Until the End (Quarntined) Paperback – July 25, 2013

Great characters and loved the spin with the mental health challenges… really made this stand out and cheer them on

Alissa has been fighting her own demons since she was 16 and was the one to find her mother dead at the dinner table from a self inflicted gunshot. She takes medications to stop the hallucinations and voices caused by her schizophrenic disorder, which seemed to work well for the last 4 years. When she comes home from her therapy session and finds her roommates not quite as she left them, she realizes something is up. She comes to the conclusion that people turn into zombies and she has no idea what to do. When fellow survivor Jordan saves her life, the two team up to escape the madness and find Alissa uncle.I absolutely loved this book. I may be a bit biased because I love Zombies and apocalypse books, so this was right up mu alley.I was instantly engaged in the story. The idea of a girl who believes she is crazy trying to survive a virus and zombies while battling hallucinations of her own. Awesome! This book just sucked me in. I experienced everything right along with Ali, from her fear and indecision, to her battling skills and survival instincts, to her feelings for Jordan. She was such a roller coaster of emotions, and I was along for the ride. When she panics about her lack of medication, I felt all anxious and concerned for her, being so wrapped up in what she is going through. I loved her as a character. She is strong and resilient and tough, but also flawed and emotional. I have never read an end of the world book with a person with a mental issue. It was such a unique perspective, having to second guess everything around you to see if it was real or in your head. The twist at the end with her uncle was interesting...Jordan was such a good hero figure. He was the rock Alissa needed to keep going. I am sure without each other, the two would have just given up. I loved that he had a zombie escape plan, even though in actuality his zombie killing skills were sub-par. When he learned the truth about Ali, he still seemed so strong, never second guessing being with her, having her watch his back. Even though he doesn't believe it, he is a knight in shinning armor.There were so many gritty parts to the story, it is not for those with a weak stomach. The whole book dealt with death in some way or another, be it zombie or human death. Many scenes are about survival, but there is also some with the horrors of the world. The entire incident with Snickers was heart breaking. There are hints or romance here too, but it is more about survival when the world has gone mad.I loved how the book does not give any reason as to why the outbreak occurs, we are just plopped down with two living people who learn tidbits as they go. The book has a semi conclusion, but I want more. The second book is told from Jordan's perspective, and I can't wait to hear what has been going on in his head, especially when he shows himself as so strong and put together. I am incredibly concerned for Ali too, because she will run out of meds, it is inevitable, and the consequences may be severe.Overall, I loved this book and will read whatever I can get my hands on by this author.

4 starsThis was a very good Zombie Apocalypse story. I will warn you...there is no sex in this story. The heat level doesn't go past kissing but, with the situation they're in it's realistic and the story works. It's the first I've read by this author but I liked it and am willing to try more of her work. It appears this book is the start of a series so I'll be interested in the next book when it's released.Alissa is a college student at the U or Oregon. She's had a traumatic past and now has to medicate to control certain issues. When the "infection" starts to take hold around the city and what appears to be zombies start showing up, Alissa worries her meds have stopped working and she's loosing it. Fortunately for her, as a zombie tries to eat her, Jordan comes to her rescue and kills it.Jordan is also a college student at the U of Oregon. He actually had a zombie survival plan but is shocked when he actually needs to use it. He has some initial issues when the zombies first start showing up but he wields a mean baseball bat and uses it to save Alissa when he hears her screams.Once Alissa and Jordan are together they decide to stick together for the time being. Alissa isn't sure how long she wants to stick with Jordan, not because she doesn't trust him but because she only has a few of her pills left and she's worried what she might do off her meds. Jordan is more insistent on them sticking together as they attempt to find a way out of the city (figuring it'll be safer). They find out that the outbreak has spread part way through OR but there are barriers being put in place to quarantine the infected areas. Alissa wants to get to her Uncle and so she and Jordan head that way. Along the way they run in to other survivors, some nice and some not so nice.While struggling to survive in a zombie savaged land, Alissa and Jordan do get closer. As I stated above, the heat level never gets above kissing but most of the time they'd be risking death for much more than a kiss anyways so the story was believable. Also, it was nice seeing Jordan and Alissa get to know and trust each other as their feelings for each other started to grow. They go through a lot together and learn to trust each other and gain a strong connection between them. The story ends with Alissa and Jordan together (pretty solidly) but they're still in a quarantine zone and trying to get to safety so the story isn't complete. I guess it's what I'd call a soft cliffhanger, I don't feel the relationship is in question but the story line isn't complete.This was a very good story. I loved both Jordan and Alissa and really got in to their story (both them surviving the zombies and them falling for each other). The zombie/action story line was also well done and interesting enough to keep things hopping. I'd recommend this book. Thumbs up! :D

couldn't put this book down, if the thought of the living dead is not enough for you this book definatley has a little something extra with alissa and how her illness affects the story and her interactions with Jordan and other characters. Thank you for something a little diffrent.

This was a wonderful book which gripped me from the first page. I haven't read too many zombie novels but I was intrigued by the blurb and I'm very glad I discovered this author. The writing is spot-on: great pacing, full of action, tension and well-developed characters who you root for. But the key thing for me was that the story was always grounded and never became over-the-top - it's about survival and is laced with deft humour that keeps everything human and emotionally real. This is much more than a zombie novel and I'll be eagerly reading the next book in the series.

I absolutely loved this book. Alissa is a great heroine and the author tackled the mental health issues fantastically. It was really refreshing not to go through the whole "what's going on?" thing where nobody knows what a zombie is or how to kill it. Also really refreshing that the author wasn't afraid to use the word 'Zombie' as many other authors are.

Until the end is a perfect example of the zombie romance novels that are pretty popular at the moment. It has a brilliant mix of both gory action and genuine love not just between the two protagonists (Alissa and Jordan) but also between the female and her uncle/ Dad (Syd ), this relationship is developed further in Quarantined book 2, In the End. To me the romance was far from your typical cheesy romance and both Alissa and Jordan often worries about their relationship and whether or not it is wise considering their potential death. This book has creative action moments all the way through and in the first couple of chapters the outbreak begins and Alissa finds one of her flat mates eating the face of another which set a blood thirsty tone for the rest of the book. I personally loved this book and would recommend this series to anyone interested in reading about loyal, loving relationships in a world that has been ravaged by flesh eating Zombies, perfect juxtaposition!

I really enjoyed this book. Its about more than just zombies its about mental health, love, family and survival. Ive really become addicted to the life of these 2 and cant wait to read the next book . Definately worth a read