Have a look at this cover, isn't it gorgeous and matches stunningly with Hollowland. If you haven't read Hollowland, then what are you waiting for!!! Here's my review HOLLOWLAND REVIEW
Hollowmen is due out in November and I can't wait!!
Head over to Amanda's page . I can't believe I am shortening my chances of winning a signed copy of Hollowland by telling you all to head over and enter her giveaway to win 1 of 3 signed Hollowland books!
I bought my signed Torn and My Blood Approves books, so would be nice to add another signed Amanda Hocking book. If you haven't read any of Amanda's work, then pull your finger out and start, I highly recommend.
I started with Trylle series and then My Blood Approves series, then Hollowland and Virtue. All reviews except for Virtue and Ascend in left side bar. I need to pull my finger our and write those!
Oh just spotted this on Amanda's page...she is on fire with her work, well not literally, but yes literary...lol!! Hollowland Comic Books!!!!
By : Amanda Hocking Published By : Self Published Smashwords Released : Available Now Details : E-Book , 463 Pages ( On my uber new 6" Rank Arena E-Book reader)
RATING : 5 TATUM & LAZLO STARS!!
Hollowland - the first book in the young adult dystopian series The Hollows...
"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."
Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies. BOOK REVIEW:
Firstly I would like to show you Amanda's original cover for this awesome zombie book. I really do like her new one up above. Gives me a face to Remy's character.
If you don't know of Amanda Hocking, never read any of her work, well have a nose around this blog and you will see that I am a huge fan. Go on....this review can wait....but make sure you come back to this exact spot!!
I must admit I am not a zombie fan..you know, blood, gore, fugly, generally want to rip you to shreds in the most grotesque way and eat you....and so on....
Hubby got me watching 'Zombieland', his movie pick at the cinemas awhile back. My choice was, 'New Moon' at the time..he didn't so much go for that choice. So here I am sitting in a cinema thinking how am I going to get through this zombie movie with actually seeing some of the movie ( not hiding my face in his shoulder). I always like to look around at who is in the cinema with me before the lights dim. Nice 50 ish couple behind us..... they look safe, he was reading a book until lights dimmed. Just me preparing myself for the onslaught of gore that I was going to be subjected to. Well, talk about awesome movie. Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, the little chicken from Little Miss Sunshine ( who did that hilarious dance that grandpa taught her) anyhoo trying not to tangent here, just saying I was not into zombies. Once you get past that most gorey 4 minute opening scene it is a very clever , funny movie. Hubby was giggling all through first 4 mins, I was like "oh how am I going to survive this movie"....but I did and it was worth watching.
I saved Amanda's zombie book to near last ( my fear of zombies) in all the books she has written and self published for all us lucky readers to read. Well somebody slap me with a stinky dead fish , should have read it earlier, talk about an AWESOME!!! book.
From the first page, the book takes off. No waffling on about life before this happened, just BAM!!! straight into the story and Remy and Co, fleeing for their lives.
CHARACTERS:
REMY : 19 yrs old, survivor. Her mission is to find her brother Max , 8 yrs old.
HARLOW : 13 yrs old , orphan.
SOMMER : "...contained all the nervous energy and usefulness of a chipmunk."
BECK : Soldier, looked out for Max.
BLUE : 20ish yrs old, studying to be doctor ( always handy)
LAZLO : Rockstar, same age as Remy.
RIPLEY : Well , I'll let you figure Ripley out by yourself.
The 'lyssavirus genotype 8', mutation of rabies virus, only infects humans. Within day of exposure, symptoms are , headaches, fever, nausea, hallucinating, paranoid, aggresive. Within 3 days, angry , violent, incapable of rational thought. The infected are overdosed with adrenaline, crazy strong, insatiably hungry for anything including dirt and people. If you shoot them, they die. If you get their blood or saliva in your blood, you die. Pretty simple.
Plan was , quarantine all the infected , let virus run its course.
Not all plans go accordingly.....
Remy is on a mission to find her little brother, it is all she has left. She knows he was evacuated from the quarantine base that they were now fleeing from. Zombies were getting smarter.....the virus mutating within their bodies.
The characters Remy picks up along the way on her quest to find Max make the book very enjoyable. She is a survivor who will not let anyone stop her . She is as strong as any 19 year old girl can be but she is determined. She is a quick thinker . She will not allow herself to fail.
Amanda writes Remy's story very well. I really felt like I could have been tagging along with her. That feeling of surviving the whole ordeal keeps the heart racing as you read. The whole time I was in fear of who was going to get torn apart, bitten, clawed.....
Amanda is very good at making you 'feel' for certain characters. They aren't 2 dimensional. Remy has emotions but she can't afford to take the time to connect with them as it will be her undoing. She has an unlikely friend who doesn't say much ( hee..hee...) but is always there for Remy. A very odd friendship. I kept fearing she would be left behind all the time. I was like...don't forget her.
Some nice little POW!! moments ( POW = didn't see that coming). I have a team t-shirt and I think funnily enough it is Tatum. I know Lazlo is the rockstar and cool dude, but I can't help thinking there will be more with Tatum in book 2. Just me , thinking aloud. I really connected with Tatum. Like I connected with Peter in MBA series ( My Blood Approves ).
Does Remy complete her mission? How much will she have to sacrifice for that freedom that so many will be relying on? She is only 19 and not super woman. She can't fix everything...or can she?
Visually , this would make an awesome movie. So glad this is a series of books as the ending had me wanting so much more.
With some further snooping it would appear 'Hollowmen' is book 2 in this series..yayayayayay!!
I thought this youtube clip was very good explaining the book but does contain spoilers which I chose not to include in my review ...click on it only if you want to watch a very review in clip form of Hollowland containing couple spoilers:D
Amanda Hocking self published author on Smashwords. Everynow and then an author comes along that is a pure gem and I believe she is one of Smashwords superstars. I have just read 'Switched' and 'Torn', book 1 and 2 in her 'Trylle' trilogy . 'Ascend', book 3 to be released in 2011. I am in awe of her writing so much that I decided to do this little piece on the blog and showcase her books. I have bought them all, except what not yet released. I shall sit at my computer again to the wee hours tonight and start 'My Blood Approves' series. 'Torn' review to be viewed here on blog shortly. I look forward to more reads from Amanda . Do yourselves a favour read her work.
SWITCHED TRYLLE BK # 1
When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy finds out her mother might've been telling the truth.
With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - and it's one she's not sure if she wants to be a part of.
I have reviewed this book on blog 1/1/11
TORN TRYLLE BK # 2
Torn the second installment of the Trylle Trilogy...
Wendy thought she finally understood who she was and what she wanted, but everything changes when the rival Vittra come after her.
She's caught between two worlds, torn between love and duty, and she must decide what life she is meant to lead.
ASCEND TRYLLE BK # 3
Third and final book in the Trylle trilogy, a troll-based YA series. With a war looming on the horizon, Wendy’s fate seems sealed. But everything she sacrificed might be in vain if she can’t save the ones she loves.
Her whole life has been leading up to this, and it’s all coming to an end.
RELEASE DATE JANUARY 2011
MY BLOOD APPROVES - MY BLOOD APPROVES BK # 1
Teenager Alice Bonham's life feels crazy after she meets Jack. With his fondness for pink Chuck Taylors and New Wave, he's unlike anyone she knows. Then she meets his brother, Peter. Even though he can't stand the sight of her, she's drawn to him. Falling for two guys isn't even the worst of her problems. Jack and Peter are vampires, and Alice finds herself caught between love and her own blood.
FATE
Fate - the second installment in the My Blood Approves series...
Alice Bonham thinks she's finally found a balance in her life between the supernatural and real life with her brother Milo. Jack - her sorta vampire boyfriend - keeps her at arm's length to keep her safe. As for his brother Peter... she's not sure where he's at, or what he wants with her. Worse still, she's not even sure what she wants with Peter. When tragedy happens, Alice finds herself struggling with a terrible choice. Her decision has consequences that reach farther than she'd ever imagined...
FLUTTER Flutter - the third book in the My Blood Approves series...
Being undead doesn't make life any easier for Alice Bonham.
Her younger brother's love life is heating up, while hers is...more complicated. Mae is falling apart, her best friend Jane is addicted to vampire bites, and if Alice doesn't get her bloodlust under control, someone will end up dead.
Alice volunteers for a rescue mission with Ezra. But going up against a pack of rabid vampires might be too much, even for him.
WISDOM Wisdom - the fourth book in the My Blood Approves series...
For her eighteenth birthday, Alice Bonham takes a vacation to Australia only to have her trip cut short by an unexpected murder.
While Alice tries to understand what happened, she regrets some of the choices she's made, especially the more permanent ones.
On top of that, the child vampire is running loose, and its attracting some very unwanted attention...
LETTERS TO ELISE - A PETE TOWNSEND NOVELLA
In My Blood Approves, Peter Townsend fell in love with Alice Bonham, but she wasn't his first love. In a new novella told through his letters, his history is revealed.
HOLLOWLAND
"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door." Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.
HONALEE - Witches of Honalee # 1 In the small midwestern town of Honalee, Hazel Panning and her best friend Molly Novak are determined to get through her sophomore year in one piece, despite the vicious cheerleaders and Hazel's ridiculous crush on Landon Hooper.
Life gets more complicated when Hazel realizes that she has a penchant for sorcery, like her aunt. Her plans to stay under the radar take a detour when she and Molly stand up for themselves, and Hazel gets the courage to act on her feelings for Landon.
Hazel discovers that the sleepy town of Honalee isn't so sleepy, and magic doesn't make high school easier.
