Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland (Dread Nation book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Dread Nation, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

“After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother.

But nothing is easy when you're a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodermus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880's America.

What's more, this safe haven is not what it appears - as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her.

But she won't be in it alone.

Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by - and that Jane needs her, too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not.

Watching Jane's back, however, is more than she bargained for, and when they both reach a breaking point, it's up to Katherine to keep hope alive - even as she begins to fear that there is no happily-ever-after for girls like her.” - taken from Goodreads.com

Deathless Divide or in which we hear Katherine Deveraux's side of the story. I started this audiobook zombie apocalypse about a week before the COVID-19 lockdown. I had to stop for a while before I could pick it back up. One of my favorite lines from this book made me laugh. “What kind of muttonhead reads Revelations at a time like this.” Told and completely different yet somewhat similar story as the first book, this book not only brings a satisfying conclusion to Jane and Katherine’s story but also provides the reader with the ultimate story of what friendship is.

Visit Justina Ireland’s website.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (Dread Nation book 1)

“Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.” - taken from Goodreads.com

You know you have found an absolutely great book when the first paragraph begins “The day I came squealing and squalling into the world was the first time someone tried to kill me. I guess it should have been obvious to everyone right then that I wasn't going to have a normal life.” Jane McKeene is the mixed-race daughter of a wealthy but quite liberal female white plantation owner in Kentucky. After the war between the states was derailed and the shamblers, aka zombies, started roaming the United States. The war shifted focus to one in which some people tried to get Society to go back to the way it was prior to the war were others we're trying to forge a new country.

How can a zombie book with a wickedly good twist on the American Civil War with a mystery thrown in be side-splitting hilarious? Jane's voice is outstanding as she relates not only her current situation but takes the reader through her backstory before she came to Miss Preston's. The first part of the book begins each chapter with an outtake from a letter Jane has written to her mother white the second half of the book has outtakes of letters that Jane's mother wrote to her. Each chapter's title begins with the words “In which I …”

Dread Nation is one of the best books I've read this year. With all the shot shocking revelations and twists and turns that come at the end, readers will be anxiously awaiting the next book in Jane's adventure.

Book two is expected sometime in 2019. Not soon enough for me.

Visit Justina Ireland’s website.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (Blood of Eden book 1)

“In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.”

Allison Sekemoto barely survives life as an Unregistered. In a post-apocalyptic world where vampires rule, humans are viewed as two things; food and slaves. Registered humans are tattooed as property of Prince Salazar but are available to any vampire for whatever they need. Registered are provided food in exchange for bloodletting once a month. Unregistered must scavenge and steal in order to eke out an existence. If caught, the punishment is death.


Allie lives with her small gang in a dilapiated school. When the food runs out and no more can be found in their sector, she decides to scavenger in the Fringe; the unprotected no man’s land outside the massive walls of the city. Allie should have no problems if she can return to the safety of the city’s walls before darkness falls. Looking through an abandoned house, she comes across a rabid deer. Allie is able to escape unharmed and hides in a backyard shed. While exploring, she notices a trapdoor in the floor. Jackpot! In the underground bunker, the previous resident stored enough food for Allie’s gang to live off of for months. In climbing the shelves, she falls pulling the cans on top of her. When she comes to, she sees that darkness has fallen and the moon is out. The Fringe at night is no place for humans.


On her way back through the abandoned sewage tunnels, Allie is trapped when a group of mole men corner a man. Warning them to back off, one mole man goes down in a heap and a struggle ensues. When the scuffle is over, Allie peers around the corner to find all four men dead. Seeing a valuable flashlight and no fifth body, she decides to risk grabbing it only to be confronted by a vampire. He lets her go without a fight and Allie returns home.


At home, Stick tells Allie that the city is on lockdown because the vampires are supposedly hunting one of their own. She flashes back to the vamp in the tunnels and wonders how he might be involved. The next afternoon, Allie is rudely awakened by Lucas banging on her door. Relieved to see her, Allie tells Lucas about her incredible find. She pushes to go on a retrieval mission before nightfall and the rest reluctantly agree. The boys are ecstatic by her find and gorge themselves. With the rain now a downpour, light is quickly fading and Allie hears a noise. They run back towards the tunnels but quickly run into trouble. The rabids are out and everyone is attacked. Left dying, Allie is found by the vampire from the night before. He offers Allie a deal; die or become a vampire. She decides on an immortal life in her weakened state.


Upon her rebirth, Allie begins to rethink her decision but Kanin, the vampire. Tells her he will help with her adjustment to her new existence. She wants to know if she can be sustained by drinking only non-human blood. Kanin responds by saying, “let me give you your first and most important lesson, Allison Sekemoto – you are a monster. A demon who feeds on human beings to survive." They go into the city to hunt for prey and come across the Blood Angels gang. Without realizing it, Allie quickly is on the offensive and the blood lust quickly sets in. Kanin has to stop her before she kills her first human. He tutors Allie not only in reading, writing and math but vampire history and survival as well. They go to a long forgotten museum storage are and procure a katana as her weapon.


When the Prince’s men discover where they are living, Kanin and Allie must flee the city. Separated, Allie finds herself on her own, not knowing what to do. She wanders in the wilds for several days before she finds an abandoned town and a lost little boy, Caleb, who is hiding. Realizing that he cannot be alone, Allie feels like she must help him. They soon run into his older sister, Ruth, and a boy her own age, Zeke. Ruth is very suspicious of Allie but Caleb begs her to join their small group and Zeke concurs. As a vampire, Allie knows she shouldn’t interact with humans but they may be the only ones she will come across in the wild. Against her better judgment, Allie agrees to join them.

Turns out that Zeke is the “son” of Jeb Crosse, a religious leader who is searching for Eden, a mythical city that is supposedly free of vampires. As Allie assimilates herself into the ragtag group, she begins to wonder how she will ever be able to feed off of her newfound friends, especially when Zeke causes certain emotions to stir in her.


Who exactly is Kanin and why has he taken an interest in Allie? Why is he being hunted by the other vampires? Does Eden exist or is Jeb Crosse leading his group on a wild goose chase? Can Allie come to grips with her true nature? And what happens when Zeke shows an interest in Allie?

Visit Julie Kagawa's website.
Visit The Blood of Eden series website.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth series by Carrie Ryan

Book One - Forest of Hands and Teeth

“In Mary’s world, there are simple truths.

The Sisterhood always knows best.
The Guardians will protect and serve.
The Unconsecrated will never relent
And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village. The fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.”


In the future, all that is left of the world is a village surrounded by a fence. And beyond the fence is the Forest of Hands and teeth. The fence protects the village from the Unconsecrated or zombies who roam there. Mary has grown up hearing stories from her mother that have been passed down through the generations. Stories of a salt water ocean as far as one could see. Eventually Mary stops believing in her mother’s stories when drought strikes the village and “how could God allow so much water to become useless?’


Mary’s father is missing and her mother is the only one in the village who believes he has not become one of the Unconsecrated. Her brother Jed, a Guardian and married to Beth, takes on extra border patrols in hopes of finding their father and killing him before their mother can see what has become of him. People in the village have gone mad at seeing their loved ones among the Unconsecrated.


One day while doing the laundry in the stream, Mary is joined by one of Jed’s brother-in-laws, Harry. Harry is Mary’s age and has come to ask her to join him at the Harvest Celebration. “The Harvest Celebration is the time in the fall when those of marrying age declare themselves to one another” and is the beginning of courtship before marriage in the spring. In the village, marriage is about commitment, not love. Mary is disappointed when Harry informs her that his younger brother Travis has asked Cassandra, her best friend. Mary is a little disappointed but relieved that someone has asked for her rather than a life with the Sisterhood. But before Mary can dread her first kiss with Harry, the warning siren blares. Mary’s thoughts immediately go to her mother and she runs off leaving Harry by the stream.


Mary’s worse suspicions are confirmed when she reaches the village. Her mother was bitten by one of the Unconsecrated and has chosen to go into the Forest and join her husband rather than death. Jed is furious when he learns of his mother’s intentions and sends Mary to live with the Sisters at the Cathedral rather than his house. While living with the Sisters, one of Mary’s duties involves taking care of the injured. One of her patients turns out to be Travis who has broken his leg. Over the course of his stay, the two grow close and admit their feelings for one another. They realize they cannot act upon their feelings as long as Harry has chosen Mary. They are both heartbroken.


The longer Mary lives at the Cathedral, the more she questions her existence and believes there is something beyond the Forest. The Sisters are keeping the village in the dark and Sister Tabitha warns her that her inquisitive nature will be her undoing. When a strange girl, Gabrielle, arrives at the Cathedral, Mary knows she is from the outside and proof that there is something beyond the Forest. She soon disappears and Mary discovers she is now one of the Unconsecrated but still different. Harry comes to Sister Tabitha and claims Mary as his own. She knows she doesn’t belong with the Sisters but cannot imagine life with Harry. She keeps her dream of a life with Travis alive.


Sister Tabitha begins Mary and Harry’s binding ceremony and her hopes are dashed when Travis doesn’t come for her. Harry will do anything to Mary happy. The two are rudely awakened the next morning by the siren and soon learn the village is under attack by the Unconsecrated. Left to fend for themselves, they rescue a young boy and head for the only safe place, a fenced in path between the village and the Forest. Soon they are joined by Cass and Travis and are forced to spend the night before returning to see what is left of their village.


Will they return to their village or will they continue down the path? Who do they encounter from the village? Can Mary put aside her feelings for Travis to be with Harry? Who will join the ranks of the Unconsecrated? Can Mary set aside her dreams of the ocean for love/


Join Mary on her heart-rending journey through this dytopian, post-apoplectic, zombie-infested world of love and loss.

Book Two - The Dead-Tossed Waves

"Gabry knows only one thing: if she is to have any hope of a future, she must face the forest of her mother's past."

Gabry resides in the Oceanside town of Vista. She and her mother live in the lighthouse overlooking the town. Life is simple. With every high tide, Gabry’s mother goes to the beach to decapitate the Unconsecrated or Mudo as the townspeople call them when they wash ashore. When Gabry’s friends decide to sneak into the abandoned amusement park one night, she is reluctant to break the rules. With a little coaxing from her best friend’s brother, Catcher, Gabry climbs over the wall. While the others decide to climb the old roller coaster or dance, Gabry and Catcher go to the carousel. She is thrilled when Catcher admits his feelings and she receives her first kiss. The moment is broken when a lone Mudo or Breaker awakes and attacks the group. Several are bitten and one of the newly turned sets her sights on Gabry. She freezes and Catcher comes to her rescue. Unfortunately Catcher is bitten before dispatching the Mudo. Gabry is horror-stricken and flees from the scene before the Militia arrives at Catcher’s urging.

The next morning, all hell has broken loose in the town. The Council decides to kill those infected and ship off the others to the Recruiters, the military service for the Protectorate, without the benefits. Guilt strikes Gabry since she is the only remaining member of her generation left in town. When she sees that Catcher is missing, she promises Cira, Catcher’s sister that she will find him. Gabry finds the courage to return to the ruins the following night. When she runs into some Mudo, she soon finds a mysterious young man coming to her rescue. Intrigued by him, Elias takes her to where Catcher is hiding. He warns her that Catcher was bitten and will become one of the Mudo soon. He helps her get back to the lighthouse safely and makes her promise not to seek out Catcher again, a promise she doesn’t intend to keep.

When her mother has trouble decapitating a washed up Mudo because she reminds her of someone she knew, a conversation/debate ensues between the two. Gabry thinks wistfully about Catcher talking about the Mudo and refuses to follow her mother’s desire to let it go. “You forget until everything is okay again.” After a heated argument, Gabry’s mother admits she would never forget about her. She mentions her father and presses the issue. Her mother admits to her past and inadvertently says she found Gabry during one of her trips back to the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Gabry is flabbergasted, shocked and angry at her mother’s deception and begins to question the world in which she lives in.

Does Gabry make her way back to Catcher before he becomes one of the Mudo? Who is the mysterious stranger named Elias and why is he in Vista? What happens when Gabry’s mother returns to the Forest of Hands and Teeth and she is left alone?

Book Three -The Dark and Hollow Places

Annah has lived alone in the Dark City for the past three years, ever since Elias left to join the recruiters. His enrollment was for two years and Annah has given up hope that Elias will come back home. On the day she decides to cross the bridge to the Neverlands, Annah suddenly sees her long lost twin sister entering the Dark City. When her companions identified as being infected with the Mudo virus, all chaos breaks out when he jumps into the river to escape. Annah is helpless as she watches her sister be detained by the Recruiters. Annah plans to make her way back into the city and find her sister.


Once back in the city, Annah finds herself in a perilous situation. When a strange man comes to her aid, she is surprised to find it is the same man who was with her sister on the bridge earlier. The two decide to team up together to rescue Annah’s sister and make their way to her apartment to finalize their plans. Upon their arrival, Annah notices a stranger inside and soon realizes that Elias has come back home. Annah is even more shocked to realize the connection between Elias, her sister and her rescuer, Catcher.

Can Annah, Elias and Catcher make their way to the Recruiters’ headquarters to rescue her sister? Will they be able to survive in the Dark City? And what happens when a horde of Unconsecrated follow catcher and Annah’s sister to the Dark City?

This thrilling conclusion to Carrie Ryan’s dystopian trilogy will leave readers rooting for Annah and her companions to the last page.

Visit Carrie Ryan’s website.