My favorite books on zombie apocalypse romance

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve loved zombie movies since I was a kid and first saw Return of the Living Dead during a slumber party. Since then I’ve watched as many as I could, along with shows like The Walking Dead and Z Nation. The changes in the publishing industry over the past few years have given me something even better – hundreds of amazing books about romance and survival in the zombie apocalypse to read. The five books on my list are the very best of those that eventually inspired me to write my own books. I hope you like them!


I wrote...

Dead Heat

By Katarina Vance,

Book cover of Dead Heat

What is my book about?

There are worse things out there than the zombies. Betrayed by the survivor group she thought she could trust, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Sean, the man who almost killed them all. Now she has to decide where her loyalties truly lie, and whether she can trust the man who took her from her friends.

Sean has been alone since his unit fell apart and liked it that way. But when Dani shows up on his doorstep on Christmas Eve, he’s found a gift he can’t wait to unwrap. He’s going to keep her safe, from the zombies and her friends, no matter what it takes. And he’s never going to let her go.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Flesh

Katarina Vance Why did I love this book?

Flesh has it all – zombies, characters who come alive on the page, romance that sizzles, and action to keep the suspense going. Ali, Daniel, and Fin have to discover how to deal with each other as their relationship develops, while at the same time battling zombies and other survivors to reach safety. They learn to fight for each other, make sacrifices they would never have imagined in their old lives, and love like they would never have believed possible. The key to it all is the trust they develop in each other which forms a team that nothing can break.

By Kylie Scott,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Flesh as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ali has been hiding in an attic since civilization collapsed eight weeks ago. When the plague hit, her neighbors turned into mindless, hungry, homicidal maniacs.Daniel has been a loner his entire life. Then the world empties and he realizes that being alone isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.Finn is a former cop who is desperate for companionship, and willing to do anything it takes to protect the survivors around him.When the three cross paths they band together; sparks fly, romance blooms in the wasteland and Ali, Daniel and Finn bend to their very human needs in the ruins of…


Book cover of Until the End of the World

Katarina Vance Why did I love this book?

Sarah Lyons Fleming writes beautiful prose. She also writes characters that you’ll fall in love with (or hate) and want to keep reading about. The main character, Cassie, embarks on an epic journey through the zombie apocalypse for a second chance at love with her ex-fiancee. Along the way, she has to rediscover who she is and grow to overcome everything that the world keeps throwing at her. The action is great, but it’s the relationships between the characters that make this a truly excellent series. I cried my eyes out reading these books and the others set in the same universe, which isn’t something I often do. But however heartbreaking parts of them may be, Sarah Fleming always leaves room for hope for love and a future.

By Sarah Lyons Fleming,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Until the End of the World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

★Named one of BookBub's 14 Can't-Miss Zombie Series★ ★One of Popsugar’s 68 Books to Read While Social Distancing★

Cities fall. Worlds end. Zombies never die.
Join a group of friends on a journey that takes them to places they never imagined.

Cassie Forrest isn't surprised to learn that the day she’s decided to get her life together is also the day the world ends. After all, she’s been on a self-imposed losing streak since her survivalist parents died: she stopped painting, broke off her engagement to Adrian, and dated a real jerk. Self-improvement can wait, however. First, Cassie and her…


Book cover of The Turned

Katarina Vance Why did I love this book?

This is a slow-burn romance in the zombie apocalypse. It’s a story that’s really about learning to forgive the people you love when they hurt you, and forgiving yourself for your mistakes. There’s sizzling chemistry between Lola and Cole, a plot that blends romance with action to keep you turning the next page, and characters that you want to hug and strangle at the same time.

By Stella Craig,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Turned as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

She’s rebuilding her life. Duty flows through his veins. When the undead rise, can they survive long enough to take a risk on each other?

Phoenix, Arizona. Lola Jenkins chooses loneliness over being burned again. And after she alienated her secret crush years ago by betraying his sister, her self-loathing follows her everywhere… even into a chance encounter with the handsome man. But as his bitter words chase her out of a sandwich shop, her day gets a whole lot worse when she runs straight into a world gone mad.

Cole Beckett values courage and honor. So, although he’s still…


Book cover of Broken

Katarina Vance Why did I love this book?

These are short, but the author crams so much into each book it feels like they’re twice as long. Frankie and Yorke are seriously flawed as characters, but their flaws tend to complement one another’s. It’s those flaws that drive most of their actions in the book, so even when they do something stupid you know exactly why they did them, and it’s not just a random TSTL thing thrown in to move the story along. The chemistry is hot but the romance is a slow burn because they’ve got so many issues to work out. There’s gripping action to keep things moving, plenty of zombie fighting, and psycho survivors trying to ruin the apocalypse for everyone.

By Imogen Keeper,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Broken as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A deadly flu raging across the planet. A woman with zero intention of surviving the apocalypse. A man who will never let her die.

When 99% of the population dies of an ungodly flu, those who survived are desperate, capable of anything, plunged into a world without laws, and no one to enforce them anyway.

Frankie has zero survival skills, but with the world burning around her, she discovers an untapped well of hope inside herself, and the strength to find other survivors. For good or bad, they must now rebuild.

Yorke, a lone soldier, never needed anyone ... until…


Book cover of What Remains

Katarina Vance Why did I love this book?

I love this book because it’s the only one I’ve found where the main character has been alone for years after the apocalypse and has to learn to be around people all over again. Not only that, she isn’t sure if she even wants to be around others anymore. Shaw coaxes her into trying, and he reminds her of what it is to love and want a future, but his secret dark past keeps getting in the way. Both of them struggle with the new world and how to deal with it—whether to go through the effort to be with people and let themselves be vulnerable, or to return to their solitary lives outside the walls where they can’t be hurt by the loss or betrayal of others. 

You might also like...

The Circus Infinite

By Khan Wong,

Book cover of The Circus Infinite

Khan Wong Author Of The Circus Infinite

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Creative expression has been one of my most cherished values since childhood. I've always had a creative hobby of some kind since I was a kid. Not sure how that happened – my parents were tolerant of my interests at best. I made my day job career in the arts, fostering the creativity of community members and supporting the work of artists. Art (in the general sense of all forms of creative expression) is, to me, a defining characteristic of humanity, it makes life worth living, and the way it’s devalued under Capitalism both saddens and inspires me as a creator myself. I’m a writer of speculative fiction and I write about creative people.

Khan's book list on how art is more than art

What is my book about?

Hunted by those who want to study his gravity powers, Jes makes his way to the best place for a mixed-species fugitive to blend in: the pleasure moon where everyone just wants to be lost in the party. It doesn’t take long for him to catch the attention of the crime boss who owns the resort-casino where he lands a circus job, and when the boss gets wind of the bounty on Jes’ head, he makes an offer: do anything and everything asked of him or face vivisection.

With no other options, Jes fulfills the requests: espionage, torture, demolition. But when the boss sets the circus up to take the fall for his about-to-get-busted narcotics operation, Jes and his friends decide to bring the mobster down. And if Jes can also avoid going back to being the prize subject of a scientist who can’t wait to dissect him? Even better.

The Circus Infinite

By Khan Wong,

What is this book about?

Hunted by those who want to study his gravity powers, Jes makes his way to the best place for a mixed-species fugitive to blend in: the pleasure moon where everyone just wants to be lost in the party. It doesn't take long for him to catch the attention of the crime boss who owns the resort-casino where he lands a circus job, and when the boss gets wind of the bounty on Jes' head, he makes an offer: do anything and everything asked of him or face vivisection.

With no other options, Jes fulfills the requests: espionage, torture, demolition. But…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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