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3.13 AVERAGE
3.13 AVERAGE
I liked that this book started off pre-zombie times and then worked it's way to current zombie-times.
The lead character Cassie Wild, who is a black belt in karate and often hangs out at the shooting range, is of course quite well suited for this change of events.
This book reminded me of an action movie, where the two heroes plow through bodies, ever resourceful, never afraid, while looking cool, and saying cocky catchphrases.
And like most action movies, you're supposed to get behind the character for their cool asskicking abilities, not their long dramatic and touching backstory.
This book didn't really make me feel one way or the other, it was a quick fairly diverting read.
The lead character Cassie Wild, who is a black belt in karate and often hangs out at the shooting range, is of course quite well suited for this change of events.
This book reminded me of an action movie, where the two heroes plow through bodies, ever resourceful, never afraid, while looking cool, and saying cocky catchphrases.
And like most action movies, you're supposed to get behind the character for their cool asskicking abilities, not their long dramatic and touching backstory.
This book didn't really make me feel one way or the other, it was a quick fairly diverting read.
Pembacaan yang sangat cepat.. Bermula dengan mereka yang diserang virus selsema, kemudiannya diberijan vaksin yang tak diuji sepenuhnya dan akhirnya menjadi zombie.. Cassie tak sangka dalam 1 malam semuanya berubah.. Nice..
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The characters spent way too much time flirting, especially considering they just lost their loved ones and the world has gone to hell. The characters also lacked definition. I finished it ten minutes ago, and can't remember most of their names. However, it was free and it was just engaging enough that I didn't quit reading until the sudden ending. I would give it two stars for that if not for the completely ridiculous anti-vaccine message the author was pushing. The cause of the disease being a vaccine was utter crap. Every time a character said they didn't believe in vaccines, I imagined Neil DeGrasse Tyson saying, " The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.”
Excellent book with great surprise!
Zombie book or witch book???? Hmmm...this book holds a wonderful delicious secret. Great read, funny and sweet. I want more from this author!
Zombie book or witch book???? Hmmm...this book holds a wonderful delicious secret. Great read, funny and sweet. I want more from this author!
I'll start the review by noting I'm a middle-aged dude and thus clearly not the target audience for a book like this. My opinions are probably not as important as the teenage female ones Kristen Middleton is targeting, so feel free to take my remarks with as many grains of salt as you feel necessary.
There's a formula for teen fiction these days in that no matter what else is going on, the female lead is going to get caught up in a love triangle between two equally hot guys: one the hot-headed, rambunctious bad boy, and the other the more even-keel but no less intense nice guy. It's the single most cliche trope you can roll with. It's a cheap, convenient way to inject tension into a narrative, and it's nothing romance novels haven't been using for years, but at this point the 'two guys, one girl' thing is more played out than a week-long game of Monopoly.
That's not to say you can't make it work, but you have to know going in that Stephanie Meyer and Suzanne Collins are the heavies who beat you to the punch, and unless you want your book to be thought of as "Twilight, only with ______", or "Hunger Games, but instead they fight _______", then you need to offer more. Or you could just be Origins, book 1 of the "Zombie Games" series, and revel in the path most traveled.
This is actually my biggest complaint with the book, because without this lodestone around its neck, I could score this one probably in the 3.5-star range. Middleton's dialogue is great barring a few groaners (the last line of the book comes readily to mind here), and while I can see some other reviewers' point about the seeming anti-vax mentality of the narrative, I don't know the author well enough to know whether she's injecting a personal anti-science bias into the narrative, or just picked that as a vector for transmission because it was less common than 'came down on a meteor or something'. We are talking about a fictional narrative here, and I'm always willing to give props to an author for taking a different direction.
I liked Cassie as a character when first introduced, and while other people have knocked points off for her behaving and thinking like a teenage girl even in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, I will point out that a teenager's mind is nearly always focused on themselves first and everything else second. They're at a stage of development where that's just the way things are, zombie apocalypse or not. The less-believable scenario here, believe it or not, is her not complaining about a broken nail after her very first professional manicure. It's all of two lines in the story--you really can just let that one go.
What I didn't care for was her budding and entirely too quick 'romance' with Bryce. It wouldn't be so bad if he was seventeen himself, but he's twenty and she's seventeen, yet the dude is joking about sleeping in her bed to keep her company during the night, and the adult male in me is going, "Statutory rape is a thing, even if there's a zombie uprising happening." I get that she's young and attractive, but Bryce is the hot-headed bad boy of the story, and as such I only see him as an asshole. Might be hot, might be good at killing zombies, but he's going to play the field and Cassie for all her abilities isn't going to be able to reign him in. Leave Bryce for Eva--they're perfect for one another. :)
Honestly, I was 3 stars all the way with this one right up until the surprise ending reveal and that groaner of a last line. The re-emergence of someone Cassie's been unable to contact throughout the whole story, and that character's extremely flippant and nonchalant take on what's happening, to say nothing of what they're about to attempt, is simply awful and there's no excuse. From a writer's perspective, I can see the appeal of having another badass suddenly show up who's so prepared for the end of the world he's ready to swallow sawdust and shit out a cabinet, but as a reader this could not have fallen flatter and really deadened my desire to pick up and start book two.
Not saying I never will, because I've got the five-book set on my eReader, but I just hope the ending for Book 2 is better. Middleton could pull this one off yet, and I'm not prepared to write her off over a single story.
There's a formula for teen fiction these days in that no matter what else is going on, the female lead is going to get caught up in a love triangle between two equally hot guys: one the hot-headed, rambunctious bad boy, and the other the more even-keel but no less intense nice guy. It's the single most cliche trope you can roll with. It's a cheap, convenient way to inject tension into a narrative, and it's nothing romance novels haven't been using for years, but at this point the 'two guys, one girl' thing is more played out than a week-long game of Monopoly.
That's not to say you can't make it work, but you have to know going in that Stephanie Meyer and Suzanne Collins are the heavies who beat you to the punch, and unless you want your book to be thought of as "Twilight, only with ______", or "Hunger Games, but instead they fight _______", then you need to offer more. Or you could just be Origins, book 1 of the "Zombie Games" series, and revel in the path most traveled.
This is actually my biggest complaint with the book, because without this lodestone around its neck, I could score this one probably in the 3.5-star range. Middleton's dialogue is great barring a few groaners (the last line of the book comes readily to mind here), and while I can see some other reviewers' point about the seeming anti-vax mentality of the narrative, I don't know the author well enough to know whether she's injecting a personal anti-science bias into the narrative, or just picked that as a vector for transmission because it was less common than 'came down on a meteor or something'. We are talking about a fictional narrative here, and I'm always willing to give props to an author for taking a different direction.
I liked Cassie as a character when first introduced, and while other people have knocked points off for her behaving and thinking like a teenage girl even in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, I will point out that a teenager's mind is nearly always focused on themselves first and everything else second. They're at a stage of development where that's just the way things are, zombie apocalypse or not. The less-believable scenario here, believe it or not, is her not complaining about a broken nail after her very first professional manicure. It's all of two lines in the story--you really can just let that one go.
What I didn't care for was her budding and entirely too quick 'romance' with Bryce. It wouldn't be so bad if he was seventeen himself, but he's twenty and she's seventeen, yet the dude is joking about sleeping in her bed to keep her company during the night, and the adult male in me is going, "Statutory rape is a thing, even if there's a zombie uprising happening." I get that she's young and attractive, but Bryce is the hot-headed bad boy of the story, and as such I only see him as an asshole. Might be hot, might be good at killing zombies, but he's going to play the field and Cassie for all her abilities isn't going to be able to reign him in. Leave Bryce for Eva--they're perfect for one another. :)
Honestly, I was 3 stars all the way with this one right up until the surprise ending reveal and that groaner of a last line. The re-emergence of someone Cassie's been unable to contact throughout the whole story, and that character's extremely flippant and nonchalant take on what's happening, to say nothing of what they're about to attempt, is simply awful and there's no excuse. From a writer's perspective, I can see the appeal of having another badass suddenly show up who's so prepared for the end of the world he's ready to swallow sawdust and shit out a cabinet, but as a reader this could not have fallen flatter and really deadened my desire to pick up and start book two.
Not saying I never will, because I've got the five-book set on my eReader, but I just hope the ending for Book 2 is better. Middleton could pull this one off yet, and I'm not prepared to write her off over a single story.
Pedestrian zombie novel. The book has a vague anti-vaxxer tone to it, given the only people safe from turning into zombies are those who haven't had the untested vaccine handed out to fight a near-plague.
I cant even start this review with anything more than, I am very relieved to not have spent money on this book. I bought it as a big bundle for about 40p(something like that) and so far the other books are fab.
This one however, I am unsure about what chapter I stopped reading, but it was after some hot boy (I gather from the amount of description devoted to him) saved her friend(s)? and mother? Question marks are needed because I got a little confused from boredom.
Now I gave this book a chance because Zombies are not my thing, vampires, angels, devils even fairies fine. Zombies are just a bad read when done wrong. Which she does. To me her writing is good, the storyline is just wimpy. I mean who gives a hoot about her nails, and how has she not developed symptoms even though she was bit? So stupid, its not even unrealistic because the plot is unrealistic considering it is about zombies and all. But her mum disappears which some man thats hurt, and isn't heard from. Her dad just shows up at the end (I skipped to see if anything happened) and her sister ran off.
So basically we have an unlikeable heroine (Cassie?) who is one dimentional dramatic teenager that cares about boys and her nails but is a karate expert at what 17? Suuure, because a 17 year old girl that is appartently very girly would want to do a karate class. And then theres the boy who annoys everyone readimg at first because hes a jerk.
I am just so disappointed in this book, and I've taken so long to write this review to show it. I urge you to not buy this book. GET IT FREEE. Really wish I could vote this lower. What a shame it seemed OK in the description.
Also it reeks of walking dead, which I don't love either. If you read the bio of the author from the book it says she loves that series. Wonder where the book idea sprang from...
This one however, I am unsure about what chapter I stopped reading, but it was after some hot boy (I gather from the amount of description devoted to him) saved her friend(s)? and mother? Question marks are needed because I got a little confused from boredom.
Now I gave this book a chance because Zombies are not my thing, vampires, angels, devils even fairies fine. Zombies are just a bad read when done wrong. Which she does. To me her writing is good, the storyline is just wimpy. I mean who gives a hoot about her nails, and how has she not developed symptoms even though she was bit? So stupid, its not even unrealistic because the plot is unrealistic considering it is about zombies and all. But her mum disappears which some man thats hurt, and isn't heard from. Her dad just shows up at the end (I skipped to see if anything happened) and her sister ran off.
So basically we have an unlikeable heroine (Cassie?) who is one dimentional dramatic teenager that cares about boys and her nails but is a karate expert at what 17? Suuure, because a 17 year old girl that is appartently very girly would want to do a karate class. And then theres the boy who annoys everyone readimg at first because hes a jerk.
I am just so disappointed in this book, and I've taken so long to write this review to show it. I urge you to not buy this book. GET IT FREEE. Really wish I could vote this lower. What a shame it seemed OK in the description.
Also it reeks of walking dead, which I don't love either. If you read the bio of the author from the book it says she loves that series. Wonder where the book idea sprang from...
I picked this book up as part of a box set. I wanted to hate it I really did. Reads as YA fiction and who knows maybe it actually is. However I got sucked into it a lot more than I feel good about. It’s campy. But dang if it didn’t hold my attention enough to think that i might actually read the second book.
Great read!
Fast paced and well written. Good read for any zombie fans. Highly encourage to read! I will continue series for sure!
Fast paced and well written. Good read for any zombie fans. Highly encourage to read! I will continue series for sure!