I really like this version of the zombie apocalypse! It differed from others in the way it portrayed both zombie and human. How there seems to be some sort of cure for the infection, but at the same time it's not entirely clear if it really is, if the cured zombies can really be trusted. And if the cured can be trusted, can the people around them be trusted with all their fear and anger towards the infected?

I also liked the development of the main characters and how they were forced together after their time apart and how they dealt with it despite the reluctance of one and the guilt of the other.

This is one of the best zombie books I've read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💗YA Romance
💀Sapphic
💗Zombies
💀Dystopian / Post Apocalyptic
💗 Enemies to Lovers
💀Dual POV

The way you see the world and the characters change between the timelines was so well written. There’s many different character dynamics going on in this book. I loved it. I love how the author was able to create a character, show how this character was before the world was changed, and then show how they are now and they’re completely different now.
For example,the FMC Rory, the dynamic between her mother and her has flipped completely since the apocalypse. Before her mother was the one that was the guardian the protector and now Rory is the one leading and protecting the family.
Piecing together what happened between the family to cause this change was heartbreaking.
2nd FMC Mara enters the story and you can see and feel all the hate.
Rory and Mara were best friends and secretly crushed on each other prior to the world “ending”. What changed this? Mara was bitten and turned into a tick (zombie). After undergoing a year of research experiments and confinement, scientists have come up with a way to keep the tick locked up inside the host. Basically making Mara a zombie that can still think and act as a human with all her personality and memories intact.
Mara is released into Rory’s family care as part of a rehabilitation/rehoming program. The problem, Rory hates Mara now. There are also leaders in their community that are highly against the program and want to eliminate Mara and the altered ones like her.

Loved this book so much I want physical copy! Highly recommend.

Cute overall story in the sense that I loved the zombies and the romance subplot. It kept my attention but sometimes fell a little flat. Cant see myself rereading but could see myself recommending to those who enjoy a post apocalypse style story.

I loved the way this book utilized the "zombie-like" outbreak trope and made it unique. The love our main characters had for each other was palpable. It was well paced and kept me stressed till the epilogue. Overall, this was a great time.

4.5 stars thank you Penguin for this ARC
An incredibly engaging and often dark read, Hearts Still Beating is the sapphic fantasy romance I've been missing from my life.
It isn't easy living in a world ravaged by Ticks (think zombies), with small pockets of humanity struggling to survive. No true cure has been found, but a treatment allows some Ticks, such as Mara, to regain their humanity and not be animalistic killing machines. When Mara and some of the other "semi cured" Ticks are sent to live with humans, she is going to be living with her once best friend and love of her life, Rory. Rory isn't excited to see Mara, and instead threatens her life multiple times. (She has a sword and knows how to use it!) The apocalypse has changed everyone for better or worse, and soon it becomes clear the two will have to work together if they want to have at living.
The violence and gore were a surprise but I am 10000% on board with it! It lent such gruesome imagery, and fit right in with the world. It isn't all blood and guts, there is such an underlying layer of hope and perseverance that persists. Rory and Mara have a really tenuous and fraught relationship for a lot of the story. Mara represents everything that Rory regrets and tries not to think about, and seeing the love of your life return as a Tick is no small matter. We get to see POVs from Rory and Mara, which is always so essential in a romance. I liked getting a peek inside each of their heads, and see how they are interpreting what the other does and says. Rory and Maras' relationship takes time to develop, but the trust and love that grows is so sweet to read.
I really like the inclusion of disability rep, Rory is such a hardened character, but she never strayed from a fight. (In fact she spent a lot of her time instigating fights, and I love her so much for that!) I really like how it wasn't just glossed over and forgotten, nor was it magically healed in a way stories like to do with injuries.
Hearts Still Beating shows how its different characters cope and respond to their experiences trying to survive a world devastated by Ticks. Some have become hardened, and lash out with their anger, choosing to be mad at the world instead of drowning in grief. Others retreat into themselves, a shell of their former shells, seemingly content with being half present. And of course we have the lovely few people who instead are so conquered by fear that they latch onto any semblance of control they can retain. Take away their power and you'll soon discover just how far they'll go to hang onto it.
The cherry on top is the absolutely gorgeous cover, it captures the vibe of the book so well and I honestly just like looking at it. Designed by: Danielle Ceccolini Art by: Garrigosa Studio
The only real issue I have is because of the large cast of characters, some of them got lost in the shuffle. I had no emotional attachment to many of the side characters, and I didn't truly care if they lived or died. I also almost wish we got a bit more from Rory and Mara in terms of developing their relationship, and see them interact outside of stressful situations.
All that being said I still found Hearts Still Beating a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I found myself reading in the most inopportune places because "just one more page".
I highly recommend this book, especially if you are a fan of heart-wrenching sapphic romances with zombies! I look forward to reading whatever book Brooke Archer writes next!

There is nothing more nostalgic to me than a post-apocalyptic novel. (takes me back to my teen hunger games days)

The thing that made this one even better was that it was sapphic!!! This is such important representation in YA books! They definitely didn’t exist while I was growing up.

The books started off kind of slow, but quickly picked up.

Despite being YA, Archer did not hold back with gruesome details of the realities of the world as it is in this novel.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

4.25 stars

I waited too long to finish this one so I lost interest a tad (hence the rating), but I also really liked it. I don’t think I could ever dislike a sapphic zombie apocalypse book. I really liked the “Ticks” and how they occurred. It was super interesting and a unique take on zombies.

The only things that annoyed me were I tend to get irritated when the character that hates the other takes too long to get over it. Like bitch get over yourself. The other is Carter. Honestly, the whole first part of the book made her forgiveness and improvement entirely void for me. Hate her. Like I get you’re traumatized, but you suck jehdhdbdb. Would never do my sister like that bro.

I enjoyed this book a lot!! I wasn’t sure at the beginning how I would feel about it, but Mara and Rory and the world building really grew on me and it turned out to be a good read.

Read if you like:
- post apocalyptic feelings/world
- f/f sapphic love story
- parasite/zombie themed disease 🦠

Thank you to netgalley for my copy of this novel! I’ll definitely give this author more reads in the future.

Hearts Still Beating

4/5 ⭐️

You will like this book if you enjoy;
•sapphic
•zombies
•dystopian

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley for the eARC opportunity to read this book!

I honestly went into this mostly blind, not knowing much about it! Since one of my favorite reads so far this year was a sapphic vampire read, I figured sapphic zombie read?! Sign me up.

This story follows two teens from very different backgrounds and lives, and they must find a way to survive in a new world or risk losing each other.

The book does start with a slower pace, but picks up and things escalate pretty quickly. Considering it’s a YA read I wasn’t prepared for some of the violent aspects of the book!

If you enjoy a post-apocalyptic, dystopian, sapphic YA read I believe you will love this!

This book really took me by surprise. I went in blind and was surprised it was a zombie (ish) book. I’m not mad about it though, this was such a crazy ride.

Who knew I needed a post apocalyptic sapphic horror book? Because I sure didn’t.

The story follows two teenage girls, one of which is a zombie, as they struggle to survive the zombie apocalypse.

While I was reading this I kept thinking of The Walking Dead. In Dystopian novels you always your Neegan types and this book definitely had one. Those people always scare me more than the zombies.

I couldn’t put this book down. I read it in one day.

I would highly recommend this if you enjoyed stuff like Warm Bodies, The Walking Dead and The 100.

This book hooked me with its premise and delivered a gripping post apocolyptic romantic horror I couldn't put down!

This book had my attention the whole time, but then half way through I got bored. I did finish it though, I thought it could be better if the story was a little shorter than it was.

Hearts Still Beating has an absolutely gorgeous cover and presents a post-apocalyptic dystopian book with zombies!

Mara is trying to get her life back together after coming back from the dead. Leaving the facility that she was kept in as she is no longer a tick -- zombie -- from being medicated, she goes to live with Aurora's family on an island away from the mainland where she was kept before. Different than how she was before, coming face to face with Aurora -- Rory -- has her questioning if her humanity is still intact that she tells herself isn't.

Rory on the other hand, is a human girl who has faced loss and turned to focusing on survival for her family. Seeing Rory again, has her feeling a mix of emotions seeing the girl she was once close with before the world ended. Mara comes to learn that Rory is not the same girl she once knew, but the same could be said for Mara as well.

These two girls learn to rebuild their relationship in this sapphic romance story as they fight for their survival. Brooke Archer crafted a beautiful second chance romance in this post-apocalyptic world still healing from the aftermath!

Thank you to Penguin Group, Netgalley, and the author for an eARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

Hearts Still Beating is an interesting take on the zombie trope. The story follows two teenage girls, one of which is a zombie, as they struggle to survive the zombie apocalypse.

Mara was turned into a Tick, or zombie, and she lost her family in the process. She wakes up in a facility and she’s changed. She’s coming back to herself thanks to a new treatment that is designed to help the Tick’s recover some of their humanity. Now she learns that she and others like her are being sent to live among normal humans in a type of experiment to see if the Altered can coexist on a small island.

Rory has had a hard life since the apocalypse. She’s lost people she loves and essentially had to become an adult in her family unit. She’s tough and will do whatever it takes to keep her loved ones safe. Even if that means she has to take down Mara, her former best friend and the girl she loved.

Rory and Mara keep getting placed together. The former friends must learn to work together to protect their home and the ones they love from an overzealous Colonel in charge of the island.Colonel Mallory Gordon does not want the Altered on his island, and he’s willing to do the unspeakable to make sure the Altered are put down once and for all.

I had forgotten how much I like dystopian reads. This one was pretty great. I think fans of Warm Bodies will enjoy this book.

this was my perfect zombie story. i’m not typically one that gears towards most zombie/post-apocalyptic stories since it veers so heavily into the horror or the gore elements. but this niche of quiet dystopia is right where i strive. don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of violence on the page, a lot of close calls and on page action. but the majority story follows the rehabilitation after the apocalypse has happened and how quickly it can stray.

it’s focused on survival. on rebuilding connections. and it’s a beautiful story at that. rory and mara’s story is so damn compelling. i could feel the tension, i could feel their yearning and their overwhelming urge to not only survive but hopefully thrive. and, god, just put some sapphics in the same room getting their second chance at love (and life) and oh boy will they pine!! and i eat it all UP. i mean, genuinely, their love story might be one of the best ones out here.

i really don’t want to give too much of the plot away for this story since it’s one that i think is best going in fairly blind and just experiencing what the hardships these girls go through. so let me just leave y’all with this. if brooke decides to make this into a series, where we can explore more of this world, of this post-zombie existence, i would be the FIRST in line to read it up. i think this world has so much potential to share more stories, more regions, hell, even just more of mara and rory’s story is plenty!! i truly see (and hope) this world extending much further.

this is easily one of my top books of the year, i have no doubt. it’s just so damn beautiful and heart wrenching.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc of this book. all opinions are my own.

This was fantastic. I really enjoyed it! I'd recommend it.

The world building in this book was truly spectacular. You could feel the emotions of all of the characters so clearly and you felt their hopelessness and loss in this post-apocalyptic world which I think was really well done. I love getting to learn Mara and Rory’s story especially how we got flashbacks from each of them which added to their depth and the overall lore of the story.

This YA post-apocalyptic novel should definitely make the TBR list! The story follows Mara, a Tick in remission from a zombie type disease, and Rory, an uninfected human girl who has watched so many people she loved be taken by the disease. That includes Mara. Rory and Mara shared a connection before the whole world fell apart, but can they find a way to a new normal together? When Mara is sent to live with Rory’s Island community of survivors as part of a training program, not everyone is on board. When soldiers start going rogue, the fragile relationship between Mara and Rory is threatened yet again. Can they overcome or will they lose their love forever? This is a story that I greatly enjoyed! I don’t usually go for a zombie book, it this one has a plot that is original and characters that really make the intrigue and thrills top notch. I love the concept of reintegrating Ticks into a society that is already so torn apart. I feel like there are so many metaphors in life that we can relate this too. I loved being able to read each girl’s POV and see how they navigate the situation and react. The representation is great and the thrills are awesome. It was a little bit of a slow start, but the plot definitely picks up and I was on the edge of my seat. Great read!

This story is perfect for those who love The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, and The 100. This story follows two teen girls who love each other but one is affected by the virus. I really enjoyed this storyline and the introduction the author made for this story. I was hooked from the beginning of the book and loved the conflicts in the story. I do have to say that the world was a bit confusing at first but you begin to understand it more. The word Ticks was often used which kind of became way too redundant and annoying. I liked the positive message of this book and seeing a different life of a “world ending” situation. This book is told from dual povs of both Mara and Rory.

Mara is affected by the virus and is now an experiment. I enjoyed her character and being able to get the prospective of the “monster”. She didn’t have much of character development but I still liked her character. Then there is Rory who is trying to survive in this new world and notices her crush is back. I liked her character a lot more than Mara and enjoyed her storyline. There are also side characters in this book and most of them I enjoyed especially as they were very involved with the story. The romance is LGBTQ featuring the second chance trope. The romance could have been better from my perspective but it’s what we got.

The ending was good but not the best. It was fine for the story. Overall this was a great read which I recommend reading if you are looking for a dystopian romance that includes a sapphic couple.

*this book was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

The end of the world is something that has been done a lot in media, but I have never experiences a story quite like this one. It is a wonderful love story, but more importantly it deals with difficult concepts such as death and trust. It is also great for those of you that want a story about standing up to those in power that are doing the wrong thing. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a sapphic YA story and especially to those that love zombies!