Screechers: Love in the Apocalypse

by Charly J.M

With her father being in the SAS and her mother being one of the top surgeons around, Nichola 'Nicky' Foster is stuck at home with her older brother Zeke.
Though she loves him with all her heart she can't help but feel left behind by her parents, becoming a bit of a brat.
Having turned eighteen, she's decided to make a change, but it seems life is about to take a rough turn when a virus sweeps the nation. A zombie virus is turning people into flesh-eating, screeching monsters.
Are her family alive? What about her brother's best friends who she's had crushes on for years? She never meant to find love in the apocalypse and
especially not more than one person!
---
“KRIS! Behind you!” I scream as another one of them pelts towards him. He whirls around, but he’s taken down, panic sets into my heart as I jump back out of the car, sliding over the hood quickly and seeing him try to fight off one of the drunk guys from earlier, his eyes much like the others. I don’t think, I just act, stabbing my blade into his soft temple as he stills, Kris pushes him off of him.
“Get in the car now!” He orders as we both climb inside quickly.
He starts the car, the noise almost seeming to ring the dinner bell as more come towards us.

Polyamorous Romance/Thriller
Triggers! This includes scenes of a sexual nature, abuse and is not for anyone under 18.
Also contains FF and MM.

Genres: Post Apocalyptic, Zombies, Dystopia, Apocalyptic

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2023

About the author

Charly J.M is a British author from Norfolk, England and is an extremely passionate reader and writer.

She began writing on platforms such as Inkitt and Wattpad before taking the plunge into publishing on Amazon.

When not writing copious amounts of stories that seem to appear out of nowhere in her head, she loves spending time with family, gaming and listening to music.

Not to forget the family furbabies.

Charly also works weekends in retail and helps with the family business, which her mum creates beautiful memories with personalised gifts.

Charly also has a huge back log of stories to share,
so cannot wait to get them uploaded for everyone to read.

Please take the time to review her work as she loves to hear your thoughts and loves talking to her readers.

I do not use AI for my work or its covers, the images I use for my covers I buy from a commercial imaging site and have permission to use them. Then I use photoshop to put my cover together, add extras and titles etc.

Reviews

[K]

I don't regret not finishing "Screechers: Love in the Apocalypse," having read only about 20% of the book. Despite my initial enthusiasm for the premise, the story's execution left much to be desired.

The novel starts with a promising setup: a gripping end-of-the-world scenario in which humanity is on the brink of survival. The first 15 percent captured my attention with its intense and dire situation—people getting eaten, a palpable sense of danger, and the chaos of societal collapse. These elements set the stage for what could have been a thrilling and emotionally charged narrative.

However, transitioning from this serious tone to juvenile antics quickly diminished my engagement. The abrupt shifts between life-and-death stakes and childish behavior felt jarring and out of place. For example, a character running from her home due to the carnage outside and convincing the protagonist's family to return to check for survivors was gripping. Finding a surviving baby added emotional weight. But this tension was undercut by the characters' immature interactions, such as teasing and petty behavior, which felt more suitable for a high school drama than an apocalyptic survival story.

One particularly annoying moment was when the older brother began teasing the younger sister so childishly that I half-expected him to break into a nursery rhyme. This undermined the gravity of the situation and made it difficult for me to take the story seriously.

Ultimately, "Screechers: Love in the Apocalypse" failed to maintain a consistent tone, which prevented me from fully immersing myself in the story. While the cover was appealing, and the initial concept had potential, the execution did not align with my expectations for an apocalyptic narrative.

This book may appeal to readers who enjoy a mix of drama and lighthearted interactions even in dire circumstances, but it wasn't for me. I'd probably look elsewhere if you prefer a more consistently severe and tense apocalyptic tale.

[Natasha Overfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my heart!

What an amazing story of love and loss. Love the characters and the emotion they bring. Would have loved a bit more of cooper’s character but overall it was a great story.

[Jessica Redfern · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was beautifully written with love, loss, trauma, pain, and friendship. I’m a sucker for apocalyptic writings.

18yo Nicky and her friends/family get thrown into a world of chaos with zombie like creatures that they’ve nicknamed Screechers. This is a story of survival in the apocalypse.

There is found love with FFMM+M (eventually). My only “dislike” is I found them to be a little juvenile in the beginning, but they were still young and their actions and speaking got better towards the middle.

I loved that this was a RH, but it didn’t focus on sex between the couple. There was more story building, fighting, and action while they learned to develop their relationship.

There is SA, murder, and death of a loved one. Definitely check TW. ❤️

[Blueii · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. A lot of zombie apocalypse rh you don't see a ton of actual zombie fighting but this has the badass FMC killing it from beginning to end. Backed up by her amazing harem and family she has become on of my favorite zombie killers.

[B. Mardell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

This was a really good apocalyptic story. I liked how you got a glimpse of before, and the journey during and a glimpse thru the HEA of the after.

[Amy Whitten · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐+

Fabulous book! It felt very familiar to me and I wondered if I had read it before...but I had not rated it. Interesting. Definitely reading book 2.

[syn · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 40%. Not great. The characters were the biggest letdown for me- they all felt unrealistic and childish. The FMC was basically freshly 18 (why do we keep doing this trend? it's not cute, it's borderline predatory) and absolutely full of herself and a self-proclaimed brat. The first few chapters were filled with the likes of 'I'm an army brat so I have abs' and 'luscious hair' and 'boobs that don't need a push up bra' like dude just stop. The pace was far too fast and everything felt jilted, rushed over, and poorly explained with little to no detail. Many 'intense' scenes were ruined by ridiculous attempts at humour or cringe worthy lines like "we have to stop saving each other like this", which pulled me out of the story and ruined what little tension was built up. Additionally, there were too many characters introduced all at once- I had no idea who anyone was and it felt like one big nameless orgy. Lola came out of nowhere and let's not even talk about the baby??? Like WTF? What was the point of adding his character in other than to interrupt 'sexy times' and be passed around like a lap dog? Also I do realise that this is listed as a poly relationship and not an RH but the relationship itself felt so forced and unnaturally paced, even though they tried to write it off as 'it's the end of the world, who cares'. I felt bad for Zeke because his sister and her new friend were shagging his best mates (which is fine) and all of their parents were lowkey fooling around too- is Zeke the only mature one that doesn't think like a horny teenage boy? Apparently so. Also obviously I didn't finish it but I know damn well Rupert and his friends are probably joining in the gang bang now too- great, more characters to forget about. The whole thing screamed insta lust/love. Lastly, there was so much misogyny that it made me feel sick at times, even from the FMC's father (who admittedly later took it back, but still), and the 'SAS team' felt highly unprofessional, disorganised, unrealistic and childish- the training coach being a wonderful example. I have little to no faith in the military but even I can admit that while a lot of prejudice and bigotry is definitely within their ranks, this portrayal of it was awfully immature and read like a bunch of toddlers crying over having to share toys. Not great, 2/10.

[AbbieReads3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Tropes & Tags
Poly Relationship MMMFF
FF & MM
SA
Friends to Lovers
Fast burn
Dystopian - Zombie Apocalypse
Pregnancy

The storyline was good and had so much potential but it was all so rushed so I never got to connect with the characters, we had little background on everyone and just kept adding people in randomly like the children’s caretaker who we knew nothing about beforehand.

Zombie apocalypse, Nicky ends up in a poly relationship, they leave their compound to save others and Nicky, her brother and one other soldier is kidnapped and tortured. Happy Ending, with no real explanation.

[JJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
This was a recommendation in a reading group. Multiple people said it was great so I thought I’d give it a go.

This was so poorly written and unedited.

I honestly think it sounds like a ChatAI wrote it. Just read the mess of a blurb and you’ll see what I mean.

I think I’m done with that group. This is the 135th “Author” I’ve added to my List of Churned Out Trash they’ve recommended. I think the group is full of bots or the “authors” themselves with multiple accounts.

[Megmund · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needs editing and appropriate trigger warnings

The first 50% is fun, I was really excited to see a poly book with a sapphic relationship, if a little rushed.. Nothing is lingered on to give it appropriate depth but it was entertaining. After the halfway point it takes a very dark turn that doesn’t match the tone of the first half, and as I said is not disclosed as trigger warnings

Detailed trigger warnings for those who need them:

Torture, on page sexual abuse and rape

[Danyelle Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for me

I liked the premise of this book who doesn't like a post apocalypse. In this book you actually get to see at the beginning how it starts which I liked.

I made it about 60 percent. For me it was just the way that characters talked it seemed a bit fake and like they had the perfect response for everything. There was also the instance of some things happening that felt a bit repetitive.

I like the storyline and where it was going but just wasn't for me.

[Ashleigh Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

it’s alright

It was decent, I wasn’t thrilled about the ff part which I try to make sure books don’t have that but it didn’t show that part.
I get that some people do but I’m not.

I read a lot of books and didnt get the emotional feeling in this.
Like it was in a different country but overall I will not be reading the second book.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this reverse harem, I loved it was based in Britain as I don’t often come across many books based here. While there are dark parts to this book, it more than makes up for it with the great relationships and characters you can’t help but love. Can’t wait for the sequel.

[Cynthia · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldn’t finish

Relationship was jumped into quickly seemed to easy wanted to like it but couldn’t get through it also not a fan of Lola

[Morgane Le Coz · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 27%

Thought it was RH, it's not, it's Poly, which is different.

Also, the relationship went from 2% to 95% in one chapter?? Not for me sorry

It had so much potential too...

[♡♡~Cyborg-Scifi-Lover~♡♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay.

[X RAY · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book was so corny i couldn’t finish it

[Jessica M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dnf’d at 55%

Writing was a little choppy and the group became a group so quick, barely a conversation.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf

[SJ Meares · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf

couldn't get into it and felt unrealistic in a way I didnt enjoy. she was also annoying