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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
I was so into this at the beginning -- a post apocalyptic story that's truly POST. I really wanted more of the "how do you rebuild after civilization collapses?" story but it ended up being much less focused on that question than I was hoping. It's more of a relationship drama interspersed with a lot of hand to hand combat, violence, and zombie gore.
Got an Arc from work!
I freely admit I’d never been the biggest fan of post apocalyptic stories, but this reeled me in. I like that it was more of an After story, the world has already ended and it’s trying to come back together, it’s not about scrounging through the end of the world, and I liked that the characters knew zombie media! I feel like that’s something that’s rarely seen in zombie stories!
Does anyone remember that BBC show In The Flesh from the early 2010s? I haven’t thought about it in years but this made me miss that, and if you’re like me and you watched that, maybe you’ll have a soft spot for this too!
I freely admit I’d never been the biggest fan of post apocalyptic stories, but this reeled me in. I like that it was more of an After story, the world has already ended and it’s trying to come back together, it’s not about scrounging through the end of the world, and I liked that the characters knew zombie media! I feel like that’s something that’s rarely seen in zombie stories!
Does anyone remember that BBC show In The Flesh from the early 2010s? I haven’t thought about it in years but this made me miss that, and if you’re like me and you watched that, maybe you’ll have a soft spot for this too!
I’m always ready to read dystopian zombie apocalypse and it’s even better when you add sapphic love into the mix! I think this was super creative and while staying realistic it held some really fun sci-fi background and had me hooked from the start! If you’re looking for something easy and a great start to your dystopia journey, this is most definitely for you!
Thank you Penguin Teen!
Thank you Penguin Teen!
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wasn't sure what to expect from this and was pleasantly surprised. It's a post apocalyptic YA/NA sapphic zombie romance. I know. That's kind of a lot. I watched (and loved) but never read Warm Bodies and this reminded me very much of that; not that is ripped it off, but very much in that realm (so not horror or even remotely frightening). Mara is the "zombie" but as long as she takes the medicine she is herself again and the tick inside her does not have control and does not make her attack humans. The medicine also makes her unappealing to the unmedicated or feral ticks. Aurora aka Rory is her human best friend and crush, and the daughter of her godparents so now also her roommate because she is being integrated into society and her godparents are her guardians. Rory is not happy about it but that doesn't last very long once she realizes that Mara is still in there, which happens when they are sent to the mainland to get supplies. When they get to the settlement they see that their integration is going much better and everyone is living in harmony. When they return home they find an attack in progress on the kids who are being watch while the adults are at a meeting; Mal the unofficial leader of the island has been keeping his infected daughter chained up in his house and he set her free on the kids leading to the infection of the two teachers and the death of multiple kids. Rory and Mara save the day but Rory realizes it's a set up to capture Mara and the others like her and execute them so she has her take the body and run. But the next day the body is missing. The others like Mara have been rounded up and denied their medicine. Rory and Mara try to leave the island but Mara's sister attacks them making it impossible for them to get away. Mal interrogates Rory then it's to the pit to fight to the death. Mara does her best to protect Rory, but she's been without the medicine for days and is struggling to stay herself. Then, Sam, Rory's mom, shows up with soldiers from the mainland and the soldiers put a stop to the fighting which is good since it's only Mara and Rory left and there can only be one victor. Mal gets arrested. The girls get taken to the infirmary. Everyone is worried because Rory got bitten before Mara could save her, but she never turns. Well, apparently she is immune because the girls have kissed and the exchange of saliva (multiple times) and the last kiss was pretty bloody because Rory had been beaten by Mal. So she is the only person in the world with immunity. Mara gets the medicine but it puts her into a coma because she has been without for so long. She finally wakes up and the doctor tells her that not only is she fine, but she has started aging again. She is healing from the tick. It was interesting but I would have liked a little more science behind the zombie process. Otherwise, really enjoyable and I will probably read more by this author.
I didn't have huge expectations for this one but the first two thirds of the book exceeded my expectations. I thought this was going to be a pretty flat romance story about a zombie who has been given medicine to no longer be a zombie coming to grips with all the horrible things she did while finding her pre-zombie days love. While there was that, there were also glimpses into what she did when she was a zombie that was fueling her guilt and a current power struggle with where she was placed. It actually made for a compelling story that kind of fell apart at the end.
When I saw this pop up on netgalley, I was sold immediately on the premise. Sapphic, the undead, and post-apocalyptic? Sign me up! I will say my expectations were really high for this one. It wasn't bad by any means, but also didn't blow me away. Definitely middle of the road, which was why I gave it a 3 star rating. I think my biggest cons were the pacing, not fully liking the second FMC, and feeling like not much really happened since this was set after all of the action of the end of the world had happened. On the flip side, I very much enjoyed the main FMC, Mara. I think her story and character development was great! She certainly added more interest to the story. The world was also intriguing, although, I wish there could have been a bit more world building. The idea was solid though. I can't say that I fully felt invested in the love story that was happening. At times, it felt repetitive and forced. But, there were other times I thought it was cute. It just kind of depended on the timing and the characters' chemistry at that time. I definitely think there is an audience for this book and many people are going to love it! Unfortunately, it did feel a little lacking for me though. I appreciate the author and netgally for allowing me to read and review early!
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books / Penguin Young Readers Group for providing this book, with my honest review below.
I had read about Hearts Still Beating on a Goodreads most anticipated list, and I have a special spot for apocalypse books (specifically zombie type books, something about them just works for me) so was very eager to see if this could shine amongst others in the genre. Well put like this, I have been sick as all get out but still managed to use what little time I could focus on reading to read this because it was so great!
A unique take on an apocalypse and zombie novel in that it explores the aftermath, it stands tall even amongst its adult counterparts. Rory (Aurora) and Mara are teenage best friends and through their own twists of fate one of them ends up dead, then brought back to life, and the other ends up housing her despite the trauma and hate associated with her kind. This was a wonderfully written book that explored the apocalypse and humanity in very effective manners while also drawing some parallels in how we react to that which we blindly hate.
Highly recommended, I've already messaged many fellow lovers of these genres about this one.
I had read about Hearts Still Beating on a Goodreads most anticipated list, and I have a special spot for apocalypse books (specifically zombie type books, something about them just works for me) so was very eager to see if this could shine amongst others in the genre. Well put like this, I have been sick as all get out but still managed to use what little time I could focus on reading to read this because it was so great!
A unique take on an apocalypse and zombie novel in that it explores the aftermath, it stands tall even amongst its adult counterparts. Rory (Aurora) and Mara are teenage best friends and through their own twists of fate one of them ends up dead, then brought back to life, and the other ends up housing her despite the trauma and hate associated with her kind. This was a wonderfully written book that explored the apocalypse and humanity in very effective manners while also drawing some parallels in how we react to that which we blindly hate.
Highly recommended, I've already messaged many fellow lovers of these genres about this one.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
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