The Harvesting (The Harvesting Series Book 1)

By: Melanie Karsak

Narrated by: Kristin James

It's all fun and games until someone ends up undead.

Layla Petrovich has spent her whole life running away from her hometown of Hamletville. Raised by the town's medium, and dubbed the "weird" girl for her fascination with swords, the last thing Layla wants is to go home.

But when she receives a desperate call to return just as a mysterious outbreak sweeps the country, Layla's instincts urge her to go. Good thing, because the dead are rising.

Layla, however, isn't entirely on her own. With her psychic powers growing, surely everything will turn out okay, right?

Not so fast. Just when Layla believes she might survive the apocalypse, a sinister and ancient force rises from the shadows to finish mankind for good.

Because the truth is, we were never alone in this world.

Begin The Harvesting Series with The Harvesting, Book 1.

©2012 Clockpunk Press (P)2015 Clockpunk Press

narrator was hard to listen to

storyline was ok but the narrator spoke so slowly that there were times I started dozing off.

Good ideas marred by shallow characters

There's a lot to like in "The Harvesting": a kick-ass, sword-wielding, bike-riding, dagger-throwing heroine who is calm under pressure, leads well and is gifted with The Sight, inherited from her Russian grandmother.

There is a zombie apocalypse with lots of walking, biting dead who need to be decapitated, shot through the head, or blown apart with cannon every few pages. There is also a more sinister, more malicious threat, seeking to entrap the good guys and there is the intervention of various spirit forms to guide our heroine along the way.

There are enough fresh twists in the way the supernatural is presented to give this novel a fresh feel. The action scenes work and the tension is ratcheted-up by the pace of the reveal.

All this made "The Harvesting" a fun book to listen to as I spent hours driving across Switzerland over the past couple of days.

There are a few things that keep it in the "fun, but..." rather than the "wow, when's the next one" category for me.

The main character is caring, brave and sometimes insightful but still amazingly shallow: her world has ended; her adopted city has been blown off the map; she's back in the small town she came from, huddled up with the few who have survived and yet there is no sense of shock or loss or depression. She is fully absorbed in deciding whether she should sleep with her ex-boyfriend, now conveniently widowed, or with his brother.

The scenes between our heroine and the men in her life read like paint-by-numbers romance fodder: eyes twinkle, mouths taste sweet, heat blossoms, love is absolute. This is a shame as some of the rest of the writing is hard-edged and fresh.

"The Harvesting" is the start of a series. I hope, by the next one, Melanie Karsak will spend less time on romance and more on exploring the inside of her heroine's head.

Jam Packed With Action And Surprises!

While this was a fairly gory read, it was also fast-paced and full of action. I liked the different take on zombies as well as the mix of cultural beliefs that helped to keep the rest of the residents that hadn't already suck succumbed to the virus safe. Also, Leyla is a kick butt FMC that is easy to root for! The narrator also did a fantastic job getting down the emotion of the intense scenes. I wasn't a full fan of all of her guy voices though. But overall, I enjoyed the book.

So much more than an apocalyptic zombie story!

What did you love best about The Harvesting?

What could I not love? Layla is a strong woman with knowledge to make the suggestions available to the people of her town. The wood spirits are a wonderful addition to the world with their helping. The fact that we stay in Hamletville long enough and move on to another place and a new situation that needs to be solved is bold and wonderful!

Then the voice of Kristin blended with Melanie's writing. Splendid! She brings Layla and her world to life.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Harvesting?

Hmm, this is hard as I don't want to spoil the story. But I think the loss of the closest to Layla early on, then the shift to the new 'situation' and what we learn there. There are so many memorable moments. Buddy at the mirrors, Frenchy with her daughters, Layla talking to the spirits on a few occasions. So much to love here.

Have you listened to any of Kristin James’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've not listened to Kristin's work before, but I'm planning on trying to get all her stuff now. The emotions she puts into her words and voice are amazing. She yells when needs to and soft when the moment calls for it. Her acting brought the story and characters to life.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did tear up, which is hard to do when I'm listening. Kristin's performance with Melanie's written words were full of emotion and feeling that I felt for the characters at times. I even had the heart racing moments as Kristin's talked sped up with the rush of the moment of actions.

Any additional comments?

Just when I thought I was settling in, the story has a turn that brings us to something new! Oh this was wonderful! This story has so much more than I was ever expecting to read. We struggle through in Hamletville with Layla and those that survive, but then to come upon another obstacle in their lives and choices they made. Oh a new foe appears and is exciting to see!

There is a bit of love in the book as well. Layla returns home, where her ex-boyfriend and the love of her youth still lives. But there is a potential other interest. It's not a three way that we all see all the time. Actually, Layla has her mind made up early on, it's that one of them has to get it through their skull that there's not a chance with her. And, I'm thrilled with the one she picks. He's TOTALLY the right choice.

If you haven't read or listened to this one, you SHOULD! I listened to that audio and man... this is an AMAZING combo of writing by Melanie and voice by Kristin. If you are a UF fan, you'll will enjoy this.

The author couldn't make up her mind about this

So, the story doesn't seem to be very well focused, by the end I had no idea what it was about - was it about zombies? I'm not sure, there were plenty of them at the beginning, but by the end, not so much. But that fact doesn't bother me as much as the main female protagonist. Why is that when an author wants to make a female character as the leader of the pack, she assumes this role automatically, without really earning it or deserving it? I hate how all people, men and women, just turn to this woman to ask constantly, "what do we do now?" What were these people doing before this woman walked back in town?? The ending was abrupt too. Not sure if I'll want to continue reading this series.