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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
All I needed to know about this book to want to read it was that it was a "Post-Apocalyptic Sapphic YA Zombie Romance." At least, that's how I've been describing it to anyone who will listen. Rory and Mara's journey from Pining Besties, to Mortal- and Undead- Enemies, to Lovers is *chef's kiss,* but there's so much more to this story than their romance.
This YA romance is a survival story with a side of bunker-politics. I would call it a mystery, but it really isn't. It's less about the "whodunits" and more about "we know exactly who did this and why but no one around here will believe us and everyone is trying to kill us because we became a threat to a very powerful, charismatic person." It's after the world ended! Of course we have your usual militant, power-hungry people bickering over territories, resources, people, and power!
Overall, I enjoyed the novel. It gave me Warm Bodies vibes and I had also really liked that story as well. YA is notorious for monster romances, so I'm happy to have zombies join the ranks of vampires, werewolves, mermaids, and the various kinds of powerful immortals that have already entranced us.
This YA romance is a survival story with a side of bunker-politics. I would call it a mystery, but it really isn't. It's less about the "whodunits" and more about "we know exactly who did this and why but no one around here will believe us and everyone is trying to kill us because we became a threat to a very powerful, charismatic person." It's after the world ended! Of course we have your usual militant, power-hungry people bickering over territories, resources, people, and power!
Overall, I enjoyed the novel. It gave me Warm Bodies vibes and I had also really liked that story as well. YA is notorious for monster romances, so I'm happy to have zombies join the ranks of vampires, werewolves, mermaids, and the various kinds of powerful immortals that have already entranced us.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The concept was super cool, but the execution was lacking a bit for me. There were some pretty cool moments, but I struggled to get through it, and I didn’t have a strong connection to it. I found myself not caring much about what happened to them. I wish we would have seen more of what happened before the “world ended” so to speak. I think that would have given me a better understanding of their relationship - which I didn’t really get - and given me a stronger connection to the story.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Mixed feelings on this one; I struggled through it and it's hard to say whether that's from the book itself or my general mood at the time, so I'm refraining from rating it.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book did a great job with the ~angst~ and the writing was actually pretty good in parts. However, there were SO MANY MISTAKES!! Honestly I'm concerned how the editor didn't catch part of the book literally changing narration style to third person? (this is otherwise a 1st person dual-pov) And then there were several continuity errors, like wounds switching places or disappearing, and hairstyles changing suddenly. Other than that, my other main problem was the pacing; it was very strange, and there were high stakes without being grounded. For example, there's a misunderstanding that happens off screen, and we're supposed to believe that it could lead to several hundred people turning against the mcs. But... we literally never interact with those people & it's difficult to believe that they would just believe the misunderstanding above their own common sense. Essentially this book happens in a tiny bubble, which really lessens the otherwise well written stakes & tension. Plus, the actual world and dynamics of the zombie-lore (?!?!) could've been explored more in my opinion. This book does have bonus points for having friends-to-lovers-to-strangers-to-friends-lovers, because that is a crazy timeline to experience.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
To say I loved it is an understatement. I binged it in about 24 hours it was THAT good.
This Sapphic YA love story set in a post zombie apocalyptic wasteland is everything I didn't know I needed. Set years after the world as we know it ended, a drug has been developed that allows zombies ("ticks") to regain their humanity. Sent back to the family that helped raise her, Mara confronts the girl she grew up loving.
I was hooked the whole way through and cannot recommend this enough.
This Sapphic YA love story set in a post zombie apocalyptic wasteland is everything I didn't know I needed. Set years after the world as we know it ended, a drug has been developed that allows zombies ("ticks") to regain their humanity. Sent back to the family that helped raise her, Mara confronts the girl she grew up loving.
I was hooked the whole way through and cannot recommend this enough.
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes