Book Review: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Book: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Genre: YA horror

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

We read this book for last month's book club and I went into it pretty much knowing nothing. It took me a minute to get into it, but then it was quick and fast reading after that. I started it late and literally finished the last paragraph as the first book club member was arriving at my house! WAH!

So this is a zombie story that takes place a few years after the Civil War. So it's an alternate reality story that basically answers the question "what if when Gettysburg happened, all the guys dying in that battle rose up as zombies?" 

Our heroine girl is a former slave, now "freed", but training to be a companion.. .meaning the one who escorts the rich white girls and fights the zombies off should the need arise. (Gah sorry I already forgot what the zombies are called in this world.) She seems happy to be learning to fight, but not so happy that this is the only choice she really has. 

She and a bunch of other girls live and train in a sort of boarding house. One day when she fights a zombie off of the mayor (in a situation he himself created,) she suddenly gets some attention and he decides he wants her for special project. And THAT'S about when this book became very riveting and crazy!

It reminded me a lot of The Walking Dead, mostly in that people are trying all kinds of ways to survive, and this ends up turning the survivors into the bad guys. People are so awful when they are trying to take charge of survivors and lead them through an apocalypse! Seriously, if something like this every happens in real life, I hope we've all learned something from all the stories we've watched and read!

And then the book just ended when things were getting very intense which of course means I will be needing to find book two. 

Anyway, I really quite enjoyed it. It not only deals with zombies, but with all the hot button topic race issues of our day, but in a clever way. Very creative book all around. 

Kdrama Mini Reviews: September - December

I figured since I did a quick mini-review wrap up of the books I read through the end of 2021, I'd do the same for the kdramas. Let's get caught up and start "fresh" in 2022! (Already behind, but whatever...)

Hometown Cha Cha Cha ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Likely my favorite drama of the year. So cute and fun and sweet. Starring the adorable Kim Seonho whose character in this one is practically perfect. He plays a dude who is beloved in this small seaside village. When our girl comes from the big city to set up a dentist office, she ruffles the feathers of many and he helps smooth things over. He is intrigued by her, but seems be holding back. This a great small town feel good drama. It reminds me a lot of Gilmore Girls... the town feel anyway... and the fun banter.  Click here for the trailer. (This one is on Netflix.)

Squid Game ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ 

Of course we had to get on the bandwagon and see what everyone was talking about. Strange that the "regular" world was freaking out over a KDRAMA! Is this real life??? But I am sad this is the one that caught the world's attention. It's a rough one my friends. VERY rough. But very intriguing and so much to discuss and think about. The ending had me angry, because of course, they left it hanging and there will be a season two. (Not the norm for kdramas.) 

It's about a group of people who are so desperate in their real lives for money that they agree to play a set of kid games to win millions of  dollars (aka. billions of won.) It's a battle to the death and it's very ruthless and gut wrenching. 

The only actor people I knew in this from before was the cop dude (love him!) and the lady who plays the main character's mom (she's in EVERYTHING, no joke) and of course Gong Yoo, the one that plays the slapping game in the beginning to entice our guy to play the games. He might be the most famous Korean actor out there at the moment. But it's been fun to see these other actors get noticed from this show. The old guy just won a big time award. 

Curious if any of you non-kdrama people watched this one. Let me know what you thought! 

Link to the trailer here. This one is on Netlfix.

Nevertheless, ❤ ❤

Lots of people were talking about this one and I was curious. Plus I felt drawn by the actor Kang Song. But this is NOT a feel good drama! So much  manipulation and miscommunication and just... shallowness of all characters. Kang Song's character seems sweet up front but is really just a player and he made me crazy. Our girl doesn't seem to have a clue and just is... stupid. LOL. It was like watching a train wreck, this one. And there's a sweet sweet second lead who is so perfect, but OF COURSE the second lead NEVER GETS THE GIRL! Here's the trailer and it is also on Netflix.

Lovers of the Red Sky ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Oh my word, what a beautiful drama this one was! It's a historical fantasy where our dude has been cursed and sometimes turns into the terrible god of death. He is blind (both the dude and the god) and wants his eyes back (from our girl.) When he is not possessed by the monster, he is a lovely sweet, quiet shy astronomer working at the palace. And our girl has come to live there as the resident artist. When they meet up again, they realize they are childhood sweethearts. But he is confused because back then it was HER that was blind, and not him. 

And thus begins a beautiful love story, with the backdrop of this curse and the fact that she is the solution to breaking it, even if it will be her death to do so. 

So good guys. SO GOOD! Beautiful all the way around. Music. Story. Acting. Cinematography. Everything. Here's a trailer for this one. It's on Viki.

Dali and Cocky Prince ❤ ❤ ❤

I watched this one simply to see Kim Minjae in a fun romcom. The last one he was in his character was so sober and aloof. But this one... totally the opposite and I LOVE LOVED LOVED seeing him in this kind of role. So funny. He's a lowborn dude who has made his way in the world by sheer grit, while she has inherited it all through her families art gallery. When the art gallery goes bankrupt, she ends up owing him money. And he is very snotty (cocky, yes?) about it, but then, he realizes there is much more to her and to the story than he ever imagined. And here's the trailer for this one. It's on Viki.

Wild Idol ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

While not considered a kdrama, I'm listing it here anyway because I watched it on my kdrama streaming thing and because it was on Korean TV so... it works for me. 

This was an idol reality survival show where 45 guys competed to be in a kpop band. They quickly narrowed it down to 16 guys and then we proceeded to fall in love with all them as we watched them compete in several missions. Some physical, some musical, some visual... all while "out in the wild."  They were all amazing and so talented. The final episode was live on a stage and it was awesome to see how well they all cleaned up. They were narrowed down to 7 guys who now make up a band called T.A.N who will be debuting soon. So excited for them. Most of them had been in other groups that were struggling, and so they are desperate for their big break. Seriously though, if you love music competition shows, try this one for something really fun and different. I can't find a trailer, but here's the music video all 45 did before they started to be eliminated. This one is on Viki.

Happiness ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

My draw to this one was again, the actor, Park Hyungsik, who has just come back from his military service. Love him in everything he's done so far, so I figured this one would be no exception. He plays a cop who ends up in a marriage of convenience with his long time friend... they had to get married in order to qualify for the housing she wanted so bad. In the meantime, a virus has broken out and this virus causes people to go crazy and bite other people. Yes... zombies.  Once they get settled in their new apartment... the virus breaks out there and they are put on a lockdown. So the story is basically them dealing with this and dealing with the crazy people who live in the building. It's fantastic. Not a lot of romance in this one, though they do have moments...but it's more a character driven, people study. With a side of zombies. Really good. Here's the trailer. It's on Viki.

Lots of great shows this past year! My addiction continues! Can't wait to see what this next year brings! I am so behind and trying catch up on them all, plus keep up with the new ones. It's pretty impossible, but fun to try!

While we are on the subject of kdramas, maybe you'd be interested in the compilation I did of all my favorite OSTs (songs from kdramas) from the year. You might recognize some of these ones being featured! (But some of the ones featured I haven't even seen yet!! AH!)

Kdrama Review: Kingdom (Seasons 1 and 2)

Drama: Kingdom (Seasons 1 and 2) (Netflix)
Genre: Historical horror fantasy thriller
Starring: Ju Ji Hoon, Jeon Seok Ho, Bae Doo Na
Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤


People have been raving about this for like a year. The first season (6 episodes) came out last year, and then recently 6 more episodes in a Season 2. (Netflix is having a great time messing with the kdrama system and breaking things into "seasons" which is really annoying.) I didn't have much desire to watch this one despite the huge amount of buzz it was getting. But when the stay at home thing started, I thought it would be a fun one to check out.

We started it out as a family watch, but that didn't last long. It was not a good one for the anxiety of a quarantine after all. So I put it on hold and then have finished it on my own.

So this one is a zombie show... set in the historical time period of the Josen Dynasty in Korea. So they are running around killing zombies in their beautiful long silk robes. So crazy. (Well, the peasants are a little more practically dressed, but still.)

The king is sick and died, but his evil subordinates have found out about a plant that can revive a person from the dead. So they use this on him. But there's a drawback... it turns them into a zombie! So now they are keeping this a secret from the people, just telling everyone he is sick. Alive, but sick. And meanwhile they have him tied up so he won't kill them all, and they feed him damsels.

Well, the infection gets loose and pretty soon we have a full on plague, with many many people turning. Our heroic prince goes out and about to try and find a solution to this problem and ends up mixed up in the whole gruesome fight. With the help of a few other heroic others, they try to save people and try to kill all the zombies. It's pretty impossible.

Meanwhile, we are getting word of even more corruption at the palace thanks to the wicked evil queen. Sheesh, she is a trip.

Anyway. I was frustrated with the first half because it was mostly all action and fighting and slashing and killing and blood, and not so much about character development. That improved in the second half and I was finally feeling invested in our characters and genuinely worried about them. Things got very crazy that second half and the whole mess ended up BACK at the palace.

Well, and so I compared this one a lot to The Walking Dead in my head. It was just as violent and gruesome as that show, maybe even more so. But these zombies RUN... they the fast kind! It's very hard to get away from a RUNNING zombie! Anyway, so much blood and guts in this show! So much! It's exhausting!

But if you are into that kind of thing and enjoy a massive production (I can't even imagine what goes into making something of this scale) then you'll enjoy this one! So many people have loved it, but for me it was just okay. Not one of my favorite dramas by far.

However, the freaking second season also ends in a cliffhanger, so now when more episodes are released, I will have to watch! I need to know what happens next of course!

Here is the trailer for the first season:




Let me know if you watch it! I'd love to know what you think! This one is sort of more "main stream Netflix" so maybe you might be more inclined to check it out? Especially if you are a zombie fan.

Movie Review: A Quiet Place

Movie: A Quiet Place
Genre: Horror/suspense
Starring: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds
Rating: PG 13
My Rating: Two thumbs up


I really hadn't heard about this movie, I seem to be not in the right circles these days. But my daughter said, let's go to a movie and this one was the one she wanted. She'd heard a ton of great things about it. And so we went. I knew to be worried though. I knew it was going to be a bit... jumpy.. shall we say.

Which is sort of an understatement!

Anyway, the premise is this is our world awhile after an alien invasion. We first see this family as they are trying to get drugs at an abandoned pharmacy. (The scene reminded me a lot of Walking Dead scenes... rummaging through a store hoping to find what you need.) It becomes clear right away that it's very important not to be noisy. But that is not confirmed until a few more minutes into the movie... in a very big and traumatic terrible way.

Now we know. It's very very important not to make ANY noise.

Another year or so passes. The family seems to be surviving pretty well and has established a very quiet way of life. This is all thanks in part because they know sign language since their daughter is deaf.

We also see that the mom is now pregnant. Yeah, and so HOW THE HECK IS THAT GOING TO GO DOWN?

Well, you'll just have to watch the movie. All I can say is that it's VERY intense and VERY edge of your seat and.. yes... lots and lots of jumps. And yes.. it's so very very quiet. I was worried there would be no music, but thankfully there was. But lots of times there wasn't. And you know, the scenes in movies when a person is sneaking around and you are just waiting for something to jump out... this WHOLE movie is that way! AH!!! But then the characters can't scream!!! I was so exhausted by the end! LOL!

But it's a great scary movie because it is all about the suspense. I love that. These guys were all great actors too because they truly had to rely on actually acting... without hardly any dialogue. It was awesome.

And the ending. I just have to say, and hopefully it's not too much of a spoiler... BEST ENDING EVER! (Even despite some... stuff.) The audience reaction is the BEST too. It's all worth it for that.

So if suspense movies are your thing, don't miss this one.

Here's the trailer if you haven't seen it yet. Beware, even the trailer is pretty intense!


 

Movie Review: Train to Busan

Movie: Train to Busan
Genre: Horror (zombies)
Starring: Gong Yoo, Jung YoMi
Rating: 15+ (Korean rating), probably PG-13 here
My Rating: Two thumbs up

"The Walking Dead starring only Glenns. Cool."

(Lol, that was a comment on YouTube on the trailer that's embedded down below. I had to include it here!)

It was the husband that suggested we watch this movie, since he'd heard about from his friend who watches a scary movie a day during October, and so they discovered this movie then and reported that... dang.. it was pretty good!

We'd heard about it other places too and so I was intrigued and since the husband was interested in actually watching a Korean thing with us.. we watched the minute he said let's watch!

So, yeah, it's a zombie outbreak, and our main characters (a dad and his little girl) are on their way, on a train, to Busan (Busan is south of Seoul and about a five hour drive.. on a train probably a bit faster, yes?) to visit the mom, when someone who is infected gets on and starts killing people.

Man, things disintegrate fast! And as these movies usually go, we get attached to several of the characters as the story goes on and couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. Like, did that mean they would be safe? Or did it mean they were doomed?

Intense times.

Besides our dad and his little girl, we had a blunt but funny guy and his pregnant wife, two older lady sisters, an entire high school baseball team, a homeless dude who had taken shelter on the train, some ornery business man, the conductor, the driver.. and I can't remember who else.

So half the train ends up zombies and other half barricades themselves from them. Every time they think they are going to get help, things just get worse. And worse. AND WORSE! Oh my gosh! We were on the edge of the couch screaming throughout! Biting our fingers and hiding our eyes!

Yes, it was a pretty intense movie, with lots of zombie gore and violence (nothing compared to The Walking Dead) and many many sad moments. Many. And that's all I'm going to say about that! Oh, and these are the fast kind of zombies. You know how some are slow like the walkers in Walking Dead, and some can RUN like the ones in World War Z? These are the fast kind. Ah... that makes them so much more scary!!!

But we loved it and yeah, it was awesome for a good zombie flick! I asked the husband afterward... did you forget you were reading subtitles once it got going? And yes.. yes he did. Just like we all do... subtitles are easy people. Easy! :)

Happy times!

The star of this show is also currently starring in an extremely popular drama called Goblin. During Goblin, he goes to the movies and guess what they watch... Train to Busan. So did you catch that.. his character goes and watches his other character. I haven't seen Goblin yet (it's next on my list) but we did find this funny clip:




Oh my word, that cracks me up!!!!

Well, and here's a regular old trailer in case you are interested:




Wow... that was a great trailer! LOL! And now you know what you can watch should you be in the mood for a crazy zombie movie some day!!!

Book Review Thoughts: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Book: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Genre: Classic Horror
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

We've been looking forward to this book at book club for nearly two years. I can't believe it finally came! I love introducing this book to people because most have no idea what the story really is.  I can't even remember when I read it before, but I remember loving it, or at least being surprised by how different it was from all the movie portrayals. And it's fun to see everyone have the same awakening! Of sorts.

So as you may or may not know, this story is about a young man (we tend to think of him as old, but he's actually very very young) who gets this brilliant idea to create life. He studies and works hard and experiments and then one day after all this passion put into the project, he succeeds.

Now here's the thing that struck me this time around. As soon as he succeeds, he is appalled. Like, what was he expecting exactly? Frankenstein! Dude!!! What were you thinking?????

So he's so disgusted with his creation that he runs away and hides and leaves the poor monster to fend for himself. Guys, I really really don't like how our Victor handles himself in this book. He is such a pansy. Ugh. Either I forgot this or I didn't think about it before but man. He is so annoying!

And so our monster lives in the wild and learns stuff because dang, he is one smart cookie! He realizes his appearance (which truly is not really described so why is he portrayed the way he is in all the movies? Anyone? Anyone?) freaks people out so he hides from society and observes them instead. He attaches himself to one family in particular and learns to talk and read from watching them. He loves them and wants to be part of their lives. He thinks he can make this happen. But... alas... it is not to be. When he reveals himself, they freak out like everyone else.

It's then that he loses it and sort of becomes the monster we think of him as. But still, not really. He's just so angsty and sad and needy and.... he just wants a family! And he goes back to Victor and begs for one. Victor tries but fails (well, he quits actually)  and then the monster gets revenge.

And the fight is on.

Though the end is really quite unsatisfying. Sigh. I don't know what I would have liked better, but it's just quite anticlimactic.

Anyway. The story is a good one and quite fascinating when you look it all in a philosophical and psychological way. What makes someone human? And what sort of responsibility does one have for ones creations? There really is a lot to think about.

It was fun to revisit this one and I look forward to discussing it tonight at book club!

Book Review Discussion: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Book: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Genre: YA science fiction/horror
Rating:★★★★★
For: fun
From: bought at Costco

Short Synopsis: The story begins with enemy fire raining down on our characters who live on a small planet at the edge of the galaxy.  They are both rescued but onto two different space ships. It is now the mission of these ships to get to the wormhole that will send them to where they can get help for all the refugees... before the bad guys find them again. It will take six months to get to this transfer spot, and they fear the enemy ship will track them down before that happens. Meanwhile, a few months into this journey, something strange and crazy happens on the third ship of their crippled fleet. The events after this strange and crazy thing is what make up the bulk of this story through an investigation that is being done long after the fact.

The book is a graphic novel of sorts. Actually, I'd call it a visual novel. Lots of illustrations and ways to portray the words visually. This investigation is taking place and in order to process this event, all the documents are put together for review. We, the readers, are then privy to these documents. The documents are made up of emails, chats, surveillance camera reports, on board ship announcements, journal entries, requests for different things, logs, detailed maps and blueprints and computer data.

My Response: Awesome! I started hearing buzz about this book when it first came out and then when I saw it at the store, there was no question, I knew I had to have one! The authors came to my area on my birthday and I so wish I could have gone, but I had other things I had to go to, so sadly it didn't happen. Anyway, now having read the book, I would love to hear what they have to say about it all! And how they did this, and that and the other.

You  may think that having a bunch of documents to read would be... boring... confusing.. disconnected, etc. But no, you get the feel of the whole story. You get the voice of the characters, you get the intensity of the things going on, you get their romantic connection (even though they are on different ships) and you get the conflict. It's really amazing and like I said, so so awesome.

Beware though, this does have a horror element and it's quite violent. Quite.

Bottom Line: I loved it. This! This is the sort of book I want to write! I just, I don't know, it's just so cool! This is story is far from over and YAY for more! One of my favorites of the year for sure.

Let's Talk About: Okay, so what IS your feeling about reading a book that is made up of documents? Do you find this creative? A cop out? Cool as can be? Strange? Too weird to handle? What? What do you think?

Other Reviews:

This book is impressive and a superb start to a promising series. From Good Books and Good Wine

In many ways, Illuminae is a game-changer for the world of young adult science fiction. It bridges the gap between hard-core science fiction fans and those looking for a good story. From That's What She Read

Final Verdict: Illuminae- It's like nothing I have ever read before...and I mean that in the best possible way! From The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

A glorious science fiction read for teens, this book has romance yes, but at its heart it is a dynamic horror story set in the vacuum of space. From Walking Brain Cells

Book Review Discussion: Shutter by Courtney Alameda

Book: Shutter by Courtney Alameda
Genre: YA Horror
Rating:★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
For: Review and Support Local Authors
From: Received for free from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. I also bought a copy at the book launch! :)


Short Synopsis: Micheline and her crew of ghost hunters are all (well, almost all) descended from a long line of hunters... the Van Helsings, the Stokers and the Drakes. One night, they have to face an entity that gets the better of them, and if they don't figure out how to stop it, their own lives will be over. This story takes place in a week's time while they figure out how to track down and get rid of this particularly troublesome ghost. Meanwhile, it forces Micheline to have to deal with some pretty crappy stuff in her past.

My Response: I loved the characters. Strong, tough, smart and vulnerable. I enjoyed the story, creepy and crazy. But, I must say, I had issues with the technical talk and the descriptions of how this ghost hunting thing was actually going down. There were many spots were I totally could not visualize what these kids were doing! Something with cameras and mirrors! Oh, and guns. There were guns too! I'm told that if I were more into video games, I would have totally gotten it. So, I guess if you are a video gamer, you'll have no problem! So I struggled through the middle but then it got to a certain point where it totally took off and I couldn't put it down until the end. It's filled with lots of crazy creatures, ghosts and otherwise. For those who tend to be queasy, it gets pretty gory in parts and the things that Micheline has to deal with (past family events) are pretty disturbing. 

Bottom Line: Despite the struggle I had with the techno talk,  I did enjoy it for its uniqueness and crazy story telling.

Let's Talk About: I'm going talk about horror in more depth in a future post, but I thought I'd bring it up here too. What does horror mean to you? This book covers the genre really well, using lots of suspense and creepiness, plus scary monsters. I tend to be much more scared by the suspense over the monsters. Suspense and the IDEA of something scary is much more scary than the actual thing. Know what I mean? And I'm fascinated with authors who have the ability to write that. It's amazing. What do you think?

Other Reviews:

It was intense from beginning to end. The characters hardly had any time to rest and I only did because I had to put the book down to sleep! From Jenni Elyse

The strange and dangerous monsters in Shutter are some of the most inventive, dangerous, and seriously creepy creatures that I’ve ever read. From Bewitched Bookworms

The story struck a very good balance between the action-packed fights and the personal struggles of Micheline and her partners. From Ex Libris

There is a bit of forbidden romance, dealing with the guilt of the death of family, the friendship and hierarchy when someone in the group is higher ranking, and dealing with emotions when it is absolutely terrifying to let someone in and let that guard down. From Such a Novel Idea

Book Review Discussion: Half Bad by Sally Green

Book: Half Bad by Sally Green
Genre: YA Paranormal/Horror
Rating:★★★★★
For: Review
From: Received for free from the publisher through Big Honcho Media. All opinions are my own. 

Short Synopsis: Nathan is half White witch and half Black witch. The White witch community appears to be in charge of things and they are determined to figure out which half of him is dominate. Meanwhile, they are watching him closely. He pretty much scares the crap out of them. His grandma takes care of him until he's about 15 or so and then one day, he is basically kidnapped and whisked away to be held by one of the White witch people while they watch him closer. What she does to him is... terrible. Really really terrible. And then he escapes and things get even crazier as he goes on a search for his Black witch dad to find out more about himself and to hopefully get the three gifts all witches get on their 17th birthday.

My Response: This book killed me. I mean. I really really loved it, but I had to take breaks in order to handle it. I loved the short sentence, simple, matter of fact style. But wow. There is some hard hard stuff in this book! Many of the hard parts are written in second person, because it's even too hard for the narrator (Nathan, the boy himself) to tell us the readers about. I loved that the author choose to do that. It was perfect. Such awesome writing all around.

Bottom Line:  I totally enjoyed it. I was randomly sent this book to review and it worked. The second book (Half Wild) comes out soon and I'm totally hooked. You go Nathan! You get 'em!

