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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
I really wanted to like this one, but I really struggled with the pacing. I thought the overall idea, and sapphic representation, was amazing, but I was really bored and kept forgetting to update my progress on this one because it took me forever to work through 9% of it.
I know you've thought about what you'd do during the zombie apocalypse. But what about AFTER?
17-year-old Mara wakes up in a medical facility to find that she's actually dead. She fell victim to the virus that wrecked the world and is now an early patient being treated with a medication that allows her to control her more zombie-like urges. Rory is alive, but nothing like the best friend Mara remembers. Rory has had to step up in her family and in their militia-obsessed town and is closed-off and tough as nails as a result.
Awkwardly for both girls, Rory's parents are Mara's godparents, and since her blood relatives were, uh...eaten...the girls are now housemates while Mara is reintegrated into society and observed by the doctors and scientists running the medical trials. More awkward than that? The last time the girls saw each other was their first and only kiss.
The vibe of this book reminded me of "The Host" mixed with "The 5th Wave" and "Warm Bodies"--which is to say, it was a great time. I loved the premise and the world-building, but found it interesting that the book started where it did instead of during the actual apocalypse. It worked but I liked it so much that I almost wish it was a duology and that this was book two, I'd have loved to see more of the progression of the world and how the characters got here firsthand, and think it would have made the emotional beats hit harder. Definitely check this out if you're in the mood for a standalone with some nostalgic dystopian vibes and sapphic rep! Thanks to BookishFirst, the publisher, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hearts Still Beating is a gripping tale of love lost and found again, but with zombies. Mara and Rory experience their first kiss the night before the zombie apocalypse begins. They’re separated and eventually find each other again only one of them no longer has a beating heart. I thoroughly enjoyed this gripping love story with a splash of gore.
Thank you @prhaudio for early access to the audiobook, I love a good dual narration! And @penguinteen for an Advanced Reader Copy!
Thank you @prhaudio for early access to the audiobook, I love a good dual narration! And @penguinteen for an Advanced Reader Copy!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't know what it is about YA authors and dystopias, but Brooke has written a fabulous entry to the canon! This was a total page turner, with plenty of action and emotional beats, and the conclusion was satisfying and felt realistic. The zombie-ness of it all was really well incorporated into the story, where you always remember you're reading a zombie story but it isn't too heavy handed for the more horror averse reader. If Episode 7 of The Last Of Us lives rent free in your head, this is the book for you!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
This YA post-apocalyptic, sapphic zombie book will have your heart beating! Mara and Rory's lives are torn apart when the virus infects the world, turning people into zombies, which they call ticks. Mara ends up in zombie rehab where she has been treated with experimental drugs and sent out into the world to resettle amongst the humans. This book has some of my favorite tropes and representation: second chance romance, coming of age, adoption representation, sapphic representation. This gives me Warm Bodies and The Last of us vibes in the best way!
The world as they know it may have ended, but love survives all.
Thank you to Penguin Teen for the free copy of this book!
The world as they know it may have ended, but love survives all.
Thank you to Penguin Teen for the free copy of this book!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I won this book from a Goodreads Giveaway. The fact that it compared the story to the tv show The Last of Us, which I enjoyed, is what got me interested. I do enjoy a good zombie/post-apocalyptic story. This had a lot of really interesting aspects and unique details. The story is told through the POV of both Mara and Rory. Mara was infected with the Tick, or the virus that created the zombies. But somehow the scientists have found a type of drug that can help the Ticks become human, mostly, again. Mara is one of them, and is being sent to live with her godparents. Her own parents are dead, she killed them. She has an older sister, but she won’t take her. Mara’s godparents are Rory’s parents. But Rory has been dealing with living through this new world. She’s felt like her parents didn’t take care of her at times and she now calls them by their first names. She lost one of her younger sisters to the Ticks, and then had to kill her sister herself to keep her from turning.
Mara and Rory had been best friends, maybe more, before all this happened. So the two of them are learning whether any of that friendship or more is still there. But of course you know in a world like this the guys running the towns aren’t always as good of guys as you think there are. And there are also all the people who don’t trust that this medication will actually help the Ticks, or even if it does, they still think they all deserve to die because they killed people before. Also Mara’s older sister wants her dead too.
Seeing the way the world had changed was interesting and I liked both the things that reminded me of favorite shows and movies, as well as the newer takes on things the author had. I liked the characters’ growth and how they came to figure things out. There was also a unique change in what happened when the medicine wasn’t given for several days, and how different zombie/ticks reacted to not having it. Definitely a good read!
Mara and Rory had been best friends, maybe more, before all this happened. So the two of them are learning whether any of that friendship or more is still there. But of course you know in a world like this the guys running the towns aren’t always as good of guys as you think there are. And there are also all the people who don’t trust that this medication will actually help the Ticks, or even if it does, they still think they all deserve to die because they killed people before. Also Mara’s older sister wants her dead too.
Seeing the way the world had changed was interesting and I liked both the things that reminded me of favorite shows and movies, as well as the newer takes on things the author had. I liked the characters’ growth and how they came to figure things out. There was also a unique change in what happened when the medicine wasn’t given for several days, and how different zombie/ticks reacted to not having it. Definitely a good read!
“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.
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mara has been bitten by someone infected by the virus. In an effort to find a vaccine for the virus, the world found a way instead to help bring back some semblance of humanity in these “zombies”. Mara is one of them who has now been released to the care of her godparents, who are also the parents of the girl she loved before she was bitten. Rory has aged three years since then, while Mara has not. Can these two find love again? Fascinating concept and a fairly quick read.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gory and gruesome and yet somehow still strangely sweet?
Mostly dead, Mara is about to be sent to live among humans again as an Altered version of the Ticks - the parasite that makes people want to kill and commit cannibalism. All she can hope for is that the girl she loved is still somehow alive. Rory is definitely still alive, and she's angry at the world. When authority starts to get out of control, Mara and Rory have to rely on each other to make it through.
This book gives off The Last of Us vibes, and I don't hate it. Several of the flashbacks seemed unnecessary, but I appreciate the story that was being built. This story doesn't rely much on the science aspect, which makes it easy to read. I liked Rory's family and the tension that played out between Rory and her parents. I was not a fan of the sister's vague attempt at reconciliation. It didn't feel natural to the story at all. Mara and Rory's second chance, on the other hand, played out really well.
Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!
Mostly dead, Mara is about to be sent to live among humans again as an Altered version of the Ticks - the parasite that makes people want to kill and commit cannibalism. All she can hope for is that the girl she loved is still somehow alive. Rory is definitely still alive, and she's angry at the world. When authority starts to get out of control, Mara and Rory have to rely on each other to make it through.
This book gives off The Last of Us vibes, and I don't hate it. Several of the flashbacks seemed unnecessary, but I appreciate the story that was being built. This story doesn't rely much on the science aspect, which makes it easy to read. I liked Rory's family and the tension that played out between Rory and her parents. I was not a fan of the sister's vague attempt at reconciliation. It didn't feel natural to the story at all. Mara and Rory's second chance, on the other hand, played out really well.
Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Child death
This book is brilliant! An absolute 5 start read! We find ourselves in the apocalyptic USA after a virus swept the world and destroyed civilization. Two teenage best friends afraid to admit their romantic love for one another lose the chance when their lives fall apart. Brooke Archer paints a horrific and believable picture of the fall. She definitely had me thinking about it long after I finished reading. We learn about who our MCs were before and who they have become in light of humanity's struggle to survive. One is infected. The other adapts to the challenges of her new existence. This is a story of innocent young love, innocence lost, the strength of love, and the flammability of the tiniest spark of hope. It is at its core the fight to maintain one's humanity in the face of unimaginable circumstances, resulting in pain, loss, and despair. Who are the real monsters in all of this? The love story woven throughout highlights the complexity of human emotion and resilience. It is very well-written, and immersive. This is already my favorite book of the year. Do yourself a favor and give it a read! Archer is an author to look out for.
I received a free ARC. This is my honest opinion.
I received a free ARC. This is my honest opinion.