3.5 stars rounded down.

Unintentionally, this is the second zombie book I’ve read in three weeks and it’s interesting that both did something to zombies that most authors don’t - had them retain their human consciousness on some level. Maybe because both were written by women and both were exploring the boundaries of love rather than true zombie logistics.

I made a promise to myself to be pickier about what I choose to read this year and I’m hugely disappointed that this book fell short of a 4 star rating for me. It moved so slowly, and walked a rather uninteresting path between love story and zombie sci-fi. It really needed to be wholly one or the other.

As far as how much Kesta loved her husband, it was portrayed mostly through desperation and an unwillingness to let go. But we weren’t ever given a really good picture of what it was she was refusing to let go of. A happy marriage? Ok…but show us what made it special. Instead, there were a couple of anecdotes from side characters telling us how much they loved him, but we weren’t ever given a chance to get to actually know him. In the end, although we were to be convinced she acted out of love, it was clear to me that she put her unwillingness to be without him before her willingness to show him mercy or even to consider the torturous existence she had imprisoned him in. Doesn’t sound like love to me.

When we weren’t at home with her caretaking her husband’s shell, we were at the lab with Kesta, where she was living out the sci-fi part of the story for a (not at all) secret government organization that was both tasked with finding a cure and with basically weaponizing the virus. Sounds exciting, right? It wasn’t. It was wildly far fetched and unrealistic, even with allowing for the imagining of something that has never happened…where was the security? The protocol? The hierarchy? It was easy to sneak in and out, one small man was in charge, and very little was actually being accomplished for much of the book. And seemingly everyone, including other countries, knew exactly what they project was, what it was called and where its secret location was.

Add a couple of loose ends to the mix (what happened to the journalist storyline?) and this book fell a little flat for me. All that being said, I enjoyed reading it mostly because I expected something huge to be coming for most of the book. When I realized it wasn’t going to happen, I found myself at the end, so I suppose you could say it kept me interested.

It was a decent effort, but I really wish it could go back to the drawing board and improved before publishing.

One Yellow Eye is the first in my "zombie/love story". Leigh Radford's writing style is truly refreshing and memorable. I wish to see more of her work. A reflective, heartbreaking and terrifying story about how far you would go for the ones you love. I recommend this to fans of Dystopian/ Horror genre.

3.5 stars. This story has good heart, with believable characters. Our lead has an astute sense of self, and a conviction that leads the plot from the start. Unfortunately, lackluster pacing and minimal action combined with the lead’s depressive state throughout the book make it difficult for the reader to stave off boredom. The climax and conclusion were standout points of romantic gesture and poignancy; however, these high points are muddied by rambling prose paired with the aforementioned lack of action.

This story takes a deep look into how a horrific situation can affect humans emotionally and morally. It is a very different addition to the zombie genre and dives into the science behind what could cause an event such as a zombie apocalypse. I really enjoyed it, however I found the lab scenes while important to the plot, to be a bit boring and drag. I wanted the story to get into the nitty gritty and felt at times there was a bit too much of the science aspect causing the story to lose some emotion and intrigue. In all, I found it to be well written and heart-wrenching.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Kesta is a brilliant scientist and deeply love in with her husband Tim. She seems lucky, maybe, but once you understand that all her experience has been funneled towards finding a cure for the recent zombie virus, and her husband Tim is possibly the sole surviving zombie in London, hidden by Kesta, all that luckiness loses it’s shine. Kesta’s love for her husband pushes away her friends, sets her on a path to work with a morally dubious group working on the cure, and ultimately puts the world back at risk for a resurgence of the zombie apocalypse - maybe unforgivable, but Leigh Radford’s description of what love does to us and for us shines because of all that.

One Yellow Eye is a story that carries with it a quiet dread given the circumstances but I couldn’t disagree that I might do the same for those I love. The descriptions of how people had to otherwise deal with their loved ones that had the virus was chilling, and the ending and events with Tim were everything I would never have expected them to be, but so beautifully done. Whether you’re into zombies or not this story about love and what we sacrifice for it and the drive it imbues us with is well worth the read.

I really enjoyed this! Full transparency, as I was drawn to this title because of the cover art, and I'm a horror/thriller/mystery junkie. I will certainly keep an eye out for this author as I was instantly drawn into the world she created and invested in Kesta's life.
One Yellow Eye is a novel that takes place after a zombie apocalypse, particularly a Dr. named Kesta and her dead husband locked in the bedroom. In this world setting all zombies were killed with no exception, but as a Dr. Kesta thinks she can cure him and does everything in her power to do so.

I won't get into any of the finer points, but One Yellow Eye felt different from other zombie books I have read, and one person can do with enough determination.