Undeadly (The Reaper Diaries, #1)

Dec 15, 2012 Kat (Le Pauvre Cœur) marked it as i-ll-get-back-to-sometime

Shelves: can-t-fricking-wait-for, i-love-grim-reapers, 2012-books

UPDATE 2-6-12

WHAT!!?!? The original publication was supposed to be released FEBRUARY 28TH and now, they moved it to NOVEMBER 20TH?!?!?!

First, I was like;

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Then I was:

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Then I was just pissed off.

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And then I followed it with depression.

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UPDATE: 10/16/12 IT'S ON NETGALLEY, EVERYONE!!
AND I GOT APPROVED!

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THANK YOU, HARLEQUIN TEEN!!

128 likes · like · see review

Nov 14, 2012 Giselle rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook, arc, zombies

You know me and my love of zombies. I couldn't resist this any more than I can resist chocolate. But unlike chocolate, Undeadly left quite the sour taste in my mouth. Not right from the beginning, where I actually found myself amused by the sarcastic personality of our protagonist, but about half way through I started to get annoyed by things I could previously ignore, or irritated by our main character who I realized is not very... smart.

You will notice right away that Molly has quite the sense...more

24 likes · like · see review

Nov 13, 2012 Sam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-or-galley, fantasy-or-paranormal, romance, paranormal

A very low 3 stars.

Undeadly is packed with potential, with its book description promising originality, entertainment and a fresh stance on mythology. Egyptian lore, ancient jackal-headed gods, prophecies, reapers, and a boarding school to boot – with so many intriguing boxes ticked, it is a challenge to reel in those uncontrollable expectations. Disappointment, unfortunately, is the customary feeling after that when a book doesn’t fully deliver. Undeadly fell short in several crucial areas, esp...more A very low 3 stars.

Undeadly is packed with potential, with its book description promising originality, entertainment and a fresh stance on mythology. Egyptian lore, ancient jackal-headed gods, prophecies, reapers, and a boarding school to boot – with so many intriguing boxes ticked, it is a challenge to reel in those uncontrollable expectations. Disappointment, unfortunately, is the customary feeling after that when a book doesn’t fully deliver. Undeadly fell short in several crucial areas, especially those concerning the plot and the characters, and failed to truly enthral. Despite its faults, however, there are redeeming qualities that make it apparent why, for the right reader, it will certainly hold some appeal.

Let us start with the obvious source of frustration, one that I am certain the majority of people will recognise. Molly Bartolucci is, to put it lightly, annoying. There is nothing at all wrong with an immature and unlikeable protagonist if the author intended to write said protagonist in such a way. Flawed characters are, in fact, preferable, provided that the flaws are recognised and the characters given opportunity for realistic growth. It only becomes problematic when their irritating traits truly become irritating, preventing complete enjoyment of the book. Molly is drama, abbreviations, slang and ‘whatevs’. She is OTT (that’s me, channelling Molly), a poor attempt at witty, and sometimes even a little hypocritical. Moments of appreciable humour are interlaced, maybe triggering the occasional snigger or grin, but, too often, it is difficult to disregard the exasperation that follows her nonsensical thoughts.

For those who can tolerate Molly enough to ignore her - or are more in tune with her sense of humour - the world of necros and zombies (and even the occasional ghoul) is easier to appreciate. Michele Vail’s take on necromancy is a fascinating one, with Egyptians rituals and the ancient belief that the soul is separated into five parts playing a central role. Molly is a ka heka, someone who can reanimate the dead using the part of the soul called the Ka. Her zombie-making days evolve into more once it becomes apparent the stories of Anubis, Set and the Underworld are closer related to her than she might have thought. This aspect of the book was genuinely fascinating. Ancient Egyptian mythology is something I crave to see more of in young adult fiction, and Vail did a decent enough job to pique my interest.

Keeping that attention intact, however, is a challenge. The few sub-plots present are weakly entwined and needless detours fragment the overall plot considerably. Predictability is also an issue (doing Molly little favours), which results in a slight sense of anti-climax. One aspect that I did enjoy was Rath's role in the story. He is cocky, but not overly so, and a likeable potential love interest. The romantic plot is slight in this book - perhaps in need of further development to make sense - but enjoyable enough. While the secondary characters are not particularly memorable, their interactions with each other are entertaining.

Although I was essentially underwhelmed by this book, I stand by my earlier comment and firmly believe it can be enjoyed by others. The main issue is Molly – connecting with her is the crucial part, and if that can be done effortlessly enough, then the other flaws are easy to overlook. Overall, despite the initial disappointment, I felt this was a solid read and look forward to a (hopefully) better sequel.

(This review also appears on my blog)(less)

30 likes · like · see review

Dec 19, 2012 Nemo (the Moonlight Library) marked it as abandoned

Shelves: arc, mine-mine-mine, sts, publisher-harlequin

I was realy looking forward to this. This is what I wrote on my STS post when I requested it from Netgalley:

"It sounded cool! A teenage reaper. Awesome. And a boarding school story? I like those as well."

But I just can't do it. When the second paragraph (and for your information this is the ARC kindly provided by the publishers for an honest review) reads like this:

Rick's lips ghosted across mine. He angled his mouth against mine and I opened for him. My eyes fluttered closed. Tentative, I met h

...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Suzanne (Paranormal Pages) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: november-2012, reapers

I've read a lot of mixed reviews of this book, most of the negative ones seemed to have a similar quarrel, Molly. So, needless to say, I went into this with extremely low expectations. And lo and behold, I really enjoyed it.

Molly is a reaper in training, and even with making the mistake of bringing her "almost" boyfriend back to life missing some of his soul, she's still picked out by Anubis to be given special powers and sent to Nekyia Academy, where she can train to be Anubis' champion.

I did l...more I've read a lot of mixed reviews of this book, most of the negative ones seemed to have a similar quarrel, Molly. So, needless to say, I went into this with extremely low expectations. And lo and behold, I really enjoyed it.

Molly is a reaper in training, and even with making the mistake of bringing her "almost" boyfriend back to life missing some of his soul, she's still picked out by Anubis to be given special powers and sent to Nekyia Academy, where she can train to be Anubis' champion.

I did like Molly. A lot of reviews claimed her to be too immature but I thought she was okay for a 16 year old. I would find in a lot of YA novels that the main character comes across quite mature for their age. So, I was able to enjoy Molly's voice. I could have done without the diary entries though, and after the first couple, I stopped reading them.

I also liked Rick and felt it a pity that we got to see so little of the real him. He felt quite promising. And the way things turned out for him was just so sad.

Rath, the hot bad boy who I couldn't not enjoy. He was probably my favourite. His interactions with Molly entertained me and I'm interested in seeing if any romance between the two of them in future books.

While I was intrigued by the world that Michelle created, I did find it a lot to take in. I still don't really know the different parts of the soul and the different kinds of people who deal with each. And with reading on my kindle, I wasn't going to keep flipping back to remind myself like I might have done with a paperback.

I was quite annoyed about the way Molly reacted to her dad after the "bombshell" was dropped. And while I've never been in her situation, and I don't normally like to judge actions unless I've lived them myself, I just felt she went overboard and didn't see the bigger picture here. This could have been one of the reasons that other readers would have thought her to be immature.

This was a book I had been highly anticipating so when the negative reviews started flowing, I was really disappointed. I started reading with a lot of trepidation and hesitation but was happy that, after a small amount of info dumping, I found myself really enjoying it. I'm now really looking forward to the next instalment.(less)

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Apr 22, 2013 Tanja Voosen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-bookshelf, english-books-i-own, worst-books-of-all-time, swap-list

WUTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was hab ich da gelesen?! :O

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ich sehe. Aha. Ja. Die nächste Läster-Rezi steht in den Startlöchern.

Himmel Herr Gott noch mal!

Das ist nicht alles wirklich passiert.

Ich muss das geträumt haben. Genau!

EDIT - Rezension:

http://tanjaisaddictedto.blogspot.de/...

6 likes · like · see review

Oct 19, 2012 Ashleigh Paige rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, i-screamed-at-it, main-character-needs-to-shut-up, the-shameful-shelf-of-get-rid-of-it, e-arc-via-netgalley, troll-book, why-oh-why-did-i-fall-for-the-hype, worst-books-i-ve-ever-read

See more of my reviews sooner on The YA Kitten! My copy was an ARC I received from the publisher via NetGalley.

Undeadly reminds me a lot of the House of Night series. This is not a good thing. At all.

This novel is still leagues and leagues better than the bestselling vampire series, but there are a few similarities between them. An annoying, judgmental heroine who has been chosen as special beyond all others by her kind's deity, mean girls and cliches galore, and failed attempts at teenspeak are...more See more of my reviews sooner on The YA Kitten! My copy was an ARC I received from the publisher via NetGalley.

Undeadly reminds me a lot of the House of Night series. This is not a good thing. At all.

This novel is still leagues and leagues better than the bestselling vampire series, but there are a few similarities between them. An annoying, judgmental heroine who has been chosen as special beyond all others by her kind's deity, mean girls and cliches galore, and failed attempts at teenspeak are just a few of the similarities.

To begin with, I originally quit reading the novel sixty percent of the way in because I wasn't enjoying myself, but I came back to it a few days later and finished it because I wanted to give it the fair shot it eventually showed it did not deserve. The first few chapters and our introduction to Molly's world are filled with inelegant exposition of how necromancers are an everyday thing and everyone goes to them for their zombie needs. This includes bringing zombies to life, suppressing their massive appetites, and reattaching their arms when they fall off. Though I disliked the artless way in which the world was built, the world itself has a lot of potential. Potential that goes unfulfilled, sadly.

Molly's narrative voice is one of the most forced teen voices I have ever found in young adult literature and it fails badly at seeming even slightly realistic. She uses outdated slang like "it was a mondo ick mess" (80s/90s slang, mind you) and "major suckitude" is at least as old as 2003. One bit of slang, "gigging up my ju-ju", doesn't even use gigging right! Gigging is typically associated with dancing, excitement, or moving from music gig to music gig as if one were clubbing. I believe this takes place in the present day, albeit in an alternate universe, not in the past.

