Review: Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles by J.M. Sullivan

Series: The Wanderland Chronicles #1
Publication Date: May 16th, 2017
Publisher: Pen Name Publishing 
Genre: YA, Retelling, Horror 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: **Readers' Favorite Five Star Review Recipient**

“Always protect your queen.”


Ever since the outbreak of the Plague, life hasn’t been easy, and for seventeen-year-old Alice Carroll, it just got worse. Her sister, Dinah, has contracted the ‘un-deadly’ Momerath Virus and without a cure, will soon be worse than dead. She’ll be momerath.

Alice must leave the safety of the Sector and venture into Momerath Territory to find the antidote - if it exists. Chasing a rumor about a mysterious doctor with the cure, Alice falls down the rabbit hole into Wanderland, where ravenous momerath aren’t the only danger lurking.

My Rating

4/5 stars

My Review

Think Alice in Wonderland mixed with The Walking Dead. This will probably be my favourite retelling of Alice, ever.

Alice and her sister Dinah live in the Sector, a safe place where the Momerath (zombies) can't get in. When the sisters go on a scavenge hunt to a pharmacy and the library, they encounter a Momerath and barely escape. When Dinah falls ill and begins showing the signs of the virus that turns people into Momerath, Alice takes it upon herself to venture out on her own and find a cure for Dinah, before the virus takes her.

Alice was a really good main character. I liked her in the beginning, but I loved her in the end. Alice went from being the afraid little sister thats shy and likes book, to a powerful warrior thats not afraid to kill some zombies and encounter new groups of people if it gets her what she wants. She faced her fears and picked up a machete to kill zombies, somethings she's never done before and was able to fend them off all by herself, I was truly amazed looking back at her character development. 

The plot of this story was really fast and intense. I love how the author didn't bore us with pointless details about the world, and had enough action to keep the reader entertained. From the reader's point of view, it was nice not to go over all the boring little details, but from the scientist's point of view, I would have loved to learn more about what the virus actually does to the body, and how it changes normal people into Momerath. 
Since this was a retelling, all the classic characters are still here, even though they're slightly changed. My favourite, was probably the adaptation of the Red Queen, into a zombie killing warrior that brought her tribe together at the beginning of the outbreak, as well as Matt Hatter being the leading scientist to cause the outbreak, it was all so very creative. 
While I was extremely impressed with the world that Sullivan created, it became a tad predictable at times. I know its very hard to make the story unpredictable when you're writing a retelling, but I would have loved to see more twists and surprises in this book.

The romance... I don't even know if you could call it that. While this book didn't exactly focus on the romance aspect, Alice was introduced to two boys, Nate and Chess. I'm sensing a potential love triangle in the future, but for now, this book remained love-triangle free. I'm definitely excited to see what the author does next with the romance.

Overall, this was a fantastic book. It is definitely something you should pick up if you're going through Walking Dead withdrawal, or if you love Alice in Wonderland, zombies, or really intense action stories. I look forward to seeing more from this author.

Happy Reading,
Aneta

Book Blitz & Giveaway: The Harvesting by Melanie Karsak

The Harvesting
Melanie Karsak
Series: The Harvesting, #1
Publication date: January 8th 2014
Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Zombies

Synopsis: It’s all fun and games until someone ends up undead.
Layla Petrovich has spent her whole life running away from her hometown of Hamletville. Raised by the town’s medium, and dubbed the “weird” girl for her fascination with swords, the last thing Layla wants is to go home.

But when she receives a desperate call to return just as a mysterious outbreak sweeps the country, Layla’s instincts urge her to go. Good thing, because the dead are rising.Layla, however, isn’t entirely on her own. With her psychic powers growing, surely everything will turn out okay, right?

Not so fast. Just when Layla believes she might survive the apocalypse, a sinister and ancient force rises from the shadows to finish mankind for good.Because the truth is, we were never alone in this world.

Begin The Harvesting Series with The Harvesting, Book 1.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

“If you ever need to slice someone’s head off, this is the blade you want,” I said as I lifted a curved sword off the table in front of me. “We’ve been practicing épée and foil so far, but tonight I want to introduce you to the sabre.” The practice sabre’s curved blade reflected the orange streetlight shining in through the window. A grant from the Smithsonian where I worked allowed me to teach my two passions: ancient weapons and their arts. “The sabre is a slashing weapon,” I continued and then lunged, showing the wide-eyed and excited students a few moves. “And in general, it’s my favorite,” I admitted with a grin.

The students laughed.
“Is that why you have it tattooed on your arm?” Tyler, one of my best fencers, asked.
My hand went unconsciously toward the tattoo. The ink was a sword interlaced with other once-meaningful symbols. “That’s not just any sabre,” I said, mildly embarrassed. “Here, let me show you. I brought something special tonight.” Setting the training sabre down, I lifted a rolled bundle. I laid it down on the table and unrolled it to reveal weapons in various elaborate scabbards.
“Some are épée, foils—you can tell by the hilt—a broadsword, a claymore, a katana, a scimitar, throwing daggers,” I said, pointing, “but this, this is a Russian shashka.” I pulled the shashka from the bundle. “It’s like a traditional sabre, but has no guard. She’s light, single-edged, wielded with one hand, and good for stabbing or slashing. Not awkward in close quarters like a Scottish claymore, but it will kill you just as dead,” I said with a smile. I unsheathed the weapon and gave it an under-and over-hand spin around my head, shoulders, and back.
The students grinned from ear to ear.
I put it back in its scabbard and handed the shashka to them. “Pass it around, but keep in mind it is sharp enough to cut a blade of hair in half.” I then turned my attention to Tyler. “Now, since you’re so interested, let’s see how you do with the sabre.” I tossed one of the training swords to him.
Tyler, already in his gear, jumped up and lowered his fencing mask. “But you’re not in gear,” he said.
I shrugged. “Hit me, if you can.”
We stood at the ready, made the ceremonial bow, and began. Tyler was not overly aggressive, which is partially why he was so successful. He waited for me, moving slowly. He was smart, quick, and often tried to over-tire his opponent.
I waited, dropped my sword a bit, and let him make the lunge. He took the bait.
The swords clanged together, and we clashed back and forth across the strip. He lunged and slashed while I dodged and blocked. He was fast. I was faster. When he lunged again, I ducked. With an upward movement, I went in.
“A hit,” Kasey called.
They clapped.
“Man, that’s what you get for taking on a former state champ—and the teacher,” Trey told Tyler with a laugh.
Tyler pulled off the mask and smiled at me.
Just then, my cell rang. I would usually ignore it, but something told me to answer.
“Everyone pair up and start working with the training sabers,” I said and pointed to the sword rack. I went to my bag and grabbed my cell.
Before I could say hello, she spoke.
“Layla, Grandma needs you to come home,” my grandmother’s voice, thick with Russian accent, came across through static. I was silent for a moment. My grandmother lived 500 miles away, and she never used her telephone. With the exception of her T.V., she hated technology. She’d cried and begged me to take away the microwave I’d purchased for her one Mother’s Day.
“Grandma? What’s wrong?”
“Come home now. Be here tomorrow,” she said. She hung up.
I lowered my cell and stared at it. Confused and worried, I dialed her back. The phone rang, but she did not answer. I had obligations: practice, bills to pay, groceries to buy, tons of work to do, and a date for god-sakes. But my grandmother was the only one I had left in the world.
“Sorry, guys. Emergency,” I called to my students.
Disappointed, they groaned.
“Sorry. Let’s pack it up for the night.” My hands shaking, I slid the shashka back into the bundle and rolled up the weapons. What had happened? Maybe Grandma was sick. Maybe she had some problem. Or maybe she had seen something.

Author Bio:
Melanie Karsak is the author of The Airship Racing Chronicles, The Harvesting Series, and The Celtic Blood Series. A steampunk connoisseur, zombie whisperer, and heir to the iron throne, the author currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children. She is an Instructor of English at Eastern Florida State College.

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Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Series: Something Strange and Deadly #1
Publication Date: July 24th 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Zombies
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Synopsis: There's something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia...

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family as fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walkers by. But this is nothing compared to what she's just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor... from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she'll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including the maddeningly stubborn yet handsome Daniel, the situation becomes dire. An now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

My Rating: 5/5 stars

My Review: 

“The fault is not in our stars," I whispered to the ceiling. "But in ourselves. This was my choice.” 

Something Strange and Deadly is the perfect romantic mystery that keeps you on your toes throughout the whole ride. With lovable characters and picturesque world-building, this book is pure perfection.

The Dead are coming back to life, and when one of them brings Eleanor a letter from her brother, she knows that he's in trouble and she has to come to his rescue. But when her mom releases an evil spirit that's coming after her, she has to find help from the mysterious Spirit-Hunters.

Eleanor is such a strong character, I honestly love reading books where the main character knows not only how to be a bad-ass and stand up for herself, but also use her 'womenly' charms to get what she wants. Eleanor is smart, funny and brave. She's every girl's role model.

The world-building in this story is down right perfection. The author gives us enough detail to know how everything looks, but not so much detail that it makes the book boring. It has the perfect balance and I couldn't be any more impressed. 

The plot, the characters, the world-building and the writing are all just perfect. There's tons of action where you can't put the book down, and I wouldn't have changed a thing in this book. I highly recommend this to everyone, especially fans of the Infernal Devices, and the Walking Dead.

Happy Reading,
-Aneta

Blog Tour: Undying by Valerie Grosjean

Hi everyone. Welcome to my stop on the Undying Blog Tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. I am so happy to share this fantastic book with all of you. Check out my review of this book down below and an awesome giveaway by the author. Check out the rest of the schedule here.

Undying
by Valerie Grosjean
Series: Undying #1
Publication Date: September 29th 2013
Genre: YA, Romance, Zombies
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ B&N

Synopsis: This is a story of love . . . and zombies. 

When eighteen-year-old college freshman Christian discovers his dormitory is crawling with the living dead, he knows he has a problem. But once he learns the whole country is overrun by the flesh-eating horde, he must race to protect what matters to him most. 

Sixteen-year-old Iris, the girl he loves, is stranded eighty miles away, alone and completely unaware of the gruesome threat surrounding her.

Christian’s plan is to evade the zombies, drive the distance to rescue Iris, and get them both to his family farm—where there are guns, fuel, and everything else they’ll need to survive. His mission seems simple: Get the girl, get to the farm, and stay alive.

Things get complicated when Christian is forced to make an unthinkable choice between Iris and his family. Someone he loves must die, and he must decide.

My Rating: 4/5 stars

My Review: Undying is a fantastic first book to a perfect new series. If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you will absolutely love this book and you need to read it right now.

When Christian wakes up a discovers that there is a crazy girl running down his dorm room biting people he and his roommate decide to investigate. Finding a dead body in one of the rooms and seeing it come back to life, they know that this is the beginning of a zombie apocalypse. It becomes Christians mission to find and help his best friend Iris whom hes just happened to love since they met. Can he get there in time, before its too late.

This story is absolutely fantastic. I love The Walking Dead so this was a definite read for me. And I must say that I was not dissapointed with the amount of zombies. This book was perfect in the sense where it had romance, adventure and zombies. There was a perfect balance to everything.

We defintiely see a lot of world-building. We go from seeing Christian in his dorm room, to him racing back home and breaking into houses. I feel like the amount of detail the author put into the descriptions and details on the world were just the right amount for the length of the book.

Christian was definitely a great character, I loved seeing the world from his point of view. I love how hes so caring, you can definitely tell just how much he cares about Iris and his family, and you do get a feel of how much he has suffered due to his mother's passing. I loved reading about him just talking about how he met Iris and how he decided to be friends. Even though I admired him for his love and passion, he definitely seemed a little strange, there were times where he would say things that didn't really belong to the context, they were just kind of random, most of the time it was when he said I love you. This made him seem a little less realistic.

The beginning of this book was absolutely perfect, but closer to the end I felt like the book was being rushed a little too fast. I would have loved to get more detail with what happens with certain characters which I feel like we didn't get enough time with.

Either way, I really enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series to find out what happens to Christian next. 

About the Author

Valerie Grosjean is the author of the young adult novel UNDYING. She grew up on a Nebraska farm. After college, she married and moved to Northern California, where she lives with her husband and their two young children. Her obsession with zombie movies inspired UNDYING, her first novel and the beginning of the Undying series.

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