Hell Bound is the first novella in a post-apocalyptic series...
How far would you go to save your family? Sam and Mathew finally get a chance to go on a train ride to the Grand Canyon alone leaving their two kids back in California, When a zombie apocalypse breaks out. The couple must try to fight their way back to California to see if their kids are still alive, In this harrowing story of love and survival in a world that is crumbling by death and destruction. Follow Sam and Matthew through their struggle to reunite with their children.
Kathy Dinisi is an Amazon Best seller and a Award winning author. She lives in California with her husband and two boys. When she is not writing a horror story or two she is riding her horses or hiking with her family.
I love reading zombie books so if you too enjoy this genre then this is a must read because I myself loved it. It does contain some grammatical errors but it is still one heck of a book.
Samantha is a nurse and during her shift a violent and injured man is brought in to the hospital but what's really on her mind is the much needed vacation that she and her husband Matthew are taking to the Grand Canyon. They drop the kids off at her parents house and head off on their trip. Little do they know just how much the world is about to change.
I don't do spoilers but I will say that the author's creativity at adding some new zombie abilities freaked me completely out so much that the hairs on my arms stood up. This is a fast paced story with wonderful characters and its chock full of blood and descriptive gore that made my stomach turn. Get ready for the ride of your life as you turn each and every single page. I cannot wait until the release of the second book. This author's debut book is off to an amazing start.
I am in awe. I have never read a book about Zombies but I am totally impressed with this book. I need to know what happens next. This book has made me laugh and anxious at the same time it is that good. This is the very first book I Have read from this author and now I am hooked!!! I can't wait to read the next book. So excited!!! I loved every minute of it. I would of been done sooner but I was ill. Wow! I am still amazed!!!! * I never give spoilers on my reviews.
For this tour, I read Book One of the Hell Bound series, titled "A Vacation from Hell". Sam is a nurse working at the ED, when a patient brought in is exhibiting strange symptoms. However, she's getting ready to leave with her husband for vacation after work, so she shrugs it off and completes her shift but asks a colleague to update her on the patients' condition later. On the train to their destination, pandemonium breaks loose and they begin their fight to get back home to her parents and their children.
Hell bound: A Vacation From Hell by Kathy Dinisi is a great zombie apocalypse novella. It is a short read; however, I would have finished in one day, but I just recently got out of the hospital, hence it took me a few days to read.
I WON THIS E-book in return for an honest review.
Now, onto my review! I feel that if this novella was re-edited, thoroughly looked through, and more descriptive, and her characters had more life in them, then I would rate this book a 5 star. There were many grammar errors, for example: "stifle gas" when it should be "siphon gas". One phrase that stuck out like a sore thumb, that loved being said throughout the entire book was, "on the floor", used when someone had fallen. It should have not been used to speak of the outdoors grounds in this way, but instead, she should have wrote, "I fell on the hot sandy dessert ground" or "I fell on the hot sand", as well as "on the hot pavement", when speaking of the asphalt ( parking lot), etc. These would have been more descriptive, than "on the floor," when you speak of outdoors. It would have helped the story flow better. Also, misused words, such as, "A heard of them chasing us", should have been, "A herd of them chasing us." I could name more grammar errors; however, I don't like being nit-picky in my reviews, because the review is supposed to be about the actual story; if it was good or not.
The plot, the guts of the story is a modern day twist of what a zombie apocalypse would be like in true reality. I actually like this, because it gets you thinking of "what if?" Sam, the nurse, who first sees a patient is said to have "rabies". Then the rabies spreads quickly from one person to another, and so forth. It quickly evolves into making the infected people more powerful, strong zombie-like person(s), and very intelligent beings. This is a brilliant idea on how zombies could come about in this modern real life time novella.
Sam is married to Mathew; he surprises her with a vacation for the two of them to The Grand Canyon, without their two sons for some much special romance time for these two; however, their vacation they had longed for, turns into zombies chasing them!
They meet up with Kat one of the employees at their hotel they were staying at during the attack on the train ride. Kat decides to go with them instead of staying and waiting for her sister to pick her up there at her place of work. This was a great add of this character in this novella. Kat helps to bring the main characters together in the story.
I enjoyed seeing the zombies start to come to "life" in the novella, meaning one talks back to Sam and one of the zombies in the beginning, they begin to realize he is actually following/chasing them. This is definitely something new with zombies. I like this, because it's a different take on how zombies are.
One of my favorite parts of the novella was the guy on the radio, Steve, who had just lost his wife, Gina to a zombie. I loved how he was being the "lone survivor" with information for any other survivors. By adding this character, it helps to see where the story is going. I hope she continues to keep him in the next book!
I am looking forward to reading the second book, so we can find out where their boys and her parents are; if they are ok or not. I'm also hoping the grammar is much better in the second story.
Either way, I do like this new modern twist if zombies, because it does add more descriptive ways of how zombies could be in real life. Who knows Kathy Dinisi might be on to something and we should prepare ourselves for intelligent zombies, instead of one track mind zombies! Happy reading!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
***This could contain things that some may consider spoilers. I typically do do write reviews that will spoil any part of a book, but I will probably mention a few things that some could possibly consider a spoiler.***
I am going to start with the bad, why exactly I didn't give this 5 stars. I think proofreading and editing are very important. There are a lot of mistakes in this book. From using the wrong words (for example: heard when it should have been herd, site/sight, and to/too..just a few) to apparently not even realizing that the wrong word is even being used. After two times of seeing that the characters had "stifle gas" out of cars I realized that the author must not realize that the word is actually SIPHON. Or that the sun was DECOMPOSING bodies, not DEPOSING. I will say that I did laugh when a character said, "Geese, stop yelling at me" (that is a shortened version but the point was that they meant "Jeez"). I know all of this may seem nitpicking to some, but when you read so many books that are carefully written and edited, mistakes likes this stick out like a sore thumb. To me they are a distraction. So that is why I could not give this five stars, which I would have if all the errors were not present. So now on to the actual story. I read all kinds of books and here lately I have read a lot of within this genre. I will say that this was one of the more interesting takes on the "zombie" genre that I have came across. I am really interested in seeing how this story ends. I like how this all started from apparently Rabies and that the characters aren't just dealing with mindless zombies that they can escape from and then not have to worry about them. I think it adds a lot of intrigue and potential to this story and it leaves you wondering what is going to happen next. I do think we need to see more character development. At the end of the book, you still don't really know very much about the characters other than little bits and pieces. You don't really feel a connection to the characters by the time you are finished. However, I do think it was a good story and I do want to know how it ends. I do think it is worth reading and giving book 2 another chance.
1st let me say this book could be fantastic if polished up and a good formatter/editor was used. I really wanted to love this book. It had great promise but the characters were boring me quite literally and the story line was so simple you could easily see how it would end within the first few pages. The best character in the book was the radio guy I wish more of him was in it. This story really does have potential to be great but more time needed to be put in it. I've read so many zombie genre themed books nothing in this book made it special.
Then let's talk about the formatting.....One problem is the chapter boxes were misplaced throughout the book and then at about 77% it went into block mode where what was written was in a square block and just plain horrible when I tint the pages to make reading easier on my eyes. These are simple formatting mistakes but quite frustrating to a reader.
Maybe I would've loved this book more if the characters had more "life" to them and the story line was more involved. I truly hate giving any book a 3 star rating but feel this novella was just slapped together.
Matthew and Samantha finally get the mini vacation of their dreams. A three day trip to the Grand Canyon. Who wouldn't drop the kids off and run? But fate picks that exact time to drop a zombie apocalypse in their laps. Now instead of enjoying themselves they are in a race with zombie hordes to make it back to their kids safely. The storyline in this book is really good. There is just enough action and it kept me interested. There are several grammatical errors such as word tense or wrong wording (like using feels instead of fills) but it doesn't distract the reader from the overall story. Samantha is a nurse. Being a nurse myself I would have liked that to have a stronger presence in the book. It's like they mentioned she was a nurse and then the apocalypse happened and she forgot how to be a nurse. Hopefully it comes into play in the future installments of this series. All in all this is definitely a must have for anyone Lompoc lover. And I personally can't wait to continue the story to find out what happens.
