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A review by olivialandryxo
Hearing Red by Nicole Maser
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
When someone on Reddit said “sapphic zombie apocalypse book”, I couldn’t run to KU fast enough. I dove into it immediately, and I have no regrets. It might be a slower book, but the complex leads and their incredibly sweet allies to friends to lovers relationship were more than enough to make up for the story’s occasional dragging moment. The truth about the hoodie nearly had me squealing because it was so cute, and I’m pretty sure I’m always going to think of Saff and Maddie now when I see or smell popcorn.
Even at its lower points, the story kept my attention. More than once, I sat down thinking I’d read a couple of chapters, then got sucked in and ended up reading six, seven or more. I would plan to stop at the end of a chapter, and then be too curious about what happened next to actually stop. You know a book is good when.
Additionally, I think this is the first time I’ve read anything featuring a blind character, and it definitely added a new depth to the story for me. The shifts in narration were interesting, going back and forth between one protagonist that could offer physical descriptions and one that had to work around their absence. I feel like I can’t describe it in a way that does it justice, but it was done well. (It also got me thinking about how terrifyingly terrible it would be to be blind in an apocalypse. As if the apocalypse wouldn’t be nightmarish enough on its own. Nine hells.)
But yeah, all in all, I really, really liked this book. I got so much more from it than I expected going in, and that makes me happy. Good job, Nicole Maser.
Representation:
Even at its lower points, the story kept my attention. More than once, I sat down thinking I’d read a couple of chapters, then got sucked in and ended up reading six, seven or more. I would plan to stop at the end of a chapter, and then be too curious about what happened next to actually stop. You know a book is good when.
Additionally, I think this is the first time I’ve read anything featuring a blind character, and it definitely added a new depth to the story for me. The shifts in narration were interesting, going back and forth between one protagonist that could offer physical descriptions and one that had to work around their absence. I feel like I can’t describe it in a way that does it justice, but it was done well. (It also got me thinking about how terrifyingly terrible it would be to be blind in an apocalypse. As if the apocalypse wouldn’t be nightmarish enough on its own. Nine hells.)
But yeah, all in all, I really, really liked this book. I got so much more from it than I expected going in, and that makes me happy. Good job, Nicole Maser.
Representation:
- sapphic protagonist with asthma
- blind sapphic protagonist (that uses a cane)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy
One protagonist lost a parent prior to the story. Various deaths throughout, both human and zombie. Descriptions of a stab wound, a bullet wound and a concussion, at various points. One scene has the protagonists in a burning house, and one of them gets some severe burns on her upper body. There’s a very minor pregnant side character in the second half of the book that’s late in said pregnancy and struggling with it. She’s tentatively diagnosed with preeclampsia, and neither her nor the baby survive the birth. This is not shown on-page.