kimbacaffeinate
Written on Jul 15, 2015
Horror meets humorous urban fantasy in second book of the White Trash Zombie series • Winner of the 2012 Best Urban Fantasy Protagonist by the RT Awards
Angel Crawford is finally starting to get used to life as a brain-eating zombie, but her problems are far from over. Her felony record is coming back to haunt her, more zombie hunters are popping up, and she’s beginning to wonder if her hunky cop-boyfriend is involved with the zombie mafia. Yeah, that’s right—the zombie mafia.
Throw in a secret lab and a lot of conspiracy, and Angel’s going to need all of her brainpower—and maybe a brain smoothie as well—in order to get through it without falling apart.
- ISBN10 0756407508
- ISBN13 9780756407506
- Publish Date 3 July 2012 (first published 1 July 2012)
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
- Imprint DAW Books
- Format Paperback (US Mass Market)
- Pages 320
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780756407506
Reviews
Berls
Written on Feb 10, 2015
4.5 stars
Yep, I waited way too long to read this series. Even White Trash Zombies Get The Blues was pretty much just as good as the first one!
I love the characters - especially Angel (the MC) and the zombie mythology just gets better and better! in Even White Trash Zombies Get The Blues we got a little biology lesson about how zombies - in this world - have a parasite, not a virus. I swear this was such a cool application of science that I'm thinking it would be a fun way to teach kids the differences! It was easy to follow - and I SUCK at science - and really enriched my understanding of the world.
Angel's trying so hard to get her life together and in Even White Trash Zombies Get The Blues the obstacles are stacking up against her. Her past and the reputation it's given her is making things super hard and my heart went out to her. But I loved her attitude and the way she's not willing to give up on herself. I can tell I'm going to really love cheering for her over the course of the series.
There's also a really good mystery - I think I've decided to consider this books as paranormal cozy mysteries because Angel is SO your amateur sleuth, getting into all sorts of trouble trying to solve murder mysteries. But she has to, because she's in the thick of it.
And I'm so happy I have this series on audio! Allison McLemore is so good! I've said this already but this duo reminds me of Molly Harper and Amanda Ronconi, it's such a good fit. I did notice this time that some of the male voices were a bit too feminine for my liking, but seriously, so not a big deal.
A fun read that made me laugh my ass off. Usually books that are fun don't get as high of a rating from me, because they don't have the serious I need for a SERIOUSLY great book. But Angel's struggle to put her life together makes this series and Even White Trash Zombies Get The Blues the perfect blend of funny and serious for me!
Kim Deister
Written on Feb 12, 2014
This book was full of action, an all-out war and government conspiracy. The military intelligence former Army girl in me loved all of that. I felt like Angel came into her own in this book, finally starting to accept that she is more than the product of her past. If it is possible, I think I liked her even more after this book.
But then there is Marcus. I think I now like him a little less. He came off as rather weak-willed at times, as well as pretty arrogant towards Angel. I really, really, really didn't like that. He's redeemed himself some, but I didn't like the attitude towards Angel, the girl who had too much of that attitude in her life as it is. It had a marked effect on her character, though, and I suppose it was necessary for her to grow.
There were some other great characters, too. Ben Roth is a sheriff and one of the few that treats Angel as a worth human being. He is one of my favorite supporting characters. We also learn some interesting things about him. Derrell is another favorite, a death investigator who is Angel's partner. He is hilarious and kind and I love him. Nick is a pre-med student that works with Angel at the morgue and is generally a jerk. But we see a side of him this time that is very different and I loved that Angel (a zombie) humanized him (a human). That little subplot was really awesome!
We also learn a lot about zombies in general, especially in how they are created. It is very different than traditional zombie lore and not as easy as one would think.
Things to love...
--The supporting characters. They were very well-developed and added a lot to Angel's ongoing changes as a person.
--Angel's personality. I love that she doesn't try to be anything other than what she is, just a better version of it.
Things I wanted more/less of...
--Less arrogant Marcus. His attitude largely annoyed me.
Some Quotastic Goodness
--Hello, my name is Angel, and I’ll be your zombie today (Loc. 102).
--Hi there, darlin’. My name is Angel, I thought. I’ll probably eat your brain sometime soon. I hope you don’t mind (Loc. 337).
--“You don’t have to lie. A good zombie boyfriend tells his zombie girlfriend if she’s starting to rot. Just like you’d better tell me if I have spinach in my teeth (Loc. 408).”
--“Zombie Super Powers, activate, you fucking bitches (Loc. 3279).”
My Recommendation: This is such a fantastic series! It is not a standalone so be sure to pick up My Life as a White Trash Zombie first and read, read, READ!
This review originally appeared on my blog, http://thecaffeinateddivareads.multifacetedmama.com/?p=9435.
Amanda
Written on Aug 24, 2012
3.5
I kinda love how Angel is changing as a character. You know, beyond the whole being a zombie thing. She is seriously trying to get her life together and being a better person–zombie. But she is still Angel. Though her swearing got on my nerves briefly toward the middle of the book (for me, it was a little too much and pulled me out of the story after a while), I really do like Angel, white trash zombie and all. She turned really bad ass toward the end (really bad ass; it was AWESOME), and I can’t wait to see what the third book has in store for Angel.
One of the reasons I love this series is that underneath all the zombieism is a regular old mystery. And Diana Rowland writes some pretty damn entertaining mysteries. The morgue, the autopsies, forensics, all of it combine into something that could easily stand on its own. The zombie aspect only makes this series that much more interesting. The mystery in Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues will have some big implications in the future, and I like where Diana Rowland has taken the series (I also hope there will be more than three books). So while, yes, Angel solved the mystery and there is no massive cliffhanger, it is obvious that there is far more to come.
And! Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues gives us some answers about how a person becomes a zombie and what happens to a person once they are a zombie. As most know, I am a total information whore, so I really appreciated this part of the book. Plus, I really liked the take on zombieism, and I think it fits well with the zombies that Diana Rowland has created in this world. There is still more for us to learn–both about zombieism and what else is out there. Though Angel is connected to people who have been zombies for years and there is clearly MORE out there, we only know what Angel knows. We experience as she does, and I think this makes these books that much more fun.
The only reason Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues received a 7 (rather than the 8 like the first book) was that the mystery and book lulled for me a little in the middle. The ending definitely made up for that, though, and I am eagerly anticipating book 3 next year.
Melanie
Written on Jul 7, 2012
I just love this series. It has a very troubled heroine that finds herself as a zombie. In the first book, she has to figure out that she is a zombie and how to deal with that. In this book, she is still working on her relationship with her father, which is on shaky terms at best. She is also have some issues with her boyfriend/zombie-dad, Marcus. When she is held at gun point and one of her bodies stolen, her past comes back to haunt her. It even makes the front page of the paper. No one believes that she didn't just lose the body.
In this book, we really see Angel grow as a character. She still isn't perfect and falls back into old habits. She has a tendency to go back to the "I don't care" attitude. Then she realizes that she screwed up. You can see that she is starting to realize that she needs to grow up and start acting like an adult and working things out with conversations and not yelling matches.
Once again, Diana Rowland has created another winner. I just love this series. I've recommended it to several people who are not big in the paranormal genre. This series is just an all around great read.
Listening to audiobook
When I first started listening to this series, I didn't like the narrator. She has an extremely strong southern accent. It didn't take me long to determine that she was the perfect voice for Angel. Angel is "white trash", so it makes sense for her to have a "hick" voice.
Can't wait to get to the next volume in this series.