Davenport House“I agree with some of the other reviewers: The feel of this story was more British than American and more 1880's than 1915. The attitudes and actions of the servants are what I have come to expect from earlier times than the setting of the story.
Also, I would have rather had a better flow to the story. Most of the book was "she said", "he said", "she replied", etc. This made for a read that was hard to follow. At times, I felt like I was reading a screenplay instead of a novel. There was very little action, just mostly dialogue. The character's motivations were unclear most of the time and they were pretty two dimensional. Maybe future books might explore more of their personalities, but I was left wanting more from them.
Mary could have been a great character, but she was pretty much a wimpy pampered girl through most of the book. I would have liked her to be more of a woman of that period instead of the damsel that she was. More gothic elements would have made this a better read also.
The idea of the book was good, but I hope that as the saga progresses, the author gives more action and less dialogue. The narrator did a good job with the material she had.
I was given a copy of this audiobook by the author and chose to review it.”
Fatal Reaction: Survival (Fatal Reaction Book 2)“This book picks up where the first book left off and I would not recommend reading this one without reading the first book. That being said, I actually enjoyed this second book more. The characters seemed more developed and less horror/sci-fi campy than they did in the first book. But, I still had to cringe at some of their stupidity!
Ellie still hasn't learned not to check on dead bodies, Amanda is still mourning her good for nothing boyfriend, Jasper, and Max, Ellie's dog, nearly gets her killed several times. I could almost see the typical horror movie scenes in my head! And, of all the vehicles in the world, Sheriff Mike decides to drive a bright yellow Corvette! Way to have a large capacity for picking up supplies or blending in when running from the bad guys!
But, our intrepid group slowly grows in number, finding a few worthy survivors along the way. Of course, there are a group of villains called the Crusaders that are out to take over the world when humanity should be trying to figure out how to survive. There is also a likeable minor character that becomes infected and the description of his attempt to fight it added a different aspect to this book.
The premise of the book is unique and added a lot to the story. Without giving away details, there are aliens involved (maybe more than one group) and the virus might have been intended to save humanity instead of kill off all the humans. The two "scientists" introduced at the end of book one reappear, supposedly to try to figure out how to save the world. There are some developing romances, but no graphic sex. There is very little cursing and just enough description of violence and gore to give the reader the necessary thrills but not enough to be disturbing.
We all know that cigarettes can kill you and the death of one character because of her nicotine addiction was amusing to me. The author did a good job of moving the story along at a fast pace and adding in enough action to keep the reader interested.
The narrator does a great job and was perfect in his pacing and inflections. His performance added a lot to my enjoyment of this audiobook. I was given a chance to listen to this book by the author/narrator/publisher through an Audiobook group and chose to review it.”
Fatal Reaction: Battle of the Hunted (Fatal Reaction Book 3)“This is Book 3 of a trilogy, but since it ends on a cliffhanger, I can only hope that the author decides to continue the story!
If you don't want to know what happens, quit reading this review now! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
All of the characters who have survived so far are back in this book. There are now two races of aliens, called the Order (the good guys) and the Scourge (the bad guys), who are invading Earth. The Order is trying to find a new planet away from the Scourge since the Scourge's favorite food is the Order. The Scourge have to be one of the most frightening beings that I have read in a long, long time. Nothing seems to be able to stop them and their appetite is never ending. Their whole reason for living seems to be to eat either humans or the Order. The Order appears to be trying to help the humans survive while trying to save themselves as well.
Our beloved characters from the previous books finally seem to have gotten smarter and not so trusting. You have some young girls, teenaged boys with attitude, evil biker gangs, a dog named Max that somehow has managed to survive and a growing romantic relationship or two. You also have a pretty badass Japanese gentleman who knows how to use a machine gun. All in all, a bunch of great characters that you hope will be able to survive (except for the Crusaders....you just want them to die a violent death!).
I was expecting this book to wrap up the story, but it doesn't. Instead, you have a surprise ending that definitely leaves the reader wanting more. This trilogy has progressed into a totally different direction than I thought it would when I first started reading it and the writer's skill has progressed as well. She has written a book that is definitely one to either scare you or give you nightmares!
This book does have quite a bit of cursing, so if that is offensive, steer clear. But, to be honest, who wouldn't be cursing if they were being pursued by aliens who want to make you their lunch!
The narrator does a great job and really added a lot to my enjoyment of the book. I was given a chance to listen to the audiobook version of this book through Audiobook Worm and chose to review it.”
