Thank you to Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for an early eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

RATING: 3.25/5

Racquel Marie has grown to become one of my favorite authors of queer YA lit; her book "You Don't Have a Shot" is one of my favorite sapphic romances and her stories always feel so unique, exploring facets of the female teenage psyche that is so utterly familiar. Unfortunately, I did feel like "If We Survive This" is one of her weaker stories, and coupled with a horror trope that I'm not the biggest fan of, this book just did not end up working for me.

That being said, there were a handful of elements that felt really well done, which ended up preventing me from DNF-ing this story entirely. The OCD representation portrayed through Flora and told through the author's own experiences, felt glaringly authentic, exploring the stark reality of living with OCD and refusing to shy away from the debilitating aspects of the mental illness. Unlike with other OCD rep books I've read, Flora's relationship with her OCD felt intrinsically wound into her personhood, an aspect of herself that also fully encompasses her being instead of being a separate part of her. I enjoyed the ways in which we see how her OCD is both a benefit and a hinderance during a zombie invasion dystopic world, as well as the ways that Flora comes to terms with her OCD.

The world-building and world-immersion also felt like really strong points for me; the descriptions of the Rabids were viscerally gory and intricately disgusting, fully exposing readers to the true horrors of living in a world with such monsters. The lore behind their incarnation felt immensely well thought-out, and I enjoyed seeing the level of detail the author put into encapsulating all the ways, both big and small, that a rabies-fueled infection would affect a society. In this way, the isolation, the paranoia, and the flightiness of the cast of characters makes perfect sense given the circumstances that they continually find themselves in. However, this leads into what didn't work as well for me: the character work.

Flora is a complicated and messy character from page one; she's grappling with the apocalypse, keeping her brother alive, finding refuge in the midst of it all, she's got a lot going on! Cain is a good foil for her character, offering a happy-go-lucky attitude as he struts about the world attempting to still see the good in everything. And then the pair meet Crisanta and Adán, one a shocking glimpse from the past and the other a complete mystery, both harboring a tight-lipped secret. On a foundational level, each of these characters are firm in their motivations and their beliefs, which make each of them, and their dynamic, highly compelling to follow.

But as the plot begins to develop, it feels like each of these characters are locked into a stasis. Flora refuses to trust Crisanta and Adán contrasted by Cain who immediately wants to trust that his old friend has their best interests at heart, Crisanta and Adán refuse to divulge their secret, which all make for characters that feel unmoving; that is, until the 85% mark. At this point, within one single chapter, every secret about every single one of these characters is laid bare. But with this occurring so late in the story and with the reveal being such an upheaval of the characters, it almost feels like readers wasted their time with such a large part of the story. In tandem, the rest of the story feels like a mad dash in order to regain the reader's trust and re-establish characterization. As a result, the ending is severely weakened despite the story's strong beginnings. All in all, I did enjoy a majority of the elements of this story, but unfortunately the poor character writing will always end up tanking a story's potential for me.

This was an amazing zombie apocalypse novel! I really enjoyed the dual timeline and the parallels between them.
The characters were felt like real people and their relationships made this book so compelling. Watching them hold on to their humanity and compassion and love when it seems impossible to do so.
This is a 5 star read!

If a book can be both utterly gorgeous and off-the-charts gorey at the same time, this is it. Marie has taken the best of zombie apocalypse stories and Yellowjackets to create a fascinating story about survival and the courage to love in the face of despair. I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends and Racquel Marie for the eArc of If We Survive This.

If we survive this is a fantastic sapphic, zombie, survival novel ( try saying that when you're drunk!) Even though it took me a little bit to engage in the storyline, I enjoyed this very much. Our MC, Flora and her Brother, Cain battle across the city to make their way to a cabin to met their Dad. Battling Rabids ( our zombie friends who contacted a virus ) are sly creatures and Flora will do what she can do protect her Brother and further more other survivors.

Even though this is essentially a YA book, I loved it and I don't understand why some adult readers shy away from YA books ( each to their own I know ) Racquel has a beautiful writing style and her characters are wonderfully built. The plot is medium paced with a bit of everything, teen angst, being frightened of dying, frightened of living, self discovery, survival, all bundled up with zombies! I can't ask for any more.

I also loved that this book is set on a dual timeline, building in our characters past and how that's all relevant in the now narrative. I would definintly love to see more of our MC, flora and her found family.

4.25 for Storygraph. 4 stars for other review sites.

I love a good zombie apocalypse book and this delivered it!

The book was so fast-paced and a page-turner that I cannot stop reading it. I easily read this in one-sitting, and I do adore it.

This is horror, mind you and it really was creepy at times.

Plot wise, it's so gripping and intense yet balanced out with the emotional depths we see from the characters and they made me feel seen that I can relate to each and everyone. I did love the mental health representation on this book. The general themes of this book hits hard especially with the friendship or found family and just wanting to protect your family at all costs.

This is my first book of this author, and I am happy to say that I love her so I will keep an eye out on her books now.

Thank you NetGalley & Feiwel & Friends for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If We Survive This is an emotional dystopian/zombie book that follows Flora and her brother Cain navigating the end of the world. With a dead mom and missing father, they are totally on their own - until they aren't. Familiar faces, new allies and even newer enemies will stand between them and their family cabin.

I really liked the mental health aspect of this book; Flora deals with debilitating anxiety, OCD and intrusive thoughts, and I found myself relating to her a lot. I often think in the same destructive cycles as her, and loved seeing it written out in a dystopian. The book is fast-paced and intense, and kept my attention from start to finish.

I did remove a star as I did not personally love the end, but still enjoyed 90% of the story, so you still get my 4 star, bookie.

I definitely recommend this to any lovers of sapphic zombie stories with all the feels.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC!


All 👏 Zombie 👏 Books 👏 Should 👏 Be 👏 Sapphic 👏

This book? Incredible. Am I biased because it's sapphics taking on zombies? Yes. Should everyone still read it? Absolutely.

Flora's survival in a zombie outbreak, while taking care of her injured older brother and battling her own OCD, is put to the test when she runs into a former friend and past crush. Her will to keep her brother alive keeps her going throughout the book, and the reader is treated to the gripping realities of a teenager having to make brutal choices in the name of survival. Flora and her love interest have a very will they/won't they as Flora tries to figure out who she can trust and what her new normal looks like.

Trigger warnings for lots of gore. This book borderlines on YA/NA with the violence, but still manages to swing to the YA side of things.

Thank for NetGalley for an ARC of Raquel Marie’s newest book!!

As a fan of Raquel Marie & a zombie apocalypse, I was looking forward to this release!! It did not disappoint! Without spoilers, I will say both the main characters had me rooting and tense for them throughout the book. I also do love a friends-enemies-lovers troupe, so I recommend it if you’re into that!
The most interesting take that makes this book stand out, was that our MC was dealing with OCD during a literal virus outbreak! Flora is a girl just trying to survive in a world that never was meant for her I think that plot point alone (which was handled beautifully btw) should be a reason this book should stand out among others. I would have preferred maybe more of a closed ending, or like a detailed epilogue to see where everyone ended up but I suppose that’s the fun of it all, I’ll never know and I will have to just live with that!😁
4/5 Don’t miss out on this read

Fast-paced and brutal, this was a quick and compelling read, that gave me exactly what I was looking for: High stakes survival scenarios, complex relationship dynamics and emotional stakes, and non-stop thrills. I really enjoyed this, and especially loved the ending. Tonally, I thought the book did a great job at balancing the dark and somber tones (of a devastating apocalyptic event) with more uplifting tones centering family, love, and hope. Although it was quite predictable at times, I still enjoyed it, and I definitely look forward to reading more from the author.

so intense and filled with grounded and real characters that you can root for. This book is unique in the xobie/dystppian genre as it features a main character with an exlipcit mental illness of OCD which makes the stakes that more harrowing. The stakes seem to be very much internal and less of a tale about defeating the bad guys (though it's there), and that has come to be my favorite kind of theme of this particular genre.

It's not a perfect 5/5 cause of the ending, which had me wanting more.

Thank you Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Flora is living in the aftermath of a global outbreak of rabies, this outbreak has turned people into zombie like rabids. She has her brother Cain are alone after their mother died and their dad left to find a safer place. Flora can’t stay in their area as there are to many painful memories and rabids she recognizes. They set out for their family cabin that is more secluded and the place their father was headed. Is he still there? Danger is around every corner and her and Cain will have to learn who they can trust on their journey. As they journey they’ll also face hard truths and painful memories from the last time they traveled to the cabin. Can they make it there safely? If they do what will they find? Fast paced with tons of intrigue! Family drama, romance, gruesome, gory, and real! If you’re a fan of queer dystopian novels Racquel Marie’s If We Survive This is absolutely worth reading!!

