Blog Tour: The Harvesting by Melanie Karsak Review

Title: The Harvesting.
Author: Melanie Karsak.
Publication Date: September 13th, 2012.
Publisher: Steampunk Press.
Format: Kindle eBook & Paperback.
Age Group: New Adult/Adult.
Genre: Horror and Fantasy, Zombie.
Tour organized by: AToMR Tours.
Source: Recieved e-copy for blog tour.
My Rating:


It's all fun and games until someone ends up undead.

Though Layla reluctantly returns home to rural Hamletville after a desperate call from her psychic grandmother, she could never have anticipated the horror of what Grandma Petrovich has foreseen. The residents of Hamletville will need Layla's help if they are to survive the zombie apocalypse that's upon them. But that is not the only problem. With mankind silenced, it soon becomes apparent that we were never alone. As the beings living on the fringe seek to reclaim power, Layla must find a way to protect the ones she loves or all humanity may be lost.

Amazon UK Amazon US Book Depository

Review

I received an eBook copy of this book for a blog tour, in exchange for an honest review.

Layla is living successfully and happily in New York when she receives a rather anxious and demanding phone call from the psychic Grandmother that raised her. Layla’s Grandma demands that she must return to her home town straight away, and then hangs up without giving a reason. When Layla arrives, she finds her Grandmother has been stockpiling supplies, getting rid of unnecessary objects and sends Layla out on errands to gather even more necessities – all, again, without telling her what’s going on. Her Grandma teachers her how to load and shoot the firearms she’s stocked up on, and puts her into an induced sleep. Once Layla awakens, she finds the Zombie Apocalypse has spread to her town, turning many of the people into flesh eating Zombies, her Grandma is missing and she now has psychic abilities. However, Layla has to push all that aside as she tries her best to protect the town and the people in it; who have all of a sudden turned to her for guidance.

The Harvesting was a great New Adult/Adult post apocalyptic and fantasy novel all squished into one. I liked this book, I really did; it contained humour and just enough romance to satisfy my girlish need. However there were quite a few things that just irritated me, didn’t seem to fit or I found brought the rating of the book down in general.

Layla, our main character, is the kick-ass heroine who appears in town and helps save the day - pretty predictable, right? Although I liked Layla’s character overall, I didn’t feel that she was very well developed at all. Layla is a fencing/martial arts sword instructor and curator. As the book progressed, I kept hoping that we’d find out more about Layla’s character, past and personality but I was disappointed. She has bad history in the town, leaving after a messy breakup with her high school sweetheart four years ago and hasn’t returned since. The only characteristics I managed to pick up from Layla is that she’s strong-willed, a great sword wielder and a natural born leader.

Throughout the entire novel, we meet quite a few new people from the small town. Although they’re pretty much glossed over and not well described; it was fun to read about them as they blended into the story. Two people we meet in particular are Ian and Jamie, who are brothers from the town. Ian is Layla’s high school sweetheart and ex-boyfriend. I hated Ian from the start, not just because of the things he did to Layla in the past, but because his character was a complete and utter jerk. Jamie is a sweet and kind guy, who’s just come back to the town from being in Iraq as a medic. I loved Jamie from the start, he was such an easy going guy that you could tell that Layla could fully relax and be herself around him.

Although I was disappointed not to know more about the characters personalities, it didn’t stop me from wanting to continue reading this novel. I did find that the novel was constantly jumping from scene to scene; often jumping a month or so into the future with no pre-warning – which was really annoying and hard to keep up with. I also wished there was a lot more detailing than there was, it felt like the author was just gliding over the details and important information. Whether this was intentional or not, I found it slightly frustrating.

The story had so many different aspects to it, which I loved. There was plenty of Folklore, fairies, magic, weapons and battles to keep any fantasy and post-apocalyptic enthusiasts entertained for a while. At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about all these different aspects, seeing as I at first I thought it was just a Zombie novel, but the more I read the more interesting and appealing it was. Along with being a post-apocalyptic novel, we meet another super-natural being – which I thought was totally out of place at first – but looking back, I realised it helped make the novel what it was.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book; it had so many different twists and turns that I never knew what would happen next. Unfortunately, I did only rate it 3/5 stars because of the aspects mentioned above. Melanie Karsak’s writing was completely different from what I’ve read before and I’ll be sure to check out the sequel to this book, The Shadow Aspect, when it’s released!

Quotes

“If you ever need to slice someone’s head off, this is the blade you want,” I said as I lifted a curved sword off the table in front of me. - Loc 49, 1%.

“Layla, we need more weapons. We’ve cleared out the Lewis’ shop and the Sheriff’s Office, but it’s still not enough. And we really need more ammo,” Will said.
“What about the VFW? They got anything there?” I asked.
Will shook his head. “Just antiques.”
“They’ve got a working cannon. We could use that,” Jeff said.
“Dude, what are you gonna do with a cannon? We’re not fighting the British Armada,” Will replied. Jeff gave Will the finger. - Loc 984, 23%.

KiKi pulled off the headphones. I dropped the paper and pushed open the window. “Jump,” I told KiKi. Following behind her, I bounced out of the window. For the second time, I landed on the roof of the porch. I did not like that this was becoming a trend. - Loc 2919, 69%.

Website | Good Reads | Twitter | Facebook
Melanie Karsak, steampunk connoisseur, white elephant collector, and caffeine junkie, resides in Florida with her husband and two children. Visit the author at her blog to learn more about upcoming projects, book signings, and other neato things.

You can follow the rest of the tour here! :)

Review: The Harvesting by Melanie Karsak

Title: The Harvesting.
Series: The Harvesting, #1.
Author: Melanie Karsak.
Publication Date: September 13th, 2012.
Publisher: Steampunk Press.
Format: Kindle eBook.
Source: Recieved e-copy for blog tour.
My Rating:



It's all fun and games until someone ends up undead.

Though Layla reluctantly returns home to rural Hamletville after a desperate call from her psychic grandmother, she could never have anticipated the horror of what Grandma Petrovich has foreseen. The residents of Hamletville will need Layla's help if they are to survive the zombie apocalypse that's upon them. But that is not the only problem. With mankind silenced, it soon becomes apparent that we were never alone. As the beings living on the fringe seek to reclaim power, Layla must find a way to protect the ones she loves or all humanity may be lost.

Amazon UK Amazon US Book Depository

Layla is living successfully and happily in New York when she receives a rather anxious and demanding phone call from the psychic Grandmother that raised her. Layla’s Grandma demands that she must return to her home town straight away, and then hangs up without giving a reason. When Layla arrives, she finds her Grandmother has been stockpiling supplies, getting rid of unnecessary objects and sends Layla out on errands to gather even more necessities – all, again, without telling her what’s going on. Her Grandma teachers her how to load and shoot the firearms she’s stocked up on, and puts her into an induced sleep. Once Layla awakens, she finds the Zombie Apocalypse has spread to her town, turning many of the people into flesh eating Zombies, her Grandma is missing and she now has psychic abilities. However, Layla has to push all that aside as she tries her best to protect the town and the people in it; who have all of a sudden turned to her for guidance.

The Harvesting was a great New Adult/Adult post apocalyptic and fantasy novel all squished into one. I liked this book, I really did; it contained humour and just enough romance to satisfy my girlish need. However there were quite a few things that just irritated me, didn’t seem to fit or I found brought the rating of the book down in general.

Layla, our main character, is the kick-ass heroine who appears in town and helps save the day - pretty predictable, right? Although I liked Layla’s character overall, I didn’t feel that she was very well developed at all. Layla is a fencing/martial arts sword instructor and curator. As the book progressed, I kept hoping that we’d find out more about Layla’s character, past and personality but I was disappointed. She has bad history in the town, leaving after a messy breakup with her high school sweetheart four years ago and hasn’t returned since. The only characteristics I managed to pick up from Layla is that she’s strong-willed, a great sword wielder and a natural born leader.

