BREAKING DAWN REVIEW

The fourth and final chapter of Stephenie Meyer's TWILIGHT series is sure to please readers.

Bella has a tough decision ahead of her: eternal life or death. Should she live forever with the love of her life, her fiancé and vampire Edward Cullen? Or should she choose life -- and maybe her best friend who is completely in love with her, Jacob Black -- and face death that will eventually come?

That is the big decision that Bella faces, but of course the road down the path to the outcome isn't easy. Many events happen that alter Bella's life forever, leaving both the reader and Bella dazed.

BREAKING DAWN ends the series very nicely. Throughout its seven-hundred pages, the reader is engrossed in the drama and action-packed tale of an ordinary girl in a pseudo-ordinary world. The reader should be cautioned that fits of increased heart rate and frustration might raise the desire to hurl the book across the room while reading this last installment of the very popular series.

While some could argue that there is simply too much "drama" --the book is nevertheless entertaining and delightful. (TEENSREADTOO)

HUNGER GAMES REVIEW

Twenty-four children: twelve boys, twelve girls, tributes selected by random lottery every year and sent to the capitol city of Panem to compete in a brutal, bloodthirsty fight for survival, with the last participant standing declared champion.

Welcome to the Hunger Games, a grim reminder to those living in the twelve districts comprising what was once the United States of their place as virtual slaves to the gleaming Capitol at their center.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen is this year's female representative for District 12, having volunteered to take her younger sister Prim's place. Sent to the arena with the baker's son and classmate, Peeta Mellark -- a boy who, several years prior, saved Kat and her family from the ravages of starvation after her father's death in a coal mining accident -- neither competitor from the final district seem to be contenders.

But Peeta's good nature and Kat's small stature belie the former's cunning intelligence and the latter's experience as a hunter; while a revelation from Peeta during the introductory ceremonies sends Katniss into the first day of competition more than a little off-kilter.

The stage is set, the tributes have arrived, and the cameras are watching...let the games begin.

It is no exaggeration to call THE HUNGER GAMES a pulse-pounding page-turner. Collins grabbed me from the first page and didn't let go. While Katniss isn't always the most likable character (in fact, there were plenty of times I much preferred the affable Peeta, or even sweet, birdlike little Ruth), she is always compelling, thanks to her rational approach to every challenge and her dogged determination.

While THE HUNGER GAMES is a plot-driven novel, the characters and their relationships are the heart of the story. Ms. Collins has created a dystopian tale of Orwellian caliber for young adults, giving any reader plenty to churn their minds between now and the next installment of this trilogy.
(TEENSREADTOO)

DIRTY LITTLE SECRET LAUNCH #1

Dirty Little Secret Launch # 1

 Every Thursday we get to know other bloggers and our readers more intimately by asking them a question hoping to reveal their dirty little secrets.  We hope that you will all join us!

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by: Under the Covers:

http://underthecoversbookblog.blogspot.com/


Please go to above link to participate in this new meme every Thursday..

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by Under the Covers. Every Thursday those sexy ladies will be asking us some questions which they hope will help us all get to know each other more intimately by revealing our dirty little secrets.

To participate in the meme all you need to do is:

1. Be a follower of Under the Covers.
2. Create a post in your blog taking the meme image and copy instructions.
3. Answer the question they propose! This can be done in any way you like, post a video, write a post etc.
4. Then add your name to the link provided on their blog.

Non-bloggers: We want to hear from you as well!!!  Let us know your answer in the comments!

**********

"Do you prefer furry or fangy?"

Zombies Do NOT like the Summer!

Like most people, when summer arrives my thoughts turn to zombies. Have you ever noticed that, when you go to the beach, you almost never see any zombies? I was pondering why that is and came up with five reasons. Here’s my countdown of the top five reasons zombies don’t go to the beach:

Five: To seagulls, zombies smell like food. It’s hard to look cool when you’re getting dive-bombed by birds trying to grab a tasty chunk of your flesh.

Four: Nobody ever challenges them to a game of beach volleyball.

Three: Too much competition from the sharks.

Two: Take a moment to imagine what a zombie would look like in a bathing suit. ’Nuff said.

One: No one has yet invented 1,200 SPF sunblock to prevent zombie sunburn.

What other reasons can you think of?

courtesy of:

http://darkcentralstation.com/?p=2018

100th FOLLOWER CONTEST! READ 4 MORE INFO

100 FOLLOWERS GIVEAWAY!!

 a fellow blogger is hosting an awesome 100th follower giveaway contest!

Check out her FABULOUS blog & sign up for the contest too.. tell em VGBC sent ya! 

NOW BEING R&R'D BY VGBC: BONE DRESSING MICHELLE BROOKS

Book Trailer

Michelle I. Brooks

ITS MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

It's Monday! What are you reading is hosted by VAMPYRE GURLS BOOK CLUB Each week we spotlight the books we are reading, planning on reading or just finished reading. Please add this button to your blog if you want to join in with VGBC or any of the other awesome blogs that host this event each monday:) 






READING: BONE DRESSING:MICHELLE BROOKS


PLANNING ON READING: LZR-1143:INFECTION  (A ZOMBIE NOVEL):BRYAN JAMES
END OF MAE: ANGELA YURIKO SMITH

10 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS WITH CALVIN A. MILLER "COLD BLOOD:THE END"

Cold Blood: The End- Tonight Dr. Cheryl Barrett will not only be tested as a doctor, but she will be tested as a person. The world will change in an instant, and so will she. You see, for the next few hours no one will die and no one will be born. Many people that by all accounts should be dead will not be. They will walk, talk, and move just like they always have. For the most part. This story appears in The Undead Nation Anthology.

1. Tell the everyone a little bit about yourself

I am a 9 to 5er and a lifelong Horror/Zombie/SciFi nut! I love to write and I also have a web comic at www.TedDead.com to keep me busy.

2. What got you started writing?

One day it was time to write a book even though I am much more a movie watcher than a book reader. I had no real plan, but I knew I didn't want to simply write a different take on something that had been done alot already. I also felt that a story from the zombie's point of view needed to be told. Most people's knowledge of the genre seems to be a bit limited. You say "zombies" and they answer "brainzzzzz".

There just never seemed to be a zombie identity. Vampires have Dracula, Anne Rice's characters, and a whole lot of other faces and names. Werewolves have The Wolfman, An American Werewolf in London, and other individuals that were werewolves. Ghosts even have faces like Patrick Swayze in Ghost. But Zombies were always a marauding horde and not much more.

 I tried to get inside the head of a zombie when I wrote my book. To put a name on a Zombie, to show what he was thinking, what it's like to die and come back and find yourself craving the flesh of human beings so much so that you can't control the urge to kill and feed even though it disgusts you and makes you hate yourself, and everything else. All the while you see the infected around you rot away just like you are rotting away. That realization, that ability to relate to a zombie and even be one, I always thought that was the missing ingredient to get a larger following for the genre. Someone people could relate to. Vampires always made their plight a bit more glamorous than painful, which just doesn't translate to zombies. LOL. Zombies have remained too mysterious for too long. LOL.

3. What used to creep you out as a child? What creeps you out today?

My Mom loved Horror and I was watching Night Gallery, The Omen, The Excorcist, lots of 70's horror early on. I think the idea of horror and the past has always scared me alot. Like it is just out there and dead, but it always haunts us. One of the scariest things I have ever seen is the Don Henley video for "Boys of Summer". Just so dark and reminiscent of lost youth and lost love. Loss and love trapped in the past scares the hell out of me...

4. What’s your favorite horror movie?

I LOVE Dawn of the Dead and most anything zombie. Also The Exorcist and The Exorcist III. There is a part in that movie where an old lady is crawling on the ceiling and looking down on everyone. Really good stuff...

5. What fun things do you like to do in your spare time?

I do a humor/horror web comic called Ted Dead, Just Your Everyday Zombie for ZombieFiend.com at http://www.zombiefiend.com/forum/categories/ted-dead-just-your-everyday/listForCategory about a zombie who works in some kind of workplace and eats the customers. There is also a lot of making fun of celebrities in there. It’s a weekly comic. I also like to ride my motorcycle.

6. The Zompocalypse has arrived. What do you do? How do you defend yourself?

Don’t avoid the inevitable? Get The Zombie's Survival Guide: Thrive In The Zombie Apocalypse After You Turn... Learn, Turn, and BURRRRNNN!!! LOL!!!

7. Where can the readers find you on the internet?

My website, www.CalvinALMillerII.com.

