The Survivalists
- Downloads：9947
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-01-14 18:21:48
- Update Date：2025-09-14
- Status：finish
- Author：Kashana Cauley
- ISBN：B09XM489Z7
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Shernell
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FOR FANS OF LITERARY FICTION AS WELL AS HUMOR Readers of Zakiya Harris， Ling Ma， Nafissa Thompson-Spires， and Paul Beatty will come to this as well as fans of Tina Fey， Mindy Kaling， Amy Poehler， and Amy Schumer。The Survivalists by Kashana CauleyPub Date: January 10， 2023Thank you to @softskullpress for the gifted copy and @cocoreaders for making me part of this tour！ Synopsis:In the wake of her parents’ death， Aretha， a habitually single Black lawyer， has had only one obsession in life—success— FOR FANS OF LITERARY FICTION AS WELL AS HUMOR Readers of Zakiya Harris， Ling Ma， Nafissa Thompson-Spires， and Paul Beatty will come to this as well as fans of Tina Fey， Mindy Kaling， Amy Poehler， and Amy Schumer。The Survivalists by Kashana CauleyPub Date: January 10， 2023Thank you to @softskullpress for the gifted copy and @cocoreaders for making me part of this tour！ Synopsis:In the wake of her parents’ death， Aretha， a habitually single Black lawyer， has had only one obsession in life—success—until she falls for Aaron， a coffee entrepreneur。 Moving into his Brooklyn brownstone to live along with his Hurricane Sandy-traumatized， illegal-gun-stockpiling， optimized-soy-protein-eating， bunker-building roommates， Aretha finds that her dreams of making partner are slipping away， replaced by an underground world， one of selling guns and training for a doomsday that’s maybe just around the corner。I liked the book， which was different from what I usually read。 I found that the main character， Aretha， and her friendship with Nia to be very enjoyable。 The book's writing style， which is in the form of stream of consciousness narrative and satire， was also appreciated。 I was intrigued by the book's discussion of various social and economic topics， particularly those related to the Black community， such as climate change， gun ownership， entrepreneurship， affordable housing， and microaggressions in the workplace。 I look forward to more work from the author， Kashana Cauley。 。。。more
Janalyn Prude
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When Aretha meets Aaron she really likes him despite the strange motto for his tactical coffee and his weird roommates。 Her best friend however doesn’t feel the same she thinks there’s something not right about him and Aretha can almost agree I mean his friends with doom propers and survivalists who can’t decide on what they’re preparing for and what exactly they’re going to need all the stuff they’re accumulating when she moves in with him however her opinion changes from those strength people When Aretha meets Aaron she really likes him despite the strange motto for his tactical coffee and his weird roommates。 Her best friend however doesn’t feel the same she thinks there’s something not right about him and Aretha can almost agree I mean his friends with doom propers and survivalists who can’t decide on what they’re preparing for and what exactly they’re going to need all the stuff they’re accumulating when she moves in with him however her opinion changes from those strength people to her strange people and her goals change as well she wants wanted to be a successful lawyer that made lots of money but now she daydreams about giving out vegetables with the fellow prepers。 When she first met Aaron she was glad he didn’t have parents that she would have to impress but little did you know he would have an extended family but in the end she wanted to be a part of。 I love this book they had so many lol moments Ronaldo enjoyed the strangeness of the doomsday preppers I still don’t understand them at all but it made for a really great book and one I highly recommend。 I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review。 。。。more
Lecy Beth
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I was curious about this book when I first heard about it and it didn't disappoint。 Love has the ability to change one's life drastically， and that's precisely what happens to our protagonist， Aretha。 Cauley's writing is solid and quick-witted。 I enjoyed this immensely。 *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review。） I was curious about this book when I first heard about it and it didn't disappoint。 Love has the ability to change one's life drastically， and that's precisely what happens to our protagonist， Aretha。 Cauley's writing is solid and quick-witted。 I enjoyed this immensely。 *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review。） 。。。more
Traci Thomas
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The synopsis of this book drew me in， and to my surprise it was weirder than I had imagined。 I liked the book a lot， but felt it went on a little long in places and I wanted a little more action。 I liked the characters a lot and felt like Cauley did a great job brining real world ideas into this fictional landscape without feeling preachy or even too on the nose。 If you like a little strange with your books， this on is for you。
Ellis
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 （A 4 and a half star read） The Survivalists is a novel that reads like a movie， seamlessly playing out the scenes of a year plus of Aretha’s life as she goes from sensible， by the book lawyer to a version of herself she doesn’t recognize， but kind of loves。 A relationship with ultra hip coffee-roaster Aaron’s unfolds， leading Aretha down an unfamiliar path which she embraces without thinking too much of the subtle changes poking holes in her idyllic life。 It’s unlike Aretha to not overthink ever （A 4 and a half star read） The Survivalists is a novel that reads like a movie， seamlessly playing out the scenes of a year plus of Aretha’s life as she goes from sensible， by the book lawyer to a version of herself she doesn’t recognize， but kind of loves。 A relationship with ultra hip coffee-roaster Aaron’s unfolds， leading Aretha down an unfamiliar path which she embraces without thinking too much of the subtle changes poking holes in her idyllic life。 It’s unlike Aretha to not overthink everything。 Aretha， what are you thinking？ I found myself wanting to shake some sense into her， but I doubt she’d listen。 Dark humor plays well against a cast of players who are alternately fighting against and dancing with the trauma that’s brought them all together。 This book had me thinking I need a go-bag， then thinking “damn I need therapy”， as it exposes the survivalist lifestyle。 。。。more
Kimberly
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So good—I hope Cauley writes another book 🤞🏽
Emily
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Ok， Thanks to Netgalley for an ARE， I have to admit I couldnt get through it， you'll see that I have given it four stars， that is a testament to how well i liked the writing， but that was the problem， it was too tense， i couldn't take it， the inevitable downturn was too menacing for me。 Ok， Thanks to Netgalley for an ARE， I have to admit I couldnt get through it， you'll see that I have given it four stars， that is a testament to how well i liked the writing， but that was the problem， it was too tense， i couldn't take it， the inevitable downturn was too menacing for me。 。。。more
Matt
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very interesting premise， but i feel like the synopsis is a bit misleading as this is really more of a coming-of-age/self-discovery type of story rather than a plotty story about extremists。 i think i also would’ve enjoyed this more if it was written in first person - i felt it kept Aretha a bit distant from the reader
Kmulliki
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review at https://coffeerainandbooks。my。canva。s。。。 review at https://coffeerainandbooks。my。canva。s。。。 。。。more
Kathleen Gray
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How does one fall down the rabbit hole？ That's what happens to Aretha in this tale of woman who has been striving all of her life and is suddenly unmoored when she falls in love。 Aretha is an attorney who has worked hard to get close to partnership。 Aaron own a coffee company in Brooklyn and lives with a group who are best described as a tad unhinged。 Soon Aretha finds herself along for gun runs， eating soy protein bars， and living in a way she could not have imagined。 This is social commentary How does one fall down the rabbit hole？ That's what happens to Aretha in this tale of woman who has been striving all of her life and is suddenly unmoored when she falls in love。 Aretha is an attorney who has worked hard to get close to partnership。 Aaron own a coffee company in Brooklyn and lives with a group who are best described as a tad unhinged。 Soon Aretha finds herself along for gun runs， eating soy protein bars， and living in a way she could not have imagined。 This is social commentary but it's also a fairly sensitive portrait of a woman whose head is turned。 Cauley doesn't try too hard but lets the reader see Aretha's journey， Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC。 A good read。 。。。more
Jasmine
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This story sounded so interesting from the blurb， but didn’t live up to the hype when I started reading。 I don’t know if I just don’t like this author’s writing style or if it was the story， but this book did not keep my interest。 The characters didn’t seem real or fleshed out。 I always try to push through when I receive an ARC， but I had to DNF this at about 40%。
Elyssa
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A timely exploration of social horror and an apt reminder of how easily one can fall into the wrong crowd。 Reminiscent of an episode of Black Mirror。 And， as always， I will listen to just about anything the incomparable Bahni Turin reads。
Laura
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I also feel this way about the Teletubbies。
