Friday, April 5, 2013

Zombies Don't Forgive by Rusty Fischer [Review]

Genre:
Young Adult, Comedy, Horror, Paranormal
Publication.Date  April 1st 2013
Pages:384
Published By:  Medallion Press
WebsiteRusty Fischer

Zombies Don't Forgive
My review copy:ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Where to get:



Following Barracuda Bay’s homecoming cum zombie Armageddon, fellow zombies Maddy, Dane, and Stamp have fled to Orlando where they work at a theme park, hiding in plain sight at their jobs in the Great Movie Monster Makeover show. The three spend most of their time together in their apartment trying to avoid curious Normals and Sentinels—humans and zombie cops. While Dane and Maddy draw closer, Stamp drifts away, falling for a mysterious blonde. But when the mysterious girl puts their existence in danger, all Maddy cares about is hunting the blonde down to separate her from her head.

(Goodreads)

Should I have just spurned his affections, dropped him like a hot -- or, in this case, cold -- potato the minute Barracuda Bay was in our rearview mirror and we'd found some skuzzy, low-rent apartment in Orlando that didn't run credit checks? I'd had to date Stamp. He knew that, and you know what? I wanted to date Stamp. Most of the time, kinda, sorta.
There I sat, all night, waiting for some romantic gesture. You know, something zombie sweet, like a pound of brains in a red velvet heart-shaped box or, hell, a can of cat food with brains as the main ingredient with a dusty red bow on top. Anything; something.
The heartbeat, the blood flow, the sweat, it's not the bodily things I miss so much about being human. It's... it's... the humanity I miss the most.  
"Because Dane, if it's the last thing I do, I'm going to rip Val's head off with my bare hands."



     With his signature wit, charm and cleverness, Rusty Fischer takes the readers on yet another fan-zombie-tastic, hold-on-tight-to-your-panties action-packed journey that is just as cool, nerdy and entertaining as it is gut-wrenching and emotional. 

     The story picks up approximately three months after the events in book one (Zombies Don't Cry). To avoid being captured by the Sentinels, Maddy, Dane and Stamp have been forced to flee Barracuda Bay, leaving everyone and everything they knew behind. They are now "living" in Orlando, working at a local theme park in the Great Monster Makeover show, doing their best to stay under the radar and out of trouble. Well, at least that's what Maddy and Dane are trying to do. Stamp? Not so much. Ever since he and Maddy broke up, he's been partying every night, hooking up with girls (and Normals at that!) and enjoying the night life of Orlando to the fullest. As reckless and worrisome as his behaviour is, it isn't until he falls for a certain mysterious blonde that things really spin out of control, triggering a chain reaction that will put the after-lives of our zombific trio in great danger. Brace yourself guys, some seriously nasty brain-goo is about to be spilled! 

     Zombies Don't Forgive was SO MUCH FUN! I loved everything from the sparkly dialogues, deliciously nerdy humor (for example: Maddy finds her brain-supplier on a website called Zombies 'R Us. Her own nickname there is Living Dead Girl. Total WIN!) to the non-stop action and jaw-dropping plot twists. From the moment Val stepped onto the scene, I knew she was going to be trouble. I really loved Maddy and Dane for doing everything in their power to protect Stamp, whether that meant dressing up as survey-takers and snooping around or risking their after-lives to save his skin. Their friendship had its good and bad moments - they were annoying the not-exactly-living souls out of each other while sharing a closet-size apartment - but they were always there for each other. Even having to deal with the painfully awkward romantic situation they found themselves in (I guess you could call it a Living Dead Love Triangle) didn't destroy the strong bond between them. 

     I really like the fact that we got to learn a little bit more about the Sentinels in this book. On top of that, we were introduced to the Keepers (who are somewhere between the Sentinels and the Ancients). Rusty Fischer expanded the world we knew from book one, adding new, interesting aspects to it and therefore making the story even more exciting. The ending - as well as all the heartbreaking, gut-twisting events leading up to it - was totally unpredictable and eye-popping. I could not believe where the story went, though I must say it was such a brilliant development! In short, I was blown away (yet again), impressed and deeply satisfied. 

     I laughed a lot while reading this book, but I also worried, got angry and bawled. And I'm pretty sure I growled a couple times, too. Yes, this book is a zombielicious fun fest - hilarious, entertaining and quirky - but it's also so much more than that. It's a sweet, warm and meaningful story of friendship, love, survival, revenge and sacrifice. Not some shallow paranormal romance filled with cheap jokes and brainless action, but rather something deeper, more thoughtful and emotionally engaging. Most importantly, Fischer's characters are blissfully angst-and-drama-free. Zombies Don't Forgive is no sullen-Cullen mope-fest, it's a cool, original story that will seriously rock your boat! 

     In the end, despite the fact that all (or almost all) the characters in Zombies Don't Forgive are dead, cold and pretty stiff (literally speaking), the story itself has a beautiful beating heart. From beginning to the end, it's funky, fresh and full of incredible energy. And the only thing I could possibly complain about is having to wait so long for the next book in the series!



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