Zombies Vs. Unicorns

Zombies Vs. Unicorns
By Holly Black, Justine Labalestier, et al
From Goodreads:

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths—for good and evil—of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

Midnight Thoughts:


Of course you probably already realize that I'm Team Zombie.  Midnight Book Girls aren't known for frolicking with the horned ones unless they're devils, but because of the awesome writing abilities of all of these writers, I have to say I don't mind unicorns.  In fact, I'd love to a miniature zombie unicorn.  I can honestly say that I enjoyed all of the stories (yes, even the unicorn ones) and it was awesome to read the introductions by Holly Black and Justine Labalestier before each story.  All the stories were imaginative, and often off the wall.  In "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (which I knew would be good because the author had the good taste to name the story after a Joy Division song) you have a male zombie in love with a non-zombie male, and it wasn't the only story to feature main characters that were gay or lesbian, but it never feels forced or made to feel like a big deal.  Meg Cabot made me laugh with "Princess Pretty Pants", and yes, you guessed correctly, it was a Team Unicorn story.  And of course my girl Maureen Johnson had her story "Children of the Revolution" which could totally be showing on Fear Net right now (no surprise that Johnson's Team Zombie).  Overall there were a lot a great stories, and even the ones I didn't love were readable.  Plus, it's hard to find "Z" books for all of you taking the A-Z challenge!

Zombies Vs. Unicorns gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

What paranormal creatures would you like to see battle it out?  I wouldn't mind reading about Witches Vs. Vampires, or Werewolves vs. Mermaids.

Underworld Review

Underworld 
by Meg Cabot
Expected Publication: 05.08.12
From Goodreads:

Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera isn’t dead.

Not this time.

But she is being held against her will in the dim, twilit world between heaven and hell, where the spirits of the deceased wait before embarking upon their final journey.

Her captor, John Hayden, claims it’s for her own safety. Because not all the departed are dear. Some are so unhappy with where they ended up after leaving the Underworld, they’ve come back as Furies, intent on vengeance…on the one who sent them there and on the one whom he loves.

But while Pierce might be safe from the Furies in the Underworld, far worse dangers could be lurking for her there…and they might have more to do with its ruler than with his enemies.

And unless Pierce is careful, this time there’ll be no escape.

My Thoughts: The fist book in the series, Abandon, was just okay for me.  I was expecting to love it, since I've been a long time fan of Meg Cabot's chick lit books, and Heather Wells is probably one of my all time favorite characters.  I liked Underworld more, but I'm still not clicking with main character Pierce.  Of course I'm not a gorgeous, rich, 17 year old girl with a hot centuries old death deity in love with me, so we really don't have that much in common.

This second book worked a bit better for me than the first, as we're given a lot more answers about John and Coffin Night. I'm still not sure what to think of Pierce and John's relationship, it feels almost like an old fashioned romance love than anything a contemporary teen would be into, but John is still sexy. I also very much enjoyed meeting John's Underworld crew, they added some humor as well as history to the story. Normally Meg Cabot's books are a wonderful mix of humor and romance, but for some reason this series isn't huge on the laughs. Pierce is still all over the place about... everything, but she has enough spunk and self awareness to make up for some of the incredibly naivety and unawareness she also displays.

There is some smexy times in this book, but I thought Cabot handled it brilliantly, it wasn't crude, it wasn't too much (it was one of those "I saw stars" and then fade to black kind of scenes). Because it's hard to believe that when teen boys and girls hookup with paranormally hot peeps that some smex isn't going to go down. Trust me, if there'd been a hot death deity haunting the Underworld of Nicktown, PA back when I was a teen then my good Catholic girl status would have taken some serious hits. That said, I don't want to read YA books full of smut... that's what Fifty Shades of Gray is for! ;)

While the first book was a bit slow and laying down the groundworkish, book two was definitely faster paced. I'll read the next book in the series, but I'm still looking more forward to the next Heather Wells book! 


Underworld gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

I know, I gave 4 stars on Goodreads, but I always star up on that site since you can't do half stars!


The cover gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

I both love it and have problems with it.  Mainly because the dress seems ill fitting- seriously why is her chest so low down?  She's 17, not 70!  I do love the pose and the hand grabbing her to pull her down, very Persephone looking,  and the colors are gorgeous. 


**Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through Around the World Arc Tours in exchange for my honest opinion.

Mailbox Monday #1

 Since my one of BEA roomies and blogger friend, Cindy of Cindy's Love of Books is hosting this meme for the last time this month, I thought I'd actually participate! Plus, I gots some cool books.

For Review:

Underworld by Meg Cabot. Already finished this one and I'll be mailing it off to the next blogger on the tour this morning.  Review will be up soon!

Arise by Tara Hudson. Haven't read the first book, hope that doesn't make a difference.  Love the cover!

Timepiece: Hourglass #2 by Myra McEntire.  God bless you, Netgalley!

Gifted:

SIGNED copy of Boy's Life by Robert McCammon!  God bless you, Midnyte Reader!! She attended the 2012 World Horror Convention and picked this up just for me (and now McCammon totally knows my name!).  And then she shared a cab ride with him and Sherrilyn Kenyon.  I am awash in jealousy and awe. But mostly I'm thankful for the book! ;)

Borrowed:

 Divergent by Veronica Roth.  Kim was nice enough to lend me her copy and I have promised to read it with the utmost care and consideration. ;)

Abandon Review

Abandon 
by Meg Cabot
From Goodreads:

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.

Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away... especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

My Thoughts: I love Meg Cabot but I've really only read her adult novels. And I'm a huge fan of the Heather Wells series- she's one of my favorite literary characters.

Abandon is full of Greek mythology, which I truly love. I had a little trouble connecting to Pierce, the main character, as she seems to make a lot of hasty and thoughtless decisions. I'm not quite sure why a death deity that's been around for centuries would fall in love with a 15yr old girl, who's only claim to goodness is rescuing birds. But then again, instant true love is pretty common in YA romance, so I'll go with it in this series too.

A lot of the first book is merely uncovering what happened to Pierce two years ago, and setting up the mythology for the series. You will be left with a lot of unanswered questions, but that's not always a bad thing. I do want to know how Coffin Night turns out, what's up with Alex and Kayla, and I want to know more about the furies. It just felt a little incomplete, just a piece of the whole rather than a true first book in a series.  There are so many things that are set up, and very, very few plot lines resolved.  I prefer my first books to be a bit more independent. Cliffhangers, I can deal with, but not when almost the entire book is full of them.

Overall I like the series enough to continue with it, but I'm still waiting for my next Heather Wells book (please, I beg of you, Meg Cabot, more Heather Wells)!


Abandon gets a Midnight Book Rating of: