White Rabbit Chronicles, Book 2
Synopsis: Zombies stalk the night. Forget blood and brains. These monsters hunger for human souls. Sadly, they’ve got mine…
Alice Bell has lost so much. Family. Friends. A home. She thought she had nothing else to give. She was wrong.
After a new zombie attack, strange things begin to happen to her. Mirrors come to life, and the whispers of the dead assault her ears. But the worst? A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do very wicked things.
She’s never needed her team of zombie slayers more, but ultra bad-boy Cole Holland, the leader and her boyfriend, suddenly withdraws from her…from everyone. Now, with her best friend Kat at her side, Ali must kill the zombies, uncover Cole’s secret and learn to fight the darkness.
But the clock is ticking…and if she fails at a single task, they’re all doomed.
Melliane’s Review: I did read the first volume when it was released in English and that’s true that I had a great time with the story. But when the sequel came out, I did not really take the time to get into the book. Yet when I saw the second novel on Netgalley, in French, I thought that it was a good opportunity to immerse myself in the story once again.
So we find our dear Ally trying to cope with the death of her family and her new zombie hunter condition. It took me a little time to get into the story, but I think that it’s mostly because I’ve never read an ebook in French. However, once this change made, I spent a great time with the story and I enjoyed learning more about Ally and to see the evolution of what she was capable of. But our heroine is sought more than ever by Anima and it seems that her uniqueness is much more complicated than expected. Bitten by a zombie, Ally must now manage a split of personality, a zombie part that has decided to take power and to do what she wants. We witness a terrible battle inside our heroine, she is scared of losing and the consequences could be fatal to all her friends. But in addition to this, a vision pushes Cole to break with Alice and the latter has to manage more than expected, especially the sadness she did not think she would feel.
As I said, I had a good time with the story, to see Ally evolve, to discover all she was capable of and her desire to protect her friends. We also learn a little more about Anima and what they can do to achieve their goals. In any case, we are introduced to a very good second volume, new characters and it was a pleasure to discover them. I’m curious now to read the third book to see what will happen later! A good second volume to discover!
Inessa’s review: The story takes place just after the events we saw in book 1. In the previous volume, Ali was seriously injured in the last battle between the zombie slayers and Anima Industries. So we find here Ali trying to recover gradually. She would like to train and fight again with the other zombie slayers but Cole does not agree. Meanwhile, Gavin and Veronica -two other zombie slayers- make their appearance and they bring with them their own set of uncertainties and problems that will affect the relationship between Ali and Cole and raise tensions between the young couple.
This book focuses largely on the difficulties that Ali and Cole are dealing with in their relationship, especially after the arrival of Gavin but also Veronica, Cole’s ex-girlfriend who is determined to get him back. Ali will face difficult times. Her relationship with Cole is really in turmoil as he moves away and behaves strangely. Moreover Ali has to cope with the changes occurring inside her. Indeed the fight against AZ -her evil alter ego- is a constant battle in which the teenager leaves her forces gradually. But that’s not all because a problem always leads to another. Zombies are becoming stronger and hungrier. The fights are more intense. Then there is Anima Industries, a powerful organization that does not skimp on the means to achieve its goal: study the zombies in order to eventually use them as weapons. And the least we can say is that they are determined to do so but could there be any other reasons behind this? It was quite disturbing to see our young heroine suffering throughout the novel and wondering how she will overcome all these problems because there are no moments of respite.
Ali is a strong and a fragile heroine at the same time but she does her best to hide her vulnerability. And considering all that she has to endure in this book, she is also a very brave girl. Fortunately, Ali can count on the support of her best friends, Kat and Reeve, especially Kat who will always be there for her despite everything that happens to her, even if it means to upset the others. I really like this character. Kat is a girl full of life who manages to remain always the same no matter what happens to her. But it is not easy for her either and we find ourselves hoping that something positive happens to her.
Concerning the other characters, there is also Ali’s grandmother, who tries to help her granddaughter as best as she can and I must say that sometimes I was disappointed by Ali’s bad behavior towards the only living member of her family. Then, Emma (Ali’s little sister) also makes a few appearances and I confess that I would have liked to know a little more about her and the world where she is now. I think if there was a spin-off with her as the main character, it would be a very good thing. Another character who caught my attention is Gavin. I found him interesting although he is a notorious womanizer.
The world created by the author is still fascinating and we do not get bored for a second. I like Gena Showalter’s writing style and her fluidity in this series. From the very first pages we are completely dived into the story and its rhythm.
In conclusion, I found this book was better than the previous one (even if I really liked it) and after reading the synopsis of book 3 on Goodreads, I can tell you that I can’t wait to have it! It’s a very good series that I recommend to everyone.
kindlemom1
It is always great too see when someone likes a second book better than the first. I do love these covers, they are fabulous!
Inessa
Totally agree. This cover is really beautiful! 😀
Jennifer Bielman
EEEE, I can’t wait to read this one. I loved the first book. But I hate that Ali and Cole are having relationship issues.
Inessa
Oh yeah, they are dealing with relationship issues on this book :/ but I didn’t find it annoying this time and the fight scenes were amazing. 🙂
Braine Talk Supe
Thanks for reminding me, I have to request this in our library, I’m planning to do a lot of YA reads next month, hopefully this series makes the list. I want to read awesome ones and not just blah books
Inessa
Hope you’ll like this one. 🙂 I was disappointed by some YA books recently… :/ But I found this one quite good, not the best but it’s still a good read. 🙂
Jeann @ Happy Indulgence
I’m happy to hear that this was better than the first book, but I actually haven’t heard very good things about this series overall. Thanks for the lovely review!
Inessa
Really? Oh it’s too bad 🙁 For my part, I liked it. Well it’s clear that it’s not the best series of the year but compared to others I’ve read recently, I found it pretty good. 🙂
Tracy Terry
Oh my goodness, what an amazing cover. And I really like the sound of a character who is as strong as she is fragile.
Inessa
You’re right, this cover is really nice and the heroine is touching. 🙂
Kirsty-Marie
Yay, one I’ve read! Well, I ‘ve read the first, but it still counts, right? Kind of. Wasn’t really impressed with it though, and while I’d probably like this one much better, the whole focusing more on the romance between the characters does kind of annoy me. And unnecessary love triangles. Ugh. And I mean, I wasn’t really shipping the romance in Alice in Zombieland anyway. I still want to carry n with the series, but probably not until it’s finished.
Inessa
Yeah I understand… It’s true that love triangles and stories too focused on romance are annoying. :/ I was disapointed by some YA books recently because of that. But curiously, I didn’t find it boring here… The plot is not completely erased in favor of romance, it’s still captivating and there is a lot of action too. In short, I found this book was an entertaining read. 🙂
Jenny @ Supernatural Snark
YAY!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this one as much as I did! I agree completley – Ali is a beautiful combiation of strength and vulnerability, particuarly with regard to Cole, and I just loved how she handled most things in this book. Like you, I can’t wait to get my hands on The Queen of Zombie Hearts!
Inessa
Yes it’s true! In this book, she has so many things to deal with… It was hard for her. I really enjoyed the whole book.
Oh The Queen of Zombie Hearts!!! Goodreads has almost killed me with such a synopsis! xD
ShootingStarsMag
Glad you liked the sequel. I’ve been curious about these for awhile now.
Inessa
Yeah It’s a nice read! I enjoyed it. 😉
blodeuedd
It sounds so weird, I love it
Inessa
Lol You should try this series, maybe you’ll like it too. 😀
Melissa (Books and Things)
Oh I like it when it gets better. I have the first one staring at me willing me to read it. I’m trying to make time for it. Can’t wait to get caught you with you. 🙂
Inessa
Oh I hope you’ll find time to read it! It’s a good series. 😀
Lily
Oh i was absolutely obsessed with the first book so i’m glad to hear this one is even better than the first and that you enjoyed it! Plus the covers for this series are always so pretty 🙂
Inessa
It’s true, the covers are gorgeous! 🙂
Joy (Joyousreads)
To be honest, the relationship dynamics in this book would probably enrage me. So I’m glad I haven’t bought this one.
I’m glad you loved it over all.
Inessa
Thanks! 😀 Yeah, I really liked it but it’s true that as regards the romance, it was a tense book. xD
michelle A - Novels On The Run
I LOVE this series. I am like you and can’t wait for # 3!! Weeeee mind you Cole did make me feel sad in this one. I was like NoooOOoooooooOooooOOooooo. 😀 I yelled at the publisher, lol! She laughed at me :p
Mich
Inessa
Same here. 😀 Cole’s behavior is terrible in this book! I was sad too Sniiiiiiiffffff
LilyElement
These are on my TBR, I’m addicted to Alice in Wonderland lol
Inessa
Me too! lol Can’t wait for book 3! 😀
Missie
I wasn’t sure if I should continue on with this series or not, but I am so glad that you enjoyed this one even more than the first!
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
Melissa (My World...in words and pages)
I’ve not started this series yet. But I do want to. The stories sound great. And I love the covers. 🙂
blodeuedd
It looks and sounds so cool
kimbacaffeinate
I read book one and enjoyed it, but never picked up book two..so you have me curious, and the fact that you liked this more is such a good sign!
Melliane
Personally, I prefered book 1
Jenny @ Supernatural Snark
YAY! So glad you both loved this one, I adore this series (and pretty much all things Gena Showalter). I love how much Ali grows over the course of the books:) Can’t wait to see what you guys think of the next one!
Melliane
I’m curious to see how it is
kindlemom1
After reading her other book recently I definitely want to try this series as well!
Melliane
I need to try more by her
LilyElement
Yay for you being able to grab the French version 🙂 I need to get back to this series soon!
Melliane
yes it was fun
Heidi
I am glad to see you both enjoyed this installment I was absolutely itching to read this series when it first came out, but then I didn’t I think I would like Ali. I hope I can finally get around to it.
Melliane
it’s ok about her
Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons
I’ve not read this series. I saw it and have debated it for a while. I love zombies, but haven’t read that many books with them. I’m not a huge fan of YA books. I’ve read some, but I was worried about how this would read. It does sound pretty interesting. Maybe I’ll pick it up sooner rather than later. Your reviews have my intrigued.
Melliane
I prefer zombies in adult books usually, but it’s nice here too
Joy // Joyousreads
I must admit that I never did have the inclination to read these books. I don’t know…between the covers and the synopsis, I’m not all interested in them. I suck, I know. :/
Melliane
I loved the covers
Braine
So… I haven’t read this series but I have the first four books. Hahaha! I’m horrible I know. But at least if I do get in the mood for it, it’s there.
Also, someone should turn this into a TV series or something
Melliane
wow lol you have them all, I hope you’ll enjoy them the day you try them.
Emma
I have this one on my kindle as well as the sequel too and I still haven’t gotten round to reading it yet! Yet so many have enjoyed it and I keep putting it off. Think I might need to rectify that. Great reviews. 🙂
Sarah @ One Curvy Blogger
Yes, when I read the first one I didn’t go and try and read book 2 until much later. I did enjoy book 2 a lot better, but for some reason I have yet to read the other books even though I enjoyed the stories. I think the drama is hindering my willingness to read the next book, haha!
Lekeisha
This is one series that I’ve read so much about, but haven’t gotten to it yet. Hopefully, I get the urge to read it soon.