Review Detail

R is in a constant struggle with himself, with reality, with the living. R is a zombie. Yet, there is something different and miraculous about him. As R struggles on his journey of change, Julie is the only life line R has. Julie, the girl he has sworn to protect, may be R’s only redemption in a world of loss, chaos, and tragedy.

I LOVED the concept of reading from a zombies perspective. I felt so distraught for R. He was just so lovable and relatable. He wanted what everyone wants out of life….. a purpose. R cannot remember his past nor his name. He is struggling to maintain a small semblance of humanity, which he actually finds while eating the brain of a young man named Perry Kelvin.

Reliving Perry’s memories is what makes R return to his humanly ways. He finds himself eager to live and actually return to the living. I found myself rooting for R along the way. Although I was on the fence about how closely the zombies pried in the memories of their kills, I could understand how the sensation of feeling alive could tempt even the strongest saint. I was still unsure about R’s feelings for Julie. I was skeptical to embrace the fact that they could be considered his own since he was reliving Perry’s memories; I felt it was a borrowed feeling that did not rightfully belong to him. I did find R’s feeling for her sweet because as I read further I realized that Perry had ultimately pushed her away while dealing with his own internal struggle. She was the one thing that kept him going.

Julie and I share a similar personality. I bonded instantly with her character. We are both open minded, opinionated, and have foul mouths. I was a little thrown off though by how calm and collective she and a couple of others took this all in. I am sure I would not have reacted the same given the opportunity. Fear is our biggest weakness and I found myself intrigued that through it all Julie pushed her fears to the side and embraced the differences in the world around her. I loved there growing friendship and attraction to one another. I felt that her hard love was exactly what R needed to push him to become the change in the world.

OMG LETS TALK ABOUT THE COMICAL SIDES OF THIS STORY! I found myself chuckling on many occasions in this book (ok more like laughing out loud and looking a fool the majority of the time (:!). The way that R talked about the zombies standing around and groaning all day cracked me up. Could you imagine viewing this as a bystander who was fully aware of how awkward this was? I honestly could not stop laughing when R described his zombie “wife” having “sex” with her lover. It was just too much! The picture I conjured up was just slap on the knee, tears streaming down your face hilarious. Marion definitely had me LMAO a couple of times!

The only reason I felt that this book did not deserve a wonderful 5 star rating was the ending. As fantastical as it was, I found myself unsure of how I felt about the end. I was ecstatic that R got his happily ever after, but at the same time…. this is a zombie story and people do not just miraculously jump up and say, “opppps sorry about being a walking dead cannibal for a while but no fear I am human again because I believed”. I was really pleased that it was a different concept than we have seen in other zombie stories. So see I am straddling the fence on how I feel about this end… I would definitely say get out and read this book. It has just what you need to make it a great read: romance, humor, gore, tragedy, and zombies!