Book Review- Steampunk

Title: Steampunk!

 Author: Various

Series:  N/A

Published:  11 October 2011 by Walker

Length: 432 pages

Source: Library

Summary : Imagine an alternate universe where romance and technology reign. Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and re-craft a world of automatons, clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that never were. Here, fourteen masters of speculative fiction, including two graphic storytellers, embrace the steampunk genre's established themes and refashion them in surprising ways and settings as diverse as Appalachia, Ancient Rome, future Australia, and alternate California. The result is an anthology that defies its genre even as it defines it.

Review: As always with anthologies, I’ll give each story its own rating, and the book’s rating will be the average.

When I first heard about this, I knew I wanted to read this. Steampunk is a rising genre that I can’t get enough of. Seeing familiar and new authors tackle it should be good. And then we’re told that the authors weren’t allowed to set it in Victorian London. Very nice idea.

Some Future Day by Cassandra Clare. This follows Rose, her dolls, and wounded soldier Jonah. It’s a nice little love story with a bit of timetravel included. It#s pretty, but short andnot enough happens to make me care. 3

The Last Ride of the Glory Girls by Libba Bray. Focuses arond a gang and a big religious system. Like all of Libba’s stuff, I just coldn’t get into it. But the religion was nicely fleshed out and it’s a good read for fans. 2

Clockwork Fagin by Cory Doctrow. Canadian steampunk! Win! Crippled children murder their evil overseer and build themselves a clockwork replacement. I love Monty and Sian. Great idea, good writing and characterisation for such a short story. 5

Seven Days Beset by Demons by Shawn Cheng. A week in the life of an inventor where he is visited by all seven deadly sins. I really nice graphic novel that puts across all the emotion of this inventor. 4.

Hand in Glove by Ysabeau S Wilce. A girl leads a murder investigation in which the murders are seemingly commited by the dead... I enjoyed this one. It’s a good story but the names were really awkward and annoying. 4

The Ghost of Chimlech Manor by Delia Sherman. What it says on the tin. It’s a nice story, but really long winded. 3.

Gethsemane by Elizabeth Knox. Another longwinded story centred around a witch. Good characterisation but I got a bit bored. 3

 The Summer People by Kelly Link. Fairy tale meets modern day America. Slow start but not much happened. And who names their child Fran in this day and age? 2

Peace in our Time by Garth Nix. This was really confusing, but I liked the characters. There was something about a war but I don’t really know where it was all going. 3

Nowhere Fast by Christopher Rowe. Future! I’m not sure what was meant to be happening. I liked Luz and Fizz and the really cool horses at the end, but aside from that it wasn’t one for me. 3

Finishing School by Kathleen Jennings. The other graphic short. Gwen and Cecile, both outcasts,  make friends and build things. a really cute story with clear friendship and a good conclusion. 5

Steam Girl by Dylan Horrocks. Boy meets weird girl at school who tells him stories of adventures as Steam Girl, travlling round planets. I really liked our two main characters, who have a lot of background to them. The plot is slow and steady. 5

Everything Amiable and Obliging by Holly Black. Automatons! Yay! Sofie has been asked to talk to Amelie about her love. Because said love is not human. Very nice story with good characters  and steampunky feelings prevalent. 4

The Oracle Engine by M T Anderson- Ancient Roman Steampunk- all the awards! The tale of Crassus with a really original twist. Great setting and device, with happily gory end. 5

Overall:  I’d like to hunt down more from M T Anderson. Dylan Horrocks and Cory Doctrow. Strength 3.6 tea rounded up to 4.

Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads | 

Book Review- City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Bones

 Author: Cassandra Clare

Series:  The Mortal Instruments

Published:  2 July 2007 by Walker (Margaret McEldery books too)

Length: 442 pages

Warnings:  13+

Source: the library

Other info: The rest of the series are: City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls.  Victorian spin-off The Infernal Devices are called Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess. Another series set in LA 2013 will be published some day. A film of City of Bones has been cast.  

Summary : When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . . 

Review: You probably know the whole story anyway, but for the sake of consistency with my other reviews, I’ll recount it here it’s a normal night at Pandemonium Nightclub when Clary Fray and Simon go. But Clary starts seeing things-a boy with a knife that no one else seems to be able to see. She walks in on him,and two others, killing someone. And from there, she is pulled into the world of the Shadowhunters, demon hunters that have been in existence for many years. As well as handling this, and dealing with the disappearance of her mother, she learns a lot about lots of different thngs. For example, that a war may be on the verge of breaking out. And that her family is totally different from what she thought it was.

I read the first three in this series a long time ago, but never really getting into it. Then I started blogging. Then there was a huge hype over City of Fallen Angels and Lost Souls. And I really enjoyed the steampunk version...so I had another go with The Mortal Instruments...and I’m really glad I did.

The world is one of the best things about City of Bones. It takes into account lots of mythological creatures and works them in small degrees-I’d definitely like to see more of these obscure paranormal entities.  

The Shadowhunter world is full of likable characters. And unlikable ones. Most of these are built up in such a way that we know enough for one book, but there’s still things that can be found out later on in the series.

As with The Infernal Devices, my favourite character is Magnus Bane. He’s cocky, clever, wears glitter makeup, and holds parties for his cat. That last thing makes him, by default, awesome. Then there’s Simon, who’s really cute. Jace, Clary, Alec and Isabelle were interesting, but I didn’t really care much for them in the  present day. Backgrounds for all four of them though should definitely be explored further on in the series. And the MagnusxAlec hintings. Yay! They’d make such a cute couple...

Plotwise, there’s a lot of aspects. The race to find the Mortal Cup and Simon and Clary’s introductions to the paranormal world combined makes for a lot of exciting things. like Simon transformation- the set up to which made me laugh. Throughout, something is happening-you’ll learn something, something’ll happen which needs to be acted on, or there’s some other big hook.

Cassandra writes with a nice balance of description, action and sark. All characters are distinctive by mannerism and dialogue, and  there’s something about it that keeps you reading. You definitely need a whole day to get through this.

The Jace and Clary romance. It was going so well and seeing them all loved up was really nice. And then the big reveal. Yes, it was a good plot furtherer. But it made everything really really awkward. Incest...not really my thing. It didn’t detract from my enjoyment, but it just made me a bit uneasy about everything that happens between them.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a series I can’t wait to get back in to.

Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review-Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Title:Clockwork Prince

 Author: Cassandra Clare

Series:  The Infernal Devices #2

Published:  6 December 2011 by Walker

Length:496 pages

Warnings: 13+

Source: library

Other info: This is book two. The first, Clockwork Angel, was reviewed here. The Infernal Devices is a prequel series to The Mortal Instruments.

Summary : Love and lies can corrupt even the purest heart... In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, while her desire for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will – the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do? As their dangerous search for the truth leads the three friends into peril, Tessa's heart is ever more torn, especially when one of their own betrays them... 

Review: We’re back in Victorian London with Tess, Jem, and Will. They’re still on the lookout for the Magister, and brother Nate. On another count, we get Jem and Will opening up a huge amount to Tess, meaning she’s caught in an epic love triangle. There’s also someone betraying all of the Institute’s secrets, and things just go from there.

I’m really getting into Cassandra Clare’s writing. Having enjoyed both the  books in the Infernal Devices series, I really want to go back to The Mortal Instruments and get more of this world that works well in Victorian London.

It’s nice how accurate the London that Cassandra made is, with all her alterations stated in an author’s note.

The love triangle actually works well in Clockwork Prince. And it is actually a triangle, with both boys loving and being loved by Tess in a romantic way, and they love each other in a strong platonic way. The parabatai idea is really nice, generally interesting, and adds a lot to Jem, Will, and the way we see them.

I really liked the fact we learn a lot about will, both character and background wise. He’s still a bit annoying and cocky, but a little less so. And we get reasons, so  we can just about excuse him.

My favourite character is Magnus. He’s funny, interesting, and different in a way that not many immortal characters aren’t. You also get a lot of character development, and a full likable cast-with the exception of a couple of characters.

I enjoyed the recurrent use of poetry at the start of each chapter and at random points during the novel. It broke up the really long chapters and blocks of text, and added a little extra interest. I also really loved The Demon Pox Song.

 Overall:  Strength 5 tea to a series and author that’s really growing on me.

Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review- Teeth-Vampire Tales. Anthology

Title: Teeth-Vampire Tales

 Author: Anthology. Edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Series: N/A

Published:  April 5 2011

Length: 452 pages

Warnings: vampires, drugs and sex references, profanity, sexual situations,  

Source: Library

Summary : Sink your teeth into these bite-sized tales exploring the intersections among the living, dead, and undead. Features stories by Neil Gaiman, Melissa Marr, Cassandra Clare, Garth Nix, and many more.

Review:  Teeth is an anthology of nineteen stories of varying lengths, all about vampires. As this is an anthology, it will be reviewed story by story, with the title, author, thoughts and strength tea in numbers. The tea strength for the entire book will be the average strength per story.

1. Things to Know About Being Dead by Genevieve Valentine is written as a list, interspersed with relevant stories, that link with both the list and each other. It's written from the perspective of a girl who died and came back, with nice characters and good flow. 4

2. All Smiles by Steve Berman. Saul goes hitchhiking and is picked up by a couple of vampires. It then turns into action, and Saul's realisation that everyone else knew about the vampires, just not him. I like the fast pace, even though at times it got a little confusing. 4

3. Gap Year by Christopher Barzak. Retta and Lottie have a nice little friendship. Then the vampires come to town and Retta and Lottie's friendship breaks up slowly. The character development in this is very good, but this really isn't my type of vampire book.  2

5. Bloody Sunrise by Neil Gaiman. It's a short poem written from the vampire's point of view, about how it rises, goes along life and is bound by a bloody sunrise. It's a pretty little poem, though it doesn't seem to make a point.

5. Flying by Delia Sherman. Lenka is getting over leukaemia, and wants to get back into circus work, like she did before. She then joins a circus of vampires. This is a very nice idea, with a fair amount of character development, but no real conclusion to it. 3

6. Vampire Weather by Garth Nix . In this world, Amos uses religion to protect him from the vampires. When bitten, he is offered  a scientific cure, going against his religion. I liked  some of it, and while some things were understandable, some things seemed to be there for the sake of it. 2

7.Late Bloomers by Suzy McKee Charnas. Josh is a fairly musical boy, although he ends up working at a small shop. A couple of vampires turn up, turn out to be art collectors, and various things happen. I like the idea that a vampire is unable to create anything, and therefore collect stuff instead. The writing flowed well and the characters had good personalities. And on a completely irrelevant note, points to Suzy for the reference to Voltaire-one of my favourite musicians. 3

8. The List of Definite Endings by Kaaron Warren. It follows vampire Claudia and human Ken. Ken's work means he has a list of terminally ill people. Throughout the years, Claudia, who doesn't want to go hunting, uses this list to work out who to take blood from. This is a fairly short story that’s very touching, emotional and ends in a way that ties it all together. 5

9. Best Friends Forever by Cecil Castellucci. Amy the vampire and Gina, a girl who's dying, are very close friends. This is a story that shows exactly how deep their friendship is, and not much more. 2

10. Sit the Dead by Jeffrey Ford. Luke is asked to sit vigil for dead Gracie, with weird uncle Sfortunado. And then Gracie rises as a Gritchino, a type of vampire. This is an action filled vampire story, with about half of it being some kind of action. The other  half is introducing and wrapping up the story. 4

11. Sunbleached by Nathan Ballingrud. Joshua(what is it with vampire stories featuring boys named Josh, and any variations, and girls named Claudia. We'll think about that some other day...) makes friends with a vampire, who attacks his family and transforms Joshua. This was a confusing story and I didn't particularly like the characters. 2

12. Baby by Kathe Koja. It's written by a girl who has come across a baby, who is obviously a vampire from the descriptions. There's not much storyline to it, but I connected enough with it to feel slightly  the end. 3

13. In the Future When All's Well by Catherynne M. Valente. In this world vampires are commonplace, Health and Safety measures go to ridiculous levels against vampirism, and you're fairly likely to turn, especially if you fall into a High Risk group, such as being conceived on a Saturday, being OCD, or having unkempt eyebrows(side note, Hetalia fans; Iggy may be a vampire). This is all about Scout's life in this world, making friends with vampires, and so on. There wasn't much plot, but the world building, and the world created, was excellent.

14. Transition by Melissa Marr. This is a story of love and action...there's not much more I can say without telling you everything that happens. Although it was a bit predictable, I liked the clever foreshadowing, the way the story didn't end once we knew the full details of what happened, and it had a nice ending. 4

15. History by Ellen Kushner. Its written from the point of view of someone in love with a vampire, who has helpfully lived through the majority of things you are studying in your history course. The description was detailed, but not much seemed to happen. 2

16. The Perfect Dinner Party by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black. As the title suggests, it revolver around a dinner party, hosted by a couple of vampires, with a human guest. Who is you. The narrator, a vampire who looks 14, is resenting the fact that her older brother can get along in society just fine and she can't. This all comes out at said dinner party, and various family secrets are revealed. There's a lot of character development in this, but my favourite thing is the way the reader directly involves the reader, with you being the main pronoun at the start until the narrator starts talking about herself. 5

17. Slice of Life by Lucius Shepard. It's centred around Sandrine and Louise aka Louie aka Elle. Sandrine needs people for various reasons, and  Louise gets them for her. There is also a little romance mixed in that doesn't seem to get very far. Parts of this got confusing, as a lot of things happen, and I don't like the way Sandrine and Louise's relationship just stopped, but the character development is great.

18. My Generation by Emma Bull. It's another poem from a vampire's point of view. I like the way that life is viewed in musical terms throughout. 3

19. Why Light? by Tanith Lee. Daisha is going on a journey-she's a vampire still young enough to bear children, and therefore she's basically forced into an arranged marriage with Zeev. However he turns out to be ok and they fall in love anyway. This story isn't really my type, but it was done well enough that I enjoyed it anyway. 3

The new authors I found and want to read more of are ; Steve Berman, Genevieve Valentine, Kaaron Warren, Jeffrey Ford, Catherine M, Valente and Tanith Lee.

Overall:  Strength 3 tea to an anthology full of different types of vampire tales with a story for almost anyone interested in vampires.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Publisher  website | 

Waiting on Wednesday #15 Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we show off books that we want to read but have not been published yet. 
Seeing as you're here, why not enter our giveaway? It's still open!

Title:  Clockwork Prince
Author:  Cassandra Clare
Release Date: December 6 2011
Link to / (part of)Summary from Goodreads: In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends. With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal…When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them. … As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

Why I want it:  I read Clockwork Angel at some point (review here) and really enjoyed it. And therefore I think the sequel will be amazing. This is the sequel. It will, in my mind anyway, be amazing. I want to read it ^__^

What are YOU waiting on this week?

Book review- Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

 Title: Clockwork Angel

 Author: Cassandra Clare

Series: The Infernal Devices #1

 Published: 31 August 2010

 Length: 478 pages

Warnings: kissing, vampires, demons violence

 Other info: Sequel to The Mortal Instruments and a series in its own right. Cassandra Clare’s website is here, and you can find her on  twitter.

Summary: Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.
Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.
Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

 Review: first, I am going to try not to relate TOO much to The Mortal Instruments (hereafter known as TMI). Mainly because I can't particularly remember details of TMI, and I didn't particularly enjoy them. (Note to self, re-read and review one day) But this is more memorable than TMI, so is automatically better. Will shut up about TMI now.

Tessa's brother Nate has asked her to move from New York to England, which she does. She is kidnapped by the Dark Sisters, a couple of demonic necromancers (as far as I can tell) and spends six weeks being tortured/trained to shape shift into the form of whoever’s random belonging she is holding at a time. This talent includes shape shifting into forms of dead girls, which is a little disturbing when you think about it.

She is freed by the totally unlikeable Shadowhunter William Herondale, but of course Tessa finds him handsome creating two points of the compulsory love triangle. Tessa goes to the Shadowhunter institute, and at some point meets Jem, sickly pale boy who she, of course, falls sort of in love with. The rest of the book is infiltrating the vampire meetings, rescuing Nate, saving the Institute from being invaded by clockwork automatony things, learning about the Shadowhunters, and of course obligatory romance.

I liked the Victorian setting, because that's what I'm in to. There was a lot of description, which I really liked, as it brings the setting alive, but at some points, there was a bit too much, if you get what I mean. It slows the story down a little too much sometimes.

I actually properly understand the Shadowhunters now! When I read TMI, I didn't really get what the Shadowhunters were about, and how their society worked. Not sure what happened in Clockwork Angel, but now I do. Yay.

The story was good, a good amount of twists and turns when you least expect them. However it was slightly typecast, slightly samey to TMI (sorry, I said I'd try not to talk about it. Try.)

I liked Tessa a lot, probably because her ability to shape shift at will is awesome. Jem is interesting, and I really want to find out what exactly is wrong with him (if it was mentioned in Clockwork Angel, I didn’t notice it. Please tell me if it’s known. If not I'll wait.). William as I said before, unlikeable and annoying. The rest of the characters are good stock characters, all of them with full backgrounds which I really like in books. It makes you get closer to the characters, which I think is important in books to actually like them.

The clockwork automatons were sort of boring. They’re slightly interesting, but I just felt as though I couldn’t care less about them. They're just there in the book.

I like how it isn't centred JUST on the romance. There's a full sense of the Shadowhunter and Downworlder worlds added into the story and while the romance isn't something added in as an afterthought, it doesn’t totally drive the book.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea because it was very good, but some things like William and the sameyness and long-windedness ruin it.

In My Mailbox (2)

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by the Story Siren where we show off all the books we have obtained in the past week.

I don't normally do it, as I don't normally have a very interesting haul, but this week my library was good and actually sent me the books I reserved. [Plus, this is a note to self to remember to post the reviews] Anyway...

From the library I got

• Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
• 666 Park Avenue by Gabriella Pierce
• My So called Afterlife by Tamsyn Murray
• Puppet Master by Joanne Owen
• Scarlett Dedd by Cathy Brett
• White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick 
• Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Above links lead to Amazon.

And from the fabulous E.J. Stevens, as a late Teen Lit Day prezzie...

• She Smells the Dead
• Spirit Storm

I've started She Smells the Dead and Clockwork Angel, and absolutely love both of them. I also want to get started on Scarlett Dedd- I've already looked at the blog, and it looks really good.

 I'm pretty pleased with what I've got this week. Easter holidays too, so I have a lot of reading time.
What did you get this week? Leave a link and I'll find the time to stop by eventually. Eventually being the key word.

TEA TIME TALK: 50 followers already? We've only been going for two months...THANK YOU! Tea and cake all round!

Book Review- Zombies Vs Unicorns, anthology

 Title: Zombies vs Unicorns

 Author: Lots of them. Edited by Justine Larbalestier (Team Zombie, hereafter known as JL) and Holly Black (Team Unicorn, hereafter known as HB)

 Series: N/A 

 Published: 21 September 2010 by Margaret K. McElderry Books 

 Length: 432 pages

 Warnings: references to sex, b*st**l*ty, homosexuality, profanity, gore, magic, violence, 14+ recommendation in the cover

 Other info:  The whole debate started on a blog. Click for HB's blog and JL's blog.  Links to authors individual websites included in review. 

 Summary  from blurb: Which is better: the zombie or the unicorn? Justine Larbalestier says that zombies are our own walking deaths. Funny, grim and terrifying, they cannot be escaped. Unicorns are sparkly and pastel and fart rainbows. Holly Black says that unicorns are healers, arbiters of justice and occasionally majestic man-killers, zombies drool and shed and probably carry diseases. Some of today’s finest writers have chosen their side, creating dazzling stories about both creatures. So read on and decide for yourself. Are you Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

 Review: The concept: love it. A straight out war between zombies and unicorns, fought by some familiar faces and other...I’ve never heard of.  This is an interesting, refreshing and funny break from the more popular Vampires vs Werewolves debate. And conveniently, it is set out in a unicorn story, zombie story, unicorn, zombie format. Let the battle commence.

Round 1:
Team Unicorn- The Highest Justice by Garth Nix. Its a unicorn who ends up killing a zombie and set in a medieval world of kings. I didn’t think that much really happened, it was just a this happened, that happened thing. I liked the detailed descriptions, but they slowed down the story a bit too much.
Team Zombie- Love Will Tear us Apart by Alaya Dawn Johnson. I think the whole idea was a zombie boy in love with a guy who’s father seriously hates zombies (Side note: yes, that is a homosexual relationship. If you have a problem with it, get rid of it, or at least keep it to yourself. Gay/bi/asexual/transgender etc people are just as awesome as straight people, if not more. Still not happy? Go away or be eaten by insane cannibals.). At times however, I couldn’t make out much of a plot. But it was funny, enjoyable, with a  little bit of brain eating thrown in.
Team Unicorn:0   Team Zombie:1

Round 2:
Team Unicorn- Purity Test by Naomi Novik. This one was interesting. It shoved a unicorn into New York, which is trying to find an entrance to somewhere that ends up being called Fairyland. This was funny, but there just wasn’t a plot at all.  However, I liked how it changed our perceptions of a unicorn and its virgin, into...something completely different. And don’t get me started on the baby unicorns and chocolate milk.
Team Zombie-Bougainvillea by Carrie Ryan.  As the person who brought zombies to a young adult audience, I expected good things. And got them. While at times it was a little slow, I don’t think anyone else would ever put pirates into a zombie story.  Fun fun fun indeed. And the methods of destroying a zombie demonstrated in Bougainvillea are awesome.
Team Unicorn:0   Team Zombie:2

Round 3
Team Unicorn- A Thousand Flowers by Margo Lanagan. I must confess, I never got through this. Its the one with the b*st**l*ty. Avoid at all costs is what I say. Team unicorn loses a point for this generally disturbing story.
Team Zombie-Children of the Revolution by Maureen Johnson. This highlights the dangers of horror movies’ suicide-at-five-pounds-an-hour (as termed by Grahme. This being a zombie story, our protagonist gets to babysit zombie babies! This was a fun story, with not too much happening, but still being entertaining.
Team Unicorn:-1 Team Zombie:3

Round 4
Team Unicorn-The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn by Diana Peterfreund. It’s a completely new take on the unicorn. It’s the closest we get to zombiefied unicorns. Nothing much happened, but the zombie unicorns mean I love it.
Team Zombie-Innoculata by Scott Westerfeld. Kids and adults living on a pot farm while everyone else on earth is a zombie. And then a few kids make plans to escape. This was extremely boring and whilst he is brilliant at writing Steampunk,  Westerfeld is no good at writing romance.
Team Unicorn: 0 Team Zombie:3

Round 5
Team Unicorn-Princess Prettypants by Meg Cabot. This was immense fun. I never thought I’d enjoy Meg Cabot, but it was so funny and our protagonist ends up using her unicorn to  deal with her bullying problem. This is the girliest story in the book with some actual plot-rare for a zombie story.
Team Zombie- Cold Hands by Cassandra Clare. This is the one where a people simply don’t stay dead. It’s a full love story and the heir to dukedom or something like that (I’ve completely forgotten)dies and comes back. I liked this because normally, zombie romance does not work (main reason being the zombie should want to eat the brains of their partner. More on that another day), but Clare made it work. Tough deciding which one wins,.
Team Unicorn: 1  Team Zombie 3

Round 6
Team Unicorn-The Third Virgin by Kathleen Duey. This was edging into the zombiefied unicorn team as well. Most unicorn stories involve the unicorn saving the life of the human.  In this story, this is very true. As long as the unicorn has taken a life as well. This was an interesting spin on unicorns, but there wasn’t a plot at all.
Team Zombie- Prom Night by Libba Bray. This didn’t have a plot either… I’m not entirely sure of the point, and I didn’t really like the characters and I didn’t understand the situation.
Team Unicorn:2   Team Zombie:3

Round 7
There actually wasn’t a seventh story for each side, this is more a bonus round for the banter at the start of each story. It’s JL and HB discussing various things, putting down the story if the  story is for the opposite side, and defending it if its theirs. HB’s fights go something like “unicorns are like this. Its good” and repeated “zombies shamble and bits fall off and that’s disgusting”. JL’s fights go “yes, but zombies are better because of this” and “unicorns are rubbish because *insert new reason* ”. I love this banter. JL wins.
Team Unicorn:2   Team Zombie:4

Total: Zombies win in terms of rounds. Of course, these are my own opinions and you probably won’t agree. Not my problem!
Just to let you know, I’ve always preferred zombies to unicorns. This doesn’t change my opinion. So, I say, Team Zombie wins. Add your opinions below.
Me and my book club WILL have this as one of our “open for discussion” debates. Enjoy when it comes.

Overall:  Strength 3 tea because its funny, and with some great stories, but at times very disturbing.