Zomromcom was so cute, I’m obsessed. If you’re a fan of grumpy vampire neighbors, a zombie filled post-apocalyptic setting, and banter that will make you smile until your face hurts then this is the paranormal romcom for you. It had me spamming my friends at 3am to convince them to read it immediately. The dialogue between Edie & Max was witty and I instantly fell in love with Max’s condescending (but charming) personality. His alter ego had me on the floor in tears. This was the first book I have read by Olivia Dade, and if it’s a representation of her other work then I have a new favorite author.

𝓶𝔂 𝓱𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼

♡ Euro Chad and his sheepskin thong
♡ A Pottery Barn rendezvous
♡ Gaston’s Song
♡ A sunburned Edward Cullen
♡ My favorite type of zombies- the scary kind

I had such a fun time reading this book! Edie was so quick to come up with quips and was just so utterly endearing and funny, I really enjoyed her character! Max (not Chad, but sometimes Gaston) was equally as lovable and I just ATE UP the banter the pair had with each other. They totally ragged on each other left and right and it was so fun and so clearly out of love and adoration - a perfect execution of a romcom situation in my eyes!

The secondary characters that came along were all so fun - and some so very odd hahaha. The randomness behind a lot of developments in this book made it all the more fun for me, and even though it was zany and silly, the romance parts still had me feeling giddy and all-in on their love!

I need more supernatural entanglements in my life, pls. I can’t wait for book #2!

Rating: 4.5 ⭐️
Spice: 1.5 🌶️

While I have long since fallen out of caring about zombie-related media (more of a preference in high school), I can't say no to an Olivia Dade book. Truthfully, I have been living for authors of contemporary romance diving into the paranormal romance genre.

Edie is a tenacious lead and sarcastic, and Max is exactly the sort of surly with a marshmallow center I adore. I had a hard time putting this book down, between the leads, the fantastic side characters and the interesting world they live in with such a tense situation, it kept a hold of me. After so many stories of humans vs. zombies, I loved that there were other paranormals and enhanced humans. This didn't lessen the peril, but the hope shined a little brighter knowing there were individuals with powers in the fight.

I love suspense and adventure in my romance novels and not only did this book have that, but Edie annoying Max when she could, I love that dynamic - especially in this situation because it helps keep some levity even when they are stressed.

This book had me spinning theories about the second breach when it wasn't in my hands, and now that I have finished reading this I cannot wait for more books in this series.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for this Arc.

4.75 stars

This is the first Olivia Dade book I've read, and it won't be the last. It's been a minute since I've had such an enjoyable time reading a book.

Zomromcom is witty, laugh-out-loud hilarious, and full of interesting multi-layered characters. Dade builds a world that I want to spend more time in, ravenous zombies, notwithstanding.

Edie and Max are so compelling together, first with their irritated-at-each-other banter, and then with their romance. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end, and excited that Dade left some breadcrumbs for the (hopefully) next book in the series.

This book is completely unhinged—in the best possible way. It’s got zombies, vampires, blood, banter, and somehow also the sweetest, strangest little romance I didn’t know I needed. Edie and Max are absolute chaos together, and I loved every second of it.

It’s campy, clever, and weirdly heartwarming. The world’s falling apart, but there’s still time for flirting, survival hacks, and a vampire who’s much more than he seems. If you like your romance bloody, funny, and totally over-the-top, this is your next read.

Thanks so much to @berkleyromance for the free book!

I saw a recent post on Threads asking for books where fat MCs get railed and ZomRomCom by Olivia Dade can be added to the list!

We’re thrown into a world where supernatural and enhanced beings co-exist with humans, so when Edie tries to save her neighbor “Chad” from a stray zombie, she quickly learns he’s actually a sword-wielding vampire named Max (age undetermined) that’s been acting like a dude bro to keep his distance from her. Edie lost her family in the first zombie outbreak, and when sirens don’t go off to warn others about the zombie herd, she and Max set off to find out why.

The forced proximity slowly lowers Max’s defenses, although his mouth keeps saying he doesn’t care what happens to Edie. But she’s the sunshine to his grump, who he’s admired from afar, while secretly protecting her house from attacks. He’s clearly been pining for her, and the multiple near death experiences ramp up their attraction to each other — it’s HOTT!
Edie deserves every pleasure Max gives her since she’s been on her own for 20 years post-zombie invasion. She may not be an enhanced human, but her empathy for other people while dealing with survivor’s guilt is part of what makes her special.

