Zoo by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Zoo by James Patterson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 395

Publisher - Century

Blurb from Goodreads

All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the impending violence becomes terrifyingly clear.

With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it's too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide.



My Review

Animals all over the world are exhibiting increasingly aggressive and new hunting patterns of behavior. Jackson Oz is a young biologist who has been ridiculed and discredited in his field for some of his outlandish claims, so much so he left his course. Now it looks like Oz may be the one person who can help understand what is happening with the animals but will he be listened to before it is too late?

Ooooh I really quite liked this book although it seems a bit hit and miss with some of the readers. As with all of Patterson's books the chapters as small which helps you get through it quickly or dip in and out if you are busy.

As humans we have take a lot for granted, we abuse our positions of power, animals are often abused, murdered and dis guarded so when do we reap what we sow? In Zoo, animals are reacting and rising up against humans and we find ourselves no longer at the top of the food chain. Sadly with the theme of the book animals are harmed which may make for uncomfortable reading, there are human deaths also again some scenes may be disturbing for some readers.

I like that the book examines not only animal behavior patterns but also human patterns, how we react in life and death situations and how we pull apart or together in the face of danger. I would love to see a follow up to this book, 4/5 for me this time.

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November's competition is now open

Drum roll please ..................... this month, I am giving away a brand new wee Disney totebag featuring Winnie the Pooh and Piglet as pictured below.



As always, the competition will run until the end of the month, enter using the Rafflecopter below, the more entries you complete the more times you name goes into the draw. Open worldwide, as always thanks for stopping by, sharing the reviews, links, commenting and recommending great books.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days on and off

Pages - 336

Publisher - Corsair

Blurb from Goodreads

Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness."

"My baby boy..." she whispers before dying.

Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.

When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, "henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.



My Review

We all know who Abraham Lincoln is but what we didn't know was he was also a vampire hunter! When Abraham's mother dies and he finds out the real reason, he sets on a path of murder and retribution, Abraham Lincoln will kill all the vampires!

If you don't mind books like Pride, Prejudice and Zombies then you should get on just fine with this. Abraham has a diary where he catalogs his interactions with people and his hunts for vampires, the book also follows regular transcript of telling of the story in third person narration. I think some people may have issue with some of Lincolns achievements and reasoning for abolishing slavery in the book as well as the drive for his political career.

Otherwise, if you just read it as is, a cheesy, silly, not to be taken seriously story with an important historical figure mixed in with some vampires you will find it ok. The writing is a bit boxy and in parts I was a little bored however it has made me want to go read more about the real Abraham Lincoln and his life. The author acknowledges Wikipedia as one of his sources for research which in itself says something! It is certainly different and counted as one of my Halloween reads, would I read this author again? Sure however I wouldn't be rushing out to buy their work, 3/5 for me.

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In Extremis: A Hellbound Novella by David McCaffrey

In Extremis: A Hellbound Novella by David McCaffrey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 hour

Pages - 88 pages

Publisher - Sixth Element Publishing

Blurb from Goodreads


James Maybrick had secured his legacy as the most infamous serial killer of all time…his diary would one day shock the world.

Thomas Quinn wants revenge…his actions will give birth to an organisation of unspeakable power.

Together, they unwittingly set in motion a plan that will one day lead to the serial killer, Obadiah Stark.

Stark became The Tally Man.

They were The Brethren.

Maybrick is known to history by another name…



My Review

In Extremis is a novella that picks up immediately after the last murder by Jack The Ripper, the author has another book, Hellbound that people say you should read before this one. I decided to read this first, James Maybrick is The Ripper & in this short novella we get to read his thoughts & state of mind in the immediate aftermath of the killers. Thomas Quinn is one of the Brethren, a group of "individuals" who have an idea of what society should be and see Maybrick as a means to an end. When Maybrick puts them at risk, Quinn and the Brethren set in motion a plan to clean the decks, without exposing the all important Brethren brotherhood.

Ooooh I do love all things Jack The Ripper, he has always been an enigma, so many conspiracy's and theories. I can't believe of the books I have read Maybrick didn't feature or if he did I don't remember him. I now want to go digging and have a read about Maybrick and his diary, In Extremis we get to go behind the scenes and see into the mind of one of the most notorious killers. Excerpts from the journal of James Maybrick which I did struggle with a few of the words with the curved writing however it was very late at night which probably contributed!

Apart from a few big words I needed to look up, the writing flows well, it is well written creating a creepy and eerie atmosphere making the reader pull their blanket just a wee bit closer and listen a bit more keenly to the creaks when late night reading. This was my first dance with this author, it won't be my last, 4/5 for me this time. I would warn, as with all Jack The Ripper themed books, some of the passages are graphic which may upset some of our faint hearted readers, otherwise dive right in.

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Baby Doll by Hollie Overton

Baby Doll by Hollie Overton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 288

Publisher - Century

Blurb from Goodreads


You've been held captive in one room, mentally and physically abused every day, since you were sixteen years old.

Then, one night, you realize your captor has left the door to your cell unlocked.

For the first time in eight years, you're free.

This is about what happens next ...

Lily knows that she must bring the man who nearly ruined her life - her good-looking high-school teacher - to justice. But she never imagined that reconnecting with her family would be just as difficult. Reclaiming her relationship with her twin sister, her mother, and her high school sweetheart who is in love with her sister may be Lily's greatest challenge. After all they've been through, can Lily and her family find their way back after this life-altering trauma?

Impossible not to read in one sitting, Baby Doll is a taut psychological thriller that focuses on family entanglements and the evil that can hide behind a benign facade.



My Review

We open with Lily, Lily has been kidnapped, tortured, abused, beaten and trained for 3110 days, but today everything has changed. Lily finally has a chance to escape her torture chamber, this is Lily's story of what happens next once she is free. The story splits mostly between Lily, her mum Eve, her twin sister Abby and Rick her captor. The story looks at how everyone tries to adapt to finally have Lily home, coping with what happened, picking up as a family and each dealing with the demons Lily's kidnap brought forward for everyone involved.

This book kicks off pretty much from the first page, with Lily in captivity, you feel the fear and tension immediately as the character ways up the options for self preservation. Initially I was a bit worried we were getting another "Room" style novel as initially there were strong echoes of that book however you soon realize the two are very different. We follow Lily as she integrates back into her old life, her family and read along with each of their experiences and feelings. Rick is the bad guy, he doesn't get as much voice as the other characters and to be honest I would have liked to have heard more from him. The face of normality, hiding a psychopath and seeing or hearing more of his family life rather than just glimpses after the fact.

The book looks at societal reintegration, family struggles as each has both tried to move on and been trapped since their world was shaken and turned upside down. The glare, scrutiny and judgments of the media on such a high profile case and how that impacts upon the family. I found this book to draw the reader in, evoke emotion for almost all of the main characters and the underlying issues of not only Lily's plight but how everyone was affected by her disappearance and reappearance. Each chapter is headed with the individual whose perspective the tale is being told from so it is easy to follow. A strong debut novel, I will be looking out for more by this author, 4/5 for me this time.

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Nekropolis by Tim Waggoner

Nekropolis by Tim Waggoner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 401

Publisher - Angry Robot

Blurb from Goodreads

MATT RICHTER MAY BE DEAD, BUT HE'LL STILL CRACK THIS CASE.

Meet Matt Richter. Private Eye. Zombie. His mean streets are the city of the dead, the shadowy realm known as Nekropolis.

This place has always been ruled by the vampire overlords.
Now they're plotting to destroy the city.
... over his dead body.


More pulp than Pulp Fiction, more butt-kicking than Buffy, Nekropolis is the first in a deathly new series.


My Review

An alternate dimension ruled by vampire overlords in order to escape any punishment by humans. Ruled by vampires, inhabited by many mystical creatures, werewolves with a difference, vampires, hybrid creatures such as a piranha type dogs and many more. PI Matthew Richter used to be a cop back on earth, now he is a PI zombie, a zombie with free will and a conscience, an all round good guy. When a vampire Lord's daughter, Devona, hires him to reclaim a stolen powerful artifact the two come together and face many dangers. Devona can't tell her father, her blood brother may be involved, Mike is trying to keep his body from falling apart whilst keeping the foes from killing them before they can get the job done!

I didn't think I was going to like this story, I don't mind one or two creatures in my story but when there are so many different ones and you don't get a how they came to be that irritates me. Anyways, a whole new world for the unnaturals, Mike is a go to kind of guy who helps out everyone on Nekropolis and doesn't seem to have a bad bone in his undead body. Devona and him soon build up a mutual attraction whilst investigating who would want the Dawnstone and why. With much at risk, the investigation turns deadly and time is running out.

I liked we eventually get Mike's back story, I like his character he is such a nice guy and has made many friends in Nekropolis whereas normally with detectives they are a bit dodgy. Devona was a harder character to like, it was as if Waggoner couldn't make up his mind to make her a hardcore strong female character or a shrinking violet which she flipped between pending the situation. It was a good introduction to that world and the characters, I would definitely read more of this series, 3/5 for me this time.

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Wee additional giveaway & thank you

Image credited from here

THANK YOU! The blog twitter account has hit 2000 followers and the Facebook page is over 1700, thank you so so much guys for your support, interactions and recommendations for books and book events. I started this blog to keep track of books I have read, I kept re buying ones forgetting I had read them until a few chapters in. So I started the reviews to keep track and it links in with Goodreads which is awesome, so when people starting to interact, authors offered to send books, publishers and publicists reached out I was delighted and pleasantly surprised. My reviews are not literary masterpieces by any stretch of the imagination, I just write what I liked, what I didn't and recommend books to folks that I think will love them, even ones I disliked because one man's rubbish is another's gold. I have "met" so many great bloggers and bok lovers who are so supportive, been introduced to many great authors I would otherwise have missed and some absolute gems of books. So, as well as the current competition running just now, click here for details, this is just a wee additional & keeping in theme with Halloween.







A wee dvd called "Dead Of The Night" and a magnetic bookmark, both as shown in the picture above. To enter, just head over So Many Books So Little Time's Facebook page or click here to be redirected, like the post, share and comment. I will give you a number on your comment and at the end of the week I will random generate the winning number. This competition is open to everyone, you just need to like/share and comment, that is is. Good luck if you are entering and thanks again for your continued support.