September 2012 GraveTells Book Awards: See our (and your) top picks!

What reviewer DaVinciKittie had to say about Alice in Zombieland…

Alice in Zombieland is riveting and addicting… from the very first sentence. Ali loses her family to a zombie attack in the beginning of the book; that’s no spoiler, she mourns about it in the prologue. What completely blindsided me, however, was how deep and intense her grief was and how much it affected me.

This might be a young adult book, but the sexual tension between Ali and Cole is palpable and electric, and the scenes are blazing with chemistry even though its all relatively tame. I found myself pushing on just for another taste of that addictive connection between them, not even considering the expert writing skills Ms. Showalter brings to all her work. This is a book every lover of PNR and YA will want to read… and even some who have turned up their noses at the genre. Alice in Zombieland is just good ole monster-slaying fun!

These zombies are not your typical brain-eating, slow-moving, grunting and stupid automatons with a shuffling gait. They are scary, fast, and feel frighteningly real. I’m not a zombie kind of gal. I don’t like horror, gore, or things that go bump in the night. I find rotting flesh and nomming brains way more disgusting than entertaining, and I like my action books dosed with a healthy heaping of steamy, sweaty naughtiness. Based on all that, you’d think Alice in Zombieland is definitely not my kind of story, but this book is GOOD! With very little sexual content, Alice and Cole steam up the pages (can I have my own Cole? Pretty please?), and even the down and dirty zombie scenes had me wanting more, more, more!

If you like paranormal romance and urban fantasy and only read 5 books this year, Gena Showalter’s Alice in Zombieland should be on that list! In a genre where ‘original’ is quickly giving way to ‘same old regurgitated plot’, AiZ is fresh and unique, and a GraveTells “must read”!

Read the full review here!

From DVK’s review of Demons & Lullabies…

The story skips through time and highlights moments from Jacob’s childhood and the relationship between his two dads as they defend unsuspecting humans against near-constant demon attacks. Initially, the story switches between Andrew’s and Nicholas’s point of view, exploring their bond and narrating Jacob’s early years from an outside perspective. Once Jacob is old enough to talk and toddle, we’re treated to some endearingly adorable and surprisingly mature thoughts and get to see his fathers from a new perspective, highlighting some of the more subtle aspects of their partnership.

While there is certainly a good amount of demon fighting and fangy love bites happening in the periphery of this story, the focus is on love and family bonds and the challenges of growing up with two dads who happen to be traditional vampires. Some of the scenes with Jacob as a child really squeezed my heart, made me feel what he was feeling. I usually don’t care for stories with kids in them, but in Demons & Lullabies it didn’t bother me at all. I was so caught up in the heart of this touching story that the lack of action and smut rarely crossed my mind. Oh there’s sex and it’s fairly steamy, but it’s not overly explicit or gratuitous; it enhances the mens’ relationship rather than defining it.

As soon as this book ended, I thought “this better be a series!” I didn’t want it to end and am looking forward to seeing Jacob grow into his adulthood fighting beside his fathers. When I said this to author Kallysten, she reassured me that there is indeed a story about Jacob’s adult journey, called One Last Lullaby. Demons & Lullabies is a captivating, enriching story and is a GraveTells recommended read!

Read the full review here!

To see all our reviews for September 2012, click here!

More about Karen…

As a multi-published author, I spin tales for The Wild Rose Press, Highland Press, Published By RJV, Victory Tales Press, and Western Trail Blazers.

My new passion is creating book covers for Western Trail Blazers and Published by Rebecca J. Vickery. In my spare time, I review books for PNR-Paranormal Romance Reviews.

Whether your reading fancy is paranormal, historical or time travel, all my stories capture the rich array of emotions that accompany the most fabulous human phenomena—falling in love.

Read more about Karen’s published works on her website and blog.

See the full results of this month’s Readers Choice voting here.