I’m interested in learning more about the supernatural and enhanced mythology in this world, especially knowing zombies were created to take out werewolves, and vampires are born instead of made through bites. We meet trolls, empaths and witches, so there’s lots of places to go in the next book!

- grump/sunshine
- forced proximity
- moderate steam
- WDTK? Ch. 9

“Don’t die to save me, and don’t die to save anyone else. Not when they’d gladly sacrifice you to save themselves.”

Very cute set up with a funny and charming FMC (as is typical with Olivia Dade and I love that) and a mysterious MMC. Max has some secrets and is trying to distance himself from the world and Edie’s past follows her throughout this funny and at times very heart felt paranormal Rom
Com.

Some of the world building was a little “info-dumpy” at times but it was a fun ride and the romance was sweet. I couldn’t quite picture Max with his strange wardrobe but that just might be a me thing ;-).

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for the digital arc!

Zombies, Vampires, and Fae…oh my! This book hits the actions right off the bat and I love that!! The banter was amazing and who could forget the new renditions of Gaston? Definitely not me as I cackled through singing them in my head. I related to Edie so much and I loved getting to read about a plus sized late 30s woman! I can’t wait for more of this!!!

A zombie outbreak, a vampire and romance… sounds like the perfect weekend read. Which is why I recommend grabbing Zomromcom by Olivia Dade. You’ll laugh, swoon and hold your breath as these two try to protect those in their sector. A hilarious romcom awaits you in the first novel of the Supernatural Entanglements series.

When Edie Brandstrup attempts to save Max, her nerdy, sweet neighbor, during the first zombie outbreak in nearly two years, and discovers he is anything but nerdy. Gaston “Max” Boucher is in fact a very old vampire, and he has a lair under his home. How did the zombies breach their containment ward, and where on earth are the guards? While Max wants them to lie low in his bunker, Edie wants to warn the others in the ward, and a girl’s gotta eat. The tale that unfolds is hilarious, suspenseful and swoon-worthy.

The world-building was well done. We learned about the government zombie outbreak, because of course it was the government. Now, humans (and others) live within three containment zones. Each zone is surrounded by a moat. Edie lives in the home she grew up in and where her parents were attacked by zombies before the containment zones were established. Most have abandoned this outer ward, but Edie refuses to leave her home. Max has his own reasons for living alone, which you’ll discover along with Edie.

I slipped right into this tale and became caught up not only in the world building, but in these characters. When Edie broke out in song, I knew I was all in. The back-and-forth banter, quips, and will he eat me thoughts turn to trust, laughter and wicked heat as these two traipse about to discover what is happening.

The romance was delightful, with tender stolen moments and sizzling heat. I loved discovering their stories. Both are painful, but seeing them open up was wonderful. As Edie and Max try to determine why help hasn’t arrived and how the zombies breached the ward, they will encounter others and seek their aid. I devoured this and enjoyed the romance as much as I did the suspenseful paranormal tale with its dystopian setting.

This was my first Olivia Dade novel, but it won’t be my last. I am looking forward to the next Supernatural Entanglements novel!

Review posted to StoryGraph, Goodreads, and Amazon on 8/5/25.

What a wild ride! Zomromcom felt like Shaun of the Dead meets True Blood but with even more laughs. When Edie spots her dude bro neighbor, Chad, about to be attacked by zombies she doesn’t think twice and charges into action with a burrito as her only weapon. Luckily for her Chad isn’t really Chad but a fiercely competent Max who dispatches the issue quickly. They soon must ask themselves if they should lock down and wait for danger to pass or warn as many people as possible about the breach. Along their journey they meet a cast of characters who help them stop another zombie invasion.

This book is standard Olivia Dade gold. Our FMC has a huge heart and is stubborn to a faul. Our MMC is brooding but secretly pining for our FMC. The banter was excellent and often had me literally laughing out loud. Every single Gaston song moment took me out. I loved the supporting cast and getting to see everyone come together. It was such a fun adventure that I was sad when I hit the end of the book. I can’t wait to come back to this world and see what happens.

I’m not a romance reader by any means, but ever since I discovered The Royal Romance series by Sara Raasch last year (The Nightmare Before Kissmas, Go Luck Yourself, and hopefully more to come…). I have since discovered Berkley; and the fact that I really enjoy their sub-genre of Supernatural Romance. What I loved about Sara Raasch’s work with Berkley was the world building; I took a chance that this novel by Olivia Dade would have the same or similar amounts of world building and humor- and I was right!
When I saw the cover for Zomromcom on NetGalley, for some reason it made me think of cosplays and conventions. I think it’s because of the fact that the character art is drawn with such oversized weapons. The thing that I loved the most about the character art and the cover work was definitely the use of vibrant colors- in particular, the intense yellow green that was used for the title and the various Zombie arms on the cover.
Zomromcom, follows Edie and her stellar neighbor Max as they navigate a Zombie Apocalypse and their relationship over the course of the plot. The world that Dade has created, and Edie’s wit and charm are what kept me reading. I loved the fact that we started in the aftermath of the Zombie invasion, instead of going the stereotypical route of following the initial outbreak. I also really enjoyed Edie’s running Disney jokes and the fact that the Zombie’s spoke french (no spoilers- you’ll have to read the book for yourself to figure out why).
Max, as a character, gave me grown up Edward Cullen vibes but without the creepy mind reading powers. It’s probably because he’s so posh and in control at all times. From the moment that we meet him, as a reader, he instantly commandeers the page and the reader’s attention. I wish that we could have learned more about him as a character, but what little we do learn about was fun to uncover as the novel and plot developed.
I know that most people were and are super excited about this novel solely for the romantic aspects. There are bunch of these scenes throughout the novel, and I applaud Dade’s writing skills for being able to balance such a romantic centered character driven narrative against the world these characters are living in- not once does either side of the plot (Action v. Romance) ever feel muddled or lost.
Dade’s writing truly shines during the final third of the novel when all of the climactic action is taking place, because that is when the big “come together” moment is happening- I.E. All of Edie and Max’s acquaintances and neighbors join up with them. Suddenly, Dade is working with five times the characters that we have seen through out the entire novel and it was really fun to read.
Thank you so much to Berkley for allowing me to join the Blog Tour for this novel, and to NetGalley for being able to give me access to the arc. If Olivia Dade ever writes another novel in this universe I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to revisit this world. I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for a fun and unique Supernatural Romantic read.

This is a wild and wacky book, the world building makes no sense but the FMC character is fun and really made the book for me!
If you can overlook a bunch of supernatural creatures and tidbits of unexplained information thrown at you (Cardi B and soul mates both exist apparently?) and just go with the romp of it, you will love it.

I enjoy Edie a lot but Max is very cringe. The side characters are interesting, we don’t get much time with them but they is a set up for sequels that one is very obvious going to be the next FMC.

The spice is very steamy, and the relationship is fun except for Max’s very cringe phrases (his nickname for his dick, is so stupid).

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for this ARC!

I had mixed feelings on this one in the beginning, but it turned out to be a fun read!

Zomromcom follows Edie and Max, neighbors who find themselves working together to survive a zombie outbreak. Edie quickly discovers Max is secretly a vampire who seems overly willing to protect her from danger. Together they must face off with zombies who have escaped capture under mysterious circumstances two decades after their first fatal outbreak. While the two fight off zombies and try to warn others about the outbreak before it’s too late, they find themselves developing feelings for each other that changes their priorities and gives them something new to fight for.

I really love the concept of this book. A romance set during a zombie outbreak is not like anything I have read before, and I enjoyed reading something new. In fact, the scenes with the zombies were my favorites. I think they were well written and added a nice bit of suspense to the book. However, I unfortunately found it hard to get into the book until about 50% of the way through due to a few factors. My main reason was that I thought the dialogue was a bit cringey; several things that were intended for comedic relief didn’t really land for me personally. Along with that, there were also a handful of modern references, like media or music, which I never particularly like in books. I also felt like the romance plot progressed too quickly, with the romantic relationship already established within 35% of the book. I do feel as though as though things had settled into a good rhythm by the 50% mark, and I found the rest of the book much more enjoyable. The main characters were cute together, the side characters were fun, and I enjoyed the comedy more.

If you are looking for a romance with a unique plotline, suspense, and a good group of characters, I think you could like this!

Thank you NetGalley & Berkeley for the opportunity to read this early 💘

This was a fun read. Was it everything I wanted? It was maybe a little *too much* as far as storyline goes because there was a lot going on. I had a fun ride although I think the romance was a little rushed.

I was still turning every single page though because I did love the supernatural and paranormal elements and the race against time to figure out what was going on. The history was fun to learn about with all of the supernaturals/humans attempting to coexist over time. The banter was fun and I especially enjoyed Edie’s Gaston teases because they were so silly.
I especially liked the touch on grief and Edie’s struggle to separate her parent’s memory from her current happiness.

Overall this was a 3.5 star read for me and I do look forward to continuing the series in the future!!

I enjoyed the book - look forward to see if she will write more in this genre! It was still her charm but with the horror twist, nicely done! I didn’t find any lul in the book. It read easily and characters were different!

The best part of this book is the humor. How the author was able to make a literal zombie apocalypse feel fun is beyond me, but I was laughing at the characters and their antics from start to finish.

Edie and Max had such a fun dynamic together, as evidenced from their first on-page interaction. You don’t understand how deeply obsessed I wam with Max’s alter ego: Edie’s douchey neighbor Chad. Genuinely some of the funniest scenes I’ve ever read were when Edie was recounting her memories of Chad before learning who he really was. His behavior was so out of pocket in all the best ways. I also loved the running joke of Edie’s parodies of the song “Gaston” as a way to make fun of Max’s name. Top tier creativity.

As far as the romance goes, Edie and Max were so cute together. Max was wonderfully grumpy, but it’s clear he also has a soft spot for Edie. The intensity that comes from running from and fighting literal zombies just heightens the tension of the romantic moments as well, and I was LIVING. Their chemistry is great from the start (even when Max is dressed as Chad and, inexplicably, wearing an open leather hoodie and a fur thong), and I ate up every single moment of theirs. I also loved Max’s arc. He goes from hating everyone but Edie (which is a hit or miss trope for some people), to wanting to help Edie save the others in the containment zone.

The main issue I had with this book was the world-building. At times, it felt like the author was doing too much info-dumping about the world itself. I was a bit caught off guard with the amount of creatures in the world, and the bits of lore that would be mentioned but never fully explained. This didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the story, but it occasionally broke the immersion.

At the same time, I did like how the sheer vastness of the world opens up a lot of possibilities for future books in the series, and I’m excited to see what storylines the author explores next (but if we don’t get a werewolf book at some point, trust that I will riot).

I didn't know what to expect when I first started reading. I, of course, went into it blind because reading is more fun when you have no idea what will happen. I think for Zomromcom, I enjoyed going into it blindly. If I had the synopsis beforehand, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. I was trying to guess what Max was, since it was clear he wasn't human. Obviously, he's a vampire (and it says so in the blurb so hold your horses...) and will help Edie on her little quest.

Everyone knows how most romcom books don't feel romcomish. There either isn't enough romance or not enough comedy, which isn't good for a genre that combines both. There needs to be a balance, or it just feels bland. There was a GOOD mix of both here. There was romance, and there was comedy. However, I didn't get a lot of the jokes, probably because of my age. Edie is also thirty-eight, so maybe that's the audience Dade was writing for and not a college student. Oh well! I will say that the Gaston bits were really funny and loved how the lyrics actually worked to the tune.

Something I didn't really like about the book was how quick the romance was. Twenty percent in and they were already kissing and other things. I was struggling to understand how two people who, before the zombie incident in this story, barely interacted went from zero to one hundred SO FAST. It also put me off when Max kept calling her "human", like he didn't know her name or something when he clearly did. Also, I felt like most of their romance was only fueled on physical desire more than actually liking one another. That isn't my kind of romance, but I know other people enjoy those kinds of stories. The romance wasn't bad; it just wasn't up to what I like to read in stories!

The worldbuilding was really neat! I like how we got snippets of information and how it was spread out. But when we got information, there was a lot of it, so it was hard for my brain to comprehend some aspects of the world. So, when you get to those parts, make sure you're awake and that you've had plenty of caffeine. I would have also liked to know more of the fairytale breeds. The story is set on Earth, where these creatures do not exist. It would be nice to know if this is an alternate version of Earth where these breeds are common or if they were just discovered one day.