Let's Talk About: Here's the thing. Even as readers, we don't really know if Nathan is good or bad. I mean, we totally feel like he's good and we are on his side, but, BUT, he does some pretty bad things. He has a HUGE temper. His black side is volatile and we, all of us, aren't sure what that means. It's awesome. I love it so much. What do you think about this particular literature device,  to create a character that could be both the hero and the villain? The good guy and the bad guy? And which part of him would you root for? I love this mash up of things. Brilliant. (Speaking of, this book is also thoroughly British. So many British-isms that I totally ate up loved with all my heart.)

Other Reviews:

There is something refreshing about the lack of definitive answers, unclear paths, and and hints at future reveals that diminishes the impact of any similarities and allows readers to focus on Nathan and Half Bad as a unique and exciting story in its own right. From That's What She Read

His “voice” as narration was brilliantly written, and his strength even in what can only be described as a bleak existence was admirable. He is a strong character yet at the same time is incredibly vulnerable and isn’t afraid of showing pain From Book Nerd Reviews

I loved Nathan’s character, and his will to survive (he personifies the phrase, “What does not kill you, makes you stronger!” From Bart's Bookshelf

Oh WOW. This book is SO GOOD! I was hooked instantly and had trouble putting this down. Nathan is just such a perfectly imperfect main character. From Sarah Reads Too Much

Book Review: The Twelve by Justin Cronin

Book: The Twelve by Justin Cronin
Genre: Horror
Rating:★★★☆☆
For: Fun and RIP Challenge
From: Borrowed from the library

I loved the first book, The Passage. Yes, it was long, yes it was detailed, and yes it was pretty graphic, but yes I was very much looking forward to finding out what happened to all these people! In the first book we learn about a virus that has been developed to supposedly create a super human fighting machine, but something goes terribly wrong and instead, the infected become a sort of vampire-like creature. We meet most of our cast members nearly 100 years after the Virals are first set loose on the country and find out how they've managed to survive the apocalypse and what they intend to do about it now.

However, this book starts out back in the beginning when the virus is first let loose. We meet several new groups of people and learn how they get through the initial attack of the Virals. I kept wondering why I needed to know about them, when I so wanted to go back to our familiar set of characters.

Well, it all makes sense eventually when the stories of these new guys intersect with the stories of the people from the first book. Ah, and it's so very violent and brutal! Beware those of a queasy stomach! Some people, it appears, when infected by this virus instead of turning into a full vampire creature, they become a sort of half breed. Some (one or two I should say) even have the ability to control the Virals. They've used this ability to create a society safe from the creatures, but on the other hand, they have become monsters themselves.

And now the people not only have to face the Virals, but these other monsters that are even worse. It gets absolutely crazy!

The Twelve, by the way, refers to the original guys that were infected with the virus, and each of those guys now control vast communities of the Virals who are under them. The idea is that if you can kill on of the originals, you will then sever the tie they have to their subjects and all of those under them will die. The goal, then is to seek out these twelve, kill them, and thus finally take back the country.

One issue I had was that I'd forgotten much of the detail from the first book, and while I didn't want to go and re-read it (hello!) I did pick it up and skim some spots to remember a few things. Often sequels will sufficiently remind you what's gone on in a previous book, but I found that not to be the case with this one. It just assumes you remember.

Anyway, in the end, I enjoy the writing, I enjoy the story and I enjoy the investment I feel to these characters. But, I don't enjoy reading about torture and brutality, that's for sure.

Bottom line: I didn't find myself as sucked into it as I did with the first book, but I still enjoyed the story as a whole.

Other Reviews:

This is Cronin’s dystopian-apocalyptic-sci-fi-woo-woo-vampire-horror follow-up to The Passage. Okay, maybe not so much sci-fi, but I’m pretty sure everything else made it’s way in there. From Fizzy Thoughts

Cronin keeps the action moving, keeps the characters busy and moves the plot to a heart-pounding climax with everyone on stage. From Boston Bibliophile

Cronin is in complete control of this masterpiece and I was spellbound. Not since Stephen King’s The Stand have I been so blown away. From Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Cronin’s post-apocalyptic world is so well created that I forget that it’s not real. From Chrisbookarama

I can’t say that I’m thrilled with The Twelve, but I’m not disappointed either. The book definitely feels like a bridge to the last of the trilogy. From From Left to Write

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Book: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Genre: YA Fantasy.. with a mixed of history too.
Rating:★★★☆☆
For: RIP
From: a Christmas gift last year

What a strange little book! It appears to me the author came across some funky pictures, strange bizarre old pictures, and figured out a story to go along with them. Very fun idea, but sometimes I also felt it to be a little forced.

So there's this kid whose grandpa has told him some crazy stories about the past. When his grandpa suddenly dies, he leaves this boy with some mysterious last words. The boy (Jacob) is now obsessed with figuring it all out, so much so that his parents think he's gone a little crazy, but despite that (or because of that maybe) they let him, along with his dad, go investigate further.

This leads him to end up in Wales where his grandfather says he lived as one of those kids who got shipped off by their families to escape the horrors of WWII and hopefully live in a safe peaceful place. Jacob's hope is to find the lady who ran this home for children and see if any of the stories his grandfather talks about were true.

Well, yes, he finds the home and the lady and the kids, but it's not at all what he expected! Everything, not just the kids, is very peculiar! Wow, indeed. The more he learns, the stranger things get.

This book is definitely an interesting one. A strange mix of WWII history, fantasy, and horror. The pictures for sure add to the creep factor and make the story feel a bit real... sort of. For me, it felt real at first, and less and less so as things went along. I feel mixed in my review because I was quite into it all at the beginning, but sort of lost interest by the end. I think there's much much more to the story though, and so I'm assuming there's more books to come. And I do actually want to find out what happens next!

Bottom line: An interesting book that was entertaining and that I enjoyed for the most part.

Other Reviews:

The story is funny and poignant by turns, and effectively creepy throughout, enough to make me wish I’d read it on a foggy October evening. From Fyrefly's Book Blog

Do NOT read the eBook. Go out and get your hands on a physical copy. The holding of this book is as much a part of the experience as the reading of it. From Capricious Reader

For me, when I think about the story itself, I think the first half of it was the strongest. I loved the stories from Jacob’s grandpa, and the descriptions of the kids at the orphanage. From Reading in Winter

This was one story that I didn't feel like I was simply being told, but that I was actually IN the story as well. From One Literature Nut

It will give you the right amount of autumnal chills to drive back the summer heat and spending time with the peculiar children in Miss Peregrine’s home will bring back your own memories of magical childhood adventures. From Stainless Steel Droppings

Many bloggers mentioned the book trailer, and that it was a good one and actually made them want to check out the book, so I must share that too. What do you think?

Book Review: Forever Odd by Dean Koontz

Book: Forever Odd by Dean Koontz
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Rating: ★★★★☆
For: Fun
From: Jenny gave this one to me for my birthday... I think it was!

I may have mentioned before how much my IRL friend and reading buddy Jenny loves this character... Odd Thomas. She strongly persuaded me to read the first book awhile back and I must say, I caught the appeal! What a dude! So I've been anxious to catch up with his continuing story in this second book.

We start off shortly after the first book ended, and it ended with quite the traumatic event in Odd's life. In fact, I'm surprised he's really even functioning on any level at all. But like the trooper he is, he is still out there helping to solve crimes and working closely with the police....thanks to his special gift.

The book opens with a familiar guy in the town coming to him for help. There's been a grisly murder, and as bad as that is, the thing that upsets Odd the most is that his very good, yet disabled, friend has been kidnapped. The rest of the book is his quest to find and rescue this friend, and that takes him on an adventure like you wouldn't believe!

I was gripping the pages pretty much throughout! What a ride. I may have forgotten to breathe a few times too. This kid is so sweet and nice and subtly funny, that you can't help but love him. And in loving him, you find yourself very invested in his well being! Then he goes and puts himself in some pretty major peril! Thus we have the breath-holding, page-gripping moments!

The writing is very fun and easy too. I would have never thought I would enjoy an author such as this one. There's my book snobbery coming out, but definitely not an author I would have picked up on my own. And THIS is why we talk books with people and branch out and read different things!

Bottom line: I really enjoyed it a lot.

Other Reviews:

Prairie Horizons
Annotation Nation
Bloodstained Book Reviews

Book Review: The Hollow City by Dan Wells

Book: The Hollow City by Dan Wells
Genre: Horror/ Psychological Thriller
Rating: ★★★★★
For: Review (and Support Local Authors!)
From: ARC borrowed from the library staff (to be released July 3, 2012)

Back a few months ago when Dan Wells visited the library and did a little presentation, he left the staff with an ARC for this book. It immediately fell into my hands since the fact that I'm a bit of a fan has spread through the ranks. Needless to say, I was so very excited. In fact, it's quite possible I may have squealed a bit.

Now finally, since it's being released this week, I can tell you about it!

I read the book in about two sittings. It's a mind boggling, fascinating look inside the mind of a schizophrenic patient that left me feeling so... so... confused and crazy!

Michael is the main character and we learn from the very start that he has had some issues determining what is real in his life, and what is not. He knows he has these issues and is very forthcoming about them, but that doesn't change the fact that he can't figure a lot of things out and doesn't know what's going on around him.

Since the book is in first person, and we are only in his head... guess who else can't determine what is real.... or not? Or what exactly is going on? Yes, we, the readers.

I LOVED this! Even if it did make me crazy! Which is the whole point I think, to feel crazy. Literally.

So Michael ends up in the psychiatric ward of the hospital and is being visited by his one or two friends, including a doctor who is trying to help him. One of his many issues is that he feels like he is being watched and monitored, especially through electronic devices. He has a major problem with them! And he's not sure the doctor is friend or foe either. In fact, is the doctor in on the whole bad thing that Michael thinks is going on?

Good question Michael!

He also keeps seeing some very strange faceless creatures... which is especially creepy. And he is constantly telling himself that they are not real. But.... are they?

I was going to mention the hollow city itself, but I think I'll just let you read it and find out for yourself what that all has to do with anything. I'm afraid of giving too much away. But I will say that after I read the last page I thought, "What the heck just happened? Did I just read what I think I read? Oh my gosh! I am so confused!"

Now granted, some of you may find finishing a book and feeling confused not such a good thing, but I found it fun and entertaining and quite the blast. My next step was make sure Jenny had the book as soon as as she could and then I told her she had to read it FAST so we could talk. She was done in just a day or two and we talked everything through and got it all figured out! Ha! (Be sure to check out her review here!)

And now... I can't wait for you ALL to read it and we can all talk together and see if we can make sense of this story! Okay, is it a plan? Let me know when you are done!

Bottom line: I loved this one! Everything about it... the writing, the characters, the story and yes, even the craziness!

Other Reviews:

Elitist Book Reviews
Shallee McArthur
Afterglow Book Reviews

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Book: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Genre: YA Fantasy/Horror
Rating:★ ★ ★ ☆☆ 
For: Fun
From: Amazon for Kindle

This book will go down as the very first book I ever read on a Kindle/e-reader! What an honor, yes? I think so!

This is the story about a kid (already I forgot his name! But it's kind of a strange one.) that hunts ghosts. If there's a ghost around that is causing havoc... or especially killing people, he's the guy to come to the rescue. This is what brings him to Canada to find this ghost named Anna who has been really ruthless.

When he gets there a few different things happen. First, he makes connections with non-ghost people unlike he's ever done before in all his comings and goings. This is strange to him and makes him think differently about his work and his life. Second, he makes a connection with the ghost herself, Anna. She has two sides. The ruthless scary killer, and the sweet simple girl she was before she died. He loves the girl she used to be.

He knows she has some sort of unusual power that makes her so strong and he is determined to figure out what that is and take care of that to solve the issue instead of his normal ghost hunting/killing routine. It's then that we find out Anna's sad background and all the crazy stuff that went on!

