As I promised, here's the second part of my boom review for Zombies vs Unicorns!

The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn by Diana Peterfreund

This particular story strikes my interest because it portrays unicorns differently from the usual. When we say unicorn, we typically refer to a majestic creatures with magic and healing abilities. We also think sparkles and rainbows, but here, the unicorn is just an animal. I love the way Diana talked about unicorns, completely turning them into creatures of her own making. She places a twist in the typical unicorn tales and created a story that is truly unique. The unicorns in her story are still magical creatures, but they do not heal or find virgins, instead, they are deadly creatures with a poisonous horn that is treated like any other animal that poses danged to the human society. This story adapted the unicorn tale into something that is a bit more plausible today without losing that magical touch. Diana made a story that didn't feel like she was talking about mythical creatures. It was more about the heroine struggling with her religion, the views of society, and the caring for a baby unicorn even though the unicorn species had done horrible things in the past. I believe that she has done a great job in writing this story and although I wanted her to explain further the events that lead to Wen's cousins' deaths and the actual killer unicorn, Peterfreund has already done a great job writing this and creating a familiar yet completely different world.

Inoculata by Scott Westerfeld

Inoculata is probably one of my favorite stories in this entire anthology. I found myself hanging onto every single word written by Westerfeld. From the very start, I found myself enraptured by this book. Reading a book that turns the typical zombie plot into something very different gives me happiness. I don't know exactly what it was about this story that I liked. Maybe it was the slightly twisted heroes and heroines. Maybe it was the interesting in-between zombies. Maybe it was the interesting portrayal of the human's desperation to survive even in the dreariest of times. It was certainly a tale the piqued my interest from start to finish, and although it wasn't very long compared to some other stories, it definitely created impact. To be honest, it felt more like an excerpt of a really long book because this story has so much potential. The author could have made this a full-length novel and I would read it. 

Princess Prettypants by Meg Cabot

This story. OMG, this story. I love it from the bottom of my heart. It's not because it's hauntingly beautiful or deeply moving, but because in its simplicity, it was able to bring out and address something that I think is really important while keeping it light and sparkly the Meg Cabot way. The sheer fabulosity of Princess Prettypants partnered with the sass of our heroine, Liz, and her best friend, Alecia, who can stand up for herself when she needs to despite being homeschooled and naïve create the best trio I have read about in a while. Not everyone will find anything special in this, but I did. Reading about the strength of women brought together while fighting against assholes will never get old for me. It brings me joy from my very core. Add in an impossibly sweet guy, and you've got a perfect teenage girl read that is unrealistic but completely satisfying and delightful. Not everyone will like it; I'm sure, but I did and that's what matters.

Cold Hands by Cassandra Clare

For me, this story was kind of meh. I mean it was interesting and nice, but it was also somewhat lacking. The story follows a rather typical storyline where the man who is currently in power wants to keep the throne so when it's time for the rightful ruler to step up, the man murders them in an elaborate ploy. I feel like a lot more could be done with the story though since the portrayal of zombies here is very interesting. It was, well, I don't know... Just kind of missing something. It needed more impact more elaboration. One of the interesting things in this story was how the dead and the alive were somehow united because of their rulers, one dead and one alive. Imagine what she could do with that. She could have explored the oddness and complexity of that relationship, the relationship between a zombie and a human. She could have shown a little bit more of life afterwards. I just feel like there could be more.

The Third Virgin by Kathleen Duey

This story explores a concept of an atypical unicorn. What we see here is not the type of unicorn that we always hear about. It's not the majestic creature or the one that's all sparkles and rainbows or the one that makes everything it touches wonderful and magical. One of the reasons why the unicorn here was so different was simply that it was actually a pretty bad unicorn. When I say 'bad', I'm referring to the unicorn itself. I mean the unicorn was basically a horrible being that is far from being that beautiful creature we know of. Instead, the unicorn here was greedy, weak to its vices, and most importantly, a murderer. Even so, it was a creature that needed love. The unicorn was sort of like a lonely and immortal serial killer. It was a unicorn that sought love in all the wrong places, yearning to feel that rush and relief when they find someone who needs them and then takes their life. It's so incredibly screwed up, and that's just so fascinating. I never expected to read something like this when I picked up this book and first flipped its pages.

Prom Night by Libba Bray

Being the last story in this anthology, I had very high expectations for Prom Night. Libba Bray did not disappoint. Even in a post-apocalyptic setting, Prom Night is more about how life just goes on. This story showed its readers how humans, especially the youth, tend to continue and enjoy life even at the most depressing of places. Through all the stories about death or finality, this one was just a refreshing end that hints at continuity. It's an ending that gives us more possibilities than conclusions, and I think that that's actually a really good way to end an anthology like this. It's haunting but also hopeful, and I, for one, thought that the ending was beautiful. I think that Prom Night by Libba Bray is the perfect ending to a good anthology. It doesn't seal everything up in a neat little bow; instead, it lets the reader think of what's to come.

