle against the vampiric Ticks, humanity was slowly but certainly headed for extinction. For months, twin sisters Lily and Mel had been "quarantined” with thousands of other young people being harvested for their blood—food for the Ticks. Finally escaping with a few friends, the twins are separated—and must continue the fight on their own . . .

After making it to a resistance base camp in Utah, Lily learned to survive at all costs. But when a Tick attack decimates the fighters, Lily and her pregnant friend, McKenna, decide to make the hard trek north to Canada—and safety.

Meanwhile, Mel is being taught how to survive by the very vampire that turned her. Living without her sister is hard, but dealing with the fact that her autism was cured by the vampire bite is an even bigger challenge.

But when a monstrous betrayal places Lily in mortal danger, Mel must set out to find her, save her, and begin to unravel the empire of destruction that the Ticks have built. (from GoodReads)

Review:
I feel like this trilogy is really underappreciated. It's kind of one of those hidden gems and gets lost among the plethora of paranormal and vampire novels that are flooding the market. I know vampires are pretty passé right now but The Farm and The Lair surprisingly breathe new life into this genre.

What makes The Farm Trilogy so interesting is that it combines paranormal and post-apocalyptic elements to create a new type of story. And not only are there vampires, but there are ticks, which are vampire/zombie hybrids and are pretty frightening when you think about it. When you start the books you'll be overwhelmed by all the new terminology and all the different plots going on, but it all weaves together so wonderfully and you get a great story out of all it.

The Lair is similar to its predecessor in that it changes points-of-view between Lily, Mel and Carter. What confused me slightly was that the narration for Mel and Carter is first person while Lily's chapters are third-person. No idea why that is. Regardless, I enjoyed getting the different perspectives especially since at some points all three are own their own. So we get even more story!

Another qualm I had about the novel was I'm not sure what year it's supposed to be. I'm guessing around 2012-2013? I only say this because the author makes some really current references, like the Seal Team 6 killing Osama bin Laden and One Direction. I'm not sure if they fit on the timeline or not. But it's obviously not a huge deal in the big picture.

The Lair is full of twists, turns, action, fear, sadness and hope. Some of the twists I predicted and some I did not expect at all. I enjoyed being surprised at those points. Honestly, I think Emily McKay is just telling a really good story and I can't wait to see what happens next. I hope she writes the last book quickly; I don't know if I'll be able to wait another year!

Rating: 10 out 10.
FTC: sent copy from publisher

2013/Berkley Trade/432 pages