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_mitsuri_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
julia97's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
Started off well, but I had the feeling that I was super tired and not understanding basic elements and plot points. No, this book is poorly written and no sense of place. Entire situations seem to change within a single sentence and scenes are non sensical at times. No, you're not having a stroke, this is just a poorly written book.
lozzyb_23's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
clairewilsonleeds's review against another edition
4.0
This is a brilliant teen LGBT zombie book. What's not to like?
shanbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Did I pick this book up for the cover? Yes, of course I did.
Peter is a teenager who lives on the islands of Wranglestone which is a safe haven from the Restless Dead. But every year during winter, the lakes freeze over leaving the community vulnerable to the undead. As Peter gets older, he’s forced onto the mainland to help protect everyone but he soon unearths a dark secret that will make him question everything he’s ever known.
Things I liked:
- the love story - while it was pretty much instalove, it was a cute love story between two teenage boys.
- the setting - i don’t read too much zombie/apocalypse books so i don’t really know if it’s been done before, but i enjoyed the idea of the characters living on an island to protect themselves from the zombies.
- the secret - i didn’t really know what to expect when going into the book, but i did enjoy the secret and the reveal of it.
Things I didn’t like:
- the ending - i didn’t dislike the ending, but it seemed fairly rushed compared to the rest of the book. there is a sequel though and i will definitely read it at some point!
- the characters - i didn’t hate the characters but i felt they could’ve been a bit more fleshed out
3.5 stars overall
Peter is a teenager who lives on the islands of Wranglestone which is a safe haven from the Restless Dead. But every year during winter, the lakes freeze over leaving the community vulnerable to the undead. As Peter gets older, he’s forced onto the mainland to help protect everyone but he soon unearths a dark secret that will make him question everything he’s ever known.
Things I liked:
- the love story - while it was pretty much instalove, it was a cute love story between two teenage boys.
- the setting - i don’t read too much zombie/apocalypse books so i don’t really know if it’s been done before, but i enjoyed the idea of the characters living on an island to protect themselves from the zombies.
- the secret - i didn’t really know what to expect when going into the book, but i did enjoy the secret and the reveal of it.
Things I didn’t like:
- the ending - i didn’t dislike the ending, but it seemed fairly rushed compared to the rest of the book. there is a sequel though and i will definitely read it at some point!
- the characters - i didn’t hate the characters but i felt they could’ve been a bit more fleshed out
3.5 stars overall
thatginger's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I quite enjoyed this book. I really loved the whole concept but I felt like in some areas it was just missing something. It didn’t really feel like the romance part of the book was really introduced. It kind of felt like it went from nothing to everything. That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy this book. I loved the characters and the plot was full of little twists! I will read the second book.
pewterwolf's review against another edition
4.0
Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf
***Book given by publisher, Stripes, in exchange for an honest review/reaction***
I hate zombies. Out of all of the well-known supernatural creatures in pop culture at the moment, zombies freak me out the most. Hence why I’ve never read/watched The Walking Dead and it took the Other Half YEARS to make me watch Zombieland (it was in the cinema on our first date but, due to me hating zombies, we watched District Nine instead). There are exceptions to this rule - though it is VERY rare. I adore the Old Kingdom series (starting with [b:Sabriel|1042542|Sabriel (Abhorsen, #1)|Garth Nix|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1374876120l/1042542._SY75_.jpg|3312237] by Garth Nix) and I have read books and series where they are hinted at, but normally, I stay away.
So why, I hear you ask, did I was to read Wranglestone so badly? It’s a zombie book. Yes, but it features at its heart an LGBT romance. And this is the main reason I wanted to read this. I haven’t heard or read a zombie book that has a same-sex relationship as the main romance before.
Set in post-apocalyptic America where the Dead are Restless, one of the few safe havens is Lake Wranglestone. But Peter never feels like he’s fit in the safe community. He’s not like Cooper, a boy he’s always watched from afar, who’s strong and brave and fearless. Peter is more a homebody. And when he puts the community in danger after naively allowing a stranger to come ashore to one of Lake Wranglestone’s islands, he is forced to leave the islands and help Cooper herd the Restless Ones away from the shores before the lake freezes.
But as the pair realises that’s something to their long-held feelings for each other, both discover a dark secret about Wranglestone. Meaning they have been lied to their whole lives…
I am going to admit this right now, it took me most of January to read. I know, this isn’t because I didn’t like the book. I did! But I found time to read really tricky. Work and real life suck at times for a book blogger/vlogger as this is a secret, second-yet-unpaid job. If anyone wants to pay me to read and blog full-time, go for it!
Sorry, will behave now.
So… Wranglestone. Ok, where should I start?
