81 books like What Remains

By Nicole R. Taylor,

Here are 81 books that What Remains fans have personally recommended if you like What Remains. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Until the End of the World

Katarina Vance Author Of Dead Heat

From my list 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!

Katarina's book list on zombie apocalypse romance

Katarina Vance Why did Katarina 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 Flesh

Katarina Vance Author Of Dead Heat

From my list 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!

Katarina's book list on zombie apocalypse romance

Katarina Vance Why did Katarina 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 The Turned

Katarina Vance Author Of Dead Heat

From my list 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!

Katarina's book list on zombie apocalypse romance

Katarina Vance Why did Katarina 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 Author Of Dead Heat

From my list 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!

Katarina's book list on zombie apocalypse romance

Katarina Vance Why did Katarina 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 Dead City

Taylor Ellwood Author Of The Zombie Apocalypse Call Center

From my list on if you want to survive a zombie apocalypse.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love zombie apocalypse fiction and movies and games. There’s something fascinating about survival and post-apocalyptic fiction, where you see the real character and desire of humanity to survive no matter what. I also like the morbid humor that shows up. I started writing the zombie apocalypse call center series as a way to poke fun at my customer support center experiences and mix it in with my own fascination with zombie apocalypses.

Taylor's book list on if you want to survive a zombie apocalypse

Taylor Ellwood Why did Taylor love this book?

In Dead City, Ian Keys created a drug that stopped the ravages of the zombie infection and allowed infected to live alongside humans again…or did he?

The cure he’s developed may not be a cure afterall and the company that hired him is keeping dangerous secrets from the world, with a secret agenda that threatens all of humanity.

If Ian can’t find out the truth in time, the world as he knows it may be destroyed.

I got caught up in the suspense, wondering what would happen next and if Ian would survive or get caught by the company or the zombies.

Book cover of Days Gone Bye

Rob E. Boley Author Of That Risen Snow

From my list on for readers who are sick of zombies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been reading horror books and watching horror movies since I was entirely too young to do either—thanks to my father’s collection of Stephen King books and my uncle’s love of horror movies. Now I’m a horror writer and wake early each morning to make blank pages darker. Zombies remain one of my favorite horror sub-genres. There’s something relentlessly compelling about these mindless ghouls linking inside each of us waiting for some triggering event to set them loose. Maybe it’s the resulting chaos. Maybe it’s the gruesome horror. Mostly, it’s how such tales show us the fragility of our civilization and the darkness of our own nature. 

Rob's book list on for readers who are sick of zombies

Rob E. Boley Why did Rob love this book?

I know, I know. Lots of people are over The Walking Dead. I have a love/hate relationship with the television show, as well. But I’ve read every chapter of the comic book series, and I have to tell you that zombie fiction doesn’t get much better. Kirkman’s epic spans 22 collection editions comprising 193 total comic books, and it’s pure dark magic from start to finish. He populates his tale with compelling characters and terrifying zombies. The tension is palpable and absolutely no one is safe. One of the hallmarks of this series is the shocking, unexpected deaths of key characters, which made all the more impactful because Kirkman makes us feel genuine emotions for them all. 

By Robert Kirkman,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The world we knew is gone. The world of commerce and frivolous necessity has been replaced by a world of survival and responsibility. An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months society has crumbled: no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. In a world ruled by the dead, the survivors are forced to finally start living.



Book cover of Cotton Crossing

Lena Nguyen Author Of We Have Always Been Here

From my list on sci-fi and fantasy books with unusual found families.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a writer and independent game developer, I’ve always adored “families of choice:” motley crews of strangers drawn together by circumstance and whose bonds are strengthened to an indestructible degree by the trials they face together. This passion has manifested both in my favorite stories (The Lord of the Rings, The Walking Dead, Mass Effect) as well as the ones I write myself! After teaching writing at Cornell University, where I also earned my MFA in Fiction, I turned my sights on my own creative projects, all of which invariably feature weird found families (a robot crew and the human misfits accompanying them; two assassins and an escaped mind-reading slave; et cetera). 

Lena's book list on sci-fi and fantasy books with unusual found families

Lena Nguyen Why did Lena love this book?

I love zombie apocalypse stories, and I especially love zombie apocalypse stories that feature unlikely groups of survivors being forced to learn to work together to ensure their new family’s survival.

No one does this better than Lilith Saintcrow in her book, which follows Ginny, a failed medical student turned small-town librarian, and Lee, a close-mouthed, socially awkward, but scarily competent ex-soldier, as they learn to trust one another and lead a group of strangers out of their backwoods town during the onset of an undead pandemic.

Not only are the road-tripping found family dynamics here sublime, but Saintcrow has a special talent for describing each character’s viewpoint and unique voice in ways that elevate the chest-aching romantic tension and human psychology at play. 

By Lilith Saintcrow,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Season One of the hit serial!

Cotton Crossing was a dead end, but not for Ginny Mills. She's just marking time, getting experience in the county library system, before moving back to a decent urban environment. Then the phones stop working.