8. What advice can you offer to the new authors?

Self Publishing is easy and free. Get your story out there! Smashwords, CreateSpace, Lulu... The possibilites are endless!

9. Can you recall one really embarrassing moment you're willing to share?

When I was in Kindergarten this kid Jeff wet his pants in the chair next to me. He started to cry and his chair and the floor underneath were soaked. I felt so bad I told him to switch seats with me and I would take the heat. I remember sitting down and hearing someone say "Hey look, Calvin peed his pants!" It was Jeff himself. I learned a lot that day...

10. Any last words?

Yeah, my late grandmother Minnie Mae Miller used to say “Monsters are everywhere, always remember that...” Never a truer word has been spoken....

OTHER TITLES BY CAL:

Het Madden, A Zombie Perspective

The Zombie's Survival Guide: Thrive In The Zombie Apocalypse After You Turn...

 

  

COLD BLOOD:THE END:CAL MILLER REVIEW

**REVIEW**

COLD BLOOD:THE END: CAL MILLER

“Dr. Cheryl Barrett likes to think she got into medicine to help people… to save lives. While that may be true to a certain extent, the real reason has been chasing her since her father’s death.”

Christmas Eve, a night when kids are nestled snug in their beds, parents sneaking down to put gifts under the tree, milk and cookies out for Santa, but something more sinister is lurking and will make this holiday one for everyone to remember..

The night begins with Dr.Cheryl Barrett delivering her best friend Laura's baby. This is to be Dr.Cheryl Barrett's first delivery. A fact that has not gone unnoticed by Laura's husband Drake. He has been opposed to it since the get go. Laura being Cheryl's best friend, since their young and care free college days, trusts her best friend and Doctor with her and her unborn child's life.

Meanwhile in a different room, Dr.Barrett's mother is most likely going to die before she can see another holiday season- from Pancreatic Cancer.

The time has come for Laura to give birth to her son. Excitement has erased any trepidation Drake has about this being Dr.Barrett's first delivery. So her son can be born on Christmas day Dr.Barrett has Laura wait a few minutes before she begins pushing. All is well, Mother and child are strong and healthy. The clock strikes 12am “MERRY CHRISTMAS”. A few minutes later a baby boy makes his appearance into the world, the perfect Christmas gift.

“What happened?! You said I was doing great, what the fuck happened Cheryl?!” Laura cries out.

“He was, you both were… I don’t know….” Cheryl answers.

“You don’t know?! I do! You froze, I have it on tape!” Drake shouts. “You made her wait until midnight! I saw you! You killed our baby by waiting!”

Cheryl is distraught as she watches Valerie, her assistant nurse try to breathe life into her best friends stillborn son.

She leaves the room only to be greeted by mass chaos. Screaming, tears, confusion.

A nurse comes up to her. “Yours too?!” She shouts. Her face twisted in horror. “Was it dead?!”

Cheryl nods her head.

“The last five babies delivered on this floor have been stillborn.” The rather large young nurse says, a hand on each of Cheryl’s shoulders, shaking her... Hurting her.

Cheryl rushes to see how her mother is doing. Upon entering the room there are no signs of life from the machines monitoring her mother. She grabs her mother's cold hands and begins speaking to her dead body. Apologizing for not being there in her final moments. Suddenly the hand squeezes hers back! “What’s wrong, dear? I’m fine. In fact, I feel a bit better.” Her mother says.

So begins the nightmare. All over the Eastern seaboard babies are being born stillborn and people who are supposed to be dead are not. And it all happened after midnight. Christmas day.

The Feds and the CDC become involved, the hospital is on quarantine, the epidemic is spreading across all time zones as each one passes the midnight mark. Animals are experiencing the same exact phenomenon.

The “Technically Dead” begin experiencing pain and start eating the stillborn babies and still alive human's to “ease” these pains. The “Technically Dead” seem to have very persuasive ways and have caused many humans to committ suicide too.

This book mainly focus's on Dr.Cheryl Barrett and her story. She not only has a mother who is now a “Tech Dead” but her best friends child is one of the after midnight stillborns. Not only that when she was trying to save her assistant nurse Valerie's life after a suicide attempt she herself has become a “Tech Dead”.

One of the Doctor's in the hospital has an idea on how to “reanimate” Cheryl. She has not been dead very long and has yet to experience the strange symptoms of physical pains and behavioral changes the other “Tech Deads” have. Dr.Ruiz gets Cheryl to agree to his experiment.

Meanwhile we follow the story of David Burke an his wife Cindy. They both work for the local news station. David and Cindy are awaiting the birth of their first child too. Once the news breaks David and his team sneak into the hospital to get first crack at the story. They witness firsthand the chaos the “Tech Deads” are creating. They see the botched suicide attempts, the stillborn's, etc. They also witness the military shoot humans and “Tech Deads” attempting to leave the hospital. Cindy is in labor at the new station and David is trying to get to her.  

After a “ successful” reanimation of Dr.Cheryl Barrett, Dr.Ruiz is ecstatic, as is Cheryl. Thinking all is well she goes about business as usual. While trying to help the people of St.James Hospital she is met by a site and put into a situation she cannot resist..it seems the heartbeat, brainwaves, and signs of life are not that were returned to Cheryl...

What I simply adored about this fabulous book is that it was faced paced and not as plain and simple as your typical zombie takes over as the world ends story. The world has not ended via viral infection, war, etc. and the zombies are a bit more intelligent than your typical falling apart at the seams z-bee's of yester year. There was no warning at all. BAM! Midnight came and all hell broke loose.

Whatever caused the stillborn births and the undead to not die was never revealed (at least not yet) . As fast as it began it ended. Children were born alive, the dead died as they were supposed to & the tech deads..well.. lets just say I am hoping from the way the story ended there will be a follow up *hint*hint*. A story such as this CANNOT be left unfinished. It is cruel to the readers. 

END OF MAE (UPCOMING BOOK TBR) ANGELA SMITH

End of Mae

Mae was a born writer.  Her life’s passion was to find the ultimate story.

In her quest to find the truth behind the Jersey Devil disappearances, Mae uncovers something much more sinister wandering the Whitesbog area at night.

Little did she know the ultimate story would be her own…

and she’d be dying to tell it.

BIRTH OF A KILLER:DARREN SHAN "SAGA OF LARTEN CREPSLEY" BOOK 1

                   
When Larten Crepsley's cousin, Vur Horston, is killed by an overzealous, brash, and downright evil foreman at the silk factory where they both work, Larten makes an instant decision to kill the awful man. Before he even knows what he has 

done, Larten is on the run. As he flees into the stormy night, he seeks shelter in a crypt, where he meets Seba, an aging vampire. Larten knows that he cannot return to his old life, for he will face certain death. Seba becomes Larten's master and vows to 

teach him the ways of the vampire. When Seba must attend the Vampire Mountain summit, he leaves Larten in the care of Mr. Tall, leader of Cirque Du Freak. In this highly anticipated prequel to the Cirque Du Freak series, Larten is introduced as a caring young man caught in a very unfortunate circumstance. Readers will enjoy learning how and why Larten became a vampire, how his hair turns orange and how he became a part of the thrilling Cirque Du Freak show. Larten's journey involves mountainside summits, vampire training lessons, amazing tricks and antics in the Cirque Du Freak circus, and so much more. Fans of Darren Shan will eat this book up and likely go on to reread the series, now that they know the backstory on how a killer was born.

FIRST EVER FOLLOW FRIDAY!

First time participating in Follow Friday, hosted by parajunkee! :D

Today's question:

 The magic book fairy pop out of your cereal box and says "you and your favorite character (from a book of course) can switch places!" Who are you going to switch with?

OH MY! SOOOOOOOOOO many to pick from so I better make it GOOD...Hmmm...I think I shall pick *DRUMROLL PLEAZE*   JENNI (with an "I" not a "Y" from the AWESOME book called "AS THE WORLD DIES:Rhiannon Frater" 

It is a life after zombie's take over book but it has a few differences other zbee books do not have. WOMEN rule the book. They are the 2 main characters and make the story AWESOME. The story is a trilogy & flows just perfect. You do not want to finish one without having the other readily available. Jenni is found by  Katie who is also escaping the "zombieapocalypse" Katie is driving to freedom and see's Jenni in her robe outside of her home and calls for her to get in her truck. As the story goes on you find out Jenni had a hard, rough life. Her marriage was far from happy and perfect ( her husband was abusive) her life before her marrige had been hard but she toughed it out. She never gave up on life or love or happiness, no matter what happened. She did not feel sorry for herself or wallow in pity. She cried her tears when she had to let it out and kept on going. She was the main person who held a camp of survivors together and protected them. She gave ppl hope that despite the world falling to hell they would get through it and begin again and have wonderful, possibly even better lives than before. 

BOOKS TO COME: DEAD WOMAN'S CURVE (NOT YET RELEASED)

Ebook Description

This ebook is an excerpt of a work in progress. In this scene, a woman is hiding in a darkened cafeteria from a zombie. She is struggling to keep quiet as the creature hunts her to feast on her flesh and infect her. It is extremely gory, bloody & graphic-beware. The full ebook will be published during May 2011, this excerpt is merely to whet the... appetite. 

INTERESTED IN MORE?  (LINK)

It's Monday! What are you reading is hosted by VAMPYRE GURLS BOOK CLUB Each week we spotlight the books we are reading, planning on reading or just finished reading. Please add this button to your blog if you want to join in with VGBC or any of the other awesome blogs that host this event each monday:) 



READING:  COLD BLOOD: THE END: CAL MILLER
IF IT STILL HAS A HEAD, IT ISN'T QUITE DEAD: HARRISON BRADLOW


PLANNING ON READING:   BONE DRESSING:MICHELLE BROOKS
THE SEPTAVALENT STONE:J.O JONES

ZOMBIE CRAZE 2011

ZOMBIE CRAZE 2011 GRAB BUTTON AND FIND OUT MORE INFO         (LINK)

I'm looking forward to this! A book tour hosted by Bookish Brunette which starts on the 20th June :) Grab the button!

DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS VC ANDREWS

Daughter of Darkness :V. C. Andrew

Simon and Schuster, 2010 - Fiction - 416 pages

When I was a little girl, Daddy told me never to fear the dark. "We exist because of the darkness," he told me. "All of you are daughters of darkness." Beloved bestselling author V. C. Andrews's passion for vampires comes to spellbinding life in a long-awaited novel of dark desires as all-consuming and forbidden as in Flowers in the Attic. One night, with the sound of a young man's scream, high school senior Lorelei discovers that her stern but loving father, who adopted Lorelei and her sisters as infants, is no ordinary man. He has raised his beautiful girls for one purpose: to lure young men into their world of shadows. Like her sisters, Lorelei has been trained in the art of

seduction and warned never to fall in love. But when she meets a handsome and charming classmate, she boldly

defies her family and follows her heart - even if love is a poison....

Lorelei comes from a unique family. Having 2 older sisters and one younger sister, Lorelei is raised by her father and Mrs. Fennel. She always knew they were different but didn't know exactly why.

As things turn out, Lorelei discovers that each sister before her had a destiny; something her father had pre-planned for them their entire lives, Lorelei included. As Lorelei reaches the mature age, her sister Ava is to leave the house to fullfill her destiny and Lorelei will take her place in the house. That place includes going out once a month to find a suitable man for her father to "digest." The only thing she didn't count in is meeting Buddy and falling in love.

Lorelei fights against her destiny and defies her Father by falling in love and not following in her sister's footsteps. She finally finds out the family secret- her father is in fact a real Vampire. After witnessing his monthly "feeding" she is disgusted. He uses his daughters to breed and bring home his food. He trains them in the art of seduction from a very early age. When they are done they are to produce a replacement and then they are "free" . They will become vampires if they so chose or continue on as they have been.

Until Lorelei each girl has been grateful and complacent in her role. She has felt honored to do fathers bidding. Lorelei also discovers she is her father TRUE genetic daughter. She is repulsed and will not produce a female heir with her biological father or become his wife or train her younger sister to follow in the older ones foot steps.

She runs away from home hoping to leave it all behind like a bad dream and start a new life. A series of events lead her back home..Or so the end of the book leads you to believe.. It leaves you wondering & that was a bad thing. It did not wrap it up neatly and the Estate/Publishers of the VC Andrews brand leaves you hanging on whether there will be a book 2/continuance or not.

The end was truly a twister. It had me and many wondering "HUH" . They tried hard to tell a colorful story and then wrap it up in a few paragraphs. It did NOT work at all.

The story had a ton of potential. It is a bit darker and more graphic than your average YA Vampire Novel so reader beware.

It is not a real VC Andrews book. She has passed away and ghost writers are writing under her name.