I have pretty consistently loved Olivia Dade's books and was surprised/delighted to see a paranormal romance from her when she usually writes contemporary rom coms. This one gets to the paranormal right away, with main character Edie attempting to save her hapless neighbor from a zombie with the only thing she has on hand - a burrito. That scene really sets the tone for for the whole thing, and it's a funny, zany, gory, and often poignant love story set in a world where zombies not only exist, but were actually created by the government to help with a werewolf problem. Her hapless neighbor Chad turns out to be neither hapless nor actually named Chad, and he's a super old vampire who goes by Max (but whose real name is Gaston, leading to many hilarious renditions of the Gaston song from Edie). Something I really appreciated about this was that Edie is a fat woman, like many of Olivia Dade's female main characters, and there is never any suggestion that she can't both be fat and hold her own in a fight with zombies. There's a lot of gore in this - apparently the best way to kill these particular zombies is to behead them - so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is not up for a bit of blood (and more). Also, due to the nature of the story, there's a lot of violence, a good bit of past trauma, and a lot of grief for those lost. I really, really hope there's going to be a second book featuring one of the side characters in this, as seemed to be teased at the end of the story.

Thank you so much for letting me read an ARC of ZomRomCom. I’m a big fan of Olivia Dade’s other books, so it was a no brainer (pun very much intended) to pick up this book, and I was not disappointed. I easily understood the main characters motivations and found their relationship to be really sweet. For a first foray into supernatural romance, this was incredibly good.

There were a couple things that confused me, mostly related to the setting. First, I couldn’t tell if the backdrop for this story was a full zombie apocalypse, or if it was contained to this small area in Virginia. And then when I realized it was contained, I really wondered why anyone was allowed to live that close to the compound. I also couldn’t understand why the compound hadn’t been shut down and the zombies eradicated within the 20 yrs since the outbreak. Also, it seemed that the FMC and her parents were able to prep for a zombie invasion back in the early days, so I was left wondering why they didn’t relocate.

However, I would still recommend this book to lovers of supernatural romance and I am very much looking forward to the next book in this universe.

I received an advance copy of Zomromcom from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I've read my fair share of Olivia Dade, and this one might just be my new favorite. The post-zombie world Dade created is the perfect summer vacation escape. I found myself just as interested in the pop culture references as the romance between Max and Edie. As always I appreciated Dade's size inclusive heroines and realistic approach to mental health struggles in romantic relationships. I'm excited to read the next installment in the series.

When girl is attached by viscous zombie while trying to innocently eat a burrito, her macramé thong wearing vampire neighbour is the one that steps in and saves her life.

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Plot
There's an awful lot to like about this story, but I also have some big issues.

The premise - is great. Scientific experiment goes wrong and the government attempts to contain the problem; I like the idea of the different zones and the extra security measures put in place to ensure the zombies don't escape. I don't understand why the zombies were uhh educated with a French version of Dora the Explorer, but whatever.

My issue with this premise is the gapping holes that not only allow the zombies to escape, but also the plot. Why would anyone live here? Where is the rest of the world? Why is everyone a social media influencer in this post apocalyptic world? Is this even a real post apocalyptic world? How does this government actually work? Where do the supernaturals fit in? Why did they not check the cameras before leaving the secret bunker?

The world building - is bad. Even with the assistance of a lovely map, I just couldn't picture this world in my head. Eventually the way the zones are constructed is explained, but it takes a while and still doesn't really make sense. I actually made a note on Chapter 15 "wait. the zombies are in the middle??". Those living in the zones clearly aren't the only ones left, but I just didn't get why anyone would live near the containment area and why the government would even allow this.
There's an awful lot of telling rather than showing, and I found the exposition hard to follow at times, especially when the author was trying to explain the supernaturals/enhanced folk. The inclusion of an entire host of creatures and critters was info dumped over a few chapters, and while I liked the idea, the way it was presented didn't feel natural, and there were just way too many types to keep track of.

The pacing - was strange. At times there was great urgency in their actions and then they'd spend the night cuddled up in an abandoned overpriced furniture store.

