Review and Giveaway: "Through the Zombie Glass" by Gena Showalter

Zombies stalk the night. Forget blood and brains. These monsters hunger for human souls. Sadly, they've got mine… 

Alice Bell has lost so much. Family. Friends. A home. She thought she had nothing else to give. She was wrong.  

After a new zombie attack, strange things begin to happen to her. Mirrors come to life, and the whispers of the dead assault her ears. But the worst? A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do very wicked things.  

She's never needed her team of zombie slayers more, but ultra bad-boy Cole Holland, the leader and her boyfriend, suddenly withdraws from her…from everyone. Now, with her best friend Kat at her side, Ali must kill the zombies, uncover Cole's secret and learn to fight the darkness. 

But the clock is ticking…and if she fails at a single task, they're                                                              all doomed. 

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Through the Zombie Glass is the second book in Gena Showalter's White Rabbit Chronicles.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2013.  Even though I'm not a zombie book fan, I really enjoyed the first book and couldn't wait to get more of Ali and Cole.  I was glad this one started right where we left off in book 2.  Ali and Cole are finally together, but of course they don't lead an easy life so it's no surprise that their relationship isn't easy either.  

I was totally blind sided by the turn of events in Through the Zombie Glass.  I certainly did not see these issues coming.  The zombies are changing, there is a spy among the group and some huge changes are in store for Ali.  We get a lot more of Kat and Frosty in this one as well and there are some new additions to the group that stir things up.  Ali's internal struggles are as much a part of this book as the battle between the hunters and the zombies.  Ali is quickly becoming one of the most deadly hunters of the group.

It always amazes me how Gena writes such amazing storylines.  The blend between the main story and action going on along with the character relationships is amazing.  Even if you're not a zombie fan, you will still love this series.  Book 2 is even better than the first and you've got to love these covers!  Overall, a fast-paced, intense, romantic, action packed, battle filled installment of the White Rabbit Chronicles.  This is definitely a must read!!!
Release date: September 24th, 2013

The review of the first book in the series, Alice in Zombieland, can be read here.

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This book was provided by the author/publisher for an honest review.

"Romeo Redeemed" Excerpt

"Romeo Redeemed," the highly anticipated sequel to "Juliet Immortal," will be released October 9th.  Thanks to Stacey Jay, for providing us with this new excerpt from the beginning of Chapter 2.  This scene takes place right after Romeo has returned to Dylan's body in order to win Ariel, save her from the darker parts of her natures and earn himself a place among the Ambassadors of Light. 

Cursed to live out eternity in his rotted corpse, Romeo, known for his ruthless, cutthroat ways, is given the chance to redeem himself by traveling back in time to save the life of Ariel Dragland. Unbeknownst to her, Ariel is important to both the evil Mercenaries and the love-promoting Ambassadors and holds the fate of the world in her hands. Romeo must win her heart and make her believe in love, turning her away from her darker potential before his work is discovered by the Mercenaries. While his seduction begins as yet another lie, it soon becomes his only truth. Romeo vows to protect Ariel from harm, and do whatever it takes to win her heart and soul. But when Ariel is led to believe his love is a deception, she becomes vulnerable to Mercenary manipulation, and her own inner darkness may ultimately rip them apart.


Excerpt:

Hate, him, hate, him, hate, him. My feet pound the beat and my thoughts scream the words. I hate Dylan Stroud. I can’t believe I let him touch me. I should have known better. Things are never going to change. I will never change. I’ll always be the Freak with the scars, even when I finally make it out of this town. Tonight proves it. I’m stupid. Crazy. Broken. And I always will be.

How else could I have thought I was falling in love with him?

I should have realized it was a joke. But I didn’t, and by tomorrow the entire school will know that Dylan and I almost did it. Or maybe he’ll tell everyone we did. I wouldn’t be surprised. Then they’ll have one more thing to pity me for, the girl who lost her virginity on a bet. Maybe Dylan will even tell his friends that I took the money he offered, and Hannah and Natalie and all the other girls who look at me like their worst nightmare come to life will think I’m a whore in addition to being the most pathetic loser on the planet.

Stupid girl, stupid freak, stupid girl, stupid freak.

I pull in a breath and choke on it. I wish we’d gone off the road. I wish we were both dead. I taste salt at the back of my throat. Tears burn my eyes. I want to stop running, lie down in the middle of the highway, and wait for some unsuspecting person to run me over. But I can’t. Because the only car on the road is his car, and I won’t give him the satisfaction.

If he wants to hit me, he’ll have to pull onto the shoulder.

The headlights behind me get brighter, a slow creeping glare that makes me feel naked. I want to crouch down and cover my head with my arms, but I don’t. I keep running, facing forward. Even when Dylan’s car putters up beside me and the passenger window buzzes down, I don’t turn to look. I won’t let him see that he’s made me cry. Again.

“Why don’t you get back in the car?”

Why don’t you choke on your tongue and die?

“Please, Ariel. I just want to talk,” he says. “I think there’s been a . . . misunderstanding.”

I stumble, but don’t fall. That wasn’t what I was expecting him to say. I was imagining angry words and threats and maybe something thrown from the car as he sped by. But whatever. Anger, fake apologies—what’s the difference? It will all end the same way, with Dylan in control because he knows I had a horrible crush on him and believed every false thing he said and did. I even believed he was as nervous about our first kiss as I was. I believed I made him ache and want the way I wanted him.

Stupid. Loser.

Not anymore. “Leave me alone.”

“Ariel, please. Listen. I—”

“Leave me alone.” I run faster. My eyes scan the woods at the side of the road. I wonder if it’s worth running into the darkness to get away from him.

“No. I can’t leave you alone.”

I can’t leave you alone. He says it in his sexy voice, the one he used when he called to ask me on this joke of a date. He’s trying to lure me in again, and I hate him for it. Almost as much as I hate myself for noticing how lovely he makes everything sound. Listening to Dylan talk is almost as good as listening to him sing.

His voice is what pulled me in from the start, the way he sang “Bring It On Home to Me” like he knew what it felt like to love someone so much you’d give anything to be with them. Every time the choir members practiced for their performances during the spring formal, I’d have to stop painting the backdrops, close my eyes, and soak Dylan’s voice into my soul.

And then one day I opened them and found he was singing right to me.

Our eyes caught and held, and neither of us could look away until the song was finished. By the end, my heart was racing so fast I was afraid I might faint. He’d confirmed it. I just knew he felt the same way I felt. Compelled. Seduced. Enchanted. It was like I’d always dreamed falling in love would be.

Then I saw that text from Jason, and Dylan offered me fifty dollars to let him take what he wanted in the backseat of his car and set my gauzy, romantic dreams on fire.

For more information and to see more books by Stacey Jay, 
you can visit her site at http://www.staceyjay.com.

Giveaway and Review: "Alice in Zombieland" by Gena Showalter

Synopsis:

She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave.  Forever. Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone. 

Her father was right. The monsters are real…. 

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….
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     Let me start off by saying that I am not normally a fan of zombie books.  I have had no interest in any zombie related books, movies or TV shows.  However, for Gena Showalter, I was willing to try anything.  She always blows me away with her amazing stories and characters and I new I would just have to give this one a try.  As usual Gena, you have blown me away!

     Alice is a strong protagonist through the whole book but certainly gains confidence throughout the story.  She's thrown into a life of zombies that she never believed existed.  Like most of my favorite heroines, she's got that snarky attitude that I love.  With the help of Cole, the leader of the zombie slayers, Alice must navigate her way through this new world.  What can say about Cole?  Yum!  I am used to reading Gena Showalter's adult series, Lords of the Underworld, and wondered how she would do in this new YA series.  Of course Gena managed to make Cole hot, without anything too steamy going on.  Everyone at school is afraid of Cole.  He's all tough muscle with a take no prisoners attitude (and yes, there's more than one meaning to that statement as you'll soon see).  I loved learning Cole's background and finding out why he is the way he is.  There's always a softer side to these tough guys.  He's also so loyal and devoted to his crew and Alice that you just have to overlook his bad side.  There's definitely something brewing between these two and it's not just romance.  I'm anxious to get some more answers about this, hopefully in the second book.  The zombies are not your typical zombies.  Oh they're dead, but that's about all that's the same. Unfortunately I can't really say anything more than that without giving anything away but Gena has definitely created a unique take on the zombies and how they behave.  This story has me thoroughly hooked!  I can't wait for the next book.  

     Gena Showalter has created a unique, captivating world of zombies, slayers and more that will have you flying through this book.  It's full of action, mystery, romance, a little humor as well as some real life drama that everyone can related to.  Gena is a master at making me stay up way too late reading.  This was certainly one I didn't want to put down.   "Alice in Zombieland" is definitely a must read!  

"Alice in Zombieland" will be released September 25th, 2012.
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