Die trying by Nicholas Ryan Book Review

Die trying by Nicholas Ryan

Best selling author of Ground Zero

Blurb

Trapped amidst the horror of the zombie apocalypse, three men hear the sound of a helicopter overhead and know it represents their last desperate hope to survive the terror and reach safety.
But survival comes at a cost - and the undead hordes that ravage the world are
not the only lurking evil the men must face.
But for Mitch Logan, his brother, Jed, and their friend, Clinton Harrigan, there is no choice.
They must fight to survive - or Die Trying.

Yay another great zombie read. This was the 2nd book I've read from Mr Ryan and it was another heart stopping read from page one. Nick creates fantastic believable characters introducing Harrison a big burly Christian man and 2 brothers Jed and Mitch who are on the run fighting for survival from humans infected with the jaws virus. With a clever addition in that the dead not only turn into flesh eating zombies, but can hunt their prey successfully too.

What makes this book more unique is that it centers around a helicopter crash and the rescue of its occupants. When Harrison and the brothers discover Clive Walker and his daughter Millie alive with a dead pilot, things are definitely not what they seem.
But as with any zombie apocalypse it's not just the zombies that you need to fear; with a brilliant parallel twist running through the plot with Jed; who after 10 yrs in one of the toughest prisons is seeking revenge on his brother Mitch, keeping us all gripped.
I grew to really like Mitch and Harrigan's character's but felt I wanted more from Millie.
This brilliant fast paced creative action-fest is delivered in dramatic detail and plenty of gore to keep every zombieholic happy. Offering clear vision to whats going on so you can almost smell that rotten flesh. This was so fast paced I found myself holding my breath a few times.The ending is just fantastic and didn't see it coming, loved it.
A Die Trying 2 would be fab, but its also a great stand alone read too.


Amazon US
Amazon UK
Goodreads

Check out my review of Nicholas Ryan's best selling Ground Zero zombiefest too.

Devoured The Hunger Book 1 by Jason Brant Book Review

Devoured The Hunger book 1 by Jason Brant

Blurb

Day One: A series of terrorist attacks spread a cloud of noxious gas over highly populated areas.
Day Two: Higher brain function erodes in those exposed to the gas. Their bodies begin to distort, faces distending, skin sallowing, teeth elongating.
Day Three: The infected disappear into the shadows, fleeing the harsh daylight which has begun to sear their flesh.
Day Four: The world is DEVOURED.

Life isn’t kind to Lance York. A full-time job has eluded him for years, his wife loathes the sight of him, his bank accounts are empty, and his wealthy father-in-law revels in his failures.
After he lunges in front of a car to save a sick and disoriented woman, Lance awakens in a quarantined hospital. A devastating plague is spreading worldwide, driving those infected with it insane. Their bodies begin to mutate into horrors that have haunted mankind’s nightmares for centuries.

The world descends into chaos as the infected flee to the shadows, emerging at night to devour the remnants of civilization.
With the help of an unlikely ally, Lance must navigate through the collapsing city of Pittsburgh, striving to escape the madness of the apocalypse that unfolds around them.

 This was the first book Ive read from Jason Brant and it wont be my last. I had downloaded this for free quite awhile ago but only just got round to reading it. What a fantastic fast paced read, I was hooked and completely sucked into this fast paced storyline from the very first page...why on earth...hadn't I read this earlier...doh!

If you love your zombie dystonian horror and gore you so need to read this next as its quite different to your normal zombie-esk reads. These monsters are a horrific combination of zombies and vampires similar to those of the Blade trilogy with larger bodies and more grotesque features making these creatures almost impossible to fight and so much more terrifying.

What's great about this book is that most of us can relate to or know someone like Lance who is in a really bad place, with a nagging wife, not enough money and is feeling quite down.  Jason has made us as the reader really feel for this guy as he's so realistic and completely believable. I was almost shouting at the screen when I discovered more about his scheming wife...no more spoilers here...grrr.

Its been brilliantly written and I was completely sucked into this storyline and I absolutely loved watching Lance develop naturally throughout the book from this downtrodden guy to a more confident ass-kicking hero which is so convincing. Part of the reason for this new found confidence was Cassie who saved his butt from not just the night and day-walkers but the Militia (its not just monsters to be scared of out there).

