dylan_dr3's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
thegeekyblogger's review
1.0
Listened for Review (Simon & Schuster)
(Finished 4 of 7 disks)
Overall Rating: None (DNF)
Audio Rating: 4.00 (Not part of the overall rating)
Why did I DNF? Red Hill is going to work for other people very well but I was just not connecting with the story (or characters). I felt that I gave Red Hill a pretty good whirl (50%) but at that point I just had to call it a wash. Why didn't I connect with the characters? I felt the adults were a little too cardboard and when they did get emotional it felt forced. I did like the teenage girl but she honestly wasn't enough to stick with it. Why didn't I connect with the story? At 50% they still weren't at Red Hill. I kept thinking at that point the story would start to gel and there would be a connection. However, the story was to disconnected for me and at points a little unbelievable. I did find out the rest of the story from a friend and feel like it wouldn't have been a good fit for me overall. Again I want to state that Red Hill works very well for other people so please read other reviews. You might decide to give it a whirl.
Audio Thoughts:
The narration for Red Hill was phenomenal! I thought that Emma and Zachary did a fantastic job. January didn't do a bad job either but it felt a little "flat"(and honestly it might have been the character not the narrator in this case). I thought they handled their parts well and each brought something different to the plate. Overall I would recommend this on audio if you are going to give it a whirl.
Final Thought: Not every book is for every reader. Please read other reviews to see what other people thought of the story.
(Finished 4 of 7 disks)
Overall Rating: None (DNF)
Audio Rating: 4.00 (Not part of the overall rating)
Why did I DNF? Red Hill is going to work for other people very well but I was just not connecting with the story (or characters). I felt that I gave Red Hill a pretty good whirl (50%) but at that point I just had to call it a wash. Why didn't I connect with the characters? I felt the adults were a little too cardboard and when they did get emotional it felt forced. I did like the teenage girl but she honestly wasn't enough to stick with it. Why didn't I connect with the story? At 50% they still weren't at Red Hill. I kept thinking at that point the story would start to gel and there would be a connection. However, the story was to disconnected for me and at points a little unbelievable. I did find out the rest of the story from a friend and feel like it wouldn't have been a good fit for me overall. Again I want to state that Red Hill works very well for other people so please read other reviews. You might decide to give it a whirl.
Audio Thoughts:
Narrated By Emma Galvin, January LaVoy, Zachary Webber/Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
The narration for Red Hill was phenomenal! I thought that Emma and Zachary did a fantastic job. January didn't do a bad job either but it felt a little "flat"(and honestly it might have been the character not the narrator in this case). I thought they handled their parts well and each brought something different to the plate. Overall I would recommend this on audio if you are going to give it a whirl.
Final Thought: Not every book is for every reader. Please read other reviews to see what other people thought of the story.
lorathelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this, it was my kind of book. I love survival/apocalypse/zombie books and this book was all of that with a tiny bit of New Adult thrown in. I hope McGuire continues to write more along these lines!
hoosgracie's review
3.0
Due to what seems to be Influenza vaccine gone awry, people are dying and coming back. The book is told from three alternating first person points of view - Nathaniel, Miranda, and Scarlett - as they struggle to survive and make it to Red Hill Ranch for sanctuary. Overall, this was quite derivative and there were certain aspects that were not believable (I know, like zombies are believable).
thenerdymom's review against another edition
3.0
Okay. I'm going to be blunt here. I was very disappointed in this book. I told my family and friends when I first started how great it was, I recommended it to everyone and now I'm going back on my word to them. The story had so, so much potential and room to bloom into a crazy finish and then the ending happened.
In this book there are POV from 3 main characters. Scarlet: the nurse who will do anything to make sure her 2 girls find her. Nathan: the man whose wife left him, will do anything to keep his little girl safe and who falls in love with Scarlet. Miranda: the daughter of the doctor who Scarlet is employed by. All these people cross paths throughout the story until they are finally all together mid-book. CRAZY OPPORTUNITY RIGHT HERE JAMIE MCGUIRE. She fell short. WAY too short.
You love all the characters separately for who they are until they are always around each other and there's no imagination for a coherent storyline, so what do we do? We need to the end the book the fastest way we know how: kill almost everyone off within a 2 chapter span and make 2 of the characters fall in love each other in short span of time. WHAT? What really gets me again, is how much potential it had. There could have been amazing plot twists but I guess we will never know, right? It's very sad when an author feels the need to rush an ending just to finish the book. That is what Jamie McGuire did here and once again, I am completely and utterly disappointed with the finale.
In this book there are POV from 3 main characters. Scarlet: the nurse who will do anything to make sure her 2 girls find her. Nathan: the man whose wife left him, will do anything to keep his little girl safe and who falls in love with Scarlet. Miranda: the daughter of the doctor who Scarlet is employed by. All these people cross paths throughout the story until they are finally all together mid-book. CRAZY OPPORTUNITY RIGHT HERE JAMIE MCGUIRE. She fell short. WAY too short.
You love all the characters separately for who they are until they are always around each other and there's no imagination for a coherent storyline, so what do we do? We need to the end the book the fastest way we know how: kill almost everyone off within a 2 chapter span and make 2 of the characters fall in love each other in short span of time. WHAT? What really gets me again, is how much potential it had. There could have been amazing plot twists but I guess we will never know, right? It's very sad when an author feels the need to rush an ending just to finish the book. That is what Jamie McGuire did here and once again, I am completely and utterly disappointed with the finale.
abartley73's review
5.0
I adored this book. Jamie McGuire is definitely my favorite author right now
mehsi's review
2.0
I was looking forward to this book. Quite a few of my friends and also quite a few people from my group were reading it or were looking forward to it.
Sadly, I am disappointed. The first part was absolutely wonderful. Zombies everywhere, survival to get to the house, the fear for zombies, losing people they love, it was great. I loved the zombies, they were scary but also awesome. And I also like the zombies because, unlike quite a few books, these zombies came to be because of a virus, not because some magical thing.
We have 3 POVs. Nathan, who is trying to survive with his daughter. Scarlet, who is also searching for her daughters and Miranda, who was going to visit her dad. Of all of these, I disliked Miranda's POV the most. She was also easily forgettable. For some reason, as soon as her chapter was over and we went to the next person, I forgot all about her and when we got to her again, I often was thinking to myself this: Who is Miranda? Did we have a Miranda? *skips back to a few pages*Oh, there was a Miranda.
Nathan was my favourite, I loved how much he did, how he protected his daughter.
Sadly, around halfway in the book, all the characters of all the POVs are now together in Red Hill Ranch. And that is where the book turns boring. Barely any zombies, and also no more survival or scavenging.
Also the sex between Nathan and Scarlet was really awkward, and then we also had the one time sexual abuse of Elleny, which, frankly, was the point were I said: NO. NOPE, NOPE!, and the part were I just skimmed through the pages to get to the last part. Which also was WTF? I mean, you don't hear about the military for ages (only at the beginning when they shot everyone on sight, no matter if you are healthy or not), and suddenly they decide to bomb stuff and make places of safety.
So yeah it was a shame. A lot was just a bit too convenient. Things were on places you normally don't expect, storage was magically full for years and so on.
In overall, I wouldn't recommend this book. Maybe for the first awesome part, but the rest, no.
Sadly, I am disappointed. The first part was absolutely wonderful. Zombies everywhere, survival to get to the house, the fear for zombies, losing people they love, it was great. I loved the zombies, they were scary but also awesome. And I also like the zombies because, unlike quite a few books, these zombies came to be because of a virus, not because some magical thing.
We have 3 POVs. Nathan, who is trying to survive with his daughter. Scarlet, who is also searching for her daughters and Miranda, who was going to visit her dad. Of all of these, I disliked Miranda's POV the most. She was also easily forgettable. For some reason, as soon as her chapter was over and we went to the next person, I forgot all about her and when we got to her again, I often was thinking to myself this: Who is Miranda? Did we have a Miranda? *skips back to a few pages*Oh, there was a Miranda.
Nathan was my favourite, I loved how much he did, how he protected his daughter.
Sadly, around halfway in the book, all the characters of all the POVs are now together in Red Hill Ranch. And that is where the book turns boring. Barely any zombies, and also no more survival or scavenging.
Also the sex between Nathan and Scarlet was really awkward, and then we also had the one time sexual abuse of Elleny, which, frankly, was the point were I said: NO. NOPE, NOPE!, and the part were I just skimmed through the pages to get to the last part. Which also was WTF? I mean, you don't hear about the military for ages (only at the beginning when they shot everyone on sight, no matter if you are healthy or not), and suddenly they decide to bomb stuff and make places of safety.
So yeah it was a shame. A lot was just a bit too convenient. Things were on places you normally don't expect, storage was magically full for years and so on.
In overall, I wouldn't recommend this book. Maybe for the first awesome part, but the rest, no.