I'm "Truly, Madly" In Love with this Book

I finally found a murder/mystery with a splash of supernatural (aka a psychic-like power) that I enjoyed fully.

It's about damn time.

This book does have its faults, though. I mean, I'm not sure if there are any books that don't. Regardless, the ones I've found are minor at best, so they shouldn't deter you too much.

First off, pay attention, because there are a TON of characters in this thing. There was more than one occasion when I had to go back and figure out who was who. It's not too chaotic, but it can get confusing sometimes when you haven't seen the name in a while.

The second issue is the writing. It's not bad, but its not fantastic. Meaning: If you're looking for super descriptive sentences with complexity, you're in the wrong place. For the most part, it wasn't bad. There were just some times where Webber could have combined sentences to make the point more concise.

Like "The curtains were blue" and "The carpet was red". Just push those together and we're good to go. I was so hooked in the story, though, that it was just a minor issue.

Overall, I enjoyed this book the most out of the three I've read this week. It's not a literary masterpiece, but it's a damn good mystery/romance novel.

"Abby Cooper" Finds the Mystery, but Lacks the Romance

There are four things I look for in a romance/mystery novel: good writing, a suspenseful mystery, a likable main character, and a solid romance.

As I went through this book, I managed to check three of the four requirements off my list. Good writing? I couldn't complain. A suspenseful mystery? Hell yeah. A likable main character? Abby was awesome!

Solid romance? Eh...I didn't believe it.

I mean, Abby and her love interest, Dutch, met online and had a pretty good first date. It seemed a little off to me, but, whatever maybe I just was reading into it wrong.

But...I wasn't. The rest of the book is them having few moments where they have chemistry and more moments where you want them to never come in contact again.

Like, for example, when Dutch breaks off their "kind of" relationship because she mentioned she doesn't trust cops and he is, in fact, a cop. He also doesn't believe in psychics YET HE CONTINUES TO ASK HER FOR HELP.

Uh...ok?

He also comes over to tell Abby something and, while she's on the phone, Dutch takes ice cream out of her fridge and starts eating it.

AND SHE IS COOL WITH IT.

At this point, she has went on one date with him and he's questioned her ONCE. AKA THEY BARELY KNOW EACH OTHER. If a man ever tried this on me, you can bet your sweet ass that ice cream would be smacked out of his hands and he'd be on his way out the door, cop or no cop.

This is not the only example either. Dutch would also do some weird stuff like tousle Abby's hair or call her kiddo, even though they didn't have that wide of an age gap. I don't know, that just seemed weird and gross to me because I'm supposed to want them together and, instead, I'm sensing a more brotherly-sisterly bond.

So...I don't know. There were a few times where the relationship seemed realistic and I wanted them to get together, but there were multiple occasions that tainted those moments for me. Other than that, though, the book is pretty good, especially because of Abby's gift of being a psychic. It plays an interesting role in the mystery part of the book, which I really appreciated. I recommend this if you're more of a mystery person, but, if you're in it for the romance, I'd go ahead and pass on this one.

"Spying in Heels" Has a Decent Leg to Stand On

Well, it's no Heather Wells Mystery by Meg Cabot, but its a solid replacement in my book. I mean, I read most of the book in a day, so it must be fantastic, right?

Er...not exactly.

It's not a bad book; it really isn't. You know me, if it was terrible I would be going on a full out rant right about now. It just has some faults that took away from the story, which influenced my four star rating. 

The first thing that comes to mind is the overuse of description. Listen, being an English person, I know that is exactly what we're taught to do in school: use as many details as possible. But, good lord I do not need to know the exact details of what the character is eating or what freeways/roads she's driving on.

Like there were 4 paragraphs, I REPEAT 4 PARAGRAPHS, about the main character, Maddie, getting food at Starbucks. Is that information necessary? No, it's not.

The freeway thing was what irritated me to no end. Maddie would always be spouting off that she took the 405 to 10 to the blah blah, I don't care. I don't live in LA so constantly telling me these freeway names is not helping me at all. I'm just getting more confused. It's like me telling you to take 271 to 480 and get off on Brookpark Road. Do you know what I'm talking about? Not unless you're from Cleveland, you don't.

And even then you might have no idea what I'm talking about, since I just figured out the freeway names and I've been driving for 3 years now. 

So, whatever, it's a little thing that you can easily skirt around because, if she gets too descriptive, you can skim over it. It's a bit annoying, but the plot propels the book enough that it more than makes up for it.  

Honestly, that's what the book has going for it: the plot. There's also some underlying romance, which, of course, gives me strength. Maddie can get irksome, but she means well and she's not a professional spy so you have to cut her some slack when she does stupid stuff. Overall, Meg Cabot's Heather Wells series is still number one in my heart, but this series is a solid second. 

"Alice in Zombieland" is No Trip to Wonderland

Oh my. 

That's all I can think to say about this book. I was stuck in an airport for three hours with a dying cell phone and I managed to avoid this book like the plague, that's how unappealing it is to read. 

I mean, I still read like 60 pages, but it was a rough 60 pages.

*Sigh* I haven't touched it in three months and it still has the power to make me angry. Let's just get through this so I can be on my merry way.

First of all, Alice in Zombieland? More like there's a girl named Alice and there's some zombies where she lives. And she daydreams sometimes about making out with people (more on that below). It's not a play on Alice in Wonderland, its just some snazzy words that made sense with the premise. If you're looking for white rabbits and the Cheshire cat, you came to the WRONG place.

Basically what killed this was the insta-love. There's "Twilight" insta-love, which is annoying and unrealistic but manageable. And then there is Alice insta-love, which consists of both individuals seeing one another for the first time and transporting to another world where all they do is make-out. This occurs quite a bit in the middle of the hallway at school. 

Like...COME ON. I can't get a boy to flirt with me and you're making out with your crush in another dimension the first time you see him. Sure. That makes sense. 

AND THIS HAPPENS MULTIPLE TIMES IN THE FIRST 60 SOME PAGES. 

Alice also SUCKS as a character. I mean, she's witty, but internally she's a mess. Like, if you're going to make a sarcastic comment, at least be confident about it first. Don't make me read about how you're so unsure of what you're saying and then act like you're the head bitch in charge. No. I won't believe it and neither should everyone around you. 

The only redeeming quality of the book was the first chapter (even though it was more of a prologue?) because it was captivating and was a seemingly good origin story for an independent, female, kick ass zombie hunter. 

BUT THEN I GOT SMACKED IN THE FACE WITH INSTA-LOVE AND THAT WAS THAT. 

If you can make it farther, peace and blessings to you. I just want this as far away from me as possible.(less)