The Harvesting

by Melanie Karsak

• ISBN10: 1479327247
• ISBN13: 9781479327249
• Publish Date: 18 September 2012
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 280
• Language: English

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

The Harvesting is my second foray into the world of Karsak, and I have to say I kind of like it here. The Harvesting is a paranormal horror novel with a nice mix of romance, lore, and badassery.

Layla Petrovich finally returns home to Hamletville after her grandmother calls her and basically demands it. After a few chapters of set up (and the awesome Grandma Petrovich), we are off on an adventure that no one is prepared for. I love a good paranormal book that doesn’t pull it’s punches but isn’t in too much of a rush that it forgets to add some depth and dimension. I was a bit worried at first with the pacing during the first portion, but I LOVED the direction it went. It took the time to show the people of Hamletville come together as a community to survive against the undead, and again as their world is shaken again. We get an awesome blend of the dark and scary creatures that have taken over the world, and thanks to the new sight given to Layla she can also see the kinder spirits that inhabit the world around her.

Layla is definitely going on my favorite characters list for the year. She’s tough, knows her weapons and leads by nature but she is still human. She cares for people and is capable of offering comfort, and needing it. My other favorite was Grandma Petrovich, she was only in a small portion of the book but she is definitely amazing and she pretty much makes my favorite scene (target practice) towards the beginning. The woman is a total badass, and it’s clear where Layla gets it from. The romance itself is a slow building and satisfying one, with plenty of ups and downs as they struggle to find some normalcy in the situations around them and deal with past relationships.

This is the second audiobook I’ve listened to that was narrated by Kristin James and I really love the way she reads. She really manages to capture all the emotions from the characters, and does some pretty wicked accents as well. It takes some real talent to make listening to a story more fun than reading it, and I think I’ll probably continue this series in audio format.

Overall I am incredibly excited to see where the rest of this series goes and Melanie James is certainly one of the authors I’ll be keeping a close eye on. If you enjoy paranormal romance or lighter horror then it’s certainly a book to check out, and I think worth the splurge for the audio if you can.

[Berls]

This review appeared first at Fantasy is More Fun.

3.5 stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

To be fair to The Harvesting, I read the majority of it when I was in an extreme reading funk - and it was the first audio book in a string of audio books that I didn't quit. So maybe that alone should earn it more than 3.5 stars - but it still didn't have that special something that made me love it.

I think that my problem - the thing that kept it from being great - was that everything came a bit too easy or was a bit too convenient. It's the Zombie Apocalypse and this town is dealing with it way too well in my opinion. I mean they did lose a lot of people, but it never felt truly catastrophic.

And the main character just so happens to be a medieval warfare and sword fighting expert who speaks Russian dialects fluently. How handy! I think I just like to see things not be so simple.

Despite those negative points, the story is a good one. I liked the way zombies worked in this world and the way the author blended multiple mythologies. Definitely some good world building that kept me curious and - because of how it ended - left me with questions for book 2.

The narration was pretty good as well - I ended up listening at 1.5x-2x speed, which isn't great for most narrators performance. But Kristin James held up under the high speed pressure. I still heard good accents and, for the most part, good variation in voices. There were a few points where characters lost their distinctive voices and blended into each other, but not enough to bother me. I would continue listening if/when I read book 2 in the series.

[kimbacaffeinate]

4.5 awesome When I finished this book I just sat back with my mouth hanging open and basked in its glow. Labeled as horror or zombie book, The Harvesting is so much more. Karsak has blended lore, paranormal creatures and fantasy into this post-apocalyptic zombie infested world. The tale is gripping and I became completely enthralled. This may very well be one of my top ten reads for 2013 and I cannot wait for the next book.

Layla is living successful in New York and from the onset we realize she is kick-ass. When she gets a weird phone call from her psychic grandmother telling her to return to Hamletville, she reluctantly drops everything and returns. Upon arrival she discovers a chain link fence around the remote property and the windows are all boarded up. Her grandmother hands her a massive shopping list from food to holy water. Despite her requests for answers she obeys and gathers the items from the towns’ merchants. A mass epidemic of the flu is spreading across the country and as Layla and her grandmother watch events unfold on television her grandmother tells her it is the harvesting and she must be prepared to help the town. The tale that unfolds is riveting with twists and turns that kept me spellbound.

I completely adored Layla, she is bright, compassionate and a born leader. This totally kick-ass protagonist is more gifted then she realizes and I loved watching her figure things out. I have decided that if there is ever a zombie outbreak I want to be in this small town when it happens. The townsfolk really rallied together and while I did not get to know a lot of them individually the author gave me a lasting impression of them. Ian and his brother Jamie play a significant role in the tale and are both vying for Layla. While there is a romance and it felt genuine it took a backseat to the kick-ass action. The strangers that appear and offer them refuge blew my mind, as clues from the book revealed to me who they were and had me wrenching my hands and shouting don’t go!

The world-building was epic and brilliant and so absolutely original I am still squealing in delight over it. This is the kind of tale that has twists that will blow your mind! It is tightly woven and very apparent from the onset that the author knows exactly how this tale unfolds. The details and battle scenes were well done and engaging. Did I mention Zombies?!? While we are immersed in this end of the world zombie outbreak, the author is slowly laying out events that foreshadow and prepare us for things to come. The tale seems to wrap up and I begin wondering about book two, when another chapter appears with characters I do not recognize and suddenly I am very aware of the title and its’ meaning. Eep, it literally blew my mind and has me in awe of this author and drooling for the next installment.
I want to thank the author and BB Book Tours for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.
Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer