Larkin's Book Bloggers

I’ve been behind in my reading so I tried to get back on track!  I just finished reading Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans (a blogger!) and Undead by Kirsty McKay.  One I had mixed feelings about and the other one was a great, fast, gory read!

‘I pause to look around the hive – all the podlike chambers are lit up as the drones shoot up on memories … I’ve wanted to get out of here before, but now the tight quarters start to choke me. There has to be more to death than this.’

Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in a stark white afterlife limbo, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend … and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her.  Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing, and it seems she is the key. Suspended between heaven and earth, she must make a choice. Between two worlds, two lives and two loves.

I definitely had mixed feelings about Level 2.  The book started off and I loved it!  I was really intrigued by the world that Appelhans created and her ideas about the afterlife.  There was some mystery there – who were the Morati?  What were there plans?  I definitely got sucked into the story.  But what really captivated me was learning Felicia’s backstory through her memories – these memories are the only things that the other drones in Level 2 can access.  They spend their days watching their own memories or the memories of others.  Through Felicia’s memories we learn about her life, her friends, her parents, her backstabbing, and ultimately, her death.  I was so captivated during these flashbacks and the characterization in this novel is really where author Lenore Appelhans shines.

The suspense definitely was buiding as Felicia escapes the hive with the help of Julian – someone she knew well when she was alive.  Reluctant to trust him, her desire to escape and possibly see Neil – the boy she loved – wins out.  She and Julian, along with others along the way, begin a dangerous journey to try and beat the Morati.  Sounds exciting, right?  And you’d think it would just get better and better – but this is where it started to fall flat for me.  There was all of this mystery surrounding why they chose Felicia, why was she so important to the cause?  Who were the Morati really?  They were built up as the ultimate villains, but the ending of the novel goes SOOOOOO quickly that I was left scratching my head.  What did I just read?  Everything was just brushed over and I have to admit, I didn’t get it.  The subtitle of this novel is The Memory Chronicles #1, so I’m really hoping that the second book in this series explains A LOT.  Like, what happened in the last 15 pages. 

Find out more about Lenore Appelhans – http://lenoreappelhans.com/

Out of sight, out of their minds: It’s a school-trip splatter fest and completely not cool when the other kids in her class go all braindead on new girl Bobby.

The day of the ski trip, when the bus comes to a stop at a roadside restaurant, everyone gets off and heads in for lunch. Everyone, that is, except Bobby, the new girl, who stays behind with rebel-without-a-clue Smitty.

Then hours pass. Snow piles up. Sun goes down. Bobby and Smitty start to flirt. Start to stress. Till finally they see the other kids stumbling back.

But they’ve changed. And not in a good way. Straight up, they’re zombies. So the wheels on the bus better go round and round freakin’ fast, because that’s the only thing keeping Bobby and Smitty from becoming their classmates’ next meal. It’s kill or be killed in these hunger games, heads are gonna roll, and homework is most definitely gonna be late.

Zombies.  Yup, that’s all I need to say.  I love zombie books – Rot and Ruin is one of my favorites!  And at age 11 I was a huge Stephen King junkie!  So reading this was right up my alley,  like watching the Scream movies – hysterical, gory, and it freaks you out a little bit but then you can laugh about it!  I loved the characters of Bobby and Smitty – they were perfect together.  And the action is really non-stop!  Being trapped on a coach bus really made some of the scenes hysterical – the mysterious bumps to not being able to lock the door – to the obvious difficulty of trying to drive a huge bus in a snowstorm!  And then there’s Alice – the girl everyone loved to hate in high school – who Smitty and Bobby get stuck with.  There are some classic one-liners delivered – lots of snarkiness and sarcasm – my favorite!  As they battle zombies and try to determine if they are the only survivors left, they realize they have to leave the bus and try to find help.  Discovering a remote castle – this is where the real mystery kicks in.  The castle isn’t abandoned after all.  But who are these non-zombies?  What’s in the cell in the basement?  And what do this all have to do with the zombie attack?  And what the heck does Bobby have to do with all of this?  You will definitely want to read Undead to find out.  It’s a hilarious, sick, and fast read – a guilty pleasure!

Find out more about author Kirsty McKay!  http://www.kirstymckay.com/

Or check her out at her publisher’s website – http://doublecluck.com/author/Kirsty+McKay

This entry was posted on Friday, January 18th, 2013 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Fiction - Fantasy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.