Title: The First Days (As the World Dies #1)

Author: Rhiannon Frater

Publisher: Tor Books 2011

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 335

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Zombie; Mount TBR; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: I won it

The morning that the world ends, Katie is getting ready for court and housewife Jenni is taking care of her family. Less than two hours later, they are fleeing for their lives from a zombie horde.Thrown together by circumstance, Jenni and Katie become a powerful zombie-killing partnership, mowing down zombies as they rescue Jenni’s stepson, Jason, from an infected campground.They find sanctuary in a tiny, roughly fortified Texas town.  There Jenni and Katie find they are both attracted to Travis, leader of the survivors; and the refugees must slaughter people they know, who have returned in zombie form.

Oh My!  What a zombie novel!  We are immediately thrown into the action.  The first scene is utterly horrifying.  I was terrified at what would come next.  The book starts in action and just never stops.  Right away I latched onto Katie as my identifiable character.  She is strong and yet has a vulnerable spot.  I loved the chapters told from her perspective.  Jenni was a bit crazy or as Juan would say loca.  I just never completely came around to her.  But I understand that her background as a battered woman defines her current relationships with others in the fort.  The other inhabitants are just as interesting and engaging.  The novel has just the right amount of gore and suspense and then quiet moments between survivors.  I am so glad that Rhiannon Frater was encouraged to publish the book.  I can't wait to dive right into the next installment...

As the World Dies

• #1 The First Days
• #2 Fighting to Survive
• #3 Siege
• #4 Untold Tales Volume 1
• #5 Untold Tales Volume 2
• #6 Untold Tales Volume 3
• #6.5 Deadly Night: Jenni and Katie's Untold Tale