Alice in Zombieland

A few weeks ago, my niece let me lend her, probably, all time favorite book: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter. Last summer she was rereading the books when I was with her in the Ardennen. If you wonder where that exactly is, it's down south in Belgium. It's where nature surrounds you! We've had our own little space behind the caravan with a table and two chairs, and read. The whole time. 

One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone. There's one night, on what was supposed to be a big and good day, where everything she loved turned to something bad. It took one night to change Alice's life forever . 
Every since that night, she's been seeing things and has been telling herself that what she sees isn't real. She's delusional and being crazy and because of that she doesn't tell her grandparents anything. 

It's a big relief that she met a girl she'd be going to school with, one that makes her laugh after her tragedy. 
She feels a little bit more comfortable until she makes eye contact with a boy that seems murderous. Ever since then he's annoyed by her and she's been seeing more things that make her feel a lunatic. Especially when the white rabbit cloud passes along... 

This story was a little harder to get into for me. The first few pages that described the awful tragedy where really good but then I felt a little lost for some chapters. After living through those chapters I fell in it, like Alice fell in that hole! 

The mystery around the boy, the things that happened and her own disbelief in what she was seeing made it a very thrilling and exciting read. The author really makes you feel like you're her too because she describes a lot of her feelings and her surroundings. I did like that the most about the book because you could really visualize everything in detail. 

Things got only better when we got to know more of Cole. The mysterious and tough looking boy, in the beginning I wasn't really fond of him because he really challenged Alice. And he kind of pushed my buttons but when we see more of him and are allowed in his zone, he's really a sweetheart. He's very protective over Ali and it also gives us a fierce romance you didn't expect. 

I did expect there'd be some sort of romance but not this kind. It was really strong in my point of view and something I loved in this book. It did bother me a little that Cole was hot and cold and kept jumping between those. Make up your mind, Cole! I guess it did make it even better for the reader that he did that because then you'd keep reading to find out what it's going to be. 

As for Alice she's a very strong character with a very strong personality. She might be broken on the inside and struggling with the loss but nobody is stepping on her toes! She's very protective and will stand up for herself or her new friend. 

Alice was a very cool character because of her stubbornness. She might've been broken ever since that night, she wouldn't let anybody else break her even more. She would pretend that she was a lot stronger than she actually was. Shielding herself and her true emotions so others wouldn't pick on her and I really liked that about her. She's also very daring and not scared, she'll do anything to protect her grandparents, even if it meant for her to die. 

There's one character I'd like to discuss because she might be my favorite in the story, Kat. She's really eccentric! She'll also stand up to anyone who steps on her toes or on those of her friends. In the beginning you might think she's a little vain and very enthusiastic but further into the story, you'll appreciate her. 

There's even a moment in the book where her character surprises you and the outcome did make me feel a little sad. Not that sad in the way that it ruined the character but sad in a way that you have compassion with her.   

Which brings me to the actual story, the book makes you feel a lot of things. There are books that you can read and think okay, I get it but this books (as many others) really grabs you at the heart. Next to that the book is very mysterious and thrilling which I adored! The ending was also very surprising and that did things with me! Also there were some references of Alice in Wonderland, such as the white rabbit. It was presented as a white cloud that looked like a rabbit and it has it's purpose and I liked it that the author used elements of the fairytale.

But the chapters are long! I point that out because I'm easily bothered by very long chapters. I'm that kind of girl that want's to read the whole chapter before stopping so I can go to bed or go out to do something. Because the chapters were so long, you either didn't start it and or started it but didn't finish it. I don't like to stop mid a chapter, it just bothers me for some reason. That's a little negative point but something that's really personal and can be different from reader to reader.

The book was a very good read and now I understand why my niece really enjoyed it and was really fond of it. It's also the first in a series of 4, I don't know if there'll be a fifth or not. Just so you know, it (currently) has 4 books in this White Rabbit Chronicles series, right now and the fourth came out last September! 

"She won't rest until she's sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever."

Unforgiven

Last week I did a bookswap for the third time in my life! I never had people around me that liked books until this year, weird right?! So it's only been this school year that I swapped books with Fien, my niece and last week with Nina. She's a good friend of mine and somehow we started talking about books. In the last holiday we went to Ghent and bought books let's just say it like that... So we started talking about the books we bought and I talked about Red Queen and then we decided to swap books. It's as easy as that really! So that's the story behind reading the book: Unforgiving by Lauren Kate.

Someone made a bet with the devil. Cam has 15 days to make sure a girl, he has lost sight of for decades, falls in love with him again. I say decades ago but it's actually 3 millennia, then he broke her heart and ever since that she's being punished because of the crimes he committed. She hates him but who wouldn't hate the person that you loved most when he or she made sure you'd be punished? 
With the deadline and the devil looming around and his love's high school prom is just around the corner, Cam has everything to play for. If he succeeds and makes her fall in love with him again, she'll be set free from this pain she's been living in. They'll be reunited in their love for one another. But if he fails, there's a special place in Hell waiting for him and it won't be the throne. 
Heaven is being with the one you love, Hell is being kept apart. Where will Cam fall?

First things first: it's about Angels and Demons. More importantly the Devil. I can't say how good that already was for me and then we had the cover... God help us! First time you'd look at it, it just seems some pretty boy but then if the lighting is right... Man! He has wings! I hope you guys can see it on the pictures, I wanted both wings to come out but one of them is always half there, half gone.
So for me, I was already excited and I didn't even start yet.

It only became better actually. I was at chapter 3 and I had officially fallen for Cam, he's adorable when he wants to achieve something and he's driven. I guess everything we seek in boys, pity that I only met guys like that in books. So I liked Cam, not only because he's special but also because he wants to achieve and make her fall in love with him again.
As for the Devil, I hated him in this book. I guess it's only because of which part he was fulfilling because a Devil is a Devil and they're bad. I just didn't like the way he made events go, he's a bastard which is what a Devil should be so he's doing his job.
The girl was very intriguing, she loved music. Some way I also could connect with her for some parts which I don't want to get into too much before I spill things. I liked her but I also could tear someone apart because of how she acted toward Cam. That's all because of the Devil so I can't blame her directly but still. 

The story was also amazing, Cam has a deadline and the book makes use of that. Also, it has flashbacks to millennia ago to show what exactly happened between the lovers. Above that there are scenes that were absolutely stunning and cute and I just loved those! What I liked most about the book though was that it had parts where the girl's point of view was explained and then parts where Cam was the voice behind the story. I've always been a fan of books like that because it also gives you the thoughts about the other protagonist.

So the verdict is that I liked the book, the story was good, the characters even better. I've never read a book by Lauren Kate but now I'm eager to find more stories written by her. She has an easy writing style that's still intriguing. I'm curious to what other stories she has to tell but I'm pretty happy with how she wrote this one. She showed that 'every love story has a dark side' which I'd connect with the words 'up and downs' because that's how love stories go. 

"Tick-Tock."