Readers who enjoy romantic comedies with a twist—and a taste for the unconventional—will find Zom Rom Com a refreshing and addictive read. Olivia Dade once again shows she knows how to write love stories that are not only swoon-worthy but also laugh-out-loud funny.

Highly recommended for fans of rom-coms, horror parodies, and anyone who’s ever wondered what it’s like to kiss someone during a zombie apocalypse.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the ARC of this book. Olivia Dade is known for her banter, and that is the majority of this book. The actual plot wasn’t a huge hit for me, and a little sparce if I’m honest. We also have our MMC, Gaston, and yes, by the end of the book – even this self proclaimed Disney girl who grew up on B&TB was over it. It is a very quick and simple read though, I breezed through it overnight and if you’re looking for that classic Olivia conversation, pick it up!

This book is exactly what it promises: a zombie romance comedy with big laughs, surprising heart, and just the right amount of undead chaos.

Zom Rom Com follows Edie, a whip-smart heroine with a love for bad puns and a knack for survival, who finds herself caught in the middle of a zombie outbreak. Enter Max—a mysterious, brooding vampire next door who turns out to be way more than he seems. Their reluctant partnership quickly turns into something more, and watching their chemistry develop was one of the best parts of the book.

What I loved most was how Olivia Dade balanced the absurdity of the zombie apocalypse with genuinely sweet romantic moments. The banter? Hilarious. The tension? Real. And the romance? Surprisingly tender. It’s got that classic romcom feel but with brains… literally.

If you’re looking for something funny, fresh, and a little weird in the best way, this one’s for you.

In Zomromcom, Olivia Dade masterfully blends humor, romance, and horror in a delightfully inventive story about love and survival in a world on the brink of chaos. Edie Brandstrup, a brave and determined heroine, finds herself unexpectedly protected by her surly, centuries-old vampire neighbor, Max—whose charm and large sword make for a hilarious and endearing pairing. As they work together to combat a sinister conspiracy unleashing zombies once more, their chemistry quickly becomes impossible to ignore.
Dade’s witty prose and the vibrant cast of allies add depth and warmth to this action-packed, laugh-out-loud adventure. Edie’s growing feelings for Max push her to confront tough questions about love, sacrifice, and whether risking everything is worth fighting for a future together. The story cleverly explores what it means to find hope—and humor—in the unlikeliest of apocalyptic circumstances.
Zomromcom is a fun, fresh take on the genre that will keep you eagerly turning pages for romance, laughs, and just the right amount of zombie mayhem.

First, thank you for the opportunity to read this early. OLIVIA DADE, thank you! This was so fun and a great addition to this series. Cannot wait for more.

Burrito-wielding Edie is a master at fending for herself, especially during a zombie outbreak. When she tries to save her harmless human neighbor, Chad, she discovers he is in fact a very harmful vampire, named Max. She is forced to pair up with her dangerous neighbor when he refuses to let her save the world on her own.

✨paranormal
✨grumpy & sunshine
✨apocalypse
✨opposites attract
✨insta-lust/love

"She stood at his side. As she should have from the beginning, no matter the danger."

This book was super interesting! My first time dipping my toes in supernatural/paranormal romance and I can definitely say this was unlike anything I've read before. Edie was very funny (though a bit overkill) & Max was a great love grumpy love interest (even though him being an influencer was out of the blue and didn't seem to fit in my opinion). I'm not a big fan of insta-lust/love but overall I did enjoy this and I look forward to more from this author.

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing Group, NetGalley & Olivia Dade for an ARC of this book! 🫶🏼

This was a gaddamn delight, and I only wish I could read it for the first time again. It completely fulfills all the promises of the title, while also never taking the narrative direction I expected. The energizing "the world's in a dire state, but there's hope!" romance we all need right now.

No spoiler arc review:

As a zombie movie lover, I am so excited to see we are getting more zombie books. One of the things that drew me to this one is that it's a rom com. I am only slightly ashamed to admit I enjoy the movie Warm Bodies. So, if you are a fan of movies like Warm Bodies, Shaun of the Dead, and The Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, this might be for you. I have some things to share that might determine if you want to give this book a try.

I absolutely loved the first 30% of this book. The opening is hilarious and a great blend of the scary side of zombies with what we love about a rom com. That opening scene could easily translate to film. Some of the things I enjoyed were the origin story of the outbreaks, the background of the characters, and excellent action scenes. There is an entire scene on a bridge in their car that is some of the best zombie work I've seen. Overall I enjoyed the romance between the two leads. I've seen other reviews say they felt like it came out of nowhere, but they were neighbors who saw each other semi-regularly and clearly already had an attraction.

There are two things the book struggled with that I think are worth mentioning. First, that the reader gets bogged down with a ton of extra world building, and second is that the tone was inconsistent. With zombie stories you only need to have two things for a happy audience: a great origin, and clear rules for how the infection spreads and how to take them out. Half way through the book the author gives a bunch of extra lore and politics between the humans and supernaturals which felt unnecessary. Without giving anything away, the second half of the book the two leads attempt to solve a mystery involving some of the supernaturals, and it overtakes the plot and there is a HUGE gap in any zombie action. While the added mystery was nice, you could cut half of the extra world building and still enjoy it.

Writing in the horror comedy space means you're walking a delicate line and you need to have a clear vision for how you plan to do that. Most of this book is able to balance the two, however there were a couple times this book went from Shaun of the Dead to so far out there Terry Prachett humor and it takes you out of the story.

Not a spoiler but a very niche complaint: There is a running joke in the book that stopped being funny after the first two times. Maybe it's because I'm not a Disney person, but his actual name is Gaston and she teases him by singing the Gaston song from Beauty and the Beast. It got old quick.

Turns out, this one wasn't for me. I am always willing to suspend my disbelief for a fun paranormal romance, but the humor was not my speed, and the instalove was even speedier. I've loved a few books by Olivia Dade in the past, so it isn't the author specifically. I'll try others by her in the future. Just not the next installment in this one, if there is one.

This if my first time reading an Olivia Dade title and I loved it! The banter throughout and characters personalities made this book. I’m hoping there will be a sequel.

Man, I wanted to like this one so much, but I gave up at the part where the counterfeiter, Doug, kept babbling about counterfeiting.
Firstly, WHYYYYY do people live in these zones that have zombies in them?!! I get housing is outrageous, but the danger of zombies is not worth risking cheap housing.
Secondly, NOBODY. Nobody gets horny after escaping a bunch of zombies and ending up soaking wet, then having to get naked in cold, dirty mall, while being toweled off with table cloths.
And thirdly, the insta live is a no for me. They barely spoke 50 words and suddenly he’s knuckle deep in her cooch and she’s “falling” for him. And this is at 35%?!
Nope.

Overall, great premise but I felt the romance fell flat. Edie and Max were really interesting characters however, I felt there was not enough time to successfully build out the romance between them as we needed to learn about the world they inhabited. I had fun reading but unfortunately it wasn't a hit for me.

I have liked past Olivia Dade books. This book on the other hand was a love! From start to finish this had me smiling like an idiot. A few times I had to hold back tears. Edie and Max just work together. Both accepting and honest about their flaws and each others. This took a vampire book and gave it a twist. A zombie book and gave it a twist. A romance thankfully with no large twist but maybe some dangles off a cliff.

Edie Brandstrup vive en una zona de contención de zombis, marcada por la tragedia de haber perdido a sus padres durante el primer brote veinte años atrás. Su vida rutinaria da un giro absurdo (y divertido) cuando intenta salvar a su vecino torpe (Gaston o Max) con un burrito... solo para descubrir que él es en realidad un vampiro centenario. Por casualidad ambos descubren hay algo/alguien quien esta tramando algo malvado y ahora son lo únicos que podrán salvar a todos..

___


Fue una lectura ligera y entretenida. Tenia dudas como se trataría lo de Max siendo inmortal y al final se resolvió de buena manera esta situación.


¿Sera una duología trilogía?

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest

I found Zomromcom to be an enjoyable supernatural romance from one of my favorite authors. I really liked the banter between Edie and Max as well as the all the Gaston parody songs. The extra cast of characters and the world were really interesting so I hope we will see more in this universe.

Wow, this was so much fun! Also, a small thing, but I think this is the most polished ARC I've read so far? I don't remember spotting any typos, and I thought the writing and pacing were even smoother than the last book I read by Olivia Dade.

The only critique I think some people may have is that there's not as much zombie-fighting action as there could have been, but there was plenty for me and as a person who loves filler I really enjoyed all the quieter character-driven moments. There are so many great side characters that elevated the fantastic dynamic between Edie and Max. The humor is great, I kept telling my friend about the funny bits. There's laughter, there's emotion, there's heart, there's friendship, there's trust, there's world building, and there are luscious sex scenes.

I took a long time to finish reading this, but maybe that's because I subconsciously just wanted to keep the book around because it made me happy every time I opened it up.

Content Warnings:
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Fire/Fire injury

ZomRomCom was a fun, quirky ride with Olivia Dade’s signature humor and wit. The zombie apocalypse backdrop mixed with rom-com elements made for an entertaining and creative premise. I had a lot of fun with the characters and the world-building—it definitely kept me turning the pages!

That said, the romance felt a bit rushed. I wanted more buildup and emotional connection between the leads to really buy into their relationship. Still, the ending left me curious, and I’m definitely interested in seeing what happens next in this unique, offbeat world.

This book is absolutely awesome! I couldn’t put it down, and I can’t recommend it enough! Do yourself a favor, and read it!

This is my first read from Olivia Dade and from what I know about her books, paranormal romance is new to her. The concept of zombies and other supernatural and enhanced beings in a post-apocalyptic world was interesting and as a fan of all things zombie, I was excited to start reading.

Overall, I though the story was well written and fans of Olivia Dade and RomComs will be pleased. I found the humor sometimes felt too much, and I wanted more emotional interactions between Edie and Max. But those were few and far between, and almost always focused around Edie's dead parents. I also struggled to find Max an attractive love interest. He's described as extremely hot, but there was so much superficiality around him (being an influencer, conceded, etc), that I didn't buy that he was centuries-years-old, or that Edie would fall for him. It's not until nearly the end that there is more between them than one-liners (or Gaston songs parodies) meant to annoy each other and Edie finding him attractive.

While the story ended up not being right for me, I would recommend for RomCom readers looking for a new twist.

What about this book called to me? Well I love saying the title for one thing. Another is the fact that Olivia Dade WROTE A PARANORMAL ROMANCE! I will admit that it started a bit slowly for me. I wasn't immediately on board with neighbor Chad and then was hesitant about the vampire angle inside of a zombie apocalypse rom com. It was a whole lot of everything thrown in at the same time. I'm so glad I struck around though. These 2 were so much fun and I love that they get a HEA in *mostly* believable way.