Zombie Island (Shakespeare Undead #2) by Lori Handeland

In the follow-up to Shakespeare Undead, vampire William Shakespeare and his Dark Lady are stranded on a mystical island where zombies are plentiful and one man will stop at nothing to become all-powerful.

Fresh from a triumphant battle over the zombie horde that invaded London, vampire William Shakespeare concocts a plot to rid the love of his life from the encumbrance of her husband. Will plans to give his ”dark lady,” Katherine Dymond, a potion that will make her sleep the sleep of the dead. Once she is entombed, Will can sneak in, wait for her to awaken, then spirit her away. After her husband returns to his plantation in America, Kate can return to London under a different name and assume a new identity. No one will believe that the dead Katherine and the live Kate are the same woman. Of course, as is often the case with true love, all does not go as smoothly as planned. When the two of them are shipwrecked on an island ruled by a wizard and a nymph, as well as infested by zombies, Will and Kate must stop an even larger plot afoot—one that leads all the way to the royal palaces of Queen Elizabeth.

 As I said with the first book, Shakespeare Undead, you really need a sense of humor about Shakespeare to read this one. Staunch Shakespearians need not read. For everyone else who doesn't mind their English poet imagined anew, then you might take a look at this book as well.

It leaves off right after the first book. Will's Dymond becomes a castaway because of a willful sprite wanting Kate to get rid of the zombies on her isle. There is an evil and insane sorcerer who is hell bent on getting his crown back who keeps raising the dead. Will is then thrust out into the ocean to find his lady love. They are also trapped on the isle with kate's "former" husband although they don't know it. This allows the married couple to truly part ways and grow in compassion when they wouldn't have otherwise. How is this done when they don't know he is on the isle? Well, you'll just have to read it to find out. I would have to say, however, that was my favorite part of the book.

The same mix of language exists in this book as it did in the former book. So be prepared to read poet, old English and modern together. It really isn't that disconcerting. The author does put those movies we know today in Will's mind again (I still didn't like it) but it is much less and so much more tolerable to me. The conclusion to this book is complete, but seemed rushed. It was if you are preparing for a final battle and then *woosh* it was taken away with a simple explanation. Oddly enough, that didn't bother me that much.

I give this zombie tale 3 stars. It is a good zombie book for those who don't like gore that much (there is very little) and want a light read. These 2 books will probably be either a hit or a miss with most folks.

I received this book from the publisher and LibraryThing's early reviewers program and no compensation for my review was given.