Review – Sheltered by Justin S. Leslie

Posted March 22, 2021 by Carole in Audiobook, Book Reviews / 8 Comments

Sheltered by Justin S. Leslie
Narrated by Jarret Lemaster
Series: The Sinking Man Series #1
Publisher: Justin Leslie
Publication Date: October 13, 2020
Date Read: March 10, 2021
Length: 3 hours and 41 minutes
Source: Author
★★★★☆

Sheltered follows Ben’s journey in Northeast Florida to reunite with his wife, Sarah, and survive a world full of zombies. This limited-run series is set to be released as novella shorts. Yes, the zombies are the problem, not everyone you run into. The Sinking Man series is written to have several short novellas released throughout the year and is geared toward TV adaptation.

Ben and his wife, Sarah, had a front-row seat for the apocalypse. Unfortunately, they were from different sides of the country. Separated by a ravaging virus, the couple finds themselves struggling to reunite during a time that feels like the end of days.

While Ben sat in his secluded upscale riverside house, infected people ravaged the countryside. The plan was simple. If either of them ever got separated, they would make their way home.

Fans of Keith C. Blackmore, Robert Kirkman, and Max Brooks, will want to listen to this series!

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My Review

I really enjoyed this story! If you follow my reviews, you have probably noticed that I am a rather eclectic reader. There just aren’t a lot of genres that I won’t read but there are a few that I tend to enjoy more than others and I cannot resist a good end of the world story. Throw in some zombies and I am even happier. I was really excited to read this novella-length piece and I ended up having a fantastic time with it.

Ben has spent the past year in his house in a wealthy neighborhood. Ben and his wife were prepared for an apocalypse with a nice cache of supplies and an extensive solar power set up. Ben has been alone this whole time as his wife, Sarah, was needed to help with the outbreak. Ben decides that he needs to leave his isolated safety and leave a message for his wife whom he thinks is on her way back home.

I really liked the setup of this story. Instead of a desperate person with no supplies, Ben is a well-prepared man whose biggest problem during the apocalypse has been a case of loneliness. When he heads out, he does not know what he is going to find. He has encountered zombies in his neighborhood but in a limited number. Ben was a great character and I thought that he was more than capable. There were a couple of additional characters introduced and I found them to be very likable as well.

Jarret Lemaster did a wonderful job with this story. I don’t believe that I have had the opportunity to listen to this narrator before but I really liked what he did with this story. I thought that he was able to bring Ben to life quite well and that he added a lot of excitement to the story. He had a very pleasant voice and I believe that his narration added to my enjoyment of the story.

I would recommend this book to others. This was a great start to a very promising series. I thought that this book had great characters with enough action (and zombies) to keep things very interesting. I cannot wait to see what happens to this group of characters in the next installment.

I received a review copy of this audiobook from the author.

About the Author

Justin S. Leslie is a fervent urban fantasy fan, and newly published author. He is a retired, highly decorated army major who has completed two combat tours in Afghanistan. Justin has focused on building his own magical worlds to share with readers, as well as enjoying ones created by fellow authors.

Justin also holds an MBA from the University of Maryland with a Bachelors from Maryville College, and currently runs a national sales program for a Global 50 company. When he isn’t playing music or spending time with his wife and two boys, he can be found in his Doctors Inlet home, immersed in the latest urban fantasy, or a well-made old fashioned. His inspiration has come from all the other authors in the genre who’ve helped him through endless tough hours needing an escape.

Author Links: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Amazon