Longing for Liberty

Longing for Liberty
by Wendy Higgins
 
Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: Author
Pub Date: September 23, 2025
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Dark Dystopian
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher 
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon   
 
Before World War III, Liberty Carson remembers what it was like to chase her dream and become a writer. She vividly recalls the feeling of her three precious children crowding her lap and her husband’s smiling face when he used to laugh. She still dreams of eating international street food in Baltimore. And sometimes, she envies this newer generation who never knew the taste of freedom.

Libby cannot forget what her country was like when it was still fifty states. Before the war turned half of the U.S. to dust and radiation. Before three men rose to power and sanitized what was left into their macabre version of America. Long before making a living meant taking whatever job they chose for her.

Now, she’s entering the penthouse of one of those powerful men, wearing her maid’s uniform, woefully unprepared to be in the presence of the unnervingly handsome Amos Fitzhugh, who gives off the distinct dark energy of domination. Libby distrusts everything about this man and what he stands for. She hates how he looks at her and how she can’t help but react, even in the face of her marriage vows.

If he plans to use her, she will return the favor, all the while stoking the ashes of the raging phoenix inside her soul, intent on revolution. Caught in a devious web of power, desire, and deadly secrets, Liberty will get one shot to burn it to the ground.
 
My Review: I have loved Wendy for ages now and there has yet to be a book that I haven't devoured and loved by her. 

This book is different that her other books and woah can she write anything. You want dark, she certainly gave that and more. 

Libby and her husband are trying to figure out how to live in this world. As if there wasn't enough that already happened, people who are found alive are collected and given a job in one of the four designated communities. 

I gotta say how much I love Libby. She is relatable, smart and knows how to take what she knows and use it to her advantage. Be careful for what you say and do around her, you wouldn't want something coming back to bite you now. 

I will say, if you read this and think it sound similar to what today's world is looking like / going through, you wouldn't be wrong. Normally, I stay far away from political reads but this one was the exception. Not just because I love the author but there are moments where it felt eye opening and not just any other book with politics thrown in. So just be prepared for anything when you get your hands on a copy. 

There is a lot with this book. It has a little bit of everything that is woven so well together that everything flows seamlessly and keeps you completely invested the whole time. 

While you read, you'd think you have things figured out BUT the end will get you. Seriously the perfect hidden twist that is so worth it. 

If you like dark, dystopian, handmaidens tale and keep you on the edge of your seat, then look no further. This was quite the read that will leave you thinking long after you've finished it.

 

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