Alice in Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles) (edition 2012)

Not really what I expected, but maybe that's a good thing. To me, zombie equals apocalypse... And... I was thinking this would be a little closer to the books namesake, AIW, but this book is not a retelling. This book was closer to Buffy the V slayer with cannibal ghosts. I LOVED Ali's grandparents!!! They made this book for me. ( )

Gena Showalter takes a classic story by Lewis Carroll, tips it on its ear, adds zombies, and gives us Alice in Zombieland. The first book in her new young adult paranormal/horror White Rabbit Chronicles introduces us to Alice Bell, who is about to enter a world where the monsters her father always warned her about are real and no one is safe.

Alice in Zombieland turned out to be a very different tale than what I was expecting. Looking at the cover of the book with its blonde teenage girl in a frilly white dress, I anticipated a fantasy story with some horror added to the mix. Instead, Showalter’s story is more contemporary than fantastical and definitely leans more towards the horror end of the spectrum. Add in a unique zombie mythology and a tough, tattooed bad-boy, and this is not your parents’ Wonderland – but it’s a hell of a good read.

Told as a first-person narrative from Alice’s (Ali’s) point of view, Gena Showalter has switched up her style and written this story in a rougher, more abrupt manner than is her norm. Sentence structure is a little less complex, but very descriptive and grittier in tone. I found it a bit jarring at first, but it grabbed my attention and dragged me right into Ali’s world. Once I adjusted to the rhythm I moved briskly through the narrative and was happily entrenched in an engrossing story with interesting, well-developed characters.

Ali is written very well and is a nice, strong heroine who stands up for herself and others. The guilt she feels over the loss of her family feels realistic, as do her reactions to the new world she finds herself in as moves in with her grandparents. Once she discovers the zombies that roam the area are real, she determinedly sets out to eliminate them all. This Alice is a fighter – and she has the cuts and bruises to prove it.

She is well-matched by Cole Holland, the leader of the school’s most dangerous teenage boys – and girls. It was pretty easy to figure out his secret, but there is still plenty of mystery to his character. This is one tight-lipped hero! I was just as quick to fall for this quintessential bad-boy as Ali was, because not only was he strong and protective, he was smart, sexy, and gracefully put up with Ali’s grandparents’ inquisition when he met them. He had great answers, too! There is some serious chemistry between Ali and Cole, so sexual attraction is pretty prominent in their relationship.

What would Wonderland be without a Cheshire Cat? The cat is represented here by Kathryn, also known as Kat – or Mad Dog as Ali dubs her – a fellow student at Ali’s new school. I adored her from the moment she waltzed into Ali’s hospital room, and she just got better as the story went along. Full of wit and energy, but a rather sad secret of her own, she spends most of her time keeping everyone’s spirits up and rebuffing her ex-boyfriend Frosty, who is part of Cole’s crew. I enjoyed every moment she was on the page. Cole’s gang of teens is pretty large so other than Frosty, Bronx and Cole’s ex-girlfriend Mackenzie they aren’t developed much. Frosty is the most outgoing of the bunch and a perfect match for Kat – if he can get back in her graces. Bronx is the quiet, intense loner while Mackenzie is just generally ticked off at the world – especially Ali. They are a solid team that I’m looking forward to getting to know better as the series continues.

The plot is pretty straightforward as we learn along with Ali all about the secret world that has been right in front of her all her life. This is where the world-building is accomplished, so we learn how the zombies work, how they are created, and how to destroy them. Showalter takes time to build the mythology and introduce both the good guys and the bad guys (humans as well as zombies). The white rabbit in this story is symbolic, and whenever he appears action is sure to follow, and a lot of it. There are several fight sequences to keep things moving, and a lot of questions left open to keep things interesting. I do need to do a re-read at some point because I feel like I missed a key point or two about the zombie mechanics.

Gena Showalter is off to a strong start with her young adult paranormal/horror White Rabbit Chronicles. Action, romance, heartbreak, betrayal and an adorable Kat all play a part in making this a series worth checking out. With its strong heroine, fascinating mythology, and unique view of zombies, Alice in Zombieland is a trip down the rabbit hole to a dark and gritty Wonderland you’ll never forget. ( )

After reading about 10% of this book I was very disappointed. It was obvious that tittle is misleading and that this will not be a retelling of 'Alice in Wonderland'. Annoyed, I renamed the book 'Alice in Melodrama-land' and started planning what to read next - because I knew that I could not read 400 pages of teenager moaning and complaining and that I will give up soon.
But this book managed to surprise me again because by 15% I was hooked. It was an intense, entertaining and quick read. :)

Alice is a young girl with a lot on her plate: tragic loss of her family, moving to live with her grand-parents, changing school. Oh and did I mention that she started seeing zombies that no one else can? The story is told in a first-person point of view from her perspective. She is a good narrator and it's one of the reasons this book was such a quick read. The other reasons are: saucy best friend, bad boy crush, a lot of action and adventure.

Another big plus for this book: there is no cliffhanger in the end. And also (although there are zombies) it was not very much scary or gross. Another big plus, because I am not in a mood for horror books right now.

So in the conclusion: Maybe I did not learn nothing new in this book and there are no great depths but it was fun!

Gena Showalter, I am sorry that I doubted your mad writing skills. Please, write sequel to this book soon. ;) ( )

After growing up not being allowed to go outside after dark and being trained to fight an unknown bad thing, Alice Bells' family is in a car accident and eaten by zombies. She moves in with her grandparents, learns about zombies and those who hunt them and those who experiment with them. Teen angst mixed with falling for the 'bad boy' who turns out to be an uber-zombie hunter and becoming "Alice the Zombie Slayer" in what appears to be a very short amount of time makes it a somewhat melodramatic read.

However, I loved it, and can't wait for the next in the series! ( )

Originally posted on A Reader of Fictions.

As soon as I heard about this book, I super wanted to get my hands on it. Zombie retelling of Alice in Wonderland? Umm, yes, please! How could that possibly go wrong? Well, it turns out, it could go wrong in a number of ways. Alice in Zombieland has a certain appeal, but not the one that I suspect most readers will be expecting when they crack its spine.

The very first thing you need to know about Alice in Zombieland: it has nothing whatsoever to do with Alice in Wonderland. Just sit back and soak that in. The only Alice in Wonderland references are in the title, the chapter titles and the white rabbit cloud that serves as an omen of doom throughout the book. These three things do not a retelling make. In fact, the links are so limited and on such a surface level that it appears this facade was set up only to bring in more readers; this may work, but those hear for Alice in Wonderland are going to be disappointed.

The next thing you need to know: the zombies aren't really zombies. Showalter decided to try to do something new and original with zombies. She sort of succeeded, but mostly just managed in making them confusing and less cool. See, I wouldn't really call these guys zombies at all; I would call them ghosts. If you're thinking, Wait, What?, believe me, I am with you, friend. These 'zombies' inhabit a spirit plane, and are visible only to people with zombie-fighting powers. From what I was able to gather, they're basically evil ghosts, their evil manifesting in rot.

In theory, I guess this was sort of a cool idea, but, come on, the whole point of zombies is being corporeal right? My biggest issue with this, though, was that it seemed a bit uneven. For zombie fighting, the slayers leave their bodies behind and fight in spirit, because they cannot punch the zombies as a living person. What happens to them in spirit will manifest on their bodies, though. The zombies have no interest in the body. If this is the case, why do they go nom on humans who can't see them? The precise degree to which the zombies were spirits was not entirely clear to me, and I'm just having major suspension of disbelief issues with the whole things. Can't we just call them evil spirits?

The third thing you need to know: Gena Showalter is a romance author. A lot of romance authors are branching into young adult these days, since there is a huge market in YA for romance. Some of these transitions are better than others. Most of the time, though, it's entirely obvious what the author's background is, although Inara Scott did surprise me. Alice in Zombieland is more about the romance than about anything else.

The story itself does entertain, assuming you can put those issues aside, but it's a mindless sort of fun, like when a real zombie eats your brain. How much you like this novel will depend to a large degree on whether you find Showalter's writing amusing. She tries pretty hard to be funny, and, if you don't think she is, it's not going to be pretty. Some of her jokes worked for me, but others fell flat.

Speaking of flat, let's talk about Alice, or Ali as she prefers to be called. No, I'm not talking about her chest (although she does complain about her boobs not being huge a couple of times maybe), but about her personality. Well, Ali does try really hard to have a personality. The problem is that she doesn't back up her inner sass and thoughts with actions, at least not at the important moments. Ali is one of those characters that thinks she is the biggest badass of them all, but really isn't.

One of the few characters that I really liked was Kat, Ali's best friend. Thought Kat is someone I would loathe to pieces in real life, she was really realistic and reliable for a YA best friend. She has substance, flaws and owns who she is, good and bad. When Ali needs help, Kat's there. If people are mean to Ali, you can bet that Kat will threaten either a verbal or physical smack down. Kat truly has her back. This would be great is Ali in any way returned the favor. Ali constantly forgets about Kat, and doesn't pay much attention to what's going on with Kat or to inquire if she's okay. Ali is an awful friend, but, when they're together, all of Ali's thoughts are about just how much she loves Kat. Actions speak louder, Ali dearest.

Then there's the romance portion of the evening. We have yet another half-hearted love triangle. Actually, it's probably not even half-hearted; it's more like quarter-hearted or sixteenth-hearted or something. As the hot new girl in school, Ali immediately attracts the attention of the two hottest guys (who obviously loathed one another even before the competition over Ali), straight-laced Justin and bad boy Cole. Not for one single second of the book is there a question of Justin every standing a chance, making him an incredibly pathetic, whiny character.

Showalter did avoid instalove sort of, but she didn't want to have to cut back on the number of kissing scenes. Solution: every day when Cole and Ali first make eye contact they share visions. These visions are not of anything practical or plot-enhancing (well, they are once or twice, but COME ON), but of Ali and Cole having incredibly hot make out sessions. Meanwhile, they're staring at each other like major dopes. Of course, when they do kiss irl, they nearly get off right on the dance floor at a club, because they're so into one another and omg it's so amazing. RIGHT.

As a couple, they really irritate me. I should be happy because, despite her immense attraction to Cole, Ali does try to keep a level head. She refuses to date him officially until such a time as she feels she knows him well enough to make that kind of commitment. Unfortunately, she spends pretty much all of her time wanting to bitch slap his ex out of jealousy and having smexy visions with him. In classic YA style, too, he constantly tells her what to do and she snarks in her head while doing precisely what he pleases. In one scene, Kat tells her about a text from her on/off bf Frosty (THAT NAME) asking her to do something, and Ali thinks about a text from Cole TELLING her to do something and smiles like that's CHARMING. No, it's goddamn not. Stop it.

My favorite characters by far, though, and my favorite part of the whole book, were Ali's grandparents, who take her in after her family dies. Sassy grandparents are such wonderful characters, and these are such sassboxes. I seriously loved their interrogations of the boyfriends and their attempts to use modern slang. They were sweet, caring, and funny.

Depending on your expectations and what you like out of a book, you might love this. I was entertained for the most part (who doesn't secretly enjoy a hot mess?), although the book could have been shorter and, you know, better. However, the issues were so major and my interest in the characters so moderate that I do not personally plan on continuing with this series. ( )

I have read many of Gene Showalter’s adult novels and was anxious to see what she would deliver in the young-adult genre. Alice in Zombieland was a deliciously humorous romp into the paranormal world and I quickly found myself enthralled. Her unique twists on Zombies, endearing characters and action packed tale had me screaming for more. “Off With Their Heads!” There is a white rabbit but fans of the childhood fable Alice in Wonderland who are looking for a retelling, will find themselves disappointed. This unique tale is sure to delight paranormal and zombie fans.

The tale begins with a horrific tragedy and the realization for protagonist Alice Bell, that her father’s whispered fears of monsters in the night are indeed very real. As Alice embarks on her new life, home and school she must decide whether to fight or hide. Moving through the motions of living, she is forced back into reality by her snarky friend Kat and bad-boy Cole. Visions, visits from ghosts and monsters quickly have Alice taking sides and in a fight to survive. This well paced tale was filled with danger, romance, hilarious moments and zombies.

The characters in Alice in Zombieland were fun and likeable. Ali Bell’s world has been totally rocked and I initially felt sorry for her, but I came to admire this head-strong, protective, loyal, zombie kicking chick. Cole Holland is a bad-boy and head of a group of teens who are notoriously late, getting expelled and have girls swooning for them. While I would not call the relationship between them insta-love, there were some unusual supernatural elements that caused their initial attraction to each other. We quickly learn there is a lot more to Cole then his persona. Kat becomes Ali’s bestie and quite frankly I adored this snarky, outspoken wisp of a girl. If you ever need someone to be in your corner, Kat would be perfect. I found the secondary characters to be entertaining and hope to learn more about them.

