Books I Recommend: DAYS OF BLOOD & STARLIGHT

I just finished Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor, which is the second book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. If you know me in real life, you know that I loved the first book with a passion because I bugged everyone to read it!  So as excited as I was for book two, I waited to read it because I was scared I'd be disappointed. I'm happy to say that didn't happen. In fact, I actually like book two even more than book one!

NO SPOILERS IF YOU'VE READ BOOK 1
I read the hardcover of Daughter of Smoke and Bone first, but for Days of Blood and Starlight I listened to the audiobook first. At times it was a little disorienting since the POV shifts a lot in this book, but I'm really glad I listened to the audio because it brought out the emotions of the characters and the subtext so much.

As in the first book, Laini Taylor does a fabulous job conveying setting. As I listened, I could close my eyes to a vivid picture of the surroundings. I loved learning more about both the angels and the chimera, as well as Karou and Akiva's struggles to reintegrate with their people.

In the first book, I fell in love with Karou and Akiva. In this book, I fell in love with the people who matter to them. I loved the lightness that Zuzana and Mik brought to the book, and Ziri won my heart. What we learn about what happened to Brimstone and Issa moved me, and Hazael and Liraz made me want to have them by my side.

I'm really looking forward to reading the hardcover now after listening to the audio. Unfortunately I will have to wait over a YEAR for book 3!!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!

My newest zombie story is out!

The UNDEAD UNCENSORED anthology is out! I'm so excited about my story, "Save-Us", and can't wait to share it with zombie fans everywhere.

 

Here's the blurb:

 

Julie thinks she’s in for a fun day at Save-Us Warehouse, grabbing food samples and watching product demos while her parents pick up industrial-sized boxes of laundry detergent and pretzels. But when the horde ruins their shopping experience, she and her mom must dodge fleeing people, reanimated workers, and pallets of household goods to find her dad and escape. Cornered by zombies, they join forces with Luke, an ex-soldier and unlikely friend when Julie needs one the most.

Although she has supplies stockpiled for the apocalypse, Julie’s college courses didn’t prepare her for combat with the undead. Luckily, warehouse stores have plenty of handy killing devices. The name of the store may be Save-Us, but Julie’s going to have to save herself to make it out of Zombie 101 alive.

 

 

Here's a sneak peek from the story:

 

I’d always imagined zombies as male, but they apparently didn’t discriminate on gender… or age. An entire zombie family—toddler in tow—slid across the concrete floor, twisted mannequins with severed limbs. The lady giving out yogurt didn’t stand a chance. Zombie mom dove for her neck. Fresh blood blanketed the sea of white samples.

 

If you'd like to get a copy, you can order it from the following sites:

 

Amazon

Zombie Survival Crew: Undead Uncensored

Zombie Survival Crew Store

Zombie Survival Crew: Undead Uncensored

 

Thanks for all your support! If you grab a copy, let me know!

UNDEAD UNCENSORED!

I was very excited last year to have a story featured in the first anthology for the Zombie Survival Crew (ZSC), Undead is Not an Option.  You can purchase it in paperback here or as an e-book here. You can also purchase the paperback on Amazon here. So when the editors asked if I'd submit a story for a new anthology, I jumped at the chance. And starting on December 1, you'll be able to check it out! I will post more info about my contribution to this book of zombie fun at a later date. For now, you can read the briefing below sent out by the ZSC Commander-in-Chief or check out the ZSC website for more info!



From the mobile unit of ZSC Commander-in-Chief Juliette Terzieff:
 

After months of anticipation the day has finally come when we can release the cover art for Undead Uncensored, the second Zombie Survival Crew anthology. This year’s anthology is a vibrant collection of short fiction, poetry and non-fiction pieces designed to help you get your zombie freak on and prepare for what we might all face if the zombipocalypse hits!

Undead Uncensored features the work of yours truly alongside other ZSC Commanders actor Michael Rooker, award winning author LK Gardner-Griffie, and authors Jinxie G, R.C. Murphy and Amy Sundberg. ZSC crew members including Wendy Sparrow, Jessica Capelle, Robin Sellman, Amber Revelt, Stephanie Allen, Christopher De Voss and many others contributed their artistic endeavors to this creeptastic collection!!

Undead Uncensored is already available for pre-order here and orders will begin shipping on December 1, 2012.

Now without further ado… (yes, you can stop holding your breath now)

The cover for Undead Uncensored

 

 

Books I Recommend: SERAPHINA

In order to get myself blogging somewhat regularly, I've decided to mostly post about things I enjoy, especially books. I'm not planning to become a book blogger by any means, but I do find myself making recommendations a lot (and I do read a lot of books). Because I tend to get very enthusiastic when I read/watch/listen to something I enjoy, I'm hoping this enthusiasm will translate into regular blogging, something I've never been great at.

I chose to start with SERAPHINA by Rachel Hartman. This was one of my favorite books this summer. I received the digital ARC from Random House via NetGalley. Full disclosure, I wrote this review on Goodreads when I finished the book, so I am cheating a bit for this blog post!

What a fantastic, gorgeous book. If you're an epic fantasy fan, you must run out and read this now. The writing is beautiful and dense, best digested in small chunks so as to mull it over and re-read to hear the language again, however I often found myself so engrossed in the story that I'd devour 40 pages. It took me a while to read it because of how much I wanted to live in the world for a little longer.

Seraphina is a marvelously complex and interesting character. It blows me away that this is a debut novel. The writing is so tight and lyrical, especially when the author makes descriptions of music come to life. I love dragons and castles and intrigue, and the author delivered and then some. I also really enjoyed the execution of the political intrigue, and the way Seraphina was caught between protecting her secrets and being truthful with those she cared about. This was a unique book that I plan to purchase and read over and over. I cannot wait for the rest of the series.