All I Need by Emily Goodwin (Review)

Title: All I Need
Series: Stay #2
Author: Emily Goodwin
Published: December 2, 2014
Format: Ebook received for review

“My life was hell, nothing but pain and darkness.

Every night I hoped I’d lay down to sleep and never wake up. I saw no reason to keep going. There was nothing for me, no promise of a better life. Every morning I woke up hoping this would be my last day.

Then I met her, and everything changed.”

Sold into slavery at a young age, Jackson Porter has known nothing but darkness until he is forced to kidnap a young woman with a fiery spirit who refuses to give up. Could she be all Jackson needs to awaken his dead soul? 

You met Jackson in Stay, now it’s time to hear his story.

Warning, this book is dark, graphic, and twisted at times.

 All I Need is Jackson's story, and it's a hell of a story.  Emily Goodwin has definitely proved she can write across several genres with ease.  If you haven't gotten into the Stay series yet, you need to pick it up.

Stay by Emily Goodwin (Review)

Title: Stay
Series: Stay #1
Author: Emily Goodwin
Published: May 2014
Format: Personal Purchase
Pages: 327 pages

“I felt like I was walking to the end of a plank precariously hanging over shark-infested water. When I jumped, sharp teeth would rip into me and the cold water would steal my breath away. The monsters would take everything from me, leaving me shivering and naked in the water. The only difference was that tonight I would be pulled from the icy darkness and forced to do it again. There would be no release from death, only pain.” 

Home after her first year of college, Adeline Miller is looking forward to a stress free summer filled with reading, working on her blog, and spending time with friends. But all that changes in an instant when she is witness to something terrible, something she wasn't supposed to see. 

Beaten, drugged, kidnapped. 

Adeline Miller is ripped from her innocent and carefree life and thrust into darkness, into a world full of pain and horror. As a sex slave, she is forced to do horrible things, and have horrible things done to her. One of her captors has a past as dark as the world she is now living in. Will getting close to him mean freedom? Or will he pull her deeper into the shadows?

I just recently finished Stay by Emily Goodwin, and wow.  Up until this, I'd only read her zombie novels - and I don't know which is scarier.  This book definitely pushes the limits, and is s-c-a-r-y.  Emily Goodwin, of course, writes it well, and you can tell that she's definitely done her homework.  Every page feels real, painfully real.

Contagious Chaos by Emily Goodwin (Review)

Title: Contagious Chaos
Series: The Contagium #3
Author: Emily Goodwin
Published: September 2014
Format: Ebook received for review

When the compound starts to fill and food supplies dwindle, Fuller’s soldiers and Marines have no choice but to venture out into the lawless wastelands of America where they discover a new kind of enemy. What foe could be more frightening than zombies? A fortress for the criminally insane--unhinged survivors who will stop at nothing to take Orissa and her friends down for good, In order serve and protect their compound, will the gang have to abandon their own moral code and engage in a war against the uninfected?

 If you've been by my site this week you saw earlier I did a blitz for this book.  Well, here is my review.  Really, I could sum it up in three letters and several puncuation marks.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!

Guest post from Emily Goodwin, author of Contagious Chaos!!

Contagious Chaos

Emily Goodwin

When the compound starts to fill and food supplies dwindle, Fuller’s soldiers and Marines have no choice but to venture out into the lawless wastelands of America where they discover a new kind of enemy. What foe could be more frightening than zombies? A fortress for the criminally insane--unhinged survivors who will stop at nothing to take Orissa and her friends down for good, In order serve and protect their compound, will the gang have to abandon their own moral code and engage in a war against the uninfected?

 Ahhh!!!!  It's finally here!! I've been waiting for this book for two years, and I can't believe it's finally here!!!  Like, OMG, what is going to happen next?    I am SO fearful over this teaser pic, I can't even tell you.  Look!

Nobody Asked Me! Zombie Edition

Well seeing as how this Sunday is the season FINALE of THE WALKING DEAD, I thought I would write a little post about something near and dear to my heart – zombies! ZOMBIES, folks!!!!

If anyone truly knows me, they know I have a fascination with zombies. Books, television, pictures, plans, everything. Hey, it’s not a question of IF, it’s a question of WHEN. And my money is that WHEN is soon!!

I’m not going to lay out my plan for the apoc here, that would be pretty foolish, I think. If you know what I’m going to do, you might show up and reap the benefits of my hard work! Not gonna happen!!

But what is it about zombies? Hmmmm. They aren’t sexy. They aren’t romantic. They don’t smell good. And they definitely don’t whisper sweet nothings in your ear. In fact, if one is trying to whisper in your ear, you should be looking forward to a double tap from the nearest non-zombie around. So why is the world full of zombie mania?

Adrenalin!!

The damned creatures are a real possibility!! Let’s leave out talks of things like bath salts. However, if the government is messing around with things like cloning|gninolc (see, I cloned the word cloning, just cause I can - it's that easy!), don’t you think they are messing around with things like reanimation? How about the simple fact that a neurotoxin epidemic could happen AT ANY TIME and we’d all be screwin’ the pooch (and I mean that figuratively, folks, please leave those pooches alone!)?

So, while I’ve got you here and I’m gnawing on your ear about zombies, let me share some of my favorite zombie books with you!!

First, my very favorite involves a young woman named Kansas. Kansas is all sorts of badass wrapped up in more badass and sprinkled with some “oh hell no!” You can find some posts I’ve done on Kansas here:

Review: Taking On The Dead 

COVER REVEAL - CONTROLLING THE DEAD

On top of that, the author, Annie Wells, is super awesome. If you want to have some fun online, seek her out – but not right now, because she is working on Controlling The Dead (the sequel to Taking On The Dead) and I don’t want her to stop! Be sure to check out her site for Bailing Out Into The Dead, Rudy's story - and you do NOT want to miss that!

Next, how about Emily Goodwin and the Contagium series? Holy heck, Orissa is another awesome leading lady taking on the zombie apoc!! I’ve only reviewed one of her books for Fictional Candy, but I’ve read both that are out already – and I’m totally waiting for book three to get released NOW! :)

Here is my review of CONTAGIOUS

CONTAGIUM on Facebook

Emily Goodwin's WEBSITE

Wait, I’m not done yet!! Have you met Sloane from This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers? This Is Not 
A Test is a little bit of a different type of zombie book, there are very few actual zombies in it – but it is a total mind f**k!!! I strongly suggest you check it out.

This Is Not A Test
Courtney Summers

Here is my review of TINAT

Want more? How about Hive by Griffin Hayes? His book was a bit
different, as it takes place in the future and looks back at society now, and what we did to screw it up. Take a hint: Don’t drink the water. His zombies are also able to be centrally controlled by strong zombies. It was a rockin’ good time in his book, and I definitely recommend it! And the cover – AHHHmazing!!

Here is my review of HIVE
And of course, you also need to check out Griffin's website, cause hey, even guys can write about zombies! WEBSITE

So there are some of my favorites. I’ve got a bunch more on the list, but I was actually getting anxious to post some Daryl Dixon visual candy. There’s not a woman alive who doesn’t want this man by her side at the end! Whhhoooooo doggy, break me off a piece of that!

So, how about you? Are you into zombies? Do you think its been overdone, or are you like me and ready for more more more more!!! Do you have any favorite books you could recommend me?






Hey, are you on Pinterest?  Check out my APOCALYPSE board!!  

Also, I’ve got another swag giveaway! This one will run until next Wednesday, and I’ll pick a winner on Thursday!
Bookmarks, pens, magnets, trading cards - a great big ol envelope of it. You want it? You got it! Here is a picture of a previous one, and the one you get will be very similar - but not the same!!! 

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Review/Giveaway - Contagious by Emily Goodwin

Title: Contagious
Series: Book One, The Contagium Trilogy
Author: Emily Goodwin
Published: 2012
Format: Ebook provided for tour review

"I wasn’t afraid of death. If I died, it would be over. My worst fear wasn’t of dying, it was of living. Living, while everyone around me had their flesh savagely torn from their bodies to be shoved into the festering and ever-hungry mouths of zombies. It terrified me, right down to my very core, to be alive while the rest of the world was dead."

In the midst of the Second Great Depression, twenty-five year old Orissa Penwell doesn't think things can get any worse. She couldn't be more wrong. A virus breaks out across the country, leaving the infected crazed, aggressive and very hungry.

Orissa will do anything-no matter if it's right or wrong- to save the ones she loves. But when she discovers that most of the world is infected or dead, she must decided if those lives are worth saving at all.

Cover Artist: SweetDreams

http://dream-sweetdreams.deviantart.com/

Amazon  B&N  Smashwords

This is a pretty damn good book.  I was pretty excited to start reading it, I love a good zombie apocalypse.  But I have to be honest with you – for a good portion of the story, I didn’t like the main character, Orissa.  I kind of felt like she was a bit bitchy, a little manipulative, and I felt like we knew she was coming around 5 minutes beforehand because her ego arrived first.  It’s not like I wanted her to get eaten by the zombies, because I needed her alive to save these other characters who needed her.  But come on, Orissa, you are not the most awesomest on the planet! Or are you?

But then she kind of grew on me.  I began to like her and her cocky attitude.  She proved herself time and again that she had the walk to back up the talk.  There’s still a whole lot that I don’t know about her.  This girl has a lot of secrets.  But she is not a cold and calculating woman, she is a woman who has a checkered past with people she cares about out there in the world.  And she’s now got a handful of them to protect.

If there is one thing that I’ve learned from any zombie apocalypse – stay out of the hospital. Especially as a patient, if you can help it.  It signs your death warrant.  So when sexy blue eyed Dr. Padraic Sheehan protects a bunch of “expendable” people by hiding them in the basement, he earns a spot in my favorites book.  Even if he does start to irritate me a little bit later.  He’s a good guy, and he deserves to be happy.

And the rest of Orissa’s group is as varied as can be.  But I like them, for the most part.  Her BFF, Raeya, is fantastical.  Zoe can melt your heart.  And well, Argos is the man’s best friend I’d love to acquire when the time comes.  But then…. *cue sexy music* Hayden enters her life. *swoooooooooon*

The man is military…well, ex military now.  But he is stacked.  He is smart.  He is sexy.  Of course.  And the sexual tension between Orissa and Hayden is so thick you could suffocate.  I love him.  And oddly enough, he makes me like Orissa more.  I don’t know how.  Maybe he brings out her caring side a bit more, softens her.  He makes her more real to me.  I love the way they silently and maybe even subconsciously seek each other out and find a way to be near and touching.  It’s very warm and endearing in such bleak times.  And this is without a kiss or sexual encounter.  Sometimes your heart just knows.

It’s a bit crazy that a book can have a good mix of horror, action, drama, emotion, and yes – sexual tension.  But it does.  It took me a minute to really get into it.  But once I did I couldn’t put it down.  A lot of the book kind of felt frantic, and of course, if it was real life (it will be one day), it would feel frantic. So that part I was really digging.  There are some very cool fight scenes and action sequences, something the special effects junkie in me would love to see on screen.  I definitely think this is a book to add to your zombie collection.  It’s one of those books that left me cussing a whole stream of expletives much to violent for the likes of Fictional Candy.

And so I bought book two in the Contagium Trilogy, Deathly Contagious.  And I’m about a quarter of the way done already.  So here is your chance to win book one, Contagious.

  I just want to know, what is going to be your “go to” weapon when its time to kick some zombie ass? 

Author Bio:

Emily Goodwin resides in Indiana, where she lives with her husband and many four legged children, including their much loved German Shepherd named Vader. Accused of being a day dreamer, Emily began writing at an early age, making use of her active imagination. She has a degree in psychology and is currently working on her second degree in nursing. Emily likes anything paranormal, 80's rock, going on crazy adventures with her friends, making (and wearing) costumes, Renaissance Fairs, and is an animal rights activist.

www.emily-goodwin.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/thecontagiumtrilogy

www.facebook.com/theguardianlegacies

www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomEmilyKG

@0emilygoodwin –Twitter

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Review/Giveaway - Contagious by Emily Goodwin

Title: Contagious
Series: Book One, The Contagium Trilogy
Author: Emily Goodwin
Published: 2012
Format: Ebook provided for tour review

"I wasn’t afraid of death. If I died, it would be over. My worst fear wasn’t of dying, it was of living. Living, while everyone around me had their flesh savagely torn from their bodies to be shoved into the festering and ever-hungry mouths of zombies. It terrified me, right down to my very core, to be alive while the rest of the world was dead."

