Reviews

Hearts Still Beating by Brooke Archer

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nightjar656's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I definitely liked this one! I was rlly rooting for Mara and Rory, and the way the love story tied into the infection stuff was genius. The tick itself was a neat take on a zombie apocalypse- I like that this takes place during rebuilding with only flashbacks to the early part of the apocalypse, and the way that it’s almost like it’s not just the ticks that died but everyone else too. Big “what makes a monster and what makes a man” vibes (for all the hunchback musical fans out there).
I do wish we’d gotten to see more with the altereds- I was hoping we’d hear more abt the group that ran away in the beginning and see a couple more settlements, but at the same time that might’ve taken focus away from the story, so ig I’m really just hoping there’s more set in the same world someday lol.
Tl;dr- i rlly liked this one! Would recommend to ppl who like post apocalyptic settings, morally-grey characters, complex sibling relationships, sword-wielding sapphics, and high-stakes love stories.

daisyxhead's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

rainbowbookworm's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense

4.75

doremelodie's review

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3.0

Post apocalyptic. Friends to enemies to lovers ish.

thindbooks's review

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3.5

This story is perfect for those who love The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, and The 100. This story follows two teen girls who love each other but one is affected by the virus. I really enjoyed this storyline and the introduction the author made for this story. I was hooked from the beginning of the book and loved the conflicts in the story. I do have to say that the world was a bit confusing at first but you begin to understand it more. The word Ticks was often used which kind of became way too redundant and annoying. I liked the positive message of this book and seeing a different life of a “world ending” situation. This book is told from dual povs of both Mara and Rory.

Mara is affected by the virus and is now an experiment. I enjoyed her character and being able to get the prospective of the “monster”. She didn’t have much of character development but I still liked her character. Then there is Rory who is trying to survive in this new world and notices her crush is back. I liked her character a lot more than Mara and enjoyed her storyline. There are also side characters in this book and most of them I enjoyed especially as they were very involved with the story. The romance is LGBTQ featuring the second chance trope. The romance could have been better from my perspective but it’s what we got.

The ending was good but not the best. It was fine for the story. Overall this was a great read which I recommend reading if you are looking for a dystopian romance that includes a sapphic couple.

*this book was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*