Book title: Donners of the Dead by Karina Halle
Genre: Horror Romance
Release date: February 23, 2014
Jake McGraw was unlike anyone I’d ever known. He was brash, rude, unapologetic and arrogant; chauvinistic, close-minded, and terribly stubborn. He was built like a tree, tall with a hard chest and wide shoulders and hands that looked like they could wrestle a bear. He was a cigar-chomping, scruffy-faced, beast of a man. I was pretty sure I hated him. And I know he hated me. But among the flesh-eating monsters in these snow-capped mountains, he was the only thing keeping me alive
The year is 1851 and pioneers in search of California gold are still afraid to travel on the same route as the tragic Donner party did years before. When the last wagon train to go into the Sierra Nevada mountains fails to arrive at their destination, Eve Smith, an 18-year old half-native girl with immense tracking skills is brought along with the search party, headed by an enigmatic former Texas Ranger, Jake McGraw.
What they find deep in the dangerous snow-covered terrain is a terrifying consequence of cannibalism, giving new meaning to the term “monster.” While the search party is slowly picked off, one by one, Eve must learn to trust Jake, who harbors more than a few secrets of his own, in order to survive and prevent the monstrosities from reaching civilization.
The year is 1851 and pioneers in search of California gold are still afraid to travel on the same route as the tragic Donner party did years before. When the last wagon train to go into the Sierra Nevada mountains fails to arrive at their destination, Eve Smith, an 18-year old half-native girl with immense tracking skills is brought along with the search party, headed by an enigmatic former Texas Ranger, Jake McGraw.
What they find deep in the dangerous snow-covered terrain is a terrifying consequence of cannibalism, giving new meaning to the term “monster.” While the search party is slowly picked off, one by one, Eve must learn to trust Jake, who harbors more than a few secrets of his own, in order to survive and prevent the monstrosities from reaching civilization.
4+ 'NOT GOING TO EAT MEAT ANYTIME SOON' STARS
I think it’s safe to say that out of all the dark, gruesome, sickening things I’ve read, cannibalism tops it all and I’m not ashamed to admit I was flailing like a chicken at 2 AM reading this.
Horror + romance = Karina Halle Awesomeness!
**The author warns you that while this book does have some facts about the Donner party and the landmarks, it is not to be taken as historically accurate (and definitely not those flesh-eating, nightmare-inducing, ax-deserving zombies!!)**
So our heroine Eve is asked to be a tracker for a search party whose goal is to find a missing family member who was part of the Donner group. Her skills and her native Indian culture are assets to the them and so she, along with her best friend and crush, Avery, set out with the men into the Nevadas.
The expedition (aside from Eve and Avery) consists of these lovely *snort* people:
Tim: Nice guy - the mayonnaise holding the group together when it's tense (which is pretty much all the time).
Meeks: Money dude - the main person funding the expedition
Jake: Former Texas Ranger *swoon* and the best shot and best horseman of the group. Also the hero of the book.
Isaac: Weird dude - not going to say much about him as he's pretty much an eccentric poopyhead.
Hank: Mr. Scar - the scariest looking beast man in the group and emanates a bad vibe....
Donna: The Company - Religious, a spinster, and very knowledgeable about medicine.
So this group sets out deep into the Nevadas and along the way, they encounter one hardship after another and most terrifying of all are the human looking but flesh eating creatures that stalk silently through the woods...to say my heart was beating at 200 per minute is an understatement O____O
The only thing I struggled with was Jake and Eve's relationship. I suppose that in extremely dangerous and life-threatening situations, there is no room for relationship development and what Jake says here is very true:
But from despising one another to loving each other so soon? Now affection and lust I can understand but the love part was a bit unbelievable and this one sex scene had me scrunching up my face. To me it was hard to accept that when they're surrounded by zombies and a wretched, foul odor that emanates from the dead, they have the courage and time to get naked, but that is the beauty of stories as they can be molded into whatever you want: realistic or fictional.
Aside from that, this book was absolutely riveting! The perfect blend of thrilling suspense, yucky gore, and a unique romance bred in the darkest of times!
P.S. If you're trying to become a vegetarian and lack the motivation, read this book.
ARC kindly provided by author in exchange for an honest review.
~Review by Feifei
The daughter of a Norwegian Viking and a Finnish Moomin, Karina Halle grew up in Vancouver, Canada with trolls and eternal darkness on the brain. This soon turned into a love of all things that go bump in the night and a rather sadistic appreciation for freaking people out. Like many of the flawed characters she writes, Karina never knew where to find herself and has dabbled in acting, make-up artistry, film production, Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiance and rescue pup.
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ReplyDeleteHow cool me as a Zombie...not far from the truth...lol Love your books and your take charge attitude.
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