Series Overview: Ashes Trilogy - Ilsa J.Bick

Series: Ashes, Shadows, Monsters

Author: Ilsa J. Bick

Series: Ashes Trilogy

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Zombies, Survival

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Average Series Rating:

Series summary:

It could happen tomorrow . . .
An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions.
Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP.
For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.
Author Ilsa J. Bick crafts a terrifying and thrilling post-apocalyptic novel about a world that could become ours at any moment, where those left standing must learn what it means not just to survive, but to live amidst the devastation.

Judge A Series By Its Covers:

I'm not sure if everyone's aware of the first cover of Ashes. It was this terrifying and ugly gray face with murky eyes. I wasn't too happy about reading it so I didn't even read the blurb until the cover change. Eventually I bought the book on TBD because it was on sale. And I still didn't read it because I didn't get this beautiful black/yellow combination but the UK edition. Even though I'm not a huge fan of cover changes after a book or two are released but in this case I approve. 

What I Liked:

• Most of the characters. I just couldn't help myself and root for almost all of them. There was even a certain minor character which shined more than out MC, Alex. I'll get back to him later. ;)
• It's a book about people losing their minds and eating other people. What's more scarier than that?
• The significance of titles. I love these titles. The represent the major themes in all 3 novels. Ashes- to leave the past behind; Shadows- what hides in the corners or everyone's mind; Monsters- fight the monster within or let it win. 

What I Didn’t Like:

• At times I was frustrated about the lack of zombies. I guess I expected more of them to start popping out in Ashes and Shadows. They got their shot in Monsters. 
• Some might say these books are slow paced but I didn't think of them as such, most of the time. There were certain moments when I wanted nothing more than to skim a page or two because nothing was happening but even though there was no blood and gore there were still some very important things revealed. 

Do I Recommend It?

Yes, if you are willing to not think about the 496 pages long book and it's sequels (528 and 821 pages which brings you to a total of 1845 pages of explosive action) 

Favorite Book in the Series:

• This is a tough one. I did love the first half of Ashes but overall, Monsters wins this round. It was unputdownable, exciting, messing with my mind/heart/soul. It made me cry so many times I'm not even sure how many times I cursed the life and the author for making these characters suffer. 

Favorite Character(s):

• Hands down, Wolf. I don't want to spoil anything. I found him interesting the moment he appeared in Alex's life. He's one of the Changed humans who doesn't speak. That didn't prevent him from being the most interesting character. There's was just something gentle and deadly about him. Even though he was her captor he was always trying to protect her from other Changed. He was like a guardian angel. I know this sounds horrible but that's how I see him. How can a cannibal be a guardian angel, you ask? Well, you'll just have to read this trilogy to find out. 

Credit for Series Overview goes to Effortlessly Reading. 

Arclight by Josin L.McQuein

Arclight by Josin L.McQuein

Publisher: Greenwillow 
Publication date: April 23rd 2013
My rating: 2 star

No one crosses the wall of light . . . except for one girl who doesn’t remember who she is, where she came from, or how she survived. A harrowing, powerful debut thriller about finding yourself and protecting your future—no matter how short and uncertain it may be. 
The Arclight is the last defense. The Fade can’t get in. Outside the Arclight’s border of high-powered beams is the Dark. And between the Light and the Dark is the Grey, a narrow, barren no-man’s-land. That’s where the rescue team finds Marina, a lone teenage girl with no memory of the horrors she faced or the family she lost. Marina is the only person who has ever survived an encounter with the Fade. She’s the first hope humanity has had in generations, but she could also be the catalyst for their final destruction. Because the Fade will stop at nothing to get her back. Marina knows it. Tobin, who’s determined to take his revenge on the Fade, knows it. Anne-Marie, who just wishes it were all over, knows it.
When one of the Fade infiltrates the Arclight and Marina recognizes it, she will begin to unlock secrets she didn’t even know she had. Who will Marina become? Who can she never be again?

I debated whether or not I should finish this book since I got it from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I didn't wanted to finish it because I started reading it at least 5 or 6 times but I never got past the first two pages. Isn't the start of the book very important? Shouldn't I want to grip it tighter and never let it go, at least not until I finish reading it? It didn't happen. And I kept hoping it will get better with time. The main reason I was persistent is that some of the bloggers I follow read it and gave it 3 or 4 stars. So I pushed myself. I wanted to like it but I just couldn't. 

MC, or pretty much any other character in Arclight was like an Egyptian fresco painting where you can only see one side of the model. They were like cardboard cutouts with no heart or soul. 

I went from thinking those Fade creatures were zombies, to ghosts, to Dementors and then it turn out they are in fact people. I'm not even sure they are human since I didn't finish it. They were the only thing that kept my attention this far but in the end it wasn't enough. It just wasn't. And I'm sorry I requested Arclight and it's going to get even lower rating. I'm really sorry because the author clearly had a great vision. It just wasn't for me. 

Book Review: The Murmurings by Carly Anne West

Title:  The Murmurings
Author:  Carly Anne West
File type:  eARC
Release date:  March 5th, 2013
Genre:  YA, horror, paranormal

Everyone thinks Sophie’s sister, Nell, went crazy. After all, she heard strange voices that drove her to commit suicide. But Sophie doesn’t believe that Nell would take her own life, and she’s convinced that Nell’s doctor knows more than he’s letting on.

As Sophie starts to piece together Nell’s last days, every lead ends in a web of lies. And the deeper Sophie digs, the more danger she’s in—because now she’s hearing the same haunting whispers. Sophie’s starting to think she’s going crazy too. Or worse, that maybe she’s not….

I applaud you Mrs. West. You managed to freak me out throughout the novel. 

Since last year, I've been more and more interested in thrillers after so many paranormal novels disappointed me so I decided to shake things up and I'm glad I did because thrillers were just what I needed. 

The night before I finished this book I was home alone and playing Left4Dead and lets just say, it wasn't pretty. All of the lights were on in my house and I was sitting in a corner listening to early Britney songs. This usually does the trick and I snap out of it but it wasn't helping because I started to think of all the creepy things that happened in this book and I back then I hadn't even read the first half of the book. 

The creep factor was really high in this book. I did not expect it would go that far. There were two different parts in this novel. The first one was more contemporary with a dash of eerie mirror scenes with random whispering while the second was full on paranormal/horror story with the strange hair-raising black monsters that are actually something like split ghosts that are looking for their lost, other half in this world.  

Also, the first half had romance which was ignored in the second part of the book. I didn't feel attached to the growing relationship of the characters because it happened to fast for my taste, especially considering that the main character, Sophie didn't have friends in school but she suddenly accepts the attention of Evan. 

There was one thing I didn't like. The way out protagonist, Sophie never listened to anyone. There were a lot of situations where someone would say something like Don't go to that mental hospital or Don't go there alone or Obey the doctor, she wouldn't do it and her disobedience is what got her in big, colossal trouble every time. If she hadn't gone to the hospital in the middle of the night alone, none of the mess in the second half of the book wouldn't happen. But I guess, all of those things needed to happen in order to solve the whole mystery. 

It might appear I said a lot of things that didn't set right but that's not entirely true because it's easier to talk about the bad side of the book rather that the good. All in all, I would recommend this book to my friends and everyone else since it had so many scary and unnerving scenes. It was definitely one of the best young-adult thrillers I've read. 

Book review: 'Till the World Ends by Julie Kagawa

Title:  'Till the World Ends
Author:  Julie Kagawa
File type:  eARC
Release date:  January 29^th, 2012
Genre:  YA, dystopia, horror, vampires

Dawn of Eden by Julie Kagawa 
Before The Immortal Rules, there was the Red Lung, a relentless virus determined to take out all in its path. For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden-as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What's worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she's beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems.... 

 I am sorry, but I didn’t like this short story at all. Sure, Kanin was there for a while but her was more of an extra than a real character. He still managed to get my attention because he is Kanin. Dark, tortured, brooding vampire who wants to make things right.

Main character of this story is Kyle, a doctor in training who takes care of her dying patients who got infected with Red Lungs. I have no objections when it comes to her and her man, Ben. It’s just that the story itself jumped from YA dystopian novel into overly dramatic mess. It went something like this Dear, the world is ending. Let’s have unprotected sex! Who has time to go on a condom hunt! Ignore the strange man we met an hour ago who let us make love on his bed. If we stay quiet he won’t even hear us. Then Kyle and Ben travel to his childhood home which is in the middle of nowhere because he needs to go back even though his father is a hillbilly. And of course, people there don’t believe there are things like zombies and vampires until the rise from the ground and attack them. They huddle up the house while rabids run around. Some people die and we see Kanin again in the end boarding a boat like a boss saying to himself he will murder the whole crew.

I really didn’t expect this novella to be such a flop because it’s Julie Kagawa we’re talking about.  I don’t have high expectations when it comes to novellas but I felt like this one was written just for the money. Over-the-top romance didn’t help either. 

Book Review: This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

Title: This is Not a Test
Author: Courtney Summers
File type: ARC
Release date: June 19th 2012
Genre: YA, Horror, Zombies

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

 Oh,wow. I'm impressed with Courtney Summers' writing. 

If you are planing to read this book don't expect any Resident Evil ass kicking. This Is Not a Test was so much more than a zombie book. It was a book about survival and overcoming your fear about the past/future.

I was conflicted about Sloan because she kept a lot of things to herself. She doesn't want anyone to know about the abuse she suffered because of her father and about her sister Lily who ran away. But after awhile she gets comfortable around Rhys and lets him in. I liked Rhys. He was the most reasonable of all six teenagers hiding inside their high-school. Cory was the brave leader who had to make all the hard decisions,Harrison was a crying baby,the twins-Trace,the selfish and obnoxious guy who I just couldn't hate and Grace,beautiful and compassionate girl have to find a way to survive while someone is lurking inside the school. 

I loved The Forest of Hands and Teeth but this book is much better. While reading this book I had a feeling like the zombie apocalypse could happen any moment now and we would be in danger.

4.5 stars