Based on an author's (or narrator's?) post in a Goodreads group, I tried out the sample available of this book on Audible, liked what I heard, and threw caution to the wind and bought it. It is an interesting slant on the ground AMC trod this summer with Fear the Walking Dead: the very beginning of a zombie apocalypse, as people are still standing and watching creatures who used to be friends and family shambling closer and closer, wondering why cousin Jimmy is so pale, and why is he growling … The Undead in this universe were fast and loud and persistent, and I liked that.

Unfortunately, that's about all I liked.

I didn't much care for any of the characters. One main character, the lawyer Sampson, fluctuates between Slimy Lawyer and Put Upon Nice Guy, to the point that I was uncomfortable when another main character who was a teenaged girl met up with him; I kept expecting the scumbag to re-emerge. I will say all the characters were something more than cardboard … it's just that what they were instead was inconsistent and, unfortunately, ultimately unlikeable. Also, not entirely believable: the level of bickering in the middle of a world-ending crisis might, sadly, have been realistic, but it was incredibly annoying to read - - and, also, I find it hard to believe that, coming upon a CVS that had gone unlooted (which is highly improbable, security gate or no security gate), our heroes not only stock up on water and power bars and lighter fluid but … deodorants. And then a while later use up most if not all of that incredibly valuable lighter fluid on something really stupid for which they could have used any number of other accelerants.

I'll come back to the characters.

The narration had some high highs and low lows. The voice of the narrator and those used for male character voices were mostly fine, though it was a little interesting that two of the three black men in the cast of characters were pretty much identical. The women, though … *shudder* In the book, the women, excepting teenaged heroine Veronica, are at best worthless, at worst "batshit crazy" and overall really horrendous. In the narration, they're the epitome of cliché gay caricature voice – terrible.

The language periodically made me twitch: "the people her and her brother had stumbled upon", for example. And the constant use of "lie" as the past tense for … "lie". I thought it was "lied", which made me see faintly red, but I checked Google Books: nope. Bodies lie about, little islands of present tense in the midst of a past tense book. (Along with "squat" as the past tense for "squat".) A few actions like a man placing a bag on his back are described with such gravity and emphasis that they should be significant. (They aren't.) And things like "Ben shared a laugh with himself", or someone's "happy hands"…? No.

Another bit I didn't much like was what seems to be a nastily right-wing stance (referring to the uber-bitch Juliette as a spoiled liberal – which, no).

Going back to that CVS: First of all, CVS in Florida carries booze? Huh. Anyway. The store was described as having no other door than the front entrance. I find it hard to believe there's any public building without a back door, for trash removal and to comply with fire codes if nothing else.

The car name-dropping gets old; I'm not sure why we need to know exactly what everyone drives, except to make occasional points about some characters' wealth and so on.

The cuts in the narrative are sometimes abrupt and confusing – going from talking about Sampson and Moira to a new chapter (hard to distinguish in an audiobook) and "they all" in the first sentence – but here "they" refers to Abe and company; later, a shift in the other direction, from Abe & co to Sampson.

One thing I have to give some credit to the author for: the tale of what happened to Al. It was, at first, nicely handled – by which I mean the story was withheld and and evaded for quite a while, which I at first found irritating but came to appreciate as – at first – a nice bit of storytelling, good suspense-building. However, it stretched out too long, to the point that when some (never all) of the details finally came out I had already pretty much figured out what happened and didn't need to be told. There were a few near misses like that in the storytelling – and inconsistencies, such as Veronica telling the story of how her father was attacked – but not as the father told it. She was not there; she has only what her father related to her. Where did the new details in her version come from?

I wanted to continue liking the book. I would have loved to like it more than the afore-mentioned Fear the Walking Dead, about which I was kind of lukewarm. But "Breadwinner" didn't suffer from comparison – it just suffered from its execution. This wasn't the first time I've had cause to bless Audible's return policy … I wish it would be the last. ( )

I received a copy of this book for honest review. 'The Breadwinner' is a zombie apocalypse tale focusing on the stories of three main characters from very different backgrounds.

This story is novella length and split over three parts. This worked really well, making for a gripping read from start to finish as the three character's stories are told. This is a fast-paced book with plenty of suspense, some well twisted shocks and interesting characters in every part. As fun as some of the more unusual characters were, I liked Veronica the most and would want to read more just to find out what she does next! I was rooting for her as soon as she showed up.

The story is only just beginning in this book. I wasn't really sure where the plot was heading with this one but I liked where it ended up. The zombie attacks keep the tension high but the true horror comes from the things these survivors have to do to keep themselves alive and protect those they care most about.

Overall this is an excellent first part to a zombie apocalypse trilogy with well written characters and some truly shocking and horrifying moments. Recommended for fans of horror/zombies/apocalyptic fiction. ( )

A great read, thoroughly enjoyed every moment. My full review is here http://tinyurl.com/ps5eekk ( )

ABR's full The Breadwinner audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

This is the debut audiobook from a new author Stevie Kopas. I am sure that this will be a welcomed addition to a very crowded genre. As the story is primarily told from the females perspective, not only that but one that is not a survival expert or prepper.

Best part of this particular zombie apocalypse is the fast zombies or eaters as they are often referred to here. I remember the first time I encountered them in 28 Day Later, since then they have always held a very special place in my heart.

There were zombie attack scenes that made me squirm a bit. Kopas was able to inject each of them with just the right amount of terror and gore. The characters grew and evolved right before your eyes. I just couldn’t find a connection to any of them.

While to storyline was solid, I found it difficult to pay attention due to the narration and for this book, maybe the print version would have been much better. There were times that I got confused about whether the story was happening now or then, due to the amount of flashbacks and flash forwards.

This was my first time listening to a performance by Scott Birney. Unfortunately, I will have to think long and hard before choosing another by him. I found his voice pleasant overall, deep and resonating, he speaks clearly and concisely.

Firstly I think he was the wrong choice to narrate a book that is primarily from the female perspective. His strong and deep voice just didn’t fit. Then his pacing was perfectly steady, I find it much more of a pleasant listen when there is a fluctuation of the speed of the reading. Then he sounded almost completely emotionless throughout. The “from the author” at the very end of the book was one of the only points to where Birney added some sort of emotional fluctuation.

Audiobook provided for review by a friend of the author. ( )

3.5 of 5 Stars Review copy

I really wanted to like The Breadwinner (The Breadwinner Trilogy Book 1) much more than I did. After all, it's zombie lit. From a technical standpoint, it's well-written, the characters are OK and diverse, the story is well mapped out and it sets the stage nicely for book 2 in the series.

All that said, The Breadwinner, just seems overly familiar. It's a typical zombie scenario with no explanation as to what started it all and from there it's the same formula we've seen in dozens of other zombie books. Even the cover, although eye-catching, is reminiscent of the opening credits of The Walking Dead.

If you can get beyond the sameness, there is an enjoyable story here. Author, Stevie Kopas, shows a great deal of potential. If I hadn't read so many zombie tales over the years, I probably would have liked this much more.

The Breadwinner starts with attorney, Samson Eckhart, exiting the courtroom after having his case continued due to strange events occurring outside the building and around the region. I do like how the author gets to the action right from the start, problem was it was all stuff we've read and seen before. I would like to compliment Kopas for her grip on the times we live in. Her take on the effect of the collapse of social media for one of the younger survivors was dead on.

In many ways, The Breadwinner Trilogy is already a major success for Stevie Kopas, as she's seen her work go from being self-published to being published by Permuted Press. Book 1 is available now, as an ebook, from the major online retailers.

A must read for zombie fans and I am hoping for something more in book 2, Haven, coming soon. ( )