ARC Review: Dark Song

Dark Song

Gail Giles

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: September 2010

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 292

Author Site: http://www.gailgiles.com/Welcome.html

My Rating: 3.5/5

Source: Won from giveaway from All Things Urban Fantasy

Synopsis:

[from goodreads.com]

Marc said he heard the dark song when he creeped houses. The song the predator's heart sings when it hears the heart of the prey. I heard it now. Marc said it had always been in me. Lurking. Waiting for me to hear.

Ames is not the person she was a few months ago. Her father lost his job, and her family is crumbling apart. Now, all she has is Marc. Marc, who loves her more than anything. Marc, who owns a gun collection. And he'll stop at nothing--even using his guns--to get what he wants. Ames feels her parents have betrayed her with their lies and self-absorption, but is she prepared to make the ultimate betrayal against them?

Review:

Dark Song wasn’t really what I expected and that’s both a good and bad thing. I kind of think the back of the book gives a lot of the story away but even with that it was still a pretty good read. Ames’ life has changed so dramatically that she hardly recognizes it anymore. Her father lost his job, the family is forced to move out of their home, and her mother is quickly becoming a live-in-home enemy of Ames’. While the two have bumped heads on numerous occasions, their relationship just deteriorates as everyone tries to come to terms with what Ames’ father has done.

When Marc comes into Ames’ life, he’s like a knight in shining armor. He understands what she’s going through and is fiercely protective of her. It’s hard for Ames not to fall in love with him. It’s Ames and Marc against the world and she would follow him anywhere, just as long as her younger sister, Chrissy, could be with them. But Marc has a darker side to him. A side that likes to collect guns and creep houses; a side that will stop at nothing to have Ames and keep him with her for always. When the time comes for her to choose between Marc and her parents, Ames is forced to consider the unthinkable and the unforgivable.

So much happens to Ames in such a short period of time. All her so-called friends turned on her when her father lost her job. Thankfully her best friend stays true though. But her father’s decisions seem to brand the entire family as outcasts in the rich suburban area that Ames lives in. Speaking of her father…what an asshole! Truly, I mean not only does he mess up and lose his job (and no it wasn’t downsizing) but he keeps messing up. He’s like a train wreck…only getting worse and causing more damage as the wreck continues to happen. And while I really empathize with Ames’ mother I felt she completely shut down and actually made things worse. I know she pretty much lost everything but she could have not taken it out on Ames so much. But I’m not excusing Ames at all because she was a spoiled brat a lot of the time.

So with Ames’ life falling apart I still found it hard to really connect with her and like her. But I didn’t really feel like I needed a connection with her or any of the characters to get what the story was about. Ames was completely lost after losing so much. I understand she had nowhere to really turn to and when Marc came into her life it was hard for her not to latch onto him. Even though I get all that I still wanted to slap the girl. Marc started showing signs of his crazy, creepy ways very early-on and it never bothered Ames. I know she was desperate, she’s young, and Marc seemed all great but I couldn’t help my violent feelings toward the girl. She definitely didn’t use her common sense.

Dark Song was a quick read which I liked. I like how it flowed and was divided into “before” and “after”. It was a scary read in the sense that it made me really think about what would happen if I were in Ames position. I might have reacted the same way (I’d like to think I wouldn’t have been so naïve) as Ames so I guess I shouldn’t be so hard on her. Dark Song was very realistic because things like this actually do happen in the real world. People are scary and crazy as hell in real life. I think Gail Giles did a really great job putting a crazy situation into words that is palpable to readers. This is my first time reading a book by Giles and I can see myself reading more of her work in the future.

P.S. (cover talk)

Not a lot to do with the story in my opinion. But it’s still really neat and eye-catching. I just love the effect that was done with the flower. It’s very different! I like it.

Giveaway: Manifest

Want to win an ARC of Manifest by Artist Arthur?

Simply fill out this form!

Giveaway ends February 19th

US Entrants Only

Good Luck!!

Home Away From Home

I'll now be doing reviews for a pretty awesome blog called Rex Robot Reviews and I hope to find a cozy little spot that will become a second home for my bookish thoughts.

I hope you all will check out all the great reviews going on and of course come visit when I do my thing!

 

**This post will also serve as a reference page to all of my reviews featured at Rex Robot Reviews.**

Upcoming Reviews:

• Angel Burn :: LA Weatherly (May 2011)

Completed Reviews:

• Jaq's Harp :: Ella Drake (February 2011)
• Surrender the Dark :: L.A. Banks (March 2011)
• The Lipstick Laws :: Amy Holder (April 2011)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Friday Finds [46]

I usually add a lot of books on my TBR list throughout the week. This is just a small glimpse into the ones that were added on recently. Maybe you'll find something you like =)

Please let me know your thoughts on a book you've read from the list. Or tell me about a good book you've found this week.

My Finds This Week:

The Poison Diaries :: Maryrose Wood

Violet on the Runway :: Melissa Walker

Rich and Mad :: William Nicholson

Strange Neighbors :: Ashlyn Chase

hector :: K.I. Hope

Cate of the Lost Colony :: Lisa Klein

A Cottage by the Sea :: Ciji Ware

Every Last One :: Anna Quindlen

Edges :: Lena Roy

Sunglasses After Dark :: Nancy A. Collings

Vampire Kisses :: Ellen Schreiber

I Am Not a Serial Killer :: Dan Wells

Giveaway: Dust

Want to win an ARC of Dust by Joan Frances Turner?

Simply fill out this form!

Giveaway ends February 17th

US Entrants Only

Good Luck!

Review: The Redhead Revealed

The Redhead Revealed

Alice Clayton

Series or Stand Alone: Redhead series, book two

Release Date: September 2010

Publisher: Omnific Publishing

Pages: 228

Author Site: http://www.aliceclayton.com/

My Rating: 5/5

Source: Received for review from publisher

Synopsis:

[from goodreads.com]

 
As their careers catch fire, Grace and Jack -- everyone’s favorite foul-mouthed, funny, and feisty couple -- find themselves on opposite coasts. Grace has landed in New York City, where she loves being onstage again, particularly because she’s playing a fabulous character in a musical written by her old college flame, Michael. Their rekindled friendship makes exploring the city that much more fun.

Wait, it’s just friendship, right?

Meanwhile, in L.A., Jack can scarcely keep up with the swirling throngs of women who track him everywhere he goes, the endless press appearances, and the ridiculous rules his manager, Holly, keeps concocting for him -- all part of the buildup to the release of Time, his steamy new film.

Thank goodness for phone sex.

But even when their schedules allow them to connect, Grace and Jack must keep their relationship off the radar and away from paparazzi cameras. Sure, the sex is sensational, but can this duo survive swirling rumors, the demands of their chosen professions, Grace’s raging internal battles, and a whopping nine-year age difference?

Tick-tock, the clock is ticking. Isn’t it?

Alice Clayton brings the second installment of a tale told with her magical mix of humor and heat, so cuddle up under the sheets and flip on the Golden Girls. Grace and Jack are at it again.

Review:

Grace and Jack are back! Their careers are just starting to take off and now the crazy, sexed-up, couple find themselves on opposite coasts. Grace is just arriving in New York City where she’s getting ready to start rehearsing for an upcoming live show. Meanwhile, Jack is back in L.A. getting ready for his big movie premiere. The two are still keeping their sex life alive with steamy phone sex but the distance is taking its toll on both of them. Rumors start flying, the paparazzi continue to hound, and Grace starts to wonder if her and Jack should stay together.


The Redhead Revealed is a lot more emotional than the previous book. Grace is kind of a wreck this time around. She constantly questions her relationship with Jack and that’s understandable. The paparazzi are relentless in their pursuit of Jack. Rumors start flying about him and an ex-girlfriend and Grace finds it hard to ignore them. She lets her past experiences come back to haunt her which further drives a wedge between the two. It doesn’t help that one of Grace’s best friends from college is the writer and director of the new show she’s starring in. While Jack is in L.A. and traveling around the world promoting his movie, Grace is in New York spending more and more time with Michael.

Michael is a very likeable character. He and Grace had a big misunderstanding in college and it caused Grace a lot of grief and heartache. But it also did a number on Michael as well. It’s tough to dislike the guy when he’s really nice, cute, funny and not the bad guy Grace thought he was. Now that the two are finally friends again, it’s easy to see that they go quite well together. Jack even notices it whenever he gets the chance to come visit Grace in L.A. Jealousy is an ugly, ugly thing and both Jack and Grace start to feel it.

A lot of emotional baggage being thrown around, but don’t fret because there are still plenty of hilarious moments and sexy-time romping throughout the story. I really enjoyed the seriousness Clayton added though. Couples go through a lot of ups and downs and I thought Grace and Jack’s problems were very real and heightened because of their careers (Jack’s in particular). Relationships can be tough and Clayton has given Grace and Jack a lot of real-world problems to overcome.

Grace and Jack have easily become a favorite literary couple of mine. I love their interactions and the love they share. Despite the problems that arise for them in this book their personalities and actions didn’t let me down. I really enjoyed the sweet playfulness and emotional depth in The Redhead Revealed. This series is fun and hard to put down. I’m very excited about the third book and hope a release date gets announced soon. (So hurry it up Alice!!)

P.S. (cover talk)

I don’t like it. It's not as eye-catching as the first book. Grace is kind of lost in the whole “New York” night time scene… I think it could have been done better and still incorporated Grace’s move to New York.

ARC Review: Manifest

 

Manifest

Artist Arthur

Series or Stand Alone: Mystyx series, book one

Release Date: July 2010

Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

Pages: 256

Author Site: http://www.artistarthurbooks.com/

My Rating: 3.25/5

Source: Won from giveaway from Shut Up! I'm Reading

Synopsis:

[from goodreads.com]

When fifteen-year-old Krystal Bentley moves to Lincoln, Connecticut, her mom's hometown, she assumes her biggest drama will be adjusting to the burbs after living in New York City.

But Lincoln is nothing like Krystal imagined. The weirdness begins when Ricky Watson starts confiding in her. He's cute, funny, a good listener—and everything she'd ever want—except that he was killed nearly a year ago. Krystal's ghost-whispering talents soon lead other "freaks" to her door—Sasha, a rich girl who can literally disappear, and Jake, who moves objects with his mind. All three share a distinctive birthmark in the shape of an M and, fittingly, call themselves the Mystyx. They set out to learn what really happened to Ricky, only to realize that they aren't the only ones with mysterious powers. But if Krystal succeeds in finding out the truth about Ricky's death, will she lose him for good?

Review:

Krystal is understandably filled with teenage angst. For starters, her mother divorced her father with no explanation and then remarried to a butthead with control issues. She's forced to move to nowhere, Connecticut and attend a new school. Oh, and she hears and sees dead people. Even though she hasn't heard one for quite a while, hitting fifteen has brought the ghosts back. Ricky has been murdered and he's relentless in his pursuit of Krystal's help. Of course, Krystal is afraid. But as time goes by she notices how cute, funny, and nice Ricky is. Too bad he's dead...

Ghosts aren't the only issue in Krystal's life. Along with her family problems, two kids at school have taken quite an interest in her and her mysterious birthmark; a birthmark they all seem to share. Krystal soon discovers that she isn't the only "freak" in Lincoln. They all share some powerful and supernatural abilities that may help solve Ricky's murder. It also may shed some light on why the teens have never really felt normal.

Although it’s been a couple of months since she first moved to Lincoln, she has no friends or acquaintances for that matter. She basically ignores or pushes all interactions with people away. Her days are really just get up, go to school, don’t talk to anyone, eat lunch while listening to music, go home, go to room, eat with family (maybe), go back to room, and sleep. Fuuuun. So despite being a brat about life I still found myself somewhat empathetic towards her. She wasn’t a favorite character of mine but one that I certainly cared about at times. Especially towards the end, when reality smacked her in the face, she got her act somewhat together. It was nice to see her attitude change and things start to go more smoothly for her because I did feel bad for her at times. She was given the poop end of the stick in some aspects.

I didn’t like that she was so infatuated with Ricky. I mean I didn’t mind the fact that she was, I just didn’t see the cause of her swooning over the kid. Her interactions with him were hardly crush-worthy and the boy’s dead for another matter, not that I frown upon relationships with ghosts. I thought their relationship could have been worked on more because I assumed going into the book that it would be this tragic romantic thing between the two…and it really wasn’t. Ricky wasn’t a bad character or anything; he was just more of a background character in my eyes.

Sasha and Jake, the other Mystyx members, are interesting. It was funny to see Sasha’s personality change…funny and weird. She was nice one minute, pissed the next; aggressive and friendly, the girl is a roller coaster. Jake is mysterious. Not a lot of light was shed on him but that only makes me want to know more about him. I like his protective streak. He seems sweet but guarded. I’m interested in seeing both of their stories in the upcoming books.

The entire Mystyx supernatural idea was interesting. The fact that storms/weather and Krystal’s new hometown have a lot to do with the trio’s power was a cool touch. I’m intrigued to know more about their powers because they seem to grow and/or evolve as time goes by. I like the fact that each of the members has a colored theme: Krystal is blue, Sasha is pink, and Jake is green. Their powers make their matching birthmarks glow a distinctive color and I’m a nerd and like that sort of thing.

So overall, Manifest was pretty okay. I enjoyed it enough to want to continue on with Sasha’s story.

P.S. (cover talk)

Not a lot going on but it’s still an okay cover. I like the smoky effect and the blue is a nice touch (see above for nerdy color love). It’s pretty but a little on the boring side.

Waiting on Wednesday [72] - Hounded

from goodreads.com:

Atticus O'Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old--when in actuality, he's twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he's hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power--plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish--to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

Reason: I haven't read many books featuring Celtic mythology. I also like the sound of of the paranormal goodies (i.e. vampires, werewolves, witches, etc) that are added to the story. Sounds like it's going to be good.

Cover Discussion: I like the guy and the background. I don't like the font used or the symbols on the bottom of the cover. Overall it's alright.

Expected Release Date: April 26th

Friday Finds [45]

I usually add a lot of books on my TBR list throughout the week. This is just a small glimpse into the ones that were added on recently. Maybe you'll find something you like =)

Please let me know your thoughts on a book you've read from the list. Or tell me about a good book you've found this week.

My Finds This Week:

A Lady Never Tells :: Candace Camp

Friend Is Not a Verb :: Daniel Ehrenhaft

Bloodborn :: Nathan Long

The Horns of Ruin :: Tim Akers

Afterlight :: Elle Jasper

Descent Into Dust :: Jacqueline Lepore

The Forbidden Rose :: Joanna Bourne

Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar :: Susan & Clay Griffith

Infine Days :: Rebecca Maizel

The Outside of a Horse :: Ginny Rorby

The View From the Top :: Hilary Frank

The Cardturner :: Louis Sachar

Review: The Unidentified Redhead

The Unidentified Redhead

Alice Clayton

Series or Stand Alone: Redhead series, book one

Release Date: February 2010

Publisher: Omnific Publishing

Pages: 276

Author Site: http://www.aliceclayton.com/

My Rating: 5/5

Source: Received for review from publisher

Synopsis:

[from goodreads.com]

When Grace Sheridan returns to Los Angeles to become a working actor, it's a second shot at a life-long dream. With some help from her best friend and agent, that dream could become a reality, but at thirty-three, has Grace missed her chance at the big time? Will an unexpected sizzling romance with the entertainment industry's newest 'it' boy shine an uncomfortable spotlight on her life?

Alice Clayton spins a playful and erotic May to December romance in this, her debut novel. Clayton's funny, borderline neurotic heroine is perfect in her imperfections, and the off the charts sexual chemistry between her and her charming, yet blissfully unaware leading man are the true heart of The Unidentified Redhead. With laugh out loud dialogue and a super steamy romance that will get your heart racing, sneaking around in L.A. and dodging the Paparazzi has never been so fun.

Review:

I’m kind of mad for not making the time to read this book sooner. I think I had it in my head that the book would be some so-so, contemporary chick lit read that wouldn’t really amaze me. So why not make it wait a few more days or weeks before I opened it? Call me dumb now because The Unidentified Redhead knocked me out. I I read the entire book at work because I simply couldn’t put it down, which was really hard to do. Granted, the book’s less than three hundred pages but when I finish any book in a day (given my schedule) I’m simply giddy with excitement.

Ten years ago, Grace Sheridan tried to become a star. After a few months of bad luck she gave up and went back home heavy-hearted. Now thirty-three year-old Grace has decided to give her acting dreams another shot. She returns to L.A. and moves in with her best friend and agent, Holly. While waiting for the right audtition to come by, Grace has a home business that's running pretty smoothly. It's safe to say that she can play the waiting game for her dreams to come true this time.

At one of Holly's many fabulous client get-together-parties, she introduces Grace to the new "it" boy of Hollywood. And by boy, I mean sexy twenty-four year-old British newcomer, Jack Hamilton. The indie-actor just knabbed the most sought-after role and has quickly become the talk to the town. Before Grace knows it, she's in a hot and steamy affair. Should she care about the nine year age difference or the cameras flashing every time they're out together? Grace doesn't start to worry until she starts to fall head-over-heels in love with the sweet, sexy, foul-mouthed, crazy Brit. Could things possibly work between the two?

I love Grace! I love Jack too! And Holly and Nick. I love the whole freaking cast of characters! Really, I do. Oh, and I love Alice Clayton too. I can’t tell you how many times I laughed out loud, giggled to myself, or just sat there with a big stupid grin on my face while reading the book. There seemed to be an unlimited amount of funny moments. And let’s not forget to mention the S-E-X! Orgasms and Laughs should be the title of this book. Okay, so that’s a horrible title but you get the idea…

No but seriously, The Unidentified Redhead is pure fun. Each character has a distinct personality that jumps out at you. It makes me wish I had friends like them. The dynamic between Grace and Holly is priceless. Maybe I love it so much because I don’t have a bestie anymore. Either way, I enjoyed the bickering and obvious friendship between the two.

Grace and Jack are definitely hot, hot, HOT together. I don’t think there’s a thing as too much sex in a book, especially if it’s really well-written. The thing that baffled me was that it took forever for them to actually do the “deed”. And no, I’m not spoiling anything for you if you haven’t read the book yet. Let’s just say that the two of them are very excellent at “oral” presentations. Lol

The Unidentified Redhead was like a TMZ or E! celebrity scandal written in a book. I’m not big on celebrity gossip but I really enjoy reading about fictional celebrities apparently. The book was very plausible and it was nice to read things from the celebrity’s point of view. All you see when gossip strikes is pictures and crazy headlines; I’m sure most of us don’t stop and think about what the truth really is when it’s easier to just rely on the media. I think any celebrity-gossip junkie will fall head-over-heels in love with this book! And even those like me, who could really care less, will still really enjoy the book.

Having already read book two, as I’m writing this review, I can tell you it just gets better! So I definitely recommend The Unidentified Redhead. It’s a quick, fun, sexy, and hilarious read!

P.S. (cover talk)

I wish the redhead model was more prominent in the cover. But I like the L.A.-like sign, the palm trees and the blue makes the cover pop. Overall, it’s okay. Definitely could use of Grace though!

Giveaway: How to Woo a Reluctant Lady

Want to win an Uncorrected Proof of How to Woo a Reluctant Lady by Sabrina Jeffries?

Simply fill out this form!

Giveaway ends February 10th

US Entrants Only

Good Luck!