In the midst of the Second Great Depression, twenty-five year old Orissa Penwell doesn't think things can get any worse. She couldn't be more wrong. A virus breaks out across the country, leaving the infected crazed, aggressive and very hungry.

Orissa will do anything-no matter if it's right or wrong- to save the ones she loves. But when she discovers that most of the world is infected or dead, she must decided if those lives are worth saving at all.

Cover Artist: SweetDreams

http://dream-sweetdreams.deviantart.com/

Amazon  B&N  Smashwords

This is a pretty damn good book.  I was pretty excited to start reading it, I love a good zombie apocalypse.  But I have to be honest with you – for a good portion of the story, I didn’t like the main character, Orissa.  I kind of felt like she was a bit bitchy, a little manipulative, and I felt like we knew she was coming around 5 minutes beforehand because her ego arrived first.  It’s not like I wanted her to get eaten by the zombies, because I needed her alive to save these other characters who needed her.  But come on, Orissa, you are not the most awesomest on the planet! Or are you?

But then she kind of grew on me.  I began to like her and her cocky attitude.  She proved herself time and again that she had the walk to back up the talk.  There’s still a whole lot that I don’t know about her.  This girl has a lot of secrets.  But she is not a cold and calculating woman, she is a woman who has a checkered past with people she cares about out there in the world.  And she’s now got a handful of them to protect.

If there is one thing that I’ve learned from any zombie apocalypse – stay out of the hospital. Especially as a patient, if you can help it.  It signs your death warrant.  So when sexy blue eyed Dr. Padraic Sheehan protects a bunch of “expendable” people by hiding them in the basement, he earns a spot in my favorites book.  Even if he does start to irritate me a little bit later.  He’s a good guy, and he deserves to be happy.

And the rest of Orissa’s group is as varied as can be.  But I like them, for the most part.  Her BFF, Raeya, is fantastical.  Zoe can melt your heart.  And well, Argos is the man’s best friend I’d love to acquire when the time comes.  But then…. *cue sexy music* Hayden enters her life. *swoooooooooon*

The man is military…well, ex military now.  But he is stacked.  He is smart.  He is sexy.  Of course.  And the sexual tension between Orissa and Hayden is so thick you could suffocate.  I love him.  And oddly enough, he makes me like Orissa more.  I don’t know how.  Maybe he brings out her caring side a bit more, softens her.  He makes her more real to me.  I love the way they silently and maybe even subconsciously seek each other out and find a way to be near and touching.  It’s very warm and endearing in such bleak times.  And this is without a kiss or sexual encounter.  Sometimes your heart just knows.

It’s a bit crazy that a book can have a good mix of horror, action, drama, emotion, and yes – sexual tension.  But it does.  It took me a minute to really get into it.  But once I did I couldn’t put it down.  A lot of the book kind of felt frantic, and of course, if it was real life (it will be one day), it would feel frantic. So that part I was really digging.  There are some very cool fight scenes and action sequences, something the special effects junkie in me would love to see on screen.  I definitely think this is a book to add to your zombie collection.  It’s one of those books that left me cussing a whole stream of expletives much to violent for the likes of Fictional Candy.

And so I bought book two in the Contagium Trilogy, Deathly Contagious.  And I’m about a quarter of the way done already.  So here is your chance to win book one, Contagious.

  I just want to know, what is going to be your “go to” weapon when its time to kick some zombie ass? 

Author Bio:

Emily Goodwin resides in Indiana, where she lives with her husband and many four legged children, including their much loved German Shepherd named Vader. Accused of being a day dreamer, Emily began writing at an early age, making use of her active imagination. She has a degree in psychology and is currently working on her second degree in nursing. Emily likes anything paranormal, 80's rock, going on crazy adventures with her friends, making (and wearing) costumes, Renaissance Fairs, and is an animal rights activist.

www.emily-goodwin.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/thecontagiumtrilogy

www.facebook.com/theguardianlegacies

www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomEmilyKG

@0emilygoodwin –Twitter

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