The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever, by Jeff Strand

Format: e-ARC, 266 pages

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Published: 1 March 2016

ISBN: 9781492628149

Genre: Teens & YA

Back cover blurb: The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever is so bad, it could wake the dead…

After producing three horror films that went mostly ignored on YouTube, Justin and his filmmaking buddies decide it’s time to make something epic. In fact, they’re going to make The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever. They may not have money or a script, but they have passion. And, after a rash text message, they also have the beautiful Alicia Howtz as the lead.

Hemmed in by a one-month timeline and a cast of uncooperative extras, but aching to fulfill Alicia’s dreams, Justin must face the sad, sad truth: he may, in actuality, be producing The Worst Zombie Movie Ever.

My review: Really funny YA novel about a group of high schoolers who decide to make a zombie movie. I laughed out loud many times, and loved how a lot of the gags were shown rather than told. The end was just perfect. Great stuff.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 4/5

Amazon

The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss, by Max Wirestone

Format: e-ARC, 313 pages

Publisher: Redhook Books

Published: October 20, 2015

ISBN: 9780316385978

Genre: General Fiction (Adult)

Back cover blurb: For anyone who has ever geeked out about something and for fans of The Guild, New Girl, Scott Pilgrim, Big Bang Theory, Veronica Mars.

Meet Dahlia Moss, the reigning queen of unfortunate decision-making in the St. Louis area. She is unemployed, broke, and on her last bowl of ramen. But that’s all about to change. Before Dahlia can make her life any messier on her own she’s offered a job. A job that she’s woefully under-qualified for. A job that will lead her to a murder, an MMORPG, and possibly a fella (or two?).

My review: It has taken me forever to finish this, even though it was laugh-out-loud funny. I loved the wit and pop culture references, but about a third of the way through I suspected I wasn’t a big enough geek to actually get a lot of the in-jokes. I don’t game online or do cosplay or LARPing, and so the intricacies of Zoth had me a bit befuddled. However, after putting it down for a while, I decided to not get so bogged down in the lore and instead treat this as a snarky detective story, and then I just raced through it. Dahlia is a heroine you can’t help rooting for , and I’m so glad there’s going to be a sequel so I can see more of Nate and Detective Shuler.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 4/5

Amazon

Hammered, by Kevin Hearne

Format: Kindle Edition, 336 pages

Published: July 5, 2011

Publisher: Del Rey

Back cover blurb:

Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is worse than a blowhard and a bully—he’s ruined countless lives and killed scores of innocents. After centuries, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson is ready to get his vengeance, and he’s asked his friend Atticus O’Sullivan, the last of the Druids, to help take down this Norse nightmare.One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. But things are heating up in Atticus’s home base of Tempe, Arizona. There’s a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plain of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry gods, and the hammer-wielding Thunder Thug himself.

My review:

Slower, more serious and downright sad in places, but still another great effort from Mr Hearne. The first third progressed really slowly for me, but once Atticus returned to Tempe and Jesus arrived on the scene it was all action until the amazing end.Although there were many sad parts, especially as the men out to kill Thor told their stories as part of their male bonding, and at the final showdown, the usual humour was still evident. Jesus – who looked like the Old Spice guy – had some great lines, and I loved Atticus trying to explain to Leif about “squeeing” in the presence of Neil Gaiman.

Leif is fabulous, as always, and when he told his story I really felt for him. Of course when he engages in word play with Atticus he is at his best. Oberon wasn’t in this book so much, but his riff on “bacon lattes” and the R&D department at Starbucks had me laughing out loud. Hearne also has a wonderfully inventive mind for rude epithets – I particlarly liked “monstrous f*ckpuddle”.

The ending had a chilling twist and, as the next book is called Tricked, I fear Atticus may now be in some serious trouble. I hope Leif will return to help him.

My rating: 4.5/5

Fire Me Up, by Katie MacAlister

Format: Kindle Edition, 368 pages

Published: May 3, 2005

Publisher: Penguin Group

Back cover blurb:

Being quite the novice Guardian/Keeper of the Gates to Hell, I decided to get in touch with my otherworldly self by attending a convention of supernatural beings in Budapest. For my other career as a courier (with a somewhat tarnished reputation), I have to deliver a priceless amulet to a hermit, much to the amusement of Jim, my wise-cracking fury Newfoundland demon. He should be happy that I was able to squeak through customs with a talking dog…

And guess who just happens to be staying at the same hotel as I am? Drake. You remember him. The Wyvern of the Green Dragons? My so-called “mate?” The man who literally fires me up, and makes me act like a love-struck schoolgirl? That Drake.

Meanwhile, mortal men are falling at my feet. I don’t know if it’s the Hungarian air or what, but it’s downright embarrassing. All I want to do is find a Guardian mentor to help me control my powers. Should be easy—except that every Guardian I meet with winds up dead. I’m starting to get a complex…

My review:

Such a fun read, and just as good as the first book in the series.

Aisling, her demon dog Jim and – oddly enough – Rene the French taxi driver are in Budapest for an Otherworld conference, where Ash hopes she will find a Guardian mentor. However, nothing is ever as simple as it could be, and along the way she runs into her dragon lover Drake and gets embroiled in the murder mystery involving an amulet, a hermit, a professional virgin and a whole heap of naked incubi.

Of course, the scenes with Drake were a highlight. They certainly lit each other’s fires! *fans self* I laughed, I squirmed, I gripped the edge of my Kindle, and by the end I felt a little bit sad, but I could not put it down! I think I’ll be reading the next one in the series sooner rather than later. Great stuff.

My rating: 5/5