Zombie-Nerd and the Half-Term Harrowing - Jack Callaghan

Excellent debut novel. This tale of self discovery will appeal to people of all ages.

This is a superb debut novel from Jack Callaghan. The first in a planned series, this story is written as a YA book and says its target audience is 12-18 year olds, but in my opinion, people of all ages will love this book.

It’s a social commentary wrapped up in a coming of age story about self discovery and understanding of the world around us. Despite being set in a post-apocalyptic environment, the broader message is especially relevant to the way we live our lives now.

The writing is easy to read and funny, the world building is superb and the characters are very relatable.

I am looking forward to the next book.

Book Blurb

The ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ is over and has been for some time. As the country tries to recover from the chaos, Zombies and Survivors live in as close to harmony as they’re able, but old divisions continue to bubble beneath the surface.

Ronnie Thanatos isn’t a very good Zombie. He suffers from the usual trappings that come with being a member of the Undead, but he isn’t tough, he isn’t cool, and he certainly isn’t scary. Zombies are supposed to be scary, aren’t they?

When he learns of the existence of a mysterious man of science, who is believed to have started the Zombie outbreak, Ronnie sets off on a journey towards the country’s former capital, the dreadful and benighted ‘Necropolis’, in search of answers.

Joined by his faithful friends Nate and Bridget, Ronnie travels across the desolate landscape, meeting strange and interesting people, putting his courage to the test, and learning the importance of everyone being ‘Different but all the same’.

Available from Amazon

 

Bad Hair Day (Ever Dark Academy, Book 4) - HP Mallory & JR Rain

A Dreadful Reckoning

This is the fourth and final book in the Ever Dark Academy series. The book falls in the Young Adult genre. There is some romance and some sexual tension but no scenes of a sexual nature.

I've enjoyed this series. If it hadn’t been written as a Young Adult series, it could have potentially been a Reverse Harem series. Everly’s feelings for Jean-Claude, Harlow, Riven and Griim are as confusing for her as they are for them.

Everly survived the battle between Dread and Arcadia but the same can’t be said for all of her friends. In the midst of her grief, she comes upon a solution which allows her to read Dorian’s journal and uncover the grisly truth which Arcadia has been keeping secret for centuries. To keep Dread safe, she needs to let that secret be known to all. Will the price be too high though?

If you like the Young Adult and academy genres, you will enjoy this series.

The reading order for this series is:

Bad Blood : Ever Dark Academy, Book 1

Bad to Worse : Ever Dark Academy, Book 2

Got it Bad : Ever Dark Academy, Book 3

Bad Hair Day : Ever Dark Academy, Book 4

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Got It Bad (Ever Dark Academy, Book 3) - HP Mallory

An Affair Unremembered. 

This is the third book in the Ever Dark Academy series. The book falls in the Young Adult genre. There is some romance and a non descriptive scene of a sexual nature.

Everly’s transfer to Arcadia was a disaster. Her magic has become a mixture of light and dark; something abhorrent to most creatures. 

The discovery of Dorian’s journal put her in danger and led to her being rescued by her former Dread family. Sadly, Arcadia has purged all her memories of Dread, so even though she feels a familiarity with the place and the people, she has no idea why. Fortunately, Griim is on hand to guide her through.

Her troubles have only just begun though. Arcadia is livid and threatening war with Dread. Their pretext is that their borders were invaded by Dread citizens when Everly was rescued. The reality is that they fear that the purge was unsuccessful and Everly retains the knowledge from the journal.

As Arcadia and Dread prepare for battle, can Everly keep herself safe, not to mention those she has come to see as her family again?

I’m really looking forward to the next books in this series. It did not go the way I thought it would and it’s all the better for it.

The reading order for this series so far is:

Bad Blood : Ever Dark Academy, Book 1

Bad to Worse : Ever Dark Academy, Book 2

Got it Bad : Ever Dark Academy, Book 3

Available from Amazon

 

Bad to Worse (Ever Dark Academy, Book 2) - HP Mallory

Love and Light Isn’t Always What It’s Cracked Up To Be

This is the second book in the Ever Dark Academy series. The book falls in the Young Adult genre. There is the potential for romance but it isn’t fully explored in this book.

This book follows on directly from the first. Everly has formally made the transfer to the Academy of Enchantment Magic in the realm of Arcadia. She should be ecstatic. This is everything she worked for. She’s not though. She misses Jean-Claude (her host vampire), Harlow (the incubus demon), Riven (the shadow demon) and Griim (the golem). They feel like family and she is regretting leaving them behind.

She thought she would be happy in Arcadia but it turns out that Dread’s magic leaves a mark on the soul which all the other students can see. Everly feels like an outcast and starts to question her place in the academy.

During her time there she comes across the journal of a former student from Dread who had also made the transfer to Arcadia. So far, no-one has been able to read its contents except her. The powers that be in Arcadia feel she is a threat and something needs to be done to remove the new knowledge from her memory. Fortunately for Everly, Griim has been watching her through the flames. As it turns out, the light is quite a dangerous place to be.

I enjoyed this series so much that I read them all back to back.

The reading order for this series so far is:

Bad Blood : Ever Dark Academy, Book 1

Bad to Worse : Ever Dark Academy, Book 2

Available from Amazon

Bad Blood (Ever Dark Academy, Book 1) - HP Mallory

There’s no Love and Light without a little Shadow and Dread

This is the first book in the Ever Dark Academy series. The book falls in the Young Adult genre. There is the potential for romance but it isn’t fully explored in this book.

I don’t normally read YA books or Academy books but this was suggested and I actually really enjoyed it. It was fun to read. 

Everly is a young adult dryad with a very bright future ahead of her. She is set to take her mother’s place as the Enchanter; the head protector of the Dryad Circle. She has been training for this her whole life and her next step is to hone her magical skills at the Academy of Enchantment Magic in the realm of Arcadia. It sounds like a life of love, light and sparkly magic. 

It’s not that simple though. Even the best laid plans don’t always go as envisioned. On her way to Arcadia Everly is kidnapped by a shadow demon and wakes to find herself in the realm of Dread. There is no love and light without a little darkness and shadow. Dread is as bleak and terrifying as its name suggests and on the face of it would appear to be no place for the life-giving magic of a dryad. 

It turns out she was expected there. Her host family is a very hot, albeit very antisocial ancient vampire, her escort is a sexy-as-sin incubus demon, and the head teacher of Dread’s academy is the very good looking shadow demon who kidnapped her in the first place.

There is a mystery afoot and although Everly really wants to get back to Arcadia to continue on her planned path, she also really wants to solve the mystery and get to know her annoyingly attractive captors. Learning a bit of dark magic at Dread’s academy before she goes couldn’t hurt… could it?

Available from Amazon