Title: The New Hunger (Warm Bodies #0.5)
Author: Isaac Marion
Published: January, 2013 by Zola Books
Thanks: Zola Books
Pages: 128
Rating:  
Purchase: Zola Books

New York is a bayou. New Orleans is a reef. The entire country has been devastated by natural disasters and governmental collapse, and on top of everything else there is the annoying problem of zombies trying to devour you at every turn. But for sixteen-year-old Nora and her younger brother Addis, they are about to discover the most frightening thing yet: being abandoned in this horrific world by their own parents.

Left with only a bag of clothes and a first-aid kit, Nora and Addis begin a harrowing journey to connect with anyone who isn’t looking to rob them or eat them. A wounded man wrecks a meal of green beans and French fries at the top of the Space Needle in Seattle. An attempt to get a good night’s sleep in a fortified motel is ruined by an undead face staring at them through the window. And they just can’t seem to shake someone – something – that’s been following them everywhere they go….

Meanwhile, traveling toward the city with her parents is a young girl named Julie. She is only twelve, but has already seen friends die and her school burn. She has watched her father become nearly as cold and remorseless as the Dead. All she wants is someplace to call home, even if it never really will be.

Final Thoughts:
I was incredibly surprised to find this one waiting for me in my inbox this morning. I had no idea there was going to be more in Warm Bodies world, let alone a prequel and a sequel. After madly devouring it last year, finding The New Hunger today was most definitely what I needed to draw me back into actually enjoying reading. I couldn’t stop, carrying my laptop around just to keep reading when I realised it was beyond time that I cooked myself something resembling dinner. It was that kind of book. Seriously, don’t start it if you have to go to work. Or better yet, take the day off.

Title: Alice In Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles #1)
Author: Gena Showalter
Published: October, 2012 by Harlequin Teen
Thanks: Harlequin Teen, AU
Pages: 404
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies…

Final Thoughts:
Not quite what I was expecting, but still enjoyable. It did take me a while to get through the start, but I’m putting that down to my haphazard reading schedule as of late. One thing I noticed while reading this, was that the characters are likeable—all of the them. It’s something I appreciate moreso now after a year of sifting through many irritating leads. While the romance didn’t draw me in as much as her Intertwined series, I still found myself enjoying this for the zombie-fighting action. Oh…and Ali’s new best friend, Kat.

Title: Moonlight Mayhem (Spellbound #2)
Author: Sherry Soule
Published: July, 2012 by Moonlight Publishing
Thanks: Sherry Soule
Pages: 325
Rating:  
Purchase: Amazon

Otherworldly Creatures. Dazzling Magic. Fiery Romance.

Shiloh Ravenwolf thought she was getting used to the strange events in Whispering Pines, until the full moon brings another surge of supernatural threats to her coastal town. Ferocious wolves, deadly necromancers, and shambling zombies have descended upon the neighborhood, so Shiloh needs to gain control of her magical abilities—fast!

It sucks that she has a crippling fear of the dark, which for a demon hunter can be an epic problem. But she spends so much time wallowing in the darkness, how can she not become a part of it?

When her classmates are attacked by a mysterious creature and her father is murdered, Shiloh vows vengeance. Forcing her phobias aside, she forms an unlikely coven of supernaturally gifted teens to help her eradicate this menace. Except that’s not all Shiloh has to worry about. She’s battling a different monster within herself and struggling not to become the very thing she fights: evil.

But with demon blood inside her—anything can happen…

Final Thoughts:
It took me a couple weeks reading on and off to get through this one. While I enjoyed the book, it didn’t capture me in the quite same way that the first instalment did. Gone were the hidden secrets and gothic undertones that we got exploring the Ravenhurst Manor, instead, replaced by a not-a-werewolf wolf infestation story. Unfortunately, in that regard, there wasn’t a lot of mystery to keep me guessing. So, if you’re one for big twists, you might be a little disappointed.

Title: Generation Dead (Generation Dead #1)
Author: Daniel Waters
Published: May, 2008 by Simon & Schuster
Pages: 393
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Phoebe Kendall is just your typical Goth girl with a crush. He’s strong and silent…and dead.

All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occurring. Some teenagers who die aren’t staying dead. But when they come back to life, they are no longer the same. Feared and misunderstood, they are doing their best to blend into a society that doesn’t want them.

The administration at Oakvale High attempts to be more welcoming of the “differently biotic.” But the students don’t want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn’t breathing. And there are no laws that exist to protect the “living impaired” from the people who want them to disappear—for good.

When Phoebe falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids, no one can believe it; not her best friend, Margi, and especially not her neighbor, Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has feelings for Phoebe that run much deeper than just friendship; he would do anything for her. But what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?

Final Thoughts:
We need more zombies in YA, or maybe I just need to go and find them. It’s a niche that I’ve been really getting into lately. While I didn’t love this book, I wouldn’t say it was bad, just a little slow for my tastes. Adding in three different POVs wasn’t preferable, but it didn’t harm the flow too much. The only real problem I had with it was the inclusion of Pete’s perspective—the star of the football team who runs the “Pain Crew”. I can see why he’s there, though. Without him, the reader has no real sense of the growing conflict beyond the general zombie-hating state of the world.

Title: Warm Bodies
Author: Isaac Marion
Published: October, 2010 by Atria
Pages: 240
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love—with a human—in this astonishingly original debut novel.

R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Not just another zombie novel, Warm Bodies is funny, scary, and deeply moving.

Final Thoughts:
Wow…yes…well…just…wow. R’s ellipsis fetish must have rubbed off on me a little. I know this title has been drowning in five stars lately, but it’s worth it. The narrative is a little jarring at first, thrust into the mind of a zombie ready for its next feeding, but what results is magic. With only 240 pages, Marion doesn’t waste his words. There are no lulls, only carefully crafted reams of character development. R is such a loveable zombie that you can’t help but feel for him even when he’s sneaking bites at a brain.