Lee Quartine knows there's no way the pretty girl at the library will even look at him. Especially since he can't open his mouth. He knows he's a hick, but when the power starts going out and the woods are full of strange creatures, it's good to have someone around who can build a fire. And kill.

Ginny, Lee,…


Book cover of Love in an Undead Age

Taylor Ellwood Author Of The Zombie Apocalypse Call Center

From my list on if you want to survive a zombie apocalypse.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love zombie apocalypse fiction and movies and games. There’s something fascinating about survival and post-apocalyptic fiction, where you see the real character and desire of humanity to survive no matter what. I also like the morbid humor that shows up. I started writing the zombie apocalypse call center series as a way to poke fun at my customer support center experiences and mix it in with my own fascination with zombie apocalypses.

Taylor's book list on if you want to survive a zombie apocalypse

Taylor Ellwood Why did Taylor love this book?

Miranda Tucci is looking for love during a zombie apocalypse but finding love is hard when the majority of available partners are either zombies or psychopaths.

On top of that Miranda has a lead on a cure for the virus, but the government is trying to control it. Can she get the cure and save civilization?

I enjoyed the character development, especially around trying to find love and surviving the zombie apocalypse.

By A.M. Geever,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Love in an Undead Age as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Surviving the zombie apocalypse was hard…

...but finding true love might be fatal.

Urban farmer Miranda Tucci is lucky to be alive in what's left of California's Silicon Valley, despite a love life that's dead on arrival. Then an old flame turns up and she wonders…

...does her DOA love life have a pulse?

Or will the ghosts of her past collide with the present?

A ruthless governing council controls the cure for the zombie virus. If Miranda joins a plot to steal it, will the vaccine be used for political advantage, or can she survive long enough to usher…


Book cover of Divided We Fell

Taylor Ellwood Author Of The Zombie Apocalypse Call Center

From my list on if you want to survive a zombie apocalypse.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love zombie apocalypse fiction and movies and games. There’s something fascinating about survival and post-apocalyptic fiction, where you see the real character and desire of humanity to survive no matter what. I also like the morbid humor that shows up. I started writing the zombie apocalypse call center series as a way to poke fun at my customer support center experiences and mix it in with my own fascination with zombie apocalypses.

Taylor's book list on if you want to survive a zombie apocalypse

Taylor Ellwood Why did Taylor love this book?

Otto is an average guy going to work in a divided America when the zombie apocalypse occurs.

Suddenly there are zombies everywhere, but if anyone can survive the zombie apocalypse, it’s Otto, who’s got a gun collection and loyal friends and family willing to do whatever it takes to survive the zombies and find out what caused the zombie apocalypse.

I loved the sense of humor and the wacky adventures that balanced the overall horror of the story.

By B. D. Lutz, Monique Happy (editor),

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

America’s political differences have split the country into two vastly different nations. The walls they've built, both physical and ideological, may determine who lives and who dies... twice!

First came the Great Divide … then the dead began to rise and devour the living. The American people voted to split into two countries. But they did not vote to be eaten alive!

An insane world leader, corrupt politicians, and the shambling dead have brought the world to its knees. Now, Otto Hammer–a proud citizen of the new conservative Right America, past his prime and a bit of a jerk–must unite…


Book cover of The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead

Steven J. Kirsh Author Of Parenting in the Zombie Apocalypse: The Psychology of Raising Children in a Time of Horror

From my list on surviving a zombie apocalypse.

Why am I passionate about this?

Like many of my generation, my formal introduction to the zombie genre started with George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead. Stories of the zombie apocalypse, and the arterial sprays, dismemberments, and eviscerations that accompanied it, have fascinated me ever since. But, I'm also a psychology professor. Although I was initially captivated by the carnage of the undead, I quickly found that the mindsets of the survivors were equally fascinating. More than anything, I love seeing how fictional worlds represent real-world psychological concepts.

Steven's book list on surviving a zombie apocalypse

Steven J. Kirsh Why did Steven love this book?

I will never survive a zombie apocalypse. I'm pretty sure my last words will be, "OMG, Zombies! I'm going to take a selfie! Arrgghh." But for those with good sense and practical intelligence, plans for defeating the undead will need to be developed and set in motion. That's where The Zombie Survival Guide comes in. Max Brooks' offering is a fascinating "how-to guide" for living in a world overrun with the living dead. This book has it all, from weapons and combat techniques to offensive and defensive strategies. The information in this book is invaluable for those prepping for the inevitable plaque of the undead. 

By Max Brooks,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Zombie Survival Guide as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Don't be reckless with you most precious asset - life. This book is your key to survival against the hordes of undead who may be stalking you right now without your even knowing it.

It covers everything you need to know, from how to understand zombie behaviour to survival in any territory or terrain.

The Zombie Survival Guide offers complete protection through proven tips for safeguarding yourself and your loved ones against the living dead.

It might just save your life.

'A bloody-minded, strait-laced manual for evading the grasp of the undead.' Time Out

'So meticulous and well researched that…


Book cover of Until the End of the World
Book cover of Flesh
Book cover of The Turned

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