The Queen of Zombie Hearts Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway

I'm beyond excited today to be a part of the promotional tour for the third and final installment of Gena Showalter's fantastic White Rabbit Chronicles, The Queen of Zombie Hearts. I couldn't love this series more if I tried, Gena has a gift for writing incredibly strong female characters and to-die-for male characters, so if you haven't had the chance to pick this series up yet, I hope this interview sends you running to your nearest bookstore!

Speaking of to-die-for male characters, I have the pleasure of welcoming River to the blog to answer a few questions about his involvement in Ali and Cole's fight against Anima. It's possible I hit on him a little too. Don't judge me ;-)

You and Cole don’t always see eye to eye given the fact you’re both very much the take-charge type, but what’s one thing about him you can’t help but grudgingly admire? Your answer will, of course, never make its way to Cole’s ears ;-)

I admire the way he admires me. Feel free to tell him I said that.

Let’s say I was suddenly, and unfortunately, made aware of the zombie’s existence and wanted to join your crew to learn how to fight them. What’s the first thing you would teach me?

To obey my every command. Did your mind just go to the gutter, sweet? Well, get it out. Failure to obey me can get you killed. Not to mention me and my crew. So, if you can’t follow a simple set of orders, there’s no reason to teach you anything else.

Cole has found his perfect girl in Ali. What are a few personality traits the girl of your dreams would possess? If your answer happens to include snarky and paranormal book-loving, then all the better ;-)

I like my women with big…brains. And the snarky booklover. Yep. It’s like you were created in a catalogue just for me. Come over later?

*Jenny dies*

If Gena had written this book series from your point of view rather than Ali’s, what would the titles of all three books have been? 

Book one—See Zombies Die
Book two—See A Lot More Zombies Die
Book three—See Zombies Die BAD

Like Cole, Ali and all of your closest friends, you take some physical and emotional hits in the final battle with Anima. Once all the dust settles, what will you most look forward to with regard to your future and that of your crew’s?

A little R and R. Rest and Romance. See you at eight.

*YES YOU WILL, RIVER* *Beats all the rest of you away with a stick*

• • • • • • • • • • • 

THE QUEEN OF ZOMBIE HEARTS

I have a plan.

We'll either destroy them for good, or they'll destroy us.

Either way, only one of us is walking away.

Alice 'Ali' Bell thinks the worst is behind her. She's ready to take the next step with boyfriend Cole Holland, the leader of the zombie slayers; until Anima Industries, the agency controlling the zombies, launches a sneak attack, killing four of her friends. It's then she realizes that humans can be more dangerous than monsters; and the worst has only begun.

As the surviving slayers prepare for war, Ali discovers she, too, can control the zombies and she isn't the girl she thought she was. She's connected to the woman responsible for killing and turning Cole's mother. How can their relationship endure? As secrets come to light, and more slayers are taken or killed, Ali will fight harder than ever to bring down Anima even sacrificing her own life for those she loves.

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N • IndieBound • Book Depository

THE WHITE RABBIT CHRONICLES

Find Through the Zombie Glass:

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N • IndieBound • Book Depository

Find Alice in Zombieland:

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N • IndieBound • Book Depository

• • • • • • • • • • • 

GENA SHOWALTER

GENA SHOWALTER is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the Intertwined novels and several other popular YA and adult series. Her stories have been featured on MTV and in Seventeen magazine and have been praised as unputdownable.” Growing up, she always had her nose buried in a book. When it came time to buckle down and get a job, she knew writing was it for her. Gena lives in Oklahoma with her family and three slobbery bulldogs. Become a fan on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @GenaShowalter and visit her at genashowalter.com/young-adult/ and at HarlequinTEEN.com.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Harlequin Website

• • • • • • • • • • •

LOOK FOR THE WHITE RABBIT CONTEST

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the white rabbit will appear on a different blog and stay there for 48hrs. Once you have found the rabbit, click on it and you will be directed to a Rafflecopter entry form for the Grand Prize Giveaway! To enter, you must answer the daily question found at the tour stop (see below)!!!