Zombies vs. Unicorns is an anthology that I believe is very unique. The concept itself is something that I don't think I could've though of in a million years. Reading this was highly enjoyable since if had a good mix of humorous and haunting. I also believe that the difference in writing styles of the authors is something that makes the comparison/ argument between zombie team and unicorn team even better. With the different writing styles and different themes that the authors had, readers get to see so many more sides to myths that have had set characteristics to them. There were some stories I enjoyed more than others. There were some stories that dragged at some points, while others needed to be longer. It's far from a perfect anthology, but I had fun with it. It's very easy to read, and it quickly captures its readers. It's a fresh, fun, and witty book that I can definitely say is ome of a kind.

So what did you think? Are you Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

It's a bit difficult for me to start this book review because I don't know what I should say first. There are a lot of feeling involved in this book, and I'm not sure I can put them to words. Confess is a rollercoaster of emotions from the start to the finish.

Colleen Hoover begins the story with 15-year-old Auburn's boyfriend dying, a scene which immediately alerts the readers that this book is not gonna be fluff and sunshine. Not at all. Afterwards, the reader is taken to the current Auburn who is trying to make a living after having just finished college. Now, I thought this book would be your typical love story, maybe just a little bit sadder, but it was so much more than that. To be honest, even if the book was centered around romance, it wasn't the romance I was into—it was the raw emotion being brought out. There's just something about the pain inside the protagonists that you just know are utterly real. The writing brought out all of these perfectly despite having a simple and direct style. It shows us that emotions aren't always complex; in truth, the feelings that hit you hardest are those that every human knows of, those that are simple and basic, but still every bit as felt if not more.

Our heroine, Auburn, is not just your average protagonist. She is so incredibly strong, and she feels everything on a much deeper level than an average human, which I guess is why this book brings out so much emotion. She's someone who is mature enough to know what she wants, smart enough to know what to do, and strong enough to do what is right, all of which are qualities that make me admire her greatly. It took me a while to warm up to her because when the story opens, I just thought she was too young to feel that way, and when she found Owen, I felt like she felt too strongly about him as well. However, that's the type of person she is, and I grew to appreciate that, especially nearing the end of the book where a bunch of stuff just went down, and we get to see how her brain works in ways that make you admire her. I wish I could detail to you all this 'stuff', but I'm afraid I'd spoil everything so I'll leave it to you to read this book and get what I'm saying. 

I thought I would hate Owen when I read the first chapter that was written in his POV. He seemed a bit too forward and a bit too structured. Reading further, I got to see more of Owen's motives and his situation which makes me realize that even that structured, stiff feeling now has a meaning to it. It's not directly said in the book, but it was something that I realized practically just now while I'm recalling everything that happened. Owen is someone that has been through a lot. He knows the right thing to do, and he does it. That's something that I find admirable about his character, how he knows when he's in the wrong, he's knows when he isn't to blame, and he knows how to be selfless for the people he loves. It frustrates me that I can't say more because I have a lot of feelings that I can't properly get out, but I really don't want to spoil anything. OMG why is this so hard? (OMG, comment below if you read the book and got that). ;)

Colleen Hoover did a magnificent job of creating two unique characters that might as well be real. They aren't your typical protagonists, mainly because of their experiences and how they react to things. Although the Auburn x Owen pairing didn't bring me the feels or excite me all that much, I think they're good together. They deserve each other as well with all the hardships they've been through and all the crap they've put up with, these two incredibly nice people just need to get together and have a date or something.

With love stories nowadays, you tend to have the same people recycled over and over again. Now that sounds completely off right now, so I'll rephrase it. With love stories nowadays, authors tend to write about characters that are just the same, no matter how unique the plot may be. You could finish one love story, then crack open another romance novel, and you'd feel like you're reading about the same people, just with different names. That's what I love about this book. I think the characters are very human, and being human is what makes them different. They're not unbelievably odd because that's not what you need when you want to have realistic characters, you just have to have them be human. It's hard to explain, but I think you would be able to understand my point.

I think I've raved too much at this point, so I'll bring into light a couple of things that I do have complaints about. All of these are mostly at the ending, honestly. For such a cool and imaginative concept, the resolution was a bit cliché, and everything seemed to fit in too perfectly. I guess you could look at it two ways: you could say it was fate, or you could say it was pushing it. Either way, it seems a bit too perfect to have everything tied up that neatly, especially with all the ups and downs 

leading up to it. I'm a bit grateful that it had that ending because I'm not sure my heart could take it, but I think I'd be happier with a more painful and more impactful ending since they gave me pain for nine-tenths of the book, why not just ultimately leave me a mangled, crying mess? I mean, if you're gonna write a book like this, it would fit the aesthetic better to have a sort-of messy ending, if you get what I mean. I liked the plot, the execution, the art, and the tiny confessions fitted here and there, but I think we could squeeze a bit more from the ending, rough up the perfectly tied bow that locks the whole story into place.

All in all, I really liked this book. Although it's a bit heavy, it's easy to read, and I would recommend it to people who are interested in meaningful stories that delve into topics much deeper than romance. I will definitely be checking out more of Colleen's work though. Tell me what you think of this book! If you have any book recommendations, leave a comment down below, as well!

Author: Morgan Matson

Hardcover: 496 pages

Expected Publication Date: May 3, 2016

Publisher: Simon & Schuster