Showalter offered up her own unique twist on zombies and I found it interesting. The zombies are not the kind we typically see, but exist in the spirit world. They cannot be seen by everyone, you cannot touch them and yet they can kill you
Eep! I really enjoyed this aspect of the tale, and while the storyline itself is not wholly original, Showalter’s twist on battling these zombies was. I loved how they fought the zombies, the rules and the abilities that developed. She introduced Watchers and I am hoping we learn more about them. Two teams battling these zombies, we learn an epic battle is coming and that both sides have different motives. This created plenty of tension and cool battle scenes. We learned about the two sides as Ali did, causing you to question who to trust. The romance was volatile, sweet and moved at a nice pace. While this is YA, there are plenty of hot steaming scenes that push this genre to the limit. The characters were not as fleshed out as I would have liked and at times the tale felt a little clichĂ© but I walked away wanting more. I am anxious to see how the tale develops.

If you are looking for an entertaining and unique zombie fix with a hot little romance on the side, you will love Alice in Zombieland. I was highly entertained and zipped through the novel. I plan to continue this series with Through the Zombie Glass book two in the White Rabbit Chronicles series scheduled to be released in 2013.
Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ( )

REVIEW ALSO ON: http://bibliomantics.com/2013/03/25/how-to-wrongly-profit-off-the-wonderland-fan...

Once again I have gotten overly excited about an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and yet again I have thrown my money at something that merely seeks to profit off the renewed popularity of the books rather than pay homage to the little girl in a strange new world. It happened with the Tim Burton movie, the YA novel Splintered and it’s happened yet again with Alice in Zombieland. (Not to be confused with the awesome Threadless shirt or the book of the same name by Nickolas Cook of which I couldn’t make it through more than a page of.)

Despite obviously being marketed to fans of Wonderland (see the gorgeous cover if you need a reason why I jumped to this conclusion) there isn’t much of anything to connect the novel to Lewis Carroll’s world except the book title and the chapter names, which aren’t even that good on their own: Down the Zombie Hole, The Pool of Blood and Tears, Eerily Curiouser and Curiouser
, Advice from a Dying Caterpillar, and A Fiendishly Mad Tea Party.

Oh, and let’s not forget that the main character is named Alice and she keeps seeing a cloud in the shape of a white rabbit. Seriously, I would have rather been pandered to than abused for my love of all things Alice.

If this book is full of anything, it’s a whole lot of misogyny, but the author writes it off as totally okay because the men in Alice’s life are just trying to protect her from zombies. Invisible zombies who can’t be touched except in the spirit world. First, there’s Alice’s alcoholic father, who doesn’t let the three women in his life outside of the house at night because he’s worried they’ll be taken away by monsters. To him, women are treated as fragile possessions that must be kept under lock and key at all times. All because his own father was killed by monsters while visiting his wife’s grave. In the middle of the night.

Then there’s Alice’s love interest Cole, who seems to suffer from all the same problems but is totally smoking hot and is rumored to be the leader of a gang who always appears in school covered in strange bruises. Despite being warned that “he’ll break your heart-and maybe your face!” Ali still seems drawn to the mysterious Cole, his violet eyes and his propensity for dragging her around and ordering her around. Because women really shouldn’t be trusted to walk alone by themselves when they’re such delicate snow flakes. Now put on these booty shorts so I can teach you to defend yourself you powerless baby maker! ( )

I will say immediately to those who are interested in only reading a twisted fairytale version of the beloved classic Alice in Wonderland with a dash of zombies, don’t read this book. Basically, if your only looking for the original Alice in Wonderland infested with zombies this isn’t the book for you. If however, your open minded about reading a story that has witty references and undertones of the classic novel in a modernized high school version of life being turned upside down by paranormal trauma then please read on. I will admit I was at first mildly disappointed when I realized it wasn’t a twisted retelling, however I was quickly pleasantly surprised by the story line and the characters. By the end I wanted to read more and I was immensely glad Gena didn’t write a twisted retell.

I won’t go into extreme detail in this review to avoid spoiling it for those who have not yet had the pleasure of reading it, but I will hint at some points. To avoid confusion with whether or not this book has any Alice qualities to it at all I will immediately state that yes there is indeed an Alice feel to the overall picture. It isn’t in blunt obvious details though which make it that much better. Gena’s Alice, or as she likes to be called Ali, has her life turned upside down and metaphorically ‘falls down the rabbit hole’ when a tragic accident changes her whole life and incidentally her literal view of the world, or rather her paranormal view of the world. She meets new characters along the way some that you’ll love and of course others not so much. Thanks to Gena Showalter the zombies themselves have a fresh new twist to the typical theme that makes you feel like your meeting zombies for the first time. In essence she has created a whole new bread of zombies. There are some obvious clichĂ© elements, but I find them endearing and vital to the strength of the story and the character relationships.

Overall, the concept was well executed and created a great read that ended all to quickly for me and has me waiting for the next installment with excited anticipation. Wonderfully done Gena Showalter, I truly can’t wait until the next chapter! ( )

This one was a surprise for me! I never expected to enjoy this as much as I did. The storyline is fresh and intriguing, the characters are well written and interesting, and I cannot wait for more! I was definitely thrown off by the title and author. I have to applaud Gena Showalter for her ya grace. I am hoping some of that adult romance will show a bit more in the end though! ;) This is definitely a series I am looking forward to getting absorbed in! ( )

I'll read anything that references 'Alice in Wonderland', which is why I chose to read 'Alice in Zombieland.' Even though it had nothing to do with Wonderland, I can't say I'm disappointed. It was an amazing and original story. Spirit zombies? Definitely interesting. There were a few parts that I had to reread to understand what just happened. But, no complaints from me. Can't wait for the sequel to come out in October. ( )

I loved Cole, Ali, and Kat. The characters were wonderfully written and fleshed out, both the good and bad. There were many lines that had me laughing out loud. I loved Ali's personality. I wanted so badly to love everything about the book. I just couldn't get my mind around the "zombies". I guess I am just used to my zombies via "The Walking Dead", and those are the zombies I know. These zombies were spirits and to me were just really strange. I think I would have enjoyed it more as a straight forward zombie book. It doesn't mean I won't read the next book, trust me I will, I have to find out what happens with Ali and Cole. ( )

What I liked: Alice in Zombieland is about a girl that finds out that her father wasn’t really simply a mental case when he locked the family in at night to protect them from terrible creatures. The monsters are real, and they’re coming, and they will eat you. Ali is reeling from the tragedy of losing her entire family while adjusting to her new reality where zombies exist and she can now see them. Teaming up with others at her school, she must fight to prove that she’s worthy of sharing their secrets and fighting the good fight.

What I didn’t like: The zombies in Alice in Zombieland are not zombies, but rather some type of soul-eating spirit monsters. There is little of Alice in Wonderland to be found in this book. At the beginning, I was under the impression that there would be more, but it quickly devolves to only tangentially related chapter titles and a main character with the same name. Given that zombies and Alice in Wonderland are the two main reasons I picked the title up, it was a bit of a recipe for disappointment for me. Also, the insta-love with Cole Holland was ridiculous. Even though Showalter tried to explain it away with some sort of magical something or another, it turned me off their relationship for a big chunk of the novel.

Final thoughts: Alice in Zombieland can be enjoyable, if you know what to expect. Don’t come in expecting a retelling of Alice in Wonderland in any form, nor true zombies. Be prepared for the ridiculously executed insta-love and some heavy melodrama. If you can handle these things and enjoy the characters, you can find in this novel a quite different take on the teens fighting evil theme. I’ll likely continue the series. ( )

Alice in Wonderland on steroids.

I think that about sums up this book. Love it. Love Alice. Love Cole. Love Kat. Loved all of the Alice in Wonderland references (the reason I bought the book in the first place). This book surpassed all of my expectations. The relationships between the characters was amazing, heartful, and simply beautiful.

Gena Showalter, you have outdone yourself. Kudos. Can't wait for the second book to the White Rabbit Chronicles. ( )

“I’d rather the whole world consider me crazy while I go down fighting than spend the rest of my life hiding from the truth. Zombies are real. They’re out there.”

Shhhhyea, Alice Bell is my kinda chick dude!!!!

First chapter is titled:

DOWN the ZOMBIE HOLE

Um
 EPIC win. Just sayin.

Alice is convinced her father is insane. He sees monsters that aren’t there, walks ARMED patrols through their house all night and refuses to let them leave the house after sunset. It’s been this way Alice’s entire life. Until her sixteenth birthday, when she convinces them to go to her little sister’s dance recital. At night.

And OH.MY.GOD.IN.HEAVEN.ALMIGHTY.ABOVE.

Tragedy strikes after leaving the dance recital, and suddenly Alice is left all alone
 And those monsters that she was convinced her father had made up- are suddenly VERY REAL.

In the hospital we meet Kat, and I SWEAR, if I was reincarnated as a fictional character
 It would be her. Gena Showalter was channelling me through some sort of epic, zombie-awesome telepathy when she wrote Kat! Seriously!

“Don’t make me slap you out of your crazy.” Kat

Ali (not ALICE anymore) has moved in with her grandparents and started a new school. She was prepared to get through it, day by day
 What she wasn’t prepared for was Cole.

Sweet. Jesus. *I need a moment*

Cole is tall, dark and sexy
 Bad boy the core, sporting fresh bruises everyday and he happens to be the leader of the most feared group of “guys you don’t take home to Daddy”. In short
 Cole MAY be the hottest, most swoon-worthy, definition of my perfect fictional boy-toy. Ever. *sigh*

Okay, so we’ve got ZOMBIES, a gang of spirit warrior/zombie fighters, an epic best friend, a rabbit cloud, a badass heroine and a sizzling hot romance- all this equals EPICNESS in the first degree!

Alice in Zombieland
 while not exactly a “spin-off” was freaking EPIC zombie awesome with some Alice in Wonderland undertones that set the tone PERFECTLY! I loved the characters, I loved the writing, I loved the plot
 I cannot WAIT for Through the Zombie Glass (White Rabbit Chronicles #2)! ( )

Alice “Ali” Bell and her sister Emma lead a very
 different
 type of life. While their friends enjoy after school activities, sleepovers and dates, Ali and Emma have to be home by dark. It’s important to their father to keep them safe from the creatures that walk in the night, scavenging for human flesh. The problem is, their father is the only one who can see these supposed creatures. That is, until the night of Ali’s birthday when she convinces her parents to let them attend Emma’s dance recital, and there’s a horrible crash afterward. Everyone but Ali dies, and Ali believes she witnesses some type of ghost slipping inside her father’s body.

Flash forward a few months later. Ali now lives with her grandparents and attends a new school. She immediately makes a new friend, Kat, who warns her to stay away from Cole Holland and his mysterious band of delinquents. According to Kat, and everyone else in the school, they’re bad news, but Ali has some sort of weird, psychic connection with Cole that she can’t seem to resist. When Ali sees a zombie bride stalking the woods outside of her house, she is afraid she may have inherited her father’s senility, but when Cole tells her he can see the zombies, too, Ali begins to understand the link between them. The big question is why are the zombies so hell-bent on getting to her?

I knew going into this one that it wasn’t your standard zombie book. I also knew it wasn’t a retelling of the classic story. The zombies here are more like zombie ghosts, and I have to admit, I quite enjoyed the new take (that’s a pretty big feat coming from a zombie purist like myself). I also loved the slight nod to Lewis Carroll’s classic. The white rabbit cloud and a few other nods kept me smiling.

What really made the book for me was Ali’s voice. She seriously cracked me up. In the beginning of the book, she seemed kind of bland, but after the accident she kind of blossomed into this bad-ass. It kind of felt like it came out of nowhere, but I liked it. I also really liked her grandparents. They tried so hard to be cool and hip so they could relate to her, and nine times out of ten, they ended up humiliating her.

In the beginning of the book, I wasn’t sure what to think about Kat, or even Cole and the other delinquents, but Kat grew on me, as did Cole eventually.

While the book didn’t completely blow me away, there were a few surprises along the way that makes me want to dive into the second book as soon as it becomes available. ( )

I am the first one to admit that zombies aren't usually my cup of tea. And yet, I was intrigued by this book, not only because it seemed to be a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, but also because I was drawn to the story of the main character. Alice is a girl who loses everything she loves and seems to come out stronger because of the tragedy. Plus, okay, I may or may not have a thing for bad boys, and Cole seems to be a perfect specimen. And then I started seeing very mixed reviews, some from people who loved this book, and others from those who ... really didn't. Their main complaint was that this didn't seem like a retelling at all, which seemed like a good thing for me to keep in mind as I finally - FINALLY - found the time to read this (I am sure my library will be happy to get it back! I've pretty much maxed out my renewals on it, oops). And those people are totally right, because as a retelling, this book fails spectacularly. But there is a plethora of other things that made this book a success for me personally, and in the end I can't be happier that I decided to go ahead and read it.

