Review: Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeleine Roux

Written By: Kellie - Oct• 26•12

allison hewitt is trapped

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publish Date: January 18th, 2011
Source: Purchased
Goodreads

Rating: 4/5 – Survival of the fittest!

Synopsis: “One woman’s story as she blogs – and fights back – the zombie apocalypse”

Allison Hewitt and her five colleagues at the Brooks and Peabody Bookstore are trapped together when the zombie outbreak hits. Allison reaches out for help through her blog, writing on her laptop and utilizing the military’s emergency wireless network (SNET). It may also be her only chance to reach her mother. But as the reality of their situation sinks in, Allison’s blog becomes a harrowing account of her edge-of-the-seat adventures (with some witty sarcasm thrown in) as she and her companions fight their way through ravenous zombies and sometimes even more dangerous humans. -Goodreads

Thoughts: When picking books for my zombie feature, Allison Hewitt is Trapped was a pretty obvious choice for me. At the time of the zombie apocalypse, Allison works in a book store and then goes on to blog about her adventures. I was sold! Happily, for the most part this book is exactly what I was hoping for. Not only does the main characters love for literature come through, but she thankfully doesn’t actually remain trapped as that probably would have gotten a little stale.

Allison Hewitt is Trapped, is gruesome, touching and funny. For me, the most memorable aspect was the characters. Allison has a long way to go from bookstore to err… wherever she ends up, no spoilers here, and she meets a lot of different people along the way, who are all handling the end of the world in their own quirky manner. One character is pretty much Glen from The Walking Dead, and the love interest was kind of unexpected, but no one is boring and the dialogue will keep you entertained.

Not a lot of actual zombie fighting in this book, which works for my vision of the zombie apocalypse. When things are just getting going, you don’t run out with nothing but an axe and start hacking away and every mostly-dead baddie you see, you hide and scavenge. Obviously, that would be a pretty boring book, so things are significantly more interesting than that, without ever going overboard. The pacing works really well and I very rarely found myself rooting for a zombie attack, just to get the characters moving again.

The zombie lore of the book was a bit on the iffy side at times, which might bother a lot of fans of the genre.  So, fair warning… you will find zombie squirrels in this book. The blog post element might bug a few people as well, but I really liked it. I really enjoyed the comments from other survivors and was rooting for all of them as well, even though they only got a few lines at the end of some chapters. It’s the zombie apocalypse guys, we all have to work forever.

It’s fair to say that this wont be a book for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. Plus, trapped in a bookstore during the zombie apocalypse, there are worse fates I could imagine.

Don’t forget to enter the Zombie Dayz Giveaway for your chance to win Allison Hewitt is Trapped and two other zombie books!

Buy Allison Hewitt is Trapped
@Amazon (US) @Amazon (CAN) @The Book Depository

Second Opinions:
@Book Chick City
@Warpcore SF
@Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review

Posted in Dystopian/ Apocalyptic , , , | No Comments »

Review: Married with Zombies by Jesse Peterson

Written By: Kellie - Oct• 25•12

married with zombiesPublisher: Orbit
Publish Date: September 1st, 2010
Source: Purchased
Goodreads

Rating: 3/5 Decapitation Weapons

Synopsis: Meet Sarah and David.

Once upon a time they met and fell in love. But now they’re on the verge of divorce and going to couples’ counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things – the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client’s throat.

Meet the Zombies.

Now, Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But, just because there are zombies, doesn’t mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don’t eat their brains, they might just kill each other. -Goodreads

Review: I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about Married with Zombies, even after a few days to sit and mull it over. There were some very big pluses, and it’s definitely a pretty unique title within the zombie fiction genre. On the other hand, it broke a lot of the established rules in ways that didn’t always sit well with me. In the end though, I have to admit it’s a great addition to any zombie collection.

The premise is what first caught my attention about this book. David and Sarah are on the brink of divorce when the zombie apocalypse hits and no amount of decapitations can stop their ceaseless bickering. It really is a chick-flick meets zombie movie, and for that, I loved it. The relationship between the two main characters is realistic and at times hilarious and created a new way of looking at the ‘apocalypse helping you discover what’s really important’ trope. There are some other characters that factor in as well that I thought was a fair representation of the types of people that would survive the first days of apocalypse, even if just by sheer luck.

