Outside

OUTSIDE is somewhat on the light side of the post-apocalypse genre. It's not by any means a funny or carefree approach to the material but it's far less dysfunctional than most stories set in this premise. In short - no mutant biker gangs or oppressive governments but some people do have it cushier than others. The novel is told in two parts - the main events/conflict and everything that lead up to it. These run parallel until converging together at the end and I won't spoil either storyline but [...]

I'm a big fan of post-apocolyptic novels, but what set this apart for me is that the setting for Outside could actually happen in the next 20 years if things continue the way they are. And that made it far more terrifying. I loved the intelligent plotting and intertwining storylines - all is not quite what it seems. Riley, the main character, is spot on, she's both brave and terrified in equal measure. Loved it.

Outside by Shalini Boland is a distopian look of England after a mass outbreak of terrorist attacks bombing everywhere. The government called the army back to handle domestic violence. Certain villagers built up perimiters cordoning off blocks of homes with armed guards.Riley is 17. She has a sister Skye who is 15. Someone broke into her perimeter and murdered her sister. Rileys dad takes it very bad as Skye was his favorite. Her mother takes to drinking and staying in her bedroom. Riley decides [...]

I'm really sorry Shalini, I wanted to like this book. I read to the end hoping it would be better, but it wasn't. The premise was good, but the execution struggled. I couldn't sympathise with the Riley, Luc or Riley's Mum, nor understand their motivations to do what they did. I didn't feel that the world was adequately developed, or explained why suddenly "everyone" was rioting or what they were rioting about. I don't understand how the character cried once about her sister and then moved on wit [...]

The world has been changed by a series of terror attacks, causing riots and subsequently segregation of the population into Perimeters for those who are lucky enough to have money and connections, or isolated trading posts where large parts of the population live in close quarters on the knifes edge of poverty. Religious nuts, raiders and scavengers roam the landscape looking for converts or victims. Most of the focus is on the two main characters, Riley and Luc, as they leave the safety of the [...]

This book was such a wonderful surprise. I purchased this Kindle ebook edition off recently for only $2.99 and so was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a great read. From the first page I could not put it down. The book was tagged as a "post-apocalyptic romance thriller," but it is so much more than that. This truly believable future world is divided by Perimeters: high-security gated communities for the privileged, where life goes on as normal. The strong female lead Riley, is a se [...]

Over a year ago I had the privilege of reading what has now become one of my all-time favourite YA vampire books. The book was called Hidden and it was written by fellow indie author, Shalini Boland. Since then, I have been eagerly awaiting her to release more. Imagine my delight, therefore, when I noticed she'd released a book entitled Outside. Initially I thought it was the long awaited sequel to Hidden. I was completely wrong about that, of course, but it didn't matter. I soon discovered that [...]

I finished this last night. It was a very exciting and fast paced read. The story is set in England at a time when bombings, riots and chaos have overtaken the world and law and order has collapsed. The well off have set up small communities with walls and private guards to protect them while the rest of the world fends for themselves outside the walls. The story shifts back and forth between a time just before the chaos told by Eleanor and the present time told by Riley. I liked this book so mu [...]

This is a post-apocalyptic romance tale. The World in the future is separated by Perimeters that are high security gated communities , where life goes on as normal. if you're inside you are lucky, if you're outside your survival rate is not looking so good.Riley is born on the inside, so lives a good privileged life, but it all comes crashing down around her when the perimeter is broken and her sister is murdered. Riley forsakes her safety and goes on a search for the killer. Luc decides to go w [...]

This is a copy of the review I left on . Shalini Boland has given us a realistic backdrop to her post-collapse YA love-story. I was particularly impressed by the way she used two different, interwoven timelines to give perspective on both the social breakdown and rise of the perimeters, and her story--managing to bring both these threads together in her conclusion. Nicely done. I enjoyed this drive through an English landscape changed by societal collapse, as much as I did the tale of two impetu [...]

came across Outside on a recommendation from . I have kind of a love-hate relationship with those Kindle store recommendations; sometimes they’re fantastic, and I get sucked into a whole series based on a lovely little suggestion.Other times, they are crap.We’ve been going through a bit of a crap phase lately, and I’ve had some samples I couldn’t even get through. I had to approach Outside with extreme caution, but it wasn’t horrible. In the end, I felt this one had real undeveloped po [...]

This hooked me straight away. Firstly because the set-up is so good and believable. I could imagine ‘Perimeters’ springing up, keeping the rich people separate from everyone else. I really liked Riley. She’s vulnerable but has the guts to go ‘outside’ and find her sister’s killer. In fact, all the characters are strong in this and some are downright terrifying. There’s a wicked twist and a smart secondary story that runs along alternately with Riley’s. For me, Outside quite happi [...]

A post-apocalytic romance thriller with a series of twists and turns.

Shalini Boland weaves a story of ‘Perimeters’ and devastation in a post-apocalyptic world. This story is told from two different character point of views, from different times in their history. Riley, a sixteen year old girl, who grew up inside the Perimeter walls, born after the terror attacks and devastation that happened to the world, and Eleanor, another teenage girl before the attacks. The ‘Perimeters’ are closed communities of people who are lucky, and rich, enough to buy safety. O [...]

Outside is set in a post apocalyptic Britain, where groups of residents have set up secure enclaves to shelter from the lawless un-predictable world outside. Following the story of two girls in different era’s, both have to make tough decisions which will have ramifications for their families.Riley, traumatised by the death of her sister is determined to seek revenge and ventures out into the “real” world in search of the murderer, but her privileged, sheltered life means there is no way s [...]

