Here are 100 books that Flesh fans have personally recommended if you like
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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!
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.
★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…
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!
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.
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…
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!
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.
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…
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 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.
In June of 2020, I published a cult escape/pandemic mashup novel, Agnes at the End of the World. Of course, pandemic novels aren’t for everyone right now, but there are some readers, like myself, who seek out what frightens us in fiction to survive our present moment. I read a bajillion pandemic novels before embarking on my own, and I hope that it helps someone, as novels have always helped me. Ultimately, every pandemic novel is about social ills, large and small, and about grief. They remind us that we’re all in this complex world together, telling stories around a campfire to shine some light in the dark.
A Beginning at the End is probably the novel I’d recommend to most readers now, because it’s not just about a pandemic—it’s the story of a pandemic’s long aftermath. The novel paints of picture of societal resilience and growth, and individuals holding out hope for the future after the greatest of tragedies.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Brotherhood
Four survivors come together as the country rebuilds in the aftermath of a devastating pandemic. A character-driven postapocalyptic suspense with an intimate, hopeful look at how people can move forward by creating something better.
Six years after a virus wiped out most of the planet’s population, former pop star Moira is living under a new identity to escape her past—until her domineering father launches a sweeping public search to track her down. Desperate for a fresh start herself, jaded event planner Krista navigates the world for those still too…
I’m a writer who loves to read and wants to write all the fantasy genres, or at least, wants to try. I’ve always been fascinated by monsters and the question, “What if?” Dystopian, Apocalyptic, Post-Apocalyptic, and Fantasy gives us the freedom to explore both these things. It’s amazing how these genres can bend our world and expectation when we explore these two things. What if the world ended but not in the way we expect? What if monsters were real? What if we are the real monsters? These questions are terrifying but so fascinating to consider and blending fantasy with apocalyptic has been a safe way to explore them.
This book felt so real. Ilsa Beck did such an amazing job at writing a book about a very saturated genre that was fresh and terrifying because her use of science really made me think this was a very real way the world could end. Also, it is wonderful when a book features a flawed, but strong female lead, something I always strive to write in my books. The main character, Alex, is real and three-dimensional and relatable, even as she’s trying to survive a sudden zombie apocalypse all on her own.
A cataclysmic event. A dramatically changed world. A zombie army. Can three kids really survive... and who can they trust?
Alex has run away and is hiking through the wilderness with her dead parents' ashes, about to say goodbye to the life she no longer wants to live. But then the world suddenly changes. An electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky zapping every electronic device and killing the vast majority of adults. For those spared, it's a question of who can be trusted and who has changed...
Everyone still alive has turned - some for the better (those who acquired…
I love studying the ins/outs of humanity and our interactions, but especially, EI (emotional intelligence). A lot of emphasis is put on being “smart” and analytical (think IQ), but EI is largely ignored.
Relationships thrive (and die) on EI! In the novels I write, I explore the emotional side of relationships and how, if we pay attention to this other side of intelligence, beautiful interactions happen.
Typically, I don’t find riveting EI in books—and so when I do, I gobble the book up once, then twice, and possibly a third time, then tell everyone I know to GO READ THAT BOOK!
The sole survivor of a train wreck, Autumn Manning lives crippled with guilt. When she meets the husband of one of the women who died in the wreck, sparks fly, and Autumn’s guilt only increases. And, while very likely the saddest book I’ve recommended thus far, Life After paints a beautiful, cathartic picture of grief that few authors have. Grief is part of life, but people don’t like to talk about what happens to our hearts/psyches when it descends. While Life After may elicit a few tears, it is a stunning, beautiful book that I highly recommend.
Snow whirls around an elevated train platform in Chicago. A distracted woman boards the train, takes her seat, and moments later a fiery explosion rips through the frigid air, tearing the car apart in a horrific attack on the city’s transit system. One life is spared. Twenty-two are lost.
A year later, Autumn Manning can’t remember the day of the bombing and she is tormented by grief—by guilt. Twelve months of the question constantly echoing. Why? Why? Why? Searching for answers, she haunts the lives of the victims, unable to rest.
I’ve always loved romance. I discovered the world of Harlequin one summer and never looked back. Now that I’m older, I appreciate female triumph and female-centered stories even more. I’ve read thousands of romances in my lifetime, so I know my stuff. As a San Diego area resident, I’m also an expert at “beach,” like Ken. When island vibes meet romance, it’s magic. The third element I can’t resist, exemplified by On the Island, is survival. I wrote my book with these passions in mind, and I make these recommendations with my whole heart. Happy reading!
This is the OG of island romance. It’s also controversial due to the age difference between the characters. Anna (30F) and TJ (16M) get stranded on a deserted island together after their plane crashes in the Indian Ocean. Over the next three years, they stay alive against all odds and develop an unbreakable bond. Although TJ is enamored with Anna from the start, she doesn’t return his feelings or even see him as a man until he turns 19. By then, he’d become a strong survivor and an essential life partner.
I’m not a big fan of age-gap romance, but Graves makes it work without making it weird. This is an extraordinary story with grit and heart. I got totally swept away.
THE EMOTIONALLY GRIPPING AND ADDICTIVE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
'I cannot put into words the love I have for Anna and T.J. I felt as though I was right there with them' 5***** Reader Review 'I'd give this more than 5 stars if I could! Will stay with me for a very long time' 5***** Reader Review _________
When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a summer job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's holiday home in the Maldives, she immediately accepts.
I feel like I’ve read all of my life—though I know at some point someone had to teach me—but stories and storytelling are in my DNA. The first four books were my writing “primers.” I learned more about storytelling from them than any how-to book. They also fueled my passion to write in different genres. You will notice the words “blush free” in some of my recommendations. That is because I love well-told stories that live between prim and steamy, books where I don’t have to flip past the steamy stuff to get back to the story. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!
This recommendation is a little different from the others on my list. This “Titanic in Space” story really caught my imagination. It’s intense, romantic, and wildly believable. It does have romantic tension, but nothing steamy—the characters don’t have time or the safety for messing around. That is also another reason for my recommendation. It is an action and adventure story that includes great world-building and character interactions that make sense. I also love the author’s other books, but they aren’t blush-free. I do have to flip some pages to get past the steam. But it’s the Titanic! In space! Super fun read.
A reimagining of the Titanic disaster set in the far future among the stars…
Traveling unexpectedly aboard the luxury liner Nebula Dream on its maiden voyage across the galaxy, space marine Captain Nick Jameson is ready for ten relaxing days, and hoping to forget his last disastrous mission behind enemy lines. He figures he’ll gamble at the casino, take in the shows, maybe even have a shipboard fling with Mara Lyrae, the beautiful but reserved businesswoman he meets.
All his plans vaporize when the ship suffers a wreck of Titanic proportions. Captain and crew abandon ship, leaving the 8000 passengers…
My day job has always involved working with nonprofits, and my favorites are activist organizations. The grassroots organizers I’ve worked with are some of the most impressive people I know. Despite what science fiction stories often tell us, change doesn’t come from blowing up the Death Star, but from hard work and relentless optimism. At a time when corporations are growing ever more powerful, ChatGPT wants to take our jobs, and politics can be dismally depressing, I hope these books remind you that power is never absolute, and the future is what we make of it.
The son of the head of an all-powerful corporation and a radical activist disguised as his bodyguard have to work together to stop corporate wrongs that are worse than either of them suspect.
It’s a perfect enemies-to-lovers setup, and I adore the chemistry between these two, who both want to save the galaxy but have conflicting ideas about how.
Along with delving into the complexities of some unique and fascinating corporate-controlled technology—like body-replacement tech that can help a transgender person be themselves, or trap a dissident in limbo forever—O’Keefe shows the darkest sides of corporate power abuse, and debate over what it takes to challenge such power in this thriller/horror/adventure. I couldn’t put it down.
Stranded on a dead planet with her mortal enemy, a spy must survive and uncover a conspiracy in the first book of an epic space opera trilogy by an award‑winning author.
She's a revolutionary. Humanity is running out of options. Habitable planets are being destroyed as quickly as they're found and Naira Sharp thinks she knows the reason why. The all-powerful Mercator family has been controlling the exploration of the universe for decades, and exploiting any materials they find along the way under the guise of helping humanity's expansion. But Naira knows the truth, and she plans to bring the…
