REVIEW: THE CELLAR A.J.Whitten

 

                                                                



 When I saw this book  on NET GALLEY I was really excited. Romeo & Juliet with zombies? Fun! Though the play is a part of the story It is more about the relationship between two sisters: Heather and Meridith. these two sisters are living with their Aunt after a family tragedy. The narrative shifts from Meridith to Heather throughout the book. The girls mother deals with her grief through retail therapy, her sister Heather moves through her days depressed and withdrawn and Meridith tries to hold the family together at the sacrifice of her own peace of mind.  Then there comes the boy next door. In the dead of night a mysterious Mother and Son move into a dilapidated home. When Heather first meets Adrien she melts.Her hardness and guilt about the past fall from her and she finds interest in life again. For Meridith her first meeting with Adrien is a different story. She feels immediate revulsion for him. His dark eyeglasses do little to conceal the monster she senses in him. As Heather and everyone around Meredith seem to fall prey to Adrien's spell , she has to fight to save herself and Heather from a horrible fate. Though the book is YA and has a youthful romance it also has a tremendous amount of horror elements in it. Adrien's nature is quickly introduced to the reader. He is a zombie. He and his Maker Marie have been together for close to a hundred years. They move from town to town feeding on the flesh of innocent victims. The writing team of A. J. Whitten really capture the creepiness of Adrien and you really become worried for the safety of the girls. Adrien is surrounded by creepy crawlies! Insects obey his command and a pack of hungry hyenas follow him waiting for the scraps from their meals.  there is also a tug of war in power between him and Marie. Charged to get a young female body to replace Marie's current decomposing one, Adrien's feelings towards Heather cause him to attempt a break from Marie and to form a new Undead partnership with Heather. Their are many cringe worthy scenes in the beginning and middle of the book. Towards the end though things seemed to slow down a little before the climax. Overall though this book was very creepy and I enjoyed the addition of a little YA romance with the horror.  

 Thanks to NetGalley for the e-Arc of the book. look for it to be released 5/11 visit http://www.ajwhitten.com/ for more info on the Authors.