I really wanted to have fun with this but I just rolled my eyes the entire time and decidedly did not have fun. I loved the idea, the execution just didn’t work for me personally, as evidenced by the fact it took me forever to read this

It was clear from the title that this was angling for a comic take on a zombie apocalypse, and from the minute we meet our protagonist Joan, the locus of the satire was obvious. Joan is an actress in Hollywood, constantly auditioning and getting very little response. At the start of this book she is up for a small role of a victim, one line, but she milks it for all it is worth. She has a rubbish boyfriend and initially seems rather engaged with life. But once she is invited to an album launch party, and the zombie virus starts to spread, nearly all of her redeeming qualities seem to vanish.

I don't have a problem with a despicable protagonist, or even a self-centred one. But Lukas draws Joan as such a shallow, vapid egoist that stubbornly resists any opportunity for character growth that she genuinely becomes painful to read. This is broadly the point, to show how self-obsessed, influencer culture is resistant to any form of change, but it doesn't even feel realistic in the context of her experiences, she is aided in her survival by a man who she fancies and she still seems to belive the regular rules of dating apply in a constant survival scenario. The same is true of her audition callback, as written, she may be shallow, but doesn't appear dumb enough to still believe that her callback will happen in a zombie apocalypse. This undermines the good stuff here (its pleasantly grisly in places and some of the Hollywood satire hits) and makes it a less fun read than it should be.

This was ridiculous, hilarious, and the perfect slump buster. Being in her Joan’s head was pretty fun

I have a lot, and I mean a lot of mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, it is quirky and zombieriffic, and full of the apocalypse fun I love. On the other, Joan is the most grating, mind-numbingly awful character I have ever read about and the only reason I finished the book is because I was really, really hoping she'd be eaten by zombies.

The Good:

It's a fast-paced, quick read, and it certainly doesn't take itself too seriously. I like that! The apocalypse itself started out very promising- Joan was with this awful boyfriend at a hilariously bad wayyy-past-their-prime hair band show. I mean how can you not love that, right? And of course, the action is there because, hello, zombies. I did enjoy the racing through Los Angeles, and the idea of a struggling actress worrying about her audition in the midst of the thing. I even liked the dude she was running with. But...

The Bad:

Okay, I lied a little, I also wanted to finish in hopes for some tiny bit of character growth from Joan. Or the zombie devouring, honestly I was fine with either. But alas, friends. She had no personality, just vapid awfulness. She was just a bad, bad person, and for no reason that I could discern. None of her decisions made a lick of sense either, so not only was she a crappy person, she was a stupid one to boot. It is just so hard reading a book where the main character is infuriating at every single turn, and you can't even pinpoint a reason. In fairness to the author, I am starting to think that is how a large majority of society is as well, but I also strongly dislike our real-life dystopian nightmare, so. My ruling stands.

Bottom Line: Fun premise and fast-paced, I just hated Joan so much that it was hard to stay invested.

DNF at 20%. I understand what this book was going for for with its very particular sense of humor, but it was a bit too insufferable for me. It is really hard to read an unlikable narrator, and I didn’t love how it was done in this context. I couldn’t motivate myself to keep up with this one. It was an interesting premise, but I didn’t like the execution.

The cover and description got me. This is a wild romp in zombie satire. The main character, Joan, is delusional, narcissistic, and frightening in a hilarious and charming way. I really loved how she was written and laughed often.

Whats keeping this from four or more stars, is the repetitive middle. There was too much of the same action sequences that turned a unique novel, boring. I was really into the first 25% and the last 30% and if the middle could have been tightened up, it would have a higher rating from me. The gold is in Joan's wild and insane head and if we got more slow moments with her, this would have been a knockout.

Thank you Netgalley and Chloe Lukas for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely loved the concept of this book. I just felt like it fell flat for me.
However, this is definitely a unique, comedic apocalyptic story, and I would recommend it to people who like movies like Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead.

2.5/5 stars

I wanted to love this but I just really, really did not. I was sucked in by the cover and description, but this story failed in excecution for me. The pacing was completely inconsistent, and the writing lacked any sort of nuance. I also despised every single character, and the description of Bernie is concerning if the author herself is not Jewish. I would not have finished this book if it wasn't an ARC.

To compare this book to Fleabag and Shaun of the dead is WILD imho. I adored Fleabag and I felt like it was a complete bait-and-switch to compare this 2D story with a show that is full of 3D, complicated, lovable characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for ARC in exchange for my honest thought and opinions.

I honestly really loved this book for all that it was. I didn't know what it was going to be about going into it and I loved every bit of it. The insufferable main character was probably my favorite part because she's genuinely a terrible person and doesn't change which I thought made the story unique. It was really fast paced so there was never a dull moment. The only problems that I had were the ending which fell a little flat for me, it was a bit repetitive at times, and the fight scenes did get a bit excessive at points.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for giving me an early copy of this book!

DNF at 25%

I love a zombie apocalypse story but unfortunately this one just wasn't right for me. The main character, Joan, was rather unbearable and the humour didn't land for me at all. Instead of funny I found it all a bit grating and over-the-top. I loved the idea, but the execution unfortunately didn't work for me, however I can see why others would enjoy this story.

** with thanks to the author and the publisher who provided a free copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review **

I really wanted to love this one. The cover is amazing and i am a sucker for zombie apocalypse books.

But i really struggled. It was refreshing, different but Joan was insufferable and while it was most likely on purpose, i couldn’t find her funny.

Entertaining but not memorable

This was a fresh and dark humor filled take on one of my absolute favorite genre, zombies! This was more action-packed than I expected. I pictured Chappell Roan as the MC, very confident and badass. I was entertained the whole way through. Love the cover as well.

Thank you NetGalley & Chloe Lukas for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Joan of Apocalypse is a story following the craziest heroine ever, the weirdest apocalypse and a love story you'll never quite understand.

I... don't even know where to start with this book. Joan is insufferable at every single part of the book, but in some ways, that's refreshing. I love apocalypse novels, and the heroine is always so tough and perfect and cool. Joan is none of those things, and I guess it's kind of admirable that she just is herself, overt narcissism and all.

With that said, this book is probably not for everyone. It is a parody with a lot of bizarre moments that will leave you somewhere between "what is she doing?" and "WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT?" It was fun, though, and I do recommend it for anyone into comedy-apocalypse stories.

1 star

Oh, i didn't like this one at all. The heroine is one of the most annoying self-centered girls I've ever read about. She was awful from start to finish. The number of times I rolled my eyes and just wanted to banged my head to the wall... countless!
This had everything to be amazing, but the execution was not it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Joan....kind of the worst?

This is a dark comedy, with an insufferable main character. Joan is a struggling actress who is finally getting her chance at stardom, when a zombie apocalypse takes over.

And that's where it lost me. I HATE a cheap gimmick and a zombie takeover is the cheapest. Maybe it's my own inability to submit to the idea of the dead rising. I'm saying this as some who is currently wearing a dracula t-shirt. Zombies are just...dumb to me.

Regardless, people are going to like this, just not me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Think of the most unhinged, absurd, maddening, yet hilarious story you can imagine - now add zombies, Hollywood celebrities, and a main character so self-absorbed she definitely has a personality disorder ending in “-path” and “-ist.” That’s this book, and honestly, I had a blast with it.

It’s completely unrealistic (in the best way), but it leans so hard into its chaotic, satirical nature that it just works. I flew through it in a couple of sittings, shaking my head half the time but laughing out loud the other half.

If you can’t stand books with “unlikeable” characters (more like unredeemable here), this one might drive you up the wall. But if you’ve read every zombie story under the sun and want something wildly different - or if, like me, you just enjoy watching pure chaos unfold - this might be exactly what you’re looking for.

3.75/5 ⭐

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

this was such a perfect mix of comedy, a bit of action and horror with just enough romance to keep me going throughout this story! i felt so entranced by this read, i think the mix of genres and absurdity of the story. would definitely be interested to see more from this author!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc.

I recently attempted to read Joan of Apocalypse by Chloe Lukas but had to stop around the 30% mark. While the plot had potential, the execution just didn’t work for me.

The cover and title immediately caught my attention, and the comparisons to Fleabag and The Last of Us made me excited to dive in. I was expecting something sharp, darkly funny, and self-aware. Unfortunately, I found the writing style grating and the humor fell flat. The main character, Joan, was frustrating to read about—her personality made it impossible to connect with her, and rather than being charmingly flawed, she just felt exhausting.

The concept itself wasn’t bad, and I could see how others might enjoy it, but the unlikable protagonist overshadowed any strengths the book had. With stronger character work and a more engaging style, this could have been a hit for me, but as it is right now, I just couldn’t push through.

Joan of Apocalypse is a hilarious mix of horror, action, romance, and dark comedy. I actually was shocked by how much I enjoyed this book! The cover was so gorgeous I had to give it a go, and I’m glad I did! It felt like watching the Zombieland movies for the first time again.

Joan is a struggling (and failing) actress trying to prove herself in Hollywood and deal with her deadbeat boyfriend. When she finally gets a callback for her dream role, the zombie apocalypse hits. Joan has to team up with Ryan to survive and make it to the studio for her callback.

I’ll be honest, the entire time I was reading this I couldn’t decide if I wanted to throw the book because I hated Joan so much, or laugh out loud because she is the funniest character I’ve read in a while. The humor and chaos of this book were so much fun. I laughed and groaned and rolled my eyes the whole time. I was so invested in what happened next. The only part I struggled with was the end/epilogue, but I also don’t see any other way I would’ve done it. It’s such a unique story it’s kind of hard to nail the ending. I think I would’ve preferred it be left open. Overall if you need a good laugh this book is excellent. So over the top and genuinely funny!


Read this book if you like:
•Unlikeable characters (no seriously they are all awful. I think only one person is even kind of redeemable 😂)
•Zombie Apocalypse
•Poking fun at Hollywood culture
•Explosions, chase scenes, and chaos
•Unserious romance

Thank you to Chloe Lukas and NetGalley for the ARC 🩷

This book is hilarious and full of action. Our heroine is probably the most self obsessed, funny, delusional characters that I’ve ever had the pleasure to read about. She’s horrible but has moments of humanity,… fleeting moments. She’s single minded to a fault and she’s determined to make it big in Hollywood even though she’s not that talented!
The world is under attack by zombies and Joan has to survive the apocalypse in order to make it to her big audition. Joan and her very sexy partner, Ryan, travel around LA killing zombies and making their way to safety. Joan is not as helpless as you might think especially when she is 48 hours away from her possible big break. This book is soooo funny, has nonstop action, and is very entertaining. There are a lot, maybe too many, action scenes with more and more outlandish rescues but this is an apocalypse book so why not go over the top. And a lot of these action scenes are laugh out loud funny with the craziest outcomes. I will say Joan’s selfishness and one track mind does get annoying at times.
Thank you very much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author Chloe Lukas for allowing me an advanced copy of this book to review.