Futuristic
urban fantasy/fairy tale
73
pages
Meilin won’t let a little thing like zombies stand in the way of love or freedom.
Available from:
Barnes and Noble:
Meilin and The Challenger is a fast, fun read that's a futuristic take on one of my favorite Grimm fairy tales, The Twelve Dancing Princesses. If you're not familiar with this particular Grimm story, you can check it out here. But while the original version contained no zombies, I wanted to give it a modern twist.
Blurb
Meilin King has never believed in fairy
tales. Happy ever afters might have happened in the old days—before zombies.
But this is 2089. When her father promises riches to the one who can rid their
city of zombies, Meilin and her sisters rush to develop a solution that won’t
bankrupt Dad.
The war overseas left Will MacGregor disillusioned,
but fighting zombies at home is a cause he can embrace. Meilin’s another. Tough
but sweet, she might make him believe in life again, and maybe even love, if
she doesn’t kick his ass first.
When zombies kidnap her family, Meilin
must rescue them. But can she and Will save them from the worst fate of all?
Reviews (for previous version)
I love fairy tales and zombies,
usually not together, but when I saw The 12 Dancing Zombie Killing
Princesses I couldn’t help myself.
I’m so glad I didn’t.
The
12 Dancing Zombie Killing Princesses is a short story and I finished it in just a
few hours, but boy is there a lot going on. Lots of action, and romance. The
zombies in this book aren’t your run of the mill undead, which Will and Meilin
figure out quite fast. The plot sucked me in, moving fast and keeping me
entertained as well as on the edge of my seat. Each new development pulled me
deeper into the story wanting to know what was going to happen and if they
would save Meilin’s family.
Dark Divas Reviews - 5 Divas and a Recommended Read!
This is a short book about Will, who
returns to City from war wants to become a zombie fighter, on his way home he
encounters the 12 adopted daughters of the city's mayor who appear to have some
plans of their own ...
Of the 12 girls you only properly get to know Zoe and Meilin who are
both wonderfully strong characters, very bright and capable and not at all
fond of been treated as mere girls much to Will and their fathers discomfort.
Will is quite sweet but is also a hardened soldier and his main
motivation is to help his mother. I found it easy to slip into the authors
world and also liked the way she humanised the zombies even if they are the bad
guys!
Julie's Book Reviews - 4 stars
Casting Call - Who did Cate envision in these roles? Find out here.
Excerpt
A click sounded beside him. Meilin propped
a rifle to her shoulder and sighted her aim toward the advancing zombies.
“Let’s annihilate the party crashers, sisters.”
A lopsided smile quirked his lips. “Not all
the party crashers, I hope.”
Her stance steady, she glanced over. “I
might spare you.”
Oh hell,
I’m in love.
Gunfire erupted on either side, but he couldn’t tear his focus from her.
Amazing, how she braced against the kick of the rifle—her slight frame absorbed
it and she fired away. Like you should be
doing.
As trained, he lifted the Uzi. Stunned, he
could only watch as the girls split the zombies’ heads with one shot apiece,
the most efficient kill he’d ever witnessed. The zombies at the front of the
charge fell first. Those in the center scattered to either side. Hell, these
women didn’t need his help. If only the soldiers in his platoon had been so
deadly accurate.
Better at
least try to be helpful. He let the bullets fly. Too bad the
walking dead couldn’t run; soon they dropped to the forest floor with the
others.
The tallest blonde held a strange set of
binoculars to her face. “There, two more getting away.”
Hard to sight them in the dark. He swiveled
one of the dance floor spotlights in their direction. Momentarily blinded, the
walking dead stopped walking. Meilin and the tall blonde aimed, and their shots
cracked the zombies’ heads in two.
Meilin tapped his shoulder. “Aim the light
to three o’clock. I think I see a few more.”
She stood so close, he grew woozy. Cherry blossoms. He struggled to fight
off her intoxicating scent. He did as she asked, but his acute awareness
centered on her. Built the way he liked, petite but powerful. She moved with
purpose and grace, surety and intense focus in every action. Like the others,
she felled the three zombies with one shot each, in exactly the spot needed for
the final kill: their heads. Oh yeah, a woman who knew what she wanted and went
after it, a force to be reckoned with.
She rested the rifle butt against her hip.
“What do you think, Lakshme? More hiding out there?”
The girl with almond eyes shrugged.
“Probably.”
Yeah, most
likely. Better make sure. “I’ll do a sweep and check.”
The tallest blonde winced. “By yourself?”
Lakshme smirked. “Aren’t we lucky?
Superman’s here.”
Meilin’s gaze swept over him. “Oh, I
thought he was the Green Hornet.”
The blonde’s lip curled. “Horn dog, more
like.”
What the hell was their problem? “Hey, I’m
only trying to help.”
“Good thing.” Lakshme’s voice turned
breathy. “We’re helpless girls, after all.”
Oh, man. Great first impression. “No, I
didn’t—”
Meilin raised her rifle and shot three
times in quick succession. “Three more down. Now we need to find out how many
we missed.”
A no-nonsense babe. Excellent.
The tall blonde jumped to the ground. “Pull
up the truck so we can dump the bodies. Wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise for
any latecomers.” She flashed a sardonic smile and headed for the nearest
carcass.
One sister disappeared into the brush. An
engine roared, and a delivery truck backed into the site, halted, and the doors
flew open.
Once they’d loaded the last of the zombie
bodies, Will blew out a breath. The tall blonde latched the door closed. How
did they all still appear ready freshly showered and ready for a night of
dancing? They had this routine down, to the last detail.
“What now?” he asked.
The tall blonde poked a finger into his
chest. “Now you forget everything you saw here, and we won’t have to incinerate
you with the rest of them.”
Forget? He glanced at Meilin. Not
happening. “You might find me useful. And I want to learn more about your
operation. It’s impressive. Mr. King’s looking to hire—”
The blonde grabbed his shirt, her grimace
eye level with him. “Don’t ever mention him again.”
Not speak of their father? He studied
Meilin for a clue.
She wrenched the blonde’s arm. “Back off,
Zoe. He’s harmless.”
Zoe shoved Meilin, who stumbled backward
and lost her balance.
Landing on her butt, she looked up at Will
with sadness. “Sorry.”
His heart lurched. Hopefully, not sorry she
met him. “For what?”
A hard thud to the back of his head came in
answer. His knees hit the dance floor, and he toppled over.
