From The Review Pile (72)

From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday.

The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review (or if you don't receive review books, any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

I know that a lot of you have a huge pile of books that you want to read/review, but it understandably takes a while to get around to reading them all - here you can give a book (or two!) some of the publicity that it deserves, even if you haven't read it yet!

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This week, I'm going to showcase Death of a Saint!
I recieved this book for review relatively recently and I'm really hoping to pick it up sometime soon. You may have seen my review of the first book in the Mall Rats series, Deadlands, and if you did, you would know how fantastic I thought it was. I really loved reading Deadlands, so I am hoping that this will continue the story well. I can't wait to see what happens!

Death of A Saint by Lily Herne

Paperback, 384 pages

Expected Publication 17th October 2013 by Much In Little

Some secrets are so unthinkable you can't even admit them to yourself . . . Lele, Ginger, Ash and Saint - aka the Mall Rats - are hiding out in the Deadlands, a once-prosperous area of Cape Town, now swarming with the living dead. Exiled from the city enclave for crimes against the Resurrectionist State, the Rats face a stark choice: return and risk capture - or leave Cape Town and go in search of other survivors.But what if the rest of South Africa is nothing but a zombie-riddled wasteland? Now Lele has discovered the truth about why the lurching dead leave them alone, she can't bring herself to tell the rest of the gang. And she's not the only Mall Rat harbouring a dangerous secret . . . Can the friends' survive on the road if all they have is each other? Or will their secrets tear them apart? 

Deadlands (Deadlands #1)

Deadlands (Deadlands #1) by Lily Herne

Paperback, 304 pages

Expected Publication: 8th April 2013 by Much-In-Little

Shelves: arc-or-review, better-than-expected, blog-tour, books-i-own, lgbt-characters, read, read-in-2013, really-good, series-or-companions, title-appeal, young-adult, zombies

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

In Deadlands, life is a lottery.

Ten years have passed since Cape Town was destroyed in the war with the living dead. Now, human survivors are protected from the zombies that lurch around the suburban Deadlands by shrouded figures known as 'Guardians'. But the price for protection is steep: each year, the Guardians hold a human lottery in which five teenagers are chosen for a secret purpose.

Seventeen-year-old Lele hates everything about her life in the city: her new school, the brainwashed zombie-lovers, the way everyone seems creepily obsessed with teenagers . . . She wants out. Then she is picked as a Chosen One: but she's not prepared to face whatever shady future the Guardians have in store for her. So she runs for her life - straight into the Deadlands, and into the ranks of the Mall Rats - a renegade gang of misfit teens who have gone underground - and are preparing to take a stand.

Deadlands is not a book I had heard about and I hadn't heard of the author, Lily Herne, before I picked this book up, but I'm always willing to read books that are new to me, and it's even better when they're unexpectedly fantastic like this one! I am so glad that the publishers put Deadlands on my radar and I'm glad to be able to share it with you, too.

Deadlands is the beginning of a new young adult series set in Cape Town, South Africa. I have only read one other book set in South Africa, so this was still a relatively new setting for me. I loved the setting. I'm not all that familiar with South Africa or some of their dialect, so I was a little bit unsure at first, but after a few pages I soon adjusted to the setting - there wasn't much use of Afrikaans or references but that didn't devalue the authenticity of the setting - it just made it easier to understand. The fact that this is set in South Africa is of course very refreshing, but the setting of the enclave and the Deadlands themselves are incredibly atmospheric and gritty. The two sides of the city - the dangerous Deadlands where zombies roam and the (assumed) safer enclave, lawed by Guardians. The differences between the two are clear and very well written. 

The storyline sounded potentially confusing, but that wasn't the case at all - the story was very easy to understand and follow whilst certainly having a good level of complexity. There is so much room for the story to expand and develop - there have already been some opportunities for twists and turns in this first book and I can only see more being added as the story progresses over the series. As I said, the story still is simple to follow - I was never confused by anything. There are lots of aspects to this story and to the city that Lele, the main character inhabits. This was certainly a page turner as I was reading quickly, trying to absorb every detail.

The characters were great to 'meet' and learn about the mix of characters in Deadlands. Our main character, Lele obviously has a lot of history and the plot allows us to see many facets of her personality. Due to the situation that the city is in, It was so difficult to trust anybody that we read about - I never knew quite who was on the right side of the city's Guardian 'laws'. The opposing groups were fascinating and it was interesting to see the politics of the enclave. The underground group, the Mall Rats who regularly venture into the Deadlands were particularly fascinating - they each had their own story and all had their own distinct personalities, which I loved.

Overall, Deadlands was a fantastic book which had me gripped from start to finish. It felt like an amalgamation of positive themes and ideas from several ideas  whilst having its own unique story. I really, really enjoyed this and I will definitely be following the rest of the series. If you're a fan of young adult dystopian or paranormal (particularly zombies!), I'm sure that this book would appeal to you - it would be ideal for fans of The Hunger Games. If you're looking for a great new voice in YA, you'll find it in Deadlands.

Blog Tour Stop - Deadlands

I have recently received and read Deadlands, a new young adult book which is also kicking off a new series. I was very pleasantly surprised by this book and I really enjoyed it - I know that a lot of my readers will love it too, it has huge potential. My review for Deadlands will be up very soon, so keep checking back!

I was very lucky to be offered the chance to participate in the Deadlands Blog Tour and share with you an exclusive post from the mother and daughter duo who wrote this book!

Music to Write and Fight Zombies by

As a mother and daughter writing team, we have very different ideas about what constitutes the perfect writing atmosphere. Savannah (the daughter half) listens to music constantly while she’s writing (if we’re working in the same vicinity, she has to be nagged to turn it down – it leaks out of her earphones, as if there’s a highly annoying and inept ghostly rapper in the room). Sarah (the mother part) can only write in peace and quiet – otherwise she gets too distracted and starts daydreaming about being Jay Z.

The following are some of the tracks Savannah listens to when she writes. Excluding the K-pop, the playlist could possibly double-up as a soundtrack if you’re ever caught in a stereotypical zombie-fighting scenario. Sarah was only allowed to choose one track for the list: Tubthumping by Chumbawamba (the lyrics, ‘I get knocked down, but I get up again’, sums up the zombie existence and she wants the track played at her funeral). 

Playlist

The Destroyer – Blue Stahli 
Been to Hell – Hollywood Undead 
I am the Best – 2ne1  
Down with the Sickness – Disturbed 
The Rockafeller Skank – Fatboy Slim
Hit the Floor – Linkin Park
Time is Running Out – Muse
Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix) – The Prodigy
Post Blue – Placebo
Riot – Three Days Grace
Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino Variation) – Rob Dougan
Avalon – Professor Green
Enter the Ninja – Die Antwoord  
Wretches and Kings - Linkin Park
Sabotage – The Beastie Boys
Warrior – B.A.P 
Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes

Tubthumping – Chumbawamba 

Many thanks to 'Lily Herne' for taking the time to write a post for my blog and also to Much-In-Little for both asking me to host a tour stop and providing me with this post.

Deadlands is available to purchase now!

Check out the rest of the tour here: