Sunday, January 24, 2016

Review Tour and Giveaway: The Girl's Guide to the Apocalypse by Daphne Lamb

Book Blurb:

Welcome to the Apocalypse. Your forecast includes acid rain, roving gangs and misplaced priorities, in this comedic take on the end of the world as we know it, from debut author Daphne Lamb. As a self-entitled, self-involved, and ill equipped millennial, Verdell probably wouldn't have ranked very high on the list of those most likely to survive the end of the world, but here she is anyway. Add in travelling with her work addicted boss, her boyfriend who she has "meh" feelings for, and a handful of others who had no businesses surviving as long as they have, and things aren't exactly going as planned. But despite threats of cannibalism, infected water supplies, and possibly even mutants, Verdell is willing to put in as little effort as she can get away with to survive.

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My Review:

4 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Dystopian, Hysterical, Survival--

Verdell finds herself stuck at her office building surrounded by her coworkers when the world goes to Hell. After hiding out for a month living off vending machine food, Verdell finds herself “rescued”. This leads to many misadventures as Verdell tries to survive the apocalypse with her wits and a very odd group of people.

Oh my freaking jeez, this book is right up my alley. It has the horrors and trials associated with the end of the world, while mixing in humor, snark and utter ridiculousness. I absolutely loved the book. That being said, it may not be for everyone. If you want a real survival dystopian, maybe don’t read this book (even though I loved it). If you want a humorous fiction, this may not be the best choice since there are some horrible things happening. If you want a story that combines pretty much everything and is unlike anything you have read before, pick it up.

I was surprised by the mayhem that occurred in the pages, be it a virus outbreak, cannibals, broken down government, prejudice, strange relationships, utter lack of denial, employee-employer relationships, bartering with lipstick, theater, death and mutilation, ect… There were so many topics and mishaps that I was sucked right into the plot because I honestly had no idea what would happen next and I couldn’t wait to find out. I found myself continually laughing at Verdell’s sarcasm that went over most people’s heads or just the craziness that was going on. This was a very fast read full of awful adventure and humor and I would love some more.

Verdell was a really fun character. She struggled with her own selfish need to survive, her innate sarcasm, and her realistic approach to the situation that pretty much nobody else had. I think she was the only character that was aware that other people suffered too (or existed in general). I will say that she has the worst taste in men, as seen by her two exs, but I enjoyed her mishaps and honesty. She was aware nobody was perfect and was willing to settle with mediocre. Her reputation at the end was hysterical, as was the conquests of Batman (don't ask).

The random people she met along the way were probably my favorite part of the story. The best is her boss Robert and his risk management assessment book. He acts like she is still his employee and should take care of office building concerns for him while trying to hide from cannibals with a dead person as he gives her management quotes from his beloved book. Ridiculous, right? It really did fill me with happiness (which may say something about me, but whatever). I’m in a meeting! There is her current boyfriend Bruce that she feels meh about, who is obsessed with his acting career and networking. Debra, an executive she use to work with who is more concerned with avoiding carbs and looking sharp than silly things like people and feelings. (What would we do without Twitter?) Don’t forget the theater critic who acts out scenes from the television show Friends and assess back fat while eating questionable foods. There are so many other random quirky, denial filled people along the way that Verdell has to deal with, this is just a few of my favorites.

This was the first book I have read by this author and it won’t be my last. There were so many moments where I thought WTF to myself but then brushed off my confusion at the over the top insanity I read and kept going. I can say that I was not expecting to read anything like this when I picked this book up, but I am glad at what I got.

I received this title from the author and Xpresso Reads in return for my honest review.

Author Bio:

Daphne Lamb was raised in the wilds of Colorado and now resides in a very different wilderness known as Los Angeles. She is a comedian and award winning writer who has worked in television, film and video games. In her spare time, she enjoys collecting comic books, discussing awesomely bad movies and thinks about what it would be like to own a cat.

She loves connecting to fans and readers, so feel free to connect!

You can find her on Facebook, Twitter and her website

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Tour provided by Xpresso Book Tours

3 comments:

  1. This sounds very unique and different and I normally love those kinds of books! Great review, Katherine! :)

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  2. I am a big Walking Dead fan, and do believe that there will come a day when SHTF. Who knows where you will be. It looks like a great read!

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  3. I am a big Walking Dead fan, and do believe that there will come a day when SHTF. Who knows where you will be. It looks like a great read!

    ReplyDelete