Throughout the entire novel, we meet quite a few new people from the small town. Although they’re pretty much glossed over and not well described; it was fun to read about them as they blended into the story. Two people we meet in particular are Ian and Jamie, who are brothers from the town. Ian is Layla’s high school sweetheart and ex-boyfriend. I hated Ian from the start, not just because of the things he did to Layla in the past, but because his character was a complete and utter jerk. Jamie is a sweet and kind guy, who’s just come back to the town from being in Iraq as a medic. I loved Jamie from the start, he was such an easy going guy that you could tell that Layla could fully relax and be herself around him.

Although I was disappointed not to know more about the characters personalities, it didn’t stop me from wanting to continue reading this novel. I did find that the novel was constantly jumping from scene to scene; often jumping a month or so into the future with no pre-warning – which was really annoying and hard to keep up with. I also wished there was a lot more detailing than there was, it felt like the author was just gliding over the details and important information. Whether this was intentional or not, I found it slightly frustrating.

The story had so many different aspects to it, which I loved. There was plenty of Folklore, fairies, magic, weapons and battles to keep any fantasy and post-apocalyptic enthusiasts entertained for a while. At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about all these different aspects, seeing as I at first I thought it was just a Zombie novel, but the more I read the more interesting and appealing it was. Along with being a post-apocalyptic novel, we meet another super-natural being – which I thought was totally out of place at first – but looking back, I realised it helped make the novel what it was.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book; it had so many different twists and turns that I never knew what would happen next. Unfortunately, I did only rate it 3/5 stars because of the aspects mentioned above. Melanie Karsak’s writing was completely different from what I’ve read before and I’ll be sure to check out the sequel to this book, The Shadow Aspect, when it’s released!

Quotes

“If you ever need to slice someone’s head off, this is the blade you want,” I said as I lifted a curved sword off the table in front of me. - Loc 49, 1%.

“Layla, we need more weapons. We’ve cleared out the Lewis’ shop and the Sheriff’s Office, but it’s still not enough. And we really need more ammo,” Will said.
“What about the VFW? They got anything there?” I asked.
Will shook his head. “Just antiques.”
“They’ve got a working cannon. We could use that,” Jeff said.
“Dude, what are you gonna do with a cannon? We’re not fighting the British Armada,” Will replied. Jeff gave Will the finger. - Loc 984, 23%.

KiKi pulled off the headphones. I dropped the paper and pushed open the window. “Jump,” I told KiKi. Following behind her, I bounced out of the window. For the second time, I landed on the roof of the porch. I did not like that this was becoming a trend. - Loc 2919, 69%.

Review: Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Title: Generation Dead.
Series: Generation Dead, #1.
Author: Daniel Waters.
Publication Date: May 6th, 2008.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster.
Format: Paperback, 393 pages.
Source: Bought.
My Rating:



The dead boy reached for her, his pale eyes glowing in the darkness.

All over the country, teenagers who die aren't staying dead. Against her better judgement, Phoebe finds herself drawn to Tommy Williams. He's gorgeous, funny, on the football team. And dead. But not everybody is as accepting as Phoebe. There are those who would like the rid the community of this sinister phenomenon, and they'll stop at nothing to achieve it...

Phoebe is pretty much like any other teenage girl, apart from the fact that she’s a Goth. Oh, and the fact that she has a crush on a guy named Tommy, who just happens to be a Zombie. All over America, teenagers who die aren’t staying dead – in fact, they’re getting up and walking away from the morgue. A scarce few of the population are fine with this, and are intrigued as to why this is happening. However, the rest of the society isn’t so accepting of the ‘living impaired’, especially when they want to go back to school and live a normal life. People avoid them, the teenagers skirting round them in the corridors and avoiding eye-contact. There are many of people out there who want the dead, well – dead, and will stop at nothing to do so.

