Read it in Houston: Shadows

	Title Shadows Author Ilsa Bick Genre YA fantasy, horror, dystopian Publisher EgmontUSA Publishing Date September 25, 2012 How I Got This Book Bought it Hardback 528 pages Stand alone or Series Ashes Trilogy #2 My Average 8 pages/day Reading Difficulty 3 (on a scale of 1-5 5 = dictionary vernacular)
Oh Crap! Strategic Zombies.

The Apocalypse does not end. The Changed will grow in numbers. The Spared may not survive.

Even before the EMPs brought down the world, Alex was on the run from the demons of her past and the monster living in her head. After the world was gone, she believed Rule could be a sanctuary for her and those she’d come to love.
But she was wrong.

Now Alex is in the fight of her life against the adults, who would use her, the survivors, who don’t trust her, and the Changed, who would eat her alive.

Welcome to Shadows, the second book in the haunting apocalyptic Ashes Trilogy: where no one is safe and humans may be the worst of the monsters.

“Now she knew why Wolf had used snow to scrub blood from the flap of her skin. He was looking for a good tattoo. The Changed were wearing... people.”

I try not to review too many sequels because I know if it were me, I wouldn't really care what you think about the second book, because I haven't read the first book. That being said, I do review sequels when I am in love with book 1. This series is no different. Ilsa Bick knocks zombie books out just in time for the next YA wave - Zombies.

See Ashes (book 1) review here.

Quick review:
I was thrown for a loop at the beginning of this book. I am positive the first book only followed Alex. Book 2 follows several characters. It actually reminded me of many of the Dean Koontz books where he circles around a handful of characters who finally meet up in the end. It felt a little unrealistic that all of the characters find each other in the middle of a tech blackout. They all gravitate to each other for a final blow out... I just couldn't wrap my brain around that, especially since one of the characters started the novel in a different state.

Also, there is less gore in book two than one. I really loved the gore in the first book and hoped for the same or more.

There are a lot of characters in this novel - some old, some new. For the number of characters, I really didn't have too hard of a time figuring out who was who. The only part of the character that slipped past me was the age. Some of the older characters act and talk like the younger "normal" people.

Lastly, I hated this book cover. Well, hate is a strong word. I really didn't like the direction the publisher went with this cover. The first book's cover is amazing. Creepy & intriguing all at the same time. I don't know, maybe it's because my copy is an ebook... but the blue text with a shadowy figure reads amateur to me, and this book is anything but amateur. And what's with the headstones in the background? Where in the book do any of the characters visit a grave? If your reading this EgmontUSA, please reevaluate your cover art.