Tori's October 2017 #Book #Reviews (LBE)

It's time to take a look at what I read in October.

In honour of Halloween arriving at the end of the month, I tried to make sure all the books I read during October had a paranormal or horror connection. Just because I could, and because I don't do much to celebrate Halloween these days, so thought it would be fun to have a reading theme for a month long celebration.

Anyway...

As with the previous posts like this one, if you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question.

Don't forget: the format I've reviewed may not be the format I read. Also, please remember that I read across multiple genres and age ranges, so you should always check if a book is suitable for the intended reader, especially when children are involved. Sometimes reading the book's description on its Goodreads page will be enough for this, but other times you may need to check elsewhere to figure out the genre and/or recommended reading level.

OK... On to the reviews!

I Zombie I by Jack Wallen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
On the one hand, this is a good read, with an interesting plot concept, and nice pacing. On the other hand, the characters' actions or conversations often seemed ridiculous, how slow the main character was to grasp what was happening had me wanting to slap some sense in to him, and the child among the main characters wasn't believable since she seemed much younger half the time and much older the other half. I'll continue with the series though. This is partially out of curiosity based on the concept, but also because I like to finish a series if I start it.

My Zombie My by Jack Wallen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
The concept continues to be interesting, but the constant use of curse words is becoming beyond irritating, and the characters are frustrating idiots. Also, the format makes it difficult to tell what's published on the blog of the main character and what isn't, and, quite frankly, if she's publishing everything on her blog, she's a bigger idiot than I already consider her to be, and lucky things didn't go even worse than they actually did; at least the journal of the main character in the previous book was kept private until after the events, where as the blog is supposed to be being published and made available in realtime, so to speak, which makes writing a lot of what she appears to be writing on it stupidly dangerous given the circumstances she and the others are in.

Die Zombie Die by Jack Wallen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book had the potential to actually be a really great read. Unfortunately, what might have been a great book was spoiled by mistakes in the dates used as chapter headings to indicate the point we were at in the timeline, the author's continued over-use of curse words, and the fact every character seemed to be an idiot who was also a wannabe commedian (it might have been funny if one character tried turning everything in to a joke to lighten the mood, but with everyone seeming to do it it came off as ridiculous and annoying).

Lie Zombie Lie by Jack Wallen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
So, we're a year in to the apocolypse and people are still stumbling around making rooky mistakes. Seriously! How are these people even still alive at this point?

Cry Zombie Cry by Jack Wallen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is one of the better books in the series, but that's not saying much, since this is far from being my favourite series of zombie books from those I've read so far. I'm becoming rather irritated by the attempts at constant jokes from all the characters all the time, and don't even get me started on how much it's bugging me that curse words are being used like they're going out of style. Also, the characters are still behaving like the whole survival thing is new to them, despite it being more than a year since day zero. All logic dictates that Bethany should be dead by now with how stupid she acts, and I can only imagine that it's the author throwing other characters in front of the zombies in her place intentionally that's keeping her alive. Not that the other characters seem to be acting much more sensibly.

Fry Zombie Fry by Jack Wallen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This book had some good points. However, it also could do with some serious work. Even if you don't take in to consideration my continued irritation at the overuse of cursewords, characters who all seem to consider themselves comedians, and the fact the continual rooky mistakes mean these people should have died a long time ago, there's the fact this book needs some time with someone who will notice mistakes in the plot - such as a beta reader or proof reader - so as to catch mistakes like how a certain vehicle couldn't be brought inside the wall due to there being no way to do so, yet they're driving around inside the wall in the vehicle in question a few chapters later. Also, does this author have kids, or any experience with them? If not, someone might want to have him doing some babysitting or something, because he needs to learn that - despite popular opinion - babies really don't only eat, sleep, and poop, especially not ones who are six months old or older, yet that is quite literally all baby Jacob ever does (he rarely ever even seems to cry, let alone be awake and trying to get in to things, like a baby of the age he should be by now would normally be doing).

Buy Zombie Buy by Jack Wallen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I'm confused. I thought from the book blurb this was the final book in the series, yet the way it ends - especially with the epilogue - it doesn't appear to be. So, is this the last book, or what? If it's the end, it would have been a better ending without that epilogue (though still not an amazing one). If it's not, the blurb is misleading. Either way, I'm glad to see the characters are actually starting to think before they act sometimes. They're still making mistakes they should have stopped making a long time ago, but at least they seem to have grasped the concept of thinking in terms of long-term survival - finally!

Runaway Vampire by Lynsay Sands
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is a great addition to the series, and an excellent read... At least, it was until it ended without all the loose ends being tied up, which I hate.

Immortal Nights by Lynsay Sands
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
An excellent - and often entertaining- addition to the series.

Immortal Unchained by Lynsay Sands
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a great addition to the series, with fantastic characters, as well as an interesting and exciting plot.

Immortally Yours by Lynsay Sands
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It took me a bit longer to get in to this one than it usually does with these books, and I really wanted to slap some sense in to Scotty so often I lost track of how many times I felt that way. I mostly enjoyed the book though, and consider it to be a good addition to the series.

A Shocker on Shock Street by R.L. Stine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The ending was a little bit disappointing, but for the most part I thought this was a great read that's sure to give you goosebumps.

The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena by R.L. Stine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is another one I was absolutely loving... Until the disappointing ending.

Death Masks by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was an excellent read, with a great cast of characters, and an action-packed - and often entertaining - plot.

Blood Rites by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was another excellent addition to the series, with a plot that will keep you on your toes, and a main character that will keep you entertained.

Witch of the Defiled by Walter Lazo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A good but strange story, with an unusual cast of characters, and very detailed - sometimes a little too detailed - descriptions.