Review: Z-Burbia

Z-Burbia by Jake Bible
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The first half of this book did nothing but annoy and frustrate me. It was almost like the writer was trying to re-create Michael Talbot. (And I never really drank that Kool-aid), with a bunch of wisecracks and humor. The situations often seemed forced and the "hero" gets saved in the nick of time. The idea of an HOA in the ZA? I just wasn't buying it. And the ending made me throw my hands up in frustration. I'd almost been convinced to try another in the series until then...but that just felt like the writer wanted to ensure he had a built in foil for the main protagonist in upcoming books.

Bullhorn/Wallstreet shouldn't have made it past the introduction. A bad guy that comes to your gates and threatens to kill everybody inside? And the people on the wall are armed? If he is that brash to be so stupid, he should not have survived this deep into the ZA, and if nobody on the wall would take the shot? After killing a group with men, women, and children earlier?

Overall, I say 2,5 stars, but round up to 3.

View all my reviews

Review: Z Children: The Surge

Z Children: The Surge by Eli Constant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a series that has the potential to be one of the most horrifying in the genre. There is little that can be more horrifying than for the zombie apocalypse to come at the hungry mouths of children. Constant and Barr are not rushing this tale and, along the way, are introducing us to a variety of characters who you build attachments as well as dislike for. Each person feels three dimensional and very much like a person you may know. I look forward to seeing where this goes.

Just a note...if you don't get a bit antsy during the "wedding" scene...you may be a zombie your own self.

View all my reviews

Review: The Hunt Chronicles Volume 2: Revelation

The Hunt Chronicles Volume 2: Revelation by J.D. Demers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It will be tough to wait for the next in the series. That is where I want to begin. Now, for the misses before I get to the hits of this title (and yeah, there are both).

Christian became a bit less likable in this volume. It sis not help that he was basically shackled with an obnoxious teen girl for a bit. That whole bit with the two of them was perhaps my biggest fault. I get it that a teen girl may ask a lot of questions and talk incessantly, but at times it seemed overdone to the point of slightly distracting. Absolutely not enough to dissuade you from this book, but that was a blip for me during the story.

*****SPOILER*****
(sort of)
The fact that Christian waits so long to tell somebody he has been bitten also made me like him less. I felt he would've come clean sooner and that.

***end of SPOILER (sort of)****

Fish still has the ability to annoy me, but it is all in character so kudos to Demers for making me annoyed with that guy.

The story has a natural flow for the most part, but does seem to over-stereotype at times. I will say that there is one very well thrown curveball (nope...no spoiler this time) and it made this book go from pretty good to pretty DARN good on its own.

Overall, this is a series you will want to start adding to your list. And, as I said, I am anxious for the next volume.

View all my reviews

Review: A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Okay, I really tried to like this book. It is one of my daughter's favorites. The more the story progressed, the more tedious it seemed to get for me. It was almost like Ms. Harkness wanted to create a "witches science" text. Yes, there was a"romance" undertone to the tale, but the story got bogged down with trying too hard to connect to things like Darwin's "Origins" text and other such things. I like a bit of "reality" in my fiction as well, but this just felt like it was trying too hard. The character of Diana is so wishy-washy that I could hear women around the world slamming the cover of this book shut in frustration. And I get it...sense of smell blah, blah, blah...and then special Yoga classes. Add in the Hatfield and Mccoy/Romeo and Juliet "our families will never approve of our love" angle and it just wore me down.

View all my reviews