A wonderful zombie tale of blood and joy

Joan of Apocalypse is what you get when you plop an indomitable Chloe Lukas heroine into a sea of zombies and stir in a double dose of camp and gore. Lukas demonstrates the range of her writing talent by presenting the delightful elements of originality and cheery callousness characteristic of her earlier books, Blinded (Purple Girl) and Twist of Fame, within the comfortably familiar framework of a movie zombie slasher plot. Joan, a time-expired four-time cheerleader and two-time prom queen (more or less) must save the world with a pair of hatchets she views as axes and a mouth-watering, ex-nerd, jedi-trained possible boyfriend; so that there will be a world, and Hollywood, around for her to win an Oscar in. A first-rate book, crying out to be made into an Oscar-winning movie!

If you like the movies Zombieland (and its sequel) and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, I think you should give this book a go. It very much has the same vibe as those movies. This is a funny and unique take on a zombie story.

Our main character, Joan, is an actress who gets cast in what is essentially her dream role...but then a zombie apocalypse breaks out. So, obviously, that's gonna cause some issues. And she is cast alongside the current it-boy actor. So Joan is dealing with a lot at the moment.

This was fun, but not nearly as captivating as I was expecting since it is so unique. But I would still recommend this, I can see a lot of people enjoying this.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book. A gorgeous 4 star read book from me. What an exciting plot, vivid storytelling and relatable, rich characters. I could put this book down – absolutely loved it.

Joan of Apocalypse is a refreshingly unique and wickedly clever genre mash-up of humor, romance, thriller, and horror unlike anything else I’ve ever read. Packed with vibrant, colorful characters and razor-sharp dialogue, it introduces readers to Joan, a brilliantly flawed antiheroine who feels like a blend of Fleabag and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Joan is her own worst enemy, navigating chaos with a mix of determination and self-sabotage. Alongside her is Ryan, a well-meaning character whose attempts to do the right thing are repeatedly derailed by Joan’s unpredictable and chaotic influence. The novel unfolds as a dysfunctional romantic action thriller, with a relentless pace that kept me hooked from start to finish.