I thought it was interesting that Edie makes soap. That is a hobby and career that you don't see much in books, so it was interesting to see! Edie was funny, especially about the Gaston singing and whatnot. That was the only jokes for me that hit. The rest that I didn't understand are either because of my age or I just live under a rock. It could be a combination of both! I'm not 100% in love with Edie because she does seem to be immature at the worst times (like when zombies are about to kill people) and also that she rushed into things with her newly discovered vampire neighbor. She is clearly lacking in safety and was never taught about stranger danger.

Max was giving MAJOR Edward Cullen vibes. He was very protective, possessive, and passive-aggressive about some things. He had a soft spot only for Edie but randomly displayed that after seeming to hate her. Some of that put me off and I found him creepy instead of swooning over him. I mean, he was watching her house through security cameras. How could you not get creeped out by that?

I thought this story was alright. It had some funny parts, most of which I didn't understand because I may not be the target age for this book. The plot itself was great! A zombie outbreak was so compelling, and it was fun to read. It's a pretty good romcom that actually has an even balance of romance and comedy. I did see that this is going to be a series so I may or may not continue depending on what the synopsis will be. The ending, in my opinion, sets up the next couple well and now I'm intrigued!

This was so good for a paranormal romance debut! Everything I love about Olivia Dade's writing style translated pretty seamlessly to the world of things that go bump in the night, and I think she established a solid foundation for future paranormal romcoms in this universe.

The Gaston verses sent me into the atmosphere, and I was obsessed with Max's Lestat-esque vibes. He and Edie complemented each other perfectly despite being total opposites and I loved watching him grow into a giant softie for her. Very fun read!

Thanks for the free book @berkleypub !


I nearly peed myself. That’s not something you usually put on the internet. But it’s true. Olivia Dade’s ZomRomCom made me laugh out loud while my husband gave me amused looks. I laughed so hard that I had to pee. It also made me cry and sometimes it just got me hot because the rom in this com is magnifique!
You can feel the urgency that compels these characters like you’re part of their entourage. These are not your average zombies. They’re fast. I would not survive any of the running portions of this book.
I love that there’s a fat main character and positive body representation - except for the zombies (Sorry, bro!) - for all kinds. No one gets on Edie’s case because she’s fat. No one picks on her for eating. No one laughts at how she runs. No one does the abhorrent “he’s too hot for you.” No one asks her to change. She’s perfect like she is. I mean, she slays.

Edie doesn’t care much for her dumb but ridiculously good looking neighbor Chad, but that doesn’t mean that she wants him to become zombie food. When zombies breach their compound, Edie doesn’t hesitate to jump into the fray when it appears that Chad is about to meet his untimely end. Unfortunately, her weapon of toys is a lukewarm burrito, which doesn’t prove to be very effective against the zombie population. She gets the surprise of her life, though when Chad isn’t as feather brained as he appears, and jumps into action, saving them both. It turns out that Chad is really Max, a sexy vampire in frat boy clothing. Max doesn’t want any entanglements and Edie doesn’t want to be anyone’s weakness ever again. But as they spend more time together, it gets harder to fight their true feelings. Now they just have to survive long enough to admit what they mean to each other.

Zombies and romance are a match made in heaven. As a longtime fan of zombie movies and romances, I was excited to read Zomromcom. Edie is a sunny and quirky main character who you can’t help but root for and Max is a typical grumpy sunshine vampire who acts like he doesn’t care but really has a heart of gold.

While I enjoyed some of the banter between Edie and Max, it often felt contrived like they were trying to be clever. Their chemistry was just ok for me and I wish there had let the relationship develop over a longer period. They both feel for each other so quickly

I also felt that there were too many supernatural elements thrown into the mix. There are zombies, vampires, werewolves, demons, witches, and elves (and maybe more?). I’ve read other books with multiple paranormal species in them, but there wasn’t enough world building to justify including them here.

I had high expectations for this book and was a little disappointed. It’s a really great premise that I think had a few too many elements bogging it down and characters that didn’t quite spark. However, if you like light hearted reads with zippy dialogue and a bit of romance, Zomromcom is worth a try.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my review or opinion of the book.