This is an interesting debut novel as the writing and prose are beautiful. On this front, it was strong and it carried me along with the story. And I found the romance between Peter and Cooper a joy to read (though I know some of you will go “It’s very insta-love” but with the situation, both characters having crushes on each other and a few other factors, I will forgive this) and I found what this book was adding to zombie mythology quite fascinating and intrigued to see how this builds throughout the course of the series.
I do have some problems. It mainly comes down to two factors: pacing and plot complex. I get why, don’t get me wrong. I completely understand why the first 100 or so pages were slow - world building and getting readers to understand. But at the 150ish mark, the pacing goes up several gears and you are running. You need to be on the ball when the gear shift happens as the plot gets darker and more complex. And because of this, there were several times I had to stop and reread a page or two back to keep everything straight in my own head.
Despite these flaws, this shows signs of being a promising start to a new series and I can’t wait for the next instalment!
***Book given by publisher, Stripes, in exchange for an honest review/reaction***
I hate zombies. Out of all of the well-known supernatural creatures in pop culture at the moment, zombies freak me out the most. Hence why I’ve never read/watched The Walking Dead and it took the Other Half YEARS to make me watch Zombieland (it was in the cinema on our first date but, due to me hating zombies, we watched District Nine instead). There are exceptions to this rule - though it is VERY rare. I adore the Old Kingdom series (starting with [b:Sabriel|1042542|Sabriel (Abhorsen, #1)|Garth Nix|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1374876120l/1042542._SY75_.jpg|3312237] by Garth Nix) and I have read books and series where they are hinted at, but normally, I stay away.
So why, I hear you ask, did I was to read Wranglestone so badly? It’s a zombie book. Yes, but it features at its heart an LGBT romance. And this is the main reason I wanted to read this. I haven’t heard or read a zombie book that has a same-sex relationship as the main romance before.
Set in post-apocalyptic America where the Dead are Restless, one of the few safe havens is Lake Wranglestone. But Peter never feels like he’s fit in the safe community. He’s not like Cooper, a boy he’s always watched from afar, who’s strong and brave and fearless. Peter is more a homebody. And when he puts the community in danger after naively allowing a stranger to come ashore to one of Lake Wranglestone’s islands, he is forced to leave the islands and help Cooper herd the Restless Ones away from the shores before the lake freezes.
But as the pair realises that’s something to their long-held feelings for each other, both discover a dark secret about Wranglestone. Meaning they have been lied to their whole lives…
I am going to admit this right now, it took me most of January to read. I know, this isn’t because I didn’t like the book. I did! But I found time to read really tricky. Work and real life suck at times for a book blogger/vlogger as this is a secret, second-yet-unpaid job. If anyone wants to pay me to read and blog full-time, go for it!
Sorry, will behave now.
So… Wranglestone. Ok, where should I start?
This is an interesting debut novel as the writing and prose are beautiful. On this front, it was strong and it carried me along with the story. And I found the romance between Peter and Cooper a joy to read (though I know some of you will go “It’s very insta-love” but with the situation, both characters having crushes on each other and a few other factors, I will forgive this) and I found what this book was adding to zombie mythology quite fascinating and intrigued to see how this builds throughout the course of the series.
I do have some problems. It mainly comes down to two factors: pacing and plot complex. I get why, don’t get me wrong. I completely understand why the first 100 or so pages were slow - world building and getting readers to understand. But at the 150ish mark, the pacing goes up several gears and you are running. You need to be on the ball when the gear shift happens as the plot gets darker and more complex. And because of this, there were several times I had to stop and reread a page or two back to keep everything straight in my own head.
Despite these flaws, this shows signs of being a promising start to a new series and I can’t wait for the next instalment!
bea_rodr's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
essjay's review against another edition
1.25
What a complete and utter clusterfuck of a book this was. I should have quit in the first chapter when the white 15y/o wanted to trade some dreamcatchers that he'd made. I should have quit a few chapters in when (after establishing in the first few pages that Wranglestone is in Montana) it's mentioned that Yellowstone is a few days north, even though that's fucking Impossible If you're in Montana. I should have quit shortly after that when a bear had sweat dripping down its face, despite the fact that bears don't have sweat glands. I should have quit at about the halfway point when a woman was apparently given a perm with fire heated tongs, despite the fact that that's not how perms work? And she somehow had mascara to apply 15 years after mascara has stopped being manufactured? Or when the book suddenly became a metaphor for the slave trade (wtf) despite the all white cast of characters. Half the time I felt like I was skimming bc shit made no sense, and then I'd go back to figure out wtf I'd missed, BUT I HAD MISSED NOTHING, IT JUST DIDN'T ACTUALLY MAKE ANY FUCKING SENSE. I don't understand the ending (or when Wranglestone is finally described as being between Grand Teton and Yellowstone [which would put it firmly in Wyoming] and somehow still only 300 miles south of Glacier, when Yellowstone is further away than that). Anyway, fuck this bullshit book.
joanna27's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0