Red Hill

by Jamie McGuire

I know the world ended on a Friday. It was the last day I saw my children... For Scarlet, raising two daughters alone means fighting for tomorrow is an everyday battle. Nathan, desperately clinging to a dead-end job and a loveless marriage, survives purely for his little girl, Zoe. Miranda's biggest problem is driving her sister home from college with their boyfriends, whilst keeping her new Mini Cooper scratch free. When news comes of a deadly epidemic, panic seeps into homes all over the world and chaos ensues... Knowing that they can't outrun the danger, they all head for shelter and security at the same secluded ranch - Red Hill. When a normal day spins out of control and the world comes crashing to an end. How far will they go to save their loved ones? Would you slow down to help a stranger if you were running for your lives? Set against the backdrop of a brilliantly realized apocalyptic world, love somehow finds a way to survive. But what happens when the one you'd die for becomes the one who could destroy you...

• ISBN10: 1476759529
• ISBN13: 9781476759524
• Publish Date: 1 October 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Atria Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kelly]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2013/12/red-hill-by-jamie-mcguire.html
The premise of Red Hill sounded incredible, a survival zombie apocalypse romance. I was curious to see what Jamie McGuire was able to create, I quickly realised that it wasn't a whole lot. Told from three points of view, Scarlet the single mother who is trying to find her children, Nathan who is a newly single parent escaping with daughter Zoe and Miranda the college student. All three are trying to flee the city and headed towards neighboring country towns, inevitably all finding themselves at Red Hill. Scarlet had always admired her work colleagues home on the hill, as being one place that would remain untouched if the world ended. Nathan is heading to a neighboring town and Miranda's destination is Red Hill. Mix in the walking dead, or those infected and you would have thought that it would make for an interesting read. It did... For those who like their apocalyptic horror movies without the horror and gore.

I assumed being new adult that perhaps there would have been far more horror, but the opposite seemed to be the case. Apart from chasing the uninfected down and feeding, it was almost zombies, brought to you by Nickelodeon. The only character who's storyline had any direction, was Scarlet searching for her children. No one seemed to have any direction besides making it to the isolated farm. There was nothing particularly wrong with Red Hill, other than being boring. The storyline was slow and built to what seemed to be nothing in particular. I needed more, I wanted more... Sadly I just didn't get it.

[kimbacaffeinate]

2.5 I adored Jamie McGuire’s Beautiful series and was quite curious when she embarked on a dystopian zombie book for her next adventure. Red Hill offered up a made for television break-out, joining together groups of survivors as they made their way to Red Hill; a property that connected them. The writing was beautiful but not without flaws. Mini review: interesting, heart-wrenching and at times irritating.

McGuire relayed Red Hill using multiple third person narratives. We are there from the beginning of the outbreak as survivors work to get themselves away from the city to an old farm house in the country. Two sisters are traveling to Red Hill with there with their significant others. A mother of two travels there because she knows the man who owns it and others are picked up along the way. We are privy to the journey, the teamwork, the struggles, fears and dangers as this team work together after the fall of society. While I had issues with Red Hill, I will be the first to admit I could not put it down as McGuire held me captive.

The characters within the pages of Red Hill were interesting and ranged from kick-ass to annoying. It took a long time to connect with these characters and some I came to admire while others annoyed the crap out of me. Because of the way the tale was told, they were not fleshed out until the last third of the book. Scarlet is the first character we meet and our kick-ass infected/Ted/shuffler killer. Separated from her children, she is determined and was all “Mommy power”. I got that but then she would turn around and flip a switch and just kill a turned friend without even blinking. The woman was cold. *shivers* Nathan grabs his daughter and heads to his brother-in-laws home outside of the city. Out, of all of the characters he is the one I related to most, and we gain a lot of insight from him. Miranda and Ashley are sisters and Red Hill is owned by their father. They are traveling with their boyfriends Bryce and Cooper. Miranda was an annoying little snot. I liked the boys but even they were not fleshed out enough and I found myself wanting more. Skeeter is Nathan’s brother-in-law. I liked him, and felt his scenes with his wife Jilly were powerful. Joey is a stranger. He is ex-military and suffering from the loss of his girl, he was an interesting character and was a key factor in their survival. While most were not fleshed out till around 60% I was still left wanting more. I did become connected to a certain extent. I felt loss and heartache for characters but it could have been more powerful had the characters had more depth.

Red Hill showcases McGuire’s talent, and she can indeed cross genres but this tale needed more development. Plot holes, underdeveloped characters, and unrealistic happenings, that took this tale from a “blow your mind” read to an “it was entertaining” read. I needed more set up to the world building. This epidemic hit the US shores and exploded within hours. McGuire gave us some interesting tidbits, but they were superficial at best. I loved the three povs but would have sacrificed pacing for more developed characters. McGuire did an excellent job with the action scenes, and their travels. She is quite skilled with allowing a tale to flow, and painting the surroundings. It was an easy read, and I slipped in to the world. I even had my heart ripped out a couple of times. Some of the events that occurred, particularly regarding Scarlet’s children were unrealistic. Jaw-dropping moments! Even with the author’s explanation I could not buy into it. Despite all of this, I could not put the book down, and I am glad that I read it.

Fans of McGuire, zombies and dystopian reads, will find Red Hill to be an entertaining read despite the flaws I mentioned.

[violetpeanut]

I love zombies. I read almost anything involving zombies so I was excited to read this but, I admit, I was a little bit apprehensive since Ms. McGuire's previous books were all heavy on the romance. I wasn't sure how that would fit into the zombie apocalypse theme but was pleased to find that, for the most part, the romantic aspects of the story were plausible and woven into the overall storyline well. I liked the characters and was happy to see that they and their relationships were not cookie cutter or stereotypical.

The pacing was fantastic. The book starts of quickly and pulls the reader into the panic that the characters feel. It keeps up the pace through most of the book, only slowing down when they all reach their destination and then we start to feel the same despair but ultimate sense of perseverance that the characters feel.

The general plotline was good. This book doesn't add anything new to the zombie mythos but it certainly offers the gruesome picture we've all come to know. There's quite a bit of gore and a whole lot of death. There was a lot of excitement, some truly heartbreaking scenes, and some really joyful moments. The general storyline didn't hold any surprises for me, but I was surprised by some of the deaths. I love it when an author can surprise me.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. This book doesn't offer anything new about the zombie apocalypse, but it's certainly entertaining and heartwrenching and Jamie McGuire has a way with words that just makes you have to keep reading. I was a little bit disappointed in the end, but not so much that it ruined the whole book for me.

[Cocktails and Books]

Wow! Talk about something different!!!

Zombie (or shufflers, teds, infected, etc) are the thing lately, so I thought I try this one. It's very different from what I would normally read, but there was just something about it that I liked. it's not a touchy, feely story that will leaving you feeling good at the end. It's dark, gritty and at times a little frightening. But what kind of post apocalyptic story wouldn't be these things?

We get several different character perspectives in this story, all starting from a very different place on the day the world "ended". Through their eyes we get to see just how the world changed, what they had to go through to find their "safe place" and what they lost as the epidemic started by one man changed their lives forever.

This definitely won't be for everyone, but if you enjoyed World War Z this is one you'd probably want to pick up.