Hell Bound: A Vacation from Hell is a quick, action packed read. This book had me sitting on the edge of my seat and screaming at the characters to RUN!!!!!! I was sucked into the story and felt the suspense and anxiety with Matthew, Sam, and Kat. The reaction of the “public” was realistic in my opinion and kept things fluidly moving along while keeping me interested. Once the action begins it does not end, even on the last page. The constant action kept me reading until the very end because I wanted to know what was going to happen! There were grammar problems, but in no way did it distract or detract from my enjoyment of this book. I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys an action packed adventure.
Kathy Dinisi this is a great start to an exciting fast paced zombie series. Over the last year I have become quite the connoisseur of the zombie genre, most are VERY predictable, ie: disaster to start outbreak, group of survivors, the villains, etc. Well let me just say without spoiling the story for others out there, you gave me a plot twist that I have YET to find in any other series I have read. Good job! Quite literally scared the pants of me. The story was steady paced, not lagging in any places and not overly filled with endless details. I have seen other reviews which focus on the lack of editing and grammatical errors, for me its not an issue, I enjoy a great story. Sooo come everyone give this series a go!! editing aside you may find you enjoy the ride.
My first book like this, I couldn't put it down!!!
Sam busts her butt working as a nurse in the hospital. Her husband is taking her on a relaxing three day vacation. But, right before she's off her shift, a gunshot victim is on its way in. When they start working on him, he goes crazy. Once they get him knocked out, thinking he's on drugs, they notice some odd things that resemble rabies.
After dropping their kids off, they are finally on their way. A train ride in the Grand Canyon. But a mile into the trip all hell breaks loose. ZOMBIES!!! Now they have to get supplies and try to get back to the kids. But it's spreading fast, and the zombies are getting smart....
This is different from what I normally read, but I fell in love with it!!
Sam and Mathew are finally taking a much needed vacation. Once they drop the kids off with her parents, They are on their way to fun and relaxation... Or so they thought.
Weird things start to happen. They have no idea what is going on.. Until the do and they can believe their eyes. They do what they have to in order to get away. Getting back alive and to their family is what keeps them going.
Loved this debut novel. It kept me guessing and wanting more. Excited to read the next book!
"Hell Bound: A Vacation from Hell" by Kathy Dinisi is a good zombie read. The formatting and editing could use a bit of polishing up, but the story is there and it is entertaining. I like that the author kept it as a novella and didn't drag anything out and jumped right into the action. As I mentioned all it needs is some formatting/editing and it'll be good to go. It's a good story with strong promise. Once it's all cleaned up, I believe Ms. Dinisi will have a nice novella and series going. I do look forward to the continuation and seeing what happens next. Enjoy fellow zombie enthusiasts!
I am in awe. I have never read a book about Zombies but I am totally impressed with this book. I need to know what happens next. This book has made me laugh and anxious at the same time it is that good. This is the very first book I Have read from this author and now I am hooked!!! I can't wait to read the next book. So excited!!! I loved every minute of it. I would of been done sooner but I was ill. Wow! I am still amazed!!!! * I never give spoilers on my reviews.
This book was gifted to me by the author herself for a review. This story has potential and I did enjoy it unfortunately there were a lot of errors in words, herd and heard, through and threw etc etc It seemed like the "perfect way" an apocalypse should go, being able to still get petrol, going to Walmart to stock up on items, but in reality you stay away from places that have millions of people there. I hope the author can perhaps get someone to look over her work and correct where it's needed. Overall though you knew what she was saying and I do look forward to reading the next book.
What a trip..a young couple try ing to get in a couple of days vacation away from their children, which have been left with grandma and grandpa , are caught in the middle of the Zombie Apocalypse. They now must evade the Zombies and attempt to get back to their family , and just stay alive. But everyone around them is trying to get away to somewhere else too. Nowhere is safe..where do you run to? And oh yes...the Zombies are getting smarter and more organized. I enjoyed this novella. So I RECOMMEND!
A different take on the zombie apocalypse. We follow a group of 3 on their journey after an illness turns the human race into zombies. There is a new zombie ability which is scary in itself. This does end in a cliffhanger so there will be more books. Which is good. Will be interesting to see what happens in this new world Kathy Dinisi has opened up for us readers who love all things zombie. Buy, settle down and begin.
This is good! Not once did i get board with this novel and sometimes with the zombie type novels it happens. The characters are likable and "normal" people which i really liked about this book. There wasn't terms where i had to go google either which was a plus. Kathy Dinisi's writing style was excellent and the story just flowed. The only thing i didn't like about this book was that i finished it and i have to wait for more, lol! Kathy Dinisi is an author to keep your eye on.
I love paranormal books but this is my 1st zombie book. I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Once I started I couldn't stop, it kept me on the edge on my seat the whole time. let me just say after reading what this family went thru, my family will never take separate vacations! This book does ends in a cliffhanger but it just makes you look forward to the next one even more.. This is an excellent start to new series..
A thrill ride, one adventure after another, with zombies popping up everywhere. Not the average zombie book, I had a couple nightmares after reading this. I was pulled in from the start and finished this in one day. A lot is crammed into this short story, can't wait for more. This does leave you hanging on a cliff. Only reason I gave this book a 4 is the few editing problems, but other than that its great.
I have become a fan of shows like The Walking Dead but I really don't read a lot of zombie books. They tend to scare me more than the movies do. And I started this one feeling like it wasn't going to be very scary, but by the end of the book I was terrified! The author did a great job at making some very scary zombies!! And the guy on the radio was really cool. I hope there is more of him in the next book. Sounds like he's a survivor too!
I was given a copy of Hell Bound for an honest review. Love zombie books? Hell Bound is a great short story about a couple trying to get back to their children in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. How far would you go and how hard will you fight to get back to the ones you love? This story tells you just what love can do for a family with a little horror in it.
this is a zombie story with a romance thrown in. join a couple who go on vacation without their children only for it to go all wrong. see how their journey unfolds with them tryin to get back to their loved ones, do they make it? this was my 1st zombie book an i really enjoyed it an can't wait for more work from Kathy xxxx
When the world as you know it has fallen around you, what would you do to reach those you love? Hell Bound takes the reader on a journey with Matthew and Sam as they fight zombies to reach their children.The story was interesting and filled with tension as the reader wonders what else will this couple will face before they reach their children.
Kathy Dinisi takes on a different approach for a zombie apocalypse.. Such a great start to open up a new interest for people. I love zombie books & this is by far the best one. I'm not going to give much details because I always put spoilers.. I'm ready for book 2
Hell bound really brings you to the conclusion anything can happen. A modern day book about family survival and fighting to get back to your family. Admittedly it starts out slow but you soon become hooked and can't put it down. Looking forward to second book in series a must buy for sure.
I usually don't get into Zombie books because they are usually the same thing over and over never really changing it up but this book offered a refreshing take on a Zombie book! I was really pleased that it held my attention from the beginning to the very end! I can't wait to see what's next!!
Great story line and very good character development. This is sort of a different Zombie Apocalyptic tale. I do not want to give away any cool details as I do not want to be a spoiler. It is a nice change of pace in the genre.
This is a very fast paced book but you get the back story and a feel for the characters (which is important to me) before the action starts. Can't wait to read the next one to see what happens with this family!
This is the first zombie book I've ever actually finished and I attribute that to the fact it doesn't go into too much gruesome detail about the zombies or what they look like etc. It's a good read, especially for people like me who usually don't read zombie stories.