I received this book from Entangled Publishing in exchange of an honest review!

Welp, this was just amazing. Dual POV. Kick-ass girl. Some steamy scenes. And of course zombies! Zombies! Smart Zombies (welp, don’t like the idea of zombies climbing things or opening locks). shakes fist at the cliffhanger ending Arghhh.

I actually wanted to save this one until October, when Halloween is closer by, but I just couldn’t hold my curiosity and decided to read a bit… and then I was hooked. 😛 I just couldn’t stop reading it. Whenever I had time I read and read and read.

I was curious about the combination of romance/sex with zombies. Would it fit? Would it still hold the excitement or would they just forget about everything and get eaten. (Hey, it can happen!) I have read other zombiexromance books, but it was a bit hit and miss if it fitted. I was hoping to find another book in which it did fit!

The book is written in dual POV. We see Jack and we see Luke. I am quite delighted that the author decided to go for both POVs, it just made the book a bit more balanced, plus both characters are so much fun and deserve to shine in the spotlight. Both of them are also different. Yes, they are both kick-ass, know how to survive in this deadly new world, but whereas Luke would accept normality if that was offered and would love to just chill and not think about weapons, death and pain, Jackson would stay focussed, would never rest. She is too far gone to accept normality now. It is a cruel thing, but it is the truth. Jackson fought for 2 years to survive, never able to rest or take a breather. Luke had the luck of a good shelter, good food, and other things. He had to go outside of course, and he knows how to defend himself, but he still had a pretty good 2 years in comparison with Jackson.

I don’t really have a favourite character, though I have to say that Luke was more likeable than Jackson. I am not sure how to explain, yes, he was a bit of a dick at times and a bit old-fashioned, but I also thought it was very sweet of Luke to be so protective. Yes, he knows Jackson can protect herself, but he also wants to make sure she is safe. Also, I loved that he could also enjoy normality. Plus, in a world gone bonkers, he stayed pretty sane/didn’t go craycray. Really, I read enough books were 99% of the men were creepy dudes who, when seeing a rare, random girl in her underwear, wouldn’t be so chivalrous to help her out and drink a soda with her. 😛

Jackson, what a name, I was instantly taken by her. She was fun, sweet, kick-ass, and I just loved how dedicated she was. How hard she fought, and how hard she worked. But, I was also heartbroken. This poor girl had seen so much, had done so much, it almost broke her. I felt sorry that she would never be able to relax, that she would always be on Fight Mode, no matter what. No matter how safe a place may seem. On the one hand admirable that she can just jump into action like that, but how stressful it must be for her. 🙁
At times I agreed with her on Luke and his (over)protectiveness, but at other times I found her a bit too rude and I wished she would understand him a bit more. He loves you, he cares about you, you are everything he has. Please understand that he may worry, that he may get angry when you leave without a message.

The zombies were properly scary. I love it when books take a spin on the zombie genre. Smart zombies are nothing new, but they don’t always happen, so I was really happy (and creeped out) that they were not the slow and weak kind. Instead we have zombies that climb on roofs, on ladders, and can open doors (locked ones even!). They are calculating, forming packs, and doing a whole poopload more. Be prepared to be really creeped out and feel goosebumps all over you while reading. These zombies are not to be messed with!

The journey towards the safe town was equal parts squee and equal parts NOOOPE. 😛 It was a very exciting journey and I was rooting for our characters to make it safely to it. Oh and of course that the safe town wasn’t a fake, or overrun, as happens so often in zombie books.

The ending was great (OMG OMG OMG), but I am not too happy with the cliffhanger! Argh, now I have to find the next book as I want to know more, and I want to know how x survived and met that person!

The steamy scenes were perfect, they fitted in great with the story, and I was cheering (and shipping) these characters like mad. I loved that they didn’t immediately kiss or went for the act, but instead they grew closer and closer with each page, and by the time things did happen, it was the right timing.

Oh, and I appreciate that this book takes place 2 years after the apocalypse. It just shows that humanity is not giving up, that there are still people fighting. Though of course I wouldn’t mind a book about the first days though, I am sure that would also be a great one.

I am sure I can tell more about the book (squee), but I think I got all the main points down.

All in all, I would recommend this book to everyone. This was such a delight, and I flew through the book. I can’t wait to read the next book!