I did not see that coming! I usually don't read the summary and when a book starts with a gamer community, the last thing I would have imagined was a curse with zombies! Absolutely entertaining and I love a little romance in a chaotic setting c:

As a gamer, I was especially thrilled to be approved for this read. It was fun and tense and I enjoyed every moment of it.

3.75 i love an apocalyptic story and i am a gamer so i thought this would be a good match for me. i love the characters a lot and they felt super relatable! i have OCD as well so i was glad to see that representation! i think there was just a lot going on so it took a bit for my brain to sort it out. thank you so much for the arc!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for access to an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was such a wild, fun ride. Nora Moon has been struggling for years with the sudden deaths of her parents, leaving her somewhat agoraphobic and with more than a few OCD traits under her belt. But when things go horribly wrong one night and her roommate dies just as suddenly as her parents and then she receives a troubling call from her uncle, Nora can't help but worry over what she needs to do next. Things on the news aren't looking pretty, and she ends up calling in the help of an online friend who she plays videogames with, Wesley, knowing that he can get to her uncle to help more easily than she can. From there, the world continues to fall apart as the curse-disease-virus spreads and Nora and Wesley struggle to figure out the origin of the zombie hordes and how it all ties back to her uncle. They only have to much time to figure things out before it's too late, after all, and they aren't the only ones out there working the problem. Watching Nora and Wesley deal with their own personal traumas all while trying to solve the origin of the quickly spreading zombie apocalypse and save the world before it's too late was interesting and kept the pace of the book fast and action-packed.

With gamer friends meeting up in real life, archaeological side plots, a shady and violent agency stalking them, translation-turned-puzzle-solving, an end-of-the-world curse, an evil demon overlord summoning, a harrowing race against the clock, people being horribly in the apocalypse as they always are, and a genuinely sweet love story underneath it all, it had so, so much going for it. But it did sometimes start to feel like a bit too much for me to stay rooted in the story, and in more than one instance, *very* complex , potentially triggering themes were covered and almost felt a little glossed over? A few of these pieces felt like they didn't even need to be there because they were thrown in and then gotten over within a handful of pages, which I can understand due to the breakneck speed nature of the story, but it would have been nice to see the fallout of a few issues carry through if you were going to go so far as to use them in the first place, considering they aren't the kinds of things people just get over the way they're moved on from in the book.


**TRIGGER WARNINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR**

Rape, Suicide, Murder, Violence, Mentions of Abuse, Death of a family member.

“How old are you? Texting is the only way to communicate—no one calls people,”

IRL by E.A. Field

Quick Summary
Nora has been, surviving. Dealing with school, and her crippling OCD the only escape she has is her online gaming where she has made connections with a few people. Then one day things start to become strange, people start dying but not staying dead. Nora then finds out the present her uncle sent her is more than what it seems and maybe the answer to all this.

Final Thoughts
Thank you NetGalley & Rising Action Publishing Co. for this eARC.
I am a sucker for zombie books, always have been. This synopsis sounded different enough that I needed to read this. The characters have some relatable flaws that are very prominent in the book that go so much deeper than zombie attacks. We have two characters that have to face their issues head on during a trying time and trying to save the world from zombies. The biggest thing I enjoyed seeing was Wesleys character healing from the trauma of his mother.

I admit upfront I’m not a huge fan of “zombie” books, but this blurb struck me as interesting, so I requested it. First of all, I loved how both Nora and Wesley have issues like regular people. They were a little more believable to me that way. Add in the fact that Wesley is the result of female abuse which is a real thing and about time it’s shown, and I felt they were very relatable. With the great writing, the engaging plot, non-stop action, and the actual wrap up of the story and not a huge cliffhanger, I really enjoyed this book. There were a couple of not really believable plot twists (yes, I know, it’s a zombie book; what’s not believable?!?), but I can’t really go into those as I would spoil it. This is a very good book. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Gaming colliding with real life. BAM! It came one of my highly anticipated book. And I was not wrong. It became one of my favorite.

It is a normal school day to Nora until my roommate came back one night acting really strange. Not only that, she keeps seeing people walking strangely with their flesh decaying. Obviously, that is a sign for something terrible. Adding to that, her uncle left her a message with something to do with the gift he gave her the last time he visited. With everything coming down, Nora have no choice but to face everything herself. With no friends and family left in this world, will she be able to handle everything....especially the mobs.

I fell in love with the story. It is a total instant hook. No slowing down yet not too rapid fire fast pace either. And the romance.... guys, the ROMANCE between Nora and Wesley is H.O.T.

