Red Hill

A Novel

By: Jamie McGuire

Narrated by: Emma Galvin, January LaVoy, Zachary Webber

Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

When the world ends, can love survive?

For Scarlet, raising her two daughters alone means fighting for tomorrow is an everyday battle. Nathan has a wife, but can't remember what it's like to be in love; only his young daughter Zoe makes coming home worthwhile. Miranda's biggest concern is whether her new VW Bug is big enough to carry her sister and their boyfriends on a weekend escape from college finals.

When reports of a widespread, deadly "outbreak" begin to surface, these ordinary people face extraordinary circumstances and suddenly their fates are intertwined. Recognizing they can't outrun the danger, Scarlet, Nathan, and Miranda desperately seek shelter at the same secluded ranch, Red Hill. Emotions run high while old and new relationships are tested in the face of a terrifying enemy - an enemy who no longer remembers what it's like to be human.

Set against the backdrop of a brilliantly realized apocalyptic world, love somehow finds a way to survive. But what happens when the one you'd die for becomes the one who could destroy you?

Red Hill grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go until its stunning conclusion. This is #1 New York Times best-selling author Jamie McGuire at her unforgettable best.

©2013 Jamie McGuire (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

don't fall off your chair....

because you will be on the edge of it start to finish! LOVED this book! Finished in 2 days. I couldn't put it down! Once again, Jamie McGuire sucked me in. There were times where I was yelling & in tears and laughing UGH; I just loved it!

Jamie McGuire earned that 5th star!!!

I don't do paranormal. I'm totally immersed in a world of reality. It's extremely rare that I will take the time to read a paranormal book because I don't enjoy them as a rule. But I had so many people tell me to give Red Hill a chance. "You'll enjoy it," they said. "It's not really a zombie story," they said. Red Hill is exactly the opposite of "not really a zombie story"!!! But I'm SO glad I saw it through. If I'm honest, if I had been reading it, I probably would have put it down. But because I knew it was something I would likely struggle with, I opted for Audible.

From start to finish, this is a zombie story. The end of the world. But it's also a hard fought story of love and fnding things worth living for. At first, I thought the number of characters would be overwhelming. After all, even the audio had three different narrators...each carrying their own cast of characters. But when it all starts coming together at the end, it really is a beautifully touching story. Of course when the world ends, you have to say goodbye to some along the way. Some of those goodbyes were much harder than others. But it made the end of the story that much better.

All through the book, I knew I was listening to a 4-star book. Jamie McGuire is a great writer, and I've loved pretty much everything I've read by her (although this was the first time I've given her PN a try). But the further I got, the more I cared. The more I needed to know what happened. The more I couldn't stop. Initially I was just listening in my car, or when I had time. But in the end, Red Hill came to work with me. I needed to know how it all ended. That is deserving of that 5th star!!!

Don't discount this zombie story, just because it's a zombie story. It's so much more than that. But it is definitely a zombie story!!!

Character Driven Apocalypse

Would you listen to Red Hill again? Why?

Definitely, I have already listened to it twice. The story is great, but the 3 narrators really make you feel like you are listening to them tell their story.

What other book might you compare Red Hill to and why?

Forrest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan & Razorland Series by Ann Aguirre.

Which scene was your favorite?

The church scenes - I enjoyed how the people interacted with each other and strangers.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The scenes where they would arrive at the town and the government took charge. Also at then end of the book when someone walked over the hill.

Any additional comments?

The story is told from 3 perspectives and the audio is done with 3 different narrators - a mother, a father and a teenage daughter. Each having their own story, but in the end they are all on the road to Red Hill. Each story is distinct but also blended with the others as they cross paths. Having 3 different narrators really enhances the story, you really feel like these people are telling your their story.

If you are a fan of apocalyptic zombie books, pick this one up. It's not too gory, but hey it is a zombie book.

You can read our full review on www.pageturnersblog.com

Amazing Story! A must read!

This book takes you from laughter, to fear, through desperation, to love. Once I started listening I couldn’t turn it off.

It was just ok.

the story was ok. predictable but the narrators are great. these narrators are always good.

Great apocalyptic story

I don’t normally read these type of stories but I enjoyed every minute of it. It’s gut wrenching and scary. I loved each of the characters. Great story!

One of the Better Zombie Apocalypse Novels

I really enjoyed the story overall, although the two main characters felt a little bit linear and shallow. The side characters were actually more interesting and I found myself rooting for them moreso than the ones you’re supposed to care about. However, it was a fun listen and one I’d recommend to others.

Why You Should Not Waste Your Time or Money

Oh, why didn't I listen to other reviewers--the ones with brains who said not to bother with this tripe? I should have read the ones with spoiler alerts.

I don't usually like to write reviews with spoilers, but without them, it's pretty tough to dissuade someone from wasting their time and money so I might as well go whole hog.

That said, here's the spoiler alert review as to why this book is best avoided:

Because the author can't tell a decent story, though the writing itself is decent. Did this writer not have an editor? Or a writing group who would have said, "Uh, these fifteen (or however many) things you do in this novel going to be so very unsatisfying for the reader, because what you've done is stupid, illogical, lazy, etc." Or, "Gee, you sure you want to kill off half your cast of characters with barely a 'fare thee well'?"

McGuire gives us Scarlet, one of the main characters who is so obsessed about finding her children that she gets a number of characters killed. Not only does the author kill off a number of the likeable and decent characters, said author sometimes does so in what probably amounts to a paragraph (if you were reading instead of listening). Most times it's told and not even shown in a scene. If that's not lazy writing, I don't know what is. Nobody likes it when characters they like die, but a decent writer knows how to do it in a "satisfying" way. Additionally, the author could have given the characters other reasons for "clearing" the town so some of the deaths wouldn't have been so senseless and a direct result of Scarlet's irrational thinking.

What's worse, after the author kills off many of the main characters, Scarlet's kids coming strolling on down the road after months and months.

What's the point of a minor love triangle when the author kills off all three of those characters?

Autistic (very high-functioning) kid who is never identified as such. If you don't know anything about autism, some of what the author writes might be a little mystifying.

They are not very diligent about keeping watch for the walking dead, which is the main cause of another senseless death.

The ending: Since only one character I cared about survived Scarlet's obsession, I didn't really care what happened.

I could go on, but I think that ought to be enough to warn people away from a novel that was probably written during NaNoWriMo--that's an "event" when you write a novel in one month--and was never edited.

Female narrator who does Scarlet: Excellent
Female narrator who does Miranda: Ok
Male narrator: Rather monotone

Not what I expected - annoying readers

What would have made Red Hill better?

I thought this would be post apocalyptic and instead it was a zombie book. Perhaps I read something wrong. Something about the readers drove me nuts - had to stop reading it as I just couldn't stand to listen to them.

Has Red Hill turned you off from other books in this genre?

yes and- no- I still love a good post apocalyptic story as long as there are no zombie

Would you be willing to try another one of the narrators’s performances?

possibly- one of the narrators read Agilent and she was not bad in that book but I think having heard them read this book does turn me off.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Annoyance

Worse ending EVER!

Any additional comments?

I skimmed the reviews. I had full warning. The book is 9 hours 38 minutes long. I really enjoyed the first 9 hours. I thought, "these reviewers don't know what they're talking about! This is a fine book and quiet enjoyable." Then came the 38 minutes that completely, 100%, ruined the entire book. So much so, that I'm thinking about getting my credit back for a bad experience. It's as if someone tapped the author on the shoulder, said "um, this has gone on long enough. You need to wrap this up now." Instead of writing anymore about the love triangle, the author kills all of them! WHAT?!?!?! At exactly 9 hours, it was like "we went out on another clearing today. He died. Sorry." I thought my audio had skipped a few chapters or something! Then minutes later, the 2 little girls finally came walking/running up and in order to wrap up the other side of the love triangle, let's kill both of them off too. "They ran, he was bitten. She tried to save him, she was bitten." That's how much time was spent on it! All of the likable characters were killed off with absolutely no time spent. As I stated, it's like the author was in a hurry to end it and she most certainly did. And the only reason Ashley, the least competent one of the college kids, was allowed to live, was because Skeeter needed a love interest. Really? She's a teenager and he's like mid 30s. REALLY? Oh, and even better.....at the ending, after the city is bombed and it's poured ash from the sky for 6 straight days, a black helicopter lands in the front yard, black ops soldiers jump out and knock on the door. "We're looking for Skeeter." The lady from the church told them to look here for Skeeter. WHAT? Skeeter only came here after he found out Nate was there, well after the church scene. Yah, the ash parted in the sky and a black chopter lands in the yard, with black ops jumping from it. So unbelievable stupid!!!!
Either the author lost all interest in this book at hour 9 or she just handed it off to her assistant to finish. It was the oddest, snap of a finger, change I've ever seen in a writing style.