Jesse Petersen: Married with Zombies

In a debut novel and first in a series, Jesse Petersen seems to know the best thing to fix any relationship problem....A Zombie Apocalypse:

Sarah and David have become a typical couple, they fell in love, got married and now they are struggling to keep the spark that was their marriage alive. They each blame the other one for their situation but they are trying couples counselling to try to make it work. On their trip to see the counsellor they notice that things are a little off in Downtown Seattle. The usual traffic jam is non-existent and the all known security officer seems to be missing from his post. None of these things would have set off red flags for either Sarah or David but when your counsellor is chewing on the patients that were supposed to be before you, it is time to face the facts quickly. Sarah and David may still need to work on their marriage and issues, but there is nothing like killing zombies to get some of that anger out. They may be at odds about what to do next, but they know they have a better chance of survival if they stick together. But how long can it last with the zombie apocalypse happening right on their door step, and no one would really question if you decided to kill your spouse.

The best way I can describe this book is a good easy fast cute read (can you describe a zombie book as cute when the zombies are brain eating monsters?). Any ways, you get the funniness that is Sarah and David’s relationship and the guts of killing zombies but this book never really makes it into the horror or extremely violent categories in my opinion. There were times that I laughed out loud as they tried to determine what to do next and often they were at odds with each other, all the while killing some zombies in their wake.

Who knew a zombie plague could help save a marriage and I don't mean kill your spouse kind of save. The two main characters are fun and funny as they were trying to save their marriage pre-zombie plague and not are kind of stuck with each other post zombie plague and they still have quite a few issues to work out. But really what better way to get some anger out than taking out a zombie or two or three. I liked that Petersen kept Sarah and David's relationship very true even after the zombies started appearing, I mean it is not like they are going to change overnight.

You do not really get to know each main characters individually as Sarah and David are always together and really the story is premised about them being together. I would be surprised if Petersen decided to ever have them apart as their relationship and banter is such a key aspect of this story. This does not mean you do not get to know the personalities of the character, but you really do find out more about what caused their marriage to fail. It is more about how they interact with each other and what is going on in the world around them, than getting to know them on an individual basis.

Overall, this is a fun read, that I was able to get into and I think that this was due to Petersen being able to find a balance between the cuteness, comedy and zombie violence in this book/premise, which I think will help this book appeal to more people. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Enjoy!!!

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Angela Marsons: Evil Games

While I do not think that it is completely necessary to read the first book in this series to understand the relationships and who Kim is in order to enjoy this book. I think you would be doing yourself a disservice of not reading Silent Scream as it was an awesome debut novel and I highly recommend it.

There are a series of murders and events happening that do not seem to be connected, yet D.I. Kim Stone has a feeling that there is more to these murders than meets the eye. Convicts who were doing well on their programs are all of a sudden taking part in revenge killings, but nothing seems to link them. Kim doesn't know it yet but she is up against a sociopath who likes to know the weaknesses of everyone who comes into contact with her and she is determined to make Kim on of her victims. As Kim struggles with trying to put the cases together, she realizes that her own past is about to be brought to the forefront and she just might not be able to handle the consequences. A cat and mouse game of the minds is about to occur and it is winner takes all.

When you read not only an amazing debut but one that is going to be part of a new series, you often wonder if the author can follow up with another great read and Marsons does it in spades. Often I find that once authors have a formula that works they tend to stick to it, this is not true to with Marsons. In Evil Games, Marsons creates a whole new set of cases and adversaries for Stone and her team to be up against. It was also interesting that Marsons decided to put Kim up against as Sociopath instead of a Psychopath (thank you for doing something different) which adds whole new elements to the story and Kim as a character but also Marsons' ability to create an interesting plot.

Kim is a fantastic character, yes she is damaged, she really does not hide it (but hides the context of it really well), but I really appreciated that Marsons forced Kim to, start to overcome the damage parts of her that her past has caused. This shows to me that Marsons is going to let Kim grow and change as a character over time, which I think is needed in every series.

In this book you know in one case that Kim and her team are working who the bad guy (or gal in this case) is, however, unlike other novels that have done this, Kim is aware of who the criminal is as well but she is struggling to put everything together. I liked that I was not waiting for the main character to catch up with the information that you, as the reader, already know. While reading it and Kim's struggles you feel more part of the investigation and the frustration that Kim has than just waiting for her to play catch up. I loved the interlude of word play between Alex and Kim as each tries to dismantle the other mentally. This book has the true cat and mouse game between the two of them and you never really know which one is the cat and which is the mouse.

What I like about Marsons' writing is that she understands that Kim and her team will never work just one case at a time. There are always new major crimes cases that need to be solved and you have to split your time, energy and team between them. This to me sounds very true for any police team, constantly pulled in more than.

Marsons is fast becoming one of my favourite mystery/thriller authors out there and I hope that she can keep up the awesome ideas and writing. I am looking forward to the third book, Lost Girls, in her D.I. Kim Stone series, is a must pick up and read for me.

Enjoy!!

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HAPPY 5 YEAR BLOGOVERSAY TO ME!!!

 

Holy Smokes (...Batman...), I cannot believe that it has already been 5 years since I started my own book review blog. Seriously where did the time go?? Well it went to reading some amazing novels (and well some not so great ones too) and meeting the ever growing book blog community. Just want to say thank you to all the awesome, amazing and cool people who I have met through this site and others, who share the love of books and want to share it with the world. I also want to say Thank You to all the authors this year who took the time to participate in my Blogoversary event with an Interview and/or Giveaway.

 

Here's to another Great Year at Blood Rose Books :)

 

Oh and speaking of giveaways, today is the last day to enter, so get you name in :)

You can find a link to all the giveaways this year HERE

George R. R. Martin: A Feast for Crows

I'm going to go with the majority of the population knows that this book is part of the series and how can you really jump in at book four without reading the first three; Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords.

As the dust settles from the previous battles and everyone looks to see where everything will settle, the crows look to pick amongst the survivors for new allies, alliances and ways to gain control and rule the seven kingdoms. In the wake of the battles, new people will rise, fall, suffer and die, only time will tell who will survive the Feast of Crows.

When I first saw the title is made me think there was going to be even more death as that is what I think is implied but comparatively there are not as many as the other books. I think that Martin knew that he had to give the readers a break from all the heartbreak. It was interesting that Martin decided to start the novel off with brand new characters but I guess if you keep killing characters off (especially those that everyone likes), you need to add some new ones in, which is why you get a few more in this book plus some people who were just a side note in previous books have full chapters dedicated to them.

There seem to be a lot of main characters missing within this book and only a few chapters from some characters I have come to love (I have read the book after this and found out that Martin decided that he needed to divide this book into two books in order to tell the story better, which I will agree with now but at the time I was reading this I was like where did everyone go). For me this novel was all about the women characters. They had the most interesting storylines when compared to the men in this book.

I found I liked Brienne more and more in this book but if I have to read "A highborn maid of three-and-ten, with a fair face and auburn hair" one more time I'm going to start pulling my hair out. I want to go back and count how many times she says this sentence as it became so annoying by the end of the book. However, I am really drawn to Brienne's loyalty and never wavering from the task that she is given even if they seem impossible. She has so much honour that she puts all the other knights to shame but this can also be her downfall as well.

I think one of my favourite things in this books is it shows the power of manipulation that Cersie has over people and the plans that she tries to act out. Cersie knows what her powers she has and these mainly stem from her beauty and her body and while she is rash and quick to anger there is no one in this book that is good of as manipulator as her. Men and women no one is really safe from her manipulations once she starts, she really is not even safe from herself.

There is really only mention of the Dragons in this book we do not have any new information about what is happening across the sea and there is no information about Tyrian as well. Only that people are looking and searching for information of both. I know I was disappointed that Tyrain was not in this book, as I found I missed the humour that he provided but as stated above Martin could not have every character in this book.

Well only one more book to go before I have caught up on this series and can start watching the HBO one as I heard that it is quite good, though mixes some of the books together in the seasons. I'm actually surprised that Martin has yet to release the next book in this series as to how popular it is. I just hope it is before I read the last one so I do not have wait along with the rest. This series continues to intrigue and surprise me and if you are a fan of the surviving women in this series you will enjoy this book too.

Enjoy!!!!

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Author Interview: Angela Marsons

In the past year I have read some great mystery and thriller novels, however, my Favourite debut author within these genres was Angela Marsons. Her debut novel Silent Scream had the perfect mix of thrills, mystery, great characters as well as what felt like a true to life police procedural (I have also read her second book Evil Games with a review to come but it is great as well). Angela knows how to push the boundaries with the first two novel and each book is not a copy of the other (which we all know can happen in series).

Please Welcome to Blood Rose Books Today:

Angela Marsons

Your first works as an author were self-published, what was the process like from going from a self-published author to signing a four book deal with Bookouture? And speaking with your book deal, I know that it was for 4 D.I. Kim Stone novels but how many books do you imagine the series could go for?

My self-published books were stories that I wrote before I turned to crime, in a fictional sense of course! Both stories burned inside me as I have always been interested in exploring the complexities of relationships.  I didn’t actually try to market the books at all and had maybe a couple of sales each month.  I have been trying for over 20 years to share my work and Bookouture finally gave me a chance to do this.  I was originally signed for four books but am now signed for eight Kim Stone novels.  I have a Kim notebook where I write all my ideas for issues I would like her to explore so there are quite a few ideas to work through yet.

Your series featuring D.I. Stone is within the mystery/thriller genre which is a hard genre to get a following in as there are many well-known and well followed authors within it. How do you think that your novels differ from other authors within this genre?

Oh, good question. I can only really go on what readers have said which is they enjoy the odd splash of humour and the banter between the two main characters.  I think also because I spent many years writing character driven stories it is now second nature to really make the characters as full and realistic as I possibly can, even if they only have a small part.  I still have to know everything about them. 

What do you think are the essentials to make a great crime thriller novel?
I love to read crime too and for me I have to be behind the main character. I don’t necessarily have to like them but I have to understand them.  Another thing I look for is the posing of questions and answers.  One of my favourite books ever is Disclosure by Michael Crichton.  It’s the only book that caused me to call in sick for work as I couldn’t put it down.  After reading it once I had to read it again to understand how he had reeled me in so successfully.  I found that he would only answer one question once he had posed another that I absolutely had to know before putting the book down.

What do you think would be the hardest or most challenging genre to write a novel in and why?

I think I would struggle to write a horror book.  It is the genre that I am least attracted to reading as I can only read about blood and gore for so long before I am totally inured against it so I don’t think I could write a horror novel.

What I appreciate of your novels so far is that there is never just one case there are always more that require the Detective Inspectors attention, and to me this rings really true to an actual police section. What type of research have you done to ensure that the police environment is accurate?

I used to work quite closely with the police in my old job as a Security Manager but I also have the Police procedure book (PACE Regulations) on my shelf to make sure I get the offences and wording correct.  Anything I’m not sure of I check on the internet to make sure I’m getting the most current information.  I like to have a couple of cases in the books so that if the reader guesses the culprit of the main case there is still a little bit of mystery.

D.I. Kim Stone has found her refuge in salvaging and rebuilding old motorcycles is it you or someone you know that has the passion for motorcycles and restoration of them?

I used to ride a moped for many years but I don’t think that counts! I just knew that anything Kim did in her spare time would have to involve a puzzle of some kind because her brain never stops working and she finds it hard to switch off.  As soon as I thought about restoring old motorcycles I knew that was the right thing for her character.  I like that she rides brand new powerful motorcycles but likes to restore the classics.

In your novel Evil Games, you really put Kim mentally to the test with her battle against a Sociopath, why did you choose Sociopath over Psychopath? I’m attached to Kim as a reader was it hard to put her through that as her creator?

Blimey, that is a fantastic question.  I chose sociopath for a few reasons.  The first is that the association with the term psychopath tends to be that of a violent killer.  That isn’t the picture I had in my head for Alex.  Sociopaths exist in plain sight and are often charming. They are not necessarily killers but they want what they want and will do anything necessary to get it.  I wanted to pit Kim against someone equally as intelligent as she is and I wanted the battle to be more psychological than physical.  It’s interesting for me as her creator to push her character as far as I think I can go. 

Silent Scream and Evils Games are very dark themed novels what appeals to you about the dark and disturbing aspects of human nature?

I’ve always been interested in psychology and behavior.  As a child I wanted to understand the logic and reasoning behind people’s actions.  As I grew up this only intensified and I turned into a real people watcher.  I am totally fascinated by the workings of the mind and love to explore these subjects.  I think also that as I read factual books I am constantly haunted by the ‘ooh, that would make a great storyline ghost that sits on my shoulder.

Do you have any information on upcoming works or events that you are able to share? I have to ask can you give us a little tidbit of what is coming up in book number three?

Yes, book three is called Lost Girls and will be available on 6^th November.  In this case Kim is working against the clock in an intense kidnap situation where the families of two little girls are set against each other in an auction system for the life of their child.


What is one book on your shelf that you cannot wait to read (can either be a new or old favorite).

There are so many books that I want to read but I’m particularly keen to get started on the Justice series by M A Comley.

I want to thank Angela once again for being part of my Blogoversary.I highly recommend her D.I. Kim Stone series as I do not think you will be disappointed with it, the series has become a must read for me and I am looking forward to the next book Lost Girls.

Interview & Giveaway: Emily Goodwin

During the past year I kept seeing a book called Stay by Emily Goodwin and I will admit the cover kind of threw me off a bit as a potential read for me (I'm not the biggest fan of romance novel or erotica novels which is what I thought it was). But I threw caution to the wind and picked up the book. Holy Crap my expectations were blown out of the water, it was such a dark contemporary read that I could not put the book down. This was my introduction to Emily Goodwin and I have not looked back :)

Please Welcome to Blood Rose Books Today:

 

Emily Goodwin

If there was one author you could co-write a novel with (they can be alive or dead) who would you choose and why?

Co-writing with GRR Martin would be an experience, that’s for sure! I’m a fan of HEAs and love stories, and he’s, well, not LOL. It’d be so interesting to see what we’d come up with together.

 

In your Contagium series, it is all about fighting off the living dead, or otherwise known as Zombies. Zombies have become the new Vampire or werewolf (everywhere you look there is a new Zombie novel/TV show/movie out there) in the horror, paranormal and urban fantasy genres, why do you think that zombies have become so popular? What about the zombie apocalypse appealed to the writer in you?

I actually wrote the story because I wanted to write a love story set in an apocalyptic setting. I personally like the appeal of finding reason to live when everything around you is dead. There is the fun gore, violence, weapon use, and survival skills in post apoc books, but seeing people find that reason to keep going is what drew me into the zombie genre, and I think others look for that too.

What do you think takes a book from just a good scare or thriller to a horror novel? Are there certain elements that you think need to be there to classify a book into the horror genre?

I think that’s a tough thing to categorize, because what scares one person doesn’t scare another. I never intended to write “horror novels” when I wrote the Contagium books, which is very surprising to a lot of people. I do think one thing thrillers and horror novels alike need  is unpredictability and knowing that no one is actually safe—the book world of a horror novel is just as dangerous as it’s real life counter part and anyone can die at any moment.

 

You began writing your novels in the UF / Horror genres with you Contagium series, Guardian series and Beyond the Sea series but you have most recently released a novel in a contemporary genre, with your novel Stay. What inspired you to change genres?

I’ve always written a romance story in a certain setting (paranormal, mermaid/under the sea, post apoc…) and I just go where my muse takes me. I was a little intimidated by the contemporary genre before, but when the idea for Stay hit me, I couldn’t NOT think about it. The characters begged to be written about, and I ended up loving that book so much. I don’t like to label myself as a genre writer, other than saying all my books will feature some sort of romance because I’m a hopeless romantic at heart.

 

What do you think would be the hardest or most challenging genre to write a novel in and why?

Anything historical would be the hardest, and I have to give so much credit to those who write in that genre. There is a lot of fact-checking and making sure you get things right for the time period.

 

I really enjoyed your novel Stay, it had me hooked from the first few pages, however, Stay has been described as being in several different genres, Dark Romance, Erotica and from me personal contemporary thriller and these titles can affect who picks up your book to read it. What genre do you believe that your novel Stay belongs in? Were you surprised to find out that Stay has been banned not once by twice?

I consider Stay a dark romantic thriller. The romance between the two main characters drives the plot and eventually leads to the big turning point towards the end of the book (no spoilers! J) Without the romantic relationship, Adeline would have lost her drive to keep going, so the romance is really important. I don’t consider it erotica, but I can see how the subject of sex trafficking can make it so to some people. I was shocked to see it get banned the first time. I didn’t know books could get banned for dark subject matter that didn’t push extreme boundaries (like incest or child porn). I know Stay is a tough read, but I do not feel it was right to ban it at all. Readers have the right to read whatever they want.

 

Your novel Stay is about human smuggling/trafficking/forced prostitution, what type of research did you do for this novel?

I spoke with FBI agents from my area who’s focus was on busting human trafficking operation and did a lot of reading on the subject from survivors of trafficking and from organizations that help victims. It’s scarily shocking to know how common this is, especially now that I have a daughter and another on the way!

 

All of your novels within each series have some dark aspects and elements not just in human nature but dark themes as well, what appeals to you about writing about the darker side of things?

Life is dark. Humans have a dark side. It’s easy to avoid it and look for the sun, but sooner or later the darkness comes out and we have to face it. I like to push my characters to the breaking point and see how they handle the dark times, and how they come out better and stronger. Because without the dark, we wouldn’t appreciate the light.

 

Do you have any information on upcoming works or events that you are able to share?

Yes! My next book is called Never Say Never, and is my favorite book I’ve ever written! It’s a raw, emotional NA romance about finding your own happiness and second chances.

 

What is one book (other than one of your own) that you think should be a must read for everyone?
The entire Harry Potter series. If you haven’t read these books, I don’t know how you are functioning in life. It’s more than just fantasy. The books cover so much, from friendship to doing the right thing instead of the easy thing. I really think all the books should be required reading in school!

I want to say Thank You once again to Emily for being part of my blogoversary. Today is actually the release day of her latest novel NEVER SAY NEVER and Emily has very kindly offered up a giveaway (INT) for her newest release, so make sure to enter the rafflecopter gieaway below.

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