Really, my only comment is that I LOVE when a debut author just kills it like this. I actually requested this with a bit of hesitancy, as I am actually a huge baby when it comes to horror, but it is recommended for fans of Adam Silvera and The Last of Us, so I did so anyways.

Boy did I make the correct decision. This book was So Much Fun, and it was heartbreaking, and it was funny, and it was heart-warming, and and and. I actually did not write this review for weeks after reading it because I was having too much fun telling my friends about it.

These characters just made so much sense, which I loved because I am very much not them. It can be heart to find relatability in characters who react in the complete opposite to how you would (or, I guess in terms of the zombie apocalypse, how you think you would). Archer has managed to make a cast of characters whose reactions are all over the map and yet they all make sense.

This book is not perfect, no, books so rarely are, especially books by debut novelists, however it was exactly what you would want from a YA zombie apocalypse novel, and so much more. I am a sucker for an exploration in trauma and this setting let these characters really live in it and I remain so happy and surprised that this ARC delivered exactly what I wanted and more.

I really enjoyed this book! I wouldn't say this book started SLOW but once the action got going in this one I DEVOURED it. I was DYING to know how it would end and couldn't put it down. This book is full of gore and action. I mean its a a zombie book so lots of crushing of skulls, haha! A friends to lovers/ found family trope mixed in with all the gruesome bits though. I absolutely recommend reading this one! It was a fun ride!

Can a post-apocalyptic zombie book be full of hope? In this case, yes it can. The world has change dramatically for the Blake and Knight families, and death is around every corner, but hope finds a way to keep everyone plugging along. Rory is so heart-broken by the end of the world as she knew it that she changed her name. Mara is so altered by the events of the past 2 or so years, she barely speaks. And, yet.... there is hope. And a lot of love buried deep beneath the pain. The end of civilization can bring out the worst in people, but it can also bring out the best. At it's core, this book is about never giving up on those you love, no matter what you face. I thought I was sick of the undead, but this book reminded me that they still have a lot to offer. I'm glad I gave it a chance!

I'm so sad that I've reviewed this book so low. I'm not sure if it's just the mood I'm in at the moment so I can't fully say this book isn't good. I only got to around chapter 5 and it was a little repetitive to me. 'I remember this but they think I don't or blah blah this' I don't think some of the anger was justified for the most part. Sure Mara killed people, but it's not like she wanted too so I'm not sure I like that justification. I think I'd try this book again in the future but as of right now it's a very soft and sad no from me.

LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS BOOK.

The summary alone had me already so hyped for this book. Dystopian? Sign me up! Even the YA tag wasn’t going to deter me.

And boy am I glad it didn’t!

Please read this book. Give it a chance because it deserves so many reads.

I was quickly immersed in this book, and I enjoyed it so much. Add it to your TBR or start it right now. You won’t regret it!

I really wanted to like this one, but I really struggled with the pacing. I thought the overall idea, and sapphic representation, was amazing, but I was really bored and kept forgetting to update my progress on this one because it took me forever to work through it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Maybe hope is long gone, erased by the monsters we made and became.”

“Hearts Still Beating,” by Brooke Archer

Mara has been living as someone who’s in recovery for being something like a zombie. The surviving settlements in California have set up a system to reintegrate the “Tick’s” who have been brought back mostly to life. Now Mara is being sent back to her surviving relatives, which include her sister and to the same place her best friend and the person she fell in love with before the end of the world lives. Rory, Mara’s old best friend, has been living with the surviving and rebuilding of the town she lives in and is not sure how to handle the news of Mara coming back to town after all that’s happened.

I really liked this book. I love dystopian books and I’m excited to read more and more authors writing them right now. Brooke Archer has written a very good post-apocalyptic zombie book. It is very YA but has a little graphic content with the whole zombie stuff. I liked the characters in the book a lot and was fully invested in their wellbeing. The POV shifts made me a little confused at the time, I do wish it was only in Mara POV but that’s just my personal preference of only wanting one POV. I loved the setting, the story, the characters, the imagery, and the cover. I would love to read more books by Brooke Archer. 5 out of 5 stars.

-Zombie
-F/F
-Post Apocalyptic

Thank you for the ARC.

This wasn’t what I normally read, but I enjoyed trying something new. A zombie apocalypse/ YA romance. I liked the premise but this fell a little flat for me at times. I also struggled to connect to the characters. Enjoyable.. but not my favorite.

This was a solid dystopian romance. It was interesting learning about the virus that took over this place and how that affected relationships between all the characters. I enjoyed seeing the relationship grow more between the main characters Mara and Rory even though the relationship was strained due to Mara recovering from the virus. We watched how people had to rebuild their lives, deal with the grief of having lost loved ones and watch as people let their emotions dictate how they lead others. I enjoyed majority of this story but I wish we would have gotten a different ending. There were parts of this story that were brutal and I wished the author would have leaned into that a bit more. Everything wrapped up a little too nicely for me but I would still recommend.

When I saw this pop up on NetGalley, I was sold immediately on the premise. Sapphic, the undead, and post-apocalyptic? Sign me up! I will say my expectations were really high for this one. It wasn't bad by any means, but also didn't blow me away. Definitely middle of the road, which was why I gave it a 3 star rating. I think my biggest cons were the pacing, not fully liking the second FMC, and feeling like not much really happened since this was set after all of the action of the end of the world had happened. On the flip side, I very much enjoyed the main FMC, Mara. I think her story and character development was great! She certainly added more interest to the story. The world was also intriguing, although, I wish there could have been a bit more world building. The idea was solid though. I can't say that I fully felt invested in the love story that was happening. At times, it felt repetitive and forced. But, there were other times I thought it was cute. It just kind of depended on the timing and the characters' chemistry at that time. I definitely think there is an audience for this book and many people are going to love it! Unfortunately, it did feel a little lacking for me though. I appreciate the author and NetGally for allowing me to read and review early!

The premise of this was interesting and I think it's great that was also an LGBTQ+ book. I feel like I haven't read a story with a similar premise from this stance before and it was refreshing

Hearts Still Beating is a gripping tale of love lost and found again, but with zombies. Mara and Rory experience their first kiss the night before the zombie apocalypse begins. They’re separated and eventually find each other again only one of them no longer has a beating heart. I thoroughly enjoyed this gripping love story with a splash of gore.

Thank you @prhaudio for early access to the audiobook, I love a good dual narration! And @penguinteen for an Advanced Reader Copy!

Post-Apocalyptic story where two teenage girls who loved each others but life has other plans.

Mara is half dead. She’s infected by a zombie like disease which brings the dead back to life. She becomes a subject of the cure and is sent to live her former best friend and first kiss/love. Rory lived in constant nightmares of the world that tore apart around her. She is shocked by Mara coming to stay with her and struggles with connecting her with her past self. They’re both struggling in their own ways.

This story isn’t really as romantic as one would think. Sure there’s that presence of a love they have but really it’s in the category of young horror gore. Humanity and corruption at its core, this story weaves a tale of what it takes to find yourself when all is lost.

All in all, I enjoyed the plot.. and of course zombies. Can’t go wrong with zombie stories.

Brooke Archer's debut was the post-apocalyptic sapphic opus I never knew I was missing. I've read this marvelous slice of horror and romance twice now. I'm on pace to read it three times before its even released. Mara and Rory's journey was everything I've ever wanted to see in a zombie wasteland full of haunting regrets and slivers of hope. I foresee purchasing multiple copies of this fantastic work of art. It'll become a genre classic for me and everyone who reads it.

Rating: Five of the biggest and brightest stars you've ever seen!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

This is your next 5 ⭐ read!!

Thank you @penguinteen and @netgalley for this arc of @broookearcher debut book! (Quote posted is not of final copy and may change.)

I'm OBSESSED with this YA post apocalyptic book. If you loved the movie Warm Bodies, you'll devour this! (See what I did there 🤭) I loved how it doesn't just focus on the romance aspect but actually gives us the storyline with the 'altered' and those little flashbacks of how it came to be. I would've loved more of the development story of the altered and the family of one of the main characters but overall this was amazing!

I can't wait to see more from this author 🫶🏼

This was a great dystopian story about two girls in love, despite the end of the world. Alive but not, mostly still here yet gone, they risk it all for each other.

I thoroughly enjoyed this take on a "zombie" apocalypse. I really liked that out of the two main characters only one is a Tick. This was definitely a more unique approach to zombie apocalypses and I thought it was interesting how they were trying to re civilize those that have become affected. I could not stop turning the pages on this one to see what was going to happen next. If you need a sapphic zombie apocalypse book this is the one to get!!

Do you remember 5-10 years ago when books about zombie apocalypses were huge? I read any book about that I could get my hands on. So I thought I had exhausted all the unique zombie ideas a book could have. But then I picked up Hearts Still Beating by Brooke Archer and was blown away. The premise was completely original and something I’ve never read- half of the dual POV was from the (former) undead’s perspective.
First, the book is already slightly different because it starts towards the end of the apocalypse- a treatment to bring the undead back has been found. I wouldn’t go as far to say as bringing them back to life- because it’s debatable if they’re actually alive after, but at least they aren’t trying to eat people’s brains (or other organs) any longer. Mara Knight is one of the zombies (or “Ticks” as they’re referred to here) that is saved by a daily injection of a new drug, Dyebucetin, which quells their urges to kill but isn’t necessarily bringing them back to life. She ends up getting sent back to the closest thing she has to family, her godparents the Blakes, and their daughter Aurora “Rory” with whom she has a complicated history. But the island community in which they live doesn’t exactly welcome Mara with open arms. In fact they’re downright hostile, with Aurora and Mara’s sister Carter leading the charge.
I was outraged at the treatment of Mara by the island residents. I mean, how can you blame the victim here? Mara blames herself enough as it is. By the way, I pictured Selena Gomez’s character Mabel in Only Murders in the Building as Mara; she has the same dry humor as her. Anyway, I absolutely loved this book. The love story between Mara and Aurora/ “Rory” was so sweet, it had some fun thrills, was written so well, and had a fresh, new concept. If you love YA, dystopian / zombie apocalypse novels, and LGBTQ+ representation, you’ll love this book!

Thanks Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

I love apocalyptic stories in almost any capacity. The thing I liked so much about this story was it still felt fresh, despite the large media pool of Zombie stories. It was action packed and gory. Strong female main characters, Sapphic romance, a resonating "life after" story, make for a perfect fit, if like me, you have a post Last of Us sized hole.

I thought the treatment and reintegration of once zombies into society was an amazing and unique take on a saturated genre. It's like if you took the comedy out of Warm Bodies, and switched traditional zombies with the Cordyceps zombies from Last of us, and blended it together seamlessly, while still adding something new.

I devoured this book and couldn't wait to continue reading when I had to stop. I loved both Rory and Mara's characters and understood both of them. I am a sucker for a found family, and I loved that not only did Rory's family take in Mara, but they took in other adopted siblings as well in the aftermath.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and will be watching for more from Brooke Archer in the future!

Thank you endlessly to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the gifted copy of this book, and the opportunity to read it! All of my opinions are my own. ❤

Thanks to Netgalley for a complimentary ebook in exchange for my honest opinion,

Heart Still Beating takes on a classic zombie apocalypse scenario but adds dimension to the topic by giving the perspective of a (now-former) zombie. It’s a fast paced, high stakes adventure, with a good dose of romance. There’s no shortage of peril or violence, which is to be expected given that it’s a kill or be killed post apocalyptic landscape.

Society has crumbled after a virus swept across the planet, turning humans into carnivorous zombies. Small enclaves of survivors have formed an alliance to help one another and pursue a cure for the virus. Rory Tate is living with her remaining family in one such enclave when she learns that 15 “altered” zombies will be resettled there, including Mara Knight the girl she loved before the fall.

Told from the perspectives of both young women, this story explores the enormity of loss and survivorship, the limits of love, and what it means to be a family.