The Harvesting, The Harvesting #1 by Melanie Karsak has a “badass” cover.

After my review, be sure and check out the cover reveal for Book II, The Shadow Aspect and enter the giveaway for a signed copy of this book, the Harvesting.

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MY REVIEW

The Harvesting by Melanie Karsak is an apocalyptic, dystopian, paranormal novel that will have you dodging the undead while trying to survive. The characters will have to avoid the zombies as they search for life’s necessities, such as food and clothing. I love it when a book hooks me from the very beginning and The Harvesting did just that. I read the novel from cover to cover in less than five hours and hated to see it end.

Layla works at the Smithsonian. She received a grant and is able to share her love of fencing, along with teaching about ancient weapons and how to use them. She is a warrior and will need all her skills to survive. I liked Melanie’s description of her – a cross between Mad Max and an Eskimo.

I fell in love with her psychic grandma. A tough old bird that knows bad times are coming. I am sad, yet I smile right along with grandma.

Grandma calls Layla home. Layla knew it had to be bad, so she dropped everything and raced to Hamletville. The name alone gives me a spooky and unpleasant feeling.

“Harvesting Grandma?”

“Oh yes, it is definitely harvesting season.”

Layla and her grandma stocked up on food, weapons and other emergency supplies, as if to hunker down for a war. I can see Gram with a Colt 9mm submachine gun blasting away at anything that threatened her  or hers.

Oh man, I knew it was gonna be bad, but when grandma disappeared my heart fell. Melanie where did you come up with that awful gruesome idea?

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Yeah right. You would need to kick ass and take names, if you wanted to be around tomorrow. It is the Wild West and the enemy is you and yours. Imagine having to kill your undead husband, wife, child, friend……

The zombies are just what you think they would be and the fight is a gruesome and savage slaughter. The walking dead will not stop, until you stop them. Whether you tear their heads off or rip them apart limb by limb, you must make sure they cannot get up again. Blood, guts and body parts fly.

The Harvesting has everything you could want in a zombie apocalypse novel. Melanie includes a surprise or two that made me cringe and my mouth drop open. What? I wonder how she came up with that? I fear for Layla and what may befall her.

The combination of zombies, the apocalypse and the paranormal creates a story that left me wanting more. It is after the apocalypse, now what?

  5 Stars

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Click on the cover below to get your copy of The Harvesting by Melanie Karsak.