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Dark Ones
My Zombie Valentine
Four women who are about to dig up the truth!
Tired of boyfriends who drain you dry? Sick of guys who stay out all night howling at the moon? You can do better. Some men want you not only for your body, but your brains. Especially your brains.
It’s true! There are men out there who care—early-rising, down-to-earth, indefatigable men who’ll follow you for miles. They’ll take the time to surprise you, over and over. One sniff of that perfume, and you’ll have to use a shotgun to fight them off. And then, once you get together, all they want is to share a nice meal. And another. And another.
Romeo and Juliet, eat your hearts out.
"Bring Out Your Dead" by Katie MacAlister
"Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo" by Angie Fox
"Zombiewood Confidential" by Marianne Mancusi
"Every Part of You" by Lisa Cach
Tired of boyfriends who drain you dry? Sick of guys who stay out all night howling at the moon? You can do better. Some men want you not only for your body, but your brains. Especially your brains.
It’s true! There are men out there who care—early-rising, down-to-earth, indefatigable men who’ll follow you for miles. They’ll take the time to surprise you, over and over. One sniff of that perfume, and you’ll have to use a shotgun to fight them off. And then, once you get together, all they want is to share a nice meal. And another. And another.
Romeo and Juliet, eat your hearts out.
"Bring Out Your Dead" by Katie MacAlister
"Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo" by Angie Fox
"Zombiewood Confidential" by Marianne Mancusi
"Every Part of You" by Lisa Cach
360 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 18, 2009
18 people are currently reading
1503 people want to read
About the author
Katie MacAlister
121 books5,976 followersFor as long as she can remember, Katie MacAlister has loved reading. Growing up in a family where a weekly visit to the library was a given, Katie spent much of her time with her nose buried in a book. Despite her love for novels, she didn't think of writing them until she was contracted to write a non-fiction book about software. Since her editor refused to allow her to include either witty dialogue or love scenes in the software book, Katie swiftly resolved to switch to fiction, where she could indulge in world building, tormenting characters, and falling madly in love with all her heroes.
Two years after she started writing novels, Katie sold her first romance, Noble Intentions. More than thirty books followed during the years after Noble's publication. Her novels have been translated into numerous languages, been recorded as audiobooks, received several awards, and placed on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. She also writes for the young adult audience as Katie Maxwell, and for the mystery world as Kate Marsh.
Katie lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and dogs, and can often be found lurking around online.
Two years after she started writing novels, Katie sold her first romance, Noble Intentions. More than thirty books followed during the years after Noble's publication. Her novels have been translated into numerous languages, been recorded as audiobooks, received several awards, and placed on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. She also writes for the young adult audience as Katie Maxwell, and for the mystery world as Kate Marsh.
Katie lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and dogs, and can often be found lurking around online.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
February 15, 2025
This is a combination of three things that are not my favourites: zombies, Valentine's Day, and anthologies. So it should have utterly failed for me and yet I enjoyed myself.
It's been a while since I read one of Katie MacAlister's novels featuring Dark Ones and their Beloveds. These are fun parodies of the vampire romances that take themselves a little too seriously. As much as I enjoy this style of paranormal romance, I can also acknowledge the underlying ridiculousness of it. I certainly don't read them for reality!
Angie Fox is another author who I am familiar with, having enjoyed some of her Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries. Her story in this collection was a complete departure from those novels, but quite cute. The short story format requires a compact product. If I have any criticism of her novels, it's that the continuing plot advances at a glacial pace. I would be willing to read more short fiction by Fox.
The last two stories were by authors I didn't know. Marianne Mancusi's involves the filming of a zombie movie where the acting gets a little too real. Lisa Cach explores a link between plastic surgery and a zombie-like pursuit of sugar.
A fun Valentine's Day read.
It's been a while since I read one of Katie MacAlister's novels featuring Dark Ones and their Beloveds. These are fun parodies of the vampire romances that take themselves a little too seriously. As much as I enjoy this style of paranormal romance, I can also acknowledge the underlying ridiculousness of it. I certainly don't read them for reality!
Angie Fox is another author who I am familiar with, having enjoyed some of her Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries. Her story in this collection was a complete departure from those novels, but quite cute. The short story format requires a compact product. If I have any criticism of her novels, it's that the continuing plot advances at a glacial pace. I would be willing to read more short fiction by Fox.
The last two stories were by authors I didn't know. Marianne Mancusi's involves the filming of a zombie movie where the acting gets a little too real. Lisa Cach explores a link between plastic surgery and a zombie-like pursuit of sugar.
A fun Valentine's Day read.
December 26, 2009
Ok, first of all--a word of warning. The Katie MacCalister story in this book is a reprint. Never having read anything by the other authors that I'm aware of, I can't tell if they are also reprints.
Having gotten THAT out of the way. . .
I still enjoyed the Katie MacCalister story. But to properly enjoy it, you do need to have at least a basic familiarity with her Dark Ones series. Many of the same types of characters also show up in her 2 Dragon series also.
The Angie Fox story I had a hard time getting into. To be fair to it, it WAS Christmas time that I was reading this, and I did keep getting interrupted, so its possible that this is a better story than my impression of it. This was also the only "serious" story in the group--or at least, it was more serious than the others.
The Marianne Mancusi story was a poke at Hollywood. The story is set in the framework of a yet another grade Z zombie movie. Having said that--I'll let your imaginations go to work with it.
And finally we come to the Lisa Cach story. Even as a fan of Katie, I have to admit--this was my very favourite of the 4 stories. I am now going to have to go on a search for more works by Ms. Cach. Let us just say--zombies who wander around moaning "TTHHHIIINNNNN MMMIIINNNTTTSSS" are my kind of zombies. :o) Makes such a nice change from BBBRRAAIINNSS, yes?
Having gotten THAT out of the way. . .
I still enjoyed the Katie MacCalister story. But to properly enjoy it, you do need to have at least a basic familiarity with her Dark Ones series. Many of the same types of characters also show up in her 2 Dragon series also.
The Angie Fox story I had a hard time getting into. To be fair to it, it WAS Christmas time that I was reading this, and I did keep getting interrupted, so its possible that this is a better story than my impression of it. This was also the only "serious" story in the group--or at least, it was more serious than the others.
The Marianne Mancusi story was a poke at Hollywood. The story is set in the framework of a yet another grade Z zombie movie. Having said that--I'll let your imaginations go to work with it.
And finally we come to the Lisa Cach story. Even as a fan of Katie, I have to admit--this was my very favourite of the 4 stories. I am now going to have to go on a search for more works by Ms. Cach. Let us just say--zombies who wander around moaning "TTHHHIIINNNNN MMMIIINNNTTTSSS" are my kind of zombies. :o) Makes such a nice change from BBBRRAAIINNSS, yes?
March 3, 2015
I always preface a review of an anthology by saying that I don't like anthologies. The stories are too short, have too much stuff crammed into them and little to zero character development. That said, this one was no different. I bought this book for the Katie MacAlister story and I didn't like it at all. This is a zombie anthology and most of the zombie elements in this story were extraneous to the story. I found most of the story to be irritating especially Sally with her bastardized Franglaise which also served no purpose. I did like Sebastian and Damian and would have welcomed more on both.
Angie Fox's Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo wasn't much better. Amie Baptiste is one of those wishy-washy females that you just want to slap. Her dragon insisted that she needed a man so she voodoo'd herself one. Unfortunately, he was dead at the time. Enter the zombie who is instantly in love and wants to marry Amie. She has three days to make up her mind before he rots permanently back into the ground.
Zombiewood Confidential by Marianne Mancusi only warranted reading half before I was disgusted enough to bypass the rest of this lame hollywood story filled with empty, bubble-headed stars and starlets.
