A review by amshofner
Zomromcom by Olivia Dade

4.0

Why I read it: Olivia! Dade! My first Olivia Dade was her Lovestruck Librarians series, followed by the Spoiler Alert series (love), and also AT FIRST SPITE, the first in the Harlot’s Bay series (seriously love). Zomromcom is Dade’s first foray into paranormal romance so you know I had to request it when it went up on NetGalley. (Thanks to the Berkley and NetGalley for the advance copy; this is my honest review.)

Review #insixwords: This was fun. Want book 2!

More:
  • Books with zombies can often veer toward horror and dystopian, but this was not that. Even though the zombies are super fast. Dade has a fun, lighthearted style with her contemporary books, and that felt like it carried over here too.
  • The world here doesn’t just have zombies—it has so many supernaturals. Vampires, demons, werewolves, fae, witches, enhanced humans.
  • Our main character Edie attempts to save her dudebro neighbor Chad from a zombie with nothing more than a wrapped burrito, but surprise, Chad isn’t human and he’s not Chad. He’s a vampire. Named Max. (Technically Gaston.)
  • The number of times Edie trolls Max by singing Gaston songs is truly wonderful. A real highlight.
  •  While Edie and Max live in an area that’s especially designed to keep zombies out with walls (they cannot climb) and moats (they cannot swim) but somehow zombies have gotten in through the heavily guarded pass zones and the usual government response isn’t happening. 
  • Max would be content to stay in his underground bunker and wait things out, but Edie wants to warn her fellow neighbors in the containment zone. And Max isn’t about to let her go off by herself. (She can take care of herself but also he has preternatural speed and a massive secret crush on Edie.)
  • We’ve got grumpy-sunshine vibes, and Max is definitely a secret cinnamon roll.
  • The people they meet along the way are so much fun. I love them. 
  • But also, this story isn’t done and there’s clearly another book. There is a resolution to this book! Max and Edie get their happily ever after. The next book appears to be about the oracle (World’s Okayest Oracle, yes please)

Recommendation: If you’re already an Olivia Dade fan, yes, pick this one up. If you haven’t dipped your toe into the paranormal romance pool and would like to, Zomromcom is a good one—it leans into the rom com.