She is a likable, cocky young woman who is confident and strong not scared to  kick ass when needed. Girl power at its best...yesss! However her constant use of the word "dumbass" aimed at Lance was actually getting on my nerves as funny, quirky and likable as she is; even though it ends up as a term of endearment.

We watch Lances confidence grow as the two of them fight together to get to the national safety point and of course this isn't going to go easy or is it even going to be safe?

I found myself speeding through this book unable to put it down; another 6am finish on this lol! 
Go grab this you've no excuse as its FREE as I type here for kindles.

Loved it and I cant wait to read book 2.

Amazon US
Amazon UK
Goodreads

Author Bio

Jason Brant is the author of thrillers and horror novels. His works include Devoured, The Gate, The Dark, the West of Hell series, and multiple novellas and short stories.

A job led him from the mountains of western Pennsylvania to the outskirts of Baltimore, Maryland. For a little over half a decade, he held the position of Digital Forensics Analyst for the Department of Defense. He escaped that post to write novels, watch movies, and drink microbrews.

 

Time of Death Book 1 Induction and Book 2 Asylum by Shana Festa Book Reviews.

 Time of Death Book 1 Induction and 

Time of Death Book 2 Asylum
By Shana Festa

I just discovered Shana Festa through her amazing site The Bookie Monster and she kindly sent me both her Time of Death books to read.

 One of my all time favorite authors Mark Tufo also recommended this book and wrote a great forward to Book 1 Induction; Shana's very first book and of course he was absolutely right.

Blurb
When no one or nowhere is safe, where do you go to escape the monsters?

In a few short days, 37 year old Emma Rossi’s hard work will finally pay off. She will don her cap and gown and graduate with a degree in nursing, but not before she loses her first patient and is confronted with a new reality. In Cape Coral, Florida, a storm approaches. The dead are coming back to life.

And they’re hungry.

Infection ravages the Eastern Seaboard with alarming speed while attempts to contain the spread of infection fail. Within days, a small pocket of panicked survivors are all that remain of civilization. Fighting to survive the zombie apocalypse alongside her husband Jake and their dog Daphne, Emma comes face-to-face with her worst nightmare.
Relying on snarky wit and sheer determination, she is forced to commit atrocious acts to protect her family and avoid joining the ranks of the undead.

The difference with this read is you finally have a female main character that is a kick ass, dog loving student nurse after my own heart with a great sense of humor. Emma Rossi is a brilliant well defined character who is definitely the female version of Mike Talbot from Zombie Fallout (those of you that are zombie-aholics will not need anymore explanation). Like Mike in ZF I found myself laughing out loud with her witty wisecracks and fab sense of humor; but also feeling the fear and sorrow in others, its the sign of a great writer to make you feel so many emotions. You can tell Shana's own medical knowledge as she allows Emma to show her medical expertise throughout. Emma is so realistic and reminds me of me when I was nurse training with their jokes with certain patients.
Daphne the Yorkie is another fab character...yes a dog can have character...before you all yell at me...sheesh! Shana has named the dog after her own pet dog at home; which of course I love but I have been living in fear of her being eaten alive...every time I turn the page... Shana...what you doing to me eeep!
My only niggle was I found Jake to be the weaker, more annoying character so I hope we get to see him step up more in book 2.

So what starts as a familiar day as a student nurse; turns into a apocalyptic chaos with Emma and Jake her husband fighting for their survival. If zombies ar'nt enough they have a hurricane to worry about too.
We get to see them reunite with other members of the Rossi family and also have to act on horrific acts to stay alive which would have been unthinkable the day before. Its a fast paced convincing, realistic gory read you simply cannot put down to the end. They found sanctuary on Sanibel Island where they all finally found safety and could relax without fear; but it only takes 1 person to change everything!
I'm just about to start book 2 as I just cant stop reading, I need to know what happens next...right now!

Time of death Book 2 Asylum

Blurb
Surviving the journey is just the beginning.
The last two months have brought nothing but death and destruction for Emma Rossi. She survived the initial zombie outbreak with her husband, Jake, and their dog, Daphne, but the cost was steep: Sanibel has fallen.

In a world where the only constant is change, the group is pushed to their limits before reaching the gates of Asylum, a coastal stronghold in Sarasota, Florida.
Once again, Emma must navigate an apocalyptic wasteland filled with relentless hordes of the undead and other menacing horrors that threaten her survival.

Only thing is certain. No one is safe from what lurks on either side of Asylum's gates. Asylum may offer more than just safety.
Sanity will be tested; and many won't live to tell the tale.


The Rossi's have only just escaped Sanibel and find themselves back to life on a boat. More deaths more very close shaves as they continue to fight for their lives Daphne included...phewey....thank goodness.

We get to meet some new fab characters. Striker a tough cop who helps them get to safety or is it....? The Asylum is a large group of survivors who are living together, run by creepy Mack the self promoted president of US who Emma discovers has the basement off limits. Yeah it'd drive me nuts too but curiosity killed the cat an all...it maybe the best idea to leave it alone but....hey it wouldn't be an exciting, scary e-read if you weren't yelling at the screen....don't do it.
I love this book as Shana isn't scared to kill off popular characters...loving the shock value; she has alot of new characters that stand well by themselves making it so realistic as we are swept along on a compelling and intriguing read too. Why do only some parts of the Asylum have electric, why are the men separated to work during the day.
Those of you that love Walking dead will find this on a similar line to Woodbury or The terminus you know something is wrong but don't know what...yet...!
I'm also gutted Em and Jake are at loggerheads as he is working with the other guys; so hopefully book three brings them back together...I'm gagging for book 3 now with a brilliant cliffhanger; what have Em and Meg have stumbled across and have they been rumbled too; is Jasper friend or foe....so many questions...I cant wait!

I would highly recommend reading book 1 Induction first so you can appreciate Asylum so much better and you would get to know the characters more deeply too. Its so refreshing to have a female main character as most authors seems scared to go to there with horror and you've made it work beautifully with a great balance of toughness and femininity.

Keep up the fab writing Shana..Im hooked!

Author Bio

Shana Festa was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on October 17, 1976 and grew up in Northboro, Massachusetts. She currently lives in Cape Coral, Florida with her husband and two dogs, Daphne & Casey.
Shana is a registered nurse with clinical experience in mental health, geriatrics, HIV and substance abuse. In addition to her clinical background, Shana possesses over 15 years of experience with project management and data analytics.
She has been heavily involved in the collection and dissemination of the ICD-10 clinical and coding analytics across multiple projects including the NCHICA ICD-10 Pilot, the HIMSS WEDI ICD-10 Pilot and commercial testing programs.
Under her alter ego, The Bookie Monster, Shana reviews horror and paranormal books, with an emphasis on (but not limited to) zombie fiction. With a background in Psych Nursing, Shay brings her unique perspective to the online reading community.

All my thanks goes to the lovely Shana for sending these books for this review.

My views and opinions are my own.

Review coming soon.

FREE Zombie & Apocalyptic Books on Amazon today!

Today is a quick post for those of you who love zombies and apocalyptic reads. 

I went in search on Amazon for new zombie and/or apocalyptic reads and discovered to my surprise 10...yes I said 10 books from authors Ive not read before.

To top it all they were all FREE at the time of posting this; so I just had to share these amazing finds with you all. Its an early Christmas pressie for me I cant wait to start reading them. Its a perfect chance to try some new authors you wouldn't normally read.

Just click the books to take you directly to Amazon UK

I also bought these 2 books as well, as they were under a pound so still an amazing bargain.

Make a zombie/dystonian-aholic happy this Christmas with any of these books they will think you've spent a fortune on them. ;-)

Which books take your fancy or if you've read any of these books let me know what you think? Plus you will of course be seeing my own book reviews as I read them.

Bye for now!

Savage by Iain Rob Wright Book Review

Savage 

by Iain Rob Wright

Blurb
SOMETIMES BEING ALONE IS BETTER…
The world has crumbled and the dead walk the earth, but all is not lost, yet. A group of survivors seek salvation at an abandoned pier where the dead can’t get them.

But the dead are not the only threat.

The people on the pier are not the only group of survivors. There are others out there: bigger, nastier groups. And one just turned up right on the doorstep…

The world may have changed, but people haven’t.

 
I have just read Ravage the preceding book to this one but you can still jump straight in and read this book without having to know what happened before. Although Im really happy to see Anna and Rene again I would have loved to have known how they got here and what happened to the rest of the group they were with.
According to other reviewers this book has the highest overlap of characters from other books which makes it quite exciting as you really get to know the characters.
I love the group on the pier, its a good mix of different people and Ive really taken to Poppy a typical headstrong young girl latching onto Garfield; a tough ginger headed guy whose not afraid to take charge and head off with the foraging parties. He also has a huge soft spot for Poppy after saving her life. Garfield is a likable, believable guy and your rooting for him throughout this read with brilliant character development from Iain again.

