Book Review: North to Zombieville (Zombieville Book 1) by Meg Bawden

 
 
When the world as they knew it was destroyed by the zombie apocalypse, Dallas and Raleigh got separated in the chaos and were unable to find each other for a whole year. But now that they're reunited, Dallas is worried that the hardships have changed Raleigh from the soft-hearted person he always was, and Raleigh is struggling to figure out who he is and whether he still wants to be that person who always needs protecting. But military man Dallas has a whole group of people to lead, and the zombies seem to be getting stronger...

Book Review: North to Zombieville (Zombieville Book 1) by Meg Bawden | reading, books, book reviews, lgbt, science fiction, post-apocalyptic, zombies
Title: North to Zombieville
Author:
Series:
Book Number: Book 1 of TBA
Pages: 200
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
More Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Publisher
 

Review:

*I received a free ecopy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

This book actually caught my attention not because of the zombies but because of the relationship premise in the story. Don’t get me wrong, there was zombie-killing, but the focus was more on the relationship between the two main characters. Dallas and Raleigh were separated for a year, so, when they reunited, Dallas was struggling to come to grips with the ways Raleigh had changed, and Raleigh was struggling with not only his own personal identity crisis but also having to share Dallas now that he had become a leader for this whole group of survivors. It wasn’t quite what the blurb described since Raleigh wasn’t exactly a hardened zombie-killer and still needed a fair amount of protecting, but it was still something I don’t think I’ve really seen explored in other books I’ve read, and I liked getting to read about a new types of relationship struggle.

Also, even though the book didn’t go as deep as I’d have liked, I still appreciated that it was more focused on the humans than the zombies in general. It even managed to make me a bit emotional at times. It wasn’t the type of emotion that carried on past the scene, but it was a plus that the author was able to make me feel something about the horrors and sadness the characters dealt with, if only momentarily.

The main problem for me though was that I didn’t connect with the main characters. One was a military man, the other a self-proclaimed damsel-in-distress, and I just couldn’t relate to either.

I also would’ve liked it more if there had more tension between characters. Anytime anything happened, the characters ended up admitting to their mistakes, apologizing for their behavior, and then all getting along again. That’s not necessarily a bad thing—I know lots of people get annoyed when characters fight over stupid things and would probably love to read about characters communicating and acting maturely—it just wasn’t realistic or tense enough for my taste.

Overall though, it was a book that I enjoyed reading and a nice start to a character-driven M/M zombie apocalypse series, just maybe not one for my particular taste.

 

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Talk to me!

Have you read North to Zombieville by Meg Bawden?
Do you like it better when zombie books focus on the human struggles, or the zombie killing?

 
 
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10 thoughts on “Book Review: North to Zombieville (Zombieville Book 1) by Meg Bawden

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    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! I haven’t read a ton of zombie books, but I’ve started getting more interested in them lately. You’ll have to let me know what you think if you decide to read it 🙂

  1. Lola

    The set-up is kinda interesting with how they have been separated for a year and then find each other again, but they have been changed, but I don’t think this would be a book for me. I do like the sound of the relationship struggle/ conflict and it sounds interesting to see that play out.
    That’s too bad you couldn’t fully connect with the main characters, that sure makes it more difficult to fully enjoy a book. It does sound nice that they don’t fight too long, but on the other hand it also sounds like it gets solved a bit too easy or quick each time. Great review!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Exactly, it was a unique set-up. Most books show a couple falling in love whereas this one showed a couple already in love but trying to figure out their relationship after a year of being apart.

      But yeah, it’s hard to fully enjoy a book when you can’t connect to the characters, even if there’s nothing particularly wrong with the book. And you know I like lots of emotional tension in my books, so the getting along thing just wasn’t for me. I can still see other people enjoying this though. Thanks!

  2. Tracy @ Cornerfolds

    This does sound really interesting so it’s disappointing that it was kind of a let-down. I absolutely have to be able to connect with the main characters, even if they’re both men and I’m not. I don’t read a lot of zombie books, but the ones I do read have to have a good romantic aspect to go along with them. Great review 😀

    Tracy @ Cornerfolds

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, it was an interesting relationship concept, but I agree, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, I still need to connect with the characters. And I also like my zombie books to have a strong character aspect, though it doesn’t necessarily have to be romance. Thanks 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, it was enjoyable, and I can see other people liking it more, but it just wasn’t quite what I was looking for, and it’s hard to get super into a book when you don’t connect with the characters.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol I’m somewhat picky with my zombie reads because I really want them to be about the characters, not the zombies. But yeah, damsels in distress just don’t really work for me. And the dude on the cover could protect everyone, haha.