poodle apocalypseRating: 3.75 stars
Buy Links: 
 Amazon | All Romance
Length: Novella


Two months ago, Charlie and Bobby woke up to find themselves alone.  Cars and buildings were empty and it seemed everyone but them had disappeared.  All except for the zombies.  And not just zombie humans.  There are also zombie dogs, polar bears, and even crickets.  And all of them are on the attack.  The weather has gone crazy too.  One day it is snowing, the next it’s 110 degrees, and the next maybe a flood.  Not to mention no electricity and no other living people. But Charlie and Bobby are happily in love and despite the craziness the world has become, they are getting by while sticking together.

This is a fun and humorous story that takes on the traditional zombie horror from a much more light-hearted angle.  Yes, the zombies are threatening, but they are mostly a nuisance, aren’t contagious, and are generally pretty dumb.  The biggest hassle is digging a grave for them after clubbing the zombies with a hammer.  And while Charlie and Bobby are forced to make their way in the world without any other people, they do enjoy picking new houses to live in since there is nobody around, not to mention riding around town on their matching scooters.

The story is told from Charlie’s first person POV with sort of a sense of bemused exasperation.  It is almost as if he is narrating the story, telling us what is happening to them and relating their past experiences.  At times he seems to talk right to the reader.  I actually thought this style worked well for the story and aided in the humor because we get all of Charlie’s inner thoughts and commentary.  But if you are someone who doesn’t like when that fourth wall is broken with the reader, just know that the story falls right on the line.

I did really like Charlie and found him a fun POV character.  He gives us a good feel for his own personality, and to a lesser extent we get to know Bobby through him.  It is clear that these guys are really in love and bonded together not just by circumstances, but by real feelings for each other.

The best part of the book for me is the humor and fun.  I liked Charlie’s inner voice and I enjoyed watching him and Bobby make their way in the crazy new world.  But there isn’t a whole lot in the way of plot here.  Nothing really happens until the end of the story except for two guys going about their day-to-day (albeit very unusual) lives.  We also don’t get much in the way of world building here either.  Bobby and Charlie have no idea what happened to make the zombies appear and the people vanish.  Because they are the only people we encounter, we never really learn much about what is going on either.  And there are some ideas that are introduced that never really get addressed or resolved.

My other problem is that  I really disliked the ending.  I feel like it really undermined the story and made things end on a flat note.  Which is a shame because this story is a lot of fun and I think there are other directions the book could have taken that really would have made it sing.  So a bit of a mixed bag for me.  But I think if you are in the mood for something fun and frothy with a little bit of a paranormal twist, this one can be a nice, light, fun read.

P.S. This cover is absolutely amazing. It does what the best covers should and captures the tone and feel of the book just perfectly.  I love the recreation of the details from the book right down to the pink scooter and the matching pink scarves on Charlie and Mimi the (formerly) zombie dog.  Excellent job!

jaysig