I've had goose bumps about this post since the day I was accepted for this tour! For those of you familiar with Jamie McGuire, clear your mind, wipe it of what you know, because you are about to experience a whole new Jamie McGuire and you will fall in love with this side of her too!
SYNOPSIS:
When
the world ends, can love survive?
For
Scarlet, raising her two daughters alone makes fighting for tomorrow an everyday
battle. Nathan has a wife, but can’t remember what it’s like to be in love; only
his young daughter Zoe makes coming home worthwhile. Miranda’s biggest concern
is whether her new VW Bug is big enough to carry her sister and their boyfriends
on a weekend escape from college finals.
When
reports of a widespread, deadly “outbreak” begin to surface, these ordinary
people face extraordinary circumstances and suddenly their fates are
intertwined. Recognizing they can’t outrun the danger, Scarlet, Nathan, and
Miranda desperately seek shelter at the same secluded ranch, Red Hill.
Emotions run high while old and new relationships are tested in the face of a
terrifying enemy—an enemy who no longer remembers what it’s like to be
human.
Set
against the backdrop of a brilliantly realized apocalyptic world, love somehow
finds a way to survive. But what happens when the one you’d die for becomes the
one who could destroy you?
Red Hill grabs
you from page one and doesn’t let go until its stunning conclusion. This is #1
New York Times bestselling author Jamie McGuire at her unforgettable best.
BUY
LINKS:
MY REVIEW
I wish to
thank the publisher and tour coordinator for the print ARC I received in exchange
for an honest review. Receipt of any
material does not sway my reviews in any way.
Many readers
know author Jamie McGuire from her Providence and Beautiful series. I have both, but have only read the Beautiful
books. For those readers of hers, take everything
you know of Ms. McGuire and strike it from every corner of your memory before
reading this. Why? This book is unlike anything she has
previously written and I believe she’s found herself a new niche in the
literary world.
The book starts
at the dawn of the zombie apocalypse.
What was interesting to me was that the author integrated the faster
turning of people into flesh eaters through an inoculation that has gained more
controversy over the past several years.
It really made me stop reading for a bit and actually take some things
into consideration. It was an ingenious
move of the author to put that spark in there.
She may get some grief from certain circles, but the everyday reader
will not put a lot of weight into it but it will strike up the conversation in
a group of friends.
We have multiple
POV’s going on. Now this is where my
issue was, why I took a half star away.
In the beginning, the multiple POV’s were just a bit too much. Trying to remember who goes with whom and
what is driving them to get where they are going and the members of their party
during that section. About half way
through the book you start gaining your footing in this area, the ah-ha moments
begin, the connections start happening and the story starts to soar from there.
This was a
book that I did not want to put down.
When I had to, I found myself thinking of the characters and their
strengths and weaknesses. The things
they will have to overcome and project outcomes for each of the
characters. Boy was I wrong on the
outcome on a few of them. The author
brings to the table the reality of human nature, the possibilities of how one
might adapt and overcome what is put before them, and how it affects not only
you as a person but also those around you.
What may look like a simple person may be your savior in the time of
devastation and chaos.
I watch The
Walking Dead, no, I’m not one who has to watch it the night it’s on nor even
that week or month it was on, I’m more of the catch up during a marathon
session. I was able to connect this
story with the characters of the series.
No, this is not a copycat nor a rip-off.
Maybe a bit of fan fiction mixed with a whole lot of genuine storytelling. There are your strong female leads, your
strong male leads, the weak that prey on the weaker and who get their rears
handed to them in the end.
Now the
other half star I gave up was for a bit of unconvincing moments and a bit of
story that really seemed to be thrown in.
The slow and sluggish shufflers seem to be able to get one too many
people in their grasps at times. Another
is a certain incident of a live person coming in with someone else and taking
upon himself to start doing things wrong from almost the moment he walked in to
the house. That was a crushing story
for the other character involved but also brought a bit into the story that
really seemed to be not needed.
The story
goes well into the apocalypse, brings people together, shows the vulnerability
in a person dealing with loss in a world where there isn’t much happiness in
and coming out intact. Loss, love, hope,
endurance, weakness, craziness, rebellious, courageous, revenge, and more come
together in this book. It’s written, I
believe, as a standalone, but could easily later have a sequel if the author
chooses to. Is one needed? No.
The author didn’t wrap everything up in a pretty bow but did let us have
peace with the end result.
Who do I
recommend this to? Just about anyone
13+. The scenes are not graphic, sex is
nearly non-existent. Yeah, flesh eaters
kind of put the fire out of the libido of the normal person. If you like zombie stories, you’ll like this
book. If you are all about romance,
romance, romance, ummm…not for you. If
you even have the inkling towards paranormal, this will be right up your
alley. Thank you Ms. McGuire for
thinking out of the box and letting this story come to fruition.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
Jamie
McGuire was born in Tulsa, OK. She attended the Northern Oklahoma College, the
University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated
with a degree in Radiography. Her most recent novel, Walking Disaster debuted at
#1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.
She has also written bestselling contemporary romance Beautiful Disaster, and
the Providence series. Jamie now lives in Enid, OK with her three children and
husband Jeff, who is a real, live cowboy. They share their 30 acres with six
horses, three dogs, and Rooster the cat.
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