***DISCLAIMER***

This book was published in 2009. Being that it's not a newer release, I am not super concerned with hiding spoilers. Read forward at your own risk if you are concerned with being spoiled.


For a good chunk of this book, I thought it would receive a good rating from me. But the ending was so anti-climactic and left far too many questions. Now, if the next books were direct sequels, perhaps I could understand leaving things open. But the sequels take place years later and follow different characters, so instead it was just sloppy storytelling.

What I liked:

1. The concept. Also, the title. When I began reading this book it was giving me flashes of the Razorland series by Ann Aguirre, which is a series I really enjoyed. And that title? Amazing.

2. The present-tense storytelling. I feel like it adds a sense of urgency to a narrative and, when done well, is effective because it raises the tension.


What I didn't like:

1. Mary. I'd read a couple of reviews mentioning that they thought Mary was selfish-bordering-on-psycho. I didn't get it at first. After all, she'd just lost her mother and her brother turned her out. I'd probably be feeling a little sorry for myself too. But as the book went on, I understood and began to agree. Mary is incredibly selfish. Not only selfish, but also unintelligent. She had this overwhelming yearning to go see the ocean, and it overrides any common sense she may possess. She literally gets people killed because she doesn't stop to think about her actions. She acts wholly on the impulse of her own selfish wishes. Now, I could understand if someone had told her that there was a village near the water that was unaffected by zombies...but that's actually the OPPOSITE of what she's told, and it still changes nothing. I had a hard time rooting for her. Then the scene where she puts on the woman's dress and starts obsessing about finding her...🙄🙄🙄

2. The 'romance'. This was painfully bad. Not only was there a love triangle with Mary and two brothers 🙄, but I never felt like we actually had any scenes that established a foundation for a relationship with either brother, but especially Travis. And really, when you know that one side of the triangle has no chance, why even have it in there? It was completely pointless. Even more inexplicable for me was what they possibly could've seen in Mary that they would both fall in love with her and risk damage to their relationship. I won't go so far to say that it was 'insta-love' because these characters had known each other and supposedly been close for years, but it still *felt* like insta-love between Mary and Travis. It just wasn't well-developed at all.

3. The loose ends.
Why was the sisterhood so secretive? I didn't feel like an adequate reason was ever given. Is it just supposed to be about them wanting to maintain power? That just doesn't quite track for me.

Why was Gabriella so much faster than the other unconsecrated? This is NEVER explained.

Additionally, why did she breakdown when none of the other unconsecrated seem to?

What the heck happened to Harry, Cass, and Jacob?

Why did Gabriella leave the message for Mary that led them to her overtaken village?

Why were the Roman numerals used on gates not sequential? They seemed to have no rhyme or reason to them which was never explained.

Why was Gabriella's village so superior to Mary's? Was there a time when they were trading partners? Did they have some falling out?

I'm sure there are more that I've forgotten, but as I listened to this on audiobook I wasn't able to make notes like I would normally. My point is, this book left so many loose ends that I doubt will be addressed in the companion novels, considering they follow different characters and take place more than 15 years later.

4. The end. What a mess.
Again, SPOILER WARNING for those looking to avoid them.



You have been warned!





I hated the end of this book. I didn't mind that Travis died. I felt no connection to him or their romance whatsoever, as there was zero development with his character or them as a couple. I also thought it made sense, given the situation in which they found themselves. And I don't even blame Mary necessarily, although it was her lack of ability to calm down and make a plan before jumping into action that got them trapped in the house in the village in the first place.

But then, after seeing what her impulsiveness cost her, she just jumps into obsession with going into the forest; all because she wants to see the ocean. And again, it's not that she thinks that seeing the ocean will be an end of the unconsecrated. She just wants to because her mom told her stories and she told Travis she would. So she goes out into the forest alone surrounded by zombies, and gets her brother killed (we assume, since it was NEVER resolved...) because of her selfishness. And then what happens? Do the unconsecrated get her too? Nope. She lives, waking at the exact right moment to avoid an axe chopping her head off because a guy thought she was a zombie. (Deus *axe* Maquina? I'll see myself out...) Turns out he lives in a lighthouse near a village and it's his job to kill the unconsecrated (he calls them 'mudos') as they wash ashore, especially after big storms. They have a short conversation and that's the end of the book. We learn next to nothing about this new place. It just feels very unfinished, but not like a cliffhanger. It's just...blah.

THAT'S THE END OF THE FLIPPIN' BOOK!!! Nothing is resolved. She actually says something about wondering if Jed and Travis would be proud of her for finding the ocean...I'm pretty sure they'd rather be...you know...ALIVE.

I felt like this book has so much potential. I wanted so much more of the world, and less of the manic obsessions of the unlikable Mary, who I never rooted for. I will NOT continue with the series, which feels strange, as I don't generally begin series that I'm not pretty sure I'm going to finish.