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My Boyfriend is a Zombie
First book in the Delicates Series. A love story with a few kinks! When Victoria meets a shy zombie in the cemetery, she discovers there is a whole strange world of the deceased and that people don't stay dead!
- GenresZombies
First published August 17, 2012
About the author
Elita Daniels
7 books40 followersElita Daniels was born in the early 1980's in North Queensland, and was raised (and still lives) in the historical gold city of Charters Towers. She started writing at age twenty-five, writing late at night when the house was quiet.
She aspires to move with her husband to a nice sized property located in a cooler climate, get a couple of dogs, and see "Tree of Life" made into a movie.
She aspires to move with her husband to a nice sized property located in a cooler climate, get a couple of dogs, and see "Tree of Life" made into a movie.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 11, 2013
***Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official. For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng ***
I was given a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I was really excited to review this book. The idea was original and there were so many places the story could take the reader. However, it ended up falling a little short for me. Ultimately, I decided to give this story 2 stars, and here is why:
While I generally do not review a book based on the editing, this book seriously needed another round of copy edits. There were so many issues that it was distracting.
Travis was over 200 years old, and Daniels did a superb job grasping his personality based on the era he comes from. There was absolutely nothing wrong with his character, I actually fell in love with his personality and his quirkiness. What bothered me were the moments when Victoria would speak. It was as though she came from the same era as Travis - before she had spent any real time with him, so it was not just a case of her picking up some of his mannerisms.
I know that the majority of books in the Young Adult genre (regardless of the subcategory, be it dystopian, paranormal, contemporary, etc.) have the romance/love triangle element. It is almost a given, and if it is not part of the main plot it is a pleasant surprise. But when it came to the love triangle in this story, I was reminded of Bella in Twilight. Very naive and controlling, but at the same time she allowed others to make her decisions for her. Near the end of the story I got really excited because she did the unexpected, but it was kind of where I was hoping she would go (I really felt that her relationship with Travis was very unhealthy), but as with most YA novels, it needed to have a happy ending. However, I was still okay with how the story ended - it wasn't all hearts and flowers, and because of the unhealthy relationship it will show girls that life is not a fairy tale. Kuddos for that. I would have liked it better if this story followed through with her decision at that point to show the younger audience that it is okay to end something when it is not healthy for you.
Some of the descriptions in the story were a bit corny and overdone. For example: "The new moon, in cool height above the trees, rooftops, and clouds, lighted Victoria's way home." While it wasn't necessarily a bad description, the new moon cannot light the way because it is blacked out. The intimate scenes (don't worry for those parents out there who decide to allow their daughters to give this book a go - it is PG-13) were a bit awkward and uncomfortable. They were described as follows: (not direct quotes) he brought his mouth to her mouth; his mouth was described as ugly-beautiful. Considering the title of the book, we know that her boyfriend is a zombie. Not everything associated with him is going to be swoon-ish. It is one of the reasons I was so ready to accept this review. I wanted something different that involved a girl falling in love with a boy because of who he was, not because he's, like, totally smokin' hot!!
Lastly, there were quite a few scenes that should have been cut. One of the things I love about Indie is the fact that the author has total control over the finished product. What is helpful, though, is having a good editor that will let you know when you have gone a little overboard and need to make some changes. That is what a copy-edit is there for. They dig deep down into the guts of a book and make the authors words shine. This book took me 3 days to read, and normally a book will take me 1 day, 2 max. There were instances when I had to force myself to sit down for a bit and actually continue reading. It was just a bit too much.
Please do not take this review lightly, learn and grow from it. I did enjoy the idea and the plot (for the most part). The world building for Black Hollow was superb. It reminded me a bit of Beautiful Creatures mixed in with Diagon Alley from Harry Potter (Do not lynch me if that is spelled wrong - I have shamefully not read the books). The idea of zombies thinking for themselves, exercising their brains so that they can continue to be in control of themselves was just an amazing idea. Zombies with feelings and were lucid, and not just mindless corpses in search of brains. It was unique and I loved that.
Something else that Elita Daniels excels at is action. Every single action scene in the book had me sitting on the edge of my seat. She wrote in a way that I could not tell who was going to come out the victor. It was genuinely suspenseful.
Also, I did not check the front matter to see who designed the cover, but I love it. So many indie covers are the same, and I absolutely loved this one. It is as unique as the story itself.
This idea that Elita Daniels has come up with has the potential to become something huge. There is something missing in the YA market, and regardless of Warm Bodies (which is a completely different concept of zombies than this book), this story could be the one to fill it. It touches on different aspects of the paranormal genre, and even those touches are unique. My suggestion is finding another editor and have them dissect the story for you. Find some beta readers - not your close, personal friends, unless you can trust them to be honest and not just tell you how fabulous it is because they do not want to hurt your feelings. Beta readers can be great if you find some good ones.
I will say that if the author takes my review seriously, and does an overhaul, I would be more than happy to read the story again; like I said, it can seriously be a best seller. Good luck, Elita, and congratulations on being one of the few authors out there that have come up with something completely original and went for it. I do see you going to some great places, you just need a little bit of help to get there.
I was given a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I was really excited to review this book. The idea was original and there were so many places the story could take the reader. However, it ended up falling a little short for me. Ultimately, I decided to give this story 2 stars, and here is why:
While I generally do not review a book based on the editing, this book seriously needed another round of copy edits. There were so many issues that it was distracting.
Travis was over 200 years old, and Daniels did a superb job grasping his personality based on the era he comes from. There was absolutely nothing wrong with his character, I actually fell in love with his personality and his quirkiness. What bothered me were the moments when Victoria would speak. It was as though she came from the same era as Travis - before she had spent any real time with him, so it was not just a case of her picking up some of his mannerisms.
I know that the majority of books in the Young Adult genre (regardless of the subcategory, be it dystopian, paranormal, contemporary, etc.) have the romance/love triangle element. It is almost a given, and if it is not part of the main plot it is a pleasant surprise. But when it came to the love triangle in this story, I was reminded of Bella in Twilight. Very naive and controlling, but at the same time she allowed others to make her decisions for her. Near the end of the story I got really excited because she did the unexpected, but it was kind of where I was hoping she would go (I really felt that her relationship with Travis was very unhealthy), but as with most YA novels, it needed to have a happy ending. However, I was still okay with how the story ended - it wasn't all hearts and flowers, and because of the unhealthy relationship it will show girls that life is not a fairy tale. Kuddos for that. I would have liked it better if this story followed through with her decision at that point to show the younger audience that it is okay to end something when it is not healthy for you.
Some of the descriptions in the story were a bit corny and overdone. For example: "The new moon, in cool height above the trees, rooftops, and clouds, lighted Victoria's way home." While it wasn't necessarily a bad description, the new moon cannot light the way because it is blacked out. The intimate scenes (don't worry for those parents out there who decide to allow their daughters to give this book a go - it is PG-13) were a bit awkward and uncomfortable. They were described as follows: (not direct quotes) he brought his mouth to her mouth; his mouth was described as ugly-beautiful. Considering the title of the book, we know that her boyfriend is a zombie. Not everything associated with him is going to be swoon-ish. It is one of the reasons I was so ready to accept this review. I wanted something different that involved a girl falling in love with a boy because of who he was, not because he's, like, totally smokin' hot!!
Lastly, there were quite a few scenes that should have been cut. One of the things I love about Indie is the fact that the author has total control over the finished product. What is helpful, though, is having a good editor that will let you know when you have gone a little overboard and need to make some changes. That is what a copy-edit is there for. They dig deep down into the guts of a book and make the authors words shine. This book took me 3 days to read, and normally a book will take me 1 day, 2 max. There were instances when I had to force myself to sit down for a bit and actually continue reading. It was just a bit too much.
Please do not take this review lightly, learn and grow from it. I did enjoy the idea and the plot (for the most part). The world building for Black Hollow was superb. It reminded me a bit of Beautiful Creatures mixed in with Diagon Alley from Harry Potter (Do not lynch me if that is spelled wrong - I have shamefully not read the books). The idea of zombies thinking for themselves, exercising their brains so that they can continue to be in control of themselves was just an amazing idea. Zombies with feelings and were lucid, and not just mindless corpses in search of brains. It was unique and I loved that.
Something else that Elita Daniels excels at is action. Every single action scene in the book had me sitting on the edge of my seat. She wrote in a way that I could not tell who was going to come out the victor. It was genuinely suspenseful.
Also, I did not check the front matter to see who designed the cover, but I love it. So many indie covers are the same, and I absolutely loved this one. It is as unique as the story itself.
This idea that Elita Daniels has come up with has the potential to become something huge. There is something missing in the YA market, and regardless of Warm Bodies (which is a completely different concept of zombies than this book), this story could be the one to fill it. It touches on different aspects of the paranormal genre, and even those touches are unique. My suggestion is finding another editor and have them dissect the story for you. Find some beta readers - not your close, personal friends, unless you can trust them to be honest and not just tell you how fabulous it is because they do not want to hurt your feelings. Beta readers can be great if you find some good ones.
I will say that if the author takes my review seriously, and does an overhaul, I would be more than happy to read the story again; like I said, it can seriously be a best seller. Good luck, Elita, and congratulations on being one of the few authors out there that have come up with something completely original and went for it. I do see you going to some great places, you just need a little bit of help to get there.
January 10, 2013
I knew this would be awesome!! The long wait was worth it. This book is amazing! And makes the list of my faves for this year.
***
IF I COULD GIVE THIS BOOK 10 STARS, I WOULD ACTUALLY GIVE IT 20
I'm at that point where I need book two in this series, or I'm not going to be able to function much longer.
***
This was one of the most brilliantly written YA PNR books I read last year.
The construction of this entire novel is intelligent, and transcending. It is entirely different from other books of its kind. The Zombie Trend is fast approaching upon us with its intention to steal the spotlight from the vampires, and it just may, with THIS sort of amazingly written literature.
This book broke the common trends found in other literary works of its kind. The book doesn't open with a girl moving to a new school—in fact, school isn't mentioned at all!—which I absolutely thought was fascinating.
Victoria doesn't meet Travis in an English or Biology class. No...she meets him in a CEMETERY across from her house. OMG *Fangirls* Because like, you know I have a CEMETERY obsession.
Okay. So I'll take it down a notch before everyone thinks I've lost my mind or something. (which is only half true, of course)
The Diction in this novel is just off the charts, people. Off the charts. The language/word choice gives this novel a very classical feel.
(Additionally, I've never been a fan of third person reads, but this book was woven so intricately that I barely even noticed it was written in third person at all, and that's saying a LOT since I really do not prefer third person.)
Victoria has to fill out a form so she can become a citizen of this gothique and grotesquely beautiful world where Travis lives.
And let me tell you, Travis...this zombie? He puts the GORE in GORGEOUS.
He is also significantly older than our lovely Victoria, and that adds an aspect to the novel that makes it that much more grand. He is not a teenage boy at all! *Swoon* He like...knows stuff, y'know?
TRAVIS IS HOT! TRAVIS IS HOT!
There, enough said. But let me prove it?
Seriously. Elita is like my book sister. This is a book I wished I would've written, because it's soooo incredibly good, and I'm amazed and very glad she wrote it.
I LOVE it. Will always love it, and...THIS IS THE VERY BEST OF INDIE.
***
IF I COULD GIVE THIS BOOK 10 STARS, I WOULD ACTUALLY GIVE IT 20
I'm at that point where I need book two in this series, or I'm not going to be able to function much longer.
***
This was one of the most brilliantly written YA PNR books I read last year.
The construction of this entire novel is intelligent, and transcending. It is entirely different from other books of its kind. The Zombie Trend is fast approaching upon us with its intention to steal the spotlight from the vampires, and it just may, with THIS sort of amazingly written literature.
This book broke the common trends found in other literary works of its kind. The book doesn't open with a girl moving to a new school—in fact, school isn't mentioned at all!—which I absolutely thought was fascinating.
I dislike reading about the school day in YA books. High school or college. It's boring, and I feel that just because it's written for young adults, authors do not necessarily have to write about school. Yes, in real life, teens and young people do go to school. But hey, this is fantasy and in fantastical worlds you can do anything. Come on, now. Plus-plus for Elita!
Victoria doesn't meet Travis in an English or Biology class. No...she meets him in a CEMETERY across from her house. OMG *Fangirls* Because like, you know I have a CEMETERY obsession.
Okay. So I'll take it down a notch before everyone thinks I've lost my mind or something. (which is only half true, of course)
The Diction in this novel is just off the charts, people. Off the charts. The language/word choice gives this novel a very classical feel.
(Additionally, I've never been a fan of third person reads, but this book was woven so intricately that I barely even noticed it was written in third person at all, and that's saying a LOT since I really do not prefer third person.)
Victoria has to fill out a form so she can become a citizen of this gothique and grotesquely beautiful world where Travis lives.
And let me tell you, Travis...this zombie? He puts the GORE in GORGEOUS.
He is also significantly older than our lovely Victoria, and that adds an aspect to the novel that makes it that much more grand. He is not a teenage boy at all! *Swoon* He like...knows stuff, y'know?
TRAVIS IS HOT! TRAVIS IS HOT!
There, enough said. But let me prove it?
Seriously. Elita is like my book sister. This is a book I wished I would've written, because it's soooo incredibly good, and I'm amazed and very glad she wrote it.
I LOVE it. Will always love it, and...THIS IS THE VERY BEST OF INDIE.
August 21, 2012
A very different kind of love story. One that will make you smile, laugh, and you may even shed a tear or two. I enjoyed reading about Victoria and Travis's love story. This book takes you to a whole different world. It was not what I expected at all but I am glad because I really enjoyed this take on zombies. You can't help but fall in love with Travis. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series. I give this book 4 stars.
