Controlling the Dead by Annie Walls
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Controlling the Dead is book two in The Famished Trilogy by Annie Walls and if you haven’t yet checked out this series and enjoy a good horror/zombie book, you should go get this and book one now. Annie takes us back into Kansas’ world where zombies are all over and just living day to day is sometimes tough to do.
If you read book one, you know Kan went through some pretty tough things and they definitely have an impact on her when she gets back to her group. She is doing her best to hide and those closest to her know that despite her strength, things have been tough and they are trying to get her to slow down and take care of herself. She is still tough and a badass but she is also now dealing with the emotional and physical trauma of what happened and I love that this could have changed her completely but it didn’t.
As Kan gets back to the camp, she is back with her friends – Rudy, Mac, Glenda, and Reese. Quite a bit happens in this book and I’m not going to really say anything as I don’t want to give it away but progress is made and things happen that change the dynamics of the group as well as who they can trust. I was glad to see that the relationship between Rudy and Kan shifted and they finally realized what was important to them. I also like the relationship between Glenda and Kan. Glenda is definitely the mother figure for her and she is someone Kan needs in her life.
I am interested in seeing where Walls goes not only with Kan’s new ability but also with the way the group reacts and responds to the next challenge they are facing. I am hoping we also get to see more of Kan’s ability…perhaps in response to how book two ended.
If you like a good zombie story that has strong characters as well as a solid plot, you will enjoy this series. Walls did a great job in creating a story that kept me invested in what happened as well as wondering where things were going to go. There were some parts of the story that dragged a bit for me but overall I thought this was a solid book two in the series. I look forward to book three and seeing what happens to everyone as well as how the world ends up. Definitely check this one out and if you haven’t read book one yet, get on it.
You by Caroline Kepnes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
So that was creepy and weird.
I’m really not sure what to say about this book. I can say that if the goal was to create a very creepy story with some really unlikable characters, consider that goal met. I do have to admit that despite the creep factor, I found myself unable to put this book down.
Kepnes immediately pulled me into this story. There is Joe, who is VERY disturbing, and Beck who is self-destructive and clueless, As the main characters, they were very well developed and while I felt sorry for Beck in the end, I didn’t like her at all. Also, the secondary characters weren’t likable either. All of Beck’s friends were annoying and selfish and of course, Joe didn’t really have any friends.
While I can’t say this was an enjoyable story based on the subject matter, I can say it was definitely an interesting one. I found it disturbing and creepy but I also needed to find out what was going to happen in the end. I have no idea who I would recommend this book to but if you find any of the above interesting, you might actually want to check this one out.
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the review copy.
Perfection by J.L. Spelbring
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book started out slow for me but as the story developed and progressed, I found myself enjoying it more.
I enjoy the dystopian genre and the premise for this story was intriguing. Where I feel like it may have missed the mark was in providing background around what happened to make the doctor think the way he did and how the world ended up the way it did. Perhaps I missed it but I couldn’t understand what might have happened that would have made society lean toward Hitler’s ideals.
I thought the characters were interesting. Ellyssa was well developed and I wanted to know more about why she had a “flaw”. I liked the introduction of the rebels and thought they added a necessary layer to the story but I found the insta-love a bit odd. For a character that has no sense of real emotions for the majority of her life, I didn’t buy that after a week, she would be able to come to the conclusion that what she is feeling, especially after being so cut off from emotion for so long.
Overall I enjoyed this book and will definitely check out the next installment. I have a feeling that things will be getting very interesting for everyone.
Thank you to Netgalley and Spencer Hill Press for the review copy.
Gravity by Melissa West
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
The story was interesting and kept me turning the pages. The Earth has been transformed after WWIV destroyed it. At the time, the leaders developed a treaty with an alien civilization called Loge. The agreement was that The Ancients would fix the Earth and when it could support it, The Ancients would live on Earth with the humans. In the meantime, every night at midnight every human,ten years and older, participates in The Taking which involves The Ancients siphoning antibodies into themselves to help them acclimate to the Earth’s atmosphere.
I really liked the characters in this story. Ari is the main character and her closest friends are Gretchen and Law. There is an interesting dynamic here because they grew up together and recently due to who Ari’s parents are and who Law’s parents are, an agreement was made to create a union between their families to strengthen the view of the system. Ari’s dad is the commander which makes her next in line for that role and Law’s mother is the President. (view spoiler) Ari is smart and tough. Because of who her dad is and her future role, she has had to push herself and she is determined to prove herself but also do some good for the world.
Enter Jackson – he has a lot of secrets and I won’t give any away here. We find out early on that he is Ari’s Ancient and he has a lot resting on his shoulders. I don’t want to give anything away here so I’m not going to say a lot. I loved him – he is caring and protective and only wants to do what is right.
Yes, there is a relationship developing here between Ari and Jackson but it doesn’t override the rest of the story…which is important. There is a lot of action and it is a very fast paced book. I will say that if you aren’t a fan of cliffhangers you will want to wait for the next book to come out before reading this. I will definitely be reading the next book of the series when it comes out and am going to go file this onto my “really want to read” shelf immediately.
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