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frankeepankee's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
geo_ix's review
1.0
This was a slog for me. It definitely read like a book from 2014 & it needs editing badly. The protagonist was honestly dislikeable. I liked that she was knowledgeable but her bravery was stupidity mixed with her being suicidal. She didn’t care if she died, and kept saying she was fighting to keep everyone alive, but when she’s the only one in a group of people who can fight, dying would kill them all? Maybe make safer choices? & it kept baiting romances that it felt like she felt she was too good for? Why talk about your attraction the the doctor, but be scuzzed out by him when he tries romance? Then the other guy she’s terrified of him and his feelings for her, and every time he goes to tell her is interrupted so it feels like the book is just a tv to book adaptation of some cringe show.
Every time I started to get interested, she would think or do something that had me rolling my eyes at her and ruining the flow of the story. And in reality, nothing even really happens? We find out nothing about the virus etc, it’s just people dying or living and nothing much more. There’s no big AHA to pull you into the next book except for the legit final line and honestly I just read spoilers for the next and confirmed it was a jebait anyway so like…. I’m sort of interested but people said the next is even slower & honestly I just don’t have that in me so I won’t be continuing.
Every time I started to get interested, she would think or do something that had me rolling my eyes at her and ruining the flow of the story. And in reality, nothing even really happens? We find out nothing about the virus etc, it’s just people dying or living and nothing much more. There’s no big AHA to pull you into the next book except for the legit final line and honestly I just read spoilers for the next and confirmed it was a jebait anyway so like…. I’m sort of interested but people said the next is even slower & honestly I just don’t have that in me so I won’t be continuing.
funzbunz4567's review
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
elle_ette's review
2.0
I'm beginning to think that I read a different book, having looked at some of the reviews here.
It was a fun read, certainly enjoyable enough to finish but objectively awful. There are a number of inconsistencies and it's clear that this work wasn't edited before it was released. The characters are boring at best, riddled with clichés and Orissa is just purely unbelievable. "Strong female character" does not just mean "a woman punching stuff and never missing because that's super badass."
It was a fun read, certainly enjoyable enough to finish but objectively awful. There are a number of inconsistencies and it's clear that this work wasn't edited before it was released. The characters are boring at best, riddled with clichés and Orissa is just purely unbelievable. "Strong female character" does not just mean "a woman punching stuff and never missing because that's super badass."
kba76's review
3.0
At first, I thought this was pretty standard zombie stuff and as the book progressed I found myself getting bored. Nothing really seemed to happen and our characters were stuck in a repetitive cycle (true to form perhaps for life in a pandemic). Part two shifted our focus and hinted at a bigger picture - though the potential romance love triangle was not appealing - and as we shifted to the end I was starting to get a little more invested in the story/where this might go. Sadly this came right at the end when we had the most frustrating ending ever...I guess it’s meant to make us desperate to read part two but it left me feeling cheated.
The whole zombie thing is not really my interest anyway, and yet there have been great books exploring the idea. This felt, at times, unnecessarily repetitive - there’s only so many zombie attacks you can describe without it getting a bit dull. I wanted to get a little more background to some of the characters, and I’m probably more interested in the bigger picture than their day-to-day survival.
I think this will come down to personal taste, and I’d certainly suggest people tried it...though I wouldn’t be shocked if they didn’t bother with the rest of the series.
The whole zombie thing is not really my interest anyway, and yet there have been great books exploring the idea. This felt, at times, unnecessarily repetitive - there’s only so many zombie attacks you can describe without it getting a bit dull. I wanted to get a little more background to some of the characters, and I’m probably more interested in the bigger picture than their day-to-day survival.
I think this will come down to personal taste, and I’d certainly suggest people tried it...though I wouldn’t be shocked if they didn’t bother with the rest of the series.
thestarman's review
Bascially: A Supergirl, and all the males who stutter in her presence. Oh, and some zombies. Ends as NO book should: with . I have no urge to read Books 2+.
Note: I read an eBook version. It is possible that newer editions have been further edited and improved.