Where could the rabbit appear? On all book blogger tour hosts and The Harlequin Paranormal Blog, so go now and hunt the rabbit. Will you find it?

And what do you win if you track this bad boy down you ask? A prize package of AWESOME:

One lucky grand prize winner will receive a $100 gift card and a complete set of the White Rabbit Chronicles. To enter for the grand prize, you MUST follow the tour each day, hunt down the white rabbit, and answer the daily question.

Want to win? Then find that rabbit!

TODAY'S QUESTION: If you could ask River one question, what would it be?

• • • • • • • • • • •

DAILY GIVEAWAY

In addition to the fabulous grand prize giveaway featured above for the White Rabbit Contest, I also have a copy of either Alice in Zombieland, Through the Zombie Glass OR The Queen of Zombie Hearts (winner's choice) to give away on the blog today! To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form, and don't forget to check out all the participating blogs below for more unique content, interviews and chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, September 8th – Two Chicks on Books & Harlequin Paranormal Blog 
Wednesday, September 10th – The Book Swarm
Friday, September 12th – Supernatural Snark 

Monday, September 15th – Such a Novel Idea
Wednesday, September 17th – Bewitched Bookworms
Friday, September 19th – Katie’s Book Blog

Monday, September 22nd – The Y.A. Bookworm Blogger
Wednesday, September 24th – Adventures of a Book Junkie
Friday, September 26th – Book Rock Betty

Waiting on Wednesday: The Queen of Zombie Hearts

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

THE QUEEN OF ZOMBIE HEARTS

White Rabbit Chronicles #3

Gena Showalter

Releases September 30th from HarlequinTEEN

From Goodreads:

I have a plan.

We'll either destroy them for good, or they'll destroy us.

Either way, only one of us is walking away.
 
Alice 'Ali' Bell thinks the worst is behind her. She's ready to take the next step with boyfriend Cole Holland, the leader of the zombie slayers; until Anima Industries, the agency controlling the zombies, launches a sneak attack, killing four of her friends. It's then she realizes that humans can be more dangerous than monsters; and the worst has only begun.

As the surviving slayers prepare for war, Ali discovers she, too, can control the zombies and she isn't the girl she thought she was. She's connected to the woman responsible for killing–and turning– Cole's mother. How can their relationship endure? As secrets come to light, and more slayers are taken or killed, Ali will fight harder than ever to bring down Anima–even sacrificing her own life for those she loves.

Ummmmm Cole. That's really the only word that makes it out of my mouth when I think about series because, bless her, Gena Showalter knows how to write some very sexy men. Even when they're YA men. (But in my head Cole is at least 28 so I don't feel so creepy.) I've loved both books in this series, so I have some very high hopes going into this final installment. As long as Cole and Ali don't die (which seems to be an unfortunate trend of late and I admit to being slightly nervous thanks to the last line of the synopsis), I have no doubt I'll be in love with this one as well. Plus, Cole. That is all.

Review: Through the Zombie Glass

THROUGH THE ZOMBIE GLASS
The White Rabbit Chronicles #2
Gena Showalter
Paranormal Young Adult
480 pages
HarlequinTEEN
Available September 24th
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Inspired by the childhood classic Alice in Wonderland, this harrowing and romantic story features teen zombie slayer Alice Bell who has lost so much—family, friends, her home. 

After a strange new zombie attack, Alice fears she may be losing her mind as well. A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do wicked things. 

The whispers of the dead assault her ears and mirrors seem to come frighteningly to life. She’s never needed her team of zombie slayers more—including her boyfriend, Cole—than she does now. But as Cole strangely withdraws and the zombies gain new strength, Ali knows one false step may doom them all.

MY THOUGHTS
Through the Zombie Glass is a pulse-pounding sequel, the heat and action dialed up to an extraordinary degree so that the cadence of our rapidly beating hearts turns into a repetitive soundtrack that accompanies the dark and light, the highs and lows, and the love and pain on the page. Though there are some familiar second book elements–such as the dissolution of the main romantic pairing–they never stay confined to their neatly labeled boxes, instead spilling out in grand fashion to fit this story specifically, forcing us to evaluate what happens within in the context of this narrative and leave all comparisons to other books at the door. This second installment is a challenging read in many ways, a darkly foreboding prologue from Ali letting us know that the coming pages will leave marks, shaping and changing our emotional topography until we emerge from the concluding chapters different than we were when we went into the beginning ones.

The catalyst for our change in this book is Cole himself, a young man who has fully embraced his bad boy status and driven it to new heights, but in this story the pleasant sheen of fiction that grants us the freedom to crush on someone dangerous is startlingly removed, leaving behind the rough surface of reality we didn’t quite see in book one, too distracted were we by the heat and intensity of his presence. Where he was seemingly infallible he is now humanly flawed, where he was previously invincible he is now vulnerable, and where he was before a protector he is now the hand that delivers a staggering emotional blow, the force of which not only hits us where it hurts but also temporarily knocks him right off the pedestal of swoon-worthiness on which we had previously placed him.

While his fall from grace, so to speak, is a bitter pill to swallow, it’s also one of the highlights of the book for the effect it has on Ali, allowing her to step fully into the shoes she was testing out in book one and become the badass of this series we had mistakenly thought Cole to be. When Cole seems intent on pushing her away, blowing hot and cold, Ali remains even keel, refusing to stoop to his level and instead waiting patiently for him to find the strength and courage to meet her on the high road she’s currently walking. She has a few understandable rough patches in which she allows herself to feel the sting of his rejection, but she always pulls herself back from the edge, turning her focus to the other not-insignificant problems with which she’s currently dealing. She never wavers in her feelings for him, even when a new temptation presents himself, and she admirably continues to protect her heart even as Cole begins to realize his mistake, respecting herself enough to say no to him when it would be so very easy to just say yes.

The romance is certainly a prominent element, as it is in any of Ms. Showalter’s fabulous books, but there are also some significant developments with both the enemy and within the team of slayers, relationships changing and strengthening as Anima lays a few of their more terrifying cards on the table. The only thing keeping this book from a higher rating is the speed with which the issues of Ali’s darker half are resolved at the end, and though we’re certainly grateful it’s not an aspect that’s going to be drawn out unnecessarily, for all the problems it caused throughout the resolution seems a touch easy. That being said however, this second installment will likely delight and torture fans of the series at the same time, causing as much pain as it does pleasure as Ali and Cole battle for life and love.

*It should be noted that Ms. Showalter’s books are always on the sexy side. Sex is spoken of easily and casually, with lots of banter and innuendo amidst the teenage group of slayers, and while it’s in my opinion handled well and realistically, this series is recommended for older YA readers.

Rating: 4.5/5

Find Gena:

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Harlequin Website 

If you didn't get a chance yesterday, be sure and check out my 5 reasons why Cole is worthy of swooning over (even if he made me want to smack him while simultaneously drooling over him in this book), plus enter to win a copy of either Alice in Zombieland or Through the Zombie Glass!

This book was sent to me free of charge by the publisher for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Through the Zombie Glass Blog Tour: Why You Will Swoon Over Cole

Today I'm absurdly excited to be a part of the promotional blog tour for the second installment of Gena Showalter's White Rabbit Chronicles, Through the Zombie Glass. I read Alice in Zombieland last year and absolutely adored it, and I may or may not have fallen madly in love with romantic lead Cole. Okay, there's really no "may not" about it, I love him. Utterly. Completely. My job here today is to list 5 reasons why I harbor such intense feelings for him and, in doing so, hopefully show those of you who have yet to meet him the error of your ways ;-)

Before I thoroughly embarrass myself with my lovesick ramblings and general fangirling over Cole though, I want to mention that the girls of Kismet Book Touring have put together a phenomenal tour for this book with AMAZING grand prize and daily giveaways, so be sure and check the bottom of this post for full blog tour schedule as well as all the details on the giveaways.

And now, let's talk about Cole.

MY 5 REASONS WHY COLE IS SO SWOON-WORTHY

• The Hotness Factor - I'm starting with this one because it's the most obvious. Who doesn't enjoy crushing on someone who makes forming coherent sentences in their presence nearly impossible? Though I've of course never been in Cole's presence, I imagine if he were real my mouth would betray me by failing to form words at the most opportune of moments. Maybe he's attracted to drooling, sputtering women though? There's been no evidence of that in the books since Ali is strong and stunning and a fighter through and through, but I'm not giving up hope that he finds reduced mental faculties and severe social impediments to be turn-ons.

• Ink - Not everyone finds tattoos sexy, but I'm 100% in favor of them. Especially on someone like Cole who has an edge to him that lets you know in no uncertain terms that his life is an extremely rocky road, and the woman who wants to partner with him to walk it will have to be in possession of some serious skills and mental fortitude. *straps on hiking boots, packs bag and compass, and sets off to find Cole*

• Fighting Prowess - There's something inherently attractive about a man with the skill set to protect those who aren't able to do so themselves. Cole is more than proficient in hand to hand combat and is adept with numerous weapons, and though he can certainly be aggressive when the situation calls for it, he's not the type who seeks out a fight just for the sake of fighting. He trains to battle a very specific and terrifying enemy, never picking fights out of a need to stroke his ego or prove himself to be better than someone else.

• Intensity - Cole might be someone to whom many attach the label "bad boy", and while in many ways it's a fitting label as he can be dark and dangerous, I think intense is a better way to describe him. He's utterly focused on taking down his enemy and keeping those around him alive, and while he does have a history of being with girls and then abruptly moving on with little to no warning, he's not the type to play games of the heart.

• Loneliness - This probably seems like a weird attribute to put on this list, but there's something about a man who seems a bit apart from the rest of the world that I find appealing. I often suffer from the delusion of thinking I'll be the unique person who becomes the touchstone that grounds an alpha male like Cole or fills the void no one else before me has been able to fill,  and like a moth to the flame that loneliness and tiny hint of vulnerability sucks me in every time. Cole, despite being surrounded by people, is still so very separate, making me want to do nothing more than wrap him up in my arms and not let go. Lucky Ali that she gets to do so. *stares daggers at Ali*  ;-)

• • • • • • • • • •

THROUGH THE ZOMBIE GLASS

Inspired by the childhood classic Alice in Wonderland, this harrowing and romantic story features teen zombie slayer Alice Bell who has lost so much—family, friends, her home.
 
After a strange new zombie attack, Alice fears she may be losing her mind as well. A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do wicked things.
 
The whispers of the dead assault her ears and mirrors seem to come frighteningly to life. She’s never needed her team of zombie slayers more—including her boyfriend, Cole—than she does now. But as Cole strangely withdraws and the zombies gain new strength, Ali knows one false step may doom them all.

Releases September 24th from HarlequinTEEN

Be sure and check out the White Rabbit Chronicles page for more details and Team Badges!

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N • IndieBound • Book Depository

• • • • • • • • • •

GENA SHOWALTER

GENA SHOWALTER is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the Intertwined novels and several other popular YA and adult series. Her stories have been featured on MTV and in Seventeen magazine and have been praised as unputdownable.” Growing up, she always had her nose buried in a book. When it came time to buckle down and get a job, she knew writing was it for her. Gena lives in Oklahoma with her family and three slobbery bulldogs. Become a fan on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @GenaShowalter and visit her at genashowalter.com/young-adult/ and at HarlequinTEEN.com.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Harlequin Website

• • • • • • • • • •

LOOK FOR THE WHITE RABBIT CONTEST

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the white Rabbit will appear on a different blog and stays there for 48hrs. Once you have found the Rabbit, click on it and you will be directed to a Rafflecopter entry form for the Grand Prize Giveaway! To enter, you must answer the daily question found at the Tour Stop!!!

Where could the Rabbit appear?  On all Book Blogger Tour Hosts and The Harlequin Paranomal Blog, so now go and hunt the Rabbit. Will you find it?

Here's the awesomeness you'll have a chance to win if you track that rabbit down:

Go and see a scary movie, buy your favorite scary series or movie on DVD and make these days perfect with a pizza and some coffee to calm your nerves!

Today's Question: Let’s take a moment to swoon over Cole! Done? Jenny gave us tons of reasons why she loves Cole, now tell us what you think is most swoon worthy about him?

• • • • • • • • • • 

DAILY GIVEAWAY

In addition to the fabulous grand prize giveaway featured above for the White Rabbit Contest, I also have either a paperback copy of Alice in Zombieland or hardcover copy of Through the Zombie Glass (winner's choice) to give away on the blog today! To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form, and don't forget to check out all the participating blogs below for more unique content and chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Monday, September 2nd – Harlequin Paranormal Blog - Tour Kick Off
Tuesday, September 3rd – Bewitched Bookworms
Wednesday, September 4th – Parajunkee
Thursday, September 5th – IB Blogging
Friday, September 6th – Julie Kagawa – Character Spotlight: Cole & Ali

Monday, September 9th – fiktshun
Tuesday, September 10th -Harlequin TEEN Facebook
Wednesday, September 11th – Katie McGarry – Frosty & Kat
Thursday, September 12th – Gena Showalter’s Website
Friday, September 13th – The Irish Banana

Monday, September 16th – Supernatural Snark
Tuesday, September 17th - Gena Showalter Facebook  and  Rachel Caine
Wednesday, September 18th – Reading Lark
Thursday, September 19th - Aimée Carter
Friday, September 20th – Tater’s Tall Tails

Review: Alice in Zombieland

ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND
(White Rabbit Chronicles #1)
Gena Showalter
Paranormal Young Adult
404 pages
Harlequin Teen
Available September 25th
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….

MY THOUGHTS
As she does so effortlessly with her adult Lords of the Underworld series, Ms. Showalter impeccably combines darkness and humor in her newest young adult series; crafting a world that becomes all the more terrifying the more we learn about it, but also filling it with individuals from whom charm and wit wafts in delightful waves. Her protagonists are fierce and determined, tragedy marking each and every one of them with permanent physical and emotional scars, but instead of succumbing to their pain they instead forcefully remove themselves from Death’s loving embrace, shoving his arms away and continuing on with life despite his constant presence by their sides. Making the battle to remain free of Death’s clutches difficult is Ms. Showalter’s take on zombies, a fascinatingly horrifying version of the living dead who wage their war on the spiritual plane rather than the physical one, and we’re easily swept away in their macabre tide.

Alice is a standout heroine, bolstered after the death of her family by an equally standout character in best friend Kat, the two of them causing many an unladylike snort to escape our lips as the banter between them flies back and forth at records speeds. Despite the pain of learning her father’s rantings were not those of man losing his grip on reality, but rather those of a man of sound mind and body fighting to protect his family, she never crumbles or despairs of her past mistakes, instead she vows to join the fight as a way of honoring his memory. Though Cole is intimidating and has the type of personality that easily swallows people whole, she never once backs down from him, seeing his demands and orders and raising him a constant barrage of questions about her newly discovered supernatural world.

Cole is cause for a bit of concern initially, his bad-boy status and Ali’s intense draw to him instantly setting off warning bells in our heads that suggest he might be the type of brooding love interest we’ve seen again and again. Our unease continues with some soulful glances across a crowded cafeteria and some stalker-like tendencies, but once he and Ali clear the air between them on the zombie front, he morphs into a character all his own, shedding the initial clichés and leaving them in a rumpled pile at his feet. Ms. Showalter has a gift for creating extraordinarily sexy male characters–men who practically singe the pages with the heat they throw off– and Cole is certainly no exception. His more intimate moments with Ali are enough to have us getting up to drop the air conditioning down a few degrees before continuing, but with the sensual side of him also comes the emotional side, combining to ensure we never have cause to doubt he’s anything other than genuine in his pursuit of Ali.

Though we’re definitely left with a few general questions as to how the zombies in this world function and what role our villains so desperately want them to play, they’re questions we expect to have left at the end of a first installment, and we’re content when we reach the final page to wait and see what Ms. Showalter will bring to the table moving forward. A monstrously entertaining beginning, Alice in Zombieland has readily claimed a spot on my shelf of favorites.

Rating: 4.5/5