Me on Kim Reaper Volume 1

Title: Kim Reaper Volume 1: Grim Beginnings
Author/artist: Sarah Graley
Release Date: March 13, 2018
Publisher: Oni Press

Like most university students, Kim works a part-time job to make ends meet. Unlike most university students, Kim's job is pretty cool: she's a grim reaper, tasked with guiding souls into the afterlife. Like most university students, Becka has a super intense crush. Unlike most university students, Becka's crush is on a beautiful gothic angel that frequents the underworld. Of course, she doesn't know that. Unaware of the ghoulish drama she's about to step into, Becka finally gathers up the courage to ask Kim on a date! But when she falls into a ghostly portal and interrupts Kim at her job, she sets off a chain of events that will pit the two of them against angry cat-dads, vengeful zombies, and perhaps even the underworld itself. But if they work together, they just might make it... and maybe even get a smooch in the bargain.

Kim Reaper Volume 1: Grim Beginnings is cute and complicated, a story about two college girls, one bubbly and hopeful and the other a grim reaper. And so, like college girls, they have to deal with a lot of things, like crushes and ghosts and dorm parties and zombie hordes, but they'll make it out in the end. Right?

Becka is cute and boisterous, spending her time in class staring at the back of current crush Kim's head. Dreaming of dates and hand-holding and maybe actually talking to her. But what Becka doesn't know, until she falls into a massive portal and follows her, is that Kim in a grim reaper-in-training, guiding souls to the afterlife in order to pay her rent and school fees. Becka gets it, she works part-time at a bakery, but a grim reaper? With all the death and possible danger? With the ghosts and the zombies? That might be too much for Becka. But there's still something about Kim. I liked their dynamic, their relationship. It was rocky at first, because of course it was. Both young women are opinionated and set in terms of what they like and what they don't, so I liked that it wasn't always easy-going.

The art is lots of bubbly fun with a hint of creepy, which comes from the ghosts and skulls and dead things Kim deals with. I like the differences between Becka and Kim, how it's obvious in their expressions and gestures and colour palette that Becka is the cute and fun one that's also not prepared to deal with any drama while Kim is the more serious one, determined to do her job because she actually likes it. I like the look of this comic, it makes me think of Saturday morning cartoons. With dead cats and zombies.

I do think this is the start of something fun, a cute story about two college girls and one's weird but well-paying part-time job. Who knows what will come next? More weird ghosts and hauntings? Kim and Becka going on another date? I found this fun, at times sweet and at times serious, and I'll be keeping an eye out for more.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Oni Press through NetGalley.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (346)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Reign of the Fallen
Author: Sarah Glenn Marsh
Release Date: January 23, 2018
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin imprint)

From Goodreads:

An LGBT fantasy series that follows a talented necromancer who must face down a deadly nemesis who has learned how to turn her magic into a weapon.

Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised--the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.

A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?

A lavish fantasy with a surprising and breathtaking LGBT romance at its core, Reign of the Fallen is a gutsy, unpredictable read that will grab readers by the throat and never let go....

This sounds really interesting. The stars of an LGBTQ fantasy series? Necromancy? Complicated zombie politics? I'm all in. :)

Me on The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume One

Title: The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume One: At the Edge of Empire
Author: Daniel Kraus
Release Date: October 27, 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

May 7, 1896. Dusk. A swaggering seventeen-year-old gangster named Zebulon Finch is gunned down on the shores of Lake Michigan. But after mere minutes in the void, he is mysteriously resurrected. His second life will be nothing like his first. Zebulon's new existence begins as a sideshow attraction in a traveling medicine show. From there, he will be poked and prodded by a scientist obsessed with mastering the secrets of death. He will fight in the trenches of World War I. He will run from his nightmares—and from poverty—in Depression-era New York City. And he will become the companion of the most beautiful woman in Hollywood. Love, hate, hope, and horror—Zebulon finds them. But will he ever find redemption?

The Life and Death of Zebulon Finch, Volume One is the start of an epic story, a look back at beginnings. At the first lifetime that crafted Zebulon Finch and the second that showed him all the horrors and delights of the world.

Zebulon is reflective and bold, not necessarily all that boastful. There are many words he wishes to share with his readers, which makes him a pensive and witty narrator. His tales are full of intricate details, from his childhood in Chicago with his controlling mother, to his time as a member of a gang, to his death and subsequent awakening. To his afterlife full of charlatans and criminals, villains and heroes, people desperate for money or desperate for fame. Or desperate for life. From America to Europe and back again. He wanders through space and time, experiencing, learning. Decaying. Because, with all his adventures and stories, Zebulon Finch is still dead.

It's a curious story with a voice keen to describing every single detail of what occurred to him and around him during his time as a resurrected young man. It's almost 700 pages of description, narration, and reflection on how cruel he once was, how clueless he was, how jaded he was, how battered he was, how smart he was, and how reminiscent he's become.

The idea of this story is intriguing, very intriguing, but I struggled with the overall length of the story. Zebulon has had more than 100 years to ponder life, to wonder about peoples' motivation for their actions. To think about why him, why didn't he die. It's a dark story full of wit and adventure, but it's just so long. If you think you can handle the length, if you are interested in Zebulon's journey from Chicago to Georgia to Boston to France to New York to Hollywood, if you're interested in the story of a dead man discovering what it is to be alive and human, then give this a read.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Simon & Schuster Canada.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (219)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Glittering Shadows
Author: Jaclyn Dolamore
Release Date: June 16, 2015
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

From Goodreads:

The revolution is here. 

Bodies line the streets of Urobrun; a great pyre burns in Republic Square. The rebels grow anxious behind closed doors while Marlis watches as the politicians search for answers—and excuses—inside the Chancellery. 

Thea, Freddy, Nan, and Sigi are caught in the crossfire, taking refuge with a vibrant, young revolutionary and a mysterious healer from Irminau. As the battle lines are drawn, a greater threat casts a dark shadow over the land. Magic might be lost—forever. 

This action-packed sequel to Dark Metropolis weaves political intrigue, haunting magic, and heartbreaking romance into an unforgettable narrative. Dolamore's lyrical writing and masterfully crafted plot deliver a powerful conclusion.

After how the first book ended, I'm very curious as to where this book will go and what will happen to everyone. Also, the new covers are gorgeous. :)

Me on Please Remain Calm

Title: Please Remain Calm
Author: Courtney Summers
Release Date: January 20, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (Macmillan imprint)

Rhys is determined to reunite with Sloane until he discovers people who might need him more--people who offer him the closest he'll get to everything he's lost, if they can just hold on long enough. Rhys thinks he has what it takes to survive and find Sloane, but in a world overrun by the dead, there are no guarantees and the next leg of his journey will test him in unimaginable ways.

Please Remain Calm is a number of things. It's bleak and tense, harsh and brutal. It's an attempt at survival, a constant race against time and zombies. It's an exploration of how far we go and how ruined we become when we're pushed to the brink. It's primal and emotional and frightening.

Rhys wants to survive, it pushes him, it drives him. He has to get away. He doesn't want to die. And he wants Sloane to want to stay alive. But she's already part of the way there, ruined and depressed. Can he keep her alive? Can he make her want to stay alive, stay with him? But the running, the death and destruction, the zombies. It never ends. And in the end, will Rhys still have the strength to continue?

Death follows them, nipping at their heels, breathing down their necks. It is the new constant in their lives, no longer is it clean drinking water or a soft, warm bed to sleep on at night.

I'm okay with how This is Not a Test ended, even though I wasn't at the time. I can see now that it was up to Sloane to make the decision, live or die. Here, it's all up to Rhys.

(I purchased a copy of this e-book.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (197)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Please Remain Calm
Author: Courtney Summers
Release Date: January 20, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (Macmillan imprint)

From Goodreads:

In this gripping sequel to THIS IS NOT A TEST, Rhys and Sloane are headed for a safe haven when they get separated along the way. Rhys is determined to reunite with Sloane until he discovers people who might need him more--people who offer him the closest he'll get to everything he's lost, if they can just hold on long enough. 

Rhys thinks he has what it takes to survive and find the girl he lost, but in a world overrun by the dead, there are no guarantees and the next leg of his journey will test him in unimaginable ways...

I don't usually add e-novellas to WoW posts, but I had to add this one. This is Not a Test was one of the best books I read in 2012, so much so that I still think about it from time to time. It's my favourite Courtney Summers book, possibly because of the zombies. But the way it ended was just so... *flops onto YA angst fainting couch* I need more, and thank you, Courtney, for giving us more. :)

Me on Dark Metropolis

Title: Dark Metropolis
Author: Jaclyn Dolamore
Release Date: June 17, 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Sixteen-year-old Thea Holder's mother is cursed with a spell that's driving her mad, and whenever they touch, Thea is chilled by the magic, too. With no one else to contribute, Thea must make a living for both of them in a sinister city, where danger lurks and greed rules. Thea spends her nights waitressing at the decadent Telephone Club attending to the glitzy clientele. But when her best friend, Nan, vanishes, Thea is compelled to find her. She meets Freddy, a young, magnetic patron at the club, and he agrees to help her uncover the city's secrets-even while he hides secrets of his own. Together, they find a whole new side of the city. Unrest is brewing behind closed doors as whispers of a gruesome magic spread. And if they're not careful, the heartless masterminds behind the growing disappearances will be after them, too.

Dark Metropolis is a mysterious, enchanting, and engrossing story. In a post-war world, people are rebuilding, recovering, but the city sits on top of a secret, a rather dangerous and seemingly impossible one, and discovering it could be treacherous.

I wasn't expecting this book to be told in third person, to follow more than one character through, and under, the city, but it works. Each character followed provides a different piece of the story, it wouldn't be enough if just one character was followed. Thea has her worries, her mission to find Nan and rescue her mother, her concern for other people and not necessarily for herself. Freddy has secrets, more secrets than one would think possible, a curious ability, and in some way he is connected to the biggest secret of all. Nan has her past and her present, her unknown whereabouts coming together with her returning memories. In the end, one way or another, they all come together.

There's a 1920's glamour feel to the setting. It seems to be set in a different world but everything feels a bit old-fashioned, gleaming, sparkling in the night, like the night clubs of the 1920's and 30's. There's a vague sense of optimism in the city as everyone is moving on from a war only recently over, as well as a growing dislike of magic and a growing rebellion against the few who are in charge. As intriguing as the setting, not much is explained about it. The book does seem to be focused more on plot, on the characters, on the present of the story, and not so much the past or any origins.

The author herself has said that the book has zombies, so I don't think that saying there are zombies is a spoiler. It's more about the secret behind their existence, the reason for them being in this world, in the city. They're a different sort of zombie, not a gruesome horror version but one more rooted in magic and unexplainable abilities.

As the story went on I was constantly curious as to what would happen next, what piece of the secret would be revealed next. The pacing was good, it slowed down and sped up but never to the point that I felt bored or rushed. I found the ending satisfying, I didn't feel like I'd been left hanging, annoyed at the prospect of a wait. Knowing there is a second book makes me curious, it makes me wonder what could be coming next.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Disney-Hyperion through NetGalley.)

Me on Necromancing the Stone

Title: Necromancing the Stone
Author: Lish McBride
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Henry Holt (Macmillan imprint)

With the defeat of the evil Douglas behind him, Sam LaCroix is finally getting used to his new life. He hadn't exactly planned on being a powerful necromancer with a seat on the local magical council and a capricious werewolf maybe-kinda-sort-of girlfriend, but things are going fine. Well, no, they're not. He's tired of getting beat up by everyone and their mother, for starters, and his new house seems to hate him. His best friend is now a were-bear, someone's threatening his sister, and while Sam knows he's got a lot of power at his fingertips, he's not quite sure how to use it. When everything starts to fall apart, he decides it's time to man-up and take control, but that only raises more questions. The biggest one: is Douglas really dead?

Necromancing the Stone is a well-written mix of teenage male sarcasm and spooky things that go bump in the night. Whether you see it as a funny horror story or a creepy teen humour novel, it doesn't matter. It's a welcome return to Sam the unexpected and reluctant necromancer drop-out who has issues galore dropped on him and is expected to figure them out before everything goes to hell. Or wherever dead people end up. If they're actually dead.

Sam is back as a ragged and rather unlikely hero. He's not so much a slacker anymore now that's faced death and the evil tool that Douglas was, but he's exhausted. He's being run into the ground by Brid's brothers as they teach him self-defence, he's dealing with a not-so-human butler/assistant he's inherited from Douglas, he's living in a house that's screwing with him, and he's still not quite sure how to use his necromancer powers. Things aren't any easier for Sam this time around.

His relationship with Brid is still complicated as well. It just sort of happened in the first book and it's clearly not your average relationship. It's not every day a college dropout new-to-his-powers necromancer hooks up with a half-werewolf half-fae hound heir to her protective father's pack that is filled with overprotective brothers and skeptical werewolves. I like them together, but considering their positions, it's not easy to be together.

There's also the darker side of the book, the side that's trying to kill Sam. Being a necromancer, Sam's power is in his blood. In any book where blood has to be spilled for any kind of magical or paranormal ritual, like Tessa Gratton's Blood Magic, it raises the question on whether or not the author is using it as a metaphor for cutting or self-harm. Here, I don't believe that's the case. Sam's still uneasy about his necromancer abilities, isn't a big fan of the pain it brings when he has to spill blood to raise the dead, and doesn't have anyone to teach him the proper way to do things. He's heading into his new life a little blind, or at the very least rather near-sighted. It has the ability to chance one's perspectives on death, being able to raise the dead. If they can come back, is anyone really dead? Is there really an afterlife?

Sam deals with a lot of stuff, stuff he never thought he'd have to deal with. He's not always happy about it and doesn't always know how to fix it, but he still gets back to his feet to give it the old college try, or the old Sam LaCroix try since he dropped out. I hope that there will be more books about Sam and the dark and dangerous world he lives in.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Raincoast Books.)

Me on The Infects

Title: The Infects
Author: Sean Beaudoin
Release Date: September 25, 2012
Publisher: Candlewick Press

After an odd accident at his workplace, Nick is sent off to the wilderness with a handful of other teenage delinquents on an "Inward Trek." As if that wasn't bad enough, his counselors are now flesh-eating maniacs and have picked his fellow miscreants as their next meal. Like any classic horror movie, the survivors head off into the woods while the mindless horde of "infects" slowly follows, moaning as they go. Of course, these kids have seen zombie movies. They know what to do. They start to generate "Zombie Rules" of their own, but attitude alone won't keep the biters back for long.

The Infects is a dark, edgy, and really gruesome quest into the larger metaphor of humanity and what lurks inside of us while characters are literally on the run from former humans who want to eat their flesh. It's a mature teenage kind of gross, graphic enough to satisfy horror fans, with a cast of quirky misfits who all have their own issues along with their own teenage hormones. Sometimes, guys can only think about the girl they like, even when a possible zombie apocalypse is staring them in the face.

Nick certainly is an odd narrator, but as a teenage guy in his situation, his voice works. He's serious and sarcastic, he's rarely happy, he rolls his eyes at his unemployed father and only cares about his younger sister who only speaks in questions. Amanda is the only one he cares about, as opposed to his teenage male hormones that care about pretty girls like Petal. He's very much an unassuming hero, pushed into the role because he has more sense and more intelligence than his fellow Inward Trek-ers. They have no goal beyond surviving, while Nick has surviving to save Petal and to make it back to Amanda.

Going in, I thought this book would be a dark comedy, a poking fun at the horror genre, but what I got instead was a horror novel dark and gross with its zombie roots in the semi-absurd/semi-it could happen one day area. There was some humour, mostly from Nick as he talked to the voice in his head, partially from his band of delinquent followers, but not as much as I expected.

The ending was very surprising, that has to be said. And I have to give props to the author because of the plot twists, I never expected some of those twists, never, and it kept me on my toes as I kept reading. While it wasn't my kind of book, I would definitely recommend it to horror movie fans and zombie fans, readers looking for smark-aleck teens who won't stop talking while a gruesome pack of zombies is chasing them down.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Candlewick Press through NetGalley.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (82)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Alice in Zombieland
Author: Gena Showalter
Release Date: September 25, 2012
Publisher: HarlequinTeen

From Goodreads:

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.

I've rather enjoyed the books that HarlequinTeen has been publishing in the past couple of years (like The Goddess Test, On a Dark Wing, Dark Kiss, and Inside Out), and this sounds like it'll be just as interesting. All the zombie books I've read so far have had their tweaks and differences, so I'm looking forward to reading this one to see how the author will put her own spin on zombies.

Me on This is Not a Test

Title: This is Not a Test
Author: Courtney Summers
Release Date: June 19, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Six students have taken cover in Cortege High School, but shelter is little comfort when the dead won't stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes. Then you're dead, and you come back as something monstrous. To Sloane, that doesn't sound so bad, since her world ended six months ago and she failed to find a reason to keep on going. As she waits for the barricades to fall, she's forced to witness this apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways, and soon the group's fate is determined less by what's happening outside and more by the unpredictable bids for life and death inside the school. Because, when everything is gone, what do you hold onto?

This Is Not a Test is a book that sticks with you long after you finish reading it. It starts off so sad and dismal, so depressing and hopeless, but then it starts, like a gunshot, like a lightning strike, and the race starts. The race to survive.

At the beginning, being in Sloane's head is like being trapped in a fog. Everything is slow, hazy, like trying to walk through thick mud while everyone around her is moving a hundred miles an hour and the clock is ticking. It's so intriguing to see the zombie apocalypse through the eyes of a depressed and most likely suicidal teenage girl. But then you think about it, and Sloane is actually the perfect narrator for the situation: a person who doesn't want to live surrounded by both those with the desire to survive as well as the walking dead.

This book is so complex. It's all about survival, about how far we will go to survive. It's all about trust, about who you can trust, about how you trust when the world is falling apart around you. Where do you draw the line, trusting one person but not another? Who do you trust when they both want to keep on living and you don't? What if you have nothing left? What good is trusting someone when you want to give up?

The nothingness, the waiting for something to happen, for someone to come, the self-imposed semi-isolation from the outside world. It will drive you mad.

This book can be bleak and heartbreaking, waiting for something or for nothing, hoping you don't hear them on the other side of the barrier, but this book is also about what you find during the waiting, during the hopelessness. What you can find when you don't have anything left, what's hidden out where in the nothingness. It could be anything. Maybe a reason to survive, to keep fighting, to keep living. Sometimes, you can find life hidden out in the death.

(I received an e-galley of this book from Macmillan through Raincoast Books.)

Q&A with Courtney Summers

Am I taking part in another blog tour? Why, yes. :) And, once again, it involves a Canadian author and her new book. I think I've been typecast. ;)

When Raincoast Books asked if bloggers were interested in taking part in a Canadian blog tour for Courtney Summers' new book This Is Not a Test, I jumped at the chance. Courtney has a way of writing emotional contemporary YA that cuts deep, and this book is no different. Except for the zombies. That's right, Courtney's new book has zombies. And it's awesome. :)

As part of the blog tour, I got the chance to ask Courtney some questions. Now, I did something possibly foolish and didn't ask about the book. At all. Honestly, if most of the questions she answered weren't about writing, This Is Not a Test, or any of her other books, I'd be surprised. I blame Crystal at Raincoast Books, her e-mail said to ask unique questions. And so I asked bizarre questions that had nothing to do with the book. Thankfully, Courtney was awesome and still answered everything. :) I hope Courtney doesn't think I'm weird. Well, too weird.

Q: What is your favourite pop culture (TV/movie/comic book/book/video game) zombie?

A: I LOVE the zombies in the game Left 4 Dead even though they're more zombie-like than actual zombies.  I used to hate zombies that mutated until I started playing that game and now I'm receptive to them.  :)  The Taaaaank! is particularly horrifying.

Q: What is your favourite video game? (doesn't have to be zombie-related)

A: I have three because I'm a cheater because it would be impossible for me to pick just one.  The first was mentioned above:  Left 4 Dead/Left 4 Dead 2.  I like the campaigns and look of the first but prefer the characters in the second.  Portal 2, because the gameplay is amazing and GLaDOS is one of the best villains of all time and finally, Alan Wake because it's so atmospheric and moody and creepy and the story gets me every time. That ending--wow!  I also love Mirror's Edge.  Okay, that was four.

Q: What is the one scary/horror movie you would recommend above all others?

A: This is one of the toughest questions I have ever been asked so I am going to cheat again and name more than one.  The Changeling is one of the spookiest ghost stories I've ever seen--I still can't watch it at night--and One Missed Call was my introduction to J-Horror and it scares me on repeated viewings too.  So does Ju-On: The Grudge, which I totally recommend.  And one of my all-time favourite scary movies is the original Pulse. It's not conventionally scary but it's unsettling and beautiful and lonely.

Q: In your opinion, what is the best weapon against a zombie attack (both one-on-one and a horde)?

A: Probably a gun for the one-on-one and an ultra-weaponized, reinforced vehicle of some kind for a horde.

Q: In your opinion, what is the best plan of attack against vegetarian zombies?

A: Vegetarian zombies!  Hmmm... since they'd pose little threat to humans, I imagine booby-trapping gardens would be the way to go.  That's what a vegetarian zombie is, right?  Undead who rove around looking for fresh produce?  :)  If it's more like the 28 Days Later kind of zombies where they don't eat you so much as just tear you apart in a fit of anger, then my answer is there is no best plan of attack.  We are totally doomed. So I really hope you meant the first kind.  :)

Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Lindsay!

Thanks so much to Courtney for answering my non-book-related questions. ;) This Is Not a Test comes out on June 19, so spend the next week waiting desperately on the edge of your seat so you can go buy a copy.

Me on Cold Kiss

Title: Cold Kiss
Author: Amy Garvey
Release Date: September 20, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins imprint)

It was a beautiful, warm summer day when Danny died. By dying, he left Wren alone and shattered. In her fury, armed with dark incantations and a secret power, she decides to bring Danny back. But what she ends up with is just a shell, icy cold without a beating heart. Wren hides him away, visiting him only at night as her world slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel transfers to her school and Wren realizes that, somehow, he knows what she can do. And he wants to help her make it right. For Wren, that might mean breaking her heart all over again.

The premise was unique, The plot was gorgeous and chilling and intriguing. Wren was gloriously broken, her wings shredded, but she was still outrageously stubborn. She knew it wasn't going last forever, Danny staying happy hidden away above her neighbour's garage, she had to do something else, but she's in complete denial. One more day, one more night when he stays a secret. Everything will be okay. Apart from his cold touch and lack of a heartbeat.

Wren and her ability was possibly the most interesting thing of the book for me. It was nebulous and unexplainable apart from a family trait that leaned itself towards magic or witchcraft, or something else entirely. This is the kind of paranormal ability I enjoy the most, the unnamed sensation that builds up inside you like a hum or a buzz, that pokes at your fingers to be let loose, that forms static sparks in your hair, that mysteriously lights objects on fire. Not everything needs to be explained away. It reminded me of Nova Ren Suma's Imaginary Girls, or possibly Dia Reeves' Bleeding Violet (without the blood and gore).

Gabriel knowing about Wren's ability was too convenient for me. He seemed tossed in there to complete the love triangle with Wren and Danny. Perhaps if he hadn't known, if he hadn't had his own gifts, or if he wasn't new to Wren's life and instead was a background character brought to the forefront.

Cold Kiss was soft like a sweet ghost story, a bittersweet zombie romance, like a whisper, like a shiver. The lightest brush against your arm but your whole body is covered in prickles and goosebumps.

A book that left me conflicted but enchanted. Romantic, mysterious, magical, the story of a young girl and the loss of her first love, but the sudden appearance of a new boy, a boy somehow entranced by her and just as magical, felt, unfortunately, like a cliché. If he'd been normal, or not new, I might've found him more believable.

(I purchased a copy of this book.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (41)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: This is Not a Test
Author: Courtney Summers
Release Date: June 2012 (exact date unknown)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

From Goodreads:

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up.

As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, everyone’s motivations to survive begin to change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life–and death–inside.

When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

Were you there when Twitter totally flipped over how gorgeous this cover is? I was. Such an amazing cover. And the book sounds amazing, like one of Courtney's contemporary novels mixed with zombies. Insta-buy.