Dewey's Read-a-Thon!

It's tomorrow! I'm so excite! I have sorted out my stack of books, and am in the process of getting other shizz done so I don't hafta do it tomorrow! Woot! So if you haven't already signed up..whataya waiting on? Hit the button up chere ^ and get yourself signed up! You cannot miss this fun!

Here is my stack! I reserve the right to change it up of course, but this is the preliminary stack.

Yes I know it's upside down but still..you can see I have a LOT of diverse reading ahead of me. I have a few read-a-long books that I may throw in there to spice it up all classic like..Yeah. :)

I can't wait for tomorrow! My start time is 7am, so I'm going to go to bed pretty early tonight to get as MUCH sleep as I can sleep. :) Happy Thoning!

Review: The First Days

"The morning that the world ends, Katie is getting ready for court and housewife Jenni is taking care of her family. Less than two hours later, they are fleeing for their lives from a zombie horde.


Thrown together by circumstance, Jenni and Katie become a powerful zombie-killing partnership, mowing down zombies as they rescue Jenni’s stepson, Jason, from an infected campground.


They find sanctuary in a tiny, roughly fortified Texas town. There Jenni and Katie find they are both attracted to Travis, leader of the survivors; and the refugees must slaughter people they know, who have returned in zombie form.


Fast-paced and exciting, filled with characters who grab your heart, The First Days: As the World Dies is the beginning of a frightening trilogy. "

My Review: 
This book, you guys! Omg! If you have visited my blog before, then you know I LURVE me some zombies. In fact, as I type this out I am wearing my I <3 Zombies shirt, right now. I cannot get enough of those reanimated corpses! The end. I also cannot express my love for kick ass heroines either! I love it when the CHICKS are the bad-asses! I really do, it gives me the bouts of the squees. So needless to say when I read the summary of these books I was very excited. Female protagonists? check! Zombies? check! Excellent writing? check check and oh yeah..check! 

Katie and Jenni are awesome! They both have their issues and probably wouldn't have met up before the zombies came around. They come from different worlds. Katie is a lawyer and a lesbian  with a beautiful wife and a pretty darn near picture perfect existence. Jenni is a battered wife and mother. She's timid and scared and with good reason. Her husband is a dick that beats her and her stepson. They meet up after the world dies. Katie comes to Jenni's rescue and thus begins our friends adventures.

The characters are all pretty awesome! The male characters are just a little bit underdeveloped in comparison to the females, but they still feel real. I know my favorite guy is supposed to be Travis. He's sweet and a good guy, but I find myself wanting to read more about Juan. I love Jenni and Juan's interactions. Their playful bickering reminds me of my relationship with my husband!

All in all this story is one of the most realistic tales of people living through the zombie apocalypse that I have read in a long time. I could not put it down from start to finish! I am hungrily devouring the sequel! Stay tuned for that review! :)

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser comes from my current read: 

"So maybe he  was a fool to enlist with scarcely a question in some mad enterprise to stop and even madder enterprise. But the alternative was the grind that would grind on until it had ground him down." pg. 96 (ARC) from BZRK by Michael Grant.

Blog Tour: Kingdom on the Edge of Reality

 

Book Summary:

Sometimes it's funny how fast things can change, and sometimes it's not...

Welcome to Albert Keane's beautifully designed medieval kingdom nestled in a completely isolated river valley in the Canadian wilderness. Peaceful, happy, and prosperous, it takes nothing from the modern world, not so much as a single clock.

There is a castle, of course, and a monastery. There is even a pitch dark, rat-infested dungeon - because you simply have to have one if you are trying to rule a feudal kingdom!

Farmers work the land, artisans ply their trades, monks keep school and visit the sick, and nobody (well, almost nobody) misses the modern world at all.

So why has Jack Darcey - actor, wanderer, ex-competitive fencer - been tricked and seduced into paying a visit? And why hasn't anyone told him that the only way to leave is a perilous trek across hundreds of miles of trackless wilderness without a compass or a map?

Because a tide of fear and violence is rising from the twisted ambitions of one of King Albert's nobles, and Albert's fortune teller believes that Jack could turn the tide - if he lives long enough ... 

 

Gahan Hanmer Bio:

Gahan Hanmer enjoyed a colorful career in the theater as actor, director, designer and technician, and also wandered extensively searching for love, happiness and truth. He unintentionally became a grown-up raising two beloved daughters and now lives in the high chaparral desert of California.

My Review:

At first glance, this didn't look like it would be my cup of tea. I got this wild notion that this would be a book that I would enjoy though, so I requested a spot on this tour. I'm so glad that I listened to my gut!  The concept is a bit far fetched, but it certainly is an interesting one. The writing is flowing and very natural. I could see this being a pretty good movie actually, which I hardly ever really say. 

I think that Gahan Hanmer has a wonderfully creative mind when it comes to character and storytelling. Jack is a great character! He's got depth and personality that I just kind of instantly felt connected to. He's smart and loyal and a well crafted figure. He's balanced. I guess that's what I'm trying to say. Flawed but deep down he's a pretty good guy. 

Great storytelling, wonderful characters, and even better writing makes this a book that I'd definitely recommend! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

Paperback
Publisher: Two Harbors Press
Price: $14.95
ISBN: 9781937293642
Pages: 360
Release: April 2, 2012

What are you Reading?

Just gonna toss these at the wall and see what sticks! :) My book choices this week (in no particular order) are:

• BZRK-Michael Grant
• Scored-Lauren McLaughlin
• Temp by A.E.Mayer
• Fighting to Survive by Rhianon Frater

Book Tours and Future Reviews:

•  The First Days by Rhianon Frater (upcoming review)
• The Kingdom on the Edge of Reality by Gahan Hanmer (blog tour)

Upcoming Events:

 I am so excite ya'll! I have the WHOLE ENTIRE WEEKEND off work! I will have my snacks stockpiled, my caffeine stockpiled, and my BOOKS! Oh dear me I may go positively bonkers with excitement! I highly doubt that in my old age I will be able to read for the whole day, but I will try the hardest that I can! Did I mention that I'm super excited about this?! HMm?!

Weekend Stuffs

This week has been wacky and I mean that in a stressed out, hair pulling, sleeping whenever I can, wonky sort of wacky way! I mean I think yesterday I looked like this:

Anybloggin, I didn't get a LOT (okay who am I kidding right?) of reading done. I am enjoying The First Days by Rhiannon Frater and I'm almost finished with it. My weekend is going to be interesting. I work only Saturday this weekend, because...*Drumroll*

My son is turning 8 years old tomorrow! *Sobs* My little boy is growing up! We aren't planning a huge party or anything, but both of us are off work so we are going to be hanging out with him a LOT. We are baking his cake tonight and decorating it tomorrow. We are going to let him pick out his presents and what he wants to do. So I doubt I'll have spare time to read, but as always I will have a book on me!  I never leave home without it.

So that's my plans. I have a book tour read to get done, plus I want to finish TFDs and post my review! I think I foresee a caffeine overdose in my future!

**Ps-Just in case anyone was curious, I have been working out everyday this week! I am feeling slightly addicted! :) Good addictions are so hard to come by I think I'll nurture this one.

What are you Reading Monday?

Yes, yes, I know I'm super late to post this! Blame my new Weslo elliptical machine for taking from 7pm to about 1am (ish) to put together! Ha! The box said, "Simple instructions!" Liars! Anyhoodle, This morning my husband got the kidlet ready for school and I slept in a smidge. I woke up and worked out on it. It kicked my butt, so I guess the score is elliptical machine 2 and Melissa 0. I'm thinking I'll score when I lose about 20lbs, yes?

Onwards to the reading plans for this week. I have hit a slump. I'm reading sooooo slowly lately, so I took my trusty dry erase calendar that I have my books scheduled on and erased this week. WHAT THE FLAGNARD?! Yup, this week is going to be a free (read) for all. I have a lot of books that I have been DYING to read and I have put my review copies ahead of them, rightfully so, but it's caused a bit of a slump. So, I will read whatever I choose and whenever I choose. I do have ONE goal though, and that's for the Monster Pick Your Thon, event going on right now. I will read and review at least 4-5 books this week. I don't care what they are, as long as I read! :)