Top Ten YA Novels 2014 #7: The Queen of Zombie Hearts by Gena Showalter

Sorry I was late! I was busy yesterday so I couldn't really post anything. Anyway, this book is still awesome no matter what. It's about zombies, minus the apocalypse.

The seventh place belongs to:

The Queen of Zombie Hearts by Gena Showalter

Synopsis:

I have a plan.

We'll either destroy them for good, or they'll destroy us.

Either way, only one of us is walking away.

In the stunning conclusion to the wildly popular White Rabbit Chronicles, Alice "Ali" Bell thinks the worst is behind her. She's ready to take the next step with boyfriend Cole Holland, the leader of the zombie slayers…until Anima Industries, the agency controlling the zombies, launches a sneak attack, killing four of her friends. It's then she realizes that humans can be more dangerous than monsters…and the worst has only begun.

As the surviving slayers prepare for war, Ali discovers she, too, can control the zombies…and she isn't the girl she thought she was. She's connected to the woman responsible for killing—and turning—Cole's mother. How can their relationship endure? As secrets come to light, and more slayers are taken or killed, Ali will fight harder than ever to bring down Anima—even sacrificing her own life for those she loves.

***

Date Read: October 1, 2014

My Review:

http://smoking-hot-books.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-queen-of-zombie-hearts-review.html

My rating: 9/10

***

Top 3 reasons why I like it:

1. It's about zombies, duh. Minus the apocalypse

Zombies are no news to the YA world, especially when it's a zombie apocalypse. When you read a bunch of those zombie apocalypse novels for a prolonged period, things get boring after a while. Here comes Alice in Zombieland, set in a modern world where zombies are roaming around without anyone seeing them (at least, "anyone" that is not a slayer). An absence of zombie apocalypse. I always like reading about zombies. But minus the apocalypse? That's beyond the formula. This was what caught my attention in the first place. I'm glad that I read this trilogy, because the setting is unlike anything I've ever read before.

2. The intensity between Ali and Cole

What can I say? I'm a girl. It's one of those novels where the relationships can get so tense that it feels like you can't really breathe around it. That is exactly the case when I read Through The Zombie Glass. I had to put the book down several times to get over a lot of intense moments. The Queen of Zombie Hearts is slightly less strained, but still potent nonetheless. Things are actually getting deep in the final installment between Ali and Cole because they argue heatedly over something more fundamental, something that can potentially violate Cole's beliefs, instead of trying to clear the misunderstandings between them (which is the case in TTZG). Not to mention that the love between Ali and Cole is extraordinary. A powerful love that, for some reason, very realistic considering this world is too flawed for such love to even exist. I enjoy every single minute of their relationship and I'm sad to let them go, now that the trilogy is over.

3. Ali's sense of humor

Okay, seriously. It's the final hours of the struggle between the slayers and Anima. The slayers will have a pay an unfathomable price to win this war. It's the very definition of nerve-wrecking. However, Ali, being the center of the storm, can still joke and be sarcastic. There's no way I can't respect her. Ali is truly a strong girl and can do well in any emergency situation. I don't consider myself as a girl who laughs a lot, but Ali can get me in the worse situation possible. I salute you, Ali Bell.

***

Why I recommend this book or series:

One sentence: Zombies without the apocalypse.

(Seriously, if you are sick of dystopian novels where there are a bunch of sick mindless bastards running around trying to eat some human flesh out of the survivors, how about putting them in a civilized world?)

***

Do I like the cover?

Not really. It's a tad bit creepy.

***

Top 3 favorite scenes: (Spoiler Alert!)

1. Chapter 2, when Gavin and Ali trash-talk each other

It's probably one of the funniest scene in the book. The ridiculousness that comes out of their mouths got me every single time.

(Okay, I'm serious. the second and the third scene are super spoilery. Please avoid them if you haven't read TQoZH!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)

2. The part where Ali finally regains her memories

Although it's rushed, it's definitely one of the sweetest scenes. I can't read it without smiling. (And I might have cried a little the very first time I read it).

3. The battle before Ali gave herself up to Anima

It's heartbreaking, especially when one of my favorite characters dies. But the description is so fine and detailed that you can't help but admire Gena's writing skills.

***

OTP: Ali/Cole all the way! Come on.

The Queen of Zombie Hearts: Review

Synopsis:

I have a plan.

We'll either destroy them for good, or they'll destroy us.

Either way, only one of us is walking away.

In the stunning conclusion to the wildly popular White Rabbit Chronicles, Alice "Ali" Bell thinks the worst is behind her. She's ready to take the next step with boyfriend Cole Holland, the leader of the zombie slayers…until Anima Industries, the agency controlling the zombies, launches a sneak attack, killing four of her friends. It's then she realizes that humans can be more dangerous than monsters…and the worst has only begun.

As the surviving slayers prepare for war, Ali discovers she, too, can control the zombies…and she isn't the girl she thought she was. She's connected to the woman responsible for killing—and turning—Cole's mother. How can their relationship endure? As secrets come to light, and more slayers are taken or killed, Ali will fight harder than ever to bring down Anima—even sacrificing her own life for those she loves.

***

The Queen of Zombie Hearts is kind of like the previous two books - without those annoying parts. Much better, because as much as I enjoy tension, it's a little too much in Through The Zombie Glass. This book definitely does the ending justice, because it's like a roller coaster ride towards the very end.

Everything seems fine after Ali battles her evil twin in Through The Zombie Glass. Everything starts out witty and humorous at first. But then boom! The chaos begins. I expected that, but what I didn't expect is the heartbreak induced by the death of the four characters. They are not as important as you know, Ali, Cole, you name it. But they made enough impression in the previous two books that I really like them. I know I'm warned, but I'm still surprised to find myself getting sad over these four deaths for a long time.

In some of the books, they either "start with a bang" or "end with a bang"(Or both). The rest is a set-up. In this book, it "starts with a bang". But throughout the set-up it's still intense as hell. It puts me in a situation of drastic ups and downs. It's as action-packed and hot as you can imagine. The book has evolved, I guess, and I love every single second of it.

The book ends in a perfect note, but with consequences. It's actually one of the most unexpected deaths I've ever read. And I cried. I really cried. I'm pretty sure it's not needless, but it's definitely cruel. How can you do this? How can you do this to the team? It's not fair! This totally get me, and I'm not sure I will recover in a short time. 

Nonetheless, the book is perfect and the loose ends are tied neatly. No more stretching, and no rushing off. It's one of the best endings I've ever read.

Rating: 9/10

Through The Zombie Glass: Review

Synopsis:

Zombies stalk the night. Forget blood and brains. These monsters hunger for human souls. Sadly, they've got mine...
Alice Bell has lost so much. Family. Friends. A home. She thought she had nothing else to give. She was wrong.
After a new zombie attack, strange things begin to happen to her. Mirrors come to life, and the whispers of the dead assault her ears. But the worst? A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do very wicked things.
She's never needed her team of zombie slayers more, but ultra bad-boy Cole Holland, the leader and her boyfriend, suddenly withdraws from her...from everyone. Now, with her best friend Kat at her side, Ali must kill the zombies, uncover Cole's secret and learn to fight the darkness.
But the clock is ticking...and if she fails at a single task, they're all doomed.

***

Everything has amplified in this book. It has its perks and drawbacks. And of course, I really like this book, more so than the first one. So it means the perks are way more than drawbacks. I'm going to talk about the drawbacks of the amplification first. Alice has become more annoying (but only for the first half of the book). Her jealousy is taken to a whole new level. But that's the only drawback I can think of. And deep down I know her amplified jealousy is because of her newly found dark side. The fact that she's really strong and controlled and sacrificing in the second half of the book makes up a lot. It's nothing comparing to the goodness of the story.

The awesomeness has been taken to a new level too. And it's freaking awesome. The hardcover of this book is 480 pages. I just don't know how the author can put so many things together and string it perfectly. This should be impossible. Hell, this should be illegal because I just can't put that book down until I finish the whole thing. (Here's the real situation: I want to read the first few chapters of the book and get a good sleep before I read it on the train while going to school. But then every time I check the clock, knowing that it's far too late for my own good, I still can't put that freaking book down. And then the next day I have black smudges under my eyes and I keep rambling about how good this book is and all my friends are staring at me like I'm on crack. Yeah. This book has this kind of power on me.)

Cole and Alice's relationship escalates too. Sure, there are a lot of stumbles, a lot of arguing, and a lot of heartbreak. But they make it through the whole thing. They have so much faith on each other that there's no way to separate them, not even when Cole has a secret and Alice has to battle with her dark self. The author also stays true to a teenage relationship, where passion means everything and stuff. It's reckless, sure. But it shows perfectly that it's a YA novel.

There's no time to get through all the good parts in this book. You just have to read it yourself. And I'm sure you will not regret it.

Rating: 8.5/10

Alice in Zombieland: Review

Synopsis:

She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….


I wish I could go back and do a thousand things differently.
I'd tell my sister no.
I'd never beg my mother to talk to my dad.
I'd zip my lips and swallow those hateful words.
Or, barring all of that, I'd hug my sister, my mom and my dad one last time.
I'd tell them I love them.
I wish... Yeah, I wish.

***

Okay, this book has officially had me. Alice in Zombieland is a retelling of the famous fairy tale Alice in Wonderland. Except of course, we're not talking about Alice in Wonderland here. We're talking about Alice, encountering zombies and determined to fight back. Tempting enough?

Of course, there are parts where I don't really like. Like the fact that Alice is really annoying when she's jealous and she's blind to everything else unless someone forces her to look around and see the truth for herself. I'd admit they're really good parts, though. Because Gena has captured the insecurities and hotheadedness of a teenager really well, which is something rarely seen in other YA novels (because, you know, teens in paranormal fantasies are really sacrificing and strong and stuff and really UNREAL). Finally I got a YA "YA" novel.

Zombies are the best part in book. This is not about some kind of necroa virus (necroa virus? Am I talking about Plague Inc. here?) or some kind of zombie virus that turns people into mindless zombies. While this thought is still amazing, I was like okay, another dystopian novel? (Yeah trust me, that's what I thought the first time I found out about this book). No, zombies are evil creatures. Like they're EVIL. And the world is unaware of these kind of stuff. Somehow that makes the concept of zombies so much better. Needless to say I like it, even though it kind of creeps me out.

I have no idea why I haven't read this book sooner. But trust me, I'm going to read its sequel. Because the first book is a really great start of something zombie.

Rating: 8/10