I never thought I would find a book that encapsulates all the traits of Sci-Fi/apocalyptic novels I loved from the YA hay days of 2012-16 but Hearts Still Beating did it, and still felt like a fresh and unique story. Mara and Rory's story was one of immense loss and pain, but also hope and falling back in love with one another through it all. This book will not leave my head for a while, and I truly can't wait to read it again.

4.5 stars.

Hearts Still Beating was a bloody good read! Gory, satisfying, and gripping! It gave Warm Bodies and Maggie (Arnold Schwarzenegger zombie movie) vibes, with a splash of The Last of Us, a unique plot twist, and a heartfelt story line. It was unputdownable and gave all the feels.

This one fit perfectly within the new "horromance" genre that's been emerging in the YA book community. There's something entrancing about romance brewing between humans and "monsters", especially while learning that some humans can be more monstrous than anything you could imagine. And, I loved Rory and Mara so much. I loved the family dynamic felt within Rory's family, and I loved the messages found within the story boasting the importance of not losing kindness and humanity amidst tragedy (and an apocalypse).

Loveable characters (for the most part). Splashes of humor. Gory bits galore. A powerful story, and fantastic nostalgia and nods to other great works. What's not to love?

I really enjoyed this post-apocalyptic young adult novel, it had a great overall feel for the genre and I never thought it was overdone. The characters felt like they belonged in this universe and were written perfectly. I enjoyed how good Brooke Archer wrote this and the concept was wonderfully written.

So, I may have read this in four hours. I may have started Heart Still Beating at 9:00pm and not stopped until 1:00am. This may have been the most compelling book I have read all month.
I loved Hearts Still Beating. It was well-paced and had so much heart while still being witty. I love it when two characters who have been separated and are now enemies have to come together to solve problems. It makes for great character growth and a whole lot of pining-- and I love pining.
Hearts Still Beating was such a breath of fresh air. I highly, highly recommend!

Brooke Archer seamlessly intertwined all of my favorite things in a book — a dark, post apocalyptic setting, a fresh take on zombies, an angsty, sapphic romance, and page-turning pacing — in HEARTS STILL BEATING. This binge-able YA quenched my thirst for dystopian and then some, with remarkable characters and incredible world building that made me feel as if I were right there with them. An absolute must-read!

(Thank you to the publisher for the ARC)

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an eARC of Hearts Still Beating!

This book was absolutely incredible. I’m still in awe that it’s a debut! I absolutely could not put it down and I read it in one sitting. This was a thrilling sapphic monster romance that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time and had me NEEDING to know what happened next. I had so much fun reading it!

I had such a good time with this book! This book is the perfect blend of post-apocalyptic, dystopian, thriller, sapphic, YA story. This book follows Mara, who has been bitten and has a tick inside of her (think zombie behavior), and Rory, her childhood crush who now hates her guts. Rory’s parents look after Mara once she is released from a treatment center. They’re stuck on an island, and are faced with many adventures. There’s lots of death, a bit of body horror, a ton of blood, some truly psychotic behavior.

Rory obviously warms up to Mara, and I’ll be honest, I did not like Rory at the beginning. I thought she was extremely childish and just annoying. But with this being a dual POV story, I absolutely loved reading Rory’s internal thoughts and reasoning for her actions. Her character arc really was amazing, and I ended up loving her by the end of the story. Also, Rory is hilarious. Mara is so selfless, and I loved her character throughout the book.

The ending had me tearing up, and I thought it was the perfect ending. I’ve never read a book quite so unique. I really loved this book and highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book

* Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. *

"For the girls who've been told they're too loud, too angry, too much. You are exactly enough."

I loved this book. I hate comparing books to other things, but if you loved Warm Bodies, if you're a big dystopian/zombie fan, and love seeing romance within those dystopian worlds, Hearts Still Beating is the book for you.

Hearts Still Beating is a story about two girls. Rory, the hardened zombie killer, who has settled on an island with what is left of her family, and is hell-bent on forgetting her past. Mara, the girl she left behind and has tried so hard to forget, a zombie turned kinda human, trying to find her place in a world that hates her.

For a debut, HSB is an insanely beautiful book about love, family, and what people will face to live again.

I highly recommend Hearts Still Beating, and will be on the look out for any future books by Brooke Archer.

So so good! I loved all the romance scenes, rory and mara were so so cute together and i loved watching their love blossom. i love how the setting was fleshed out and how this story incorporated the hysteria of a contagious disease and regaining humanity in the midst of losing seemingly everything. this was a great story. i esp liked that the author wasn't about to afraid of touching upon dark themes and hopeless-seeming situations. that said, this is a hopeful story and i loved the happy ending!

Unchosen meets the Last of Us, this was freaking amazing! WLW romance in a dystopia is something we've all needed in our lives. Monsters, an apocalypse, and an impossible love story come together to form a sci-fi novel that rivals them all.

Haven't read a good distopian romance in a while and I forgot how much I enjoy it. This one is a great 5-star read for me.

I genuinely liked Mara and Rory and their development. Also quite happy we got a happy ending, which is not a given in this genre.

Overall I truly enjoyed the story and the characters and would definitely read a sequel or something different by the author.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was excited to read this book, however, I only got to read a few pages. I realize that ARCs are not always edited, but this was ridiculous. There were letters left from words and so many more typos that I was trying to figure out words more than read the story.
I hope when the book is published, it will be more polished.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. Hearts Still Beating was a great book that touched on romance in a zombie-ish infected world. I really loved reading this, it was fun and had a great pace that didn't feel like it lagged anywhere. It gave me reminiscent feelings of the The Hollows
by Amanda Hocking, and I think those that enjoyed that series, would love this too. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

Gripping, romantic, and impossible to put down, this dark and immersive post-apocalyptic debut YA novel is about two teen girls who loved each other before the end of the world — and before one of them became infected with the virus that turned her into a monster.

This was so good! I cried my eyes out on a couple of occasions, and that's one of the highest compliments I can give to a book.

This was heartbreaking and edge of your seat actionpacked and sweet all at once. I love Mara and Rory and how they always found their way back to one another. A unique zomie love story.

I absolutely loved this apocalyptic, dystopian, thriller, LGBTQ love story. Talk about trauma and horror and true love.

This was one of the books I was super excited for this year and it did not disappoint. The cover is super gorgeous and is perfect for the story. The story starts off kinda slow but then picks up pace. I loved the characters the world building was awesome and I can't wait for people to read this

This book has an amazing premise and story. However, the ARC is hard to read. I expect there to be typos and mistakes in an ARC as it has not been fully edited. This, however, had so many words that were just missing letters completely. This led to me DNFing, which I rarely do. I will definitely be re-reading this when it comes out, in hopes that I have to decode less.

A Sapphic story set in the apocalyptic background of a zombie virus. This really is a story you can sink your teeth into.