Shambling With the Stars - Quick Book Review

 

Shambling With the Stars (Living With the Dead #2.5)

by Jesse Petersen

What is it about:

Avery Andrews is her name and directing celebrity telethons after tragedies is her game. But the Northwestern Zombie Outbreak isn't your average tragedy... and once the infection spreads to the studio, Avery and her crew will have to worry about staying alive, not ratings.

What did I think of it:

I realized I never read this short story, back when I read the Living with the Dead series for the first time. 

I missed out! This is a really cool Zombie read.

It's short, but has it all: people transforming and biting others on live tv, mayhem, and lots and lots of zombies! 

I had a great time with it and might continue my reread of the series soon.

Why should you read it:

Zombie mayhem!

buy from amazon

Married with Zombies - Book Review (repost)

I've been rereading books, this one among them, so here's a repost of my review. It's still as fun on reread I can tell you.

Married with Zombies (Living with the Dead #1)
by Jesse Petersen

What is it about:
Meet Sarah and David.

Once upon a time they met and fell in love. But now they're on the verge of divorce and going to couples' counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things - the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client's throat.

Meet the Zombies.

Now, Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But, just because there are zombies, doesn't mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don't eat their brains, they might just kill each other.

What did I think of it:
After reading Petersen's short story collection 'In the Dead: Volume 1' I just had to read one of her full novels, so that's why I picked up 'Married With Zombies'.

And I can tell you it's a great read.

This book has kick-ass action, humor, suspense and best of all: lots of zombies and zombie mayhem. Petersen has a very pleasant writing style and combined with the cool story it made me tear through this book in record time. The worldbuilding is very good and I loved how each chapter began with a handy relationship tip for those couples who're fighting zombies. The one thing I can say against this story is that Sarah and David are acting very blasé about the zombies very early on in the story, but I'm willing to let that slip as there's so many cool zombie moments in this book.

I will most certainly read the next book in this series and I can advice this book to any fan of zombie books.

Why should you read it:
This fun book is a very handy guide on how to survive a zombie outbreak and save your marriage in the process as well!

buy from amazon

Interview with Jesse Petersen + Giveaway (US only)

Today I bring you an interview with Jesse Petersen, who writes awesome books about zombies and other monsters. The interview is also translated in French by Melliane for those fans of Jesse who read her books in French.


Photo Credit: imaginate photography

Welcome to Pearls Cast Before A McPig, Jesse.
Could you tell a bit about yourself for those people who don’t know you yet?

Sure! My name is Jesse Petersen and I write snarky urban fantasy about zombies and monsters (but not together). I’m married to my high school sweetheart, we live in Arizona with our two cats. We’re huge geeks and spend our spare time running the “family business” (books) and having deep discussions about Star Wars. It’s a good life.

How would you describe the Monstrosity series and how many books will there be?

I think of the Club Monstrosity series as what would happen if monsters were real and needed therapy. I hope it’s fun, snarky and unexpected. At this point there will only be two books in the series, CLUB MONSTROSITY and THE MONSTERS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD (July 29).

The first three books in the Living With the Dead series were published by Orbit, but you self published The Zombie Whisperer. Was it difficult and what advice would you give authors who want to try self publishing?

Not really difficult in that I felt like Dave and Sarah still had some story left in them and Orbit wasn’t interested in doing a fourth book. It was easier for me in some ways, since I was already published and had an audience out there. Otherwise, it’s just a lot of work as far as promotion, promotion, promotion...


Are there any other projects you’re working on or thinking about starting in the near future?

Right now, I am working on projects back in the romance world, but I would never completely rule out more urban fantasy if an idea struck my fancy.

If you could, would you change places with any of your characters?

Oh dear God, no. LOL All my characters are a little messed up and definitely dealing with some crazy stuff. It’s fun to write, but I think it would be stressful. I’ll just watch from the sideline, throwing things at them.

Where can you be found when you’re not at your desk writing?

Hopefully outside in the beautiful weather. Or hanging out with my cute nephews.

What did you do to celebrate the release of your first book?

I got a tattoo, actually. LOL

What authors have been an influence to you? And have you read any books lately that you want to share with us or have you been too busy with writing to read?

I come from a romance background, so a lot of my writing influences are from that genre. I am always inspired by geeky movies and television (Shaun of the Dead, Venture Brothers, Doctor Who, etc). And I have been really busy with writing lately, but I’ve read The Guernsey Literary Society lately and it was AWESOME.

Are there pigs in any of your books or will there be any in future books?

No pigs so-far. But never say never...


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Pouvez-vous nous parler un peu de vous-même pour ceux qui ne vous connaissent pas encore ?

Bien sûr ! Mon nom est Jesse Petersen et j'écris de la fantasy urbaine sarcastique sur les zombies et des monstres (mais pas ensemble). Je suis mariée à mon amour qui remonte au lycée, nous vivons dans l'Arizona avec nos deux chats. Nous sommes de grands geeks et passons notre temps libre à gérer « l’entreprise familiale » (livres) et à discuter longuement sur Star Wars. C'est une bonne vie.

Comment décririez-vous la série Club Monstrosity et combien de livres comportera-t-elle ?

Quand je pense à la série Club Monstrosity, je pense à ce qui se passerait si les monstres étaient réels et qu’ils avaient besoin d’une thérapie. J'espère que c'est amusant, sarcastique et inattendu. A ce stade, il n'y aura que deux livres de la série : CLUB MONSTROSITY et THE MONSTERS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD (29 Juillet).

Les trois premiers livres de la série Zombie Thérapie ont été publiés par Orbit, mais vous avez autoédité The Zombie Whisperer. Etait-ce difficile et quels conseils donneriez-vous à des auteurs qui veulent essayer l'autoédition ?

Cela n’a pas été vraiment difficile dans le sens où je sentais que Dave et Sarah avaient encore un peu d’histoire laissée en eux mais Orbit n'était pas intéressé à l’idée de publier un quatrième tome. Cela a été plus facile pour moi d'une certaine façon, comme j’étais déjà publiée et que j’avais des lecteurs là-bas. Sinon, c'est juste beaucoup de travail en ce qui concerne la promotion, la promotion, la promotion...


Y a-t-il d'autres projets sur lesquels vous travaillez ou envisagez de créer dans un avenir proche ?

En ce moment, je travaille sur des projets afin de retourner dans le monde de la romance, mais je n'éliminerais jamais complètement la fantasy urbaine si une idée frappait mon imagination.

Si vous le pouviez, changeriez-vous de place avec l'un de vos personnages ?

Oh mon Dieu, non. LOL Tous mes personnages sont un peu foirés et doivent gérer des trucs fous. C'est amusant à écrire, mais je pense que ce serait stressant. Je me contente juste de les regarder depuis la ligne de touche, en balançant des choses sur eux.

Où peut-on vous trouver lorsque vous n'êtes pas à votre bureau en train d’écrire ?

J’espère à l'extérieur, avec le beau temps. Ou sortir avec mes neveux qui sont mignons.

Qu'avez-vous fait pour célébrer la sortie de votre premier livre ?

Je me suis fait un tatouage, en fait. LOL

Quels autres auteurs vous ont influencé ? Avez-vous lu des livres récemment que vous souhaitez partager avec nous ou bien avez-vous été trop occupée avec l'écriture ?

J’ai un certain bagage en matière de romance donc beaucoup de mes influences d'écriture sont issues de ce genre. Je suis toujours inspirée par les films geeks et la télévision (Shaun of the Dead, Venture Brothers, Doctor Who, etc). Et j'ai été très occupée avec l’écriture ces derniers temps, mais j'ai lu récemment Le Cercle littéraire des amateurs d’épluchures de patates et il était génial.

Y a-t-il des porcs dans un de vos livres ou bien il y en aura-t-il dans les livres à venir ?

Aucun porc jusqu’ici. Mais ne jamais dire jamais...



About Club Monstrosity:

Natalie’s one of Frankenstein’s creations and works in a New York City morgue. So of course she needs therapy. She and her friends—er, fellow monsters—have formed the world’s most exclusive, most dysfunctional support group. What could go wrong?

Undetected in the modern world and under pressure to stay that way, Natalie Grey, Dracula, Bob the Blob, and others (including the fetching wolfman Alec) meet regularly to talk about the pressures of being infamous in the Big Apple. Topics include how long it’s been since their last sighting, how their “story” creates stereotypes they can’t fulfill, and—gasp—sometimes even their feelings. But when their pervy Invisible Man, Ellis, is killed in a manner reminiscent of the H.G. Wells novel, it’s clear someone’s discovered their existence and is down for some monster busting.

Led by Natalie—and definitely not helped by Hyde’s bloodthirsty tendencies—the members of Monstofelldosis Anonymous band together for security and a little sleuthing. And maybe—maybe—if they don’t end up dead, they’ll end up friends somewhere along the way.

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Giveaway:

Jesse kindly offered a digital copy of Club Monstrosity to one US reader of my blog.

The winner is erin f

A winner will be picked at random on October 9th.
This is a US only giveaway for people living in the US who are legally allowed to enter this giveaway.

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Don't forget to leave a comment:
I decided to have an event wide giveaway on my blog for commenters.

At the end of this event I'll pick one commenter on any author post of this event at random and that person will win a book of his/her choice as long as bookdepository ships to where you live, you're legally allowed to enter, and the book costs no more than 10$

And drop by Between Dreams and Reality as well for more great author posts.

Eat Slay Love - Book Review

Eat Slay Love (Living With the Dead #3)
by Jesse Petersen

What is it about:
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.

What did I think of it:
I think this is the best book in this series yet!

It was funny, intense, actionpacked and it had lots of zombies!

I will confess I was worried about the outcome of this book, especially as Dave is my favorite character and I had to stop myself from peeking at the last chapter a couple of times. I'm glad I didn't peek, because this book is a fun and cool rollercoaster ride with a conclusion that I didn't expect.

If you haven't read other books in this series I advice against starting with this book. I think it could be read as a standalone, but to really enjoy it you should read the first two books, so you're more invested in both Sarah and David and can root even more for them to save the day.

I will keep an eye out for more books by Petersen and hope they'll be just as much fun as Eat Slay Love and her other zombie books.

Why should you read it:
Brains.... Ehm Zombies!!

Top Pearls 2011

And here it is!
My post with my top reads for 2011.

As you might have guessed: Laura Bickle, Jess Haines, Gini Koch and Carolyn Crane again made it in my Top Pearls list of 2011, but because I just spend the last 4 days telling you how awesome their books are I will not talk about their books again, but name the other authors and books that rocked my reading world this year.

Ann Aguirre

I will confess I read Grimspace in 2010, but in 2011 I really discovered what an awesome author Ann Aguirre is.

Her Sirantha Jax series is an emotional rollercoaster ride with me loving Jax in Grimspace, loathing her in Wanderlust and loving her all over again in Doubleblind. I will most certainly be reading the other books in this series in 2012.

Enclave is my all time favorite Young Adult read! It has a wonderfully gritty post-apocalyptic story and world and Deuce is a really cool character. I'm impatiently waiting for the next book in this series.

Stone Maiden is a bittersweet, exotic fairytale and if you haven't read it yet: get the PDF free here (although I can really advice you to get it in print, it's beautiful).

I just started Aguirre's Corine Solomon series and I'm so going to get my trotters on all books in that series as well.


Ellen Connor

Ok, this is actually Ann Aguirre again, this time teaming up with Carrie Lofty to write some amazing Post-Apocalyptic Paranormal Romance.

It's the really amazing setting that makes this trilogy so utterly awesome, although the stories are really cool as well.

I can advice this trilogy to any reader of PNR who loves post-apocalyptic settings and I hope the Ellen Connor duo will decide to write more books together.


Marjorie M. Liu

I won the first three books of the Hunter Kiss series and the prequel novella in a giveaway and I must say I'm so glad I did. Liu's Hunter Kiss series is totally amazing. Maxine Kiss is a heroine I liked from the start and her demon pals are so cool. The stories are intense and full of action. At the moment I'm waiting impatiently for the 4th book in this series (which released this week) to arrive.

The Dirk & Steele series by Liu is just as wonderful as her Hunter Kiss series and so far I've read four books in this series and have a 5th book in my tbr-pile. I will most certainly try to get my trotters on the rest of the books in this series as well in 2012.


Some other amazing reads

Feast by Merrie Destefano: this is a wonderfully dark fairytale that draws you in and keeps you captivated from start to finish.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder: An awesome Fantasy that caught me by surprise and made me fall head over heels in love with its heroine and her love interest.

A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang: So much mentions of bacon in this book, but that couldn't stop me from loving this story about Abby and the Incubus she falls for.


My favorite Zombie Read

Married with Zombies and Flip This Zombie by Jesse Petersen are both funny and full of zombie mayhem. A terrific combination.


Voodoo Bride's favorite reads of 2011

The Goblin King by Shona Husk: Who can resist a Paranormal romance where the hero is a goblin king?

Enemy Games by Marcella Burnard: This is a perfect mix of Scifi, adventure, suspense and romance.

Storm's Heart by Thea Harrison: Tiago is so amazing! Go read this book now if you want to read a PNR with a swoonworthy hero.

Petals and Thorns by Jennifer Paris: A wonderful BDSM retelling of Beauty and the Beast.




And lastly some series that deserve an honorable mention:


The Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh
The Persephone Alcmedi series by Linda Robertson
The Elder Races series by Thea Harrison
The Downside Ghosts series by Stacia Kane

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And that's my Top Pearls list for 2011!
Have a great New Year's Eve everyone and a wonderful 2012.

Flip This Zombie - Book review

Flip this Zombie (Living with the Dead #2)
by Jesse Petersen

What is it about:
The Zombie Apocalypse has been good to Sarah and David. Their marriage is better than ever. They communicate well, share responsibilities, and now, they're starting a business. ZombieBusters-for all your zombie extermination needs.

There are lots of zombies and that means lots of customers...Except one of them doesn't want the zombies dead, he wants them alive and ready for experimentation. Mad scientists make for difficult clients and this time, Sarah and David might have bitten off more than they can chew.

What did I think of it:
Another fun story, full of zombie goodness!

This book did feel a bit more serious than the first book though. Don't get me wrong, it has plenty of funny moments and enough zombie mayhem to satisfy even me, but the overall feel was a bit more intense than I had thought it would be. Not that this is a negative thing, I really enjoyed the story and love Sarah and David even more after finishing this book (David is my favourite of the two I'll confess). And as with every good zombie book, there's only one truly negative point: I finished it much too soon! Now I'll have to try to get my trotters on the next book in this series as I'm addicted ;-)

Why should you read it:
Braiiiins.....

Married With Zombies - Book Review

Married with Zombies (Living with the Dead #1)
by Jesse Petersen

What is it about:
Meet Sarah and David.

Once upon a time they met and fell in love. But now they're on the verge of divorce and going to couples' counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things - the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client's throat.

Meet the Zombies.

Now, Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But, just because there are zombies, doesn't mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don't eat their brains, they might just kill each other.

What did I think of it:
After reading Petersen's short story collection 'In the Dead: Volume 1' I just had to read one of her full novels, so that's why I picked up 'Married With Zombies'.

And I can tell you it's a great read.

This book has kick-ass action, humor, suspense and best of all: lots of zombies and zombie mayhem. Petersen has a very pleasant writingstyle and combined with the cool story it made me tear through this book in record time. The worldbuilding is very good and I loved how each chapter began with a handy relationship tip for those couples who're fighting zombies. The one thing I can say against this story is that Sarah and David are acting very blasé about the zombies very early on in the story, but I'm willing to let that slip as there's so many cool zombie moments in this book.

I will most certainly read the next book in this series and I can advice this book to any fan of zombie books.

Why should you read it:
This fun book is a very handy guide on how to survive a zombie outbreak and save your marriage in the process as well!

In the Dead - Book Review

In the Dead: Volume 1 by Jesse Petersen
(ebook)

What is it about:
When the Zombie Apocalypse began in Seattle and spread within days to almost the entire western half the country, the survivors had to figure out how to deal with the plague and live one day at a time. These are their stories.

If you liked Jesse Petersen's zombie comedies Married With Zombies, Flip This Zombie and Eat Slay Love, these nine stories are set in the same world, but from the perspective of other survivors.

What did I think of it:
I have been doubting if I should start on the Living With The Dead series by Petersen, so when the chance to read and review this collection of short zombie stories by Petersen came along I jumped on the opportunity.

If Petersen's other books are anything like these short stories I've been a fool to hold off reading them!

These stories are fun, scary, touching, gross and have the proper ravenous kind of zombies. Some of the stories are perfect as they are: a short moment in time, telling you more than a complete novel could. Others are begging to be taken on a ride and shaped into a series. But each and every story in this collection is a gem which I'll be rereading often.

I really hope Petersen will write many more of these shorts and her Living With The Dead series just bumped its way to a leading position on my wishlist.

Why should you read it:
Who can resist 9 awesome zombie stories?!


Buy this from Amazon