For a book dealing with zombies - and let's not beat around the bush here, there are definitely plenty of zombies - this book had a surprisingly light-hearted and humorous feel to it. I couldn't help but love Alice, or rather, Ali, as she comes to be known. While she is clearly dealing with the aftermath of the accident that kills her family - and this was done in a very understated, beautiful way - she is still a girl who is full of spunk and sass. Combine her with the absolutely spectacular best friend that is Kat (even more spunk and sass!), and the rather smoldering, ridiculously hot "bad boy" Cole, and you have a cast that drew me in and kept me fully immersed in the story. Plus this book gets major bonus points for Ali's hilariously funny grandparents, who are trying so hard to speak to her in "her" language and make for some of the funniest lines in the entire book. In fact, for me, this book had a very similar feel to Croak by Gina Damico, which was one of my favorite reads of 2012. Both deal with very serious subject matter, but it's done in a way that you don't become overwhelmed by the darkness that exists in the background. But at the same time, if you want darkness without anything light (think This Is Not A Test), then this probably won't be the book for you, so your mileage may vary!

I also very much appreciated the different sort of zombie mythology (for lack of a better word) used in this book. These zombies aren't the ones you're used to seeing, and the ways that they're dealt with are quite brutal. There is a lot of time spent on Ali training to fight them, and she doesn't exactly shy away from rather graphic descriptions of what Ali and the others face when they go up against them. These sections are definitely the darkest parts of the book, and the sections that true zombie fans will most likely enjoy the most. As someone who is not a zombie fan (see my statement in the first paragraph), I liked that, while these sections definitely played a part in the overall arch of the story, there were plenty of other things to keep me entertained and help lighten the book's atmosphere. I am talking specifically about the back-and-forth romance between Ali and Cole, which is full of snark, humor, a bad boy who really isn't bad and a girl who knows exactly how to annoy him, and some rather, um, HOT makeout scenes. Let me just say that the romance fan in me definitely loved those makeout scenes!

My one piece of advice to anyone thinking about reading this book is to completely disregard the title (Alice in Wonderland this is not, except perhaps in some very cursory ways), and ditch your expectations at the door. I think I enjoyed this book precisely because I did just that, and I am definitely looking forward to book two. If you're okay with zombies, have an affinity for snarky main characters, and love swoon-worthy romance, then I'd definitely recommend this one! ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Teenage zombie killers. Need I saw more?

Opening Sentence: “Please, Alice. Please.”

The Review:

Her Dad always said that the monsters are real, now Alice knows that truth for herself. It may be too late for her family, but it isn’t too late for Ali. Alice in Zombieland is about the new and exciting (yet highly dangerous) profession of zombie killing. What would possibly possess a normal teenager to join the fight against the undead?

Alice Bell’s world turned upside down the night she lost both her parents and little sister in a car accident. What she doesn’t tell people is that she saw monsters after the crash and that is what really killed her family. Left with this impossible reality, Ali tries to come to terms with the knowledge. How does one move forward after such a traumatic event?

Ali begins her journey of self-discovery in a new school where she meets the most interesting people. She discovers that she is not the only one that knows about the monsters, and there are those that make it their personal mission to fight and destroy them. It may help Ali decide to join them given the fact that she seems to have a strange connection to their leader and all around bad boy, Cole Holland.

Each character in this book enhances individual aspects within Ali. Her best friend grounds her and reminds her that she is just a teenager. Cole and his crew bring out the desire for purpose. Even though this is a story set outside of our reality, I find the entire thing more accepting because of the people involved. Ali’s character is dramatic as any teenager, yet mature enough to deal with the weight of responsibility.

I really liked that the main love interest, Cole, represents Ali’s new life and purpose, almost as if the two are intertwined. Could Ali be successful in this venture without the help and support of Cole and his crew? Would she even want to?

Another interesting aspect in Alice in Zombieland is Ali’s unique powers. Not only is she new to the zombie hunting business, she brings something rare to the hunter’s group. Her potential contributions to the cause allow more freedom and choice. It is as if Ali is approaching her destined path in life, even if she stumbles along the way.

Overall, this is just another prime example of superior writing from Gena Showalter. Her work is always worth the time to read. I feel confident in recommending this book to any and all fans of paranormal and fantasy followers.

Notable Scene:

“Reeve.” Pops pursed his lips. “That sounds like a made-up name to me. What exactly will be crackalackin at this party? Will her parents be there?”

Again with the horrible slang, the adorable man. “We’ll swim, talk, probably play video games and Ping-Pong,” I said, sidestepping the parents portion of his interrogation. I hadn’t heard one way or the other, but I suspected a big fat no.

Pops gave me the evil eye. “You’re not going to get chewed, are you?”

I
 had no idea how to respond to that. “Chewed?”

“Don’t pretend to misunderstand, young lady,” Nana said. “Chewed. Cranked. Trashed.”

“You mean drunk?” Please, let them mean drunk. This discussion had already taken too many horrendous turns.

FTC Advisory: Harlequin Teen graciously provided me with a copy of Alice in Zombieland. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. The only payment received came in the form of hugs and kisses from my little boys. ( )

Firstly, I was hoodwinked by this book. It is not a retelling of the Alice fairy tale as the title, subtitle, and the names of the series and the main character will have you believe. Nope. Aside from a few cute references, this novel bears little similarity to Alice in Wonderland. Secondly, I haven’t read any other book of Showalter’s, but I was severely disappointed by this one.

Basically this book is about hot, smexy times (both real and in vision form) between the two main characters, broken up with fights with zombies, teen angst and copious rule-breaking. Alice Bell is actually a pretty cool girl who loves her family and takes a lot of care of her younger sister Emma, even though their father is a little crazy and believes in monsters that come out at night and harm people. The death of her whole family at the hands of these monsters quickly educates Alice on the very real dangers, but it’s only about half way into the book that the word ‘zombies’ is mentioned. My initial warmth towards Alice, however, quickly disappeared the moment she met Cole Holland.

To the right of us was a group of eight boys. If I’d ever needed a visual definition of serial criminal, I now had one (or eight).

When Alice first spies Cole, she concludes, rightly, that he and his friends are trouble. They are all tattoo-ridden, muscular, and sporting multiple bruises, and two of them have ankle bracelets. Which I’m guessing is exactly why she falls in love with Cole the moment they lock eyes (and get this: his eyes are violet. Ick!). I had to put the book down. I went back to it about a week later, and discovered that it doesn’t get better. Cole is controlling, arrogant and bossy, ordering Ali around and generally being a complete dick to her in the name of ‘protecting’ her. Not. Cool.

Some of the other characters do, however, shine. I really liked Emma, and I enjoyed reading about Kat, the new friend Ali makes at her school. I also really loved Ali’s grandparents, because they obviously cared about her so much. However, this effect is ruined by Ali taking advantage of the fact that they don’t hear too well to sneak out of the house, and her constant lying really annoyed me.

The stand out element of the book is definitely Showalter’s re-imagining of zombies – they aren’t kind of slow, stupid undead we’re used to, but creatures of the spirit realm that feed on a person’s spirit. The effect of this manifested physically as emulating the walking undead. This, at least in part, explains why Alice didn’t understand she was up against zombies for so long (although the other part is that the girl is really very slow).

There is a lot of unnecessary, and frankly distracting, teen drama in this book. Alice is fought over by two boys (both of whom stuck me as weird and creepy, but to each their own), Kat has ex-boyfriend drama, and all the girls Ali interacts with end up stabbing her in the back or letting her down. I was disappointed in such a view of high school, because it isn’t really like that, and with the author being female, I would have thought she – at least – would take the view that girls can be friends without the gossiping, social climbing and back-stabbing.

The beautiful cover of Alice in Zombieland hides its disappointing innards well, but in my honest opinion life is too short to waste on books like this. I guess if you’re looking for a fluff piece, this would be a good candidate, but there is hardly anything remarkable or memorable about it.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic. ( )

I'm on the fence with this book. Some aspects of it I genuinely enjoyed, some I didn't like at all, but overall I can say that it was a good book. Entertaining, quite unique, extremely well-written and addictive, it's a fresh new take on the zombie lore, but one that is more likely to appeal to fans of paranormal romance than a typical horror reader.

It's probably best to begin by clarifying that Alice in Zombieland has very little to do with Lewis Carrol's classic. It's not a retelling, it's not even loosely based around the original tale. It's an entirely different story, and the only things these two books have in common is the similar title, the name of the lead heroine and the white rabbit theme. I must say that this alone was a little bit of a let down. I did expect to see a darker, more sinister and twisted version of Alice in Wonderland. I thought it would be quirky, thrilling, perhaps a little bit gore, and definitely totally bad-ass. Well, as it turns out, if you're looking for all that, you're better off picking up Zombies Don't Cry or ZOM-B (and the last one is super, super dark and disturbing!). I won't lie, I felt just a tiny little bit cheated. And the worst part is, if not for the faked connection to Alice in Wonderland, I would've probably enjoyed this book a lot more. The storyline wasn't bad at all, the pacing was good, the intrigue was very well thought-out and quite twisty, and the ending just totally blew me away. For the most part of the book I felt that Showalter was trying too hard to mold the story into something that would be -even only remotely - resembling Alice in Wonderland. And I thought that was unnecessary. I didn't care much for the rabbit-shaped cloud, I thought it was a forced and awkward addition that was only there to draw fake parallels between the two (totally unrelated) stories. One might argue that the connection between Alice in Zombieland and Alice in Wonderland is a more metaphorical one, and the car accident that claimed the lives of Ali's family members and threw her right in the middle of a zombie-infested world was similar to Alice's falling into the rabbit hole. Two girls, two bizarre and scary worlds. But then again, we could probably say the same thing about practically every other heroine from a YA paranormal story. Aren't they all launched on crazy adventures at one point or another? For me, the connection was just a little bit too weak and unconvincing. The last hundred pages is when the real action happens, when this story finally breaks away from the chains of being Alice in Wonderland-look-alike and morphs into something truly fabulous, heart-pounding and jaw-dropping.

Showalter's zombies are not your usual flesh-devouring, brainless zombies that roam around the town aimlessly in hope of stumbling across something (someone?) to chew on. They're infected spirits, malevolent souls that - denied eternal rest - are drawn to the light of the living people that can see them. And not everyone can see them. More over, only a certain group of people can actually fight them. See, fighting the evil spirits is more complicated than killing "normal", made-of-flesh zombies. To kill a spirit, you have to enter the spirit realm, which means disconnecting your soul from the body. I thought that was an interesting concept, though I'm not entirely sure why we have to categorize these spirits as zombies. Maybe I'm just a classical munch-on-your-brain-and-slowly-mope-around zombie kind of gal, but Gena Showalter's zombies were just not zombie enough for me. They were too clean, too neat and too ghost-like. I would have been perfectly happy calling them malevolent spirits instead.

That is not to say that I did not enjoy this book. I did, and quite a lot at that. Once I got past the things that bothered me - and thankfully there weren't many and they weren't big enough to prevent my enjoyment of the story - I actually had a lot of fun following Ali's adventures. As I mentioned before, I especially loved the last hundred-or-so pages of this book when all the juicy and exciting things happen, secrets are revealed and your heart starts pounding real fast. I thought the conclusion of this book was totally mind-blowing, and I really hope Gena Showalter will keep this awesomeness up in the next book!

I liked most of the vibrant and interesting characters in this book, with the exception of Cole. Sadly, I wasn't a big fan of his childish and pushy personality. He refused to explain anything to Ali, even though he was well aware of the fact that her ignorance would put her in danger. He didn't want to get romantically involved with her (at least at the beginning), but he couldn't stand seeing her happy with another boy, either. He was possessive, short-tempered, ill-mannered, and controlling. Personally, I didn't find him hot at all. I do like bad-boys, but only if they possess some sort of redeeming qualities and a genuinely good personality that's just temporarily hidden underneath the mask of an overly-confident, tough boy. And while Cole might still show us his more tender and caring side in the next books, for now I decided to keep a healthy distance from him. The way he behaved in the first part of the book - constantly snapping at Ali, instructing her what to do, shutting her out but not letting her move on, and more often than not being plain rude and unpleasant - that just smelled too much like a certain sparkly vampire to me (or Travis from Beautiful Disaster, if you will). And I really hope he'll show us a different, more positive side of his character in the next instalment of the series.

While I generally liked Ali, I certainly did not care for her instant attraction to Cole. I did not like the dynamics of their relationship, I thought they were unhealthy to say the least. Overall, though, I thought Ali was a very authentic and convincing character, and I definitely enjoyed following her adventures. The first-person narrative offered a really good insight into her thoughts and feelings, and allowed me to understand the motives behind her actions. She was quick-witted, quite clever, brave, determined and bold. She was not easily scared, either. In fact, most of the time she would adapt to new situations and surroundings with surprising ease.

Kat, on the other hand, was just pure awesome. She burst into Ali's life like a tornado and, despite her many personal problems, was always cheerful, full of energy and confident. A little bit over-the-top at times, but in a good way. I loved her, I thought she made a great friend and a phenomenal supporting character. I'd go as far as to say that she was one of the most - if not the most - complex characters in this book. There's so much more to her than meets the eye!

My favourite thing about this book? Gena Showalter's excellent writing style. Her prose is straightforward, direct, honest and dynamic. At times it's more lyrical, sensual and dreamy. At times it packs a strong punch. Her descriptions are vivid and precise, her insights surprisingly accurate. It's all too easy to lose yourself in the world she created, and it's practically impossible to put the book down mid-way. The pacing is perfect, the plot moves along smoothly. It's just.. an overall fantastic reading experience.

I can honestly say that I enjoyed this book - some parts more than others, but overall I thought it was a great, furiously entertaining and thoroughly captivating read. Alice in Zombieland was my first book by Gena Showalter, but it certainly won't be the last one. I can't wait to read the next instalment of The White Rabbit Chronicles and see where Showalter will take us next! ( )

Find this review and more at On The Shelf!

This book was so awesome! It is definitely not your ordinary zombie tale. Instead of the usual sluggish, walking dead physical zombies, these are actually spirits that are infected and they are strong and fast. Also, you can’t just shoot them in the head to kill them, it’s much harder. It was definitely a book I could not put down, one of my favorites this year and I want the next one NOW. Why must I wait an entire year?!

This book was very exciting in several different ways and there is so much more to learn and uncover. The action scenes were really well-written and not at all confusing. The whole thing reads so fast and I would have finished it sooner than I did if life had let me sit down to it more.

There are so many characters I liked. Ali of course was awesome. She had to deal with a huge tragedy and she bounces back well. Her friend Kat is quite a character. Incredibly upbeat, incredibly fiesty, and an awesome friend. Ali’s grandparents were funny old folks who had some hilarious lines where they try to talk slang.


“You’re smart, pretty and you’re not a douche purse.”
If I’d had food in my mouth I would have spewed it. Douche purse? She must mean douche bag. But okay, I could roll. I was getting used to her filthy, funny mouth. Pg. 265

As for Cole, I wasn’t too crazy about him at first. I do like a confident, strong male lead, but in the beginning, he was a bit too forceful and a jerk. It was like he was two different people at first, but eventually we got to see who he was and I definitely warmed up to him.

The cover of this book is one of my favorites because of the details in it; the little skulls, the symbolds of the card suits, and the skull & crossbone design on the inside of the hardcover. All I have to say is READ THIS BOOK! A great book and a great Halloween read.

Zombies, action, great characters, witty banter. ( )

OMG! OMG! OMG! This book was as awesome as they get! I just this minute finished it and I had to get on here and say OMG! And just in case I need to spell out how I feel about it, I LOVED it! I figured I would because I love Gena Showalter's books in general, but I literally read it every second I could because it was just THAT good! I started it yesterday at about noon, and I finished it today at about noon, which is pretty good for me!

Alice has led a totally sheltered life due to the fact that her dad sees monsters where no one else does, and to keep his family safe he keeps them pretty much on lock down 24/7. On Alice's 16th birthday she guilts her parents into taking her to her little sister Emma's ballet recital, which means being out after dark, and because of this she loses her entire family at once. She moves in with her Nana and Pops, changes her name to Ali, and vows to fight the evil that killed her family. Add to this the fact that she has to switch schools and ends up with a new best friend and a weird relationship with the hottest, baddest ass at the school, and her new life is off to a roaring start!

I loved the characters in this book. Ali is such an innocent at the beginning of the book, but when she decides to take her head out of her .... umm, I mean out of the sand, she isn't fooling around! And Kat is the best friend that all of us want to have: she's funny, snarky, full of herself in the best way, and totally loyal to a fault. Then there's Cole, the bad boy that we were all attracted to in high school, but who scared the heck out of us! Ali and Cole have a totally unique start, and that's all I'm going to say about that because I don't want to ruin any surprises for you! Suffice it to say, they are meant to be together, if they can just get out of their own way to get there!

Seeing as how this is one of Gena's books, I probably don't have to say that the pacing is perfect and the action is awesome, but I will! The main characters were great, but even better are the secondary characters! Each one has their own unique voice and there's tons of growth from start to finish. I think two of my favorites were Nana and Pops. When they take Ali in, they go out of their way to make her feel comfortable, going so far as learning the slang that all the kids use nowadays, usually with hilarious results! One of my favorite examples is when they're talking to Ali before she goes to a party at her new friend Reeve's house:

"Reeve." Pops pursed his lips. "That sounds like a made-up name to me. What exactly will be crackalackin at this party? Will her parents be there?"

Again with the horrible slang, the adorable man. "We'll swim, talk, probably play video games and Ping-Pong," I said, sidestepping the parents portion of his interrogation. I hadn't heard one way or the other, but I suspected a big fat no.

Pops gave me the evil eye. "You're not going to get chewed, are you?"

I...had no idea how to respond to that. "Chewed?"

"Don't pretend to misunderstand, young lady," Nana said. "Chewed. Cranked. Trashed."

"You mean drunk?" Please, let them mean drunk. This discussion had already taken too many horrendous turns.

They are SO cute!! Overall, I loved everything about this book and can't believe I have to wait until October 2013 to read Book 2 of The White Rabbit Chronicles, Through the Zombie Glass!! Here's to hoping the time flies by :D ( )

It's no surprise that I adored this book. I mean c'mon. It's Gena Freaking Showalter, queen of writing! I absolutely loved this story. Not only is the story building unique and exciting, it's gives the reader a whole new spin on Alice In Wonderland.

What's really cool about this book is the new plot. I like that all elements that were in the classic are intrinsically intertwined with every chapter. The bold plots grabs the reader from the start with Ali's life that is all of sudden turned upside down. It's paced well so it gives the reader time to invest in each character unraveling them slowly before the reader eyes.

The love interest is definitely unique. The carefully written bonds that form with the love interest leave me wanting more. I really like the paranormal twist to the story. It amazed me of how well it flowed and made sense in the story. Once in the story you see everything unfold and you can't help but feel amazed of what your reading.

