Rory, the Sleeper

I don't know what shelves to put this book on, because it's a little bit of everything. I probably should create an urban fantasy shelf, because that suits more than fantasy/paranormal. Anyhow, I liked this book a lot, though it doesn't quite match the first one. Ella is still awesome and I love her. Seth is a great guy and the romance between them is soo good. I also like the fact that the search for how the zombies were first created is the main plot.

Review from my blog: https://athousandworldssite.wordpress.com/
This time around, we zombie-fy Alice in Wonderland. When Ella's best friend Alice is kidnapped by newly turned queen Elizabeth, Ella travels with Seth to the underground hive to rescue her.

I can't really comment on the retelling aspect this time, because I have never read Alice in Wonderland. There are a few specific notes that even I recognized, like croquet, and a few more direct references to the story.

There's also several reveals about the vermin along the way that has Ella wondering if science or magic will explain them.

This series is so much fun. I like the slow revelations concerning the zombies. Even as they're being killed, they're being investigated and studied. I don't usually deal with zombies much in the stuff I read or watch, but I love the way it seems like there's actually going to be an explanation.

Ella and Seth are concerned as much – if not more – about how the vermin/Turned were created and why as they are will actually killing the individuals. It's not just a case of ‘well, we have zombies...somehow' and I really have high hopes for the answers in the finale.

But, for as much as I love that, the characters are what I really adore. Ella is great, she's no meek, timid Cinderella. She's tough, a strong fighter, will defend those she loves at any cost and for all that, she's still very much a person. She gets sad and angry, she worries about romance. She's a person, a teenage girl that was thrown into something she wasn't prepared for and made the best of it she could.

It is so great seeing her and Seth work together, because they are true partners in this. Seth trusts her, relies on her, and even seems to appreciate her strength and abilities. She does the same for him, loving him more for the way he stands beside her, lets her do what she's good at and they both know she can. (Seeing Ella with a flamethrower was priceless!)

This book also deals more with Alice and her boyfriend Frank. I think it was wonderful to see Alice come into her own and, while she's not really a fighter, she has different strengths that she's decided to use. I, much like Ella, don't know if the relationship between Alice and Frank will stand the test it's been put under, but it is nice to see a beta couple instead of a love triangle.