Author: Daryl Banner
Release Date: July 29, 2013
Genre: Post Apocalyptic Zombie
Blurb:
She’s dead.
In fact, the whole world’s dead. Every single person, apparently. Unburied and reimagined into a beautiful living-dead woman called Winter, she is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in a quaint, peaceful city with no hunger, no sickness and no bills to pay. Her Second Life is perfect in every way possible.
So why is she so bent on destroying it all?
After angering the mayor, befriending rebel headless teenagers and igniting romance with a dark and brooding neighbor, she finds herself wrestling madly with a First Life she cannot remember and this Second Life she cannot accept. Not to mention the maniacal army of rotting corpses who want her dead. Again. But none of that matters in comparison to an even worse problem. There’s a guest in her house. A rude, good-looking man on the run ... a man with a heartbeat.
Excerpt:
“You're all dead,” I whisper, like I'm just now discovering this.
“Undead. Every last one of us,” she agrees. “I doubt there’s a Living left in the world.”
Looking at each of them, it’s dawning on me what world I’ve been brought into. A dead world. Ageless. No one breathes here or ever will again. Souls being fetched from soil and made up into fake-alive people, like me. A world full of … silent chests.
“Now,” she says, gripping my foot tight, “hold still while I make you a new pinkie toe.”
I don’t remember what else she or the Roxie girl or the twelve-year-old do to me. I don’t remember having my right ear reshaped, or my nose reset, or color fused into my lips by some weird kind of gun-shaped mechanism. Even though Helena claims otherwise, I don’t remember choosing Icecap Blue for my eyes.
“And now, girl, meet Winter!” Helena’s guided me over to the first mirror I’ve seen since my Raising. The maybe-twenty-year-old face in the mirror is one I should probably recognize since it’s my own, but I don’t. She has eyes like arctic pools. Hair that falls like a soft mist, veiling half her face. Her skin is a sea of satin. Her nails are little polished glass shards. Her lips, a subtle pink, with cheeks gently blushed the same. The person in the mirror is a person I do not know.
“What do you think?” the large woman asks me, obviously proud of her work. “Can you live with this?”
My left hand falls off.
“Roxie!” the large woman yelps. “Adhesive, honey! Proper, level-four-grade adhesive!—I do swear!”
A lot of shuffling, a slight shove from my left side, and I’m whole again. I wiggle my fingers and they seem to work. For how long, who knows.
“Should we try another blush?—another eye color?” the large-in-charge offers sweetly. “We have enough time before our next appointment.”
“This is fine,” I say, defeated somehow. “Icecap Blue is fine. My name is fine. Whatever.”
Winter. I didn’t even choose my own name.
Platypires' Reviews for The Beautiful Dead
J. Hooligan's Review
To start off, I was iffy about reading this book and joining the book tour. I know the author lives near me, and we will be going to the same events in the Houston area and didn't want to make things awkward.
Starting the book, I was wary. But I had been bossed by a good friend and fellow blogger (I feel the need, the need to read), so I had to give into her whims. I have one thing to say to you, Angela Pratt, THANK YOU!
Holy fluff balls! This book - just wow. It has been a while since I put off reading the end of a book because I wasn't ready for it to end. I absolutely loved the world Daryl created, including the characters involved.
Although it does end with no need for a second book, I still really want one. This is one of the most original books I've read, and it was like a breath of fresh air getting to experience it.
If there was a way for me to somehow experience reading this book again for the first time, I would take it. That is something I almost never say. I have reread very few books, but this is one I will want to read over and over.
I am pretty sure I laughed for the entire first 20% of the book, non stop. (Which is apparently frowned upon if it is way past bed time and your husband has to wake up early the next morning)
I will be bossing lots of people to at least give it a look see.
Bob's Review
I wasn't sure about this book at first, since I didn't even read the synopsis. I wanted to read and review it because EVERYONE I know who has read it, loved it. They did NOT steer me wrong! I'm a huge fan of post-apoc and zombies in general, and this is a whole new take on both.
I loved the characters, even the ones we're supposed to hate! The little twists and turns thrown in kept my interest so much that I hadn't realized how much I had already read until I paused to look, and found that I was 82% in. I started reading slower, because I wasn't ready for it to end!
This story was so well put together and written, the characters so easy to connect to and understand, I didn't put it down until I was finished. Then, I immediately came to Amazon to buy the second one.
I highly recommend this to anyone who likes this sort of genre, and any who are adventurous and willing to try something new! This was my first book by this author, and it most certainly will not be my last!
Bob says: 5 Platypires/Stars!!!
Sofia's Review
I would recommend this book to fans of the zombie genre and those looking for something different to read.
The Beautiful Dead Series
Available now!
Blurb:
No one said being an Undead is easy.
Winter’s Second Life became a lot more complicated when the Living moved into her hometown of Trenton. Undead neighbors fight with their Breathing ones. Food is sparse. And, worst of all, the season is taking a change for the colder.
A desperate plea for help to a neighboring city turns deadly and soon Winter finds herself facing an old friend from her past whose plot to annihilate all life on the planet may have everything to do with her.
And what about the man-with-the-heartbeat in her house? Is there even room for love in such a ruined, unforgiving world?
New friends are made. Others are lost forever. In the dead of winter, no one is safe.
Coming April 24th!
Blurb:
Twelve years have passed since the devastation.
The world is changed. What once was a planet struggling to survive is now a planet bursting to life. The humans are thriving. Gardens are growing. Trees are reaching up to the sky and the Undeadly clutch on the planet is slowly letting go.
But what does that mean for Winter and her friends?
In the wake of spring, the last of the desperate Undead gather, fighting to maintain their place in a world that no longer wants them. Mother Nature slowly but certainly works to purge the planet of the Dead, just when Winter thought she had finally embraced this Second Life.
Her new friends are back and old nemeses return for the final chapter in Winter's Undead journey.
About the Author:
Interesting tidbits: Daryl is also an obsessive piano player, video game enthusiast, and occasional actor. He's been remixing video game music for over fifteen years, and is a passionate Final Fantasy fan. You can feed your ears with many of his remixes (as well as his original music) on his YouTube page "www.youtube.com/DarylBanner". Also, he personally answers all emails he receives, so if you have some strange desire to write him, he may enjoy it. He currently resides in Texas.