Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Zombies, Enemies to Lovers, Found Family, light sapphic romance, militant bad guys, this has it all.
This book is so much more than a silly YA. It explores themes of sexuality, themes of abandonment, chronic illness/disability, underground themes of racism/anti-Semitism, grief and loss.
On the surface it's a dual 1st person POV, in present tense, that follows two childhood friends 3 years post outbreak. One who has had to step up and become the parent to her family, the other who had recently woken up in a treatment facility after living as a zombie for a year.
Throughout the book you'll see flashbacks of each of their lives, adding context to the story.
I personally found the book a bit slow as it set up the scene, and that's a lot of scifi books I guess, but around 30% into the book things start to take off.
I literally clasped my hands over my mouth when I realized the underlying message halfway through, and I loved it, however I feel like it maybe lost the plot.
I felt like after thefire
The plot became somewhat predictable as we seeMallory Gordan freaking out over Sam's disappearance, at this point we are pretty darn sure Sam has gone to get Daphne and Thalia as it's been talked about Several times since the school incident .
The ending was pretty darn good if not a bit cheesy, but I don't think it made up for the predictableness of the chapters before it. Which is why I'm rating this 3.75 ⭐
Afaik this is this Author's debut novel. I'm interested to see what Brooke Archer does Next.
This book is so much more than a silly YA. It explores themes of sexuality, themes of abandonment, chronic illness/disability, underground themes of racism/anti-Semitism, grief and loss.
On the surface it's a dual 1st person POV, in present tense, that follows two childhood friends 3 years post outbreak. One who has had to step up and become the parent to her family, the other who had recently woken up in a treatment facility after living as a zombie for a year.
Throughout the book you'll see flashbacks of each of their lives, adding context to the story.
I personally found the book a bit slow as it set up the scene, and that's a lot of scifi books I guess, but around 30% into the book things start to take off.
I literally clasped my hands over my mouth when I realized the underlying message halfway through, and I loved it, however I feel like it maybe lost the plot.
I felt like after the
The plot became somewhat predictable as we see
The ending was pretty darn good if not a bit cheesy, but I don't think it made up for the predictableness of the chapters before it. Which is why I'm rating this 3.75 ⭐
Afaik this is this Author's debut novel. I'm interested to see what Brooke Archer does Next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This brought back my dystopian obsession and was even better because it was with lesbians <3
We've got a warm bodies situation going on, and let me tell you, I am here for it.
I *zoomed* through this. It's so good honestly. Omg.
I *zoomed* through this. It's so good honestly. Omg.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Maybe hope is long gone, erased by the monsters we made and became.”
“Hearts Still Beating,” by Brooke Archer
Mara has been living as someone who’s in recovery for being something like a zombie. The surviving settlements in California have set up a system to reintegrate the “Tick’s” who have been brought back mostly to life. Now Mara is being sent back to her surviving relatives, which include her sister and to the same place her best friend and the person she fell in love with before the end of the world lives. Rory, Mara’s old best friend, has been living with the surviving and rebuilding of the town she lives in and is not sure how to handle the news of Mara coming back to town after all that’s happened.
I really liked this book. I love dystopian books and I’m excited to read more and more authors writing them right now. Brooke Archer has written a very good post-apocalyptic zombie book. It is very YA but has a little graphic content with the whole zombie stuff. I liked the characters in the book a lot and was fully invested in their wellbeing. The POV shifts made me a little confused at the time, I do wish it was only in Mara POV but that’s just my personal preference of only wanting one POV. I loved the setting, the story, the characters, the imagery, and the cover. I would love to read more books by Brooke Archer. 5 out of 5 stars.
-Zombie
-F/F
-Post Apocalyptic
Thank you for the ARC.
“Hearts Still Beating,” by Brooke Archer
Mara has been living as someone who’s in recovery for being something like a zombie. The surviving settlements in California have set up a system to reintegrate the “Tick’s” who have been brought back mostly to life. Now Mara is being sent back to her surviving relatives, which include her sister and to the same place her best friend and the person she fell in love with before the end of the world lives. Rory, Mara’s old best friend, has been living with the surviving and rebuilding of the town she lives in and is not sure how to handle the news of Mara coming back to town after all that’s happened.
I really liked this book. I love dystopian books and I’m excited to read more and more authors writing them right now. Brooke Archer has written a very good post-apocalyptic zombie book. It is very YA but has a little graphic content with the whole zombie stuff. I liked the characters in the book a lot and was fully invested in their wellbeing. The POV shifts made me a little confused at the time, I do wish it was only in Mara POV but that’s just my personal preference of only wanting one POV. I loved the setting, the story, the characters, the imagery, and the cover. I would love to read more books by Brooke Archer. 5 out of 5 stars.
-Zombie
-F/F
-Post Apocalyptic
Thank you for the ARC.
A lot of Rory’s anger felt not fully understandable to me but other than that this was good. Post apocalyptic & sapphic with a lot of angst. Kinda the last of us vibes in some ways
DNF for now at 42%
Even tho I wasn’t really vibing with most of it, I was willing to push thru.
But right now I cannot handle reading about scared kids and people dying from corrupt individuals’ actions and people just trying to survive. So like. Maybe I’ll try this again in 4 years lmao.
Even tho I wasn’t really vibing with most of it, I was willing to push thru.
But right now I cannot handle reading about scared kids and people dying from corrupt individuals’ actions and people just trying to survive. So like. Maybe I’ll try this again in 4 years lmao.