Review: Dark & Gritty With Lots of Steamy Encounters
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 25, 2013
At first glance The Pulse poses an intriguing hypothesis giving readers a dark and gritty look into a post-apocalyptic world that's brought out the best and worst in people just trying to survive.  While demonstrating how one man's power lets him and his soldiers use women for their own means, one woman who knows there's better out in the world bonds with a prisoner who doesn't want responsibility.  Interspersed into these life and death situations are numerous sexual encounters that take over the story at times and sometimes felt out of place considering the constant life and death struggle going on.There's very little happiness to be found in this bleak world where every second could be your last, especially for a woman without protection.  It's for that reason than sweet-natured nurse Emily is first drawn to escaped murderer Mason.  She needs protection as she leaves for what she thinks is the promise land and his initial attraction to her and desire to see her safe have the two of them struggling to find a place where they can be together living under their own rules.  Emily was a character to like one moment and be annoyed by the next.  She never quite got out of the habit of bartering sex for safety as could be seen in many of her early interactions with Mason.  She was a hypocrite at times when it came to the idea of kill or be killed which left me exasperated with her childish attitude.  Mason on the other hand understood the harsh realities of this new world and while he wanted to be the kind of man she deserved he never wanted to put her at risk for being anything other than boldly aggressive in defense of her.  He's the kind of man you can admire for his honesty, survival instincts, and ability to go after a small dream for him and the woman he's come to love.While being part of Emily and Mason's journey cross-country to find a safe haven, we also get to see the continuing degradation to those women left behind at Grand Central Station.  There's images reminiscent of the Holocaust in how the women live and survive that's truly disturbing.  Even more disturbing is the way Jenna, the friend Emily left behind, deals with her way of life.  She embraces it to make it easier to deal with which makes it very unpleasant for the reader.  Her eyes were opened in a dramatic way at the end of this story which sets her on a journey of her own which will be told in the next story in the Pulse Trilogy.  This was a story not always easy to read but it is compelling with this new world vividly depicted.  It's a dark, gritty, and oftentimes depressing read with very little hope.  Thankfully there is a HEA which has me wanting to come back for more.3.75 STARS!!!