There’s nothing like the undead to bring the living together in an action-packed and apocalyptically romantic genre-shattering novel by a New York Times bestselling author.

Casey Pearson grew up with a doomsday-prepping father. At eighteen, tired of living an unconventional life, she left home, vowing never to return.

More than a decade later, a mysterious viral outbreak changes everything, including the people it infects, turning them into zombielike creatures. It’s the end of the world, and no one saw it coming—well, except for Casey’s father. With no place left to run and danger lurking around every corner, Casey is forced to return home.

Upon arrival, she’s surprised to find that her dad has hunkered down with a group of survivors, including her archnemesis, Blake Morrison, the high school bully who made Casey’s teenage years a living hell.

While struggling to live on the compound, face outside threats, and survive alongside her handsome enemy, Casey will learn that although the world has ended, hers is just beginning.

This books is exactly what it promises to be: a chaotic, high-stakes, undead-filled romp with a surprisingly sweet romance. I had a ton of fun with this one.

I used to be obsessed with zombie apocalypse stories, and then the genre exploded and I tapped out for a while. But lately I’ve been craving that old feeling again, so this book landed at the perfect moment. And honestly, it delivered exactly what I hoped for.

This is very much a by-the-numbers zombie apocalypse setup. We’ve got an outbreak. A scramble for survival. A ragtag group of people hunkered down together, trying to survive. Supply runs that go wrong. Zombie hordes that crash into every attempt at safety. A compound full of tension and secrets. But the fun comes from the humor, big emotional swings, and characters who feel alive even when surrounded by people who very much aren’t.

Casey Pearson is our lead, and she’s a great one. She grew up with a doomsday-prepper father and hated every second of it. She left home at eighteen and swore she’d never revisit her bunker-style upbringing. These days Casey is in med school, she’s engaged to marry a sexy doctor and life is good. Then the world ends. Zombies show up. Society collapses. And suddenly Dad wasn’t wrong after all. Casey heads home in desperation and finds that her father has been thriving in the apocalypse, and his compound is full of a small group of survivors, one of whom happens to be Blake Morrison, Casey’s biggest enemy.

Cue the enemies-to-lovers tension. Blake was her high school bully, the guy who made her teenage years miserable. Normally this dynamic annoys me because a lot of authors lean too heavily on bickering and screaming. But here? It actually works. Casey and Blake have an actual history, actual resentment, and actual reasons to distrust each other. Their banter feels rooted in something, not just throwaway snark. And as they work together to survive, their dynamic shifts in believable ways. By the time the chemistry heats up, it feels earned.

Casey carries most of the emotional weight of the story, and it works because she’s relatable. She’s stubborn, traumatized, and sometimes a mess, but she’s also capable and quick-thinking and surprisingly funny. The complicated relationship with her father adds a whole other layer. It’s not just “survival,” but what it means to come home after running from your past for more than a decade.

Rose’s writing keeps the pace snappy and light even when things get intense. There’s humor woven into the horror without undercutting the stakes. There are a few expected twists—you can’t have a zombie novel without some—but they land well. And then there’s that cliffhanger ending. I closed the book and immediately wanted to know when the sequel was coming. (Is there a sequel? I don’t see mention of one.)

Does the book reinvent the zombie apocalypse genre? No. But it’s not trying to. It’s leaning into familiar beats and then spicing them up with a romance that adds tension and relief in the right moments. It reminded me why I loved the genre in the first place: the blend of adrenaline, found-family vibes, and that strange sense of hope that bubbles up even when everything is falling apart.

If you’re looking for literary depth or a brand-new twist on the undead, this won’t scratch that itch. But if you want a fun, fast, high-stakes romantic thriller with teeth (pardon the intended pun) this one is a blast.