Apocalypse

Apocalypse by Kyle West
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm a huge fan of 'end of the world' type of movies, love dystopia, yet I don't really read 'end of the world' books. So I was thrilled to snag this book for free from amazon and began reading it immediately.

It's a fast, quick read - fairly short - and took me about 90 minutes to read.

There's some grammatical errors and the book is in need of a better editor. Large portions of the book just seemed written by an amateur, and the premise is lacking. The author, West, does a lot of "telling" in the book instead of "showing", and leaves a lot open to the imagination instead of really setting the scene for us.

There's a fair mix of genres in the book - end of the world, zombies, meteors, bad guys, action, etc. There's not really any new ideas or themes, but all in all, it's not a bad read (especially for free).

I won't be buying the rest of the series, but would probably read the next one if I could pick it up for free again.

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Planet Urth

Planet Urth by Jennifer Martucci
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've been really big into dystopian/end of the world type of books & movies lately, so I was thrilled to grab this book on amazon, which I read in one afternoon.

There's some minor & major plot holes (for example, killing a large, 300 pound animal by jumping out of a tree, and mentioning technology that the characters would have absolutely no idea about), but all in all, the book is a good read. There's no new concepts here, but if you are looking for a quick, sci-fi romp, this will fit the bill.

The biggest drawback is the book doesn't end, so much as just ... well, stops. I understand it's part of a series, but it seems like more and more indie authors are creating series because the book just got too long, instead of a well written story that has a beginning, middle, climax, and ending (like Harry Potter, where every book has a conclusion, yet leaves you desperately wanting more).

I picked this book up for free on amazon.

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The Stand by Stephen King

The Stand by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

all time favorite book

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Allison Hewitt Is Trapped by Madeleine Roux

Allison Hewitt Is Trapped by Madeleine Roux
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm very divided about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed it - it was a very "read that it and don't stop until you are done" kind of book - it's been a while for me since I read one of the books. On the other hand, there is just so, so much you have to just accept in the book - most of all, the fact that not only can Allison find internet (fairly easily), but that there's a great big military wi-fi signal that doesn't require a log-in or a password (yeah, right) AND the fact that she can hold onto her laptop while fighting zombies and killing people.

I also got a little frustrated at how perfect Allison is. She obsesses about finding her mom (naturally enough) but that's the only remotely negative thing about her. She's writing blog entries at a run, but yet she uses complete grammar, perfect spelling, and she's never frantic or even really scared.... Okay, that's really believable... (insert sarcasm).

Yes, she was a grad student majoring in lit, but please, you are running for your life! She of course is so brave and strong, she can use an AXE for crying out loud, perfectly, the first time she goes to swing through a zombie's head ? Isn't cutting through bone a little hard? Shouldn't she have missed at least the first time with something as ackward as an AXE?

And of course she finds love almost right away - and that relationship is less than perfect (without giving anything away) but of course she handles it so so well with barely a blimp on her radar ....

All in all, yes, it's a great read, but take it with a grain of salt.

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Under the Dome

Under the Dome by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first read this book a few years ago, when it first came out. Hubby enjoyed the first season of the show so much he wanted to read the book - even though he isn't much of a reader. Well, needless to say, I ended up rereading it & hubby read 20 pages.

I'm a big King fan, though I probably have only read about 1/3 of his books. This one is no exception. Sure, it's long, sure there are sections that drag, and sure it's far-fetched, but that's why it's called fiction. Dale and Julia are two of the many, many, many characters in the book, and they are probably my favorites. Junior, Jim Rennie's Sr.'s crazed son, is also one of my favorites, in that "love to hate him" sort of way. This book, at its heart, is about ordinary people trying to survive and live another day.

My only gripe with the book is the exact same one as the first time I read it - you spend 1000 pages reading about what is happening Under the Dome, for it all to end in a small handful of pages, and without enough of an explanation to satisfy me. There's a lot of fore-shadowing throughout the book, which I noticed the first time but sort of ruined the book for me the second time (yes, I did know how it ended, but it still ruined the ending).

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Red Rising

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have such mixed feelings about this book.

I love the mix/blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and dystopia. I love the world and character building. But the character I fell in love with right away dies, leaving me wishing things were different, each and every page.

Darrow, the main character, is such a great mix of good and bad, hard and soft, you can't help rooting for him even as horror, carnage, pain, suffering, friendship, etc. all surround him.

I loved the first 20% or so of the book, which I read in about an instant because I was so engrossed in it.

That was all the good stuff - now the reason for the mixed feelings.

I just couldn't get into the book after that first 20% or so. I loved, loved, loved the setting and the characters and the events that all happened in that first part of the book, and the rest of it - eh. Not so much. I just couldn't bring myself to care about everything that happened to Darrow for the rest of the book.

There's sections where the action happens fast and furious and I think to myself that I'm finally really enjoying the book again, and then the pace changes and I was, just, quite simply, bored.

The ending however, is simply fabulous. Even though half the book I really didn't enjoy, the ending had a couple of twists and it makes me want to read the rest of the series.

-
book received from netgalley in exchange for my honest review

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the Clearing

The Clearing by Shalini Boland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book 2.

This is another book with alternating characters and storylines - not my favorite plot device, until the two threads merge.

The book starts shortly after the second one - this series is definitely one in which you need to read all of the books, or you'll really be lost. The beginning starts with a great scene that sets the tone for the rest of the book.

There's an underlining theme of brainwashing and cults, something I have a hard time stomaching. The book is written better than the first one, I think, but I had a hard time with the themes in this book.

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Outside

Outside by Shalini Boland
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am more and more getting into dystopian novels so I was thrilled to join in this tour. I love books that are in series, too so I was doubly excited.

That being said, I was very confused reading the first half of the book. It goes back and forth between two characters, the past and the present, and I wasn't picking up on that at all. I was also disappointed that the editing wasn't better, something that really bugs me. I'm by no means a writer and by no means do I know or follow all the grammatical rules out there, but I kept seeing little things pop up that slowed down the story line for me because I was distracted by the errors.

Another thing that kept bugging me was Riley kept acting way too mature for her 16 year old age, from the very beginning. Her friend tells her that her sister was murdered, and she thanks him, telling him how hard that must have been for him to tell her the truth. Come on, seriously? Your sister was just killed and you are telling your friend how hard it must be for HIM? Do you know any adults that would have the presence of mind to say such a thing in that situation, let alone a teenager?

All in all though, the story is a good one, has lots of twists and turns to keep things interesting, but the story is really only good the last 1/3.

--

I got this book & the rest of the books in the series as part of the Perimeter blog tour in exchange for my honest reviews.

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The Last Bastion of the Living by Rhiannon Frater

The Last Bastion of the Living by Rhiannon Frater
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely LOVED this book!

I was first introduced to this book as part of a book tour & was asked to review. I almost passed, because I don't really read Zombie books. I've gotten into Walking Dead, however, and LOVED the cover of this book so much I couldn't resist getting a copy to read.

And I was immediately hooked, from the very first page.

I haven't loved a book this much in a long time.

Vanguard Maria Martinez has lived her entire life within an area called the Bastion. She's a soldier and has battled the zombies that surround their area before. The story revolves around Maria, her friend Lindsey who also is a veteran of zombie battles, and her boyfriend and an officer in the Constabulary, Dwayne Reichardt. Their relationship is kept a secret because of his marriage and family, but in the end, Maria's relationship with Lindsey & Dwayne is what keeps her alive.

Frater does a wonderful job of creating a whole world with rich, multi-faceted characters, and kept twisting the plot so you had to keep reading. The last half of the book I couldn't even read at night because it would keep me up at night wondering what was going to happen next! She wrote this as a stand-alone book, but I'd really love to see where Maria and Dwayne are in ten years.


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Project Hope by Sean Joyce

Project Hope by Sean Joyce
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I just received this book from the author, who kindly sent me a review copy. It had what I felt to be a bit of a slow beginning, because the themes in this book are not my usual cup of tea.

Overall I enjoyed this book, especially the ending, which I didn't really expect. At times the book is very dark & despairing, but it's well written. I liked the fact that there weren't a lot of main characters, so you could really get to "know" each one of them.

There were a few things I didn't really care for: the main characters all live in the "zone", and until almost the very end, I didn't really understand that the rest of the world still existed (as it does in real life). There is no explanation for how, why, or when the zone was created, & that was a mystery that I thought would be revealed at the end - but wasn't. There's also a few scenes which I felt was really unlikely to happen to the world which Joyce created, which I won't get into further & ruin the book for you.

All in all, it was a quick read & an enjoyable one.

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