If you want a story about love, personal healing, and growth all while the apocalypse happens this is the book for you. The story is about two unlikely heroes who meet up with each other and try to save the world from the apocalypse. Throughout the story they have to fight against the undead as well as their fellow humans, They struggle to stay ahead of an ancient society that is trying to bring the apocalypse all while going through their own trauma. They both have to fight to go against their norms and break down the walls they have put up to protect themselves. They each realize that the walls they use to shield their hearts and minds are the walls that are stopping them from becoming great.

Thank you to NetGallery and Rising Action Publishing for providing me with this early copy of this book in exchange for a spoiler-free, book review. All opinions are my own!

The Premise:
Nora Grace Moon thought the toughest challenge this semester would be surviving crippling bouts of OCD, but when her deceased roommate turns up as a reanimated corpse, her world starts to collapse.

Nora has an uncanny, heated connection to fellow gamer Wesley. She finds out he's a US Marshal with real-life skills for tactical survival, not just in-game. They uncover a plot involving an ancient archaeology society who will stop at nothing until they have what Nora has - an ancient artifact that will unleash a new world order of the undead...

Anyone who knows me, will know that my favourite kinds of fiction are: fantasy, sci-fi and a good horror novel! So when I was browsing through book submissions and found 'IRL' by E.A. Field, I felt that the premise fit perfectly with the kind of story that I enjoy - who doesn't like a good zombie story?!

Thankfully my request to read the book was approved and with that, I got myself a large cup of tea and began to read...

Spoiler Free Summary
The story is written in 3rd person narration, focusing through the eyes of the two central characters - Nora and Wesley. Nora Moon is a student/game fanatic who is suffering from a combination of OCD and PTSD, due to an accident that she was not involved in. Wesley is also a gamer/US Marshal that has recently been questioning his career/life choices due to a work incident that landed him in trouble - whilst also dealing with a host of childhood traumas.

The two main characters have never met in real life (or 'IRL' for short!) but are forced to find and help each other when a curse causes the spread of a zombielike pandemic across the world. Along the way they not only deal with trying to stay alive, but they must also face up to their past if they are ever to move forward...

What I Liked!
The characters: Firstly I really loved the two main characters in the novel! They both have believable backgrounds and I felt it really important that the story included the issues that we face with PTSD. A lot of the time, it's misconceived that only people involved in the incident can suffer long-term PTSD - but that is absolutely not true, and through the character of Nora, we see first hand these struggles.

Wesley was a good counterpart to Nora I felt, especially given that throughout the novel he helps counteract the anxiety and OCD tics that Nora deals with. I think it was intriguing to include a domestic violence background, particularly from the angle of the women aggressor, because Field once again has explored a branch of this issue that usually has many misconceptions.

I felt that Field was brave with her character and world building, and I really felt that the characters were her absolute strongest success in this novel!

The story: I thought the story was awesome and innovative! I liked how it didn't go generic "zombie apocalypse = everyone eventually dies" route, this story had an issue and a solution: A curse that has been caused by an artifact that aims to revive a cult-like leader from over hundreds of years ago, in an attempt to achieve immortality.

I find with a lot of zombie stories, I struggle with the knowledge that things will never get better, and that post-novel how will that character ever live? In this story however, there is hope and it keeps you routing for the characters because of it!

Final thoughts
Overall I found 'IRL' to be an enjoyable reading experience. It ventures away from other cliché zombie stories and embraces both horror, romance and comedy - whilst also tackling some quite intense themes. I happily give this book a 4 out of 5 rating!

Many thanks again to NetGallery, Rising Action Publishing and E.A. Field for allowing me to read and review this book before publication! I had a great time reading it and look forward to future novels from the author!

#IRL

IRL by E.A. Field was a wonderfully unique paranormal thriller debut about leaving the online world and dealing with things "In Real Life."
Being in Bunker, Illinois with Nora and Wesley was a fascinating and exciting time.
The story was written very well and kept me flipping and Turing the pages quickly just to see what happen next. It had great writing Each character worked well and I'm glad each one was so well written. The paranormal elements worked well and I'm hoping t read more from this author in the future.
This book was amazing. It's everything i asked for and some. Reading this was a blast and i enjoyed ever second of it.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Rising Action for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I did not like the scifi paranormal stuff. I thought there would be less of it but it was overbearing and didn't fully make sense.

5/5 stars! Fun, weird, and dark in equal measure. I currently live in Illinois, so the setting was model-made for me. This book was what would happen if Zombieland made a baby with the Last of Us video game. I loved it. I am a huge nerd and so the dark, edgy gamer vibes worked for me. Nora is kind of ridiculous as a character, but Wesley more than makes up for it. I would read more books by this author. Just weirdly satisfying to read.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily