Not Quite a Review: The Dead Days Journal by Sandra R Campbell

The Basics:
The Dead Days Journal by Sandra R Campbell
Book One in the series
Dystopia, New Adult
Published April 7, 2015
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

I loved the blurb and the cover, and was jonesing for dystopia with a little more of an adult flair than the YA I've read of late.

Blurb:

The daughter of a radical doomsday prepper, Leo Marrok spent her entire life preparing for the end. A skilled fighter and perfect marksman, Leo is her father’s second-in-command when Armageddon comes to pass. Together, they lead a group of survivors to a secure bunker deep in the Appalachian Mountains.

Vincent Marrok is willing to take extreme measures to repopulate their broken world. Leo’s refusal marks her as a traitor. With father and daughter at odds for the first time, their frail community is thrust into turmoil. Until the unthinkable happens, a blood-thirsty horde arrives. The impending attack will destroy all that they have worked for.

To protect her home and everything she believes in, Leo puts her faith in the arms of the enemy—a creature only rumored to exist—the one she calls Halloween. An alliance born out of necessity evolves into feelings Leo is ill-equipped to handle.

The Dead Days Journal is a post-apocalyptic story of love and family told through Leo Marrok’s first-hand account and the pages of Vincent’s personal journal, giving two very different perspectives on what it takes to survive.

Mature themes, adult language, sexual situations, violence and gore. 18+

My Thoughts:

I haven't finished reading this one yet. When I initially grabbed it, I was really eager to read something gritty and dystopic and *adult.*  And wouldn't you know it, but by the time it came up in my reading schedule, I was in the mood for fluffy and fun. Today was the deadline from the book tour company to get this one read and reviewed, and as you can see, I just couldn't make it there. But I did want to post about this book because every few months, I reach this point with a book that I should be devouring for all the right reasons and not just because of a deadline. 

You see, I think the book looks really awesome - the tension between daughter and father; a young woman standing up for what she believes in during tough times; the struggle for survival; the promise of something supernatural. I love the cover (a lot, I'd love to have a copy of this for my shelves), and the blurb intrigues me. For some reason, when it comes to sit down with the book, I can't seem to get through more than a page. And it's not that the first few pages don't reach out and grab me, because I *do* think that the book starts in an intriguing way, with all sorts of tantalizing hints at the dangerous world Leo lives in. Maybe it's that I know this journey isn't going to be all rainbows and kittens and that's what I'm in the mood for? I don't know.

What do you do when you're both eager to read something and . . . not? Do you ever resort to checking out the last chapter to see if the outcome seems worth the journey? How about checking reviews *after you've already acquired the book* to get you motivated?  Or do you just set that book aside and promise to return to it when you're good and ready?

Bottom line:

Check out The Dead Days Journal, come back and tell me what you thought. Or check in later in May when I'll have a proper review posted!