4.5 stars.Society has collapsed, and the lucky ones live in gated communities armed by private guards. Outside of these communities, there are no laws. This story is set in England. Riley's 14-year-old sister has been murdered, so she leaves her Perimeter to search for the killer. The story also has a second POV, which I won't say much about because it's meant to be a surprise, but it really added to the overall story, and I loved the not knowing for sure what it was all about until close to the [...]

This is a great, entertaining read. The world has been plunged into war and governments have disintegrated due to terrorism and this is the story of a girl in Britain, living with the consequences. After her sister is killed she decides to travel outside of her safe compound into an unknown and dangerous world. The author weaves the tale of Riley in with the story of Eleanor, a young girl living through the terrorism as it happens which gives you backstory without it clogging up the action. Both [...]

The story is a little all over the place and once you find out the identities of a few key persons, it becomes very predictable. The only reason for the post-apocalyptic setting is "terroist bombings" and there's no more depth to it than that. The twilight-esque "I'm so totally attracted to him that i can't focus on anything else" almost put me off, especially when this nonsense starts immediately in the second chapter and then proceeds to go nowhere other than to say the two get to be all mushy [...]

Post-apocalyptic novels are not my usual reading material, but I'm hugely enjoying Shalini Boland's 'Marchwood Vampire' series so I took a gamble on 'Outside'. I was pleased to find this well-written, an easy read with a lively pace and compelling storyline. The stories of Riley and Eleanor intersect well, with a few twists I didn't see coming. And Luc . . . if only I was a few decades younger!I'll definitely be purchasing the sequel.

I've just reread this book for the second time and it's as brilliant as it was the first time round. Outside is a page-turning dystopian novel that weaves in and out of two characters lives - Riley and Eleanor - I won't spoil it, but both perspectives are equally gripping and masterfully come together at the end. Highly recommended.

I give up.

Couldn't really follow. Not enough to keep me interested.

Review posted July 11th on a-reader-lives-a-thousand-liveBook 1 of the Outside series.I received a copy of Outside from the author in exchange for a review.Riley's sister Skye is found dead in the next door neighbor's pool house by their son Luc, the man suspected of murdering her is Ron Chambers, but he escaped. In her grief, Riley convinces Luc to go on a man hunt for Chambers with her, but that involves going outside of the perimeter fence, something she has never done. The perimeter was set [...]

The book begins with trouble. A daunting future of mankind. I was mortified as the events unfolded. It was gut wrenching to read of the death of a fourteen year old girl at the hands of a monster. The murder itself was not described that much in the beginning but the more pieces to the puzzle that surfaced the worse I felt about it. Make no mistake, The Outside is a fast paced, intriguing read that pulls you in and hangs on until the very end. A world divided into perimeters by terror was a stag [...]

SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN RISKI liked the book OUTSIDE by Shalini Boland for these reasons:The way that Ellie’s story flows into Riley’s, because Ellie is her mother. It knits together quite well, so I liked that.I liked how the author gave nothing away, so whenever there was a big revelation I didn’t see it coming, like when Fred and Jessie were traitors and when Connor was Ron Chambers and Skye's suspected killer.I did not like the book because:The book rushes into the plot too quickly, [...]

I had higher hopes for this book.It starts out slow.Too slow. Living secluded and secure, as the characters do, inside the perimeter didn’t help my liking of the book any either.It made the main character, Riley, seem too sheltered and vulnerable.She was subtle and vague and didn't really do much of anything worthy of noting other than laughing at her sisters death and getting herself and Luc into trouble.Yeah.Uhhhokay.Really!?WTF!Laughing at someones death, especially in your family, is so no [...]

(I received a copy from the author, in exchange for an honest review)Riley lives inside the perimeter, she's one of the lucky ones. With wastelands full of people doing anything they can do to survive, Outside is a dangerous place to be. Though, after suffering from the loss of her sister, This young girl puts her life in danger to bring her sister some justice. "Thinking of Skye gives me a shot of courage. No matter how scared i feel about everything, I know i have to do this for her. She was m [...]

This was a well crafted post apocalyptic tale. The world building was good and I generally enjoyed the story. I will track down the sequels and read those too. However I personally found the characterisation a bit loose and flimsy. I would have liked some more definite shape to Riley and the other's characters. I also found the dialogue unconvincing, it was clear and avoided being exposition in disguise but I felt it could have had more snap and sizzle. Of course those are entirely subjective op [...]

Although the setting of this novel would be considered post-apocalyptic that really is not what the story is about. I would place it more as a coming of age drama. I was hoping for something different with this one. It was an inventive idea in a unique setting, but the story mostly revolved around Riley going through and ordeal, and I did not get the resolution I was hoping for at the end. The was a closure, but no real resolution. Also I was dissapointed in the romance.*Spoiler to follow*There [...]

Thanks to Shalini Boland for giving me this book to reveiew and giveaway. I didn't know about this book until she contacted me, I'm glad she did. I'm a huge fan of post-apocalyptic novels.From the first page I was hooked. It was fast paced which made it a quick read. This is a futuristic dystopian set somewhere in England, which is divided by Perimeters, the Inside and the Outside. Life is good for those who live Inside of the Perimeter. For Riley, life is normal, until someone breaks into the P [...]