Review - Eat Slay Love by Jesse Petersen

Eat Slay Love is the third installment of Jesse Petersen's Living with the Dead series. The lovely Helena and I have previously reviewed Married with Zombies and Flip this Zombie (click the links for the previous reviews). We both enjoyed the first two stories in the series, and the third only increases my love affair with the world Petersen has created, zombie infested as it may be. I tore through the entire story in two sittings and like a zombie after brains, I. Want. More.


Blurb:

Sarah and David have survived the zombie apocalypse. They stood side by side and fought the undead, mad scientists, and even bionic monsters until the unthinkable happened. A zombie bite. But not even that could stop them. Now, with a possible cure in hand, they're headed east, looking for a safe zone behind the rumored "Wall." They're feeling pretty optimistic.

That is until Dave stops sleeping and starts lifting huge objects.

Eat. Slay. Love.

Because they haven't got a prayer.

First off, because I don't think we've mentioned it before, I adore the covers for this series. I love the pink silhouette of Sarah and David embracing...with their weapons still firmly in hand. It's sweet in a very post-zombie-apocalypse type way and rather simply conveys what the books are about; a couple sticking together even when that means hacking apart the undead.

***As always, spoilers ahead***

Eat Slay Love is my favorite of the Living with the Dead series. Although I adored the first two books, the tone seems to have changed in this latest installment. It's a bit darker, the implications are a bit heavier, and the scope seems to have gotten larger. What was once a story of two people against the zombie hoard is now two people partnering with others to save the world. I am 100% onboard to see what (and who) Sarah and David take on next.

Unlike Married and Flip, the objective isn't just get out of Seattle alive or get away from a mad scientist and his bionic creations (and, lest we forget, zombie guinea pigs). Sarah and David aren't just trolling around the badlands taking the odd zombie extermination job. David has had a close brush with death -- or undeath -- and that's changed them both. Their focus has moved from strictly internal (them as a couple) to external (them as a couple and what remains of the world). David and Sarah are in possession of a zombie cure and need to get it to the Midwest Wall (if the Midwest wall exists) and into the hands of those who can use it for good. Not an easy task considering distance, zombies, crazed cults, and a government who's more interested in covering up the apocalypse than trying to do anything about it.

Sarah and David are joined in their journey east by a stalkerazzi reporter who's not ready to put down her camera and a drug-addled rock star with amazing moments of clarity. And then there's the little matter of David's new abilities. Abilities that make him seem a little like a zombie himself...

This is a great, highly entertaining story. There are places that had me laughing out loud (garnering concerned looks from my husband), and places where the on-page tension got so high I was tempted to flip to the end of the chapter just to see what happens (I didn't). Told from Sarah's point of view, the story is likewise filtered through Sarah's sarcastic, no holds barred personality. This allows readers to see Sarah's fondness for pop culture references and her yearning for pre-apocalypse food. It also shows readers how very much she loves her husband, and just what she's willing to do to keep them alive and safe(ish) in a world that's far beyond her control. Petersen balances comedy and action perfectly, keeping me engaged and reading straight through to the end.

While I don't think it's necessary to read the first two books in the series to enjoy this one, I highly recommend doing so. Not only are they great stories in their own right, they set the scene for the events that play out in Eat Slay Love. I recommend adding these to the top of your TBR pile today.

Eat Slay Love will be available for purchase June 28, 2011.
A big thank you to Jesse Petersen for an advanced review copy of Eat Slay Love.
To read the first chapter of Eat Slay Love FREE, click here.

Rating: 5/5

~Lily

Review - Flip This Zombie by Jesse Petersen

I think it only fair to warn you the original title of this blog post was "Holy F**king Sh*t! Tales of zombie guinea pigs and more!"

I know, I know. Watch your language. It's something I've heard since fourth grade when a teacher first overheard me calling a little boy on the playground a dickhead. In my defense, he was a dickhead. In my further defense, the book I'm about to review makes full use of the terms I'm most frequently chastised for...and several of the main characters, including an 11 year old boy with a potty mouth to rival South Park, are also frequently admonished to watch their language.

And besides, who can pay attention to something as silly as language when there are zombie guinea pigs to be discussed. Can you sense my excitement?

Zombie. Guinea. Pigs.

(Note: do NOT do a google image search of "zombie guinea pigs" without filters. There are some sick people out there.)

Where do I even start? How about with the title. I just finished the second installment of Jesse Petersen's Living with the Dead series, Flip This Zombie. The first in the series, Married with Zombies, is a delightful comedic romp the lovely Helena reviewed just last month. Flip This Zombie picks up right where Married left off, charging full speed ahead through a series of twists, turns, and zombie mayhem that will have you finishing the book in one sitting.

Sarah and David, the formerly dysfunctional couple who opened Married on the brink of divorce, have found zombieland capable of doing what their marriage counselor couldn't - repairing their relationship and forming them into a team. A team of happily married zombie exterminators, to be exact. Together they prowl the badlands of Arizona, picking up the odd zombie extermination job, when they encounter something far more deadly than your average, run shamble of the mill zombie. The zombies, it seems, are evolving. But who, or what, is behind these newer, stronger, "bionic" zombies? And what happens when the greatest danger of all is not the undead, but the twisted desires of the living?

Flip This Zombie is a fast read. I finished it in one sitting, and enjoyed every moment. While it has it's share of funny, sarcastic humor, it is also touching in places. Sarah and David are real people, with real flaws and faults, who sometimes let their pride and stubbornness get in their way. But they also realize their short comings, and try to make the best of a life spun far out of their control. So, as much as this is a lighthearted comedy, it also has a strong message about hope and the endurance of humanity even at the brink of extinction.

If anything, I wish the story was longer. I also wish it fleshed out the "bionic" zombies, and their abilities, a bit more. The resolution came quickly after a long build up, but it was satisfying nonetheless.

And seriously, zombie guinea pigs. Do you understand how hard it is NOT to spoil the final scene with the zombie pigs? Squeaking, ferocious, undead rodents, intent on human flesh but still trapped within tiny, fur-covered bodies. The mental pictures, they amuse me.

Go forth. Buy this. Read this. Comment here about your love of the series. If you still have reservations, you can read the first chapter for free courtesy of Jesse's website. Then you too can fall in love only to be tortured by the 6 month wait until the third installment, Eat, Slay, Love, becomes available in June.

Rating: 4.5/5


~Lily

Chomping at the Bit: 2011 style

Here are just a handful of upcoming releases for the new year!  I can't wait to get my eyes into these!

Flip This Zombie, the second part of Jesse Petersen's Living with the Dead Series is set to release on January 3rd.  Better get those slaying shoes on!








Larissa Ione is coming out with the first installment in her Lords of Deliverance series: Eternal Rider on March 29th.  I adore her Demonica series so I have high hopes for her future novels!

 
Charlaine Harris is at it again!  Her eleventh book of the Southern Vampire Series, Dead Reckoning, is slated to hit shelves on May 3rd.  I am excited to see what mayhem Sookie will be stuck in next.









Karen Marie Moning will be wrapping up her five part Fever Series on January 18th with Shadowfever.  I am currently reading the fourth novel, Dreamfever.  Spectacular is what immediately comes to mind!










And of course, JR Ward is coming out with another Black Dagger Brotherhood novel: Payne's story, Lover Unleashed, on March 29th.






What novels are you aching to sink your teeth into?

~Helena

Review - Married with Zombies by Jesse Petersen

Does your marriage need help?  How about a few counseling sessions with a certified therapist...how bout one that has been zombified?  Ok, how about just zombies in general?  Meet Sarah and David, a busy couple in Seattle, who embark on their now routine marriage counseling session; only today proves to be far from a routine day.  It all starts when they walk into their appointment to find their therapist eating the previously scheduled couple.  Yes...eating them; thus starts the first installment in Jesse Petersen's Living with the Dead series, the delightful Married with Zombies.

Petersen weaves a tale of adventure and pure terror in the face of a zombie apocalypse.  Snarky comments kept me rolling through every chapter.  The characters were perfect.  I connected completely with Sarah and David.  Found myself on edge during every zombie fight, sighing with relief every time they had two seconds of breathing room, and even shedding a couple tears.  This is a rip roaring comedy that will keep you flipping the pages all night.  You may even find yourself wondering if your own relationships might benefit from a little zombie therapy ;p  If you have even a slight enjoyment of zombies and a good laugh, make sure to start in on this series.  You will not be disappointed. :)

Rating: 5/5

Flip This Zombie, the second book, will be available in January 2011!  Make sure to check it out.  First chapter is posted here for your viewing pleasure.  Eat, Slay, Love is book three slated for a June 2011 release.

~Helena