Review: Ugh this book!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 9, 2014
I have to preface this and say that Writing on the Wall kept me up all night. Not because I was up reading it, but because I had finished it early in the evening and I was so angry I couldn't sleep! Probably not the best sentence to start out a 4 star review, but I was! I wanted the next in the series so badly that it made me mad! Warning, there will probably be some minor spoilerness in this review.Anyways. Writing on the Wall features Joss, a survivor who's been going at it on her own for the last six years. These days most people join a gang, or the Colony. Joss is pretty happy with her set up, until she meets gang member Ryan and everything goes to hell. She lets him into her home after rescuing him, which is a pretty big deal nowadays. Joss had it good until she felt like she had to abandon everything after letting Ryan in. They just click in the short hours they spend together, and although we don't really know Ryan, I was rooting for him! They have such great back and forth banter that it's enjoyable to read their scenes together.Admittedly, I am a speed reader, but I think I devoured this book a little faster than others. Give or take, I can read a book a day. I was in such a book funk after reading The Hunger Games and couldn't find another book that pulled me in like that. The last series I read before Writing on the Wall took me two weeks to finish two books. That's how I know something didn't capture me. This book did. I finished it in a little under 3 hours and it left me thinking about it all night. Before I knew it, I was 95% through and I screamed a little inside knowing that it'd be over soon. Then I actually screamed when I finished and prompty threw my Kindle across the couch, only to pick up my lap top and desperately search for the second in the series. Sad to say it's not out yet, and that's probably why I was up until midnight wondering what the hell was gonna happen to Joss!I loved pretty much everything about this book. I loved Joss as a whole. Something about about fiesty, spit fire of a MC does it for me! Joss was no disappointment. She spent the last six years on her own, and it shows. But that's not the only side to her. You see the other parts of Joss that she's been hiding when she interacts with Ryan. I also loved the diretion that Tracey Ward took this. I don't read a lot (or any) books that include zombies. I get enough of it from Walking Dead, and the whole zombie angle is kind of over played IMHO. But Ward didn't tell this story with zombies lining the streets, huge horders coming at every turn. If there's a 'realistic' way to play the end by zombies, she did it. At the start of the stories, the Risen are not as common as they used to be. Between decomp, wild animals and others in the wild, their population isn't at great as it used to be. Until a Colony falls and they get some fresh meat into their ranks. I always thought a zombie apocalypse would be fairly easy to outlive if you're smart. Joss is, and she doesn't need a gang to back her up.Another really fresh angle Ward took was with Joss and Ryan's romance. Ryan isn't really even present in most of the book, but you still have a feeling about him and Joss. She doesn't spend all her time whining about her lost love. She doesn't make TOO many stupid decisions to try and see him. For the most part, she realized it was dangerous to be with him. When she thinks they were both taken by the same Colony, she brings back their old habit of writing on walls to each other. No 'I love you's, 'I can't live with you's. Just a simple message so if he sees it, he knows she's thinking about him and missing him. After reading one too many series about insta-love, insta-all consuming I'll die without you, this is a welcome change.There are some interesting side characters that pop up. Still not sure how I feel about them. I liked Nats the best I think, and then Crazy Crenshaw. Sure, he's a little insane, but like Joss, he's been doing it on his own too so you can't really count him out. I'm still torn on how I feel about Vin. On one hand, I'm glad that the author didn't decide to do a 180 on his character and make him into this good guy. He's not, he knows and everyone else knows it. I like that. But his creepy remarks make me wary of him, but I do like the direction of his character.There were only a few things that I didn't like about this book. Sometimes the pacing felt off. For the most part, it flowed very nicely, but in others it felt rushed. Mostly in the scene with Caroline/Vin/Joss. I wish there had been some build up to that. Also, I wish there was more back story. The lack of story for Ryan made sense given the amount of time we actually spend with him. But I would have liked to hear more about Joss's parents, and how she survived the last six years on her own. I have a feeling however we'll hear more about that and Ryan in the next book. This might bother other people, but the book does end on a cliff hanger. It made me scream, but I will also be anxiously awaiting the next one so, it's a love/hate relationship. Minor complaints on an overall good book though.Rambling aside, I really enjoyed this. It was well thought out, and had a unique spin on several things that made it even better. Hopefully Ward's other books are just as good since I'll be occupying myself with those until Back Against the Wall comes out!