The main thing that Married with Zombies gets noticed for is it’s sense of humor. Jesse Petersen is fantastically funny and always has a great new spin to put on even the most dire of situations. This book is both witty and punny throughout and manages to find good jokes in unexpected places. Sometimes the characters are in on the joke, and for others they are hanging on for dear life while you’re busy chuckling.

What broke the spell for me (in some places at least), was when she took things too far or detracted from the apocalyptic feel that I love in zombie books, all for a laugh. Peterson’s zombies have more higher brain function than you usually see, but instead of using this to become that much more deadly and terrifying, they use it do to things like play slot machines. Yes, there’s a zombie joke to be made about people who zone out while gambling, but it could have been approached in a less obvious way. Between this and the spread of the plague, things never really seemed truly dire. Yes, Sarah and David don’t have an easy time in trying to survive  but you never really feel like society is truly doomed.

So, is this a book for die-hard zombie fans? Probably not. You have to look at Married with Zombies as a romantic comedy first, and a tale of the zombie apocalypse second. If you can do that, this is a great book to get lost in while planning out your own zombie survival plan.

Buy Married with Zombies
@Amazon (US) @Amazon (CAN) @The Book Depository

Second Opinions:
@The Bookish Brunette
@Nat’s Book Blog
@Sara’s Urban Fantasy Blog 

Posted in Dystopian/ Apocalyptic , , , , | No Comments »

Review: The First Days by Rhiannon Frater

Written By: Kellie - Oct• 24•12

the first days

Publisher: Tor Books
Publish Date: July 5th, 2011
Source: Purchased
Goodreads

Rating: 5/5 Zombies

Synopsis: The morning that the world ends, Katie is getting ready for court and housewife Jenni is taking care of her family. Less than two hours later, they are fleeing for their lives from a zombie horde.

Thrown together by circumstance, Jenni and Katie become a powerful zombie-killing partnership, mowing down zombies as they rescue Jenni’s stepson, Jason, from an infected campground.

They find sanctuary in a tiny, roughly fortified Texas town.  There Jenni and Katie find they are both attracted to Travis, leader of the survivors; and the refugees must slaughter people they know, who have returned in zombie form. -Goodreads

Review: Thanks to a well known TV show, I spent this summer falling in love with zombie fiction. It’s not about the zombies specifically but what people have to do in order to survive in extremely dire circumstances. Around that same time I saw a review for Rhiannon Frater’s zombie series and knew I had to read it. I’m so glad I did, as The First Days is exactly the kind of survival story I love to read. Add to that a truly endearing best friends relationship and these books easily became one of my favorite series. now, let’s talk book 1.

The First Days opens pretty horrifically and does a lot to set the tone of the book, but almost right away our two heroines are brought together and the awesomeness begins. Both Katie and Jenni struggle to figure out what’s going on but what’s really interesting is seeing how the people they encounter are reacting as the crisis unfolds, the zombie apocalypse isn’t exactly an easy thing to wrap your mind around.

This series is all about the characters, how they react to the situation and each other. While it starts off as two (and a dog) against the world, they meet more people as they go and some really interesting dynamics start to unfold.  Every kind of relationship is covered from parent-child to romantic. There are some hints right on the back cover at a pretty messy love triangle but it doesn’t unfold how you’d expect. I found myself rooting for both Katie and Jenni equally, which is a pretty rare thing. I think I liked Katie. Bit better but Jenni is so much fun and has a really interesting personal evolution. The apocalypse is always bound to bring out some interesting character traits.

The First Days wrapped up nicely and had something of a finality to it, but there are definitely more adventures (and probably tragedies) to come for this series and I literally cannot wait to read the next book in this series, which is why I’ll be starting it riiggghhhttt…. Now! (as of when I wrote this review in August).

Buy The First Days
@Amazon (US) @Amazon (CAN) @The Book Depository

Second Opinions:
@Great Imaginations 
@Unabridged Andra
@Tynga’s Reviews

 

Posted in Dystopian/ Apocalyptic , , , , | No Comments »

Feature Kickoff: Zombie Dayz and Giveaways

Written By: Kellie - Oct• 23•12

Zombie Dayz Feature

Zombie Dayz!

It’s here! Zombie Dayz here! While I can admit that a zombie themed Halloween feature isn’t topping off the originality chart, it’s a first for me and I’m really looking forward to it. In the last couple of months I’ve become downright zombie apocalypse obsessed.

Most of the week involves reviews of some fantastic zombie lit. from The Walking Dead graphic novels to a surprisingly wide collection of zombies meet chick-lit. There will also be two giveaways you can enter to win both books and some zombie related swag! I hope you all have as much fun with this week as I will.

This Week

October 24th- The First Days by Rhiannon Frater
October 25th- Married with Zombies by Jesse Peterson
October 26th- Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeline Roux
October 27th- Fighting to Survive by Rhiannon Frater
October 28th- The Walking Dead, Volume 1
October 29th- Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
October 30th- Rhiannon Frater Interview
October 31st- Siege by Rhiannon Frater

Giveaways
Over the course of the feature I will be running two different giveaways. You’ll have two chances to win some fantastic zombie books and prizes!

Giveaway #1- Surviving the Apocalypse

The Prizes- A zombie themed bookmark and pack of ten zombie themed holiday cards from Etsy. You can have a look at the store I’ll be ordering from, here.

How to win: In the comments of THIS POST, please comment with a rundown of how you plan to survive the coming zombie apocalypse. It can be as serious or ridiculous as you like. The winner will be chosen by me based on creativity and thoughtfulness. Whichever plan stands out the most will be the winner!

Be sure to include your name and an email address where I can reach you if you’re chosen as the winner.

Deadline: Halloween! Enter by the end of the day for your chance to win.

Who can win: Below is a list of where this Etsy store will ship to. If you live in any of these countries, then I hope you will enter as you can definitely win!

United States
Australia
Canada
Finland
Germany
Iceland
Ireland
Japan
New Zealand
United Kingdom

Giveaway #2- In the Zombie Apocalypse, effort counts for a lot

The Prizes- The First Days by Rhiannon Frater, Married with Zombies by Jesse Peterson and Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeline Roux. I’m going to go ahead and call this The Zombie Chick-Lit Pack!

Who Can Enter- Anyone who lives in a country where The Book Depository will ship.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enjoy your Zombie Dayz!

Posted in Fun Stuff & Promos , , , | 2 Comments »

It’s Monday! What are you reading? (10.22)

Written By: Kellie - Oct• 22•12

Well what do you know, it’s Monday again. Last week was incredibly slow around ReaWrite as I got a little sidetracked by other projects.

What I read last week
Poison Princess by Kresley Cole. Yup, that’s it. I finished one book. Poison Princess took me a long time to get into but once I got into the story, I loved it! You can read my review, here.

What I’m reading this week
– Switch by Carol Snow
– Hidden by Sophie Jordan
– Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
– The Walking Dead, Book 1

On the Blog this week
I have been planning for the next nine days of blogging for sometime now, ever since I first got into The Walking Dead and became zombie obsessed. I know a zombie feature isn’t entirely original for halloween, but I am addicted to all things zombie right now and am going to have a lot of fun with Zombie Dayz. Be sure to check back in tomorrow for a rundown of what’s scheduled for the week as well as a giveaway and a zombie survival plan contest. Seriously… fun!

Posted in Reading , | 1 Comment »

Review: Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Written By: Kellie - Oct• 21•12

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publish Date: October 2nd, 2012
Source: ARC
Goodreads

Rating: 4/5 Tarot Cards

Synopsis:  Sixteen year old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.
As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side. -Goodreads

Review: It took me at least a third of the book to get into Poison Princess, and I was about ready to give up when all of a sudden it got so, so amazing good. I was almost tempted to give it 5/5 but was forced to acknowledge the slow burn that gets you into the bulk of story. There is definitely a lot of setup and it might not have been entirely necessary, but the rest of the story is easily well worth the wait.