And finally the best of the lot from Lisa Cach, Every Part of You. We have a guy (Tom) who is definitely no sweet-talker. We have a gal (Angelica) who hates every part of her body and visits a plastic surgeon (coincidentally where she meets Tom). And we have an evil plastic surgeon illegally injecting an experimental drug (like botox) into unsuspecting patients which is turning them into carb-loving zombies. This one is really funny and Tom is every woman's dream man regardless of what comes out of his mouth at first.
Angie Fox's Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo wasn't much better. Amie Baptiste is one of those wishy-washy females that you just want to slap. Her dragon insisted that she needed a man so she voodoo'd herself one. Unfortunately, he was dead at the time. Enter the zombie who is instantly in love and wants to marry Amie. She has three days to make up her mind before he rots permanently back into the ground.
Zombiewood Confidential by Marianne Mancusi only warranted reading half before I was disgusted enough to bypass the rest of this lame hollywood story filled with empty, bubble-headed stars and starlets.
And finally the best of the lot from Lisa Cach, Every Part of You. We have a guy (Tom) who is definitely no sweet-talker. We have a gal (Angelica) who hates every part of her body and visits a plastic surgeon (coincidentally where she meets Tom). And we have an evil plastic surgeon illegally injecting an experimental drug (like botox) into unsuspecting patients which is turning them into carb-loving zombies. This one is really funny and Tom is every woman's dream man regardless of what comes out of his mouth at first.
February 7, 2016
I haven't read many books by any of the authors in this anthology, but did find it a light and fun read. The first story by Katie MacAlister takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and has a heroine with secrets and a hero who is rather unreliable. It was amusing. The second story by Angie Fox takes place in New Orleans and has a heroine who lacks confidence and is pretty socially isolated. I found the relationship to be a real stretch, but the story was pretty light. The third story had a really sympathetic heroine, and a humorous B horror movie plot. It was fun, though without many surprises. It did fit the b horror movie genre very well. The final story was really funny as women become carb-zombies. It didn't take itself seriously and so it was easy to go along for the ride.
July 23, 2011
It always pains me to say this after a book, but this was a waste of time. I guess zombies are just not my cup of tea.
This anthology obviously tried to "be funny", but failed miserably. Out of the four, I marginally liked only one (the last one about carb-craving zombie women high on a plastic surgeon's come-made "botox"), but even that one wasn't much.
Next, please. STAT.
This anthology obviously tried to "be funny", but failed miserably. Out of the four, I marginally liked only one (the last one about carb-craving zombie women high on a plastic surgeon's come-made "botox"), but even that one wasn't much.
Next, please. STAT.
August 17, 2010
A collection of four stories involving zombies and romance. All were decent, but the last story by Lisa Cach was by far the best. The sweet tooth zombies staggering around looking for Junior Mints is GREAT!
February 8, 2010
I usually have a love/hate relationship with anthologies. When I saw this one I couldn't resist my zombie love is too strong!! :)
Bring Out Your Dead by Katie Macallister:
This story had a great start zombie(sorry! revenat) counsler Ysabelle leaves for a lucrative tutoring session and finds her self facing Demons,a dangerous little boy called damian and her possible vampire soulmate! I became a little lost in the middle of this story, The zombies kind of took a back seat to the boloved/soulmate theme with the exception of a few great zombie oneliners. The universe Ysabelle inhabits is interesting but very established and unfamiliar to me since I haven't read any other of Katie's books.
Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo by Angie Fox
This was my favorite story in the book and a great example of how well a story can work in an anthology.
Amie is the magical propriter of a magic shop called vodoo works. She spends her days sharing her gifts with unsuspecting shoppers and her nights alone. She casts a powerful spell and literally unearths the handsome Dante Monttenegro who shows up at her dorstep wearing nothing more than a smile. Dante and Amie are wonderful characters strong willed and very well matched. This story captured my intreat and made me very interested in reading more from Angie Fox.
Zombiewood Confidential by Marianne Mancus
Scarlet is a struggling Hollywood make up artist who gets the chance to work on a romote island shoot of the latest zombie flick by director Romeo George (great play on words!) add her celebrity crush Mason Marks and zombies and you get a fun hollywood spoof.
Every Part of You by Lisa Cach
Angelica is visiting her rooomates new boss for some minor plastic surgey on some acne scars and falls into the sorid plans of Dr Velazquez. This story had some very funny elements, Zombies who crave caaaarbbss! :) and also one very hot love scene!
A bit of a mixed bag in this book but also so very enjoyable moments.
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My Zombie Valentine by Katie MacAlister
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My Zombie Valentine by Katie MacAlister
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
View all my reviews >>
Bring Out Your Dead by Katie Macallister:
This story had a great start zombie(sorry! revenat) counsler Ysabelle leaves for a lucrative tutoring session and finds her self facing Demons,a dangerous little boy called damian and her possible vampire soulmate! I became a little lost in the middle of this story, The zombies kind of took a back seat to the boloved/soulmate theme with the exception of a few great zombie oneliners. The universe Ysabelle inhabits is interesting but very established and unfamiliar to me since I haven't read any other of Katie's books.
Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo by Angie Fox
This was my favorite story in the book and a great example of how well a story can work in an anthology.
Amie is the magical propriter of a magic shop called vodoo works. She spends her days sharing her gifts with unsuspecting shoppers and her nights alone. She casts a powerful spell and literally unearths the handsome Dante Monttenegro who shows up at her dorstep wearing nothing more than a smile. Dante and Amie are wonderful characters strong willed and very well matched. This story captured my intreat and made me very interested in reading more from Angie Fox.
Zombiewood Confidential by Marianne Mancus
Scarlet is a struggling Hollywood make up artist who gets the chance to work on a romote island shoot of the latest zombie flick by director Romeo George (great play on words!) add her celebrity crush Mason Marks and zombies and you get a fun hollywood spoof.
Every Part of You by Lisa Cach
Angelica is visiting her rooomates new boss for some minor plastic surgey on some acne scars and falls into the sorid plans of Dr Velazquez. This story had some very funny elements, Zombies who crave caaaarbbss! :) and also one very hot love scene!
A bit of a mixed bag in this book but also so very enjoyable moments.
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February 22, 2022
I like Zombie books, I like 3 of the 4 authors work and the 4th was new to me. I really enjoyed Angie Fox's story. Katie MacAlister story was good, you need to have read at least some of her Dark One's series to understand what's going on IMHO, and i enjoyed Mari Mancusi's take on zombies. I haven't read much by Lisa Cach, I probably won't pick anything up either based on this story, it was just meh to me.
April 20, 2010
Zombies are not what I usually consider Romance characters, but they work here. Most of the Zombies are not the typical flesh-eating types, and it is fun to see how the various authors handle a icon not normally thought of as "good" guys. And there are humourous parts in each story.
Katie MacAlister's Bring Out Your Dead is related to her Dark Ones series and the Zombies are secondary characters, trying to be vegetarians. Did enjoy the one who wanted to eat flesh. Poor Guy.
Angie Fox's Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo has the heroine unnkowningly resurrect a Zombie in New Orleans. Now what is she to do with him, and how can she send him back. Now, that is a Zombie I want, handsome, and wanting to please you.
Marianne Mancusi's Zombiewood Confidential does have the requesit flesh-eating Zombies. First they start off as extra's for a Zombie movie then they start turning into real Zombies. At first I was not exactly sure who the hero was, but quickly grew to like him, especially the fact he has a small dog he loves. And I can emphasize with the heroine who has had a crush on him forever.
Lisa Cach's Every Part of You again does not have typical Zombies. Instead of flesh, they want chocolate or sweets? My kind of Zombies. And the hero does put his foot in his mouth at the first meeting. Nice to have a hero who is not perfect.
Katie MacAlister's Bring Out Your Dead is related to her Dark Ones series and the Zombies are secondary characters, trying to be vegetarians. Did enjoy the one who wanted to eat flesh. Poor Guy.
Angie Fox's Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo has the heroine unnkowningly resurrect a Zombie in New Orleans. Now what is she to do with him, and how can she send him back. Now, that is a Zombie I want, handsome, and wanting to please you.
Marianne Mancusi's Zombiewood Confidential does have the requesit flesh-eating Zombies. First they start off as extra's for a Zombie movie then they start turning into real Zombies. At first I was not exactly sure who the hero was, but quickly grew to like him, especially the fact he has a small dog he loves. And I can emphasize with the heroine who has had a crush on him forever.
Lisa Cach's Every Part of You again does not have typical Zombies. Instead of flesh, they want chocolate or sweets? My kind of Zombies. And the hero does put his foot in his mouth at the first meeting. Nice to have a hero who is not perfect.
March 6, 2012
Ok here we go...
This book had four stories in it.
All with a very different take on zombies.
#1 Bring out your dead ~ Katie Macalister:
Strange to say the least. I didnt love it.
I didnt hate it. The zombie was one of the
main charters and she didnt eat peeps she
helped other zombies adjust to their being. 2 stars
#2 Gentlemen prefer voodoo ~ Angie Fox
Voodoo woman raises zombie to be her lover by accident.
He had a bad experience with love in life and she may
just break his heart again
I loved the fact that the main character
had a pet dragon. Very cool!
Other than that...Eh! 3 stars
#3 Zombiewood Confidential ~ Marianne Maancusi
I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
It ended too soon. Too bad she didnt make
her own novel of it. More of what I picture
my zombies to be. Flesh eating...yum! yum! 4 stars
#4 Every part of you ~ Lisa Cach
Evil plastic surgeon turning women zombie like
with bad medicine (So to speak) 2 stars
This book had four stories in it.
All with a very different take on zombies.
#1 Bring out your dead ~ Katie Macalister:
Strange to say the least. I didnt love it.
I didnt hate it. The zombie was one of the
main charters and she didnt eat peeps she
helped other zombies adjust to their being. 2 stars
#2 Gentlemen prefer voodoo ~ Angie Fox
Voodoo woman raises zombie to be her lover by accident.
He had a bad experience with love in life and she may
just break his heart again
I loved the fact that the main character
had a pet dragon. Very cool!
Other than that...Eh! 3 stars
#3 Zombiewood Confidential ~ Marianne Maancusi
I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
It ended too soon. Too bad she didnt make
her own novel of it. More of what I picture
my zombies to be. Flesh eating...yum! yum! 4 stars
#4 Every part of you ~ Lisa Cach
Evil plastic surgeon turning women zombie like
with bad medicine (So to speak) 2 stars
February 3, 2013
Did no one else want ACTUAL zombie valentines? Like, some protagonist decides that they love a zombie, but the zombie just sits there and drools, and he/she shows the zombie to friend and says, "This is my Valentine!"
And the friend says, "That's a zombie. Is it even capable of sentient thought?"
And the zombie says, "Brains!"
And the protagonists says, "YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND OUR LOVE! COME ON ZOMBIE!" and then they run away in a flood of tears.
Now, I know that it would be hard to come up with a plot based around such a concept. For one thing, I can't thing of an antagonist who doesn't have a hopelessly lame motivation. But maybe it could be a parody of a soap opera or something. And it would have been great!
But no. We get this instead. And I must say, I like my idea better.
And the friend says, "That's a zombie. Is it even capable of sentient thought?"
And the zombie says, "Brains!"
And the protagonists says, "YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND OUR LOVE! COME ON ZOMBIE!" and then they run away in a flood of tears.
Now, I know that it would be hard to come up with a plot based around such a concept. For one thing, I can't thing of an antagonist who doesn't have a hopelessly lame motivation. But maybe it could be a parody of a soap opera or something. And it would have been great!
But no. We get this instead. And I must say, I like my idea better.
October 5, 2012
MacAlister writes about her Dark Ones world, while Fox writes about a voodoo zombie lover. Mancusi uses a Hollywood movie set for a zombie takeover, and Cach uses our culture's infatuation with plastic surgery as the gateway to zombies.
These were decent shorts, some had me laughing others had me smiling.
For more zombies and love check out HEA
http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyev...
These were decent shorts, some had me laughing others had me smiling.
For more zombies and love check out HEA
http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyev...
February 16, 2010
My Zombie Valentine is an anthology consisting of four paranormal romance novellas by four different authors. Each story has some kind of zombie element to it, although it may or may not be the main theme of the story. The book's title may lead some readers to believe it's actually framed around Valentine's Day, but there was only one reference in the whole book to the holiday that I can recall.
The first story, "Bring Out Your Dead", by Katie MacAlister, was previously published in another anthology, Just One Sip, that was themed all around vampires. So as you can guess, the novella combines both vampires and zombies. The main character of this story, Ysabelle, helps counsel newly formed zombies to get them adjusted to their "new life". Supporting characters include Sebastian, a vampire who claims that Ysabelle is his beloved, and Sally, Ysabelle's spirit guide who has an annoying habit of talking in Franglais, which is some horrid mix of English and French. As a fan of MacAlister's Dark Ones series I was looking forward to this short story, but unfortunately, it fell short compared to her full-length novels. It did have humorous moments and there was quite a bit of action, but it just didn't live up to my expectations of MacAlister's writing. Also, the character of Sally was rather frustrating, and I'm sure it's even worse for those that know even less of the French language than myself. Readers who aren't familiar with at least a little French will miss out on complete sections of conversation with no explanation of what was just said. I know that the character was tossed in to be funny, but if the readers don't understand what is going on, there really is no point in adding such a character.
My favorite novella in the anthology was "Gentleman Prefer Voodoo" by Angie Fox. In this story Amie, who runs a voodoo shop, is talked into going after love one more time. Instead of trying to search out Mr. Right the old-fashioned way, however, Amie decides to try her hand at a love spell. Unfortunately, the spell works a little too well. Mr. Right comes knocking at her door later that night all naked and covered in dirt after having been buried in the grave for hundreds of years. Amie is immediately attracted to the zombie, but yet, she is having a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that her soulmate is actually a zombie and she makes every attempt to reverse her spell to send him back to the grave. This story is absolutely hysterical! I loved Fox's dialogue between Amie and the zombie, especially in the scenes where she was trying to kill him. Another favorite scene was after Amie had sent him to get clothes and when he came back his clothes were so skin tight that she was still having trouble looking at him without getting so hot and bothered. I just thought Fox's style was very quirky! I had only had the pleasure of reading one other novel by Fox prior to this, and wasn't expecting to enjoy this story nearly as much as I did, but I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by Fox after this.
"Zombiewood Confidential" by Marianne Mancusi was the third story in this anthology. This is the story of Scarlett Patterson, who takes the job of being a makeup artist for a B-horror movie being produced by Romeo George (nice little tribute to George Romero there). While on the set, strange things start to happen and the zombie "extras" start getting a bit more into their character than is expected... even when the film isn't rolling. One even attempts to attack the lead of the movie, Mason Marks, who happens to be Scarlett's celebrity crush since she was a teenager. On top of that, lots of people have started disappearing from the set. What could possibly be causing all this chaos? I always enjoy Mancusi's works and this was no exception. She always tosses in little pop culture references, like the Romero thing mentioned above, which makes the story more personal to me when I catch them. Also, the romance that built between the makeup artist and the movie star in this particular story was so unlikely from the start that it was kind of like a fairy tale romance and I always enjoy those. They are sweet, yet while being chased by zombies... not as sweet as one would hope... damn those interruptions! The climax of the story and how the zombies ended up being destroyed in the end was absolutely brilliant! The thought process behind that was very creative... kudos to Mancusi for that idea. I will definitely continue reading books by her as they are released.
Last, but not least in this collection, was "Every Part of You" by Lisa Cach. This story started off with our two main characters, Angelica and Tom, meeting in a plastic surgeon's office. Angelica was having some minor surgery performed and while having it done the doctor offered to remove her worry lines for her free of charge by injecting Phi-Tox into her skin. Shortly thereafter there began being reports on the news of outbreaks of women majorly craving sugar, stores running out of ice cream, and pretty soon candy stores being broken into. Angelica, and new boyfriend Tom, end up investigating and determine that this "sugar-craving zombies" appear to be relating back somehow to the Phi-Tox injections and Angelica herself is in danger. When I first started reading this story I honestly wasn't sure where it was going. It seemed to just be going on about plastic surgery and how Angelica and Tom were getting together. Don't get me wrong, the story was cute, but it seemed like just a sweet little contemporary romance. I had no idea where the story was going! Then... the story took a crazy turn when Angelica and Tom had to go to the hospital and the women there were begging for their husband to get more "skiiiiittles" out of the vending machines and another's breast implant just plopped out right there on the floor! It went from sweet and funny to pure insanity! I hadn't ever read anything from Lisa Cach before, but if any of her other paranormal stories are as funny as this I will definitely need to check them out.
Overall I truly enjoyed this collection of four stories. I think all fans of the paranormal romance genre will. Highly Recommended!
Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Sex
Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com
The first story, "Bring Out Your Dead", by Katie MacAlister, was previously published in another anthology, Just One Sip, that was themed all around vampires. So as you can guess, the novella combines both vampires and zombies. The main character of this story, Ysabelle, helps counsel newly formed zombies to get them adjusted to their "new life". Supporting characters include Sebastian, a vampire who claims that Ysabelle is his beloved, and Sally, Ysabelle's spirit guide who has an annoying habit of talking in Franglais, which is some horrid mix of English and French. As a fan of MacAlister's Dark Ones series I was looking forward to this short story, but unfortunately, it fell short compared to her full-length novels. It did have humorous moments and there was quite a bit of action, but it just didn't live up to my expectations of MacAlister's writing. Also, the character of Sally was rather frustrating, and I'm sure it's even worse for those that know even less of the French language than myself. Readers who aren't familiar with at least a little French will miss out on complete sections of conversation with no explanation of what was just said. I know that the character was tossed in to be funny, but if the readers don't understand what is going on, there really is no point in adding such a character.
My favorite novella in the anthology was "Gentleman Prefer Voodoo" by Angie Fox. In this story Amie, who runs a voodoo shop, is talked into going after love one more time. Instead of trying to search out Mr. Right the old-fashioned way, however, Amie decides to try her hand at a love spell. Unfortunately, the spell works a little too well. Mr. Right comes knocking at her door later that night all naked and covered in dirt after having been buried in the grave for hundreds of years. Amie is immediately attracted to the zombie, but yet, she is having a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that her soulmate is actually a zombie and she makes every attempt to reverse her spell to send him back to the grave. This story is absolutely hysterical! I loved Fox's dialogue between Amie and the zombie, especially in the scenes where she was trying to kill him. Another favorite scene was after Amie had sent him to get clothes and when he came back his clothes were so skin tight that she was still having trouble looking at him without getting so hot and bothered. I just thought Fox's style was very quirky! I had only had the pleasure of reading one other novel by Fox prior to this, and wasn't expecting to enjoy this story nearly as much as I did, but I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by Fox after this.
"Zombiewood Confidential" by Marianne Mancusi was the third story in this anthology. This is the story of Scarlett Patterson, who takes the job of being a makeup artist for a B-horror movie being produced by Romeo George (nice little tribute to George Romero there). While on the set, strange things start to happen and the zombie "extras" start getting a bit more into their character than is expected... even when the film isn't rolling. One even attempts to attack the lead of the movie, Mason Marks, who happens to be Scarlett's celebrity crush since she was a teenager. On top of that, lots of people have started disappearing from the set. What could possibly be causing all this chaos? I always enjoy Mancusi's works and this was no exception. She always tosses in little pop culture references, like the Romero thing mentioned above, which makes the story more personal to me when I catch them. Also, the romance that built between the makeup artist and the movie star in this particular story was so unlikely from the start that it was kind of like a fairy tale romance and I always enjoy those. They are sweet, yet while being chased by zombies... not as sweet as one would hope... damn those interruptions! The climax of the story and how the zombies ended up being destroyed in the end was absolutely brilliant! The thought process behind that was very creative... kudos to Mancusi for that idea. I will definitely continue reading books by her as they are released.
Last, but not least in this collection, was "Every Part of You" by Lisa Cach. This story started off with our two main characters, Angelica and Tom, meeting in a plastic surgeon's office. Angelica was having some minor surgery performed and while having it done the doctor offered to remove her worry lines for her free of charge by injecting Phi-Tox into her skin. Shortly thereafter there began being reports on the news of outbreaks of women majorly craving sugar, stores running out of ice cream, and pretty soon candy stores being broken into. Angelica, and new boyfriend Tom, end up investigating and determine that this "sugar-craving zombies" appear to be relating back somehow to the Phi-Tox injections and Angelica herself is in danger. When I first started reading this story I honestly wasn't sure where it was going. It seemed to just be going on about plastic surgery and how Angelica and Tom were getting together. Don't get me wrong, the story was cute, but it seemed like just a sweet little contemporary romance. I had no idea where the story was going! Then... the story took a crazy turn when Angelica and Tom had to go to the hospital and the women there were begging for their husband to get more "skiiiiittles" out of the vending machines and another's breast implant just plopped out right there on the floor! It went from sweet and funny to pure insanity! I hadn't ever read anything from Lisa Cach before, but if any of her other paranormal stories are as funny as this I will definitely need to check them out.
Overall I truly enjoyed this collection of four stories. I think all fans of the paranormal romance genre will. Highly Recommended!
Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Sex
Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com
November 16, 2020
Tired of boyfriends who drain you dry? Sick of guys who stay out all night howling at the moon? You can do better. Some men want you not only for your body, but your brains. Especially your brains.
It’s true! There are men out there who care—early-rising, down-to-earth, indefatigable men who’ll follow you for miles. They’ll take the time to surprise you, over and over. One sniff of that perfume, and you’ll have to use a shotgun to fight them off. And then, once you get together, all they want is to share a nice meal. And another. And another.
Romeo and Juliet, eat your hearts out.
"Bring Out Your Dead" by Katie MacAlister
"Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo" by Angie Fox
"Zombiewood Confidential" by Marianne Mancusi
"Every Part of You" by Lisa Cach
Heather's Notes
So I am not a big reader of zombie stories. They just don't appeal to me. That being said they were not too bad. My favorite was "Every Part of You", it was cute. My least favorite was "Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo" mostly because the wishy washy heroine that made want to slap her the entire story. I still don't like her.
It’s true! There are men out there who care—early-rising, down-to-earth, indefatigable men who’ll follow you for miles. They’ll take the time to surprise you, over and over. One sniff of that perfume, and you’ll have to use a shotgun to fight them off. And then, once you get together, all they want is to share a nice meal. And another. And another.
Romeo and Juliet, eat your hearts out.
"Bring Out Your Dead" by Katie MacAlister
"Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo" by Angie Fox
"Zombiewood Confidential" by Marianne Mancusi
"Every Part of You" by Lisa Cach
Heather's Notes
So I am not a big reader of zombie stories. They just don't appeal to me. That being said they were not too bad. My favorite was "Every Part of You", it was cute. My least favorite was "Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo" mostly because the wishy washy heroine that made want to slap her the entire story. I still don't like her.
September 17, 2021
I love a good short story anthology as a way to pick up and learn about new authors to me, but this anthology on the whole was not very appealing to me…
Bring Out Your Dead by Katie MacAlister
Great story idea, funny characters, but just waaaaay too much crammed into such a short story. I feel like this story might be a small spin-off of the author’s other works because it just felt as if I was missing something.
Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo by Angie Fox
Best story by far, sweet and simple, a little cliche in romance maybe, but it worked fir me and the “ticking clock” aspect really worked well.
Zombiewood Confidential’s by Marianne Mancusi
Funny, but would have made a better b-movie than short story. The two main protagonists also just kinda got on my nerves so there is that.
Every Part of You by Lisa Cach
Funny, but just didn’t keep me hooked.
Bring Out Your Dead by Katie MacAlister
Great story idea, funny characters, but just waaaaay too much crammed into such a short story. I feel like this story might be a small spin-off of the author’s other works because it just felt as if I was missing something.
Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo by Angie Fox
Best story by far, sweet and simple, a little cliche in romance maybe, but it worked fir me and the “ticking clock” aspect really worked well.
Zombiewood Confidential’s by Marianne Mancusi
Funny, but would have made a better b-movie than short story. The two main protagonists also just kinda got on my nerves so there is that.
Every Part of You by Lisa Cach
Funny, but just didn’t keep me hooked.
July 26, 2018
Bring Out Your Dead
This was a really interesting story! I look forward to reading more from MacAlister.
Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo
This was a fantastic story! I loved all the rich details that Fox included in this piece.
Zombiewood Confidential
Strange but wonderful!
Every Part of You
The strong social commentary woven into this story was sadly realistic.
This was a really interesting story! I look forward to reading more from MacAlister.
Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo
This was a fantastic story! I loved all the rich details that Fox included in this piece.
Zombiewood Confidential
Strange but wonderful!
Every Part of You
The strong social commentary woven into this story was sadly realistic.
June 24, 2021
I bought this paperback years ago and now that my Granddaughter is getting my books I decided to read it. There are four stories by some very good Authors. Bring Out Your Dead by Katie MacAlister, Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo Angie Fox, Zombiewood Confidential by Marianne Mancusi, and Every Part of You by Lisa Cach. I laughed throughout this whole book. The book was well worth reading.
February 17, 2025
This book is an anthology of stories involving zombies and romance (as you guessed from the cover). The stories are quick reads between 100-150 pages. This is a great book to read in bursts or when you are craving a quirky horror romance.
May 31, 2017
I liked the first 3 stories in the book but the last one is what caused me to take a month to finish the book. If you like this genre or these authors then you'll enjoy this book.
December 27, 2019
The last story was the best. The others were just okay.
February 14, 2022
These stories were fun and short with just the right amount of creepy. Sometimes they felt a little rushed to get to the "happily ever after," but for the most part they did not disappoint.
April 8, 2022
It was ok
March 16, 2017
Not a fan of romances, but love zombies so thought I'd give it a try. 4 stories, the 2 "headliner" authors I thought had the worst stories, and Marianne Mancusi and Lisa Cach did a better job with the topic, made it full of zombie fun.
June 4, 2013
FULL REVIEW
I'm not going to say too much about this book since I have reviewed each story individually. This book was given to me as a gag gift. I wouldn't have even picked it up if I had seen this book at the book store. All in all, the book wasn't too bad, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who enjoys good literature.
Or at least, something with a plot.
6/2/13
Every Part of You-Three Stars
This story was the most enjoyable out of the four. I still wonder whether the author was completely serious about this story or if this was meant to be a parody. Either way, it was funny and it kept me completely entertained. The first half of the story was dull and boring (If you can't tell, I'm not a very big fan of cheesy and corny romances), but things did speed up during the second half.
The characters were half interesting and they were funny, too. I actually liked Tom, although he sounded more like a sixteen year old boy than someone with a degree in marine biology. Either way, it was entertaining.
However, the sex scene was awful and I recommend you skip it. I don't think the author uses the word 'vagina', and keeps referring to genitals as 'sex'.
5/31/13
Zombiewood Confidential - 0.5 Stars
This story is the worst out of the three I have read so far. At least "Bring Out Your Dead" was stupid, but this one was just plain offensive. The major problem that I had with this story was how the author described 'a real woman'. As a female and a feminist, the fact that the author puts thin women own to glorify the curvier, bigger women is offensive. Why can't both body types be beautiful? Why must females be in constant competition of who is the prettiest? So according to the author, you must have a curvy, hourglass shape (Which, let me tell you, most women don't have the hourglass shape without the aid of a corset. Trust me, I work with costumes and corsets can do wonders to your body shape) in order to be a real woman. Marianne Mancusi, stop. You obviously have no idea what the fuck you are doing.
The characters in the story were bland, dull, and sounded as if they came straight out of a fucking Disney channel movie. I don't think the author even tried with Cissy. Cissy had the potential to be a great character, but she was used for absolutely nothing except for looking pretty. Mason was your typical badass, but at least he wasn't a massive douche like Sebastian was. Good God, do I hate Sebastian. And honestly, I'm not going to even waste my time talking about Scarlet.
All in all, this story gets the lowest score so far due to body shaming. Because a real woman is someone who identifies themselves as female. And that's the end of that.
5/28/13
Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo-Two Stars
The story was okay, as the rating implies. Unlike the other story, this one at least had a plot. Stupid, cheesy, cliché? Yes. But it was a plot, nonetheless. Yes, the plot was predictable, but at least there was a plot.
Also, Dante wasn't as bad of a love interest as Sebastian was. He was actually quite a gentleman. Amie was a Mary-Sue, but at least she was more bearable than Ysabelle.
The story is good if you want something simple and fluffy with a very simple plot. However, if you want something quality, skip this story.
5/27/13
Bring Out Your Dead -One Star
I did not like this story AT ALL. It was bland, plotless, and the only humor came from the zombies and the little boy whose name I have forgotten.
Ysabelle is so annoying. I really don't understand the entire concept of double souls and what the hell was Sally? Thanks for butchering my favorite language. Vous est tres stupide, Madame MacAlister.
Sebastian can go fuck himself. I am sorry, but he is abusive and controlling and their was absolutely no chemistry between the couple.
This was literally pointless smut.
Again, I have fanfiction for that.
Trashy author, trashy story.
5/25/13
What the actual fuck am I reading? I'm on page 45 and it's going to turn into a pointless smut fest apparently.
This is what I have fanfiction for.
I'm not going to say too much about this book since I have reviewed each story individually. This book was given to me as a gag gift. I wouldn't have even picked it up if I had seen this book at the book store. All in all, the book wasn't too bad, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who enjoys good literature.
Or at least, something with a plot.
6/2/13
Every Part of You-Three Stars
This story was the most enjoyable out of the four. I still wonder whether the author was completely serious about this story or if this was meant to be a parody. Either way, it was funny and it kept me completely entertained. The first half of the story was dull and boring (If you can't tell, I'm not a very big fan of cheesy and corny romances), but things did speed up during the second half.
The characters were half interesting and they were funny, too. I actually liked Tom, although he sounded more like a sixteen year old boy than someone with a degree in marine biology. Either way, it was entertaining.
However, the sex scene was awful and I recommend you skip it. I don't think the author uses the word 'vagina', and keeps referring to genitals as 'sex'.
5/31/13
Zombiewood Confidential - 0.5 Stars
This story is the worst out of the three I have read so far. At least "Bring Out Your Dead" was stupid, but this one was just plain offensive. The major problem that I had with this story was how the author described 'a real woman'. As a female and a feminist, the fact that the author puts thin women own to glorify the curvier, bigger women is offensive. Why can't both body types be beautiful? Why must females be in constant competition of who is the prettiest? So according to the author, you must have a curvy, hourglass shape (Which, let me tell you, most women don't have the hourglass shape without the aid of a corset. Trust me, I work with costumes and corsets can do wonders to your body shape) in order to be a real woman. Marianne Mancusi, stop. You obviously have no idea what the fuck you are doing.
The characters in the story were bland, dull, and sounded as if they came straight out of a fucking Disney channel movie. I don't think the author even tried with Cissy. Cissy had the potential to be a great character, but she was used for absolutely nothing except for looking pretty. Mason was your typical badass, but at least he wasn't a massive douche like Sebastian was. Good God, do I hate Sebastian. And honestly, I'm not going to even waste my time talking about Scarlet.
All in all, this story gets the lowest score so far due to body shaming. Because a real woman is someone who identifies themselves as female. And that's the end of that.
5/28/13
Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo-Two Stars
The story was okay, as the rating implies. Unlike the other story, this one at least had a plot. Stupid, cheesy, cliché? Yes. But it was a plot, nonetheless. Yes, the plot was predictable, but at least there was a plot.
Also, Dante wasn't as bad of a love interest as Sebastian was. He was actually quite a gentleman. Amie was a Mary-Sue, but at least she was more bearable than Ysabelle.
The story is good if you want something simple and fluffy with a very simple plot. However, if you want something quality, skip this story.
5/27/13
Bring Out Your Dead -One Star
I did not like this story AT ALL. It was bland, plotless, and the only humor came from the zombies and the little boy whose name I have forgotten.
Ysabelle is so annoying. I really don't understand the entire concept of double souls and what the hell was Sally? Thanks for butchering my favorite language. Vous est tres stupide, Madame MacAlister.
Sebastian can go fuck himself. I am sorry, but he is abusive and controlling and their was absolutely no chemistry between the couple.
This was literally pointless smut.
Again, I have fanfiction for that.
Trashy author, trashy story.
5/25/13
What the actual fuck am I reading? I'm on page 45 and it's going to turn into a pointless smut fest apparently.
This is what I have fanfiction for.
September 9, 2016
Bring Out Your Dead (Katie MacAlister)
It's very likely you may have read this story before, as it was published in the anthology Just One Sip. Interestingly enough that was an anthology about vampires. A very versatile story this is!
Ysabelle is a zombie counselor, or as they prefer to be called a Functionally Deceased counselor. Sebastian, is a Dark One, or a vampire if you prefer. This story ties directly in with her Dark Ones novels.
I liked Ysabelle--she wasn't exactly your run of the mill sort of heroine and was sincere in her efforts to help the functionally deceased. They're a rather bossy lot I have to say. Nothing is ever good enough! I've loved Sebastian (he had minor roles in at least one other novel) for a while yet and it was fun watching his deal with all the zombies and convince Ysabelle he's nothing like her other five husbands. There's also the matter of how their relationship will effect Ysabelle's friend, the fact a demon lord wants Ysabelle as a prized trophy and Sebastian is big on revenge...but hey no one said true love was easy.
Gentleman Prefer Voodoo (Angie Fox)
Anytime a woman has the thought 'I can Summon Mr. Right!' you know things are going to go wonky. Except when Fox makes things go wonky its never quite what you expect and I love her for it. Cause nothing says true love like voodoo right?
Amie has run a successful voodoo shop for the last nine years, ignoring the fact she hasn't had a boyfriend in all that time. Except, as her friendly Kongamato Isoke likes to remind her, her love magic needs for it to be reciprocated and given back to her, or she'll dry up like a husk as her mother did.
Isoke was possibly my favorite part of the story. Kind of a dinosaur like mythological creature (I think), he comes off as a well-meaning relative that's particularly good at guilt complexes to get what he wants. The introduction of Amie's 'ideal man' is also full of rather hilarious one-liners on his part. Dante can't help himself--he's Spanish, so he's got a silver tongue.
What I liked best about this is that the story had plenty of humor as well as romance. Amie is almost obsessively wary of men and Dante had never been the patient sort. Between their verbal sparring and Isoke's 'Just get over it!' attitude, it made for an amusing and entertaining read.
Zombiewood Confidential (Marianne Mancusi)
Automatic props for paying homage to the great Zombie director George Romero. Strike that, Mancusi gets a whole van of props for paying homage to pop culture icons and making hilarious caricatures of themselves.
This was an amusing, sweet romance of never judging a book by its cover...with zombies. More romance titles needs zombies in them--actually just about every genre can dare to have more zombies if they handle it with the wit that Mancusi does.
Mason Marks is a parody of a bunch of different Hollywood stars (especially certain singing high school musical ones...) while Scarlett is your typical sweet-natured down home gal in the big city. As Mason remarks at one point--she's send off to the heyday of Hollywood sweethearts.
Word to the wise: don't trust Zombie movie directors on budget cuts. Just saying.
Every Part of You (Lisa Cach)
This story began really slow and didn't seem to be part of the collection. The focus seemed to be on Angelica and Tom's burgeoning relationship and less on the hoo-ha going on around them.
I do think that Cach had a pretty wicked idea with the implants. Considering the high level of plastic surgery being done today, it isn't surprising that something of that nature would occur to a writer.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to enjoy the story and by the end of it, was completely drained of any good feeling towards it. I think what I was expecting and what the story delivered were on two different wavelengths completely.
It's very likely you may have read this story before, as it was published in the anthology Just One Sip. Interestingly enough that was an anthology about vampires. A very versatile story this is!
Ysabelle is a zombie counselor, or as they prefer to be called a Functionally Deceased counselor. Sebastian, is a Dark One, or a vampire if you prefer. This story ties directly in with her Dark Ones novels.
I liked Ysabelle--she wasn't exactly your run of the mill sort of heroine and was sincere in her efforts to help the functionally deceased. They're a rather bossy lot I have to say. Nothing is ever good enough! I've loved Sebastian (he had minor roles in at least one other novel) for a while yet and it was fun watching his deal with all the zombies and convince Ysabelle he's nothing like her other five husbands. There's also the matter of how their relationship will effect Ysabelle's friend, the fact a demon lord wants Ysabelle as a prized trophy and Sebastian is big on revenge...but hey no one said true love was easy.
Gentleman Prefer Voodoo (Angie Fox)
Anytime a woman has the thought 'I can Summon Mr. Right!' you know things are going to go wonky. Except when Fox makes things go wonky its never quite what you expect and I love her for it. Cause nothing says true love like voodoo right?
Amie has run a successful voodoo shop for the last nine years, ignoring the fact she hasn't had a boyfriend in all that time. Except, as her friendly Kongamato Isoke likes to remind her, her love magic needs for it to be reciprocated and given back to her, or she'll dry up like a husk as her mother did.
Isoke was possibly my favorite part of the story. Kind of a dinosaur like mythological creature (I think), he comes off as a well-meaning relative that's particularly good at guilt complexes to get what he wants. The introduction of Amie's 'ideal man' is also full of rather hilarious one-liners on his part. Dante can't help himself--he's Spanish, so he's got a silver tongue.
What I liked best about this is that the story had plenty of humor as well as romance. Amie is almost obsessively wary of men and Dante had never been the patient sort. Between their verbal sparring and Isoke's 'Just get over it!' attitude, it made for an amusing and entertaining read.
Zombiewood Confidential (Marianne Mancusi)
Automatic props for paying homage to the great Zombie director George Romero. Strike that, Mancusi gets a whole van of props for paying homage to pop culture icons and making hilarious caricatures of themselves.
This was an amusing, sweet romance of never judging a book by its cover...with zombies. More romance titles needs zombies in them--actually just about every genre can dare to have more zombies if they handle it with the wit that Mancusi does.
Mason Marks is a parody of a bunch of different Hollywood stars (especially certain singing high school musical ones...) while Scarlett is your typical sweet-natured down home gal in the big city. As Mason remarks at one point--she's send off to the heyday of Hollywood sweethearts.
Word to the wise: don't trust Zombie movie directors on budget cuts. Just saying.
Every Part of You (Lisa Cach)
This story began really slow and didn't seem to be part of the collection. The focus seemed to be on Angelica and Tom's burgeoning relationship and less on the hoo-ha going on around them.
I do think that Cach had a pretty wicked idea with the implants. Considering the high level of plastic surgery being done today, it isn't surprising that something of that nature would occur to a writer.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to enjoy the story and by the end of it, was completely drained of any good feeling towards it. I think what I was expecting and what the story delivered were on two different wavelengths completely.
October 1, 2013
How did we end up here?
Mari sends me pretty much everything she writes so it’s no surprise that Zombiewood Confidential ended up in my hands. That is the only story I read out of this anthology so it’ll be the only one I review. Originally published with Dorchester a handful of moons ago Zombiewood Confidential was re-released in My Zombie Valentine by a publisher that wouldn’t bone over its authors. And since I love pretty much everything Mari writes here we are.
Okay, book. You've got 50 pages. Go!
It’s a novella. There are barely more than 50 pages to the story itself.
Outside of that it came with a classic Mari voice that’s spunky and fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously. There’s a chick with wobbly knees that isn’t very sure about herself and the hot dude action hero that she’s been lusting after. It’s not YA so it’s pretty neat to see Mari’s writing with a more adult perspective and doesn’t have to concern itself with teen angst. It has enough zombies here to manage that!
The story opens from the perspective of a zombie movie extra that’s getting a little too noshy with his teeth so the zombie element is immediate and slightly B horror in a campy, fun sort of way. She had me at braaaaaaaaaains.
What worked . . .
Between the voice and the kitsch and the action and the heat and Hollywood there isn’t much left to not like. Mari pokes fun at celebrities, wannabes, bad perfume, the zombie genre, Hollywood as a whole, everything but it’s done in such a way that it preserves the zombie atmosphere. The zombies are still zombies, with a bit of an interesting twist at the end, and then kooky things happen around them. The humor is great and is persistent from beginning to end without being over the top of dropping off into a lull for even a page. Mari really knows how to write this slightly sarcastic humor and makes it look effortless. I’m kind of jealous.
What didn't work . . .
Not much. Maybe it was too short? The whole romance aspect was a bit rushed but that may have been a product of the novella more than anything although I did feel the guy’s attachment to the female protag (I’m completely blanking on names at the moment) was incredibly sudden and kind of frightening but I think it played into the atmosphere better than if it were anything more serious. All the pieces fit and I didn’t find myself scoffing at any of it, mainly because the zombies were rather awesome and took up most of the story space anyway.
And in the end . . .
A great addition to the zombie genre. Mari’s token snark is front and center here and it blends well with the stage she’s set. She keeps zombies true to form and lets the antics fly around her characters. They get battered and beaten but the Hollywood ending doesn’t escape this story and I’m okay with that. All things considered the characters deserve it. Covered in zombie body parts but, you know, beggars can’t be choosers.
Mari sends me pretty much everything she writes so it’s no surprise that Zombiewood Confidential ended up in my hands. That is the only story I read out of this anthology so it’ll be the only one I review. Originally published with Dorchester a handful of moons ago Zombiewood Confidential was re-released in My Zombie Valentine by a publisher that wouldn’t bone over its authors. And since I love pretty much everything Mari writes here we are.
Okay, book. You've got 50 pages. Go!
It’s a novella. There are barely more than 50 pages to the story itself.
Outside of that it came with a classic Mari voice that’s spunky and fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously. There’s a chick with wobbly knees that isn’t very sure about herself and the hot dude action hero that she’s been lusting after. It’s not YA so it’s pretty neat to see Mari’s writing with a more adult perspective and doesn’t have to concern itself with teen angst. It has enough zombies here to manage that!
The story opens from the perspective of a zombie movie extra that’s getting a little too noshy with his teeth so the zombie element is immediate and slightly B horror in a campy, fun sort of way. She had me at braaaaaaaaaains.
What worked . . .
Between the voice and the kitsch and the action and the heat and Hollywood there isn’t much left to not like. Mari pokes fun at celebrities, wannabes, bad perfume, the zombie genre, Hollywood as a whole, everything but it’s done in such a way that it preserves the zombie atmosphere. The zombies are still zombies, with a bit of an interesting twist at the end, and then kooky things happen around them. The humor is great and is persistent from beginning to end without being over the top of dropping off into a lull for even a page. Mari really knows how to write this slightly sarcastic humor and makes it look effortless. I’m kind of jealous.
What didn't work . . .
Not much. Maybe it was too short? The whole romance aspect was a bit rushed but that may have been a product of the novella more than anything although I did feel the guy’s attachment to the female protag (I’m completely blanking on names at the moment) was incredibly sudden and kind of frightening but I think it played into the atmosphere better than if it were anything more serious. All the pieces fit and I didn’t find myself scoffing at any of it, mainly because the zombies were rather awesome and took up most of the story space anyway.
And in the end . . .
A great addition to the zombie genre. Mari’s token snark is front and center here and it blends well with the stage she’s set. She keeps zombies true to form and lets the antics fly around her characters. They get battered and beaten but the Hollywood ending doesn’t escape this story and I’m okay with that. All things considered the characters deserve it. Covered in zombie body parts but, you know, beggars can’t be choosers.
March 23, 2013
I wish Goodreads allowed half stars. This is really a 4 1/2 star collection of short stories. While none of the stories are without their flaws, generally due to the amount of ground that must be covered satisfactorily in the space of a short story, they are completely enjoyable.
Bring Out Your Dead by Katie MacCalister: My favorite story of the group, which surprised me because MacCalister tends to have a lighter, more comedic tone to her writing than what I normally enjoy. This story just worked for me, though. I am not familiar with her Dark Ones series (wasn't even aware of it until after completing this story), and yet I was able to follow the characters, events, and overall rules of her mythical world. While I like both the hero and heroine, the supporting characters really made this a "can't-put-it-down" story. The zombie protest group is one of the funniest things I've read in a while. I loved it so much, I plan to try the rest of her Dark Ones series.
Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo by Angie Fox: I tend to prefer my zombies to be more sci-fi than magic. That said, this was a cute story. The timeline of events seemed unrealistically truncated, but that argument could be made (accurately) for all four of these stories. The overall resolution was a little more anti-climactic that I would have liked, and the "why" of the zombie's return didn't really do it for me, but it wasn't an unpleasant read.
Zombiewood Confidential by Marianne Mancusi: My second favorite short story in this collection. I love the characterization is this. It spoke to me from early on. It also kept me guessing more than the other stories. Unique perspective.
Every Part of You by Lisa Cach: A satire of the plastic surgery craze. Loved the hero, even if I wasn't crazy about the heroine. This take on zombies, and the craving for "sweeeeeets" rather than brains, was an amusing twist.
Bring Out Your Dead by Katie MacCalister: My favorite story of the group, which surprised me because MacCalister tends to have a lighter, more comedic tone to her writing than what I normally enjoy. This story just worked for me, though. I am not familiar with her Dark Ones series (wasn't even aware of it until after completing this story), and yet I was able to follow the characters, events, and overall rules of her mythical world. While I like both the hero and heroine, the supporting characters really made this a "can't-put-it-down" story. The zombie protest group is one of the funniest things I've read in a while. I loved it so much, I plan to try the rest of her Dark Ones series.
Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo by Angie Fox: I tend to prefer my zombies to be more sci-fi than magic. That said, this was a cute story. The timeline of events seemed unrealistically truncated, but that argument could be made (accurately) for all four of these stories. The overall resolution was a little more anti-climactic that I would have liked, and the "why" of the zombie's return didn't really do it for me, but it wasn't an unpleasant read.
Zombiewood Confidential by Marianne Mancusi: My second favorite short story in this collection. I love the characterization is this. It spoke to me from early on. It also kept me guessing more than the other stories. Unique perspective.
Every Part of You by Lisa Cach: A satire of the plastic surgery craze. Loved the hero, even if I wasn't crazy about the heroine. This take on zombies, and the craving for "sweeeeeets" rather than brains, was an amusing twist.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2011
I picked up this book because I am a fan of zombie movies and I thought the idea of zombie lovin' was hilarious. The book didn't quite live up to my expectations.
"Bring Out Your Dead" by Katie MacAlister is the first short story, and I don't understand why it was included. A vampire and a...I dunno, witch? Demon? What the hell was she? The story talked about her double soul, but never really said what she was. Her job was to counsel new transitioned zombies, but they got no love. Total bummer.
"Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo" by Angie Fox was slightly better, but still no real zombies. A dead man who'd been lurking at a graveyard as a ghost for 200 years, then is brought back by an errant love spell cast by a frizzy-haired voodoo witch (whose description reminded me of a gypsy)...not so much a zombie in my dictionary. It earned an "eh" on my rating scale.
"Zombiewood Confidential" by Marianne Mancusi finally steppped up to the zombie plate, but none of the main characters were brain-eaters. The story was ok, but I can't get behind a love story with a man described as "sweet and arrogant". Excuse me while I climb in my miniature Hummer and eat fat-free McDonald's. See? Those words just don't go together!
Thank goodness for Lisa Cach and "Every Part of You". I put off reading the last story in this anthology because I was so disappointed in the first three. The last story was as yummy as the candy that filled it's pages. Finally some funny, romantic zombie lust! It was original, zany, and had me cracking up. Fruit pieeesssh, anyone?
"Bring Out Your Dead" by Katie MacAlister is the first short story, and I don't understand why it was included. A vampire and a...I dunno, witch? Demon? What the hell was she? The story talked about her double soul, but never really said what she was. Her job was to counsel new transitioned zombies, but they got no love. Total bummer.
"Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo" by Angie Fox was slightly better, but still no real zombies. A dead man who'd been lurking at a graveyard as a ghost for 200 years, then is brought back by an errant love spell cast by a frizzy-haired voodoo witch (whose description reminded me of a gypsy)...not so much a zombie in my dictionary. It earned an "eh" on my rating scale.
"Zombiewood Confidential" by Marianne Mancusi finally steppped up to the zombie plate, but none of the main characters were brain-eaters. The story was ok, but I can't get behind a love story with a man described as "sweet and arrogant". Excuse me while I climb in my miniature Hummer and eat fat-free McDonald's. See? Those words just don't go together!
Thank goodness for Lisa Cach and "Every Part of You". I put off reading the last story in this anthology because I was so disappointed in the first three. The last story was as yummy as the candy that filled it's pages. Finally some funny, romantic zombie lust! It was original, zany, and had me cracking up. Fruit pieeesssh, anyone?
June 20, 2013
I guess i am just not that into Zombie stories cuz these were kinda weird to me. They were interesting stories but I couldn't really get into them. They were all very different takes on the idea of zombies.
The first story (Bring Out Your Dead by Katie MacAlister) was pretty fun but I also really like Katie MacAlister and her Dark Ones series, even though there were some pretty silly moments. I would give it a solid five stars.
The second story (Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo by Angie Fox) was good but I didn't really like On the other hand, I did really like her take on the whole Zombie thing. And the story and the romance, overall was pretty good. Strong four, maybe even four and a half.
The third story (Zombiewood Confidential by Marianne Mancusi) was weird and felt kinda incomplete to me. I would probably only give it three and a half stars if i were feeling really generous.
The last story (Every Part of You by Lisa Cach)was really good and pretty bad. The beginning was really rough in my opinion. It was kinda disconnected and didn't really have any direction. But then it shaped up and worked out to a pretty good story in the end. Also, the way that she tied in the title was really cute. It was also a new way of looking at the term "Zombie". I would definitely give at least a four, probably even a four and a half stars.
The first story (Bring Out Your Dead by Katie MacAlister) was pretty fun but I also really like Katie MacAlister and her Dark Ones series, even though there were some pretty silly moments. I would give it a solid five stars.
The second story (Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo by Angie Fox) was good but I didn't really like On the other hand, I did really like her take on the whole Zombie thing. And the story and the romance, overall was pretty good. Strong four, maybe even four and a half.
The third story (Zombiewood Confidential by Marianne Mancusi) was weird and felt kinda incomplete to me. I would probably only give it three and a half stars if i were feeling really generous.
The last story (Every Part of You by Lisa Cach)was really good and pretty bad. The beginning was really rough in my opinion. It was kinda disconnected and didn't really have any direction. But then it shaped up and worked out to a pretty good story in the end. Also, the way that she tied in the title was really cute. It was also a new way of looking at the term "Zombie". I would definitely give at least a four, probably even a four and a half stars.
July 28, 2011
I picked up this book at the local Wal-Mart because it was $1.99, and I seen Kate MacCalister's name as one of the contributing authors. I have been planning to read her Dark Ones series for a while now, but just haven't gotten around to it.
This is a book of 4 short, zombie-toned stories. The first story, Bring Out Your Dead (Kate MacCalister) was enjoyable. The story contains characters from her Dark Ones series. Although I haven't yet read this series, I didn't feel lost. The zombies were just hilarious. I will definitely be reading the Dark Ones series in the future.
The second story, Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo, was enjoyable as well. Amie (practices voodoo and owns a voodoo type shop) had lived a life without true love. She decides to do a spell to bring her one true love to her and she got more than what she bargains for; she answers a knock at her door to find she's raised a zombie claiming to be her true love!
The third story, Zombiewood--Confidential, wasn't as good as the two previous stories. It revolves around the making of a zombie movie on a remote island. Lets just say the zombie extras start having cravings for brains.
The last story, Every Part of You, wasn't bad, but it was a bit weird. Ever heard of sugar-craving zombies in LA? It's not your typical zombie themed story.
Overall, this book is an enjoyable weekend read, or just for a rainy day.
http://myparanormalbookreviews.blogsp...
This is a book of 4 short, zombie-toned stories. The first story, Bring Out Your Dead (Kate MacCalister) was enjoyable. The story contains characters from her Dark Ones series. Although I haven't yet read this series, I didn't feel lost. The zombies were just hilarious. I will definitely be reading the Dark Ones series in the future.
The second story, Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo, was enjoyable as well. Amie (practices voodoo and owns a voodoo type shop) had lived a life without true love. She decides to do a spell to bring her one true love to her and she got more than what she bargains for; she answers a knock at her door to find she's raised a zombie claiming to be her true love!
The third story, Zombiewood--Confidential, wasn't as good as the two previous stories. It revolves around the making of a zombie movie on a remote island. Lets just say the zombie extras start having cravings for brains.
The last story, Every Part of You, wasn't bad, but it was a bit weird. Ever heard of sugar-craving zombies in LA? It's not your typical zombie themed story.
Overall, this book is an enjoyable weekend read, or just for a rainy day.
http://myparanormalbookreviews.blogsp...
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