Sandra R Campbell

Now, this was a book I was so looking forward to reading. The Dead Days Journal: volume 1 was a delight to read, what started out as a very believable post-apocalyptic accounting of life after major catastrophic events have decimated the world's population quickly turned into a visual feast of the nastier side of human behaviour and the lengths individuals we think we know will go to.
basic premise is Leo who is a very capable, quick-witted and loyal female, lives in a community started by her father who is a doomsday prepper she's his second in command until the time comes that she disagrees with his orders and with this she becomes enemy number one, I could say much more in more elaborate detail but really don't want to ruin it for others.
we have Leo strong sassy girl,
Ben silent hero totally gaga for our feisty Leo
Jack the shifty friend,
Vincent, Leos very cuckoo & strange father
Lincoln the slightly immature 11-year-old brother
AND WAIT FOR IT (I've saved the best for last )
Orrin AKA Halloween The vampire (yes you heard right Vampire) with claws, fangs and a need for human blood, that for once is not all sparkles, and his bite makes me swoon with the pleasure oh my!!!!
It bloody hurts A LOT!!!! you know razor sharp teeth slicing through the skin would tend to sting a bit I would think.
Leo Makes a deal with her Halloween that with his help they will protect her family from the horde that is attacking them, she will go with him to his island without any resistance.
so Halloween agrees to Leo's deal and prepares to go up against his own kind.
There is so much more to this tale but if you want to know more you are going to have to experience The Dead Days Journal for yourself, go on you definitely won't be disappointed its a great read that kept me thoroughly entertained throughout.
I Received a copy of this E-Book and this is my honest unbiased opinion.

https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/… (altro)

Now, this was a book I was so looking forward to reading. The Dead Days Journal: volume 1 was a delight to read, what started out as a very believable post-apocalyptic accounting of life after major catastrophic events have decimated the world's population quickly turned into a visual feast of the nastier side of human behaviour and the lengths individuals we think we know will go to.
basic premise is Leo who is a very capable, quick-witted and loyal female, lives in a community started by her father who is a doomsday prepper she's his second in command until the time comes that she disagrees with his orders and with this she becomes enemy number one, I could say much more in more elaborate detail but really don't want to ruin it for others.
we have Leo strong sassy girl,
Ben silent hero totally gaga for our feisty Leo
Jack the shifty friend,
Vincent, Leos very cuckoo & strange father
Lincoln the slightly immature 11-year-old brother
AND WAIT FOR IT (I've saved the best for last )
Orrin AKA Halloween The vampire (yes you heard right Vampire) with claws, fangs and a need for human blood, that for once is not all sparkles, and his bite makes me swoon with the pleasure oh my!!!!
It bloody hurts A LOT!!!! you know razor sharp teeth slicing through the skin would tend to sting a bit I would think.
Leo Makes a deal with her Halloween that with his help they will protect her family from the horde that is attacking them, she will go with him to his island without any resistance.
so Halloween agrees to Leo's deal and prepares to go up against his own kind.
There is so much more to this tale but if you want to know more you are going to have to experience The Dead Days Journal for yourself, go on you definitely won't be disappointed its a great read that kept me thoroughly entertained throughout.
I Received a copy of this E-Book and this is my honest unbiased opinion.

https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/… (altro)

The Dead Days Journal is a fast paced story that will intrigue fans of the paranormal and dystopian genre. I initially went into the story not expecting too much, but was pleasantly surprised when I sat down to read the book.

This post-apocalyptic story follows the story of Leo who is daughter of a doomsday prepper. Her, her father and others secure a bunker deep in the mountains in order to survive in the new world. However, when Leo and her father become at odds and terrifying creatures arrive at their camp chaos ensues.

For the most part I enjoyed this story. It was a whirlwind of action and the suspense that built up throughout the story had me on edge. The characters were engaging although I felt they lacked some development as they constantly reverted back to old way. The vampire aspect was eerie and Campbell’s descriptions of these creatures and some of the graphic events sent chills down my spine. The only downside is that sometimes the story tended to veer off course and this led to some confusion.

Be warned that this book is quite graphic at times and there are some trigger warnings for violent scenes that might make some readers uncomfortable. If you enjoy fantasy stories that dabble in the paranormal genre, I recommend this book. The ending left a cliffhanger and I’m curious to see what will happen next.
… (altro)

( I received this book free from the author in exchange for my honest review)

3.5 Stars

I'm on the fence about this one. There are a lot of aspects I liked and a lot I didn't. Though it was an interesting read, I'm not sure if I actually liked or dislike this book. It's hard to put down in words. I believe it's because I went into this book with a different image, (one I gather from the book cover and synopsis), thinking one thing and getting another. In any case it was misleading. (I seem to be getting a lot of those lately)

Despite all that, this read did keep my interest, there never seem to be a dull moment, and the story had a nice flow and steady pace. It wasn't overall fast, but it didn't drag its feet either. You get a great picture of what the compound looks like, and how the survivors live and function as a whole. Everyone has a job, the rules aren't overbearing, and everyone seems pretty content.

The world building in itself was okay, not the best I've seen. If I was to give it a rating, I say it would be slightly above average. There was enough to get your mind going, and there was enough strewed about for your mind to fill in the rest.

I liked Leo, annoying at times, but she got a good head on her shoulders. She's loyal to her family, and will do just about anything to keep them safe, but her main focus was her little brother. If she could, she would give the moon to that little guy and would stop at nothing to see it happen.

I didn't like Ben, (the love interest or whatever he was), as much as I wanted. He was sweet, kind, stupid, and all the other cliché's that go with the hot male lead. But what got me the most, was that he was designed to come off as the strong manly type. But damn, he was a tool. What's the first thing he does? Breaks the one promise that was stated by Leo, which would be a deal breaker. No, means, no. Then what does he do? Goes and tells her father that she wouldn't have sex with him (Even though they did, asshat! Like really, who does that?). And in truth, starts the whole F'en mess that causes the compound everything. I would have kicked him in the teeth.

As I was reading about weird love thing/sup-plot, I got the feeling that Leo never really loved Ben as much as she wanted. It felt forced and, it wasn't heart-string pulling material. She might as well have fallen for a rock. That's about as much feeling I got from them.

Halloween, the vampire/demon/something or other, fancies Leo, for her blood. He's straight up about it as well. I liked him, he had this I-don't-give-no-f*ucks attitude. He told it how it was, and in the world that's gone to shit, you need that. I don't like it when characters hold back their feelings, resulting in misunderstands, which the lead decides to ignore it, making it worst, instead of actually manning (womanning) up. I like brut honesty; it dispels a lot of stupid.

I didn't like the father; he should have been killed off long before he cracked. That was a mess just waiting to happen.

I wish there was more background on how the world ended. Sure there were bits and pieces at the beginning, but I didn't feel satisfied with it. In terms of, world ending scenarios, it was vague, and generic. I felt it was thrown it just to say, hey, hey! We're living like this because mother natural decided to smack the shit out of use for basically killer her for billions of years. And then at the end of the book there's this other vague explanation from Halloween, saying that god was wiping everyone out because of his and hell's mistakes. Cool idea, but again, I felt that it was thrown in there, like it was a last minute idea. I do hope it's elaborated on in volume 2.

In all, I do recommend this book, though I can't quite place myself on the bad or good side of things, it's a fascinating read. There are twist, turns and a very unlikely love. If you want an unusual take on vampires with a forbidden romance feeling, then you’ll love The Dead Days Journal.

I would like to thank [a:Sandra R. Campbell|4527571|Sandra R. Campbell|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1428604780p2/4527571.jpg] for giving me the opportunity to read this twist on the normal dystopian cliché. I am looking forwards to volume 2.

Happy Reading

-Emily… (altro)