Chuckles Mini Reviews Catchup

I review everything I read, on my blog and on Goodreads. Most reviews are of a decent length but sometimes you don't have much to say about the book because of its length or you DNFed it or various other reasons. In cases like that it makes sense to write a few mini reviews in one post and clear them out your way! So lets catch up with some reviews from July!

1) Jaye Wells-Fool's Gold (Sabina Kane #0.5)
In the 1970s, Sabina Kane was a rookie assassin looking for her first big kill. But when the day finally comes to prove her skills to the Dominae, she finds herself shadowing Slade Corbin, a more experienced assassin with a huge chip on his shoulder. Together, they must track down a blackmailer who's threatening to expose the existence of vampires to the world. Will Sabina and Slade be able to find the blackmailer in time, and, more important, will they be able to get through the mission without killing each other?

I had no idea that this prequel short story to the Sabina Kane books existed so I grabbed it and read it this week. In book two of the series we meet the character of Slade and Sabina mentions the time she worked with him. This is the story of that mission. A vampire is threatening to expose the race to the humans unless he is paid off so Tanith tells Slade to take Sabina on her first kill mission and destroy the threat. Slade is prejudiced against Sabina because she is a mixed blood rookie and she is determined to prove herself to grandmother Lavinia. It was a fun prequel that sets up why Sabina's personality developed the way it did, and I liked seeing Slade again. I also enjoyed the Fae whorehouse sideline! 

Read July 2019
3 stars.

2) Jeff Favreau-Break Away
Rose has only been a police officer in northern Maine for two years when her world is suddenly ripped apart by a deadly new disease out of New York City. All who are infected by this new disease are rapidly reduced to husks of their former selves leaving only rabid wild beasts bent on death and destruction. After her wife’s gruesome and violent death, Rose learns that she is immune and must decide whether to sacrifice herself for a cure or fight to survive. Rose’s choices set in motion a desperate trek north into the solitary deep woods of Northern Quebec where she must elude capture by an unchecked CDC, the military, and bands of impetuous survivors. 

I never get tired of a zombie apocalypse type scenario regardless of how the outbreak begins. There is something exciting about the whole humans becoming monsters thing. An infectious disease escapes the NYC quarantine and turns up in a small town, leaving the police as sole defenders of the town. Rose is more concerned with dealing with Kate being infected to care much about anything else happening in the town. The plot of Rose trying to deal with her infected wife, escape the CDC who want to use her as a lab rat, her run into town to get supplies and her escape from the town are all interesting and pretty well written. The issue I had was continued frustration with how stupid Rose was through the whole book.

At the briefing in the police station about watching for signs of infected people, Rose doesn't want to believe any of it. Even having a friend, fellow cop Andy, who has an uncle at the CDC and confirms how deadly the disease is, Rose decides he is being a drama queen. She believes there is no disease despite the NYC quarantine and the CDC coming to speak to the police-just because the news aren't reporting it. Rose is at the hospital with the infected Kate (believe it now eh?) and witnesses an infected worker there being given a lethal injection to peacefully put him to sleep without pain as he can't be cured. Instead of this peaceful end for Kate, Rose insists on smuggling her out and taking her home where Kate becomes violent and aggressive, attacking Rose and destroying much of their home. She lets Kate live for days screaming and in pain and refuses to put the poor woman out of her misery. She is furious when the CDC come to take her away for being immune and gets into a shootout, firing at the SUVsand their passengers. She then decides to steal one of the SUVs but fails to check it for damage, runs out of fuel on the way to the border and has to abandon most of her supplies. Despite being on a wanted list for the CDC, she strolls up to the border guards at the Canada border and gives her details and is shocked to be arrested? Rose is way too stupid to live and I DNFed at that point. I hate it when a stupid MC ruins the potential of a book.

Read July 2019
DNF 2 stars. 

3) David Berardelli-And Darkness Fell
America's population is plunging, beset by a mysterious plague that robs individuals of their mental faculties before causing catastrophic respiratory failure. One by one, the institutions of society are also failing. Electric power, media, and law enforcement have become nearly nonexistent. Only a small force, of military origin but exhibiting strange behavior and superhuman abilities, seems to be functioning.

Amid this dark and disturbing world, former soldier Alan Moss, who remains unaffected by the disease, struggles to survive the roving bands of murderous thugs—of both sexes—who are preying on the dead and dying. As he undertakes a thousand-mile drive from his home in Orlando to his mother's farm in western Pennsylvania, the highways become concrete battlefields that expose him to horrors he had not encountered even during his difficult military service. Along the way he hooks up with Reed McCallum, an ex-schoolteacher and recent victim of a mugging; and Brooke Fields, a nurse who has left the disintegrating medical system at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Together, the trio faces danger at every turn.

I found this book strange. The author is a bit on the vague side about what started the apocalypse, saying that there are people who are doped and non functioning, doped and functioning to some extent and those who are unaffected like the MC. It mentions in a roundabout way how a lot of the services like electricity and water seem to be either on limited service or not working and it all seems to depend on where you are and the condition of the workfoce at each utility. It doesn't explain anything about possible causes for this weird doping epidemic, if it is in any way contagious or random and it's just annoyingly vague. It seems to infect you gradually, wearing down the brain and stopping functions gradually until you just stop moving and later you die. It would've been nice to get a prologue detailing what is was and why it was happening.

Alan is a frustrating MC and we follow him in the aftermath as he is about to start on a road trip to his mother. When the affected people stop moving, they are doomed yet Alan still doesn't want to fully loot from them. He refuses to take all of their money, food, water, clothes etc despite the fact that they will be dead within hours. If you want to survive you have to loot and these poor people are beyond saving so why leave them food and money when they are comatose??? It's stupid as is his guilt about stealing from the dead who definitely don't need it. It's all about survival and you must do what you can to ensure you live. It's not as if he is taking from anyone who is alive and well and needs the stuff. His travel companion is Reed, who has an actual invisible friend who offers advice and information to them.

The book is a bit repetitive with the road trip, stopping somewhere to sleep and get supplies and then moving on. Even the odd run in with other looters or the doped up affected are not greatly exciting. It's all a bit bland and dull, along with the lack of information about why it is all happening. I didn't feel any urge to continue reading and DNFed at 25%.

Read July 2019
DNF 2 stars. 

4) Rhiannon Frater-Untold Tales vol 3 (As The World Dies)

Returning to Texas after celebrating his divorce in Vegas, Rune, a biker cursed with the ability to see ghosts, discovers that the world is being taken over by the hungry undead. Soon he realizes he will have to depend on all his abilities to survive not only the ravenous zombies, but the dangerous men lurking on the back roads of Texas.

Senator Paige Brightman abandoned the Madison Mall and its inhabitants to the hungry hordes, but her journey did not end there. Her attempt to reach the president’s safe haven called Central has far reaching ramifications for her and the people she abandoned.

The final in the three stories reveals the aftermath of the great battle in SIEGE as one woman faces the ultimate decision whether to live or die in a world of the undead.

This is the third volume of tales from the As The World Dies series and should be read after book 3 Siege to avoid massive spoilers. In the first story we follow Rune, one of my favourite characters, who can communicate with ghosts although he doesn't really want to. On the road he comes into contact with Tito who is on his way to rescue his family from San Antonio. The ghosts however, want Rune to help Monica and then give out some payback to a gang of ruthless looters who are attacking innocent survivors. I loved that we see Tito again as I wanted to find out more about his adventures.

The second story follows Paige and her group as they try to get to the refuge of the President and she continues to be an utter bitch from hell. Her story also gives us the end to Tito's story and I was pleased to see that. The third story features Emma, alone in her town and taking down every zombie that lives there, seeking answers to the fate of her ex partner and their son. Her story was pretty sad and she is faced with the choice of seeking out a new life at the Fort, or killing herself. I'd love to see more Untold Tales featuring how some of my other favourites ended up at the Fort.

Read July 2019
4 stars.  

5) Craig McDonough-Toward The Brink
When a new growth hormone is released onto the market to produce bigger potatoes in Idaho, it not only does that but kills much of the population. What had begun as a scheme to control the fast food industry was manipulated by a powerful clandestine organization to further its desires for world control. Much of this plan required the reduction of the world's population and what better way to do it than through the fast food chains and their French fries? Toward The Brink follows teenager Elliot Goodwin, his girlfriend Cindy and tough cop Mulhaven as they fight to survive against the pathogen, the zombies, looters, and rogue military units. 

I found it interesting that this apocalypse is started by an out of control growth hormone in potatoes, something that people do have concerns about these days. It was an interesting way to start the book, with the hormone first causing serious birth defects and then mass deaths. Naturally this hormone is corrupted by a bunch of psychos and a full disaster occurs, wiping out the local population. The foamers themselves were interesting enough-infected people spewing green foamy liquid onto others and thus spreading the infection, with their aggressive behaviour very zombie like. The infection breaks out in Elliot's town and he teams up with his girlfriend Cindy and local cop Mulhaven to try and escape town. I did like Mulhaven, the gruff cop. I also liked The Tall Man, the shadowy enforcer working for the company who flees when he suspects that he is to be killed because of what he knows. He was much more interesting to follow. If the story had involved him and Mulhaven as MCs it would have worked much better.

I do have issues with a lack of realism. I can put aside scientific reality for how apocalypses begin so that never bothered me but it was things that happened in the plot that I found dumb. Elliot of course is Mr Knowledge because his mother saw some things connected to the virus before she died of cancer. Elliot gives out orders that the cops follow for evacuating the area and pulling back to a safe area to regroup. Why exactly is a teenage boy doing this instead of the cop in charge? Most cops would be telling him and Cindy to get out of the way, not handing over control to him! Elliot leaves Cindy for a moment to call his dad then turns round to find another cop sexually assaulting her in the cop car in broad daylight in the town. Seriously? Come on, let's get real here! Elliot also tells his dad to leave his shop and head out of town to safety-as if a father recently widowed is going to leave his teenage son in danger alone-but in this case it seems what Elliot says goes and when Elliot reaches the store his father is gone. Sure! Just abandon your son! Cindy is able to just kill a man without blinking or any emotion about it and obtain the weapon from a securely locked area in the cop car while Elliot is more like some kind of military hero (like the cover suggests) than a teenage boy and I just don't buy into it. Too many things make no sense and while I liked a few elements, I just didn't like the overall plot and won't be reading on with the series.

Read July 2019
2.5 stars.