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Book Review of Happy Hour of the Damned (Amanda Feral, Bk 1)

Happy Hour of the Damned (Amanda Feral, Bk 1)
kif avatar reviewed on + 24 more book reviews


A good urban fantasy can be like a mixed drink. It's got to have the right flavor--but it's also got to have a lot of kick. Not so much, of course, that you'll regret it the next morning. The characters in Mark Henry's Happy Hour of the Damned might not liken themselves to mixed drinks, but they would certainly appreciate the allusion. Because few zombies appreciate liquor like the heroines in Henry's novel.

Full of zombie debutantes, undead reality television, and the usual plot to take over the world via Starbucks, the novel treads new territory in urban fantasy: it's the first place I've ever seen zombies as heart-breakers (rather than just heart-eaters--and even then, sometimes they just stop at the brains). Amanda Feral defies the zombie stereotypes, however, and takes Seattle's post-life post-party by storm. In the company of fellow zombie babe Wendy, gay vampire Gil, and succubus Lisle, Amanda is an up-and-comer--until the fateful night when Lisle disappears, texting Amanda for help. With that, the remaining trio set off to do something none of them particularly want to be involved in: a search and rescue mission.