** I received a free copy of the ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review. **

Power’s Out is the 2nd in the Troubled Times series by Rachel Meehan. I wasn’t nearly as engaged in this installment as I was with the first book, Water’s Edge. In Power’s Out we continue to follow Nairne’s struggle to survive in a world where climate change has caused extreme weather conditions and a crumbling of government infrastructure.

Close to two years after she lost her own home, Nairne is on the road with Paul trying to stay alive and potentially find a place they could take up residence. When they come upon a group of folks who have created a settlement in an old convent, they try their hardest to show that they are worthy for a permanent place in the community.

As money has become worthless, bartering and trades have become the way of life, and as we learn, this can be honest but there also comes the risk of dealing with deceitful criminals. Including ones that have returned from a past Nairne and Paul worked hard to leave behind.

I wish I was more invested in these characters. The new ones that popped up were not as fleshed out as the characters in the first book. This made it hard to feel empathy for them. I also had trouble buying the motivation of the villain of the novel. In a world where it is becoming harder to survive, revenge doesn’t seem very plausible.