I love zombie books, and I love YA zombie media, but this one didn’t hit as much as I wanted to. As much as I can appreciate a main girl with similar interests to me (hello I am a math major), she was aggravating and annoying. Most characters were. With the exclusion of Winnie, but she acted wayyy younger than her age. I prefer the trope of kids acting older during the apocalypse, not younger. And still, I liked her until the end. Then she, too, was just aggravating. I do like the romance here, though! Nothing like a good romance to keep you going through the apocalypse.
TLDR; Good story, good plot, not good characters.

After reading the first five chapters, I had a zombie apocalypse nightmare. As someone who does not scare easily, I was ecstatic by this feat and unsurprised Raquel Marie is the one to achieve it. Marie accomplishes the genre change with ease because—like her other novels—the characters are the heart of the story. Each of the main characters were dynamic and you can’t help but root for them even in their moments of turmoil. The raw emotions of the characters lead me to shed some tears during the climax of the book (another feat). This book also considers the realities of living on scavenged land (not having epi-pens, broken glasses, and no hormones) and it really adds to the stakes of the characters. There is no plot armor. There is a constant underlying anxiety that is pierced with the soft relationships of the characters. It truly felt like I was with the group on their journey. If you like Racquel Marie, queer stories, or dystopian worlds this is the book for you. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for giving me this ARC.

What a beautiful story.
This is a story about surviving even when you feel like you shouldn't.
It's gory and a story of sibling relationships and the burdens that come along with it.
If We Survive takes place during a post-apocalyptic when humanity is falling and you have to figure out what is worth fighting for through the eyes of one brave girl. Highly recommend this incredible story.

thank you so much netgalley. this book wasnt for me. it was good. but just not for me. again thank you netglley.

Let me preface this review by saying that I love Racquel Marie’s books, but I don’t love horror as a genre. I was scared to venture into this book because horror is often just too gory and gross for seemingly no reason. But Racquel, herself, assured me that I would be okay. And she did not lead me wrong. I really enjoyed this book, especially because it wasn’t just horror. It was family drama, coming of age, romance, and so much more. I really enjoyed how there were various chapters of flashbacks priors to the zombie-like rabies outbreak. The main characters were endearing (though sometimes irritatingly stubborn). Obviously, my favorite character was the dog!

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest rating and review.

From the description of this book, I was expecting The Walking Dead meets Yellowjackets... and we definitely got one of those! I wouldn't use Yellowjackets as a comparison for lesbians surviving; I think there is a lot more going on in that show than that.

The rabids were terrifying and it felt like any bit of spit or blood on the characters was going to make them turn into a rabid themselves! Scenes of Flora and company fighting made me want to keep reading and to see if they were going to be ok afterwards.

The sibling dynamic was sooooo real. I have two older brothers that would bother me to death in an apocalyptic situation but would totally have my back. I was a little surprised that they would keep that big of information from each other though. Hearing the radio from the dad was the reason they were leaving their house in the first place and Flora finding their rabid father was probably the worst thing to keep from your brother.

Overall, I thought the book was ok and made me terrified of rabies so that's pretty great. The ending was very abrupt but it gave the vibe that Flora and her friends were going to be fine, at least for awhile.

This book was so fast paced that I would’ve finished it in one sitting if I didn’t have to adult and go to work. Once I started, I was hooked. I loved the characters, I loved the found family aspect.

If We Survive This was exactly what I didn’t know I needed. This book felt like it was written specifically for me, the anxiety rep in this made me feel so seen. Flora is a character that I just GET.

Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this book. Quite similar to The Walking Dead. Flora and her brother are trying to get to her father, who they believe is at their mountain cabin. Along the way, they encounter their friend, Cris and her friend, Alan. This book chronicles their journey, which is filled with killing those who have the rabies and those who have not.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A hauntingly realistic portrayal of a neurodivergent protagonist in an apocalypse world of rabid-infected humans.
The whole book is grief and raw and real and betrayal.
Racquel Marie’s detailed writing of each rabid killed by Flora, the protagonist, were so startlingly in your face. It brought to life Flora’s new reality and her struggles of trying to cope with it.
The side characters that come into the story along the way build and break Flora’s perception of trust in more ways than one.
I gave this 4 stars only for the ending as it felt like I, the reader, wasn’t given any warnings or any foreshadowing regarding it.