Tolerating her for more than a chapter or two at a time was difficult. Looking down on her fourteen-year-old sister for being passionate about zombie rights? Ugh. Having the cliche-of-all-cliches freakout when she learns something about her family early in the book? Worse. Abbreviations like WTH and BTW in her narrative? I can't. If there is one thing I want from a book, it's that there are no abbreviations in the narrative itself. It's irritating and makes the narrator seem dumb and brings down the quality of the novel.

The side characters were unremarkable. There are the cardboard friends, the jerky new love interest and "old" love interest, the mean girls making Molly's life suck, and all the other requisite elements of paranormal YA. After reading it for so many years, stories like this that indulge in the tropes without doing anything new or deeper with them tire me. I also had a niggle with a character's name; Russian character Irina Derinski's name should be Irina Derinska, as per Russian naming traditions. The character herself? Let's not talk about how transparent she is in her motivations.

There simply isn't any depth here to make Molly and her world interesting enough. There are no questions about how ghouls and ghosts feel about being bound to the living world, as if they have no feelings at all. Molly never thinks about how Henry must feel to be bound to everyone of her family line that comes to Nekyia Academy and being forced to stay around if there is no one of her family there. There could have been so many great questions about what life and death really mean, but they are all passed over for melodrama.

Warning: Undeadly ends on a strong cliffhanger and there's no telling exactly when Unchosen, book two of the Reaper Diaries, will be in stores next year.All I know is that I will not be reading it.(less)

21 likes · like · see review

Oct 17, 2012 Steph Sinclair marked it as due-to-reviews-lost-interest

Shelves: harlequin, young-adult, 2012-release

The blurb for this book reminds me of The House of Night series. That's not a good thing. :/

12 likes · like · see review

Aug 16, 2012 Michele Vail rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author) Recommends it for: everyone who loves reapers, zombies, and YA fiction.

Recommended to Michele by: Um ... I guess I recommended it to myself.

I wrote UNDEADLY, so I may have a slight (meaning: overwhelming) prejudice regarding the novel's awesomeness. If an author doesn't think her work is worth reading, then it certainly shouldn't be worth writing. And UNDEADLY was worth writing. I love creating this world and these characters, and I especially loved the use of Egyptian mythology as the foundation for how and why Molly's world works.

I would love to talk to you all about UNDEADLY and teen reaper Molly Bartolucci any time! Below are l...more

18 likes · like · see review

Apr 16, 2013 ♥Courtney♥ Ƨнα∂σωκιƨƨɛ∂4ɛʌɛя ♊ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-academies

This book was surprisingly good. I loved the whole eygptian mythology adaption in the story. Im defenitely going to be reading the next book in the series. Just two little problems I had with the book and these were
- It came across a little over-sarcastic at times and that made the main character look a little childish and immature at times.
- second problem was the book was too short and therefore a little rushed at times.

Characters
I loved Barbie and the rest of Molly's new friends at the acade...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Teresa Mary Rose rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, blog-tour, ya, paranormal

More Reviews Here: Readers Live A Thousand Lives

This book had a very Vampire Academy or Covenant Series feel to it; except this book has reapers with an Egyptian mythology twist to it, and then add in some zombies and you have the makings of a good book. This story was very fast paced and has numerous twists and turns. It is tough to decide who to trust and I think this series has a lot of potential.

Our heroine Molly is very much a sixteen year old; and it shows. She can be incredibly whiny at t...more More Reviews Here: Readers Live A Thousand Lives

This book had a very Vampire Academy or Covenant Series feel to it; except this book has reapers with an Egyptian mythology twist to it, and then add in some zombies and you have the makings of a good book. This story was very fast paced and has numerous twists and turns. It is tough to decide who to trust and I think this series has a lot of potential.

Our heroine Molly is very much a sixteen year old; and it shows. She can be incredibly whiny at times and has an extreme case of “why me”. However, that being said, it also makes her character believable. It is clear that she is a sixteen year old who has been thrown into circumstances that are out of her control and she is clearly in over her head. Also I found her to be a bit too trusting when it came to certain things. With all that said she does do her best to deal with the circumstances and when the time comes she does what needs to be done.

My favorite character was Rath and I really wished that he had more of a presence throughout the story. He was incredibly snarky and witty and he always had some sort of comment when it came to Molly. However, he was also there when she really needed him. There isn’t much more about him I can say, because I still feel like I don’t know him all that well. I am hoping to see much more of Rath in the coming novels.

One issue I had with this book is that I think it could have been longer. The story felt a bit rushed to me and I would have liked some points to have been expanded upon. There was a good amount of secondary characters that I would have liked to learn some more about. I would have liked some relationships to be expanded upon and I would have liked to learn more about the school’s society. The first hundred pages or so contains a lot of background and explanations for the world created, however after this the plot moves along as a brisk pace and events happen one after the other. Also, it did not help that there were two main storylines put into a relatively short book. I would have liked an additional hundred pages to this book to fully expand on certain aspects. Also, I was able to figure out a good chunk of the ending, but this may be just because I read too much.

I really enjoyed the world Michele created in Undeadly. The way she intertwined Egyptian mythology with necromancy was great. In this world zombies and spirits are normal. To the point where people have pet zombies, an aspect I found to be quite entertaining. The Nekyia Academy is much like any other school for the paranormal, so it provides a great setting for mystery and fantasy. The writing style really embodies a teen’s mind. This is something I think readers are either going to love or hate. Personally, I did not mind it, but it did take a little bit of adjustment.

The ending to this book clearly sets up the next novel in the series, and while it is frustrating it is also effective. I am now dying to know what happens and wondering when I will be able to get my hands on the next book. I really believe that this series has a great amount of potential. There are so many characters and aspects that I would love to learn more about. I am intrigued by this world and this school and I would really like to learn more about Rath.

All in all, Undeadly is a quick read in a very fun world of zombies and necromancy. I think paranormal fans will really enjoy Molly’s journey and be eager for some more.

*I received a copy of this book as a part of the blog tour in exchange for a fair and honest review(less)

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Nov 18, 2012 Michele (Reading Lark/CanadianTwiMom) rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: necromancy, zombie-revenant, mythology, net-galley, ghosts, paranormal, reading-lark

My rewiew can also be found on Reading Lark: http://readinglark.blogspot.ca/2012/1...

Undeadly was a story I was really looking forward to but I'm sorry to say that I was rather disappointed in it overall. Writing a review where I didn't connect with the book is very hard for me to write. When a blogger offers up a review for a book they've read, for the most part, it is a review based on their personal opinion. Even books generally loved by the majority will still have their nay-sayers. So in th...more
My rewiew can also be found on Reading Lark: http://readinglark.blogspot.ca/2012/1...

Undeadly was a story I was really looking forward to but I'm sorry to say that I was rather disappointed in it overall. Writing a review where I didn't connect with the book is very hard for me to write. When a blogger offers up a review for a book they've read, for the most part, it is a review based on their personal opinion. Even books generally loved by the majority will still have their nay-sayers. So in that light, I will preface what I have to say by stating that because this story did not appeal to me, does not mean it will not appeal to another.

Molly Bartolucci's world is a world where necromancers and reapers are not folklore and where zombies are real (and sometimes kept just like a pet -- yes, you heard that right...led around on a leash and everything.) I couldn't decide if this story was meant to be taken seriously or not, and I think that was the first strike for me. While I do appreciate some humour, and even some 'bizarreness', inserted into even the most serious of stories, I felt those elements took away from what might have been a promising plot, and unfortunately affected the flow of the story for me.

I also have to admit that I found myself having a hard time remembering the differences between hekas, necros (necromancers), reapers, etc.,....and the differences between ghouls, sheuts and zombies, and found myself not really invested enough to go back and look them up to better understand their significance so that might be another reason for my detachment from this story.

The characterization was generally not developed enough for me either...I couldn't get a 'feel' for the majority of the characters. Although...two proved to me more of the exception as I will say that I did start to really like Rath and Rennie, even though they literally popped in and out of Molly's life and sort of left us both (Molly and me, the reader) hanging and wanting to know more about them and have more interaction with them, too.

However, I felt the majority of the problem I had with this book was with the protagonist herself--Molly.

While Molly might represent a percentage of the teenage population with her 'speak', I just couldn't buy into the fact that she was mature enough to handle the HUGE responsibilities bestowed upon her by the god of the Underworld, Anubis, and to be this eventual 'champion' of his to save the world...even with TONS of training and education that may follow in future books! Using the powers she barely understands, she made rash and careless decisions that had serious repercussions that left me shaking my head and being frustrated with her. Perhaps her actions could be explained by a combination of being purposely and frustratingly left in the dark and her inexperience in dealing with heavier issues than what she was accustomed to...but none of those explanations could help me get on her side despite my sympathies for her situation. There seemed to be 'pockets' of maturity here and there but those would soon be followed by a "Whatevs" or "Hel-lo", or "mondo" (do they even say that anymore???)

My own struggles with the story aside, perhaps there is some hope for some growth and maturity in Molly, and in the story itself, in the sequels to follow, but I don't think she or the story is compelling enough for me to want to continue on with it. I'm sure this story will appeal to some other readers...and maybe, for me, it was just a personality clash...but The Reaper Diaries ends here for me.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Harlequin Teen for the opportunity to read this story in advance.(less)

1 like · like · see review

May 15, 2013 Repeat Reads rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was originally posted on Repeat Reads

Undeadly was a book I bought on a day I was feeling low. The premise seemed like it had so much promise. I love mythology and was excited by the idea of modernized Egyptian mythology. So I went into the book with a lot of excitement and found it to be a disappointment.

Undeadly had two major flaws. The first was the plot. The plot was confusing. The book throws you into a world of necromancy with explanations and new facts emerging in an order that h...more

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May 14, 2013 Lindie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ghosts. Zombies. Necromancy. Three things that will have me pick up a book without fail. This story certainly has all of that. It also hits up Egyptian mythology, which isn't something I see every day.

Let's talk the cool things first. Molly's dad runs a zombie creation shop. People bring their dead loved ones in for zombification, and then keep them as pets/slaves. That's kind of cool. In a sad, creepy way. The post-dead unfortunately have no rights, so people are free to do with them as they w...more

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Jan 25, 2013 Kimberley Beale rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ok I loved this!!

firstly I know people were complaining about the whining however Molly is 16 and I'll be honest it's good to actually read a book where the heroine sounds and acts like a real teenager none of this I swallowed a dictionary with a side helping of a thesaurus.....don't get me wrong the majority of YA novels are like that and I enjoy them....this made a nice change and was fun kinda reminded me of the Hex Hall series, my only gripe is it ended a tad to soon I feel we could have go...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-by-michelle

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A different take on zombies. Fell short of my expectations but kept me interested enough.

Opening Sentence: So, my…um, friend gave me a diary for my sixteenth birthday because, apparently, it’s a necromancer tradition.

The Review:

Michele Vail’s Undeadly has a good premise. An ability to raise zombies? I’ve never really heard of that concept before. A story that brings in Anubis? Count me in! And let me just say that I am attracted to the cover...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Katelyn Miller rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dafuq-did-i-just-read, great-premise-poor-execution

This book was one of those ones that seems to have so much potential that you force yourself to finish it out of a sense of obligation. Let me outline first, in the interest of fairness, this book's redeeming features:

-The heroine is a sarcastic ass. I can appreciate that. And the side characters in the last part of the book have a ton of development potential. Note that I specify "last part". Her best friends from high school (and even the love interest) are painfully flat. But I'll get to that...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Books rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Who knew reading about Egyptian mythology, reapers, necromancy, ghosts, and zombies could be so much fun! Well, heck, if you haven’t read debut author Michele Vail’s butt-kicking new series, The Reaper Diaries, yet, you wouldn’t know, now would you? Not to be confused with The Vampire Diaries. No, no, no, this is a new kind of awesomeness all on its own. But let me assure you, this is the first book in a splendid new series you don’t want to miss out on. It’s way better than its blurb promises i...more Who knew reading about Egyptian mythology, reapers, necromancy, ghosts, and zombies could be so much fun! Well, heck, if you haven’t read debut author Michele Vail’s butt-kicking new series, The Reaper Diaries, yet, you wouldn’t know, now would you? Not to be confused with The Vampire Diaries. No, no, no, this is a new kind of awesomeness all on its own. But let me assure you, this is the first book in a splendid new series you don’t want to miss out on. It’s way better than its blurb promises it to be. Imagine having a ghoul as a butler, who obeys your every command (and he can braid your hair like a pro). Got you curious? You haven’t seen anything yet.

I know I’ve said this a million times before, but for those new to my reviews, one of my pet peeves in books are weak, whiny female characters. Luckily, this is not the case and Molly’s character is really great. She’s strong, smart, fun, has a snarky sense of humor, and tackles her fears head-on. It was easy to step into her shoes, as well as those of all the supporting characters – most of them likeable, and a few not so much, and immerse myself in Molly’s utterly fascinating world, which – I might add – changes drastically after the events at her sixteenth birthday party. For those of you who, like me, are attracted to books with bad-boy characters, “Undeadly” has a seriously yummy one who goes by the name of Rath. The chemistry between him and Molly is tangible, and their contemptuous bantering elicited a good chuckle from me every so often.

Two more things I really loved about this book is that, one, there’s no love-triangle (thank goodness!), and two, there are so many twists, secrets and revelations it will make your head spin - but in a good way. It certainly kept me turning the pages in a frenzy to find out what happens next. After the second chapter I simply gave in and lost myself in this wonderful book, and before I knew it, I finished it in the space of a couple of hours. Just so you know, this one has a cliff-hanger ending, but fortunately book two is on its way.

“The Reaper Diaries” is definitely a series with attitude that is sure to generate a huge following. It will not surprise me if this is made into a hit tv series. It has so much promise and potential, and the author’s writing style is fresh and unique. I highly recommend this book as a must-read - as in place this right at the top of your to-be-read list, without delay. “Undeadly” deserves far more than a mere five stars. Yep, it is that good, and makes my list of most unforgettable books read in 2012!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.(less)

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Dec 14, 2012 The Library Mouse rated it 3 of 5 stars

Having spotted this book in an upcoming Blog Tour, which I was then too late to enter I might add because it got booked up so quickly, I got rather excited when I was accepted to review it by Harlequin!

Initially my attention was drawn by the title and its cover, and was then further ensnared by the synopsis. I have a weakness and fascination for anything that is mythology based. So when I read that Michele Vain had used Anubis and other Egyptian gods as the basis for the construction of her para...more Having spotted this book in an upcoming Blog Tour, which I was then too late to enter I might add because it got booked up so quickly, I got rather excited when I was accepted to review it by Harlequin!

Initially my attention was drawn by the title and its cover, and was then further ensnared by the synopsis. I have a weakness and fascination for anything that is mythology based. So when I read that Michele Vain had used Anubis and other Egyptian gods as the basis for the construction of her paranormal world, that borders on fantasy, I got very very excited! And when I got a vague hint that romance was entwined amongst the egyptian reapers... well I was sold!

The story Michele Vain presented was narrated from Molly Bartolucci's perspective in first person using a writing style that made it clear that she was very much still a teenager who had a bit of a way to go. With a gentle heart, naive/innocent mind and a quick whitted tongue at times; Molly was a rebellious teen, with a hopeless crush on the local high school celebrity and a kind heart.

Molly's world is full of people with gifts related to the afterlife: necros (necromancers). This is the a longterm effect of the war between the gods Anubis and Seth. Molly is a necro herself but one with not a particularly amazing gift, although she'd give anything to not be able to create zombies. But her barely clung onto normality is entirely dashed when she does something more than create a Zombie on her 16th birthday. The sequence of events that followed, the twists and the surprises were fastly paced, bringing me to finish Undeadly a lot sooner than I would have thought.

As silly as this may sound I actually really appreciated the small entry quotes from fictional books, songs and textbooks that preceded the beginning of each chapter, giving you the smallest and vaguest of ideas of what may just happen next.

The one thing I would bring to your attention is that this novel is not a hugely romantic one and therefore should not be picked up and expected to be a full on romance. It has neither the premises nor the pretention for this, so I would urge you not to dive in head first with such an expectation. I felt the need to make this point because I believed that romance was a strong theme, and therefore was a little disappointed in this respect. That said Michele Vain is clearly tortuously hinting and building up to something in the sequel to the well written and constructed Undeadly. One I intend to read to see what happens!

Overall Undeadly was a speedily paced novel with good narration and style. Michele Vain has clearly put thought and research into creating this world for us to travel to, and Undeadly promises to be the grounds of construction for more to come, as I am sure this was only the beginning.
To quote one of my favourite films (that just so happens to have an egyptian theme to it) :

"Death is only the beginning"

If you liked this: and wish to remain in a mythological paranormal realm with some romance then I recommend Starcrossed by Josephine Angiolini, Valkyrie by Ingrid Paulson and The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter. If on the other hand you're willing to explore other paranormal romances then I would suggest Finding Sky by Joss Stirling, Existence by Abbi Glines, Beastly by Alex Flinn, Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz and Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter.(less)

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Dec 11, 2012 Eero rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, grim-reaper

Book full of teen age angst and bad characters, even self-defense course is written as example how one should never do one and then writer goes and says how good teacher course leader is.

Story it self is too typical:
There is two factions that have been in war thousands of years, main character is chosen one, who of course don't have any idea who she is and then she should rise to save the world and of course reason why nobody didn't tell her anything is that her parents wanted give her change f...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Arthistorychick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult

Undeadly by Michele Vail
3/5 stars
Source: Netgalley

The first book in a series is often the hardest to write (and read!) because the author so much to accomplish in a relatively small amount of time and space. As a reader, I need the first-in-a-series book to:
a. introduce me to an interesting cast of characters with backstory and an explanation for how these characters have come to be in the pickle they’re in
b. establish both a short- and long-term plot line
c. create enough interest through the c...more Undeadly by Michele Vail
3/5 stars
Source: Netgalley

The first book in a series is often the hardest to write (and read!) because the author so much to accomplish in a relatively small amount of time and space. As a reader, I need the first-in-a-series book to:
a. introduce me to an interesting cast of characters with backstory and an explanation for how these characters have come to be in the pickle they’re in
b. establish both a short- and long-term plot line
c. create enough interest through the characters, plot, and unanswered questions to make me want more

If an author can accomplish all of these things they are virtually assured a successful series and will have readers not only wanting more of their work but begging for more. Sadly, for myself, Vail’s Undeadly has missed the mark and I likely won’t be coming back for more. Here’s the trouble:

*The first part of the book is exceedingly slow and filled with what you later find out is a lot of extraneous detail which doesn’t really inform or enhance the overall plot. To be fair, this part of the book also introduces Undeadly’s primary character, Molly and offers a small bit of insight into her particular talents and skills.

*I fully appreciate Undeadly is a paranormal read and weird situations are going to occur. However, the situations Molly finds herself in and allows herself to be pulled into are often inexplicable and unbelievable even in a paranormal novel. While these scenes are unusual, they do offer further insight about Molly and the full range and extent of her powers.

*Molly’s powers are another source of frustration. It is clear Molly is special and in possession of powers only spoken about in myth and legend. The problem? Molly has no idea who she is and what she is capable of because it has all been kept from her for her entire life. Additionally, no one in Molly’s life seems willing to cough up any information about her powers or her destiny unless forced to do so and even then, the information is limited at best. The end result of this lack of information is a very powerful and naïve kid fumbling around in dangerous situations.

*The abundance of unanswered questions. Of course any first-in-a-series book should have unanswered questions but Undeadly has far, far too many. For example: why hasn’t anyone ever told Molly about her powers or her destiny? Why is the topic of Molly’s mom completely off limits? Why has Molly been kept from her grandparents her entire life? If her Aunt Leila is so super-awesome and well-liked how did she become both a shadow and a minion of Set? Why does Molly meet with so much resistance from other students and some of the faculty/administration at her new school?

The bottom line: There are some good moments and elements in Undeadly including Molly’s suck it up and drive on attitude (she doesn’t do angst!), her ghoul servant, Henry, Rath, the surly reaper with a good heart and good intentions, and the use of Egyptian history, religion, and mythology. Unfortunately, these good elements are just not enough to balance out the frustrating elements and leave me begging for more.(less)

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Nov 27, 2012 Lorraine rated it 2 of 5 stars

In a nutshell: Teenaged mutant ninja... necromancer.

Main Character: I'll get to Molly but first, a preface: I've read books with main characters of all ages. Lyra Belacqua is 12 when we meet her. Harry Potter, 11. Katniss Everdeen is 16. Lucy Pevensie, 8. Young characters don't need to matter in a good book. I suppose the point that I'm trying to make is that I don't make this next statement lightly:

This book felt young. Molly Bartolucci felt young and what's worse, she felt stupid. Molly is a n...more

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Nov 21, 2012 Turtles rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-modern

This hovers at 2.5 stars, between Ok and Liked it. The whole world built by the author was hugely interesting. We've all heard of the Egyptian practices of preparing the death and the journal they take to get their soul weighed/judged. This book took that a step further, with the Egyptians being the precursors of modern Necromancy. Molly is an average powered zombie maker, she turns 16 and has a dream visit from Anubis, from whom she agrees to accept great power. She goes to Nekyia school and di...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Kayla (Ramblings of a Book Junkie) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, book-tour, from-author-or-publisher

I was very excited to start this book and when I got the e-mail from Shane regarding this tour I couldn't believe it! I heard nothing but great reviews so I'm sure you could see why I was eager to begin Undeadly. While it did not exceed my expectations, I was pleasantly surprised with the first book in The Reaper Diaries.

Starting off the book was a little slow. However, Michelle did manage to keep the reader interested. The way she was able to start off slow and then move to a steady pace was re...more I was very excited to start this book and when I got the e-mail from Shane regarding this tour I couldn't believe it! I heard nothing but great reviews so I'm sure you could see why I was eager to begin Undeadly. While it did not exceed my expectations, I was pleasantly surprised with the first book in The Reaper Diaries.

Starting off the book was a little slow. However, Michelle did manage to keep the reader interested. The way she was able to start off slow and then move to a steady pace was remarkable. The introduction to the character, Molly was a little confusing at times and I did wish they went more in depth on how everything works and how she found out. Also, we could have used more detail on her background and how everything started. As far as the start of the story goes, it was a little confusing but I was able to catch up on anything I missed.

The characters in this book were interesting to read about. Molly was a character that was easy to relate to and I could find some of my traits in her (sarcasm especially :) ). She was a strong female character and was a great protagonist. The only minor issue I had with her was the way she talked. I'm big on dialogue and when the character speaks like "soooooooooo" and "whhhhhhhhaaaatttttt?" I easily get annoyed. My favorite character had to be Rath. He was a great love interest though I do wish we saw more of him and less of Rick. Now onto Rick. I didn't like Rick from the beginning. Nothing made him seem like an even descent love interest. At all. He seemed more like a sweet friend instead of a boyfriend.

The plot of this story was interesting but I was pretty confused throughout the whole book. Many times I had to re-read sentences because I just frankly didn't understand something. Now I won't fully blame that on Vail's writing because maybe I'm just the type of reader where you need to spell it out for me and I will accept that. For the times that I was understanding what was going on I was genuinely intrigued.

Overall, Undeadly (my first book containing zombies) was a good read and has left me anticipating the second book in The Reaper Diaries.(less)

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Nov 15, 2012 Ellen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: blog-tours, e-arc

I don't typically read a lot of zombie books, but have found myself more interested in them over the last year, so I was looking forward to seeing what Undeadly had in store. The author has a whole different take on zombies than anything I have seen before, I guess the best way to describe it is "G-rated" zombies, which can be made, controlled, don't turn you into one when they bite you, and come with instructions for care. Molly's family owns and operates Big Al's Zomporium, and her sister is a...more I don't typically read a lot of zombie books, but have found myself more interested in them over the last year, so I was looking forward to seeing what Undeadly had in store. The author has a whole different take on zombies than anything I have seen before, I guess the best way to describe it is "G-rated" zombies, which can be made, controlled, don't turn you into one when they bite you, and come with instructions for care. Molly's family owns and operates Big Al's Zomporium, and her sister is an advocate for zombie rights. The book is rooted in Egyptian mythology, and begins by giving you a description of all the different types of necromancers or "hekas," which was interesting, but really hard to keep straight.

Molly's character has a great since of humor. She is snarky and funny, which was enjoyable, but she also was rather unintelligent, which became more obvious as the story progressed, and rather naive. I liked her, but her lack of intelligence kept me from really liking her. As far as the other characters in the story. Well, Anubis is the Death God and they have shrines set up to him, pray to him ect., but he was really rather "G-rated" also, and though it seemed like he would be really scary and such, he wasn't. I did like Rath, he's a reaper who is training Molly. There was the hint of romance between Rath and Molly, but it really didn't go anywhere. I would have really liked to have seen a little more romance between them, and I hope the sequel takes things further in that direction. Molly does sort of have boyfriend, Rick, but things with Rick are kind of complicated.

Overall, Undeadly is a cute book, and I think preteens and young teens would probably enjoy it, though it lacked the depth, scare factor, and romance that would appeal to older teens and even adults. The premise for the story is great, and the sequel has great potential, especially if Molly gets a little smarter (she is at the Nekyia Academy so hopefully this will happen), the zombies get a little scarier, and a little more romance is added in the mix. Also, the evil Set, who is an underworld god and is supposed to be coming to start a war, but hadn't quite arrived on the scene in this novel, hopefully will add a lot as the series progresses. Again, tweens and young teens will probably really like this and I would recommend that age group giving it a try. (less)

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Nov 15, 2012 Michelle McKinney rated it 5 of 5 stars

Synopsis:
The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird...

Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper—and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath. Within days, she's shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite boarding school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Heidi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Three Stars: A book rich in Egyptian lore and mythology.

Molly is attempting to make it through another boring day at work. She works for her father at his business that specializes in creating zombies. When one of the client's mistreated zombies tries to eat her, she decides to call it a day! Luckily on her way home, the hot football player with whom she has been flirting offers her a ride. She invites Rick inside and they are on the verge of lip lock when her dad bursts in and interrupts them....more

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Oct 10, 2012 Liz Gaska rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalleys

This was an interesting and fast paced read about a teenage necromancer who comes into even more power on her 16th birthday after killing and then resurrecting her boyfriend. Did I mention that it was set in a world where zombies are common place and Egyptian myth is anything but archaic? Set with a quirky and well thought out cast of characters, both at home and at the school for necromancers that have been deemed worthy by the god Anubis, this book has the potential to create an exhilarating,...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Nadine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Molly is a reaper and necromancer. After her mother left the family long ago she lives with her younger sister (pasionate fighter for zombie-rights), her father and her Italian grandmother. She also works after school in the zombie repair shop of her father. After her 16th birthday her talents really kick in and the parents of her mother, who never showed up before insist on Molly attending a predigeous boarding school, the „Nekya Academy“.
She has a crush on Rick, who seems to be interested in h...more Molly is a reaper and necromancer. After her mother left the family long ago she lives with her younger sister (pasionate fighter for zombie-rights), her father and her Italian grandmother. She also works after school in the zombie repair shop of her father. After her 16th birthday her talents really kick in and the parents of her mother, who never showed up before insist on Molly attending a predigeous boarding school, the „Nekya Academy“.
She has a crush on Rick, who seems to be interested in her as well, but on her birthday party, he stumbles, crashes his head against the fireplace and dies. Molly is able to reanimate him by trying to stuff the 5 parts of his soul that lift away back into his body but two slip away. She brushes any feeling that these 2/5th of the human soul might be important to the character of the human being away and just enjoys having Rick back.

I love egyptian history and was torn to read about ir in a teen fiction book. On the one hand it is a fascinating theme and era, on the other hand something inside me cringes when those gods like Anubis are „interacting“ with nowerday humans.

The world the novel is set in with zombies, magic schools, hints at zombies in the big wars or on the Titanic was fascinating. The zombie-repair service had me chuckling, there are a lot of quirky little ideas and images throughout the novel. It is surely an entertaining read.

The language is clearly aiming for a young audience and maybe a bit hard to digest for more grown-ups, especially in the diary parts of the book. To my utter delight however the teens in this novel are able to communicate via short messages using full words, no „c“ for „see“ or „2“ for „to“.

„Undeadly“ left me with mixed feelings. The ideas are fresh, the theme interesting, the characters very likeable. But the development of friendships and especially relationships seems a bit rushed. I think a bit more depth to characters and relationships would have helped. I also found the timing a bit off, Molly joins the Nekya Academy around half way into the novel, which is when a lot of the „main story“ starts, everything up to here seems a bit like introduction. Then however things happen fast, there isn't really that much time for the reader to get a clear image of that school, the people and the atmosphere. I would have loved to get more of an image about how the lessons are, more of a feeling for the teachers... This is the start of a series however and there might be more time to give the reader a feeling for that school and its quirkiness in the later installments.

(I received a free digital copy of this book via NetGalley.)
(less)

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Sep 04, 2012 Sarah Costa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Sarah by: tylers-mommie@comcast.net

I really liked it, really not just for teens, I started and could'nt put it down, I really want to say more, but then I would give it away, I am almost 44 and I got sucked in, enjoy it, I did

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Undeadly (The Reaper Diaries #1)

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