I had been looking forward to reading this book for quite a while; however I was quite disappointed in it to say the least. I have to say; I expected more of a Zombie-Human romance story - however it focused more on the aspect of discrimination/prejudice of the Zombie’s or ‘differently biotic’ teenagers (As society is supposed to call them).

The book is told by three different people’s point of views; Phoebe, Adam and Pete – three of our four main characters throughout the book. First off, meet Phoebe - a full-on Goth, who listens to heavy rock music and writes poetry whilst dreaming of being held by a member of the living dead. Phoebe is the character that the storyline bases around and to be perfectly honest, I’m on the fence on whether I really liked her or not. The way she acts throughout some of the book irritated me. Although, her general character was well developed and it was different to read about her and her life. It was interesting to read about a proper Goth character, rather than characters that claim to be Goth, yet never seem to fit the ‘mix’.

Moving onwards; let me introduce Tommy Williams. Tommy is Phoebe’s crush, and the reason the Football team has got its knickers in a twist. He’s a Zombie - big shock there, right? Tommy, like most of the ‘differently biotic’ teenagers, takes a while to get full sentences out, walks rather slowly and is the ‘leader’ of the un-dead kids. There’s not a lot to Tommy’s character, apart from the fact that he seems to like Phoebe, but I guess there’s not much to say about someone whose main characteristics are gone and is a living corpse.

Now, please welcome Pete, a rude and nasty Zombie hater. If I were to allow myself to use more strong language about how much of an ass Pete's character is, I think it’d have to be censored for younger readers. It's not JUST the fact that he hates the Zombies, it's the fact that he thinks it's his DUTY to 'rid the world' of these 'abominations'. The fact that he can’t even let the ‘Zombie’s’ do normal day to day things in life – say, playing on the football team - to him it’s not natural. How is any of it natural at all? In real life, do the dead suddenly get up and walk away? No. But the Zombie’s in this book are obviously here to stay. People are going to continue to become Zombies after death – whether a Zombie plays on the football team or not – so why the heck should the rest of the team care?! Pete obviously doesn’t care about equality and wants rid of the Zombie’s and anyone who’s friends with them. Great guy, huh?

Lastly, let’s give a warm round of applause for Adam – one of Phoebe’s best friends and the cute guy that lives next door to her. Adam is also on the Football team and used to be good friends with Pete, until Pete decided to start a ‘war’ of sorts against the Zombie’s. Adam took Tommy’s side, and stood up for him throughout the book. However, at the beginning, the only reason he did so, was because Adam has the hots for Phoebe; who’s obviously Pro-Zombie. Adam’s character starts off seeming like a usual jock/popular guy, however as the book moves on he really develops into a caring and interesting guy. He drops the whole ‘cool’ act and actually becomes friends with the un-dead kids - he actually starts to care about what happens to them.

It took me quite a while to actually get into this book; It only started to get vaguely interesting well over half way through. In my opinion there was way too much Football talk and action involved. With me not being a sporty person at all, I was bored nearly to tears reading the Football scenes and nearly gave up on the book on several occasions. However, I was determined to finish this book and it turned out to have a better ending than I expected. I knew that I was going to give it 3/5 stars whilst I was still reading the book, mainly because it just didn’t captivate me or interest me enough. I did hope that once I’d finished it I’d be able to bump it up a star, but the overall book just didn’t do it for me. In conclusion, it was a good read, one I may probably read again one day and I’ll probably pick up the sequel to see what happens next – seeing as it was left on a cliff-hanger. Was it the best book I've read? Definitely not. Would I recommend it to a friend? Probably not.

Quotes

"So you never told me how practice was," Phoebe said, turning to look out the windshield. "How was it playing with the corpsicle?" - Page 70.

"She felt Tommy's light touch on her arm. "The music is ... loud?" Tommy said.
"Very."
"We will ... turn it down," he said. "It takes much ... to make the ... dead ... feel." - Page 169.

Phoebe's pulse was racing through her as she struggled for a responce. She wanted to say something to Tommy, something that would make things better for him, but the only response she could come up with was one she was not ready to give. - Page 380.