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cyrenasea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
jasminx's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
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
5.0
beccasbooks234's review against another edition
5.0
Mara and Aurora were only teenagers when the world ended. Their secret love for each other was pushed aside as Mara became a Tick and Aurora became hardened and grew into Rory. Seventeen-year-old Mara is dead - mostly, when she is relocated to live with the girl who kissed her before the world changed overnight. Seventeen-year-old Rory is alive - barely, when she learns that the girl she loved was coming to live with her. They have to learn to lean on each other or risk losing the girls they loved forever.
This was a perfect book to read during Pride Month! The struggles these two girls faced amidst their feelings for each other…. The cover says it perfectly: “The world ended. Love did not.” The fact that they kept turning to each other was so perfectly romantic during a horrific virus that brings back the dead.
There were some moments that were a little gory for my taste, but it definitely helped me visualize the scene. Zombie-related books have a little gore in them just based on the topic.
I love the cover artwork, it really drew my attention and I think it’s beautiful. The flowers blooming and cracked earth….
This was a perfect book to read during Pride Month! The struggles these two girls faced amidst their feelings for each other…. The cover says it perfectly: “The world ended. Love did not.” The fact that they kept turning to each other was so perfectly romantic during a horrific virus that brings back the dead.
There were some moments that were a little gory for my taste, but it definitely helped me visualize the scene. Zombie-related books have a little gore in them just based on the topic.
I love the cover artwork, it really drew my attention and I think it’s beautiful. The flowers blooming and cracked earth….
annithebookaholic's review against another edition
4.5
Sapphic zombies?! Yes, please!
This was really good! I loved the concept and how the story was told and built along the book. The two main characters were so interesting and I loved reading their thoughts. The two narrators style worked really well as we got to see the two sides of the end of the world, those that got the tick (zombies) and those that managed to survive uninfected. I found these two perceptives really interesting!
I also loved the relationships in this. Especially between the main characters but also with all of the side characters. I loved how quickly they took Mara in and also how accepting of the relationship everyone was. Love to see the support!
Overall, this is a great YA dystopian apocalyptic book and I really recommend it!
This was really good! I loved the concept and how the story was told and built along the book. The two main characters were so interesting and I loved reading their thoughts. The two narrators style worked really well as we got to see the two sides of the end of the world, those that got the tick (zombies) and those that managed to survive uninfected. I found these two perceptives really interesting!
I also loved the relationships in this. Especially between the main characters but also with all of the side characters. I loved how quickly they took Mara in and also how accepting of the relationship everyone was. Love to see the support!
Overall, this is a great YA dystopian apocalyptic book and I really recommend it!
megs2kool's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-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
5.0
bethywilson's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
marybethlovesbooks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
pale_faced_fear's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.25
gigireadswithkiki's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
In the grand scheme of dystopian zombie novels I've read (which I'll admit is not that many), "Hearts Still Beating" was surprisingly fun. This review will be a little all-over-the-place because my reading was a little disjointed but for a book I read with 60% of my brain I did enjoy the read.
A lot of the technology behind the cure for the Ticks was initially waved away with some vague hand-waving, but the ending helped clear up a lot of the plot threads regarding the lore of the Ticks, and it was nice to see time as a big factor for the healing process, especially since I feel YA novels can feel rushed in this regard. The romance was super corny, the final conclusion was pretty cringey, and frankly the main characters were pretty annoying (I did not LOVE Mara but I was definitely, at times, actively annoyed by Rory), BUT I was using this audiobook to get me through a jigsaw puzzle, so I don't think I was paying as much attention to the intricacies of the writing/plot/etc. So overall, a fun brain-off time but I'm not sure I would have enjoyed as much if I was fully locked in on the story.
A lot of the technology behind the cure for the Ticks was initially waved away with some vague hand-waving, but the ending helped clear up a lot of the plot threads regarding the lore of the Ticks, and it was nice to see time as a big factor for the healing process, especially since I feel YA novels can feel rushed in this regard. The romance was super corny, the final conclusion was pretty cringey, and frankly the main characters were pretty annoying (I did not LOVE Mara but I was definitely, at times, actively annoyed by Rory), BUT I was using this audiobook to get me through a jigsaw puzzle, so I don't think I was paying as much attention to the intricacies of the writing/plot/etc. So overall, a fun brain-off time but I'm not sure I would have enjoyed as much if I was fully locked in on the story.
nsgold's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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
4.75