Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel by Rhiannon Frater

A walled city surrounded by lush land, protected by high mountain summits, and fortified by a massive gate to secure the only pass into the valley, The Bastion remained humanity’s last hope against the fearsome undead creatures known as the Inferi Scourge. On one fateful day, the valley gate failed and the Inferi Scourge overran and destroyed the human settlements outside the walls, trapping the remaining survivors inside the city. Now, decades later, the last remaining humans are struggling to survive in a dying city of dwindling resources…and dwindling hope.

Vanguard Maria Martinez has lived her entire life within the towering walls of steel. She yearns for a life away from the overcrowded streets, rolling blackouts, and food shortages, but there is no hope for anyone as long as the Inferi Scourge howl outside the high walls. Her only refuge from the daily grind is in the arms of Dwayne Reichardt, an officer in the Bastion Constabulary. Both are highly-decorated veterans of the last disastrous push against the Inferi Scourge. Their secret affair is her only happiness.

Then one day Maria is summoned to meet with a mysterious representative from the Science Warfare Division and is offered the opportunity to finally destroy the Inferi Scourge in the valley and close the gate, reclaiming the lost lands and energizing the populace with renewed hope for the future. The rewards of success are great, but she will have to sacrifice everything, possibly even her life, to accomplish the ultimate goal of securing the future of humanity and saving it from extinction.

. . .

Flirting in Italian (Flirting in Italian #1) by Lauren Henderson (YA)
For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund (YA)
Grill Me, Baby by Sophia Knightly

Let Love Find You by Johanna Lindsey
Lies Beneath (Lies Beneath #1) by Anne Greenwood Brown (YA)
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick (YA)

Niceville by Carsten Stroud
Rapture (Fallen, #4) by Lauren Kate
Redemption (Penton Legacy, #1) by Susannah Sandlin

Reunited by Hilary Weisman Graham
Run the Game by Jason Myers
Scarlet Kisses (Passions Unveiled, #1) by Tish Westwood

Serpent’s Kiss (The Beauchamp Family #2) by Melissa de la Cruz
Supercritical by Shawn Kupfer
The Golden Lily (Bloodlines, #2) by Richelle Mead (YA)

The Monet Murders by Jean Harrington
The Taken (Celestial Blues, #1) by Vicki Pettersson
Timepiece (Hourglass, #2) by Myra McEntire (YA)

The Pearl Savage (Savage #1) by Tamara Rose Blodgett (YA)
Tokyo Heist by Diana Renn (YA)
Wolf Line (Granite Lake Wolves, #5) by Vivian Arend

. . .

Your TBR pile can breath a sigh of relief this week…or can it? ^_^ On the surface, this week is very much a quiet one as far as volume of new releases go–but man o’ man, what a great set of releases. There are several highly promising gems, such as the latest from author Rhiannon Frater (of As the World Dies reknown). Zombies and summertime fun…who knew? There’s also a new rockabilly-themed Vicki Pettersson series (hell yes!) and a new Vampire Academy spinoff from YA author Richelle Mead.

Speaking of Young Adult books, there’s plenty new material to be had. Lauren Kate’s wildly popular Fallen series has a new installment; Myra McEntire has another time-travel adventure (with yet another amazing, trippy cover); and a new mermaid-filled series by Anne Greenwood Brown makes its debut. Light, summery young adult reads also seem to be the thing, as with the road-trip novel Reunited and the sassy How to Flirt in Italian.

Anything strike your fancy this week? Are you glad for the slimmer release schedule? ^_^

About Alisha

Alisha, the bespectacled and ever nerdy California girl, simply won't leave home without a book in hand. She loves language learnin' and is working toward becoming a bonafide grammar ninja. On any given day you'll find her haunting local libraries or baking scores of cupcakes and sweet treats.

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