Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
With this lively, laugh-out-loud romantic adventure, Dade (At First Spite) whisks readers to an intriguing post-zombie-apocalypse setting populated by vampires, witches, and werewolves. When soap maker Edie Brandstrup tries to save her "sweet idiot" neighbor Chad from a zombie who has somehow breached containment, he reveals that his name's not really Chad and he's not really human. He's Gaston Maxime "Max" Boucher, cranky fashion influencer and centuries-old vampire. Max is willing to let Edie ride out the zombie incursion, the first such in two decades, in his basement lair, but Edie's determined to alert the authorities that zombies have returned before things get out of control. As the two navigate the sparsely populated containment zone designed to prevent such an escalation, they realize the situation's bad and getting worse: someone released the zombies on purpose. Now only they and a ragtag band of supernatural allies stand ready to save the world from a second zombie apocalypse. Meanwhile, Edie and Max can't deny their growing mutual attraction, which thrives under the constant danger. Dade's leads have serious chemistry, both sexual and emotional, which serves them well throughout their misadventures. Edie's sarcasm and Max's world-weary grumpiness add plentiful humor even as the stakes mount. This is excellent fun. (Aug.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
When Edie sees a stray zombie stalking her sweet but stupid neighbor Chad, who seems oblivious to the danger, she runs in and attacks with the only weapon she has: a burrito. The attack not only doesn't work, the creature turns on her instead. She'd be dead if Chad hadn't drawn a sword from out of nowhere and killed the ravenous beast. Chad, it turns out, is actually a cynical, antisocial, overbearing ancient vampire named Max, and the zombie he beheaded was only one of many. Somehow the undead containment compound has been breached, and zombies are pouring into inhabited Zones. With the internet, power, and phone lines down, Edie decides to warn her neighbors in person, and since Max has seemingly appointed himself her guardian, he joins in. As Edie and Max travel through the Zone, they meet potential allies, battle vicious creatures, and begin to fall for each other. VERDICT Dade's (At First Spite) hilarious, ridiculous, and steamy paranormal romance is full of puns and witty banter. The plot is fantastic, and readers will be turning pages long into the night to find out what happens next.--Heather Miller Cover
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
In Dade's first paranormal romance, two neighbors fight to stay alive as they hunt for answers during a zombie outbreak. Set in a world where people have adjusted to the presence of zombies and supernatural beings, Eden Brandstrup has always assumed her neighbor Chad fell into the category of a hot space case. He's pleasant to look at, but might not be a prime candidate for intellectual conversation. When a zombie appears in her yard, determined to make the oblivious Chad its next meal, Edie vows to save him. After having lost her parents to zombies 20 years earlier, she won't allow another person close to her to suffer the same fate. However, the normally mild-mannered Chad drops the goofy personality and morphs into the stoic, prickly Gaston "Max" Boucher, a lethal vampire. He's hidden his true identity from Edie, but it's hard to keep up the ruse when threatened by a pack of zombies. As the two escape to shelter and notify the authorities, Edie barely has time to explore Max's secrets as they discover that these zombies are only the start of a world-ending conspiracy. This is the classic romance formula in which a surly, protective hero spends most of his time intercepting the reckless heroine, who seems to have more courage than sense. For a zombie story, it's quite light, with only a smattering of blood and guts. The couple's banter and the slapstick scenarios sometimes border on cringe-worthy, such as when they try to defend themselves against a zombie attack with a burrito. Max and Edie's growing contingent of allies is a bright spot--the book is filled with brilliantly quirky characters seemingly fated to star in subsequent books--and the mystery at the heart of the story keeps the momentum going. This over-the-top reading experience resembles a fever dream that works mostly if you employ the principle of "yes, and…" thinking. A fun romp in which everything feels more interesting than the romance. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
