OMGHGGGGG. I was up until 6 am finishing Zomromcom. Holy everloving sweet potato.. You would think I would have learned by now not to start an Olivia Dade book at midnight, promising myself I will read a few chapters and then go to bed. But...I have not, and in my defense, it's never not worth it. This book seems like it was a joy to write-- it was certainly a joy to read.. I love every human in this book-- especially Stella and Doug (also Edie, but probably that goes without saying), and also the vampire hero with three names. I'm fixing to preorder a physical copy. Run, don't walk.

It was a cute, unique take on both the zombie apocalypse and vampires.

The chemistry between Edie and Max was ok. I feel like more was needed to solidify it (maybe it was a want not a need; not sure). The verses of Gaston song were clearly meant to add to this and it was kind of cute. Then it started to get kind of old. Once she did it in front of other people, I was out. I thought it was a cute private thing and the second Edie used it in a public consumption way I thought Max could do better. Unfortunately that feeling basically lasted for the rest of the book, which was disappointing.

Pretty much every character felt underdeveloped. Unfortunately in any sort of apocalypse book, the writer has to work hard to make you give a crap about whether characters die and Olivia Dade didn't do that for me. Once the final battle started, I didn't care very much who lived and died which was not good.

Overall, I would recommend this book to specific people who I know are guaranteed to like it but it's not a universal read. There were too many aspects that could've been better and maybe my expectations for Olivia Dade were too high and/or unrealistic (this was my first book by her, but I have heard so many good things).

I thought this book had some enjoyable elements, but it didn’t fully hit the mark for me. I appreciated the focus on plus-size positivity and felt like Edie’s character brought an empowering presence to the story. I loved seeing a heroine who defies conventional standards and takes charge in a chaotic and dangerous world. That said, I struggled with how disjointed the story felt. While the premise of battling zombies and unraveling a conspiracy alongside a surly vampire had potential, I felt the narrative didn’t flow smoothly. I found myself wishing for more cohesion in the plot and deeper exploration of the characters’ emotions and relationships. I did enjoy the humor and quirks throughout the book, especially Max’s unexpected protectiveness and the dynamic between him and Edie. Their budding romance had sweet moments, but I felt it was overshadowed by the scattered pacing and lack of focus. The lovable allies added charm to the story, but their contributions felt a bit underdeveloped.

Overall, I thought the book was fine—it had a mix of intriguing elements but didn’t quite come together in the way I hoped. While I appreciated the representation and some of the humor, the disjointed feel made it hard for me to fully enjoy the story.

Olivia Dade can always be depended on for fun romance and body positivity, and Zomromcom is another mostly solid entry to her catalogue.

Edie lives in a zombie containment zone, having lost her parents in a major zombie attack 20 years ago. Now for the first time in years, zombies are attacking and it's up to Edie and her grouchy neighbor (who turns out to be a vampire) to figure out what's going on and save the day.

Zomromcom is a fun read, though I didn't get quite as into it as Spoiler Alert and it's sequels. Edie is cute and determined, Max is surly and protective, and the world is decently well fleshed out. At times I found the dialogue a little too flippant and fluffy, but mileage may vary with that sort of thing. If you're looking for some fun escapist romance, particularly with a well written plus sized heroine, then Zomromcom might be just what you're looking for.

I don't normally enjoy books with a horror theme, but this really turned the horror genre on it's head. It's truly a romance novel with a backdrop of horror, but Olivia Dade clearly had a lot of fun playing with the expectations that both genres bring to the table. This book was so fun. I was not expecting to find it so funny, but I literally laughed out loud several times. Do not skip the book club questions at the back of the book.

Straight up, I SUPER loved this book. It had zombies speaking sad French (just to be clear, they weren't speaking sad words in French, just the fact they were speaking French was sort of sad. Maybe? There was something a little melancholy about it, OKAY?) and a GLORIOUSLY GRUMPY vampire who really didn't like Edie riffing on his name (honestly, though, how could anyone resist when presented with a vampire named Gaston who growled whenever you sang his song to him) and ridiculously friendly counterfeiters and trolls who could eat their weight in appetizers before even beginning on the main course. Yeah, I loved this book.

So. Zombies. A potential zombie outbreak isn't fun, but the government assures everyone they have everything under control. So Edie goes about her regular life (or as regular a life as possible, all things considered) living inside one of the containment zones. Her neighbor might be a hardcore dudebro, but even dudebros don't deserve to be snacked on by zombies. So when a zombie goes gunning for said neighbor, Edie jumps in to save him. With her burrito. Which is just as ineffective as it sounds, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do when her only weapon is her dinner. (To be fair, the burrito survived the incident and was duly devoured by Edie once things had settled down.)

Fortunately for Edie (and her burrito), dudebro Chad was actually a vampire and he had some serious sword skills. And some really nice glutes. Which Edie ogled whenever possible because WHY NOT? If a zombie breach isn't a good reason to stare at your formerly-a-dudebro-but-now-a-hot-vampire neighbor's buns when he's wearing tiny furry underwear, WHEN IS?

Anywho. Let's just say things go a little south. Max (who does NOT go by Gaston, thankyouverymuch) and Edie team up (mostly because Max is a big softie where Edie's concerned and he can't let her go off on her own when she refuses to stay put in his glam man-cave bunker) and start to unravel some plans that possibly put both humans and supernaturals on the extinction list. And by "possibly", I mean if they can't figure out how to deal with things, things are going to be baddddd for everyone. So bad.

I got to the end of this book and I really really REALLY wanted more. It hit the spot on so many levels. *thumbs up*

OLIVIA DADE, I LOVE YOU—Zomromcom is an absolute banger, a gem, a glorious undead fever dream of fun, spice, and swoon, and I would like to personally thank you for putting this chaotic brilliance into the world.

This book was so much fun, I’m honestly mad it’s over. The banter? Next-level. If you’ve read Dade before, you already know she’s the queen of dialogue, but Max and Edie absolutely slayed (pun intended). Their chemistry crackled from the moment she tried to save his “harmless human” self from zombies—only to find out her cute, grumpy neighbor is a sword-wielding ancient vampire with the emotional range of a rock and the protective instincts of a golden retriever.

And can we talk about how spicy this book is?? The tension! The soft moments! Every scene between them had me melting, laughing, and grinning like an idiot. Add in an actual conspiracy, an A+ cast of allies, and Olivia Dade’s signature heart underneath all the zombie-slaying chaos, and this book becomes the perfect blend of ridiculous and romantic.

Zomromcom is, without question, going on the trophy shelf. 1000/10 would risk a zombie bite for Max and Edie. Absolutely cannot wait to reread and scream about it all over again.

Olivia Dade is an Auto buy author for me. This book managed to mix emotions with romance in the best way! It was so cute and fun! The cover drew me in but the writing made me stay!

This book was exactly what I thought it was going to be. A funny, unserious and lighthearted read.
I found this easy to follow and connect with the characters. This would be a great palate cleansing read.

This was funny! A good blend of humor, romance, and lighthearted horror. Sometimes it's hard to like books that are trying to do too much at once but I though this one was easy to follow and was just a silly good time.

"Zomromcom" is the biggest hint that this book spans multiple genres with tongue firmly in cheek. (And other places.) Dade was up to the challenge to making a horror romance feel balanced between the scary stuff and swoony stuff. Wonderfully romantic and surprisingly scary with fascinating urban fantasy worldbuilding -- what a unique book!

I enjoyed it as a fun, quick read, but there were a few things that left me wanting more. First off, I didn’t realize that this was going to be part of a series, and I think that knowledge would have influenced my expectations a bit more. Because of that, I felt that the world-building and character interactions could have been more fleshed out. Since this is part of a series, I believe the author had a great opportunity to dive deeper into those elements, but it didn’t fully happen in this first book.

That said, it was still an enjoyable read, and the unique blend that kept me entertained. I’ll definitely be picking up the second book when it comes out, as I’m curious to see where the story goes next. If you’re looking for a light, fast-paced read, Zomromcom fits the bill.

Thank you Netgalley and to the Author for this ARC.

I was super stoked to read this one! The first 50% of the book? I LOVED! I love the entire premise of how it was set up and the zombies and containment zones, I even loved the little twist with the neighbor being a vampire. After 50% I just could not hold my attention anymore in this book. So many super naturals kept getting thrown in and it just felt like way too much. Totally took away the atmosphere from the first 50%. I felt like the last half dragged, and then when we finally got our ending I did not feel great at all with the way it ended, just set up for another book.