The plot - felt unfinished. Like seriously, the entire purpose of their trip is convoluted. They head off to try and warn everyone else and get to the bottom of the zombie escape, but don't really warn anyone important, although they do figure out what happened. There's not a single other person in any of the zones that's even noticed the zombies have escaped. Really? They eventually meet up with some like minded folks, but where the heck is everyone else?

Characters
FMC
She's a strange character. I think the author was going for the same awkward witty nature that so many FMC's exude at the moment, but something was off about this girl and I'm not really sure what it is. She was also overtly annoying at times and showed no real self preservation, despite living in such close proximity with zombies.

MMC
Is probably the best part of this entire story. There's something about having an ancient vampire with a complicated past who's day (night?) job is being an incredibly popular social media star. I think I really liked the absurdity of his current carer, mixed with his caring personality that did it for me. He is the only reason I made it through this story.

The Rest
*sigh* I found it really difficult to engage with any of them as they all blended into one big mush. All of their personalities were very one note, with so many of their actions and comments being degraded by overuse of stupidity and comedy. Even the 'oracle' towards the end, every single thing she says is turned into a stupid joke. FFS. Stop. Cut it out.

I did kinda like the Girl Explorers however, but I think that's because they were so sinister. I really want to know how big that pit they dug was.

The Chemistry
She has more chemistry with her not-falafel. I really don't understand why he likes her at all.

The Good
I really liked the idea of this plot and it had a lot of potential.

The Bad
Too many tropes smushed together into a cringing pile of pomegranate flavoured slush.

The Ugly
The over reliance on turning everything into a joke did not pay off for me.

The Wrap Up
Every time she sings the Gaston song, a magical teacup dies.

Massive thanks to Berkley for letting me get my paws on this ahead of release. My review is voluntary and honest.

Let's start with the positive: Olivia Dade is a good writer. In a time where it feels like most authors are slapping together books to keep up with trends you can tell that Olivia Dade takes care with her writing. She's also not shy about using words that aren't common in regular vocabulary. Her main characters were easy to like and there were several laugh out loud moments.

Despite all this, the book does not do well with the actual plot and setting. It's clear that the author is using this book as a springboard for a series which causes The Zomromcon's simple premise to be bogged down in a myriad of tropes. Zombies, fae + other supernatural races, government conspiracies, fated mates, influencer lifestyles, etc. All of it overpowers the love story between Edie and Max and the basic plot of living in a zombie apocalypse.

I have never, and I’ve read quite a few zombie romances, had this much fun reading a zombie book.
I loved the wacky humor, the found family and just the zanny shenanigans.

All writers, take note of how to start a book from here… cause I was HOOKED immediately from the first chapter

Edie is my favorite FMC in awhile. So funny and the parody lyrics had me cackling! The banter with her and Max was top notch

The somewhat cliffhanger ending was not my favorite but I’m just hopeful it means there will be more from this world… cause I love a good supernatural, zombie, government conspiracy story

I fear that this book was a bit too campy for me.

I really struggled to finish this book. Yes, I think the book had all three elements of the title, the Com part was the heavy hitting champion of the three.

That being said, some of the conversations took us so far from the plot that it completely took me out of the story and made me wonder why we were even having them. And the fact that the two MCs rarely had a conversation without witty remarks in it wore me down after awhile.

Also, be aware that it has insta-lust. The romance between Max and Edie comes at you as fast as the zombies do. That being said, we always appreciate a plus sized queen getting lavished in the bedroom the way that she deserves. He at least delivers on that end.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll plan on continuing this supernatural series.

It took a bit to get into this book, but once it figured out its flow I started enjoying it. Evie- a total hoot. Loved her! I kept feeling Zombieland vibes when I was reading this book. Parts were a little confusing and I’m not sure if it was the dialogue or me not understanding. Overall, enjoyable read! 3.5 ⭐️

Thank you for this arc!! First and foremost this book kinda felt all over the place for me. But I did enjoy Edie and Max. Currently fixated on the walking dead I needed more zombie content. Again the language of the book was solid and easy to follow but it was a little YA. Overall I liked it and it was a solid read.

Y’ALL THIS IS SO GOOD. I had the time of my life reading Zomromcom. The chemistry!!!! The banter is PEAK and oh my gosh I love Max. He’s grumpy and sassy and I couldn’t get enough of hiim. I would read 100 books about Edie and Max fighting zombies.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eArc copy of this book.

This has been such an amazing experience. I laughed, I giggled and kicked my feet, I cried. The banter was amazing and I loved it!! The plot was plotting. The pet names were adorable. I can’t wait for the release of this. I’m obsessed. Edie is big girl rep everywhere and we love her. And our MMC is what every big girl dreams of in terms of acceptance.

After a small zombie outbreak takes place in her zone, Edie and her mysterious neighbor Chad end up going on a quest to save the rest of their population.

This book was all over the place. From vampires to zombies to Girl Scout half fae and a witch named Sabrina *insert eye roll* to a human girl that’s not well developed as anything other than a soap maker with a funny personality.

The setting to me was the best written part of the story. I felt I could truly picture what was happening where with nuance.

The language of this book bothered me most. The entire book is a romantic comedy with a side of horror and written like a YA. Then the author throws in random, obtuse verbiage every few pages that even as a college graduate, I had to look some up. To me, that was very disjointed.

My favorite characters were the trolls and Doug. I felt they had the most personality and because of that, were the strongest of the ARCs we saw.

Overall, the banter between Edie and who she encounters was the best part of this book. The spice was not for me and felt excessive but I understand I’m in the minority with that thought.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Zomromcom is classic, unserious Olivia Dade fun. Such a fun and unique take on the zombie genre, with a really interesting level of world building (if sometimes delivered with a heavy hand). I was so here for the French zombies, containment zones, mythical creatures with YouTube channels, and unconventional use of soap making supplies. Sprinkle in that this book takes place in what I understand to be my hometown, and I have to say I loved it!

Edie is delightful as an FMC - genuinely a wonderful person to read about. She’s imperfect, but consistent, and a total badass in her own way. I was obsessed with Max, and how oblivious Edie was to the depth of his feelings for the first chunk of the book. The banter was great, which came to no surprise since that is absolutely Olivia Dade’s specialty. I love all the kooky characters we met, and I’m so excited to continue in this universe.

I had some problems with the pacing in the early middle of the books, and I think the Gaston bit was significantly overdone. I know this is the author’s first foray into paranormal romance, which explains some of the club lines in the exposition/world building. That said, it was very forgivable clunkiness, and I think future books in this series will be stronger for already having a foundation laid.

Recommended for fans of Ali Hazelwood, older heroines, and plus size girlies getting their backs blown out.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First and foremost, let me say two things: 1) I have never read an Olivia Dade book so I have nothing to compare it to, and 2) I assumed this was a standalone; it is not. In fact, it ends on a pretty nasty cliffhanger, so you've been warned.

I love paranormal romance, especially one with all the bells and whistles—multiple magical species, a supernatural body of law or system, and humans that inevitably get sucked into their chaos. And in this case, I love the subversion that it's the HUMANS who created the chaos a.k.a. zombies. And all because they were trying to be discriminatory against werewolves (rude).

But there were so many things that also I didn't enjoy or love.

The pacing of this book was quite slow. The opening chapters were mostly exposition (lots of telling rather than showing) and it was exhausting trying to get the lay of the land. There were several gratuitous sex scenes that did nothing for me. We didn't even reach the main conflict until, what, 90%, and when we did, it felt very underwhelming in terms of stakes. The resolution to the third act conflict (or should I say 4th since it was basically the end of the book...) was predictable and didn't grip me (along with Max's solution to remedy the initial solution). And besides Edie and Max, the supporting of characters felt mostly two dimensional.

I did come around to the romance, but for 70-80% of the book it felt very insta-lovey; I wish there had been more obvious foreshadowing of Max's motives and growth in between the physical attraction stage and the I-love-you-so-much-I-would-die-for-you stage. The use of French terms of endearments was super cringey to me. And overall, I imagine this was meant to be sort of a grumpy/sunshine romance(?) but it didn't totally hit for me. Max was a little grumpy in the beginning, sure, but then he went full Pepé Le Pew in his affections for Edie and it didn't feel justified (again, that insta-love vibe) until nearly 70 or 80% in. Edie was definitely a sunshine character—to the point that she had no self-preservation instincts and did stupid things in the name of compassion—and while I liked her, I didn't LOVE her. As a couple, they didn't really have much banter, either. And if I hear Gaston any time in the near future, it'll be too soon...

Look, I DID have fun reading this. But I also had several instances while reading where I wished I could put it down. If zombies are your thing and you appreciate thorough world-building, even if it's kinda slow, you might really enjoy this. And if you already like Olivia Dade's writing, I imagine this is up your street.

As such, I'm giving this 3.5 out of 5 ⭐️s

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publicity for an ARC of Zomromcom. This book was adorable! My first Olivia Dade book, and it had me chuckling from start to finish. The banter and humor was so fun and effortless throughout the entire book.

A plus size FMC without that being her defining characteristic, a vampire MMC, Beauty and the Beast puns, an attempt to fight a zombie with a burrito, a counterfeiting crime gang that likes gourmet food, and zombies that only think about a French children’s cartoon or eating humans…I mean can you really go wrong with all of that?

It was definitely instalove which isn’t a trope I usually gravitate towards, but that’s just me. I do wish we got an epilogue or something to ease me into the wrap up of this storyline. I also would have loved a little more world building/explanation into this human and supernatural creature combo universe, but with the main genre of this book being Rom-Com and not fantasy, I don’t hold that against the book and just enjoy it for the vibes which were so fun! A great and easy vibe read hands down!!

DNF at 70%. It just isn't the book for me. I enjoy the wit and humor of the book and the characters. I loved the humor. It was fantastic. I just struggled with the romance and relationship between Edie and Max. It was a bit instaromance for my liking. I for sure see myself recommending this book to readers at my library and I am promoting the title at our quarterly Book Buzz event, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

This was a laugh-out-loud funny romance between a selfless and optimistic human and misanthropic vampire while they fight for their community during a zombie outbreak.

Overall, I was disappointed. I really loved Dade’s previous few books and was really looking forward to this one, but it fell short for me.

The best parts of the book were the humor. The relationship between the two could be summed up with the quote from Edie, “His expression of outrage was delicious”, and their banter was fun! But I didn’t really connect with our MMC Max. He is a bit weird, especially in the beginning. He grows on you more as the story goes on, but I eventually felt that the romance was just fine.

The worst part was the world-building. I don’t understand the world she’s built here. Why are they ringed in? What’s the scope of the zones? Like a big town or city? It didn’t take them long to span a zone. This seems like a pretty localized issue. Presumably there’s the whole rest of the world outside of the zones. I understand why they would have rings of defenses, but why would they populate them at all? If the outbreak only happened here, why would all the supernatural beings come out of hiding? Also, Soulmates are a thing too?! It was a completely random element thrown in 100 pages in, that we never saw it again. In fact most of the supernatural elements feel kind of thrown in and nonsensical, rather than a natural part of the story. I feel like the author was trying to incorporate the elements throughout the story rather than in one big exposition dump, but it really didn’t work and made their additions feel randomly dropped in.

That being said, I was properly entertained. I think it evens things out to a 3.

this book is such a FUN read !! the characters are all engaging, the world has lots going on, so it's very interesting, and the romance is HAWT ! ( warning, sexytimes ahead). I do love Olivia's writing, and this was a lot of hilarity, mixed with zombie action.
I immediately loved Edie, she is so sweet and kind and caring. The fact that she and Max have chemistry is no surprise, and as the story moves along, we find out more and more about him, and end up liking him more and more. ( despite his arrogant vanity LOL)
The rest of the crew that we meet are a bunch of interesting people, as well. I would love to have more books about the other characters. Belinda and Doug's story would be fun, and the witch, the oracle, yes please :D

Unfortunately, this one didn’t really work for me. I really wanted to enjoy it. I usually enjoy zombie apocalypse stories, and I was genuinely interested in the plus-size FMC representation. But I just couldn’t get into the writing style. The way everything about the world was introduced just made things more confusing than engaging. The humor didn’t help either. The repeated Gaston song references and constant pop culture mentions got old fast and didn’t add much for me. As for the romance, it felt very rushed and overly focused on insta-lust, which made it feel kind of forced. Both leads lacked the kind of depth that would make me care about them, and some of their interactions came off more cringey than charming. I can see how others might enjoy this, but in the end, it just wasn’t my kind of read.