How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back (White Trash Zombie #4) — Diana Rowland

Publisher: Audible Studios
Released: July 1st, 2014
Genre: Urban fantasy
Source: Audio book purchased
Narrator: Allison McLemore

 

 

It’s zombie versus zombie as the Saberton Corporation declares war against the Zombie Mafia, kidnapping several of their party. It falls to Angel to lead the remnants of her gang halfway across the country to claw their way through corporate intrigue, zombie drugs, and undead trafficking to rescue her friends – and expose the traitor responsible for their abduction.

From Goodreads

*Spoiler alert* IF YOU HAVEN’T READ/LISTENED TO THE FIRST THREE BOOKS, YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS REVIEW

OMG how great is The White Trash Zombie series? So freaking great! This was my introduction to audiobooks and still remains my favourite series to listen to.

Before I get into the book I have to give props to Allison McLemore, the narrator. She is perfection in this series. Not only does she nail the main character’s drawl, but she all the other character voices are distinct without coming off as a parent reading a kid a storybook. (I have a particular love for Angel’s dad’s voice.)

Okay, the book. Holy crap but things have gone to shit in more ways than one. But it wasn’t too much or over the top. With the ongoing story arc of Saberton as the big bad, this was a natural progression. And there are some big, juicy WTF moments that are big, BIG game changers.  A couple of tidbits were thrown at us at the end that left me wondering if one of the secondary characters was going to become a major player in up coming books.

I need to take a second to devote to how much I ship Angel and Phillip. There, I said it. Yeah, Marcus is great, but I really, REALLY want to see something happen between Angel and Phillip.

Angel Crawford is an amazingly fun character. She’s snarky and funny and fearless (usually) and generally doesn’t give a shit what people think of her. She’s had a lot of growth from the first book, but she got a bit annoying in this book at times. She was super insecure through a good part of the book and it turned into whininess sometimes. I understand she was truly out of her element, but the sever insecurity just didn’t feel like it was in tune with what I know of the character. But I still love Angel and will definitely continue with the series.

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Between — Angie Abdou

Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
Released: October, 2014
Genre: adult, literary, Canadian fiction
Source: paperback copy from author for review

 

 

 

Vero and her husband Shane have moved out of the sweet suite above his parents’ garage and found themselves smack in the middle of adulthood―two kids, two cars, two jobs. They are not coping well. In response to their looming domestic breakdown, Vero and Shane get live-in help with their sons―a woman from the Philippines named Ligaya (which means happiness), whom the boys call LiLi. Vero justifies LiLi’s role in their home by insisting that she is part of their family, and she goes to great lengths in order to ease her conscience. But differences persist; Vero grapples with her overextended role as a mother and struggles to keep her marriage passionate, while LiLi silently bears the burden of a secret she left behind at home.

Between offers readers an intriguing, searing portrait of two women from two different cultures. At the same time, it satirizes contemporary love, marriage, and parenthood by exposing the sense of entitlement and superiority at the heart of upper-middle-class North American existence through a ubiquitous presence in it: the foreign nanny. Angie Abdou comically and tragically tackles the issue of international nannies by providing a window on motherhood where it is tangled up with class, career, labour, and desire.

From Goodreads.

 

This book. OMG THIS BOOK! I loved it SO HARD. It was beautiful and awkward and messy and real.

Okay, Vero: I don’t think I’ve ever read such an unlikeable yet completely sympathetic character. I mean, I spent most of the book not really liking her but at the same time I felt so goddamn bad for her and wanted to take her out for a tea or buy her some lavender essence oil or something. And I love when I’m conflicted about a character. Purely good or purely bad characters just don’t do it for me.

Ligaya was also a well-written, complicated character who really comes into her own by the end of the book. There’s one scene at the end with Ligaya, Vero and Shane and I was all like, “You go LiLI! You tell them how it is!” It was cool to watch her gain confidence in a very unexpected way.

Seriously, guys, the imperfections of all the characters are described perfectly.

Abdou’s use of language is exquisite and if I were to quote all of my favourite lines this review would be, well, pretty much the whole book. I rarely ever include direct quotes in my reviews, but here are two that took my breath away:

“The smile let Vero feel the earth under her feet.” — page 272

“The silence that follows is palatable, the air heavy with it. Vero imagines scooping it into her mouth, eating it like ice cream.” — page 293

I really can’t recommend this book enough. As with Abdou’s other books, Between will take its place on my favourite reads bookcase.

Molly Miranda: Thief for Hire — blog tour

I am SO FREAKING HAPPY to be taking part in this blog tour. I was the developmental editor for this book and I heart it so much.  A big thanks to Jillianne Hamilton for answering some questions I had been DYING to ask her.

Do you have any writing rituals? (certain snacks, clothing, times of day etc.)
I tend to write on weekends, usually in the afternoon or evening. Comfortable clothes are a must. I used to require a can of Coke when writing but I weaned myself off of pop last year. Hurray!

Do you listen to music when you write? If so, do you have a Molly Miranda playlist?
I almost always play instrumental music when I write. The soundtracks to “The Social Network, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and “Small Apartments” are fantastic for that.

Tea or coffee?
Neither, actually! I occasionally drink French Vanilla Cappuccinos from Tim Horton’s but usually I just go for milk or orange juice.

Yoga pants or tights?
Tights! I think I lived in tights and a skirt this summer.

What was the last OMG I LOVE IT book that you read?
Probably The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot. Straight romance usually isn’t my thing but it was so funny. I devoured it in a weekend. I think Meg Cabot has a direct link to my brain.

Who are your writing inspirations?
My girl Meg Cabot, obvs, and Louise Rennison. And maybe Stephen Colbert. And Caitlin Moran.

What is the one book you’d get everyone in the world to read if you could?
That’s a really hard question! I’m going to go with “How to be a Woman” by Caitlin Moran. Between that and the documentary Miss Representation, it really hastened by development as a determined feminist. Plus, Moran is hilarious and charming.

Giveaway time! I have one eBook of Molly Miranda: Thief for Hire to giveaway to one of you lucky ducks. Just comment on this post (yeah I’m old school like that) and I’ll randomly choose someone. You have until February 10, 2015 to enter.