Don't judge this book by it's cover........Clearly the art department had a few too many sips from Amanda's Pimp Cup. I could not put this book down! Snarky, Quick, Urban Poetry. I think this is the wittiest comedy in disguise I have ever read. I can't wait for more undead antics. LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! More Please!

Notice that most of the other reviews are from really highly ranked, strong selling fantasy authors? That says a lot about the quality of this book. It's not only a fun read, but it's a well-crafted fantasy world that would be great to inhabit, except for the flesh-eating divas.

To be honest, Happy Hour of the Damned by Mark Henry was not the kind of book that I normally read. I love to love my protagonists from the start and you have to fall in love with Amanda Feral- but you do! Also, his style is not one that I've encountered before and not on the top of my list for what I like to read, but his technique made me forget that.

Many things kept me reading:

1. His Wit: Mark has a way with words. He creates wonderful imagery with just a few syllables or the turn of a phrase. It kept me laughing, chuckling, snorting, and guffawing (not necessarily in that order).

2. Character Building: Amanda may not be my typical heroine, but he stayed perfectly true to who she is and how she thinks all the while seamlessly making her grow without losing her core. That snot snuck it right in under my nose!!

3. World Building: I've read many amazing worlds having devoured well over 1000 books but Mark's was not only a completely new spin on some old ideas, but it was whole. I put him in the ranks of Tolkein, Anne McCaffrey, Brandon Sanderson, and Diana Pharoah Francis (the 4 people on the top of my list) in the creation of a whole new civilization that I could easily believe (I didn't like coffee before and I'm sure as heck staying away from Starbucks now!).

A must read and a must buy.

If you've ever wondered what Working Girl would look like if it'd been populated by zombies, vampires, succubi, and demi-gods, well then. Look no further! Happy Hour of the Damned is one part Nine to Five, one part Sex in the City and one part Shaun of the Dead -- with a shot of espresso and an open bar.

This book is a TMI riot waiting to happen. It is absolutely the freshest, funniest, most gently decomposing book of its kind to come along in years.

In case you missed it above:

"Gruesome, ghoulish and utterly groundbreaking. Mark Henry is daring and scathingly funny." --Jackie Kessler

I really, really enjoyed this book. It's dark and macabre, and seriously twisted -- which in my world makes it damn near perfect. Amanda isn't your average heroine. She's unapologetically biting -- both in her humor and her food choices -- and she's got a brutal fashion sense and a fine appreciation for booze. What makes the story really work for me is that Amanda is more than a well-dressed vehicle for a scathing one-liner: she changes over the course of the book. She grows, bless her dead little heart.

Like I said, the humor is dark. If EVIL DEAD is your thing, I bet you'll love this book.