Surprise Giveaway!

I have 2 (two) copies of this book to give away! Please fill out the form to enter! Sorry only US residents for this one!Contest runs from Now (dec 13th) til Dec. 19th.
Good luck!

Blog Tour: Eden

 

About the Book: 
Inside its walls, a community of survivors scratches out a terrifying existence.  Outside, hordes of undead pound relentlessly against the barriers and rattle the gates of the humans' last sanctuary-- Eden.

Overnight, the world transforms into a barren wasteland ravaged by plague and overrun by hordes of flesh-eating zombies.  In the aftermath of the gruesome destruction of New York City and its inhabitants, a small band of desperate men and women stand their ground in a fortified compound in what had once been the outer borough of Queens. Those who built the walls of Eden fell prey long ago to the undead…those who remain survive by sheer determination, camaraderie, and human ingenuity, making forays into the outside world through the network of pipes under the city streets.

Harris—the exceptional honest man in this dead world—races against time to solve a murder while fighting to maintain his own humanity.  Ultimately, the danger posed by the dead and diseased masses clawing at Eden’s walls pales in comparison to the deceit and treachery Harris faces within.

My Review: 



First things first, I love zombies. My love of them is requisite for each and every review I write on this blog. I gorge myself on the genre when I can and love every dripping, gory minute of it! I state this not to show my "zombie cred," but to demonstrate that it takes a lot to irk me or turn me off of a book pertaining entirely of the creatures. Now with this disclaimer, I will start my review.

I like the Dawn of the Dead type style of this book. You get the stories from various different characters, all surrounding one in particular. That is awesome. It helps the reader "see" how things got to where they are. All good and groovy, BUT the first complaint I have is the way this is done. I'm not sure if it's the format that irked me a bit or what, but the bouncing from one time frame to another without any clear indication ahead of time is slightly jarring. It brings me out of the story and sort of flailing around trying to figure out who is doing what and when. It kills the delicious immersion I love so much about these books.

The characters are not at all cut and paste. THIS was a winning point. I felt like such care and detail were given to everyone from the main guy Harris to even the briefly seen, zombie. Nice job to you Mister Monchinski! Well played, sir. This is a big sweet plus sign for Eden.


Now the idea that the main character is racing against the clock trying to figure out this big puzzle is just awesome! To know that HE knows his doom is coming, well that just clenches my gut and had me hoping that a miracle happened.  Harris had his flaws, but it seemed that deep down he was a good guy. You want him to beat the odds.

I liked the book. I was a bit upset about the ending. I won't ruin it but it does feel really hurried and rushed. You KNOW what is going to happen but when it does it's like "bam!"

So long story short. This is one to put in your collection if you are a zombie freak like me. It was good, not the greatest but it has it's merits. I will possibly look out for the sequels.


EDEN: A Zombie Novel (Gallery Books; on-sale December 6th; Trade Paperback; $15.00)

What are you Reading Monday?

Well I had a slooow reading week last week! I finished Dust and Decay. That's it, but it was exxxceeellleeennnnttt. So I am pleased. I won't plan out my books this week (besides Eden..which is a blog tour book) as I plan on trying to plow through many. I will list some possibilities. My goal is to write and schedule all the reviews I have backed up and try to put a dent in my Review Stack! It's getting fricken' insane!

List O' Possible Reads:

• Eden-blog tour so not so possible as actual
• Don't Breathe a Word
• The Night Eternal
• Tangled Tides (ebook)
• Zombies Don't Cry (ebook)
• Halo
• Brass and Bone (ebook)
• 11/22/63 (ebook)

These are just SOME of what I have to choose from. So if I pick something else don't get all shockered. 


Upcoming Reviews: 

• Bad Taste in Boys
• Enclave
• Henry VII: Wolfman 
• Dearly, Departed 
• Plague of the Dead
• Dust and Decay

Mah Plans for the Rest of 2011

So I have two stacks of books. One stack are the books I WANT to read before the end of the year and my other stack is for my books I need to review. So basically from now until the 31st, I'm going to be plowing through as many books as I can! I foresee lots of coffee and lots of late nights! Yay! So prepare! I have things a'coming!

For this weekend though I plan on finishing up Dust and Decay and reading Eden. Zombeh weekend for me!

**poor bicycle girl..she just wanted to get to her kids***

Luckily we have Daryl Dixon to save the day! (Yes, I really need the Walking Dead to come back!)

It's Monday! What am I Reading this Week?

Well last week I got some things done! The Holiday #Readathon helped! So onward week the 4th! Hey ho! Let's Go! And all that jazz...


Reading This Week:

• Dust and Decay
• Eden-Tony Monchinski
• The Fallen Queen- Jane Kindred (Ebook)
• Tangled Tides - Karen Amanda Hooper (ebook)
• The Night Eternal-Hogan and Del Toro
• Don't Breathe a Word

Upcoming Reviews: 

• Bad Taste in Boys
• Enclave
• Henry VII: Wolfman 
• Dearly, Departed 
• Plague of the Dead

Blog Tour: Black and Orange

Forget everything you know about Halloween. The stories are distortions. They were created to keep the Church of Midnight hidden from the world. Every October 31st a gateway opens to a hostile land of sacrificial magic and chaos. Since the beginning of civilization the Church of Midnight has attempted to open the gateway and unite with its other half, the Church of Morning. Each year they’ve come closer, waiting for the ideal sacrifice to open the gateway permanently. This year that sacrifice has come. And only two can protect it.
Martin and Teresa are the nomads, battle-hardened people who lack identity and are forever road-bound on an endless mission to guard the sacrifice. Their only direction is from notes left from a mysterious person called the Messenger. Endowed with a strange telekinetic power, the nomads will use everything at their disposal to make it through the night alive.
But matters have become even more complicated this year. Teresa has quickly lost ground battling cancer, while Martin has spiraled into a panic over being left alone. His mind may no longer be on the fight when it matters most…
because ever on their heels is the insidious physical representation of a united church: Chaplain Cloth.

 Benjamin Kane Ethridge’s fiction has appeared in Doorways Magazine, Dark Recesses, FearZone, and others. His dark fantasy novel BLACK & ORANGE (Bad Moon Books 2010) has won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in First Novel. Beyond that he’s written several collaborations with Michael Louis Calvillo, one of which is a novella called UGLY SPIRIT, available in 2011. He also wrote a master’s thesis entitled, “CAUSES OF UNEASE: The Rhetoric of Horror Fiction and Film.” Available in an ivory tower near you. Benjamin lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter, both lovely and both worthy of better. When he isn’t writing, reading, videogaming, he’s defending California’s waterways and sewers from pollution.
You can visit his website at BKEthridge.com
Say hi and drop a line at ben@bkethridge.com

My Review:
I love the horror genre. I love books that throw you off kilter and make your head spin like it was a top! This book melds the two together into a whirlwind of quirky horror. (I think I just created a genre!) At times it felt like an action/horror movie and other times like a ..well I can't think of a proper way to describe it, but whatever it is it's good! This is a fast paced, attention grabbing, balls to the walls, joyride of a book!


I give it four and a half smashed pumpkins and a happy face!



Upcoming Tour Stops:

Tuesday, December 6th
Review at Sweeping Me
Wednesday, December 7th
Interview at The Plot Thickens
Thursday, December 8th
Guest Post and Review at Family Reads
Friday, December 9th
Review at Jasmyne’s Reviews
Monday, December 12th
Interview at Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews
Review at Emeraldfire’s Bookmark
Tuesday, December 13th
Guest Post at Emeraldfire’s Bookmark
Wednesday, December 14th
Review at Working for the Mandroid
Thursday, December 15th
Interview at Beyond the Books
Friday, December 16th
Review at Booksie’s Blog

Second Annual Holiday #Readathon Update Post

You know me! I can't say no to a read-a-thon! I've signed up and so can you! Just click on the button and go at it!

There are tons of challenges and even a very special one! The mini-challenge set up by the hostess of the 'thon, Liza Wiemer, is hosting a challenge that goes like this:

1. Pledge a penny or two or three (or any amount you want!) per page that you read. Put a minimum number that you will pledge. For example: 100 pages – $1.00. And then donate the amount to your favorite charity.
OR
2. ANY type of donation for the holiday season – a can(s) of food, book to a library, Toy for Tots, gently used books or clothes donated to a shelter, school – qualifies. Just list it. (Feel free to come up with your own ideas!)

..Isn't that awesome? I'm going to try and do both. I think this is an awesome way to help out the community and spread good cheer!

So far there seems to be about 15 other challenges so there's bound to be something awesome for you!

My Goals:

1. Participate in at least 5 challenges
2. Read at LEAST two books! 
3. Participate in the chat on Twitter (#readathon)
4. Oh yeah! Have fun! 

My books:

• Plague of the Dead
• Black and Orange
• Arcadia
• Dust and Decay
• The Night Eternal

******
Some people have started a bit early so I'm going to hop on that bandwagon right now! I won't be able to stay up too long, but I will get some reading squeezed in!

12/1 :
Book: Plague of the Dead by Z. A. Recht.
Starting Page: 63
Ending Page: 94
Total: 31 pages


12/2 :
Book: Plague of the Dead by Z. A. Recht.
Starting Page: 94
Ending Page:204
Total: 110

12/3 :
Book: Plague of the Dead by Z. A. Recht. (FINISHED)
Starting Page: 204 (PotD) 1 (black and orange)
Ending Page: 303 (PotD) 32 (black and orange)
Total: 335



12/4 :
Book: Black and Orange by Benjamin Kane Ethridge (Finished!)
Starting Page: 32 (B&O)  1 Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry
Ending Page: 423 (b&O) 55 Dust and Decay

Total:954 pages

Challenges: