Chuckles Goes Sampling

Seeing Kermit surrounded and almost buried in leaves kind of reminds me of my relationship with books. I'm pretty much buried in them too! I have no more space in my house for the books I buy and piles are sitting on the floor which isn't good and I can't read them quick enough because I keep buying!!! I've battled to reduce the tbr without success this year but now Kermit and I are embarking on a new plan to reduce the book buying and give me a chance to reduce the tbr at last. The Plan? Download samples and read them and only go on to buy those I liked instead of grabbing everything!

Here is what I read last week! 

1) Daniel Humphreys-A Place Outside The Wild
Miles is working outside the city on night shift at a motel when the zombie apocalypse starts in his area. Watching a couple of fellow workers die and rise again is enough to convince him to get out of the area. 8 years later he is part of a surviving community who are alert to the threat from both zombie and hostile human.

I certainly prefer books where we follow the apocalypse from the start and see how the people start banding together and building a new life. By skipping eight years we miss a lot of that detail and all the danger and tension of dealing with the zombie outbreak. However, the aspects of the community life that is already established is interesting in its own way and I'm curious about some of the characters like battle scarred Charlie who scavenges from deserted properties with his team, and wheelchair bound Pete who is the community sniper. I think I might look at this one if I see it cheap to see how the plot develops.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32038526-a-place-outside-the-wild

2) John Tolliver-Darkness And The Grave 
Three hurricanes bear down on different parts of the US and a pandemic that turns people into zombies is hitting at the same time. Katie is at the library and being pusued by the creatures while her fiance Joel breaks the city quarantine to go looking for her. Five friends are trapped on a train when quarantine hits and are arrested by police as rioters gather outside the police station. Others are trapped on a rig with sick workers as the storm cuts them off from everyone.

This one was interesting and I liked the characters that were introduced. At the moment, we are following three distinct storylines, each with a varying level of zombie contact. Andy and his fellow workers are just discovering that people on the rig are sick so they will soon get a shock. Katie has seen the worst first hand and the group from the train are running into their first encounter with the sick. I found it intriguing and there is enough in this sample for me to want to check out the whole bookwhich I've already downloaded.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36164723-darkness-and-the-grave 

3) Wren Cavanagh-The Last Flag
The Last Flag is a new zombie gameshow on TV. Find three flags worth $500000 each and get to the roof of the highest building to claim the final flag and win not just your money but the money from any flags your rival teams have collected. All you have to do is not get eaten by more than 500 zombies roaming the enclosed town while TV viewers watch for entertainment. What could possibly go wrong when the four teams are dropped inside the game zone?

I've read a few dinosaur game show books that I really enjoyed so the prospect of a zombie version was very appealing. I liked the idea of the game and I'd watch this on a Saturday night! The character of Fats is interesting and there is the hint that Cheryl who is angry at not being promoted has something planned to disrupt the show and I'm curious about what she is going to do for her revenge. I definitely want to read this book and have already downloaded a full ebook copy.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33778735-the-last-flag

4) Rebecca Fernfield-The Road To Ruin 
Three years after the apocalypse, deacon has caught Dan and a woman coming into his territory. He decides to take the woman from Dan for his own pleasure and because he has a grudge. Story jumps back to a man plotting to sell vials of something to someone on the phone in revenge against a fellow scientist who crossed him. A woman is at home naked waiting for husband Dan to arrive, unaware that he is having sex with mel. Sample ends.

What a really dreadful sample this was. Deacon acting like a rapist to be plotting what to do with the captured woman, Dan screwing someone other than his wife while she waits for him..looks to me like this is going to be all sex and no plot as there are three sexual elements in just a few pages of sample. I already dislike Dan and Deacon which is never a good sign. This sounds like pure rubbish and I'll be avoiding this. 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36495260-the-road-to-ruin