4.5 stars rounded up. This book is exciting from beginning to end with not only the zombie aspect, but with the character development and political intrigue. The inclusion of other zombie species added a unique layer to the story as well, since the plant and animal life are dwindling from their own zombie virus (creating an added layer of stress on resources). I also really appreciated the dark humor and “cult” aspects of the split. Great book to pick up!

The Split is Nally's debut novel and I would consider this a very strong debut. I read the sypnosis for this and was hooked right away -- a post-apocalyptic world, slow burn romance and zombies -- and I was ecstatic when I got the chance to read this arc.

I normally have a bit of a tough time reading novels written in the present tense, but I quickly got used to it and felt it flowed very well. I really liked Kota's voice and I blew through the first half of the book. Somehow, after 50%, the book got even better. I thought I had the book figured out at that point, but turns out I didn't at all!

The characters are lovely. I liked Jasper, and I liked that their romance wasn't insta-lust, but instead slow-budding with ups and downs. I liked Greeley. Honestly, loved her. She quickly became my favorite character. I really enjoyed our main character as well, and even though Kota gives off slight damsel in distress vibes in the beginning (a lot of people in this book seem to trip over their shoelaces), she is no push-over and she gets more confident and assertive as the story progresses, despite not a lot of people believing in her.

And as for the the world of the Split, divided into Macoby and Egal, there are not only zombies, but zombie animals -- and plants! -- as well, which I thought was super interesting. I have not read a ton of zombie apocalypse novels before, so to me, this felt very fresh. I liked that it also played into their dire lack of food; zombie animals unfit for consumption. It added an extra layer of danger.

I kind of hoped to see more of Macoby than we did, as we only got to meet a few people. Through Kota's POV, we learn that Macoby is thriving (as much as you can in a zombie apocalypse), more so than Egal, but what is daily life like? People go for their own supply runs, are there are no food related conflicts? Is there a sense of community? I wish we had learnt more about Macoby, as I think her time in Egal was interesting to read about and I would have loved to read more about her interactions with the boys, Milo, Fred and Indy (not Peter, for obvious reasons).

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and I think a lot of other people in the mood for a post-apocalyptic novel with slow burn romance, high stakes and zombies (and zomboars, zombirds, zombie snakes and vines) will devour this one. 4 out of 5 stars.

This book was action packed from the very beginning! You've got a post apocalyptic zombie infested world (think strong Walking Dead vibes) with a literal "split" separating what was once one community. On one side you have almost like a cult-like village that rations all of the food and resources and assigns jobs and responsibilities to each person living within it's walls (this is where our FMC is from), vs the other side where people fend for themselves and barter for goods yet have much more freedom than the other side.

When I tell you I was hooooked after about 25% of this book...I could not put it down! For a debut novel this is wonderful. The world building is so good, you've got not only zombie people but zombees, zomvines, zomboars....dang. So creative and original!

As for the characters, HANDS DOWN Greeley was my absolute favorite. I feel like she will be everyones fave. She was a trip and her character was so well developed. There are many lol moments mixed in with all of the traumatic events our FMC, Kota, goes through, and that was thanks to Greeley.

I also loved how loyal Kota was and I enjoyed watching her come into her own as she faced so many trials. It was apparent that her motives for anything that she did from the beginning to the end were purely out of dedication and loyalty to the people that mattered most in her life and I was cheering her on the whole way.

I cannot wait to see what's next in this series (if it's a series?) because the ending left me wondering where will these characters be going next?

This is going on the top of my list as one of my most favorite books. This post apocalyptic novel was a bit different than your usual dystopian novel.

Twenty-one year old Kota is feisty and safe in her corner of the world. Kota works with Peter and a couple of other people in her settlement to run for goods for their settlement. Her group is run by a very by the book boss who doesn't like guns and violence. They do carry around knives, but they rarely use them. Kota has never killed a zombie.

One day, on a run, her group runs into their rivals and Kota gets kidnapped. From the beginning of her capture, Jasper wants to keep her safe and Greeley just thinks Kota is to innocent. She learns a lot of things about "the other side of the wall." Her and Jasper grow very fond of one another and that sweet romance grows.

I think that my favorite part of this story was watching Kota grow into herself and finding out who she is and who she doesn't want to be. Watching her fight to become a newer version of herself that she appreciates much more was the most rewarding part for me.

Thank you to Gigi Nally and Gilly Publishing for allowing me to ARC read this post apocalyptic, slow burn romance dystopian novel.