The result is an gripping smart story that leads deeper into the rabbit hole. Alice In Zombieland has enough brilliance that it spills over every single page. A very fulfilling, amazing story, Alice In Zombieland rocks my socks off! ( )

This review appears on my blog, Starting the Next Chapter.

When I first heard about Alice in Zombieland, I was expecting a tale mixing the peculiarities of Alice in Wonderland with the dessicated or oozing horror that is the usual zombie. What I found, however, was something a bit different. Rather than the usual flesh-eating zombies, Gena Showalter has created an unseen world in which zombies take on a different form and role. The result is a story filled with danger, tragedy, friendship, and romance. The trip from start to finish is a wild one, so get ready for some action.

I am a bit conflicted about the characters found in Alice in Zombieland. Alice, for example, has survived a horrible tragedy and sets out to make a difference so that it doesn't happen again. However, her tendency to moon after Cole was a little too much for me at times, and his frequent attempts to push her away by being a grade A jerk got old really fast. I really was not impressed with that aspect. When she gets down to the business of zombie slaying, however, she begins to shine. That and her interactions with her best friend, Kat, were my favorite aspects about her. Cole, on the other hand, is your typical bad boy with a more intimidating effect upon the high school's students. I wasn't entirely sold on him until he started to become a little bit less of a hard ass. Even now, I'm feeling lukewarm about his character. I do have to admit, though, that Alice and Cole have some interesting chemistry. I'll just say that you can expect some steamy kissing scenes and leave it at that.

Some of the sites featured throughout the story have a definite feeling of foreboding. They made for excellent backdrops for zombie attacks and creepy nocturnal jaunts. The battles are fierce and the casualties gruesome. That coupled with the warrior-like group dedicated to eradicating the zombies make for some really action-packed sequences that kept me riveted. The writing was easy to keep up with, although I will say that the ARC had a slight issue with continuity. To say exactly what might be a bit of a spoiler, but it was noticeable. I don't know if it will remain in the finished copy or not, but it is something of note. Otherwise, the pace of the story was great and it made for a pretty quick read.

Overall, I enjoyed Alice in Zombieland and would definitely like to keep up with the series. Even though the zombies weren't what I expected, the novelty was enough to keep me interested. It is my hope that a bit more about their origins and the founding of the slayers will be revealed as the series continues. I would love to know more about the world Gena Showalter has created. If you enjoy a little steam with your romance and zombie invasions, you should check out Alice in Zombieland. ( )

What an amazing and unique story!!! Gena Showalter really outdid herself - and with a zombie story! And if you know me at all, you know that I am not a fan if zombies, I really don't understand the craze behind it, sorry! But the whole concept of this story being inspired by Alice in Wonderland really drew me in - and did not disappoint. Most of the time, I was able to pick out which characters were who and what imagery's where taken from the original 'Wonderland' story. A few where not so easy to figure out until after I finished reading it and had some time to think about it...

Alice is your typical teen, for the most part she is happy and loves her family, especially her little sister. And even though her father is 'disturbed and paranoid' and doesn't allow the family to do certain things because of it, she seems to handle it well... most of the time.
In a blink of an eye, Alice loses her family in a tragic car accident... was her father right? Were his nightmarish monster fears true?... but Alice is in too much pain to think twice about it. Her family is gone and now she has to go live with her grandparents in a neighboring town next to hers. Which also means she has to go to a new school, make new friends and try to live a life without her family. Without her little sister. She will just have to do what she can do for now...

Until she meets Cole.

The minute Alice's eyes land on Cole there is a fierce connection - but do not be discouraged, this is no insta-love in the making. This is something else, something more that needs to be figured out, and soon... it doesn't help that Cole is a badass with swoon-worthy good looks even with the tattoos and constant bruises. He is strong, a leader and will fiercely protect what is his. But don't let him fool you and push you away, there is a well-meaning and soft side to Cole that takes a while to poke into and get used to. He knows things, things that Alice has been guessing at and she needs him to tell her if she's right or if she is as crazy as her father was.
Alice is strong and an amazing heroine - she is not afraid to feel her sadness, do what's right, speak her mind and surprisingly, with all that she's been through and continues to go through, has an amazing sense of humor. She will not be told what to do nor be backed into a corner. She is prepared to fight back to honor her family and protect her new family and friends.

There is never a dull moment in 'Zombieland' - set at a great ongoing pace and never a predictable moment - the zombies are everywhere. And not in the way that you think they are. Few can see these zombies. And even fewer people can stop these zombies from killing, or worse, creating other zombies.

A zombie-story like no other! Gena Showalter met all of my 'Wonderland' expectations and gave me so much more! Whether your a fan of fairy-tales or gory zombies, this is definitely a book to read and add to your shelf! ( )

I’m a huge fan of Gena Showalter, so when I heard that she was coming out with a new series I was extremely excited.

Let me start my review by saying that it's been hard for me to read YA novels lately after discovering the vast world of dark urban fantasy, paranormal romance & erotica out there. There are a couple series that I can't stray from however, and now I have a new one to add to the list of ones I won't be leaving behind.

Gena’s take on zombies was unique and captivating. She takes a more fantastical spin on the zombie phenomena and I found it utterly fascinating. Alice in Zombieland is truly a trip down the rabbit hole
 :)

In true Gena Showalter fashion, the characters were well developed and engaging. Our heroine Alice starts out as a sheltered teen and ends up immersed in a multi-dimensional world full of grief, intrigue, mystery and danger. Our hero Cole is the consummate bad boy. He’s mysterious, dangerous, and sexy as sin (yes, I developed a completely inappropriate ‘cougar crush’ on our resident hero!). Together they have a chemistry that literally leaps off of the page, and as of yet
 there are no love triangles or teen angst to be seen (a big win for me personally).

The world was solidly built, and the way that Gena unraveled the tale was perfect to keep the reader captivated and wanting more. The mysteries surrounding the world that is unveiled to Alice and the secrets that Cole is keeping kept me wanting more, page after page.

The other thing that I can always expect from Gena is amazing dialogue. Alice in Zombieland did not disappoint there either, and there were numerous times where I found myself laughing out loud at a one liner or descriptive used.

All in all this was an excellent first installment to Gena's new series. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for the next installment.

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Alice in Zombieland 4 Skulls and would recommend it to all YA Paranormal lovers and fans of Gena Showalter. ( )