This book reminded me a lot of certain scenes from The Vampire Diaries.... namely Bonnie's witch scenes with all the spell casting going on. There was lots of that. It also reminded me of Buffy, since that's particularly recent in my head, with older mentor guy helping them figure out how to best deal with the situation, and with a particular kid who has special unworldly powers to deal with unworldly things. Yes, very Buffy-ish.

It was a fun quick book. Not something I'd recommend  to everyone because of the violent bloody scenes and the witchcraft and the language scattered about, however. But a nice ghost story if that's your thing!

Other Reviews:

The Book Bind
Kay's Book Shelf
Books With Bite
Jenni Elyse

Review: Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

Book: Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
Genre: Mystery- ish/ Psychological Thriller
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
For: Fun
From: the library

I went to a library thing awhile back and at that thing the staff took turns raving about some of their favorite books of the year. It was fun trying to determine from that presentation which books I would really run out to read.

As it turned out, this book happened to be one that rose to the top in my mind of "must reads" after that fun book talk presentation. So I was excited when it actually came to me after putting it on hold.

But I must say, it wasn't as great as I expected it to be. Maybe they talked it up TOO  much at that library thing? Maybe my expectations where just messed up? I don't know. But it was a bit of a disappointment, sad to say.

So there's this girl who wakes up and doesn't know her life. Her body is too old, her husband is a stranger, her house is unfamiliar and so on. We get clues, along with her, that she has been in some sort of an accident and that every night, after she sleeps, she goes back years to her 20s or sometimes even childhood. She remembers things during the day, but each night, she has to start over again. And again. And again.

She has this doctor dude who suggests she start writing a journal, which she does. He then calls her everyday to remind her about the journal and where she's hidden it. So every day, she re-reads what she's written and then adds to it. This process allows her to discover some things that just don't make sense.

And thus we have the mystery!

Yes, the premise is awesome! But I got bogged down in the repetition, which due to the nature of the story, is quite inevitable right? We see everything from her point of view, which makes sense because it adds to the whole "I wish I know what's going on" feeling, but that meant that every day, we had to repeat everything, along with her, that had been happening. That got old, and I started getting anxious for the "real" stuff.

Also, this book has some language and other "stuff" thrown in that just seemed so jarring and unnecessary. I can handle stuff if it seems relevant to the story, but this just didn't. At least to me. If you read it, what do you think? Did it make sense to be in there for the story? Or was it just shock factor? At any rate, whether it did or didn't, it bugged me.

And, as we always seem to say, you need to connect to the character in order to feel the story, and I just didn't connect....which in turn meant I just didn't really connect to anything else. Know what I mean?

That all being said, I still give it three stars, which means I liked it, yes. The end did start to get pretty page-turning and breath-holding, once things finally started to happen. Of course, I was so very curious as to what was REALLY going on that despite the problems I had with patience, I wanted to keep reading to find out.

Bottom line: It was okay for most of it, pretty good for some of it, and plain stupid for bits of it.

Other Reviews:

Jenny's Books
Book Journey
Book Addiction
Life...With Books

Review: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Book: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Genre: Horror/Paranormal
Rating: B+
For: RIP VI
From: I've had this one so long and it's so old that I have no idea where it came from. A thrift shop I presume.

It seems like I've been wanting to see what this book was all about forever, and finally it happened this Halloween season! But I must say, it wasn't quite what I expected, though I couldn't even really tell you what I expected!

So there's this boy (that's all we know of him as) who sits down to interview the vampire, whose name is Louis. He is from New Orleans around the 1700's. He begins his story with his depression over his brother's death which in turn leads him to be in the wrong place at the wrong time which causes Lestat to find him and turn him. From there, he tells us what it was (is, actually, since he is still here in the present) like to be a vampire and all the conflicting emotions that entailed.

And boy is he one mixed up angsty vampire!

Unlike some vamps, he struggles with the whole killing humans to survive thing. He hates himself, he worries, he frets, he stresses. He especially doesn't get his relationship with Lestat. It's all very confusing. During one of his moods, he attacks a five year old girl. Lestat turns her and she makes up the trio, their little family.

Most of the rest of the story is the strange relationship he has with this girl. Very weird stuff here. Of course, she doesn't physically grow, but mentally she does, so this really makes things complicated.  Then stuff happens and they end up in Europe searching for more creatures like themselves. What they find makes things even worse and relationships even more complicated.

All in all, I quite enjoyed this one, even thought it was actually a little slow in parts. It didn't gross me out overly much, except perhaps this weird play thing they went to. That was really quite awful. And I found the writing to be beautiful and poetic, so that was one of the things I didn't expect I suppose. I also enjoyed all the vampire lore, compared with all we "know" about vampires today after their huge popularity! (This book was published in 1976.)

The end, the very end once the interview itself was over, was a bit unexpected and leaves you curious about the next book, which, guess what? I have sitting here! However, it will be awhile before I pick it up. Maybe next RIP?

Bottom line: I enjoyed it.

Other Reviews:

Good Books and Good Wine
Books Without Any Pictures
The Bookshelf Chronicles
Piling on the Books

Of course, most of you know there's quite the famous movie made from this book. I thought I'd throw in the trailer for curiosity's sake. I'll probably never watch it the movie because it DOES look a little too ick for me!

Review: Under the Dome by Stephen King

Book: Under the Dome by Stephen King
Genre: Horror
Rating: A-
For: RIP VI Challenge
From: Bought it from Amazon

Since this was such a huge undertaking, Jenny and I decided to read it together, and then invite anyone to join us for an official RIP group read. You've seen our efforts over the last month with weekly update posts here:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4

But the purpose of this post is do a "normal" review! Despite the size of the book, the story is actually quite simple. An invisible dome falls down around this small town one Saturday morning, suddenly, without warning. Several people die instantly or shortly after. The crisis has quickly begun.

The town is run by a city council of sorts. One guy on that council has a secret to hide and he is afraid that because of this new situation, he will be found out. Besides that, he is totally power hungry, evil and downright creepy. He has many of the town's key players in the palm of his hand and he sets out to protect his secret and to maintain control of the town.

Meanwhile, he has a psychotic son who begins a murder spree at the very same time the dome falls. When the two get together, you can only imagine what they get up to.

Of course, there's a few sort of normal people who manage to find each other and together try to discover what's causing the dome and how to solve the mess being caused by the above mentioned crazies. Will they succeed? Will they figure out what the dome really is? Will the crazies win?

This is what keeps a person glued to the page.

That and the amazing cast of characters that are so fascinating and so brilliantly written. This was my favorite part of this huge massive book, the characters themselves and how easy it was to get to know them, to care about them, to root and cheer for them, or to be disgusted by them. What a ride it was, really.

Bottom line: I was totally enthralled by this one!

Other Reviews:

Alternate Readality
Life... With Books
Book Chatter
Lost in Books

I really enjoyed this interview with Stephen King about Under the Dome, so I thought I'd throw it in here for those interested:

Review: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Book: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Rating: A
For: RIP VI
From: My first outing to the Borders closing sale 

Here's one of those "blame the blogger" books. Jenny's been trying to get me to read this one for a long long time, so finally when I saw it at Borders, I bought it and read it last week for my first RIP VI book. As you can see, I really liked it! Odd lived up to the build up he'd been given and I think he's awesome. It was very fast paced and extremely suspenseful, but way more creepy than I expected!

To summarize, this book is the first, I think three (and hopefully more on the way I understand) that follows this young kid (only 20 years old) as he solves crimes using a special gift (curse?) he has. In this book we meet his really cool girlfriend (I loved their healthy relationship) and his very messed up mom and dad, and his various unique friends in the town. When a stranger comes one day, Odd gets the vibe that something terrible is going to happen and when he tracks this stranger, wow, things are not what you expect. Lots of twist and turns and lots of creep factor and lots of edge of your seat moments.

Bottom line: I loved it and it was perfect for RIP reading.

Other Reviews:

The Bookish Pinoy
Book-a-holic
Tif Talks Books
Alternate Readality

Review: I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells

Book: I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells
Genre: Horror
Rating: A
For: Utah Authors Month
From: Mother's Day (my 16 year old son went all on his own and bought it... I had to laugh at the vision of him asking for it at the store!.... "Yeah, my mom wants a book called I Don't Want to Kill You!")

The story of John Wayne Cleaver, which began with I Am Not a Serial Killer, ends with this third book in the trilogy. These books tell the story of this 16 year old kid who is obsessed with serial killers, and knows way too much about crime scenes, profiling, and all sorts of other killer things. Add to that the fact the he works with his mom and aunt in the town's only mortuary and loves to help with embalming all the dead bodies. This is actually the only time he feels at peace. All the other times he is trying to resist the thoughts in his head about how cool it would be to kill someone.

However, in this book, he feels like he has the monster within himself a bit more under control, because now he has a job to do, he has direction and a focus for his sociopathic tendencies... and that is to find and kill the latest demon infestation. Because of that focus, he lets himself get close to a particular girl (not the one you'd expect though) and to participate more in normal teenage behavior.... and he finally talks to people. Way to go John!

This book is full of murder, suicides, high school dances, more embalmings, bike rides, and a pretty intense twist followed by an ending that might even get you a bit weepy. It's was quite the ride and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I was worried that this kid would do something stupid and make me not like him any more, but I'm happy to report that somehow, we got through yet another book with me still thinking he's a  good kid despite his claim to have no feelings for others. In fact, I really really like this character! He's quite the interesting one! And even though I'm not a big fan of mysteries, this mystery definitely had my attention.

Bottom line: Loved it. Now that this trilogy is over, I can't wait to see what Dan Wells comes up with next!

Other Reviews:

LEC Book Reviews
LDS Women's Book Review
The Book Zone (for boys)

Review: Mr. Monster by Dan Wells

Book: Mr. Monster by Dan Wells
Genre: Horror
Rating: A-
For: Fun? Supporting Local Authors!
From: I bought this with a Christmas gift card.

This book follows the story that began in I Am Not a Serial Killer. John Wayne Cleaver has been diagnosed a total sociopath. He is messed up in a big way. Mostly, he just wants to kill and torture people. But he has some guidelines laid out to help him fight his battle within so that he won't let Mr. Monster take over. Most of the time it works really quite well, but then sometimes it doesn't.

Did I say he works with his mom in a mortuary? Yes, he LOVES to embalm their "patients." Lost of description. Oh boy. This is actually a bit therapeutic for him. But I had to skim. Ew.

And here's the weird thing. All that being said, I really like this boy. He wants to do the right thing. He wants so bad to be normal. He's really quite funny and clever and all together. I just want to give him a hug. But, you know, he might kill me!

So this book is mostly about his internal conflict. I enjoyed that. He truly is a fascinating character and you truly do get in his head, which is creepy and cool. But then, there's more murders going on in this town, which fascinates John, and of course, he gets right in the middle of it. And then, oh boy, things take a turn for the very very worst. And then I wanted to do more skimming, but I couldn't look away, and my eyes were glued to the page and I was holding my breath and... oh it's very bad... but in a good horror book way.

Dan Wells always says when he talks to fans out various conferences etc. that his mother-in-law has called to ask his wife if she is safe... and let me just say... I don't blame her! :)

Don't let your kids read this.

Don't read it before bed.

I'm scared for the next book.

Bottom line: Despite the torture, literally, I really enjoyed this!

Other Reviews:

Book Reviews by Elizabeth A. White
Dot Scribbles
Book Chick City