Book Review: Hollowland

Hollowland (Hollows #1)
Author: Amanda Hocking
Format: Kindle
Genre: YA Dystopian, Paranormal
Publication Date: October 6, 2010

Synopsis:

Hollowland - the first book in the young adult dystopian series The Hollows...

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."

Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

I read Amanda Hocking's Trylle Trilogy a few years ago and loved them. So when I saw the kindle version of Hollowland free on amazon, I decided to grab it.

The protagonist is Remy King, an emotionally cut off 19 year old, who is racing across the country in search of her kid brother, Max. After a zombie attack on the government quarantine the army moved Max, who was in the care of the medical ward, to another quarantine to the North.

With the help of friends, Harlow, Lazlo & Blue and her newly acquired lioness, Ripley, she treks across many states in search of Max. Along the way they run into hordes of zombies (of course), a crazy cult leader, deadly marauders and an underground refuge that seems too good to be true. The action in this book just kept coming at you. I felt tired after ready the book because of all these poor characters were put through.

I can't say that I enjoyed all the characters. For instance, Harlow was just flat out annoying to me. She was the little-sister type that was overly clingy and loved to whine over everything. I'm not sure about you but when the world is overrun by zombies and you're fighting for your life, the last thing I would want around is a whiny kid that didn't couldn't do anything. Blue was a small character but I think was very important to the story line with his medical background. They probably would have been killed off really early in the book without him around.

Lazlo and Remy would have to be my favorites, though. Remy because even though she is only 19, she is a total hard ass. She had one objective in mind, to get to her brother, and there was nothing that was going to stand in her way. Despite her being closed off and many (many) rejections, somehow Lazlo broke through her barrier and made Remy care. Sweet little love like that always makes me swoon.


I think Amanda Hocking did a good job at writing this book. As soon as I finished, I went directly to amazon and picked up the second book, Hollowmen. Be on the lookout for that review as well.

My Rating:

WWW Wednesday 7/23/14

This weekly meme is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading? 
• What did you recently finish reading? 
• What do you think you’ll read next?


My answers:

What are you currently reading? Torch Song by Shelley Singer. I had a busy weekend so wasn't able to really crack into this book. Just started yesterday and really liking it so far. No bad-assery going on yet but we'll see how it goes.

What did you recently finish reading? Book 2 of the Paranormals series by JL Bryan, "Johnny Nightmare". The 2nd book was almost as good as the first. It seemed to really creep by a lot slower, though. I couldn't get into it as much as Jenny Pox but I had to stick it out to the end to see what happened. Bryan left it with a cliffhanger so I guess I'll have to get book 3 before I go crazy.

What do you think you’ll read next? I have tons of new books in my kindle queue that I have to get through. So I'm thinking about starting From the Wreckage by Michele G. Miller.


PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog).

WWW Wednesday 7/16/2014

This weekly meme is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading? 
• What did you recently finish reading? 
• What do you think you’ll read next?


My answers:

What are you currently reading? I’m reading book 2 of the Paranormals series by JL Bryan, "Johnny Nightmare". Genre is Paranormal Young Adult and I'm really enjoying it. I've read alot of people didn't find JL Bryan's books realistic (duh it's paranormal) but I haven't really found anything I don't like yet.

What did you recently finish reading? Book 1 of the Paranormals series by JL Bryan, "Jenny Pox". Jenny Pox was an awesome start to a great series. Jenny can't touch anyone without spreading a plague. With no mother, an alcoholic father, and no friends, her life is pretty boring. I loved the twists and turns in this book. I can't wait to read the other books in the series.

What do you think you’ll read next? Torch Song by Shelley Singer. It's supposedly a kick-ass heroine in a post apocalyptic world. Who wouldn't love that?


PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog).

A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Format: ebook (courtesy of the author)
Genre: Paranormal Romance, YA
Publication Date: Dec 14, 2012

On the evening of Sofia Claremont's seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake. A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood. She is kidnapped to an island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine.

An island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains. Sofia's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is the one selected out of hundreds of girls to join the harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal Prince.

Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.

Will she succeed? ...or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

The plot of the book hooked me in right away. A kidnapping, horribly terrifying coven of vampires and... love? Bella Forrest had some awesome ideas for this book that should invite in a lot of readers.

The island Sofia is abducted to is called "The Shade"and because of a powerful witch, is forever in the dark of night. Vampire Prince, Derek, tried to escape the life of a vampire by going under a spell and sleeping for hundreds of years. Unfortunately it has finally came to a time where he needs to awake, and his brother Lucas has to round up girls including Sofia, for Derek. It's just too Bad Lucas wants Sofia all to himself.

The further I got into the story, the more I wanted to know. Especially about Derek and his family. I was worried from the beginning that the book is on the small end, and I didn't think I would get enough entertainment out of it. But surprisingly Forrest did a really good job introducing you to many of the important characters and you go the feel of them right away. Never really any long introductions, just straight to the point. I think one of the only character that I wish were introduced too would be Derek's father. I'm assuming we will meet him in one of the next two books, but he seemed rather important and it felt disappointing that he was only mentioned. Also, there were some scenes that were very predictable and of course, when it comes to vampire stories, there are going to be some over-used ideas but I think it was wonderfully written. Definitely a quick read for a rainy day. I am looking forward to picking up the next two books in the series as well.

My Rating: