For the full review, including Memorable Quotes and other similar book recommendations, visit GraveTells: http://gravetells.com/2012/09/21/arc-...

Alice in Zombieland is riveting and addicting... from the very first sentence. Ali loses her family to a zombie attack in the beginning of the book; that's no spoiler, she mourns about it in the prologue. What completely blindsided me, however, was how deep and intense her grief was and how much it affected me. Here I am sniffling and tearing up on the train on my commute home, barely 10 minutes after picking up the book! I probably looked as funny as the lady across from me who was talking to herself.

Ali's friend Kat is a veritable whirlwind, a tornado of peppy energy and urban slang of her own creation. Just listening to her talk makes me feel exhausted, but she is so vibrant and engaging, she really shines out of the pages. Ali's first friend after the accident, Kat manages to weave her way into just about all of Ali's personal business... meaning we get to see a lot of her. She's a freaking force of nature, and hella fun.

On to Cole Holland, the mysterious bad boy of the school who is both a fearsome leader and a classic gentleman. His periodic scrapes and bruises, thunderous scowls, and devilishly handsome serial killer face make him a force to be reckoned with... or persistently avoided... and he somehow has a strange otherworldly connection to our Alice, transporting them off into dreamland whenever they see each other every morning.

Of course, you can't talk about Alice in Zombieland without a huge nod to our fearless heroine, Alice aka Ali. Quirky and driven, Ali has a spine of steel and a heart of gold. She's self-sufficient and more than a little skilled as a fighter, and her guilt over her family and friends' deaths keeps her determination rigidly focused on ridding the world of zombies. Not every author can pull off believable (and enjoyable) modern teenage slang (Ali & co.) while also humorously bastardizing it into something my grandparents might try to use to talk on a teenager's level. It helps give the characterization, which is already brilliant, depth and engaging humor.

This might be a young adult book, but the sexual tension between Ali and Cole is palpable and electric, and the scenes are blazing with chemistry even though its all relatively tame. I found myself pushing on just for another taste of that addictive connection between them, not even considering the expert writing skills Ms. Showalter brings to all her work. This is a book every lover of PNR and YA will want to read... and even some who have turned up their noses at the genre. Alice in Zombieland is just good ole monster-slaying fun!

These zombies are not your typical brain-eating, slow-moving, grunting and stupid automatons with a shuffling gait. They are scary, fast, and feel frighteningly real. I'm not a zombie kind of gal. I don't like horror, gore, or things that go bump in the night. I find rotting flesh and nomming brains way more disgusting than entertaining, and I like my action books dosed with a healthy heaping of steamy, sweaty naughtiness. Based on all that, you'd think Alice in Zombieland is definitely not my kind of story, but this book is GOOD! With very little sexual content, Alice and Cole steam up the pages (can I have my own Cole? Pretty please?), and even the down and dirty zombie scenes had me wanting more, more, more!

If you like paranormal romance and urban fantasy and only read 5 books this year, Gena Showalter's Alice in Zombieland should be on that list! In a genre where 'original' is quickly giving way to 'same old regurgitated plot', AiZ is fresh and unique, and a GraveTells "must read"!