Format Read:Paperback copy provided from the publisher for review
Number of Pages:312 pages
Release Date:June 4th 2013
Publisher:Spencer Hill Press
Formats Available: Paperback, Kindle Edition, e-book
Purchasing Info: Goodreads | Author’s Website | Publisher | Book Depository (US) | Book Depository (UK) | Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Book Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it’s in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it’s a balm for the broken soul.

After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That’s the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating… monsters.

Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life–a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

My Thoughts:
PODs by Michelle Pickett is a rather difficult book for me to review and rate I’m afraid. And it’s difficult because even though I enjoyed reading it and I finished it in no time it could easily have been so much better. The potential of a great story was all there. And even though I can’t deny that PODs had a very interesting story the execution just complicated things a bit.

First of all, let me just say that I found the idea of PODs extremely fascinating. I kind of love dystopian novels and lately I seem to pick one great dystopian novel after the other, so the idea of a deadly virus that wipes out almost the entire human population and leaves only small groups of people to pick up the pieces just made me love PODs before I even picked the book up!
Maybe the idea behind PODs isn’t all that original. But I couldn’t care less. After all I haven’t read anything similar, even though there are similar books out there, and the certain Walking Dead vibe I was getting made me appreciate Michelle Pickett’s effort all the more.
And here I have to take some time and note that even though the idea of a deadly virus wiping out almost the entire human population isn’t something new, the way Pickett planned the PODs and how the government planned to contain the virus was simply amazing and well thought. It wasn’t just something done in haste. Pickett had an entire plan in her head and managed to communicate it to her readers but unfortunately the fact that PODs was actually at least two books squeezed in one didn’t leave much room for all that brilliance to shine. Because my main problem with PODs was it’s pace and how many information was squeezed in one book.

Throughout this story, there were large amounts of time that just passed in a blink of an eye. Literally. 15 months of seclusion in the PODs were squeezed in a matter of 100 pages, probably less. And that was such a shame. Because that way we couldn’t really see how 10 strangers could live underground with nothing really special to do. We couldn’t really see how that seclusion affected them nor what exactly was the dynamic of the relationship between all those strangers. We were just informed that any relationship progressed rather than witness it. It was just stated that they were affected by everything that was happening rather than see how each character developed through all the dramatic things that kept happening. We were being told that they were afraid but we couldn’t sense their fear. Because usually in a chapter of 5 pages there was covered a span of two months. So it’s only natural that things would go on the fast forward. Only that fact kind of ruined the potential of this story I’m afraid.

The same thing unfortunately applies to the romance of this story too. There was real chemistry between Eva and David, there was a spark between them but it couldn’t possibly be fully explored and felt while months were passing by in a blink of an eye. With the chemistry between them imagine how great a story could PODs be if we could actually read how their relationship developed. But no, Eva and David went from friends to undying love in a blink of an eye. And it saddens me to say something negative about the romantic part of this book because their chemistry was great and better than other books out there that try really hard to show the reader how perfect is the hero for the heroine.

Anyway, PODs is one of those books I really enjoyed reading but I had more than a few problems with it, despite how much I enjoyed it. Michelle Pickett has a strong voice and I dare hope that we should expect great things from her. It’s not that PODs is a bad book, far from it. It’s just that it could have been so much better. After all ,the potential is all right there, in front of the reader’s eyes.

I give PODs 3.5 stars

About Anna

Anna is a psychologist from Greece.You can almost always find her with a book stuck under her nose,so it's no wonder that all her friends make a joke of her.Apart from reading she dreams of the day she'll be able to travel around the world!Anna also blogs at Books to Brighten your Mood.

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