Unwrapping a Review of MERCURY STRIKING, a Scorpius Syndrome novel by Rebecca Zanetti

Before reading MERCURY STRIKING, book one in the Scorpius Syndrome series by Rebecca Zanetti, I had not read anything by this extraordinary author. I had several people recommend this book to me on Goodreads and so decided to look into it. After reading an excerpt, I was beyond intrigued and so requested a galley from the publisher at NetGalley. I’m so glad I got approved!

***eARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for MERCURY STRIKING:

“Thrilling post-apocalyptic romance at its dark, sizzling best!”—Lara Adrian

"Nothing is easy or black or white in Zanetti's grim new reality, but hope is key, and I hope she writes faster!” —New York Times bestselling author Larissa Ione

With nothing but rumors to lead her, Lynne Harmony has trekked across a nightmare landscape to find one man—a mysterious, damaged legend who protects the weak and leads the strong. He’s more than muscle and firepower—and in post-plague L.A., he’s her only hope. As the one woman who could cure the disease, Lynne is the single most volatile—and vulnerable—creature in this new and ruthless world. But face to face with Jax Mercury…

Danger has never looked quite so delicious…

~*~                ~*~                ~*~             ~*~

Life is over as humans know it on planet Earth. A virulent bacterium has swept across the landscape killing most of the human population. Of those who have been infected and survived, they are changed…some for the better making them stronger, smarter, and who knows what else. But many others have been changed in a more evil sense of the word. Rippers, the survivors whose brains have been drained of sanity and empathy wander the earth in search of anything they can kill. But some Rippers are so intelligent, devious, and potentially evil that their insanity can pass as sanity...or so they think.

Lynne Harmony is Blue Heart…the former head of infectious diseases at the CDC and a survivor of the Scorpius bacterium only it left her heart glowing blue with the ink of a mutant squid. After escaping her CDC prison, she seeks the one man who might be strong enough, savvy enough, and tough enough to not only protect her from the enemy seeking her return to captivity, but also might be willing to kill someone for her—Jax Mercury. She knows he and the others won’t trust her, will be afraid of her, and she can't blame them but she might be able to give something in return…her intelligence and expertise pertaining to a possible cure for Scorpius.

Jax Mercury is a man who protects. He doesn’t have to be the ultimate leader and hero to the ragtag group of people who make up the Vanguard community under his protection but it’s who he is so when Lynne Harmony, a beautiful, intelligent, and extraordinary woman falls under his protection, he is determined to protect her. Learning to feel emotion, especially love, was not what he’d bargained for.

MERCURY STRIKING by Rebecca Zanetti is probably one of the best, if not the absolute best story, I’ve read in a long while. I’ve read some good books but this one kept me glued to my reader tighter than any have before. MERCURY STRIKING is Richard Matheson's I AM LEGEND meets The Walking Dead meets Typhoid Mary. It’s action-packed, edge of the seat gripping, sexy, and intelligently terrifying because it’s so real. This could actually happen and probably will someday.

The characters are rich, lifelike, and emotional even while tight-lipped and cautious. The secondary characters are as real as the main characters and we, as the reader, get caught up in their friendships even though they've been short-lived and superficial for the most part. When one of the main secondary characters dies, it tears at the heart and be prepared to cry. It truly made my chest hurt.

MERCURY STRIKING by Rebecca Zanetti might not be for everyone but if you love a good post-apocalyptic story and a heady romance with great heat, this story is for you and I highly, highly recommend you reading it. I was reading on a time crunch and still didn’t want it to end. I read the preview at the end for SHADOW FALLING, book two in the Scorpius Syndrome series and I am itching to get to it. September is to hell and gone a long way off, and I already want more of Vanguard and the amazing people who survive there.

Happy Reading Everyone!

MERCURY STRIKING, a Scorpius Syndrome novel by Rebecca Zanetti, Zebra Books, Kensington Publishing, available now in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes &Noble, and Kobobooks.