Collaboreads: October

I first learned about #Collaboreads from Kristin's blog and the bookworm in me rejoiced.

Finding new books to read is a never-ending quest for me so this link up is pure gold.  Here is the criteria:

A theme for the month is chosen

Pick your book

Read.  You get a whole month!

Review your book and link up with Amber and Rachel

October's book theme was "horror or thriller published before 2010" and I chose Zoo by James Patterson.

Goodreads Synopsis:

"All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the impending violence becomes terrifyingly clear.

With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it's too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide."

Riveting:

This novel was definitely plot-driven, so it was a fast read.  The characters weren't fully developed and it made me wonder why only one guy who dropped out of school was the only one to pick up on the animal phenomenon known as HAC.  There was a random 5 year gap in the middle that left out some information about the characters that would have been good to know. I also had a problem with how it ended (and so did my mom) but overall it was entertaining.

Elements:

I wish there was more information given about these characters.  I liked Oz, he had a good sense of humor but other than that we were just supposed to take it that he was a genius but there wasn't anything supporting this.  And Chloe was supposed to be brilliant and beautiful but again, there was such skimming over the surface that it left much to be desired.

The plot twists were good but there wasn't much of a resolution at the end and I like tidy endings (maybe that's my character flaw? ;) 

Associate:

The fast-paced style reminded me of a Dan Brown novel, but I enjoy his writing, so maybe this isn't the best association?

Designs:

This book was made up of short chapters which I like because it made me feel like I was reading it faster and it gave me better stopping points when I had to go back to parenting (haha.)  

Stars:

2 out of 5.

I like books that are character rich and have lots of detail and imagery.  This was pretty much the exact opposite of all those things but I was entertained and wanted to find out how this ended (and then was disappointed, sigh.)  I haven't seen the miniseries, anyone watch it yet?

Linking up with Amber and Rachel.