Waiting on Wednesday [71] - Drought

from goodreads.com:

Ruby Prosser dreams of escaping the Congregation and the early-nineteenth century lifestyle that’s been practiced since the community was first enslaved.

She plots to escape the vicious Darwin West, his cruel Overseers, and the daily struggle to gather the life-prolonging Water that keeps the Congregants alive and gives Darwin his wealth and power. But if Ruby leaves, the Congregation will die without the secret ingredient that makes the Water special: her blood.

So she stays.

But when Ruby meets Ford, the new Overseer who seems barely older than herself, her desire for freedom is too strong. He’s sympathetic, irresistible, forbidden—and her only access to the modern world. Escape with Ford would be so simple, but can Ruby risk the terrible price, dooming the only world she’s ever known?

Reason: This simply sounds amazing. Original, different, suspenseful. I love it!

Cover Discussion: Very eye-catching...literally! I like the water-like effect on the font. And the transparency of the cover model's face gives the book have a surreal feel to it.

Expected Release Date: January 25th

ARC Review: Dust

Dust

Joan Frances Turner

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: September 2010

Publisher: Ace

Pages: 384

Book Site: http://www.dustthenovel.com/

My Rating: 4/5

Source: Won from giveaway from All Things Urban Fantasy

Synopsis:

[from goodreads.com]

Nine years ago, Jessie had a family. Now, she has a gang.

Nine years ago, Jessie was a vegetarian. Now, she eats very fresh meat.

Nine years ago, Jessie was in a car crash and died. Nine years ago, Jessie was human.

Now, she’s not.

After she was buried, Jessie awoke and tore through the earth to arise, reborn, as a zombie. Jessie’s gang is the Fly-by-Nights. She loves the ancient, skeletal Florian and his memories of time gone by. She’s in love with Joe, a maggot-infested corpse. They fight, hunt, dance together as one—something humans can never understand. There are dark places humans have learned to avoid, lest they run into the zombie gangs.

But now, Jessie and the Fly-by-Nights have seen new creatures in the woods—things not human and not zombie. A strange new illness has flamed up out of nowhere, causing the undeads to become more alive and the living to exist on the brink of death. As bits and pieces of the truth fall around Jessie, like the flesh off her bones, she’ll have to choose between looking away or staring down the madness—and hanging onto everything she has come to know as life

Review:

 
If I had to describe Dust in one word it would have to be unique. Unique can be both a good and bad description. You can call someone’s outfit “unique” when really you want to say “What the hell were you thinking when you got dressed this morning?” or you can describe an innovative and/or creative idea as “unique” when someone suggests something you’ve never heard of before (i.e. “Sounds crazy but just might work” sort of thing). In Dust’s case, I would say that it’s a good description. It was certainly a different kind of reading experience for me, but one I’m not sorry I had. If you haven’t guessed by the description above, or by reading other reviews about the book, Dust is about zombies. And while I’m no zombie guru, I know the concept and premise of Dust isn’t like other zombie books out there. Once you get past the Gritty, Gruesome, and Gory (yes! the three G’s) outer layer you come across a book that is filled with so much more than just the flesh-eating undead moseying about a post-apocalyptic world. I found an emotional depth that was sucking me into the story and some of the most captivating descriptive passages that I’ve read in a long time.
 
Jessie is the main character, a zombie girl who has been dead for over nine years and who is currently losing body parts. She’s a part of The Fly-by-Nights, one of the many undead gangs currently hanging about. Her gang revolves around fighting hard when the mood strikes, hunting as a solid group, and dancing together when the time is just right. Although the gang can be pretty rough with each other, breaking bones and scraping away skin, they only eat and hunt animals. They leave the hoo-eating to the other gangs in the city. Although, one or two of the members of The Fly-by-Nights have tasted hoo-flesh before, Jessie’s bug-infested love interest, Joe being one of them.

But something has invaded the woods Jessie and her friends live in. They’ve invaded the beaches, the cities, maybe even everywhere. These creatures introduce Jessie to a strange illness that has abruptly surfaced. The illness seems to give the already powerful undead an insane amount of additional strength. But it also seems to reverse the decaying process and causes the undead to become more alive. On the other hand, the illness is causing a lot of the hoos to basically turn into the undead without actually dying yet. Jessie could care less what happens to the hoos, despite the fact that she used to be one of them. Despite the fact that whatever is happening to them is sickening and wrong on so many levels, she could easily turn her back on them all. But when it starts affecting her gang and most of the undead around her, Jessie’s curiosity wins out and the investigation begins…

I have to admit, before we go any further, that the constant reference to humans as hoos made me think of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. It got a little annoying to say the least. But as I relaxed, stopped thinking about those weird up-turned noses that always creeped me out, I got over it. Another thing that kind of threw me off, especially in the beginning of the novel, was the concept of the undead brain. In Dust, the author describes zombie brain waves as musical notes, with each zombie having a distinct and unique sound/instrument. It sounds cool but I never really “got it”. I guess I needed more of an explanation. *shrugs*

Small things aside, the book worked for me. Yes, it’s definitely one of the most grossly depicted novels I’ve read in a while. The gory details start right at the beginning and don’t let up. I can see a lot of readers having to put the book down or stop reading completely. Me? I guess I can just handle it, which I know a lot of you out there can as well. Just don’t eat while reading; I did get a little queasy while eating lunch when I first started the novel.

I actually admire Turner for being so blunt and not sugar-coating her writing. It shows her honesty and her courage and I appreciated her (and her editor!) being so forth-coming in her work. Another thing I just have to mention about Turner’s writing is her way with describing events, places, emotions, and well…pretty much anything. I found myself re-reading a number of different parts in the story because of the cleverly written passages. I picked a few to share with you all in hopes it would pique someone’s interest in the book:

“He trembled in his sleep. He got tremors a lot now, he said it was just old age, but from where I sat he looked like a twist of dried-out paper folded into human shape, hiding and shaking with fright at the prospect of sharp scissors, a lit match, a good gust of wind.” (104)*

“There was something else in the air around us, something urgent and expectant making a slow burn of my skin and nerves; it wasn’t anger or sorrow or anything like, it was the tremors that echo through the arm after a hard blow of the fist, the taste of still-warm flesh forever fading from the mouth.” (217)*

“The pearl gray sky and dark blue water met at a horizon line so straight and sharp it looked drawn with a ruler; the waves rushed in, the tide rushed out, with the endless repetition of a heartbeat, the gulls circling in constant call and response.” (339)*

These small excerpts really don’t do the book justice but I still wanted to include them. I definitely think the writing is what sold me.

Jessie is an engaging character but not a very likable one. I did find myself empathizing with her on some occasions but overall I feel she’s just been dead too long. Her outlook on the world is skewed which I suppose I can understand. But I’m more of an emotional hoo myself. The supporting characters are a different story… I found myself attached to the more emotional ones, but the reason is probably obvious. But as I said before, it’s hard not to want to keep reading about what Jessie is thinking or what she is doing. I just can’t say I like the girl personally. I enjoyed how Turner described the undead though, in all their different stages of decay. It was gross but it was enlightening and helped define who the characters were.

Dust is certainly not for the faint-hearted but I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the emotional twists in the plot that extended the zombie novel into one that grabs you by the guts, literally. It causes one to question what they would do in a situation similar to Jessie’s, zombie-filled world aside. I definitely recommend the book and hope you’ll at least give it a chance. It's brave, real, and entirely from the undead perspective. It's an experience you simply have to try for yourself. I look forward to Turner's next project - a planned sequel titled Frail - a novel from the human perspective.

P.S. (cover talk)

The cover is really quite clever. It ties in with the story and picks up on the stages of decay I was talking about before, which really helped with the character development. However, it’s not as eye-catching as it could be.

*Excerpts from the Uncorrected Proof

Holiday/Blogoversary Winners - REVISED pt.2

I had to draw another winner for Prize Pack 3...

Congras to:

Elie

(claimed =D)