Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry***

Hey guys, about an hour ago, I finished Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry. Here's my review. Enjoy!

**THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR ROT & RUIN, BUT NOT FOR DUST & DECAY**

Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers

Release Date: August 30, 2011

Pages: 519 in the U.S. Hardcover Edition
Ages: 12+
Genre: Young Adult, Zombie Apocalypse, Dystopian
Series: The Benny Imura Series
Preceeded by: Rot & Ruin

Benny Imura & Nix Riley can't forget the jet they saw fly over the zombie-infested mountains of the Rot & Ruin.

The jet meant leaving, something that Nix and Benny were going to do. Now-after months of rigorous training with Tom-Benny's zombie-hunter brother- Benny, Nix, Lilah the Lost Girl, & Chong are ready to leave their home forever and search for a better future.


But from the start, everything goes wrong. They are pursued by the living dead, wild animals, and insane murderers, and are faced with the horrors of a rebuilt Gameland, where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in the zombie pits, Worst of all... could the evil Charlie Pink-eye still be alive?


This book was really great! I liked it sooo much better then the first in the series & I really hope Jonathan Maberry writes plenty more of these books.

The reason I liked this book so much more was because the author definetly took some time to add alot of depth to the characters as opposed to the first book. Maybe because the first one was more of an intro and this is more the "meat" of the series, but either way, this one had my heart racing more then a few times.
My favorite part of the book was probably the pages that had come out of Nix's journal. Every so often, after a chapter, not every chapter, the author as thrown in an entry from Nix's journal. It isn't anything long, just a page, maybe 3, of random things she has written about the different tools that Tom uses or what she knows about zombies so far. I really liked that the author has added that aspect to it. It definetly added a little something extra to the story. I felt closer to Nix after reading some of those.

The characters I didn't too much were the surfer bounty hunters and some of the other bounty hunters. I just felt like they weren't well researched and they didn't really add much to the story... they were just kind of... there.

But overallm I felt like the book had ALOT of depth to it and I highly recommend it to anyone really. I believe it's aimed more for middle graders, but I think anyone can read it if they like.

Update:
I'm currently reading Cosmic Forces by Gregory Lamberson, the third book in The Jake Helman Files. I should have a review up shortly. :}

Happy Reading!

Super sorry/October reads

I have been tooooootally M.I.A. for quite awhile now, and I wanna start updating alot more. I do update my Goodreads page ALOT so check that out if you're interested.

www.goodreads.com/minitiger031010

I also have a Youtube channel where I post book reviews & hauls & all that jazz.

www.youtube.com/bookreviewsbykandes

So, for an update, I'm gonna post the books I read for the month of October & put what I rated them & just a brief lil review. Enjoy!

Forest of Hands & Teeth by Carrie Ryan***
I absolutely ADORED this book! I know alot of people hated it, and I guess I can see why, but I really really liked it. The main reason is because it completely changed my opinion on zombies. Before reading this book, I never was too interested in zombie type novels, but now (as you will see) I am OBSESSED with zombies! Not as much as I am with vampires, they'll always be my fave, but I just thought it was great that it can change my opinion about that. Definetly give it a shot & let me know what you think. :]

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan***
This one I rated more as 2 1/2 stars, just because it wasn't super amazing like the first one. Also, this one is more of a companion then a direct sequel to FOH&T. I wish that Ms. Ryan would've continued on with the story she created in the first one, which she sort of does, but not completely. Other then that, it was alright.

Zombie, Ohio: A Tale Of The Undead by Scott Kenemore**
See? This was the beginning of my zombie hysteria. It's about this college professor who, at the very beginning of the book, wakes up after a car accident & has no recollection of who he is & where he's from. He ends up finding out that he has turned into some of super zombie. (Not a spoiler, this info is in the synopsis) I say "super zombie" because he is a flesh-eating zombie, BUT he can think & speak like a regular human. It was pretty interesting I guess. Check it out if you're a huge zombie cuz there were LOTS of zombie action scenes, but other than that, I'd just borrow it from the library.

Personal Demons***
This isn't a zombie novel, but it's definetly a great Halloween read. It's about a NYPD Special Elite Task Force Agent Jake Helman who is battling a cocaine addiction. After a shootout at his local hangout, he is required to take a drug test, purely regulations, but right before the shootout started, he had just snorted some cocaine, so he decides to resign from the Task Force. After that, this huge Donald Trump-esque corporation hires him for a head of security job. He soon finds out that they are doing some super creepy experiments that involve some alien fish type things. I highly suggest it for those of you that are looking for a book that will make you have a "WTF?????" moment. (I seriously had a moment where I was sitting on my couch & I screamed out "what the fuuuuu?")

Desperate Souls***
This is #2 in the Jake Helman Files, a direct sequel to Personal Demons. This opens up as Jake Helman is now a private investigator & takes a job helping an older woman find out if her dead grandson is dealing a deadly new drug called "Black Magic". He ends up being thrown headfirst into a full on drug war going on with the local drug lords, who just happen to be uncle & nephew. This does involve zombies, but I don't really recommend it for people who are on the look out for zombie books just because it isn't really focused on the zombies so much as the drug war. But I do suggest checking it out if you liked the first one, or if you're looking for a murder mystery type book mixed with a lil bit of sci-fi.

The Radleys by Matt Haig**
Wanna know what it would be like if the girls of the hit show "Desperate Housewives" were actually vampires? Then this book is definetly for you. It starts off with a family in Suburbia, mother, father, daughter, son, and, on the outside, they seem like the typical "all american family". But when you look a little deeper, you'll find that they are actually a family of vampires, only the kids don't know, they just think they're "freaks", until one classmate decided to mess with the wrong girl, and things go horribly wrong. I liked this book for the vampires... and that's about it. It wasn't too unique in the plot and the story just didn't really stick with me. Check it out if you're a vampire fan, but if not, then I wouldn't suggest it.

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry**
This is where my zombie obsession kicks up again. This story is about a 15 year old boy named Benny Imura who lives in Mountainside, a town in post-apocalyptic America. In this town, they are surrounded by "The Rot & Ruin" which is where the zombies live. In Mountainside, food is rationed, and once you turn 15, if you don't have a job by the end of summer, they take your food rations away. Benny decides to start working with his older brother who he believes is a bounty hunter who goes in the woods and kills all the zombies he can find. Little does he know, he's in for a rude awakening. This book wasn't too amazing. I thought it was a young adult novel, but, in my opnion, it's more middle grade, which I don't normally read. But reading it as a middle grade book, I thought it was alright. It was interesting enough to make me want to read the sequel which is titled Dust & Decay. I'm currently reading that, & I really like it so far. I'm about 70% done. Once I finish, I'll have a review up. :]

So I hope you enjoyed my lil update/Halloween reads. For the month of November, I'm going back to reading whatever sounds interesting to me, but when December rolls around, I'll definetly be reading some Christmas themed books, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. Happy Reading. :}