Kirstyn （readwithkirstyn）
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The Survivalists has a really unique premise but the story just lost me。 I didn't find it satirical so much as a little jumbled。 I do appreciate the book and everything it tried to do， but it just fell a little flat。 I did enjoy parts of it and the overall message， I just wish it brought more to the table。 The Survivalists has a really unique premise but the story just lost me。 I didn't find it satirical so much as a little jumbled。 I do appreciate the book and everything it tried to do， but it just fell a little flat。 I did enjoy parts of it and the overall message， I just wish it brought more to the table。 。。。more
Tina
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I was really hooked into reading THE SURVIVALISTS by Kashana Cauley and finished it in three days！ It’s a stellar debut novel！ It’s about Aretha， a single Black lawyer， who moves in with her new boyfriend and his survivalist roommates。 The roommates go all out by building a backyard bunker and eating only soy protein bars。 I loved the touches of humour and the suspense of finding out if Aretha can survive in her new house。 This novel is entertaining right from the first page all the way to the e I was really hooked into reading THE SURVIVALISTS by Kashana Cauley and finished it in three days！ It’s a stellar debut novel！ It’s about Aretha， a single Black lawyer， who moves in with her new boyfriend and his survivalist roommates。 The roommates go all out by building a backyard bunker and eating only soy protein bars。 I loved the touches of humour and the suspense of finding out if Aretha can survive in her new house。 This novel is entertaining right from the first page all the way to the end and I really enjoyed reading it！ Aretha got herself into some wild situations。 I’d love to see it as a movie one day。。Thank you to Soft Skull Press for my gifted review copy！ 。。。more
Nina
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This book illustrates the principle that things are not always what they seem。 It is full of surprises and surprising characters。 When I wasn't reading it， I was thinking about it。 This author is one to watch。 This book illustrates the principle that things are not always what they seem。 It is full of surprises and surprising characters。 When I wasn't reading it， I was thinking about it。 This author is one to watch。 。。。more
Kyle Churman
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I received an ARC of this。 The Survivalists sets out to do something wholly ambitious and while it was a truly original subject， some of the characters fell a bit flat to me。 The concept of urban survivalists and black gun ownership are not topics I have seen very often in literature and the author approaches it from a very unique lens。Aretha， the protagonist， gets sucked into this world and for a time becomes a believer in the preparedness ethos that her boyfriend and his roommates occupy。 Howe I received an ARC of this。 The Survivalists sets out to do something wholly ambitious and while it was a truly original subject， some of the characters fell a bit flat to me。 The concept of urban survivalists and black gun ownership are not topics I have seen very often in literature and the author approaches it from a very unique lens。Aretha， the protagonist， gets sucked into this world and for a time becomes a believer in the preparedness ethos that her boyfriend and his roommates occupy。 However， outside of Aretha and Aaron， the other characters were not as fully fleshed out as I would have liked。 Brittany's motivations are never fully understood and more of her backstory would have helped make her more 3D。 James's motivations are much more clear， but I would have liked to have seen more of how he got to being a survivalist。I thought there would be more action， but I was actually really satisfied with the ending because it showed that the smallest things can lead to disaster instead of a major event。 Also it poked holes in all of the idealized versions of survivalism and preparedness。 The more I sat with the ending， the more I realized I loved this book for the ending。One of the strengths of the book was Aretha struggling with employment and realizing that she needed to make her own way through her will and not to worry about what other people said about her。 。。。more
Raven
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Clever and unique premise， sold as a satirical but a bit too jumbled for me to illicit many laughs。 I do think Cauley has a real talent for writing though and I expect we will see more from her in the fiction genre。I appreciated that this book while it did have a lot of current and prevalent issues， it did a good job of showing how race and economic standing can effect our deepest inherited struggles and the way we act， perceive and make decisions。And while I felt this just missed the mark in co Clever and unique premise， sold as a satirical but a bit too jumbled for me to illicit many laughs。 I do think Cauley has a real talent for writing though and I expect we will see more from her in the fiction genre。I appreciated that this book while it did have a lot of current and prevalent issues， it did a good job of showing how race and economic standing can effect our deepest inherited struggles and the way we act， perceive and make decisions。And while I felt this just missed the mark in cohesion I thought the ending was stellar。 。。。more
Rachel
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I picked up this book despite not being enticed by the plot because I've always found Cauley to be smart and observant and funny on Twitter。 I don't believe she brought her strengths to this book， which was full of two-dimensional characters with unbelievable motivations。 SPOILERS AHEADAaron， for the protagonist's boyfriend whose appearance drives the rest of the plot， is very thinly drawn。 He seems like a flawless human until he isn't。 I kept thinking Cauley was going to reveal a secret about a I picked up this book despite not being enticed by the plot because I've always found Cauley to be smart and observant and funny on Twitter。 I don't believe she brought her strengths to this book， which was full of two-dimensional characters with unbelievable motivations。 SPOILERS AHEADAaron， for the protagonist's boyfriend whose appearance drives the rest of the plot， is very thinly drawn。 He seems like a flawless human until he isn't。 I kept thinking Cauley was going to reveal a secret about all his "coffee runs" but it seems like after his introduction compels Aretha to move in with him， he's not really needed anymore plot-wise。 Aretha， who is initially appalled by all the guns and the bunker and the survivalist nonsense， goes from being blackmailed into a gun run to be almost aroused by them with hardly any development at all。 At the end， she turns against her boyfriend and roommates just as fast。 I like Cauley， but I don't think her skills are cut out for long-form work just yet。 。。。more
Keila
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Aretha is a very driven single woman living in a big city。 She’s perpetually single， but one week， on her third first date， she meets Aaron。 Aaron is successful in his own right， he’s a coffee entrepreneur， but also a doomsday prepper。 He lives with two roommates， and one of them has built them an underground bunker in the backyard。 Oh， and in their spare time， they are gun runners。 What could go wrong？ As Aretha falls in love and moves in with Aaron， how will she， an uptight corporate lawyer， s Aretha is a very driven single woman living in a big city。 She’s perpetually single， but one week， on her third first date， she meets Aaron。 Aaron is successful in his own right， he’s a coffee entrepreneur， but also a doomsday prepper。 He lives with two roommates， and one of them has built them an underground bunker in the backyard。 Oh， and in their spare time， they are gun runners。 What could go wrong？ As Aretha falls in love and moves in with Aaron， how will she， an uptight corporate lawyer， survive living with illegal gun gunners and bunker digging roommates？I don’t know why this book was described as humorous， I didn’t find it funny at all， not even in the slightest。 This book tried to do too much for me， climate change， guns， corporate politics， affordable housing – it was just too much！ I don’t have a problem with books talking about these things， but this one just felt like it was trying to cover a ton， and not really well。 While this was a quick read， I didn’t find it enjoyable。 Oh， and because it covered so many hot button topics， it didn’t go into any of them really at all。 Just annoying。I would like to extend my thanks to @netgalley and the publisher Catapult， Counterpoint Press， and Soft Skull Press for my advanced e-arc in exchange for an honest review。 While this one was a miss for me， it might be the best book you’ve read this year！ Check it on January 10th of next year。 。。。more
Lauren
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I was not a fan。 This novel started out really strong but slowly just kept going around in circles。 A lot of repeating， no chapters only 10+ page long paragraphs。 I couldn’t get into the story as it was pretty boring and nothing actually really happened。 I kept trying to figure out what at all interesting or compelling occurred throughout the story。 There isn’t anything。
Paul
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I wasn't sure this was for me， but I liked overall， I can see the appeal for this given the satire presented。 This book will probably do well when it's released。I really appreciate the free ARC for review！！ I wasn't sure this was for me， but I liked overall， I can see the appeal for this given the satire presented。 This book will probably do well when it's released。I really appreciate the free ARC for review！！ 。。。more
Audrey
