Bad Taste in Boys

Bad Taste in Boys
by Carrie Harris

Someone's been a very bad zombie.

Kate Grable is horrified to find out that the football coach has given the team steroids. Worse yet, the steriods are having an unexpected effect, turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless flesh-eating zombies. No one is safe--not her cute crush Aaron, not her dorky brother, Jonah . . . not even Kate! She's got to find an antidote--before her entire high school ends up eating each other. So Kate, her best girlfriend, Rocky, and Aaron stage a frantic battle to save their town . . . and stay hormonally human. (description from Amazon.com)

Short. Sweet. Sarcastic. Smart.
Veronica Mars meet Buffy the Vampire Slayer...okay, now create a happy little zombie fighting sleuth and voila! Kate Grable.

Kate, Kate, Kate. I <3 Kate. She is one smart cookie. She's also hilariously blasé about shuffling, hungry, black vomit hurtling zombies that are continuously losing body parts in her vacinity.

With a guy who actually appreciates her for her brains (yes, my inner - I mean 0uter, I mean inner...whatever - nerd screamed "Yes!!!"), two best friends who love and support her and try to also break her out of her "nerdy" shell, and a brother that is willing to fight zombies alongside her, Kate is one lucky chick. I'm a little jealous, honestly!

For a quick, snappy, hilarious zombie book, run out and pick up Bad Taste in Boys. There will be NO bad taste left in your mouth. *snort* I know, I know...I couldn't resist. Anyway, two dismembered thumbs way, way up!!

2011 Debut Author Challenge title
2011 Zombie Reading Challenge title

The Virgin Queen's Daughter

TheVirgin Queen's Daughter
by Ella March Chase

As captivating now as it was more than four centuries ago, the reign of Elizabeth I - with its scandal, intrigue, and resilience - has sparked the imagination of generations. In her sweeping historical debut, Ella March Chase explores a thrilling possibility: that the Tudor bloodline did not end with the Virgin Queen.

Tucked away in the country estate of her beloved father, Lord Calverly, young Nell de Lacy feeds her hungry mind with philosophy, language, and studies of science. Her mother, once a devoted lady-in-waiting to Henry VII's last wife, Katherine Parr, would rather her daughter stop dabbling in the grand affairs of men and instead prepare for her eventual duties as a wife. She knows all too well what menace lurks in royal courts.

But Nell's heart yearns for something more, and a chance meeting with Princess Elizabeth, then a prisoner of the Tower of London, pushes her closer toward finding it. Now, years later, Nell's chance arrives when she is summoned to serve as a lady-in-waiting to the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth. Nell is entranced by the splendor and pageantry of royal life, unaware of the danger and deception that swirls around the monarch and her courtiers.

But a lingering rumor about nine unaccounted for months in the Virgin Queen's past reignites when the flame-haired Nell - a mirror image of Her Majesty both physically and intellectually - arrives at court. Quickly she catches the eye not only of the cunning Elizabeth, but of those who would see the Queen fail. With strong evidence to connect Elizabeth to her newest maid of honor and the politics of England in turmoil, the truth could send Nell and those she loves to the Tower to join the wretched fates of those who've gone before her.

I had heard about this book on someone's blog...I can't remember whose, exactly...and was intrigued. I love alternate history books. This one was brilliantly done, as well! Chase blends historical rumor, fact, and her imagination in such a way that I was almost convinced that Nell de Lacey truly existed.

The details about court life, the descriptions of court dress, the activities presented to readers, all contributed to a rich and wonderful dive into the reign of Elizabeth I. All of the main characters were wonderfully developed and interacted in a truly believable way.

I laughed, I cried, I yelled at Nell to see that yes, Gabriel did love her. I was sucked into this book completely. Highly recommended for historical fiction fans.