BOOK REVIEW: Alice in Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles #1) by Gena Showalter

First of all, Alice in Zombieland has been in my TBR list since last year. I just didn't bother reading it until now. I have no idea why but I actually had it in iBooks for quite some time now. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from this one since this is my first zombie book. Not exactly a fan of the gory and decomposing monsters. Thank you very much. What got my attention was the mash up between the classic Alice in Wonderland and the zombies. Our "Alice" in this case  is Alice "Ali" Bell.

 

I have to be honest here. Ali annoyed me the moment she opened her mouth in the book. She was immature and petty and just plain spoiled in some ways. She didn't bother listening to anyone and she just kept on going without even having a plan or a back up plan. Honestly, I like feisty females but in this case I just felt like she just kept on rolling without even using her brain. She almost made the book unbearable for me and I almost did not bother finishing this one. I did like the fact that she's not as helpless as other heroines from other paranormal novels that I've read. I think the fact that she knew how to defend herself in some ways might've helped me to like her even a little.

And of course, with a heroine comes a hero who everyone would adore especially the female readers and his name is Cole Holland. Honestly, one of the good things about this book was Cole. He is probably my ultimate bad boy at this point and as most of my readers know I love bad boys. I think Cole's possessive/ borderline dominant streak is something I find sexy. Plus, the fact that he's one kick ass fighter helps.

Overall, I did enjoy most of the novel especially towards the end. I think Ali grew up at some point. Probably because she had to go through a lot of things. The writing style and the story itself isn't terrible at all. I think it was just Ali herself that did it for me. She truly annoyed me. I did love Ms. Showalter's unique take on the zombie concept being in the spiritual realm. It wasn't really what I was expecting. Yeah, they were still decomposing and ugly I guess but they weren't like the typical zombies who ate BRRRAAAAAIIIINNNNSSSS for dinner. I'd also have to give the side characters some credit. I actually loved them more than Ali. Her friends Poppy and Wren annoyed me though. I felt like they were just there when you were at the top of the food chain but once you're ate the bottom then they just disappear from your life completely. Whatevs. The book did leave a lot of open questions like: What is the connections of Cole and Ali's visions to whatever it is that's going on around them? Why is Ali the way she is? Where does Justin (one of the side characters that I still can't put my finger on. A potential love triangle maybe?) stand in all this? There's definitely a lot more and I guess that's what the upcoming books are for. I didn't really enjoy reading this as much as I thought I would. But to be fair it wasn't a total bust or anything. I did manage to finish it even if Ali seriously annoyed me. I'm giving this a 3/5 star rating. And I'm definitely reading the next book if that's what you're wondering.