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This is a prepper's survival guide meets Get Out。 Aretha， a Black lawyer chasing the partnership dream， falls off track when she meets a coffee entrepreneur and his climate change prepper roommates and business partners。 Due to her own lack of family， she quickly falls in love with the idea of a house and partner in life。 And， she strives to try to understand the unfriendly roommates even when a multitude of guns get introduced in to the equation。 And， it's easy to see how Aretha， so driven， beg This is a prepper's survival guide meets Get Out。 Aretha， a Black lawyer chasing the partnership dream， falls off track when she meets a coffee entrepreneur and his climate change prepper roommates and business partners。 Due to her own lack of family， she quickly falls in love with the idea of a house and partner in life。 And， she strives to try to understand the unfriendly roommates even when a multitude of guns get introduced in to the equation。 And， it's easy to see how Aretha， so driven， begins to seek "highs" from other places， when work doesn't go as well。 Watching Aretha make her choices about housing and love， balanced against her own moral code was like watching the actor， go into the woods alone， even with an ax murderer lurking amongst the trees。I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own。 。。。more
Chip （C。A。） Printup
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A nice non-offensive book。 Did it break any boundaries？ No。 Was it entertaining？ Sure。"Pizza dough d*ck"。 That's it。 You'll get what I mean when you read it。 A nice non-offensive book。 Did it break any boundaries？ No。 Was it entertaining？ Sure。"Pizza dough d*ck"。 That's it。 You'll get what I mean when you read it。 。。。more
Bandit
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Survivalists （colloquially referred to as preppers） as a concept fascinate me the same way cults to。 And why not？ They are at least cult adjacent: the mentality， the ethics， the ideologies。This is a tale of an ordinary woman， a young lawyer who idea of preparedness mostly involves spending most of her life working to make partner， who falls in with a small group of survivalists。Well， that’s an oversimplified description of the plot， anyway。 When you get really into it， this is a novel about race Survivalists （colloquially referred to as preppers） as a concept fascinate me the same way cults to。 And why not？ They are at least cult adjacent: the mentality， the ethics， the ideologies。This is a tale of an ordinary woman， a young lawyer who idea of preparedness mostly involves spending most of her life working to make partner， who falls in with a small group of survivalists。Well， that’s an oversimplified description of the plot， anyway。 When you get really into it， this is a novel about race and class and privilege and a society that puts its citizens through such an obstacle course on the way to what it seems success that it leaves people floundering and grasping at the most unlikely straws。 And also， like so many stories， this is about love。Love is how it begins， anyway。 Our protagonist， Aretha， is searching for it， finding dud after dud， until Aaron comes along and checks every box。 Aaron is handsome， kind， considerate， self-employed， self-sufficient AND owns a brownstone。 Well， some of it， anyway。For a New Yorker whose idea of being well housed is maybe not having a flatmate， this is a dream come true。 But there’s a but。 Aaron shares the brownstone with two other people who are less that friendly to others and more than friendly with guns。All Aaron wants to do is brew coffee and love Aretha and so she is sold， against her bff’s cautionary advice。 All in， Aretha moves in， and proximity breeds strange bedfellows out of them all。Just as Aretha’s professional life is unraveling， her personal life turns into a very peculiar rollercoaster， a well-armed and dangerous one。In a way， this novel is about the unmaking of the American dream。 Aretha， who followed the premise to the tee， finds herself unmooring and spiraling with such a velocity because the world around her， the world she’d worked herself to the bone to fit into， doesn’t reward her for her sacrifices， but in fact， alternates between indifference and menace。 If love isn’t lovely and friendship isn’t friendly and employment isn’t enjoyable， then what is there left？ Guns。Survivalists is， thus， ultimately a tale of disenfranchisement。 With race thrown in just right， which is to say cleverly and observationally （like Jordan Peele did in his comedy）， not overpoweringly （like Jordan Peele does in his scary movies）。There’s also a great metaphor with the brownstone itself， but you’ll just have tor ead to find out what that is。Overall， a very good read， one of those things where the narrative and the writing are so strong that you don’t even need to particularly like or emotionally engage with the characters to enjoy。 Recommended。 Thanks Netgalley。This and more at https://advancetheplot。weebly。com/ 。。。more
Becca
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