Book Review: Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.

In Emmy Laybourne's action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world-as they know it-apart.

My Review:
I was expecting a story about a group of stranded kids trying to deal with the world coming to an end with nobody to help and no idea if their families are still alive. It does start this way, with a huge hailstorm hitting the school bus and their teacher ramming it into a store front to get the kids somewhere safe. She then goes for help, leaving the older kids to take charge. It is when there is an explosion at NORAD followed by a contamination cloud that affects the kids in different ways that they need to work together and find a way to escape.

This was a bit different from what I was expecting. The initial sheltering from the hail turns into something really deadly with the kids blood types determining their reaction to the contaminated cloud. Blood type A get blistered skin, AB get paranoid delusions and hallucinations, B possibly go sterile and O get violent. I thought this was an interesting concept, having a bioweapon that can have differing effects on different blood types, causing chaos in crowded areas and communities. It would prove a good distraction for troops moving into an area of hostile people. So that was different and the kids had to find ways of dealing with the problems of the blood type illnesses.

The problem for me were the characters. Chloe is a spoiled and whiny little madam who needs a good smack most of the time. Batiste is spouting off about the end of days every five minutes which drives me up the wall. Brayden is a total asshat. Sahalia parades around half naked all the time looking for male attention and wonders why nobody takes her seriously, Jake is an obnoxious jock, Josie plays mum to everyone, Astrid is beautiful and perfect, Dean is smart and bullied...every steriotype is covered I think. Lets face it, my idea of hell on earth is to be stuck in a building with a group of kids, especially during armageddon and these kids are annoying on whole new levels!

Overall the book is a decent read but the style of writing for me is certainly more aimed at the mid YA readership as opposed to older teens and adults, which makes the amount of sexual content and language featured a bit of a surprise. So be advised that there is an attempted rape on a 13 year old girl, lots of sexual language and discussions of sex, as well as girls parading round semi clothed.  

Urban Fantasy Week!

Welcome to Urban Fantasy Week at The Book Cave! I've got a few UF books sitting on my shelf upstairs that I bought ages ago but haven't yet read so this 'week' I plan to tackle them over the next 10 days. There could be vampires. There could be werewolves and shifters. There could be witchcraft. There could be demons. There could be monsters. The options are endless! It has been a while since I read a pile of UF so hopefully I find some good ones this week! 

Some of the books and series that are waiting on my shelves are mentioned below so if you've read them I'd appreciate some feedback ie Heavy on romance? Love triangles? Slow? Fast Paced? More like crime novel than UF? Moronic characters? Instaluv? All sex no plot? Lots of action? It might help me choose what I'm going to read! I won't get through all of them between now and a week on Sunday but I'll see how many I can try!

Kelly Gay-Better Part of Darkness
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6318238-the-better-part-of-darkness 

Dina Given-Unhidden
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23899324-unhidden 

Alex Hughes-Clean
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13543039-clean 

James A Hunter-Strange Magic
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23944302-strange-magic 

Suzanne Johnson-Royal Street
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15932303-royal-street 

Marshall Ryan Maresca-A Murder of Mages
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23590634-a-murder-of-mages 

Joseph Nassise-The Heretic
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8192755-the-heretic 

Daniel Jose Older-Half Resurrection Blues
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22393174-half-resurrection-blues 

Nicholas Olivo-Imperium
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12816949-imperium 

Luke Romyn-Demonsong
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24564375-demonsong 

Lauren M Roy-Night Owls
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18281997-night-owls 

Jamie Schultz-Premonitions
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19486429-premonitions 

John Shirley-Bleak History
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6647778-bleak-history 

Rob Thurman-Trick of the Light
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6294062-trick-of-the-light 

James R Tuck-Blood and Bullets
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11843017-blood-and-bullets 

Book Review: Hell Week by JT Sawyer

Get ready for a fresh take on the zombie genre when the SEALs fix their crosshairs on the undead and the unsavory. James Enroy, a former Navy SEAL, thinks he is the sole survivor left in L.A. after a bioweapon cripples humanity, turning the infected into pudding-faced zombies. A chance meeting with an old mentor and a young heroine brings the trio into a confrontation with a criminal kingpin who has turned the L.A. Zoo into a gladiator arena, pitting zombies against humans. 

My Review:
James is a former Seal and is now a private security guard to a rich man, looking after all his security needs. They live in the penthouse of a locked and secure building filled with supplies and weapons. It is the perfect place to be when the zombie apocalypse begins, especially with his employer dead and his daughter missing. Then he realises that women are being held captive by armed men at the zoo and he decides to go and see if there is any way to free them.

This was a decent zombie book. James is a character you can relate to as he wants to do the right thing and not leave the women as prisoners if there is any way of saving them. I admit that in his place I would have been happy just to stay safe with my supplies and being a big reader, I'd have lots of books to keep me from getting bored! But of course there would be no story then...So James decides to scout out the zoo, first holing up with another army colleague who then agrees to help him. Not only are there civilian prisoners but there is a gladiator ring where captured men have to battle against the zombies for the entertainment of the criminal gang.

I really liked the action in the arena. It was interesting to see what didderent people do with the offered weapons, how a small mistake can be the difference between being alive and being zombie chow! I liked the way James used his training to take on the zombies and plan a way to kill the gang members and rescue the civilians.

I liked the idea of the plot. I can never get enough of zombies and there was enough action and tension in it to keep me happy. I especially loved the bit where nature gets its revenge! While I did enjoy it as a read, I wouldn't go rushing out to read a sequel unless it was really cheap. It just lacked the oomph that I look for in zombie books to just take it to the next level. There is nothing wrong with it but it didn't grab me in the way that the author's First Wave did. I still plan to look at the Carlie Simmons series at some point.

