Wisteria is a story about the world ending, at least how the remaining survivors of a virus which has people rising from the dead and needing to feed on the flesh of live humans. Yes, sounds like another zombie book, but it is not, it is a story from the perspective of two young people from different worlds, literally, who are not only on their own journey to finding themselves, but also trying to live in a world where the rules just do not seem to fit them, no matter how hard they try.

The opening of this book is wonderfully balanced with the realities of a coming to age story in this mad mad world full of “biters” and desolation. Where the only safe haven is behind walls and being protected by a crazy ass militia leader who is not all he seems to be, in fact no one is. But all Wisteria is concerned with is showing she can be as strong and perfect as her mother when it comes to patrolling the surrounding town for biters and curing those they found. Yep, they have found a cure, but it isn’t bringing anyone back from the dead, just giving everyone some peace of mind.

It was a great introduction to this teenage girl. She is smart, resourceful and has a bitch for a mom. Who can blame the mom, she made it across the big isle of UK with her family intact and into a safe haven. This small isle where the struggle is not so much the biters, but keeping the culture and society from collapsing in on itself. Curious though, they are able to maintain many health and medical related issues at bay, seems a lot of pharmaceutical researchers and other forms of doctors found their way to this little safe haven too, how convenient huh?

The best thing about Wisteria though? The author is following the new trend of constructing a heroine who is not the perfect curb-stomping zombie killer with brains, perfect marksmanship a great rack and a nice tight ass. Wisteria apparently is short, over weight or at least stocky and is teased about her huge crush on the most popular boy in the safe zone. She is a scapegoat and her day to day existence is just being herself and making it through so she can be something other than a rat catcher. Oh don’t get me wrong, she is very smart, and much more mature than most of her fellow teens, in fact she stands out from the crowd. I love her to pieces! And she rocks the red dress!

Bach is another teenager, but his issues seem to be getting back home and being bored with the world around him. Trying not to be so disgusted and angry. Apparently the Terran’s errrr human’s are responsible for the loss of his mother. He has such a disdain for humans he chose earth at this time in it’s history so he can watch it die from the infection. This is his own coming of age journey. oh wait, apparently Bach is from another planet or dimensional plane of existence So technically he is an alien, but not a little green one, more like the shmexy cute alien boys from Rosewell. He has his own little entourage of family to go along with him. He has all sorts of tricks up his sleeves and upon spying Wisteria almost get taken out by a horde of unexpected biters while trying to keep the mean girls from being ate (at least one did get ate) he ends up whisking her of to his own personal Tower of London, but not to take off her head… well not literally (spoilers, Sweetie).

Do I have you sufficiently confused? Perhaps intrigued I hope so. There are a lot of great things in this book, so much more than zombies and a struggle for survival. At it’s base core it is about star-crossed lovers, literally and the supporting characters roles. It is about secrets of B.I. (before infection) carrying over and still have a great and important impact on the emerging and struggling A.B.I.society. Many of the questions of what and how we adapt in such a world are addressed, but not in a traditional manner. Ms. Leyton brings to Wisteria a mixture of science fiction, fantasy, dystopic world with a twist to the paranormal romance angle! It is a YA book but as I mentioned yesterday, it is for a mature YA reader. In her interview the author addresses her stand on violence in YA novels. I concur with what she had to say, even if she does drink Coke. ( )

Wisteria is lucky really. In a time when a plague has ravaged the planet, she has managed to find a relatively safe place to live. True, she has to go out and track the zombie-like biters, but she has managed to make a relatively good life with her family. Things change one day though as she is trying to safe some people her age from biters. She is almost taken by them, but then she is rescued by a mysterious young man named Bach. Suddenly Wisteria's life is taking an interesting turn, and things will never be the same.

This book was like a zombie story and fantasy story all in one. It was very unique and original, and I loved that. Initially I felt a little thrown into the story, especially when Bach was introduced. I think it would have helped if I had read the glossary of terms at the beginning though. I just wanted to get into the story though! I did like Wisteria. She never tried too hard, but she was also very good-natured. I think she'd be someone I'd be friends with.

So the zombie-like Nero disease was pretty scary, but it was only one aspect of the book. The other involved Bach and his group of other-wordly beings. This for me was a slightly harder storyline to follow because it involved a lot of more intricate in-fighting. Also, you don't get some key parts of this story until later, so you may be confused for a bit. Don't let this get in the way of enjoying the story though. It manages to be creepy and entertaining all at once. The end will also leave you hanging. I am interested to see what happens next!

Book provided for review. ( )

This book is classified as Young Adult Paranormal Romance, and although it fits the bill, the story itself pulls from a wider set of norms. In fact, the novel has many elements of the horror and the sci-fi genre. To begin with, the story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where a scientifically created virus has turned most of humanity into flesh –and brain– eating zombies. Sprinkle the mix with a healthy dose of mostly older sexy teenage aliens and inter-dimensional traveling and you have the recipe for great entertainment.

We follow Wisteria and Bach as they go back and forth between regular teenage problems –such as love, high school, mean girls, the outcast, family expectations vs. their own desires, etc. – and the more serious, much more pressing (and oftentimes depressing) matters of living in a zombie infested post-apocalyptic era. Wisteria is a strong minded teenage girl that has seen the worst of what humanity can offer. She believes in always being ready and never being a victim. For me, both qualities are huge pluses to have in a female lead; it just makes you love her and root for her even when she is being idiotic. This, coupled with her flaws, makes Wisteria a more believable and interesting character. On the other hand we have Bach, a conflicted, angsty, moody, and most times a downright jackass alien boy whom you’ll probably develop a love-hate relationship with his decisions. Throughout the tale he battles with his personal demons and his desire to possess and love Wisteria. As I was reading the book, half the time I was waiting for the plot to finally get them together, and the other half I just wanted to smack Bach hard enough to shake him.

I ask to review this book from the Innovative Online Book Tours’ tour catalogue and I can’t be happier that I did. I really enjoyed this story, and I’m looking forward to see how the series, as well as the author, grow and develop. If you enjoy reading YA books within the Paranormal genre or you just like your books with a good pace but very little to no smexiness, then you might want to give Wisteria a try. ( )

Actual rating: 3.5

(This review was originally posted at My Library in the Making.)

It might have been another case of my skim-through-the-blurb disease, but I honestly did not know what I was getting myself into when I opened Wisteria. Now, I can say that I am pleasantly surprised.

Right off the bat, we learn about the danger of Wisteria's world that is crawling with flesh eaters, but she chose to be useful to her community instead of keeping herself safe inside the Isle of Smythe, and I really admired her for that. Because of her job as a tracker, she was deadly with a gun—she had a sword, too, but she kept it as a last resort—making her a badass. But even with the undead, she also had to face the usual teenage problems: unrequited love, mean girls, and insecurities. These just served to endear her even more.

The pace is quite slow at first, but it picks up when Wisteria gets into danger and is saved by Bach, a gorgeous boy who feels an eerie sense of familiarity to Wisteria the moment he sees her. Coming from a race that is somehow immune to the flesh eaters and looks down on humans, he tries to keep Wisteria at a distance, but his concern for her often gets past his cold exterior.

There are many layers to this story, from the flesh eaters to cannibals, secrets and betrayals, surprises and revelations, all happening in an excellently fleshed-out (no pun intended) post-apocalyptic world. I never found it hard to imagine or understand what was going on where and when, so there was no hindrance to the action and suspense that filled the story.

Although Wisteria's intermittent naivete and Bach's indecision irritated me, I think it just added to their roundedness as characters, making them as real as possible. And right after that big reveal as to their history, I just stormed through the pages until I got to that satisfying last one. Still, a lot of issues are left unsolved for the next book, which goes straight to my TBR list!

MY FAVORITE PART was, well, the ending XD ( )

Leyton creates a world destroyed by Nero Disease, which turns individuals into flesh eaters (more commonly known in the world of fiction as a zombie). The world she creates shows most humans as only caring about their own safety and survival. Of course, Wisteria is different than most individuals. She is a caring teenager who risks her life multiple times throughout the story to save others from flesh eaters. Wisteria, her mother and brother live on the Smythe Island, a small community of survivors. The leader of the community is Major Coles. He has created an orderly community in which all residents must pull their weight or be exiled beyond the walls of the island. Throughout the book, Wisteria, is exposed to cannibalism, human trafficking, and bullying. Yes…teenagers will be teenagers no matter the circumstances surrounding them. In times of survival, humans will do unspeakable things to ensure their own safety. I must say, Wisteria is a very resilient young woman.
Wisteria is herself saved by a mysterious teenager, Bach. He takes her back to his apartment where he and two friends live. He is not human and not from this realm. He and his people view Terrans (humans) as animals. Bach is only here to witness the death of Terra (earth). Soon, Bach realizes Wisteria is a girl from his past. However, she doesn’t remember him. This is where the book starts to really become interesting. How does he know Wisteria? Why doesn’t she remember him? Why are they drawn to each other? Then, they are attacked by a group known as Red Phoenix. Who is Red Phoenix? After the attack, Wisteria returns to Smythe Island with Bach. Finally, both of them realize they love each other. However, Bach knows they cannot be together as it is forbidden for his people to be with a Terran. If they continue their relationship, he is placing Wisteria in grave harm. The ending climax reveals so much. Bach learns of a heartbreaking betrayal and Wisteria begins to learn a lot about her parent’s involvement with Red Phoenix. Is Red Phoenix responsible for the Nero outbreak? How is Bach’s people involved with the outbreak? I’ve a ton of questions I’m sure will be answered in the next book or books. I must say this is a great start to a new series. My only constructive criticism of the book is the need for more editing. I rated the Wisteria 3 STARS! ( )