It's actually a fairly decent tale, if you can ignore problems with realism, and lack of research on firearms and the military. But it's dragged down by unnecessary commas, misspellings (breaks instead of brakes, etc.), some awkward sentence structure, and too-abrupt scene/location transitions.
On the plus side, there are plenty of zombies and some squishy, gory stuff. There's even a pretty touching death that I thought was well-written. The book might also make you think about being better prepared for a natural (or unnatural!) disaster.
VERDICT: 1.8 stars, rounded to 2 because it's definitely not the worst zombie/post-apoc book I've read. With some proper editing and an eye towards more realistic characters, it could be a 3+ star book.
Spoiler
a life-or-death cliffhangerNote: I read an eBook version. It is possible that newer editions have been further edited and improved.
It's actually a fairly decent tale, if you can ignore problems with realism, and lack of research on firearms and the military. But it's dragged down by unnecessary commas, misspellings (breaks instead of brakes, etc.), some awkward sentence structure, and too-abrupt scene/location transitions.
On the plus side, there are plenty of zombies and some squishy, gory stuff. There's even a pretty touching death that I thought was well-written. The book might also make you think about being better prepared for a natural (or unnatural!) disaster.
VERDICT: 1.8 stars, rounded to 2 because it's definitely not the worst zombie/post-apoc book I've read. With some proper editing and an eye towards more realistic characters, it could be a 3+ star book.
nixwolfwood's review
4.0
Son of a bitch...
Can I start a review that way? Because I totally just did.
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review from the author. It was also highly recommended by a blog I follow/stalk, Contagious Reads.
Anyway, I haven't really found a zombie book I've enjoyed in a while. They're all the same, pretty much. So I put off reading this one for a while.
Big mistake.
This book was awesome!
A few times a felt a bit put off because of something in the story, but it wasn't a big deal because I can't remember details on those issues. Also, the story quickly picked up every time I found something that bothered me, so it never lasted more than half a page at a time.
Highly recommend this to lovers of zombie books, and anyone who has grown tired of the genre. Because it is freaking great!
I cannot wait to start the next book. Because, holy shit... that ending!
4/5 Platypires
http://www.platypire.com/j-hooligan/contagious
Can I start a review that way? Because I totally just did.
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review from the author. It was also highly recommended by a blog I follow/stalk, Contagious Reads.
Anyway, I haven't really found a zombie book I've enjoyed in a while. They're all the same, pretty much. So I put off reading this one for a while.
Big mistake.
This book was awesome!
A few times a felt a bit put off because of something in the story, but it wasn't a big deal because I can't remember details on those issues. Also, the story quickly picked up every time I found something that bothered me, so it never lasted more than half a page at a time.
Highly recommend this to lovers of zombie books, and anyone who has grown tired of the genre. Because it is freaking great!
I cannot wait to start the next book. Because, holy shit... that ending!
4/5 Platypires
http://www.platypire.com/j-hooligan/contagious
elyse_rn's review
5.0
Looks like with the new release I'm going to have to re-read and write a new review huh?!
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So I will admit I was a little leery about this book with a 99 cent price tag. I haven't gotten very many cheap or free books until recently, but I'm glad I got it; because I'm a sucker for zombies. So let me tell you, this book was beyond amazing for me. Emily Goodwin has produced a very strong female lead for this series, but she is not without her flaws which in my opinion makes the heroine all the more lovable. But let's just all agree that she is flat out a zombie killing bad@ss. The zombies are described in such great detail that they made my skin crawl, so much that I can't remember the last time I was almost scared to go to bed after an evening of reading! This book was a very powerful beginning to this series.
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So I will admit I was a little leery about this book with a 99 cent price tag. I haven't gotten very many cheap or free books until recently, but I'm glad I got it; because I'm a sucker for zombies. So let me tell you, this book was beyond amazing for me. Emily Goodwin has produced a very strong female lead for this series, but she is not without her flaws which in my opinion makes the heroine all the more lovable. But let's just all agree that she is flat out a zombie killing bad@ss. The zombies are described in such great detail that they made my skin crawl, so much that I can't remember the last time I was almost scared to go to bed after an evening of reading! This book was a very powerful beginning to this series.