Book Review: Breeding Ground by Sarah Pinborough

Life was good for Matt and Chloe. They were in love and looking forward to their new baby. But what Chloe gave birth to isn t a baby. It isn t even human. It s an entirely new species that uses humans only for food and as hosts for their young.

As Matt soon learns, though, he is not alone in his terror. Women all over town have begun to give birth to these hideous creatures, spidery nightmares that live to kill and feed. As the infestation spreads and the countryside is reduced to a series of web-shrouded ghost towns, will the survivors find a way to fight back? Or is it only a matter of time before all of mankind is reduced to a Breeding Ground?

My Review:

Matt and Chloe are looking forward to having their first baby but when Chloe starts putting on weight all over and having violent moodswings, Matt gets concerned. Her doctor admits that all the women in town are acting weird and he can do nothing to help them. The men around town are scared of their partners, who give birth to spider like creatures that eat human meat. The surviving men start finding each other and plan to flee to a safer place that they can defend against the spiders and protect the few uninfected women that they find.

There was a lot to like about this excellent horror novel. It is set in the UK so the survivors have to use their brains and makeshift weapons ie golf clubs to defend themselves as they hunt for vehicles, supplies and head into the country and safety. There are good action scenes and a lot of tension in the early part of the book where the women are preparing to give birth. It has a creepy feel to it and being arachnophobic myself, it gave me the horrors but in a good way! It was quite a gripping plot and it just gets straight to the point without endless over descriptive waffle. I certainly liked that.

It is not just about the spiders though they evolve in interesting ways through the book. It is also about the worst side of human nature as the characters have to choose between good and evil acts. There were several fascinating plot twists as the action evolved throughout the book and I was left wondering what was coming next! There is also the wonderful dog Chester who I loved and I worried constantly about his safety. I always seem to care more about the dog than the human characters. So I'm rooting for Chester!

The last third of the book might seem over the top to some readers but I loved the shocks, the twists and the resolution of the fate of each character. It was great to see a few people get sorted out! I even liked the reasons for certain women being immune as it was at least a bit different even if it wasn't scientifically plausible! I'm no scientist and I can enjoy far fetched plots if they are well written and exciting and the author certainly does deliver on that score.

There are a couple of things that bugged me in the plot. It doesn't seem to take Matt long to forget poor Chloe, starting to fancy and pursue Katie virtually straight away. Are men really that cold that they just start chasing women as soon as their partner dies? Matt is a human hormone and not exactly Mr Personality yet all the women seem to be unable to resist him and he isn't exactly smart when history repeats itself. I can't really more without spoiling the plot. Matt hardly seems to care about the women he beds which made me dislike him the further the book went on. I can't say that I'm keen on these apocalypse romance plotlines but the story was good enough to ignore Matt's womanising for the most part.

I liked the storytelling and the way the plot was developed. I liked that it was a bit different and had horrible spider things in it. I liked the B Movie feel to aspects of it and that it was an enjoyable horror romp. I will certainly read Feeding Ground and would be interested in reading more by the author.

Book Review: Midway by Melanie Karsak (The Harvesting #1.5)

Midway: A Harvesting Series Novella (Book 1.5 in The Harvesting Series) is a tie-in novella that compliments The Harvesting, Book I in The Harvesting Series.

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, for the beginning of the end.
 
Carnie. Ride jockey. Roustabout. White trash. Tilt girl. Gypsy. Cricket has been called a lot of things, but she never thought survivor of the zombie apocalypse would be one of them. One day she’s barking on the midway, and the next day, the world is eating itself alive.

Cricket, along with Vella, a tarot reader, and Puck, Cricket’s mangy mutt, find themselves running for their lives, but where can you hide when mankind has fallen? Cricket will need help if she hopes to survive. Luckily for her, we were never really alone, and apparently, magical forces want to keep this tilt girl alive.

My Review:
Cricket earns a living working carnival rides along with her dog Puck and best friend Vella, who reads tarot cards. A terrible flu pandemic hits the US and the carnival workers start getting sick, causing everyone to pack up early. As they are getting ready to leave, the sick workers are now zombies and trying to kill the survivors who have to flee. Cricket and Vella find refuge with a small group of survivors but is it really safe from zombies and humans?

Having really enjoyed the first book in the series, I couldn't wait to grab this one. Our two female MCs are good characters that you instantly care about, which is vital for me to enjoy a story. If I don't care about the characters, then I don't fully engage with the book. So it was good to get characters I liked though I worried constantly about the safety of Puck! The side characters were all good too, especially the couple who opened up their premises to take in strangers in need of sanctuary. You do get to like them in a short period of time for the most part.

So what is good about the book other than the characters? It is well written with plenty of zombie action along the way, as well as tension filled moments that help you get to know the characters better. I liked the scenes revolving around the sanctuary and then the exciting plot when they take refuge in an abandoned carnival where they meet the mysterious Tristan. The story flows nicely and keeps you interested in what is going to happen next. There are no dull bits to slow things down. Carnivals and zombies do make for a nice combination! I also liked the way that Vella tried to use her tarot cards to guide their decisions but again, it is not a dominant thing in the story, just a nice addition to add more interest to the story.

My only niggle with this book in the instaluv carry on with Cricket and the boy she meets at the sanctuary. However it didn't actually affect the story as the main focus of the plot is finding somewhere safe to escape from the zombies and stay out of the way of dangerous humans. So if like me instaluv is a deal-breaker for you, take the plunge and try the book anyway as the romance is light and in the background compared to the zombies.

This is a really good zombie series but anyone who read the first book knows that it is so much more than that and I'm looking forward to the second book where I hope that both groups join together for the next part of the story. This author knows exactly how to mix action and tension with character development and I find myself pretty excited by this series!