My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland: Audio Book Review

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9640626-my-life-as-a-white-trash-zombie?ac=1Title: My Life as a White Trash Zombie
Author: Diana Rowland (Reader: Allison McLemore)
Publisher: Audible Studios
Publication Date: July 2012
Length: 8 hrs 44 mins (310 pages)
Series: White Trash Zombie (#1)
Audio or Book: Audio
Reason for Discovery: Vaginal Fantasy Book Club

From GoodReads:

Angel Crawford is a loser. Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken. That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in an horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the parish morgue—and that it's an offer she doesn't dare refuse. Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey—just when she's hungriest! Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn't, she's dead meat. Literally.

Yea for a blurb that actually describes the story! 

The book cover is a bit gross, but if you enjoy urban fantasy, mysteries, My Life as a White Trash Zombie is for you. I had heard some good things about this book a year or so ago, so when I saw that the audio book was on sale, I picked it up. I am so glad that I did, because it was such a fun listen. 

As the blurb notes, Angel has had a challenging life. Everything has been pretty ordinary until she wakes up in a hospital and starts craving brains. Unlike other zombie novels that I have read, My Life as a White Trash Zombie is told from the point of view of the zombie. Something I also liked about this twist on the zombie trope is that Angel is a "high-functioning" zombie. Angel looks fairly healthy, is able to eat "regular" food, and can hold down a job. She just craves human brains every few days. There are a few times that Angel goes a bit more zombie-like, but overall she is just a regular woman who just so happens to crave brains.

I really loved Angel as a character. She is not a perfect character, but she is still very likable. I enjoyed seeing how Angel gained confidence throughout the book and became a stronger individual. In other books that I have read with protagonists who didn't feel very good about themselves, the characters sounded really whiny. I didn't find that to be the case with Angel. There were times that I wanted to shake Angel, because I thought she was making a poor decision, but these poor decisions were in line with her character. Also, I loved, loved, loved some of Angel's one-liners. There was one towards the end of the book that made me laugh out loud. I would love to hang out with Angel.

The book itself was quite fun. I will admit that I thought that it took a bit of time to get the plot moving; however, I enjoyed the ride. I was a bit surprised that it took Angel a really long time to understand the whole zombie situation. At the same time, the journey was interesting, and I didn't find it annoying that Angel was a bit clueless, because there was so much going on that I was willing to give Angel a pass about the whole zombie thing. The mystery was interesting and kept my attention. I think the reader might be able to guess what is going on, but I might be wrong.

Audio: Allison McLemore did a great job with pacing and tone. Her Southern accent was a little off, but I think it is because I don't live in the South anymore and my only reference is Johanna Parker (from the Sookie Stackhouse books). I felt that McLemore captured the essence of Angel quite well. The audio was clear and crisp. I am definitely going to have to listen to the rest of the series now, because McLemore is now Angel in my head.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun urban fantasy mystery. It was a great twist on the classic zombie story. I am curious to see what adventure Angel has next. 

I give this this book a 4 out of 5.
 

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