Dead End

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

OMG, I was absolutely fangirling when I spotted this book on Netgalley. Was this the third, and final, book? Would it be finally there? What kind of ending to this series would it bring? What about the immunity thing? Would they find more people with it, what about those who didn't have immunity, is there a cure for them?

Plus, it has been 2 years, would I be able to read it without a hitch? I tried the other books, but found I could remember quite a few things, so I decided to just take the step and head into the third book. Very quickly, just after a few pages, it was as if I had never left. The world totally took me back, back to Necropoxy, to Tripp and Trina. To Diana's plans.

The book starts were we left our group, at the Walmart, just after all the crap happened in the previous book. Tripp and his friends are on for a new mission, one I definitely wasn't approving of, but I could imagine they would go for it. They want to find Diana and tell her to stop hunting them, she has found the cure. But as the kids go on a trip to find Diana, and to keep the adults safe, they find out more than they may ever want to know.

Something we also saw in the previous book, and is even more highlighted in this book, I would say it is one of the main themes. Diana wants to make a perfect world. If you are fat? Asian/African/anything not white? Gay? Handicapped (Mentally or physically)? Old? You are out, you are nothing to her. It was quite saddening to see our characters find that out, to see that while Tripp and Trina would be good for that world, all their friends wouldn't. All the people they love wouldn't. It is just so painful. And it must have hurt so much when those not-good-for-Diana found out. That they were just left for dead. Which made me dislike Diana even more than I already did. She was already a horrible person, a villain, but with this? That woman has no conscience.

Something I will put under spoiler tags. SPOILER ALERT >>> Dorcas is still alive! Yippee! I was so so worried when that happened in the previous book, and so I am happy that all they did was hit a pot of jam (mm!). Of course Dorcas gave those soldiers hell, go go her! <<<END OF SPOILER

There is also tons of romance, between Jimmy and Trina, between Prianka and Tripp. I have to say my favourite coupling is still Prianka and Tripp. Mostly because I still can't totally stand Jimmy all the time. I just loved how these two got closer, and during one moment Tripp realised something very important, which made me so happy.

I also loved seeing Tripp grow to be more mature. He was watching his words, he is being kinder, knowing when to say something and when to just shut his trap.

I loved all the things that happened in this book. The plans to make sure Diana wouldn't be able to do anything any more (in a very surprising way even), Felicia who turns out to be OK in a way (though we could do without the cawing), new characters appear, temples filled with zombies.

The ending? Mm, It is why I didn't give this book a 5 star. It was the plan all along to do it, but then the ending came along and I was just so disappointed. SPOILER ALERT >>> Yes, I could understand that they may not want to have killed her, it would make them as bad as she is, but to just do nothing? To just leave her there? And then there is the whole, what happened to the people in those camps? What about the soldiers? What if Diana makes it out all right and will get back to doing crap? Give us an epilogue! Give us more conclusion! <<<END OF SPOILER

I am sad this series is over, but I am dang happy I read them all. Even with a slight disappointing ending, I still loved the series. I would recommend it if you love character growth, some romance, humour, and zombies. Tons of zombies.

This was a quick, fun read. Nothing like humor mixed into a zombie apocalypse! It includes an unlikely cast, including an autistic child, one guy in a wheelchair, and a talking crow....

I'm going to start by saying that I didn't realize this was part of a series until about halfway through. That being said, I didn't really have any problems picking up on whats going on and I plan on going back to read to the first 2 books in the series. This story is packed for of seriously unique and memorable character. I feel like, as writer, we all try to make our characters standout, and this book delivered that. My favorite was Sanjay, an Indian autistic boy with a knack for magic.

This story kept pulling me through, there really weren't any dull points and I having on read the conclusion, I would recommend this series this series to any Dystopian fan.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bell Bridge Books, and Howard Odentz for the opportunity to read Dead End in exchange for an honest review.

Dead End is the third book in the Dead (a Lot) trilogy, preceded by Dead (a Lot) and Wicked Dead. I didn't realize this was a third book in a series upon requesting; I was going through a "Need more zombie books" phase at the time (2018). Despite not having read the previous novels, I felt like I was really able to dive in and get to know the characters and the world, still gaining great enjoyment from this novel.

In this world, zombies are referred to as poxers, as the virus infecting the world has been come to be known as Necropoxy (a clever name for sure!). In this world, only the most fit will survive (I mean, have you seen the survival rules in Zombieland? It's a fair point). Twins Tripp and Trina are super immune--a bite won't even infect them! Harboring inside of a Walmart with a small group of other survivors, the twins soon encounter a pleasant surprise; a hardy person, thought dead, but actually still alive and ready to continue the poxer fight.

The twins immunity keeps them on the run from both soldiers and scientists alike. Who wouldn't be after the miracle children for a potential cure? They have a choice to make, though. Continue on the run, or confront those who might be able to use them for the betterment of humanity?

I really enjoy the diversity in this novel. Not only ethnicity, but also featuring a character in a wheelchair and a character with Autism (Sanjay, my personal favorite character). The antagonist, Diana, wants to make a "perfect world." Reminiscent of Nazi Germany, she wants the post-poxer world to be what her idea of perfect is, and the views are extremely racist, ableist, and has a preferred body image as well. Odentz does a great job in sharing this negative vision and demonstrating the beauty of diversity through his characters and their quest.

I really got into this book, and knowing the end just wants me to read the first two even more! A strongly recommended zombie series filled with science and worldly lessons.