Blog Tour Stop: Review of Primal by D.A. Serra

We were given a copy of this book by Virtual Author Book Tours for our fair and honest review.

Primal by D.A. Serra
Dani’s rating: 5 stars 
Steph’s rating: 5 stars
Overall Rating: 5 stars

Format: e-book
Publisher: Perry Street Pictures Inc. 
Pages: 218

Goodreads Synopsis:
This thriller story, originally purchased by one of America's most popular storytellers, James Cameron, is now a novel!

What if the worst happens and you're not a policemen, or a soldier, or a spy with weapons training and an iron heart. What if you're a schoolteacher - a mother? In this gritty crime thriller a family vacation takes a vicious turn when a fishing camp is invaded by four armed men. With nothing except her brains, her will, and the element of surprise on her side, Alison must kill or watch her family die. And then, things gets worse

 Dani’s Review: 

When Alison Kraft's son Jimmy asks to go to a fishing camp far, far away from civilization for his birthday, the Kraft family's world is thrown into pandemonium...

Primal is truly a staggering crime and psychological thriller. The fact that it is D. A. Serra’s debut novel makes it all the more stupefying, and readers will be left eagerly anticipating more works from this promising new author. Readers will find themselves holding their breaths as they read about the fatal fishing trip that changes Alison, once a rather quiet and shy schoolteacher, into a primal “animal” who will do whatever it takes to save her family. D.A. Serra’s writing style completely submerges the reader in the story and renders the entire plotline believable and utterly real.

What really made this book amazing is D.A Serra's writing. She carefully manipulated simple words to  convey each character’s emotions. She is a MASTER of words, making each individual scene blossom vividly in my mind. I am in awe of this amazing lady! Primal would make an AWESOME movie, especially since James Cameron would be directing it! Ms. Serra changed the point of view between both major and minor characters so I could really understand each character’s different yet somehow connected lives. A prison warden who guards a dangerous murderer unknowingly is the catalyst for the Kraft family’s unfortunate “vacation to hell”. Somehow Ms. Serra tied all her characters together even though some had never met each other! Flawless writing.

Primal could almost be classified as a psychological thriller because of the emotions of the characters. It was really interesting to get inside the killer’s mind and find out how they think--how they could quell the lives of innocents without any qualms. The Kraft family, especially Alison had to recover from their trip and return to their normal lives. Alison battles her tumultuous emotions and attempts to go against her instincts. She thinks that the killer is hunting her and her family.  But, when she tries to take controversial precautions including buying two HUGE guns, she is ostracized by her closest allies, her family. No one believes her. The entire community thinks she’s crazy.

The vivid descriptions in Primal are a lot like movie scenes. Let me show you a passage from Primal to show you what I mean...

Dan says to Hank,"Maybe you should have left her at the spa."

Hank defends, "Hey, she's a trooper. She came along and it--"

The front door bursts open! Violent winds and sheeting rain blast into the room along with the four Burne brothers. Around the dinner table, mouths drop open and eyes widen.

The theme of the word "primal" appears often in this book. Well, it is called Primal. This book involves how people can revert to their primal instincts when circumstances call for them to emerge. When Alison's son Jimmy is threatened, she is willing to sacrifice herself to save him. This is only the beginning of her newfound intuition.

My words do not give justice to how good Primal is. Even if you don't like thrillers very much, I advise you to still read Primal! Before reading Primal, I didn't like thrillers very much because they are often not realistic, but Primal has changed my mindset. Okay, so a part of Primal's plot may not seem very realistic, but Ms. Serra sucked me into the plot and her writing made the entire thing seem believable! So get your hands on a copy of Primal now! Or...Enter our giveaway tomorrow for a PDF of PRIMAL! Also, there will be an interview with Mrs. Serra tomorrow.

Steph's Thoughts: 

Like Dani stated, reading Primal is almost like watching a movie. Every scene, every action, and every thought in Primal is described in such thorough detail, almost as if an image is being directly painted into your mind. A lot of the times, readers will want a book to "get to the point" because lots of description can really drag on, but D.A. Serra manages to weave her words together in a way that gives you lots of information, while still keeping you completely engrossed in the book. It is truly one of a kind.

Because of all these descriptions, you are able to connect to the main characters to what feels like molecular level. I know I did. All of the suspense and tension Serra creates throughout really builds up to an absolutely explosive climactic point that I actually wasn't expecting. I felt scared for Alison, and somehow I felt scared for myself too. Reading Primal just leaves you with a completely indescribable feeling, because you know that the events in it could really happen to anyone--including yourself. This work is very original, and is like a good dose of reality especially to a paranormal fiction reader (i.e. me). 

 

I recommend this to everyone! You will be amazed by Primal's story and D.A. Serra's writing style, and you will be left with an unforgettable feeling!