Review: MUST READ! I would give it all the stars in the sky if I could!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 15, 2014
I love this series SO. FREAKING. MUCH. I must tell you, if you’re looking for non-stop action and copious amounts of violence and gore, this is not the book for you. Yes, this series has zombies in it, and with that comes violence and gore, but it also has a soul and a beating heart and is capable of making you fall in love with it. And I have.This second installment of the series picks up where the first book left off — with our main character, Cassie, and a group of survivors living life in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. I love that about this series; it’s as realistic as a story about the living dead can get. It’s not just about slashing the heads off rotting corpses coming for their dinner, it’s about creating a new life despite their existence. The group has made it to Kingdom Come and all is going well. They are able to communicate with other safe zones, but one by one the others begin to fall off the radar. The zombies had frozen during the cold winter months and there was little to worry about behind the fences, but now spring is on the horizon and the group anxiously ponders the question: will the zombies thaw along with the grass and flowers?I can’t seem to find words adequate enough to tell you how amazing this story is, or how fascinated I am by the degree of talent this author has. There are so many characters in this story (in both books) yet nothing is lost in the shuffle. I am left with the feeling that I know each person intimately, as if I have been living right along side them through it all. Each character has their own personality, so distinct that I would actually be able to tell who was speaking even if it wasn’t specified. Like hearing a family members voice from behind and knowing who it is without having to turn around.Some of the characters from the first book are still in the game, so of course I already have strong feelings for them, but even the new characters began to fall into place in my heart before long. It’s incredible how much some of the relationships have changed, such as with Ana and Cassie. I wasn’t a big fan of Ana in the last book, but her character arc has brought her to a new place which has made me fall for her. I think when you have characters like that, you love them even more after they come into their own. She was still nuts, and took Cassie along for a ride straight into Crazyville, but I totally dig her for it. *Sob* I would love to tell you all about my feelings for the rest of the characters, like how much I had missed the banter between Nelly and Cassie, or how I felt when Penny became Cassie’s scolding mom for a few minutes, but I would probably gush for far too long. I wish I could tell you how many times I yelled, “Nooooo!” during some of the more intense scenes, but I lost count toward the end. Just read the book(s). You can thank me later.  ;)This series has something to offer everyone; love, drama, laughter, death, suspense, horror, sorrow. It’s a complete package with characters that are so full of depth you never want to let them go, even though they can’t all survive this kind of world. I highly recommend this series to all fans of the post-apocalyptic genre! If you haven’t started this series yet, you are missing out on some seriously remarkable storytelling. I can’t wait to read All the Stars in the Sky later this year! Is that mysterious thing with the zombies going to be revealed in the next book? Gah, I hope so!