Evie made for an interesting main character. She starts the story by returning to high school after a summer secretly locked away in a mental institution and struggling to appear okay even though she has to admit to herself she still isn’t okay. Evie has horrible visions of a dark, apocalyptic world and an inexplicable connection with the plants around here. Evie spends a lot of time at the beginning of the book trying to reclaim her old life but it’s when she starts to accept her “destiny” while remaining a sixteen year old girl, that she becomes a fantastically interesting character. Another area where Evangeline really stands out is in her chemistry with love interest, Jackson. Yum.

I knew going into this that Kresley Cole is mainly a writer of adult romance books, and after reading this book I can definitely see why. Cajun heartthrob, Jack Deveaux is possibly the sexiest YA love interest I have ever read. He’s not even necessarily my literary “type” as he’s a hardcore bad-boy and kind of an ass sometimes, but wow. I lovvveee him. This boy (well, he’s eighteen, which makes all my swooning more acceptable) will really come alive for you as your reading him and I promise you will not be able to get enough of Jackson.

One thing I will say for the first part of the book (pre-apocalypse) is that the Louisiana setting was fantastic and incredibly well written. Both Evie and Jackson feel so strongly for where they come from and it plays a big part in bringing this world to life. The post-apocalypse, scorched version of America is well painted as well and the bleakness bleeds into every chapter. Water and women are scare and that does some scary things to anyone still standing seven months after the world is destroyed. There are also some weird zombie/vampire combo baddies that don’t really effect the main plot but are definitely creepy, and I loved that Poison Princess brought something new to the table.

The fantastical elements of The Arcana Chronicles center around the tarot deck, which I loved. I always found tarot cards really interest, if not believable and know a bit about each of the different cards, so seeing them come to life as living, breathing people was so much fun, and a refreshing change of pace.

Overall… love, love, love. I cannot waiiitt for the next book. I’m honestly not entirely sure how I’m going to cope with a lack of Jackson in my reading life. The final scene was fantastic and I will be really disappointed if the next book doesn’t jump in right from that point. Read. This. Book.

Buy Poison Princess
@Amazon (US) @Amazon (CAN) @The Book Depository

Second Opinions:
@IB Book Blogging
@Feeling Fictional
@The Bookish Brunette

Posted in Dystopian/ Apocalyptic, Young Adult Books , , , | No Comments »

Review: Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler

Written By: Kellie - Oct• 19•12

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publish Date: October 1st, 2012
Source: ARC
Goodreads

Rating: 3/5 Peanut Butter Sandwiches

Synopsis: Samantha didn’t mean to hurt anyone. She was just trying to fit in…

And she wanted to make Zee a little jealous…

But now things will never be the same unless she can find a reason to start living again.

-Goodreads

Review: I read Who I Kissed in one sitting, as the first book of the 24 hour readathon I took part in and got really into the story. This was a really interesting story and a great way to come back to contemporary young adult after an extended absence. You get all of the standard contemporary YA tropes plus watching Samantha deal with the guilt of unintentionally killing another teenager.

In a moment of weakness Samantha kisses the wrong boy, a boy she didn’t even know and within minutes he’s died and everything changes. There’s a lot of raw emotion here and I think a lot of the reactions that Janet Gurtler wrote were incredibly realistic and never overly simplified. In many cases death is usually roughest on those left behind to mourn and the book reflected that fairly well. There were never any moments of uncontrollable heartbreak for the reader, but the characters did make you care about what they were going through.

While I can’t think of much to complain about, Who I Kissed still didn’t manage to blow me away. There were no incredibly shocking or tense moments, and no characters stood out as being well developed or out of the ordinary. The premise of the story was interesting, but could still have used something a little more. I will absolutely be recommending this title, and sent my copy with my sister to Cuba, but I can’t imagine this will be a book I’ll ever need to come back to. Buuttt, I’d hate to end on a blah note so again, I did like Who I Kissed!

 Buy Who I Kissed
@Amazon (US) @Amazon (CAN) @The Book Depository

Second Opinions:
@Reading In Winter
@Just Us Girls
@Mundie Moms

Posted in Young Adult Books , , | No Comments »

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (10.15)

Written By: Kellie - Oct• 15•12

The It’s Monday Meme is hosted by Book Journey. To look back at what we all read last week and look forward

I meant to wake up early and get this done first thing, buuuttt then I slept in (for the first time in awhile) and my entire days plan got all jumbled.