3.75 stars
So this was super cute and pretty funny, lighthearted and silly.
I really did enjoy my read of this and it was my first by this author. I liked her writing style and would absolutely read more by her....the only reason I knocked off stars was because some the thought of still having influencers after a zombie apocalypse was a little strange to me but all in all I loved the inclusion of different types of magical and paranormal creatures and the found family that the main characters find along the way. This does leave off on a cliffhanger so I will be waiting for book 2 to find out what else happens to our strange but wonderful group of characters.

This was such a fun read! I laughed out loud more times while reading this book than I can count. The amount of humour and gore mixed with the spice was the perfect balance to make it a great time! There were also some heartfelt moments along the way that make you fall in love with Edie and Max. And I loved that the author didn’t take it too seriously. It was a fun, easy read. Loved it!

This was such a fun read! I enjoyed stepping into this world and piecing together the various magic and supernatural forces at play. Edie was a badass main character and I enjoyed her growth throughout the book. Max was such a great, if not a bit quirky, love interest. The ending was great and I’m hoping we get to see more from these characters!

Previously I have loved Olivia Dade’s writing. But this book just doesn’t do it for me. It feels like a hot mess. There’s French speaking zombies but there’s vampires too and oh wait, there’s also evil fey that kill vampires and let the zombies loose and within the apocalyptic hell soup there is somehow also social media influencers who style clothes and make artisanal soap and then there are counterfeiters just to round it out. Huh? Why so much half-established stuff going on? Good Lord, pick a few supernatural elements and stick with them.

I am no stranger to paranormal or monster stories or romance books so that’s not the problem. Just this book feels disjointed as all get out. So badly that I stopped reading it 3 times and finally DNF’ed it. I love dirty sex scene with a vampire as much as the next Buffy fan, but this just felt like a bad porno mixed with a different contemporary romance book mixed with a B rated zombie movie that was so bad even Rifftrax passed on riffing on it. I’m a huge Joe Bob’s “Last Drive In” fan. I can appreciate bad horror movies that are so bad they become really good and enjoyable. I kept waiting for the catch with this one and it didn’t happen. It’s taking itself too seriously to be funny/bad. But it’s too ridiculous to be serious. So it’s just a mess.

Sorry, Olivia. I still love your writing and whenever you go back to writing hot teachers or whatever I’ll be there for it. But this one is a big “No” from me.

While not my cup of tea, this story is something I can see being very popular with others. This spooky, silly, romantic comedy was unique in its story but not fully fleshed out in its plot. Edie and Max (“Chad”) were fun characters but I didn’t fully see or believe their chemistry.

Also, one thing I appreciate about Olivia Dade books is how her FMCs are never the stick skinny girls and she represents all types of body types. It’s refreshing to read.

Thanks NetGalley and Berkley for an advanced copy of this book.

I swear Olivia Dade can write anything and I would love it. How the heck does a zombie romance just WORK?????? I CANNOT wait for the next in the series, this was so much fun!!! And, uh, nicely spicy. 🫠

3.5 rounded up.

Edie lives in a zombie Containment Zone where her parents died during the first attack 20 years prior. Next door is her neighbor "Chad" who is a goofball. That's how she ends up trying to save his life when there's a new zombie outbreak. That's also how she finds out "Chad" isn't who she thought he was.

I don't read a lot of romance any more, but a romance with zombies? I had to check it out, especially with that cute cover. The cover is accurate - this is a cute, breezy, fun romance with a few zombies. Not sure I'd recommend this for zombie fanatics because the focus is definitely on Edie and "Chad" falling in love.

The high point of this book is the humor and banter. It won't be for everyone, but I laughed out loud several time. The relationship was very well done, but I also enjoyed learning more about them as individuals.

As for the plot... I wanted more zombies. I'm sure the romance readers will disagree, and that's okay. What I did get was interesting - these are not The Walking Dead style zombies.

One final not: I appreciated the plus-size representation. Edie was so confident and comfortable with herself. There wasn't a single hint of self negativity about her body or self-image.