Review: Deadline by Mira Grant

Last year I read and really enjoyed Feed by Mira Grant...I still think it's one of the smartest zombie worlds I've ever read about and the ideas Grant explores in her zombie-fied world are some of the more interesting to be explored. It's less about raw survival and costly moments of kindness, and more about the way fear dominates our lives, the importance of truth, the corruption of government, etc. Additionally, the dominance of bloggers in this post-rising but still very civilized world is still one of my favorite things about these books.

She continues to explore these same ideas in Deadline, but takes it to a new level. I cannot discuss Deadline without mentioning major events from Feed, so if you have not read Feed and plan to read these books please do not read any farther!

The presidential campaign that Shaun and Georgia were following is obviously over in Deadline. Shaun is still coping with George's death and not doing it very well. He still talks to her as if she's alive and in his head. His sole reason for living at this point is to discover who killed his sister and why. He's no longer on the field as an Irwin, either. His grief is a huge part and motivator of the story. When someone from the CDC shows up with information, though, things get intense fast and Shaun and his team are forced to make hard decisions about just how far they are willing to go to uncover the truth.

Grant's world is incredibly detailed and as such very believable. At times there are huge exposition dumps, for example there were three pages describing what the showers were like and occasionally that bothered me a bit, but for the most part the story still moves incredibly quickly. There are a lot of surprises as well. One thing that surprised me about this book was the nature of Shaun and George's relationship. Even though I guessed that romantic feelings between them could exist since they were adoptive siblings, I didn't feel like that was strongly indicated at all in Feed. I just thought they were very close and trusted each other more than anyone else in the world. But this story, told from Shaun's point of view, was very clear that Shaun was in love with George. Not in any way that was spoken between them or even really acknowledged by him for awhile, but it was clear that she fulfilled that role in his life. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this development.

For the most part, I really enjoyed the progression of the story. It's different from Feed, it raises the stakes of the zombie virus, and the conclusion is somewhat stunning and I'm definitely looking forward to the third book coming out next year! Also I really liked the new characters introduced, especially Dr. Abbey.

Have you read Feed and Deadline? What's your favorite zombie book? I also caught up on The Walking Dead this past weekend and it was so freaking good I kind of feel like escaping into zombie stories for awhile.

Rating: 4.25/5
Things You Might Want to Know: Some profanity, a little sex. Also zombies.
Source of Book: Bought it
Publisher: Orbit (Hachette)

Review: Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep

I enjoy an urban fantasy of this nature from time to time, but I sometimes have a hard time picking out the ones I'll really like. I like the tough female characters but can live without all the sex, no matter how hot. ;) I like the world to be clearly drawn, not too confusing, original but not ridiculous sounding. That's all I ask.

Spider's Bite was an enjoyable read. I really liked the idea of elementals, people who have magic to manipulate certain elements. Gin for example, is a stone elemental so she can manipulate stone and also read emotions through them. She also happens to be an assassin. Of course, we need the tough girl!

Gin gets hired for a big deal, but it goes wrong. When someone she loves ends up dead, and the whole world is looking for her, she finds herself partnering with an unlikely person (naturally a hot guy) to avenge his death and clear her name.

Like I said, this is an enjoyable fast read. The world is pretty easy to understand and unique in it's own way. I enjoyed reading about Gin who is not only a super amazing assassin but apparently also the world's best cook! I liked the chemistry between her and Donovan as well.

Admittedly, I think the story went on just a bit too long and could have been a little shorter, but overall this was a nice quick read in an interesting magical world.

Rating: 3.5/5
Things You Might Want to Know: profanity, sex, and violence
Source of Book: Provided by publisher for review
Publisher: Pocket Books

Review: Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre

I had just finished one urban fantasy book and was in the mood for something similar to read when I stumbled across Katiebab's review of Blue Diablo. She gave it such a good review that when I spotted it in Barnes and Noble, I snatched it up. I'm really glad I did, because I enjoyed it!

Corine Solomon is living in Mexico and trying to lead a low profile life. She has an ability...when she touches certain objects she can see their history. But this ability comes at a steep cost to her physically.

Her ex-lover Chance shows up desperate for her help one day and she is pulled back into a life she tried to leave to help him. Chance's name is perfect, he brings good luck and fortune to himself. His mother has disappeared though, and he needs Corine's help.

Thus begins their adventure! Blue Diablo is the story of their hunt and the many things they come across as they try to find Chance's mother, Min. So yes this means sorcerer's and dark magic and all that stuff!

I really enjoyed Aguirre's writing...I found it to be crisp and descriptive. I absolutely adored Chance and I hope that Corine comes around to her senses and takes him back....there is another character in the story that creates a love triangle but I found him uninteresting at best. Team Chance! :)

I also really enjoyed the world that was created and Corine's history should prove to be very interesting for future stories. This was a good pick for me, an enjoyable read that satisfied my craving for some urban fantasy.

Rating: 4/5
Things You Might Want to Know: There is language throughout, and sexual references as well.

Blue Diablo is published by ROC (penguin) and available everywhere now including at Amazon and your local independent bookstore.