What I read last week
This past  Saturday was the 24 Hour Readathon. I only managed to finish three books cover to cover, but I was still pretty pleased with that. I read Kitty Goes to Washington, Allison Hewitt is Trapped and Who I Kissed. Earlier in the week I finally finished The Iron King and read Rogue by Rachel Vincent.

What’s on tap for this week (hopefully)
It’s going to be a busy week but there are a few titles I need to get through. Boneshaker and The Poison Princess are my first priorities as they are quickly coming up for review. After that I will probably tackle another zombie book in prep for Zombie Dayz coming later this month.

Posted in Fun Stuff & Promos, Reading , | 4 Comments »

Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Written By: Kellie - Oct• 14•12

the iron king

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publish Date: February 1st, 2010
Source: Purchased
Goodreads

Rating: 3/5 Packrats

Synopsis: Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.
Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan’s life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she’s known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth – that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she’ll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart. –Goodreads

Review: I picked up books one and two of the Iron Fae series while I was at my favorite used book store this summer and was really excited to read The Iron King. Alas, I just couldn’t get into it. To be fair, I never seem to click well with fae stories but I keep trying since I feel like my Irish side should be connecting with sidhe stories way more than it is. The Iron King just wasn’t for me, so I’m not going to rate this book too harshly. The writing was great and I can absolutely understand why so many other readers fell in love with these books.

Meghan was an interesting character who fell into her new life as a half-fae fairly nicely. I loved her protective streak towards her brother and the way she saw the fairy world. I was less enamored with her fae love interests. I didn’t feel she had that much genuine chemistry with either of them and they both seemed like fairly typical fae guys, unpredictable and untrustworthy.

So, I’m going to keep this review fairly short and sweet as I don’t feel like I can be all that objective about The Iron King. All that being said, I already own the next book in the series and will probably read it eventually.

Buy The Iron King
@Amazon (US) @Amazon (CAN) @The Book Depository

Second Opinions:
@The Diary of a Bookworm
@Uniquely Moi Books
@Reading in Winter

Posted in Fantasy Books, Young Adult Books , , , | No Comments »

24 Hour Readathon

Written By: Kellie - Oct• 13•12

For the first time I ever I am participating in a 24 hour readathon. First things first, it’s never too late to join in the fun. We will be reading from 8am EST Saturday (as in today) until the same time on Sunday. I’ve even gotten up earlier than I have to on a Saturday just to get this post up and running.

I’ve got a bit of a game plan that involves reading some of the books that are on my review schedule for this month, but I’ve given myself permission to mix it up if I find myself tempted to stop.

The Plan
I have three books I am hoping to make it all the way through today, I’m going to try my best to read straight through but have a fourth book that I will read chapters of when I need a change from whichever book I’m on. The books are…
-Boneshaker
-Allison Hewitt is Trapped
-Who I Kissed
Bonus Book: The Poison Princess

Hour 1: Opening Meme
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Canada, eh?
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Allison Hewitt is Trapped. Zombies + A Bookstore. Sounds like my kind of read.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? My next one is peanut butter & banana wraps, so probably that one. Slightly ironic as I’m currently reading ‘Who I Kissed’
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! Hmm… As well as blogging I am currently writing a book, and am reviewer liaison for Spencer Hill Press. You submit a review request, it comes to me :)

Hour 3:
Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler is finished! Had a snack and now on to book number two, although I’m not even sure which book that’s going to be yet.

Hour 11:
I’m still here! I’ve just been too busy reading (and napping… woops) to update, although I have been following a lot of other readathoners on twitter. I’ve finished Allison Hewitt is Trapped and I really enjoyed it. I’ve also read a bit of Boneshaker and a bit of Poison Princess but neither of them are really hooking me quite yet. I may have to pick up a random other title in order to accomplish my goal of three books read start to finish today. For right now though, I’m going to concentrate on finishing and eating dinner… then I dive back in to the world of books!

Posted in Fun Stuff & Promos, Reading , | 7 Comments »
<<1920212223>>