One of the foraging missions will cause trouble however as they return with a wounded; but wanted man that has escaped from a large powerful group out at sea. The psychotic power hungry boss of this group Samuel Raymeady decides that their refusal to just hand him over means war; resulting in catastrophic results to the closely knit group on the pier. A furious Anna and Rene take matters in their own hands and go to face him....never a good move!

Roman/Damian (from Final Winter) works for Samuel and is another force to be reckoned with but whose side is he on?

This book proves its not always the zombies you need to look out for and there is more about the sour end of human nature than about the zombies in this book with Sally and Samuel around.
A good author is never scared to kill off favorite characters and there are some shocking and sad moments throughout this read.
I have to say, we as the reader feel everything through the authors highly descriptive text and it feels that we are right there next to that character; good or bad. So with sadness comes some good with another fantastic ending and another highly recommended read!

 Buy yours from Amazon UK / US and Goodreads


 Author Bio

Iain Rob Wright is one of the UK's most successful horror and suspense writers, with novels including the critically acclaimed, THE FINAL WINTER; the disturbing bestseller, ASBO; and the wicked screamfest, THE HOUSEMATES.
His work is currently being adapted for graphic novels, audio books, and foreign audiences. He is an active member of the Horror Writer Association and a massive animal lover.
Check out Iain's official website for updates at: http://www.iainrobwright.com or add him on Facebook where he would love to meet you.

All my thanks goes to Iain for sending me this copy for an honest review.

*I am now reading through many more of Iain's novels and will be posting regular reviews on them.

Please see my other reviews for Iain Rob Wrights Books below

The Last Infection: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller by Michael Garza Book Review

 The Last Infection: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller by Michael Garza

 Goodreads

 Blurb
 The Last Infection chronicles the fall of civilization and the rise of the dead and the evolution of the infected.
The infection swept across the country like a tidal wave. Survivors cling to life as the infected own the night and the dead walk the streets. Chris has endured on his own and bumping into Jake and Alicen weren't in his plans. The young brother and sister have plans of their own, but Chris has heard too many promises of sanctuary and infection free zones. Jenn's arrival turns his attention to the one thing he never thought he would face again, hope. They make a pact to reach the kids safe haven, but only time will tell if anyone can survive the last infection.


A fab zombie read as we follow Two kids; Jake Bradly twelve and his kid sister Alicen whose eight who are trying and get to their Aunt and Uncle in Catalina island to avoid the outbreak.
But things never go to plan do they......

Chris an ex-drug addict who has never cared for anyone but himself has survived well during the outbreak by keeping to himself. Then he met the starving twosome as he broke into a sweet vending machine and he felt sorry for them and split the goodies. That night they ran out on him stealing some more of the food while he slept. He later bumped into them with a young woman called Jenn and from here they join forces and tough guy loner Chris decides to get the kids to Catalina safely. Jenn becomes the heart and soul of the little group and encourages Chris to help more despite his dislike of being with people.
They head to Vegas to look for Jenn's parents to see if they are still alive...does it go according to plan...of course not....!

Its fab fast paced read as we escape with them as they run from one horror to another. The different take in this book is that the zombies are learning and the foursome are faced with two types of horror. The infected who are fast and deadly; still having the strength of a healthy human as long as they feed; and of course the zombies which have discovered they can learn tactics and are evolving in their new world.

But its not just the dead they need to be afraid of...?

Michael writes with fluidity and his characters are believable and convincing, with brilliant character development. We watch the group all start to evolve to fit their new circumstances and difficulties and the action scenes are excellently described as you are swept along until that last digital page.
This will really appeal to those zombie-holics out there as you get a slightly different perspective, a childhood one to the normal zombie reads.


Author Bio

Michael W. Garza often finds himself wondering where his inspiration will come from next and in what form his imagination will bring it to life. The outcomes regularly surprise him and it's always his ambition to amaze those curious enough to follow him and take in those results. He encourages readers to peek at his latest work as well as the material he's published in the past. He sincerely hopes that everyone will find something that astonishes, surprises, or simply scares the heck out of you.

www.mwgarza.com
facebook.com/mwgarza
twitter.com/@mwgarza

All my thanks goes to Michael for sending me this book for this review.

All my views and opinions are my own.