Want to read
August 21, 2012Shall we say recycled artwork??
April 9, 2018
I loved My Boyfriend is a Zombie. I felt like it was moving slowly at first, but I became hooked after the fourth chapter.
August 22, 2013
Alright review time for My Boyfriend is a Zombie by Elita Daniels, I haven't read a zombie book yet so I'd like to first say this was a great way to start off a new reading fancy!! Elita's book not only has a sweet romantic aspect but it has the dark creepy parts sprinkled into it like pepper in a stew! Victoria is naive and feels lonely even though she is surrounded by friends and family. Her wandering in a cemetery at night brings the caretaker, Travis into her life like a sweeping refreshing breeze. Travis is awkward and gangly but harbors a deep mystery that she is dying to know.
I love that this book has a Victorian feel about it, the Delicates are locked into a beautiful period of time not for lack of wanting new but because it's a time when simple beauty was admired and sought out. New world mixes with old world when Travis and Victoria fall hopelessly in love. Now I won't be giving away secrets but this story kept me fascinated with its grand descriptions and plot twists. I had no problems picturing dresses, seeing extravagant parties, or even imagining the most romantic gestures.. Delicates, unfortunates, humans, and true undying love, what else could a great story need? Elita gave each character a brilliant back story and each was shown, in detail so the reader is given the chance to learn and love the vast diversity of characters. I can't wait for book 2 and ill be keeping this author on the top of my reading list!! 5 out of 5 stars for My Boyfriend is a Zombie by Elita Daniels! Love it must have more!!!!
I love that this book has a Victorian feel about it, the Delicates are locked into a beautiful period of time not for lack of wanting new but because it's a time when simple beauty was admired and sought out. New world mixes with old world when Travis and Victoria fall hopelessly in love. Now I won't be giving away secrets but this story kept me fascinated with its grand descriptions and plot twists. I had no problems picturing dresses, seeing extravagant parties, or even imagining the most romantic gestures.. Delicates, unfortunates, humans, and true undying love, what else could a great story need? Elita gave each character a brilliant back story and each was shown, in detail so the reader is given the chance to learn and love the vast diversity of characters. I can't wait for book 2 and ill be keeping this author on the top of my reading list!! 5 out of 5 stars for My Boyfriend is a Zombie by Elita Daniels! Love it must have more!!!!
November 3, 2016
OhMyGosh this book was a struggle for me to read. The writing style was so odd for me that it took away from the story, it didn’t allow me to connect with the characters so that left no feeling. A disconnected feeling throughout the book.
a couple of examples:
She had drunk so beautifully. She drank his full kiss, drank it deeper and deeper.
He kissed her and kissed her and kissed her.
He had no saliva, yet his lips were soft and moist with something else. *gross*
she stood at the closet, biting her lip and perusing her clothes with her eyes squinted critically
I bought this book on Amazon as it wasn’t available on B&N… it wasn’t much but it was more than the FREE books I grab all the time. I read the book on my rooted Nook Color with the Kindle App.
From the beginning this seemed a forced love story.. there was NO MAGIC! At one point Victoria went from literally so scared of this boy she threw perfume in his eyes so she could run away, to sighing that his presence makes her feel alive and safe. WTF!
It is in basic terms… a corny book.
We went through in depth, long, drawn out of the boy girl relationship. You really were trying to get that “we must be with each other feeling” but you never got there for me.
I hung in there waiting for it to pick up and also out of curiosity to where you were going with this story. I mean your cover is cute and you have a website to advertise it but the book needed more feeling.
a couple of examples:
She had drunk so beautifully. She drank his full kiss, drank it deeper and deeper.
He kissed her and kissed her and kissed her.
He had no saliva, yet his lips were soft and moist with something else. *gross*
she stood at the closet, biting her lip and perusing her clothes with her eyes squinted critically
I bought this book on Amazon as it wasn’t available on B&N… it wasn’t much but it was more than the FREE books I grab all the time. I read the book on my rooted Nook Color with the Kindle App.
From the beginning this seemed a forced love story.. there was NO MAGIC! At one point Victoria went from literally so scared of this boy she threw perfume in his eyes so she could run away, to sighing that his presence makes her feel alive and safe. WTF!
It is in basic terms… a corny book.
We went through in depth, long, drawn out of the boy girl relationship. You really were trying to get that “we must be with each other feeling” but you never got there for me.
I hung in there waiting for it to pick up and also out of curiosity to where you were going with this story. I mean your cover is cute and you have a website to advertise it but the book needed more feeling.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews