Book Review: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

• Title: Warm Bodies (Warm Bodies #1)
• Author: Isaac Marion
• Page Count & Publisher: 239 | Vintage Books (Random House)
• Genre: Zombies, Apocalypse
• Format: Paperback
• Links: Amazon UK | Goodreads

Summary:
R is a zombie. All he should want from death is a peaceful shamble around his airport and enough brains to eat. But R is different. He meets a girl and, instead of killing her, he brings her home to keep her safe. The relationship they strike up changes him and could change the world, but their world won't change without a fight.

My Thoughts:
This book confused me. It was extremely well written, I wasn't sure how well a zombie romance could be written but this was just amazing. But confusing. Zombie society was something completely unexpected. They have (almost) religion and the Bonies are in charge. They can get married and raise children. They try and have sex, but nothing works the way it's supposed to.

This book is told from R's perspective. Inside his head he is intelligent and eloquent, but his lack of a properly functioning body leave his speech record at 5 syllables. Then, out on a hunt, he meets Julie. She's obviously wary of him but has no choice but to follow him.

The relationship that builds between them is sweet but weird at the same time. R is immediately forgiven for what he's done, it being played off as part of the plague, but he still feels the immense guilt. I wonder if R was a slightly more rotted zombie, would the relationship have built as it did? R's growth was the heart of the story though.

The parallels between the Bonies and Military leaders were interesting. They both had the same objectives and the same refusal to accept change. They were more intent on wiping each other out than finding out the world wasn't as they expected.

Julie is pretty awesome in this as well. She's adaptable and competent. She doesn't need to be rescued and is willing and capable of fighting her battles. Traits that are so often lacking in the female characters in zombie books (but certainly not in the Newsflesh series!!).

I'm not tagging this under young adult as many others have. It's just, no.

My Rating:

Book Review: If I Die by Rachel Vincent

• Title: If I Die (Soul Screamers #5)
• Author: Rachel Vincent
• Page Count & Publisher: 342 | Mira Ink (Harlequin)
• Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
• Format: Paperback
• Links: Amazon UK | Goodreads

Summary:
In seven days, Kaylee is going to die...

My Thoughts:
Oh gosh, I don't think I can keep doing this to myself. This series keeps getting better and this installment nearly reduced me to a blubbering mess. We have a new type of enemy setting his eyes on one of Kaylee's friends and we find out more about Kaylee's time at Lakeside.

As usual, Kaylee wants to do everything she can to save her friend but this time she's in way over her head. I definitely appreciate that this time she's involving people around her that can actually help, rather than just diving in blindly. She's definitely grown and realised she can't do it all herself. She's becoming more confident in her abilities but also her limitations. Kaylee has definitely become one of my favourite lead characters.

This book is definitely darker than previous ones in the series, Kaylee discovers she screams for a new, utterly heartbreaking "type" of death.

One of the best written parts was the continuing fall-out of Nash's addiction to Frost. Kaylee still wants so much to forgive him and have things go back to the way they were but his behaviour in the previous book is still hurting Kaylee. There seems to be a building friendship with Sabine, which I really liked. And then more happened (spoilers) and I was gone, utterly heartbroken and destroyed.

Read with tissues handy.

My Rating:

Book Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

• Title: The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1)
• Author: Rick Yancey
• Page Count & Publisher: 457 | Penguin
• Genre: Young Adult, Apocalypse, Science Fiction
• Format: Paperback
• Links: Amazon UK | Goodreads

Summary:
Only the unlucky survive. Humanity has been wiped out by aliens in 4 successive waves, and the 5th wave is still to come. We meet Cassie who has survived all 4 waves, she's learned to trust no one and that has served her well so far. She meets Evan Walker after being injured but can she trust him?

My Thoughts:
Well, this was one of the most hyped books from earlier this year. I was looking forward to getting it read but nervous as well, in case it didn't live up to the hype. So I grabbed it as soon as I saw it on the shelves and jumped into it as soon as I could.

I loved how real the characters feel in this book. Cassie is a teenager and is still fairly naive at the start of this, even with all that has happened. She's forced to grow up very quickly and she becomes someone much stronger. She's faced with some awful choices and she recognises that any choice she takes can result in a horrible outcome. Yet she still has the courage to do what she needs to do. Through this book, Cassie became one of my favourite lead characters. She's strong yet absolutely not perfect.

This story is told through multiple points of view. This generally works quite well but a few of the male characters seemed to flow into each other until we got to know them a little better. People get hurt in this, kids get hurt in this and they remain hurt. Being injured effects their actions later on and I really did appreciate that. No super fast healing or hand waving. Bullet wounds take time to heal.

There are so many twists and turns. You think you know what's going on and with who, but then it twists and twists again and by the end I had no idea who's side anyone was on and I loved it. I didn't want to have guessed the answers straight away, I liked that people remain ambiguous until the end. I couldn't read the last quarter or so of this book fast enough, I couldn't get the words into my head and absorbed fast enough for me to be satisfied. I wanted more when it was over.

But the 5th wave, the truth behind the 5th wave is utterly horrifying.

Loved it, will be buying the second book the minute it appears and I will hide for two days while I read it.

Rating: