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Something's Wrong With Maddie: A Sapphic Horror Novel
Maddie died. Piper refused to accept it.One blood ritual later and Maddie is back—undead, starving and nothing close to resembling human. Despite her deceased girlfriend reeking of rotting flesh, Piper decides she’ll do anything to keep her zombie lie to suspicious neighbors, outwit a nosy cop, and make sure the apartment complex’s missing-person flyers don’t point to their kitchen.
As scraps of the old Maddie surface, so do the hunger pangs. The body count begins to pile up, and Piper has to decide what she's willing to do to keep her girlfriend fed.
Part sapphic dark romance, part black-comedy horror, Something’s Wrong With Maddie is a gore-slick tale of grief, obsession, and devotion with sharp splatterpunk bite, body-horror set pieces, and a love story that refuses to die—even when it really should.
As scraps of the old Maddie surface, so do the hunger pangs. The body count begins to pile up, and Piper has to decide what she's willing to do to keep her girlfriend fed.
Part sapphic dark romance, part black-comedy horror, Something’s Wrong With Maddie is a gore-slick tale of grief, obsession, and devotion with sharp splatterpunk bite, body-horror set pieces, and a love story that refuses to die—even when it really should.
200 pages, Paperback
Published October 24, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
September 29, 2025
Am I really rooting for a zombie right now?
Yes, actually, I think I am.
Excuse me, BUT THIS WAS SO ENDEARING???
Never in my life did I expect to be awing and giggling at something of the sort. But, there is a first time for everything.
This story was enticing, fun, emotional, darkly humorous and thrilling.
The plot is kind of everything, and these characters are written to freaking perfection.
I always get a little upset when I read about the death of a spouse in books.
I just happen to be a softie sometimes, and that is something that is always really difficult for me.
So this did certainly break my heart periodically. Still so enjoyable though.
Genuinely, I have nothing bad to say about this.
I really wouldn't change anything about it.
Thank you to Booksirens and author Taylor Z. Adams for providing me with the eARC of "Something's Wrong With Maddie"! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Publication date: October 24th, 2025
Yes, actually, I think I am.
Excuse me, BUT THIS WAS SO ENDEARING???
Never in my life did I expect to be awing and giggling at something of the sort. But, there is a first time for everything.
This story was enticing, fun, emotional, darkly humorous and thrilling.
The plot is kind of everything, and these characters are written to freaking perfection.
I always get a little upset when I read about the death of a spouse in books.
I just happen to be a softie sometimes, and that is something that is always really difficult for me.
So this did certainly break my heart periodically. Still so enjoyable though.
Genuinely, I have nothing bad to say about this.
I really wouldn't change anything about it.
Thank you to Booksirens and author Taylor Z. Adams for providing me with the eARC of "Something's Wrong With Maddie"! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Publication date: October 24th, 2025
June 9, 2026
this dark sapphic horror novel is about a heartbroken woman mourning the death of her girlfriend. her grief is devastating to the degree that she conducts a blood ritual to bring maddy back to life in zombie form!
i love when bloody horror is built into a strong emotional premise, and this story starts off in the murky depths of grief. and later, when piper gets maddy back, it becomes oddly sweet. who knew zombie love could be so adorable?
it also manages to be quite funny and also horrifically bloody, dripping in viscera. huge props to adams for balancing all of these dissonant elements.
unfortunately, the lack of copyediting here is detrimental. it might even be the scariest part of the book!
adams' writing is creative and spirited, but on a technical level it's quite bad. we have misused words, awkward phrasing, misconstructed sentences, and redundant language. i get that indie published works can't be held to the same standards as traditionally published works, but these are very basic issues, and they distract from the story.
it feels special to stumble upon a sapphic story with a trans protagonist, and especially in the horror genre! i wanted to love this. i hope adams will keep writing and their work will continue to grow.
i love when bloody horror is built into a strong emotional premise, and this story starts off in the murky depths of grief. and later, when piper gets maddy back, it becomes oddly sweet. who knew zombie love could be so adorable?
it also manages to be quite funny and also horrifically bloody, dripping in viscera. huge props to adams for balancing all of these dissonant elements.
unfortunately, the lack of copyediting here is detrimental. it might even be the scariest part of the book!
adams' writing is creative and spirited, but on a technical level it's quite bad. we have misused words, awkward phrasing, misconstructed sentences, and redundant language. i get that indie published works can't be held to the same standards as traditionally published works, but these are very basic issues, and they distract from the story.
it feels special to stumble upon a sapphic story with a trans protagonist, and especially in the horror genre! i wanted to love this. i hope adams will keep writing and their work will continue to grow.
October 4, 2025
4 stars. This ended up being good. I have to admit, it took a while for me to get into it but around 30% or so it picks up and got interesting. The writing is really good, very descriptive and the plot was fascinating. So while I didn’t end up loving this I would still recommend it if you’re looking for something dark with a lot of heart to it.
*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
September 27, 2025
I light a candle and make an offering of a blood ritual and a review as thanks for this free ARC I received 🕯️
It was so funny and yet so sad, so horrible but also so wonderful all at the same time.
Maddie was just a too cute and adorable zombie but still a zombie. Zombies eat people obviously. There's a lot of blood, gore and mutilations, If you can stomach it. 🧟♀️
The ending though....I would've preferred something lighter?
It was so funny and yet so sad, so horrible but also so wonderful all at the same time.
Maddie was just a too cute and adorable zombie but still a zombie. Zombies eat people obviously. There's a lot of blood, gore and mutilations, If you can stomach it. 🧟♀️
The ending though....I would've preferred something lighter?
November 6, 2025
I am not a big zombie reader. Never really got the whole idea of them, to be honest.
However, this book portrayed the concept with heart, dark humour, and grit, and I couldn't put this down.
I think many of us could relate to the main character in this story. If your loved one was torn away from you suddenly and brutally, would you do anything for another chance?
However, this book portrayed the concept with heart, dark humour, and grit, and I couldn't put this down.
I think many of us could relate to the main character in this story. If your loved one was torn away from you suddenly and brutally, would you do anything for another chance?
October 16, 2025
So this wasn’t at all what I was expecting. In the slightest. Yet it was also an incredibly good book. What a delightful spooky time; toxic love for the win. So unexpected, and surprisingly endearing. I think aspects of this novel would be a little (too) relatable for anyone who has loved just a biiiiit too hard.
Rating: A / 5-Stars
I loved all of these characters. Piper, Maddie, witch girl, the best friend; all awesome in their own ways.
In all honesty, zero notes. This was just awesome. No further discussion as I don’t think I can really elaborate without it being straightforward spoilers and I think this one is best enjoyed blind.
Thank you to BookSirens for the free ARC. This honest review was left voluntarily.
Rating: A / 5-Stars
I loved all of these characters. Piper, Maddie, witch girl, the best friend; all awesome in their own ways.
In all honesty, zero notes. This was just awesome. No further discussion as I don’t think I can really elaborate without it being straightforward spoilers and I think this one is best enjoyed blind.
Thank you to BookSirens for the free ARC. This honest review was left voluntarily.
June 25, 2026
4.25⭐️ - This book was like if Warm Bodies, Jennifer’s Body and Pet Sematary had a very gay, very bloody baby. The perfect mix of horror, humour and heart. One minute I was laughing, the next I was gagging.
We follow Piper, who’s grieving the loss of her girlfriend Maddie. Heartbroken and desperate, she decides to perform a blood ritual to bring Maddie back. You know, totally normal coping strategies. And… it works. Kind of. Maddie returns, but she’s not quite the same. She’s adorable, sure, but she also has a new little craving for human flesh.
Equal parts hilarious, gruesome and surprisingly emotional, this book had me hooked! Some scenes are very gory (maybe don’t snack while reading), but the horror is balanced beautifully with heart. The characters were all fantastic and well developed, and the LGBTQ+ rep was just 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙛’𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨.
I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much as I did, but I absolutely flew through it in one sitting. Despite the gore and weirdness, this is a story of love, grief, obsession and what we’d do to hold onto the ones we love.
Check it out if you’re in the mood for something fun and just the right amount of unhinged! Thank you to BookSirens and Taylor Z. Adams for the eARC. 🫶🏼
We follow Piper, who’s grieving the loss of her girlfriend Maddie. Heartbroken and desperate, she decides to perform a blood ritual to bring Maddie back. You know, totally normal coping strategies. And… it works. Kind of. Maddie returns, but she’s not quite the same. She’s adorable, sure, but she also has a new little craving for human flesh.
Equal parts hilarious, gruesome and surprisingly emotional, this book had me hooked! Some scenes are very gory (maybe don’t snack while reading), but the horror is balanced beautifully with heart. The characters were all fantastic and well developed, and the LGBTQ+ rep was just 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙛’𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨.
I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much as I did, but I absolutely flew through it in one sitting. Despite the gore and weirdness, this is a story of love, grief, obsession and what we’d do to hold onto the ones we love.
Check it out if you’re in the mood for something fun and just the right amount of unhinged! Thank you to BookSirens and Taylor Z. Adams for the eARC. 🫶🏼
January 14, 2026
the dialogue feels unnatural and awkward and the overall language is pretty stiff and repetitive and while it's a great premise and storyline, i just couldn't get into it.
i received an advance review copy for free, and i am leaving this review voluntarily.
2 ⭐️⭐️✖️✖️✖️
i received an advance review copy for free, and i am leaving this review voluntarily.
2 ⭐️⭐️✖️✖️✖️
October 28, 2025
If I were to recommend this book to myself, I’d tell me it’s the sad horror of Haunting of Hill House, the dark comedy of Santa Clarita Diet, the twisted vigilante murder of Sweetpea and the careful butchering of Yellowjackets.
I was definitely not expecting the amount of emotion from this book, I expected just pure body horror. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely gagged in a few parts but the plot is so much deeper. The description of all consuming grief from the death of a loved one was spot on and the stupid decisions we sometimes make just to keep them with us just a little longer.
I loved Maddie, Piper, Josh, Steph and Barbra, a cutie. I really rooted for them even when I thought it was gross. For me, this book is faultless and I wish I could read it again for the first time.
Thank you to Taylor Z. Adams and BookSirens for providing me with an eARC.
I was definitely not expecting the amount of emotion from this book, I expected just pure body horror. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely gagged in a few parts but the plot is so much deeper. The description of all consuming grief from the death of a loved one was spot on and the stupid decisions we sometimes make just to keep them with us just a little longer.
I loved Maddie, Piper, Josh, Steph and Barbra, a cutie. I really rooted for them even when I thought it was gross. For me, this book is faultless and I wish I could read it again for the first time.
Thank you to Taylor Z. Adams and BookSirens for providing me with an eARC.
June 17, 2026
I really enjoyed this one! I really felt for Piper. It's never easy losing a loved one, especially a partner.
Something's Wrong With Maddie follows Piper. She recently lost her partner, Maddie, and is struggling to cope with her loss. Rightfully so. Piper decides to perform a blood ritual to bring her dead girlfriend back to life and it actually works! Piper didn't really think this far ahead and now she has a real big problem on her hands but at least she has her girl back.
This is a sapphic horror novel that is funny, filled with dark humor and grief and some really graphic and bloody scenes. I really felt for Piper's character and couldn't help but love zombie Maddie despite her uncontrollable cravings. Who knew Horror could be so damn cute?!
Something's Wrong With Maddie follows Piper. She recently lost her partner, Maddie, and is struggling to cope with her loss. Rightfully so. Piper decides to perform a blood ritual to bring her dead girlfriend back to life and it actually works! Piper didn't really think this far ahead and now she has a real big problem on her hands but at least she has her girl back.
This is a sapphic horror novel that is funny, filled with dark humor and grief and some really graphic and bloody scenes. I really felt for Piper's character and couldn't help but love zombie Maddie despite her uncontrollable cravings. Who knew Horror could be so damn cute?!
June 9, 2026
3.5⭐️
Love this cover, love a sapphic love story horror. Love that this is a Toledoan author! I’ll be keeping an eye out for more because I think their writing is only going to get better from here
Love this cover, love a sapphic love story horror. Love that this is a Toledoan author! I’ll be keeping an eye out for more because I think their writing is only going to get better from here
November 6, 2025
I'm not usually one for zombie books, but this was brilliant.
Love, grief, gore. Had my feelings all over the place.
100% recommend
Love, grief, gore. Had my feelings all over the place.
100% recommend
February 27, 2026
Well. That was a fun, gory, crazy adventure. Dark humor, relatable characters, but all laced with the perfect amount of realism. Deep grief, true love and the struggles members of the lgbtq community deal with so frequently. This book really drug me through the depths of grief and then ate someone's heart right out of their chest. I was entertained all the way through this gauntlet of emotions.
November 6, 2025
Taylor Z. Adams’s Something's Wrong with Maddie is a raw and uncompromising plunge into rotting love, terminal grief, and devotion that blasts past the point of no return.
The story centers on Piper, who simply cannot accept the death of her girlfriend, Maddie. In an act of profound and horrific desperation, Piper performs a blood ritual to bring her back. Maddie returns undead, starving, and literally falling apart—reeking of decaying flesh and barely resembling the person Piper loved. Yet, Piper is unflinching. She vows to do anything to keep her zombie girlfriend, which quickly spirals into a dark, frantic effort to lie to suspicious neighbors, evade a nosy cop, and make sure the apartment complex's missing-person flyers don't point directly to their kitchen.
The emotional core of the novel lies in Piper's deeply flawed, yet tragically relatable, obsession. At times, the reader will be fully invested in her desperate, heartbroken plight; at others, they’ll want to shake her out of her horrifying denial. This very internal conflict is what keeps the narrative so compelling—haven't we all, at a moment of absolute heartbreak, felt like we could do anything to bring back the one we love?
Something's Wrong with Maddie masterfully blends sapphic dark romance and black-comedy horror. It’s a gore-slick tale of obsession and devotion, featuring a sharp splatterpunk bite and unsettling body-horror set pieces. It is equal parts dark comedy and genuine heartbreak, full of blood, bad decisions, and that kind of all-consuming love that starts to decay the longer you hold onto it. Gory but profoundly heartfelt, this is a sad horror story with a streak of the grotesque that won’t stop haunting you.
📝 Review Disclaimer
Thank you Book Sirens and Taylor for this free digital copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving this review, and all thoughts expressed are my own.
The story centers on Piper, who simply cannot accept the death of her girlfriend, Maddie. In an act of profound and horrific desperation, Piper performs a blood ritual to bring her back. Maddie returns undead, starving, and literally falling apart—reeking of decaying flesh and barely resembling the person Piper loved. Yet, Piper is unflinching. She vows to do anything to keep her zombie girlfriend, which quickly spirals into a dark, frantic effort to lie to suspicious neighbors, evade a nosy cop, and make sure the apartment complex's missing-person flyers don't point directly to their kitchen.
The emotional core of the novel lies in Piper's deeply flawed, yet tragically relatable, obsession. At times, the reader will be fully invested in her desperate, heartbroken plight; at others, they’ll want to shake her out of her horrifying denial. This very internal conflict is what keeps the narrative so compelling—haven't we all, at a moment of absolute heartbreak, felt like we could do anything to bring back the one we love?
Something's Wrong with Maddie masterfully blends sapphic dark romance and black-comedy horror. It’s a gore-slick tale of obsession and devotion, featuring a sharp splatterpunk bite and unsettling body-horror set pieces. It is equal parts dark comedy and genuine heartbreak, full of blood, bad decisions, and that kind of all-consuming love that starts to decay the longer you hold onto it. Gory but profoundly heartfelt, this is a sad horror story with a streak of the grotesque that won’t stop haunting you.
📝 Review Disclaimer
Thank you Book Sirens and Taylor for this free digital copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving this review, and all thoughts expressed are my own.
October 16, 2025
I received the ARC of this book through BookSirens in exchange for an honest review
This book was a rollercoaster. The gore was amazing and it made me gag multiple times /pos. The structure of the book alternated between memories of them together and moments in the present tying and connecting them together.
One negative thing for me was the prose, very strong and pertinent in the more horror gorey bits, but a bit lacking in my opinion when tackling other genres. I also thought that in several moments in the book the author was leaning rather heavily on telling rather than showing every little detail and reason and theme of the story. It worked in some moments by providing a rather intimate point of view of the thoughts and reactions of the protagonist, but in others it made the prose more rambly than introspective. This book would generally benefit from a couple more rounds of editing. Nonetheless, the story was compelling and the characters were fleshed out nicely. I think it’s a nice read for Halloween if you’re into blood rituals and absolutely insane lesbians!!
This book was a rollercoaster. The gore was amazing and it made me gag multiple times /pos. The structure of the book alternated between memories of them together and moments in the present tying and connecting them together.
One negative thing for me was the prose, very strong and pertinent in the more horror gorey bits, but a bit lacking in my opinion when tackling other genres. I also thought that in several moments in the book the author was leaning rather heavily on telling rather than showing every little detail and reason and theme of the story. It worked in some moments by providing a rather intimate point of view of the thoughts and reactions of the protagonist, but in others it made the prose more rambly than introspective. This book would generally benefit from a couple more rounds of editing. Nonetheless, the story was compelling and the characters were fleshed out nicely. I think it’s a nice read for Halloween if you’re into blood rituals and absolutely insane lesbians!!
February 16, 2026
““God, I love this for you. You’re not just some sloppy grave-robbing witch. You are a romantic idiot on the bleeding edge of forbidden magic, and I want you to know I support you.””
Holy shit, what an amazing book that somehow ended up being every category of book I love to read in horror, queer, and just a dash of romance. Yes, this book was romantic I will not hear another word about it.
My only real critique is that it was a little repetitive at points but not so bad that it put me off from the book or story.
I fucking loved the characters, Steph was fucking hilarious, and god this might have been one of the best queer books I’ve had the pleasure of consuming, and I definitely consumed it the way Maddie was consuming bodies. 🫀
Holy shit, what an amazing book that somehow ended up being every category of book I love to read in horror, queer, and just a dash of romance. Yes, this book was romantic I will not hear another word about it.
My only real critique is that it was a little repetitive at points but not so bad that it put me off from the book or story.
I fucking loved the characters, Steph was fucking hilarious, and god this might have been one of the best queer books I’ve had the pleasure of consuming, and I definitely consumed it the way Maddie was consuming bodies. 🫀
April 13, 2026
4.5 ⭐
This was such an unhinged, gory, and delightful read! I already love sapphic zombie books and this one doesn't even have an apocalypse in it but just works! Piper is so awkward and dorky and Maddie matches her in every way. I didn't expect to root or love a zombie as much as I love Maddie. This book is definitely detailed in its gory descriptions, so be aware of that. Some parts are really disgusting even if they're weirdly cute at the same time. You shouldn't be squeamish reading about everything that can come out from a human body. But if you think you can stomach it and want to read a sapphic horror romance - this is for you!
This was such an unhinged, gory, and delightful read! I already love sapphic zombie books and this one doesn't even have an apocalypse in it but just works! Piper is so awkward and dorky and Maddie matches her in every way. I didn't expect to root or love a zombie as much as I love Maddie. This book is definitely detailed in its gory descriptions, so be aware of that. Some parts are really disgusting even if they're weirdly cute at the same time. You shouldn't be squeamish reading about everything that can come out from a human body. But if you think you can stomach it and want to read a sapphic horror romance - this is for you!
October 21, 2025
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This book is what you get when you mix a little bit of my best friends exorcism humour, santa clarita diet and burying the ex all in one delightfully funny yet disgusting package.
I cannot tell you the amount of "ew" moments or the amount of "I'm cackling" moments that came out of this book - the love and grief and possibilities were so real and character growth - superb - even almost has one of my favourite endings ever .. almost
This book is what you get when you mix a little bit of my best friends exorcism humour, santa clarita diet and burying the ex all in one delightfully funny yet disgusting package.
I cannot tell you the amount of "ew" moments or the amount of "I'm cackling" moments that came out of this book - the love and grief and possibilities were so real and character growth - superb - even almost has one of my favourite endings ever .. almost
February 5, 2026
I finally read SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH MADDIE by Taylor Z Adams, and it was pretty great. It made me extremely nostalgic for a movie that I must have watched a hundred times on VHS as a kid: Brian Yuzna’s Return of the Living Dead 3.
We’ve got that same doomed romance dynamic that transcends life and death, but this time contrasted against modern queer relationships. It’s a really cute book that doesn’t linger on the misery; it spends a lot of time celebrating what the characters had, but it also isn’t lacking in the gore department.
We’ve got that same doomed romance dynamic that transcends life and death, but this time contrasted against modern queer relationships. It’s a really cute book that doesn’t linger on the misery; it spends a lot of time celebrating what the characters had, but it also isn’t lacking in the gore department.
November 8, 2025
Okay, so were the funny and gory rolled into one with this book lol. I laughed and I’d say I cringed, but I love gore. I truly felt for both these women. I wouldn’t want to lose my SO either, but not sure I’d go to this level to keep them lol. I entered reading this and it even evokes some emotions. There was some seriously sad moments. But overall I really enjoyed reading this. Hi zombie girl!
January 15, 2026
Not great at writing reviews but for this gem I have to give it a shot.
I absolutely DEVOURED this book (pun intended). My first read of 2026 and what a way to start off the year. For me, the writing style was perfect. It read so naturally and truly gave a vivid image. Idk how this book hasn’t been talked about more but 100% my favorite book of 2026 so far and definitely top 10 overall favorite books.
I absolutely DEVOURED this book (pun intended). My first read of 2026 and what a way to start off the year. For me, the writing style was perfect. It read so naturally and truly gave a vivid image. Idk how this book hasn’t been talked about more but 100% my favorite book of 2026 so far and definitely top 10 overall favorite books.
June 13, 2026
3.75 This was weird and fun. Who doesn’t love blood rituals and gore? Jennifer’s Body vibes for sure. I chose this book because of the amazing cover, but it’s also a perfect Pride Month read. Serendipitous.
February 18, 2026
Not for me. Some of the dialogue was quite cringey in a put-on Buffy-esque babbling style that made the characters sound cartooney and frankly pretty stupid. The writing was clunky, repeptitive in some places. It got the job done but no more than that. And then the whole thing ends with them on the run and nothing really resolved. The author gave us escalation and then left us just sitting there with the big can of worms the characters opened.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2026
Pheeeew. This one was good, but not for the faint of heart — or stomach.
May 12, 2026
Something's Wrong With Maddie is a sapphic horror novel full of love, drama, poor decisions, and hope. It really makes you think about what you would do for love. After Piper’s true love dies in a horrific accident, she finds a way to bring Maddie back, but Maddie’s actions leave Piper traumatized and questioning everything. The ending felt a bit open ended to me, but overall it was a quick, dark, gory, and fun read. I’d honestly love a second book.
October 26, 2025
Okay. I finished “Something’s Wrong With Maddie” yesterday and I LOVED IT! Taylor Z. Adams struck the perfect balance between making me cry my eyes out and laugh my ass off at this tragic lesbian love story. Piper uses blood magic to resurrect her dearly departed gf Maddie with success. Except… Maddie craves human flesh. Oops.
Seriously. Top 10 novel of the year for me. Grab it when it’s out!
Seriously. Top 10 novel of the year for me. Grab it when it’s out!
February 22, 2026
This book drew me in by the cover, that is for sure! And I really hate to say it, but this one was kind of… disappointing overall.
The story felt very… sloppy. Poorly put together. The writing came across as very amateurish - the tone felt immature and the flow? Not at all cohesive. The story never really “came together” for me, and I felt like it was just so many things thrown together at once with not a whole lot of substance. Plot holes, underdeveloped characters, and the dialogue of the FMC? My god… it was often painful at times. And the ending? Yikes. What WAS that?
While I can understand how this may have worked for other readers, it just did not do it for me at all. Which sucks, because I had high hopes and this novel was recommended so highly to me by someone else! However, I feel like I read a completely different book than what she read. I can understand the elements of grief and passionate, “undying” love at play; it simply is not enough to make up for everything else this book lacks.
Also editing to agree with another reviewer who mentioned this book would heavily benefit from more rounds of editing. There were some very evident things that were missed in editing, like using the phrase “on accident”.
The story felt very… sloppy. Poorly put together. The writing came across as very amateurish - the tone felt immature and the flow? Not at all cohesive. The story never really “came together” for me, and I felt like it was just so many things thrown together at once with not a whole lot of substance. Plot holes, underdeveloped characters, and the dialogue of the FMC? My god… it was often painful at times. And the ending? Yikes. What WAS that?
While I can understand how this may have worked for other readers, it just did not do it for me at all. Which sucks, because I had high hopes and this novel was recommended so highly to me by someone else! However, I feel like I read a completely different book than what she read. I can understand the elements of grief and passionate, “undying” love at play; it simply is not enough to make up for everything else this book lacks.
Also editing to agree with another reviewer who mentioned this book would heavily benefit from more rounds of editing. There were some very evident things that were missed in editing, like using the phrase “on accident”.
June 10, 2026
Okay look, I'm a solid 3.5 on this one. Fuck Goodreads btw. I almost gave it a 3, but on a good day I could be persuaded to give it a 4 because I'm mushy.
Mostly I think that Something's Wrong With Maddie is a book of tone problems. In general the prose is not electric, y'know it has very average narration, kinda boring similes, but the dialogue in this thing is murder sometimes. It has a problem that I feel is downstream of the Joss Whedon school of writing, wherein a lot of the time the only thing characters will say to eachother is along the lines of 'Woah, wasn't that a quirky/weird/fucked up/awesome thing that just happened! Gosh fuckin' darn!' and it's irritating. Everyone who speaks during the runtime of this novel comes off like a detached smarmy fuck at least once, and it really harshes the tone. I feel like if you're gonna write something as deadly serious as 'my beautiful girlfriend who was murdered in a hit-and-run has returned as a living corpse' with all of the emotional turmoil that follows, you cannot have the cashier at the magic crystal and incense shop talking about how the brain-eating trope was invented for a movie. You can do pitch-black gallows humour with this setup, but not like this.
I don't know why I expected the transbian in this t4c relationship to be the murdered one, but actually we get to see it unfold through Piper's eyes, and I mean she's fine, I think. She's a fairly cromulent trans wlw protag, dejected in a way that's relatable, dragged down by grief so that you're sad about it. Which I was. An issue I have with her is that she doesn't seem to be taking everything 100% seriously, which again is downstream of the silly writing. There's a part near the end where she's supposed to have really decided what to do about the situation, and when she finds her door open (which means her girlfriend Maddie has probably eaten someone again) she reflects how she's barely even shocked. That moment would have worked better if her immediate reaction to every corpse Maddie leaves behind was not 'haha so my girlfriend ate somebody whoops' like she says earlier when recounting it to Steph at the incense store. The narrative is clearly going for a "typical girl goes from sheltered to bathing in senseless violence" but the goofy dialogue undermines it often.
She's also socially awkward as fuck, which I believe is being played for pathos but came off to me like failed comedy routines every time. It's weird, Piper can't speak to the cashier at the incense store or her nextdoor neighbours or anybody she's not longtime friends with, without oversharing or saying something weird. She has worse social skills than I do, and I mostly just cringed for her through those interactions. I kinda hated it and didn't think it added much to our girl.
At least the guts of the story is pretty good. I'm certain the author can do better than this, because when the chips are down and Piper completes the blood sacrifice, when she's staring at the twisted, living corpse of her beloved girlfriend writhing in pain on the flopr, when the throats are getting torn out, Something's Wrong With Maddie can go pretty hard. As I say, Piper's arc is more or less about *un-accepting* grief; she begins with the assumption that her girlfriend is dead forever, and still doesn't really believe she's here when she's basically a corpse that can barely drag itself across the floor. When it becomes clear that each pound of freshly killed flesh makes her better, though, Piper has to warm to the idea of bringing sacrifices to her corpse girlfriend like it's Hellraiser and she rose from the floorboards or something. She has to! The murders, justified!
I also kinda thought that it was like Our Wives Under The Sea at points, albeit with the girlfriend getting better instead of worse, so while it pokes at some of the same themes it's pulpier than the Julia Armfield masterpiece. The moral of the Something's Wrong With Maddie story ends up being that they hated her for her loving sapphic relationship, and also the corpse crimes. I noticed because the book brought it up that there's something of a hole, thematically in these dead-girlfriend works: Steph jokes once that Piper is committing necrophilia, and she cracks wise about it once or twice, but I guess the tone's not right to seriously address, like, corpse play, y'know. The kinky end of it, for fantasy sexy purposes. I realise what a sicko it makes me sound like to even suggest it, but I think it has the potential to rock ultimate on that level.
Flashbacks are another element of this that reminded me of Our Wives Under The Sea, but I thought they were clumsy here. They just kind of get inserted at random intervals, whenever Piper remembers something about Maddie before she died, and I get the approach but I think it has a detrimental effect on pacing too often.
But, oh well. So the characters aren't anything special, and the narrative that's going on is sometimes fighting against the shit-eating grin that the dialogue affects constantly, but at the end of the day it is about murder lesbians. It's hard not to have your heartstrings effectively pulled by seeing Piper try desperately to nurse her dead girlfriend back to health, and eventually realise that what's in their best interest is going to be pretty gory. She makes her choice eventually, and by the last quarter or so, Something Is Wrong With Maddie has become a story I can like. I don't think it stands up to the short stories that precede it, but I think it has merit on its own, and people will probably like it more than I did, Curious to see what this author does next.
Mostly I think that Something's Wrong With Maddie is a book of tone problems. In general the prose is not electric, y'know it has very average narration, kinda boring similes, but the dialogue in this thing is murder sometimes. It has a problem that I feel is downstream of the Joss Whedon school of writing, wherein a lot of the time the only thing characters will say to eachother is along the lines of 'Woah, wasn't that a quirky/weird/fucked up/awesome thing that just happened! Gosh fuckin' darn!' and it's irritating. Everyone who speaks during the runtime of this novel comes off like a detached smarmy fuck at least once, and it really harshes the tone. I feel like if you're gonna write something as deadly serious as 'my beautiful girlfriend who was murdered in a hit-and-run has returned as a living corpse' with all of the emotional turmoil that follows, you cannot have the cashier at the magic crystal and incense shop talking about how the brain-eating trope was invented for a movie. You can do pitch-black gallows humour with this setup, but not like this.
I don't know why I expected the transbian in this t4c relationship to be the murdered one, but actually we get to see it unfold through Piper's eyes, and I mean she's fine, I think. She's a fairly cromulent trans wlw protag, dejected in a way that's relatable, dragged down by grief so that you're sad about it. Which I was. An issue I have with her is that she doesn't seem to be taking everything 100% seriously, which again is downstream of the silly writing. There's a part near the end where she's supposed to have really decided what to do about the situation, and when she finds her door open (which means her girlfriend Maddie has probably eaten someone again) she reflects how she's barely even shocked. That moment would have worked better if her immediate reaction to every corpse Maddie leaves behind was not 'haha so my girlfriend ate somebody whoops' like she says earlier when recounting it to Steph at the incense store. The narrative is clearly going for a "typical girl goes from sheltered to bathing in senseless violence" but the goofy dialogue undermines it often.
She's also socially awkward as fuck, which I believe is being played for pathos but came off to me like failed comedy routines every time. It's weird, Piper can't speak to the cashier at the incense store or her nextdoor neighbours or anybody she's not longtime friends with, without oversharing or saying something weird. She has worse social skills than I do, and I mostly just cringed for her through those interactions. I kinda hated it and didn't think it added much to our girl.
At least the guts of the story is pretty good. I'm certain the author can do better than this, because when the chips are down and Piper completes the blood sacrifice, when she's staring at the twisted, living corpse of her beloved girlfriend writhing in pain on the flopr, when the throats are getting torn out, Something's Wrong With Maddie can go pretty hard. As I say, Piper's arc is more or less about *un-accepting* grief; she begins with the assumption that her girlfriend is dead forever, and still doesn't really believe she's here when she's basically a corpse that can barely drag itself across the floor. When it becomes clear that each pound of freshly killed flesh makes her better, though, Piper has to warm to the idea of bringing sacrifices to her corpse girlfriend like it's Hellraiser and she rose from the floorboards or something. She has to! The murders, justified!
I also kinda thought that it was like Our Wives Under The Sea at points, albeit with the girlfriend getting better instead of worse, so while it pokes at some of the same themes it's pulpier than the Julia Armfield masterpiece. The moral of the Something's Wrong With Maddie story ends up being that they hated her for her loving sapphic relationship, and also the corpse crimes. I noticed because the book brought it up that there's something of a hole, thematically in these dead-girlfriend works: Steph jokes once that Piper is committing necrophilia, and she cracks wise about it once or twice, but I guess the tone's not right to seriously address, like, corpse play, y'know. The kinky end of it, for fantasy sexy purposes. I realise what a sicko it makes me sound like to even suggest it, but I think it has the potential to rock ultimate on that level.
Flashbacks are another element of this that reminded me of Our Wives Under The Sea, but I thought they were clumsy here. They just kind of get inserted at random intervals, whenever Piper remembers something about Maddie before she died, and I get the approach but I think it has a detrimental effect on pacing too often.
But, oh well. So the characters aren't anything special, and the narrative that's going on is sometimes fighting against the shit-eating grin that the dialogue affects constantly, but at the end of the day it is about murder lesbians. It's hard not to have your heartstrings effectively pulled by seeing Piper try desperately to nurse her dead girlfriend back to health, and eventually realise that what's in their best interest is going to be pretty gory. She makes her choice eventually, and by the last quarter or so, Something Is Wrong With Maddie has become a story I can like. I don't think it stands up to the short stories that precede it, but I think it has merit on its own, and people will probably like it more than I did, Curious to see what this author does next.
July 1, 2026
What the fuck am I doing?
Picture this: After a really horrible stretch of time spent not only working the worst job on the planet, but also while carrying more grief than anyone could possibly bear, you've decided to raise your girlfriend from the dead. You use a convenient spell-book that just happens to include some real, functioning spells in it (surprise!) and next thing you know, you're a successful necromancer ("I was just following the book’s instructions like a good little lapdog."). Well done! However, your now zombie girlfriend desperately needs to feed and we're not talking burger and fries ("A body brought back by blood wanted more blood."). Her appetite is going to take you down a road filled with murder and as much gore as you can fit into your reality. So what do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?
I’m not a murderer. I’m just a good girlfriend.
Well, my advice would be to read "Something's Wrong With Maddie" by Taylor Z. Adams (@tayloradamsbooks) which kind of gives you the inside scoop - yep, that's a zombie pun! - on how to deal with just that situation ("… the book itself was trying to show me something." Hee hee…). Because when Piper reanimates her deceased girlfriend Maddie (not a spoiler, the title says it right there!), she gets a lot more than she bargained for! Which after a few hiccups along the way doesn't wind up being so bad (it's EXTREMELY relative here). Because this is a story about missing someone so much, about literally not being complete without them in your life ("It hurt just as badly as the day I lost her, if not worse.") that you'd do and put up with anything just to have them back!
This was, apparently, the most expensive mental breakdown I’d ever had.
There's a couple of things about which I really have to and want to give Adams kudos for (that's probably lousy grammar but bear with me). First of all, this is still very much a book that features a true-blue zombie in it, that is, "she’s an undead monster that kills people and devours their flesh" in all manners of disgusting ways with little to no table manners involved. This includes then all that could possibly come with having a hungry-hungry undead person hanging out in your apartment (noting that, no, she doesn't eat brains, that's from 1985's 'Return of the Living Dead' which Adams reminds us of!). Yes, the realism of that particular plot point is important! Sure, we have the same kind of confusing love interest-with-a-zombie that was part of the whole "Warm Bodies" series, only this time, it's not quite an earth-shattering, dystopian event (literally). Not good for the local frat house, granted, but still…
Stop. You already fucking ate him. You don’t get seconds.
Secondly, and this may just be more owing to my reading choices than anything else, but this is one of the only LGBTQIA+ inclusive books I've read where I was thoroughly and unquestionably convinced that the main players truly love(d) each other. But what Piper and Maddie had AND have is most assuredly a deep and forever-binding love ("Forever and ever. No matter what. In sickness and in health."), be it on land or under the sea (ahem). I also think if you get a really professional cleaning crew to come in and clean up a lot of the blood, offal, and viscera that the book contains - again, this is a REAL zombie book, don't look so damn shocked ("…one eye dangled out of the socket from a red tendon like a popped grape still stuck to the vine.")! - this is a touching and often deeply emotional look at both their love and love in general. And I would argue that some of the mental anquish that Piper experiences throughout - not only from witnessing Maddie's death (I would have loved to have seen the person responsible for that get 'et, too!) but dealing with the conflict that arises upon understanding her needs - is more romantic than just about any story you'll find, straight, gay or "any of the above"!
Zombie girlfriend. Love that for me.
And if there's another aspect that I appreciated about this story is that it does contain snippets of humor. True, sometimes it's kind of dark, particularly when the local witch joins in on the fun (just read it, ok?) or even some misplaced comments such as Josh's adorable teasing albeit at some really wrong moments. But it's not ALL just doom and gloom and moping and weeping and whatnot, though it had every chance to be. I mean, when you're in deep in the whole self-reflection of "would I or wouldn't I if it were possible" conundrum, well, that really helps. Like a lot. Particularly if you're like me and stopped every now and then and tried to come up with a "menu" of possible meals for your loved one. Yeah, keep mowing your lawn at 6 a.m. on Saturday mornings Mr. Neighbor Man; you're the appetizer!
Fine, but if she rips your throat out, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Overall then, this was a well-executed and extremely interesting take on the zombie genre. I know I've said it many times before, but I definitely have a real need to fulfill my regular quota of zombie books and this was more than a worthy - and very original - addition to my collection. And even if an older cisgender, heterosexual male can't necessarily identify with every single aspect of the story on a personal level, it's still written in a way that allows the more open-minded and accepting people of the world to unhesitatingly sympathize and commiserate with our players. And seriously, eating frat boys ("Blood was everywhere… this wasn’t just a mess. This was a frenzy.")? Personally I don't see an issue…
Picture this: After a really horrible stretch of time spent not only working the worst job on the planet, but also while carrying more grief than anyone could possibly bear, you've decided to raise your girlfriend from the dead. You use a convenient spell-book that just happens to include some real, functioning spells in it (surprise!) and next thing you know, you're a successful necromancer ("I was just following the book’s instructions like a good little lapdog."). Well done! However, your now zombie girlfriend desperately needs to feed and we're not talking burger and fries ("A body brought back by blood wanted more blood."). Her appetite is going to take you down a road filled with murder and as much gore as you can fit into your reality. So what do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?
I’m not a murderer. I’m just a good girlfriend.
Well, my advice would be to read "Something's Wrong With Maddie" by Taylor Z. Adams (@tayloradamsbooks) which kind of gives you the inside scoop - yep, that's a zombie pun! - on how to deal with just that situation ("… the book itself was trying to show me something." Hee hee…). Because when Piper reanimates her deceased girlfriend Maddie (not a spoiler, the title says it right there!), she gets a lot more than she bargained for! Which after a few hiccups along the way doesn't wind up being so bad (it's EXTREMELY relative here). Because this is a story about missing someone so much, about literally not being complete without them in your life ("It hurt just as badly as the day I lost her, if not worse.") that you'd do and put up with anything just to have them back!
This was, apparently, the most expensive mental breakdown I’d ever had.
There's a couple of things about which I really have to and want to give Adams kudos for (that's probably lousy grammar but bear with me). First of all, this is still very much a book that features a true-blue zombie in it, that is, "she’s an undead monster that kills people and devours their flesh" in all manners of disgusting ways with little to no table manners involved. This includes then all that could possibly come with having a hungry-hungry undead person hanging out in your apartment (noting that, no, she doesn't eat brains, that's from 1985's 'Return of the Living Dead' which Adams reminds us of!). Yes, the realism of that particular plot point is important! Sure, we have the same kind of confusing love interest-with-a-zombie that was part of the whole "Warm Bodies" series, only this time, it's not quite an earth-shattering, dystopian event (literally). Not good for the local frat house, granted, but still…
Stop. You already fucking ate him. You don’t get seconds.
Secondly, and this may just be more owing to my reading choices than anything else, but this is one of the only LGBTQIA+ inclusive books I've read where I was thoroughly and unquestionably convinced that the main players truly love(d) each other. But what Piper and Maddie had AND have is most assuredly a deep and forever-binding love ("Forever and ever. No matter what. In sickness and in health."), be it on land or under the sea (ahem). I also think if you get a really professional cleaning crew to come in and clean up a lot of the blood, offal, and viscera that the book contains - again, this is a REAL zombie book, don't look so damn shocked ("…one eye dangled out of the socket from a red tendon like a popped grape still stuck to the vine.")! - this is a touching and often deeply emotional look at both their love and love in general. And I would argue that some of the mental anquish that Piper experiences throughout - not only from witnessing Maddie's death (I would have loved to have seen the person responsible for that get 'et, too!) but dealing with the conflict that arises upon understanding her needs - is more romantic than just about any story you'll find, straight, gay or "any of the above"!
Zombie girlfriend. Love that for me.
And if there's another aspect that I appreciated about this story is that it does contain snippets of humor. True, sometimes it's kind of dark, particularly when the local witch joins in on the fun (just read it, ok?) or even some misplaced comments such as Josh's adorable teasing albeit at some really wrong moments. But it's not ALL just doom and gloom and moping and weeping and whatnot, though it had every chance to be. I mean, when you're in deep in the whole self-reflection of "would I or wouldn't I if it were possible" conundrum, well, that really helps. Like a lot. Particularly if you're like me and stopped every now and then and tried to come up with a "menu" of possible meals for your loved one. Yeah, keep mowing your lawn at 6 a.m. on Saturday mornings Mr. Neighbor Man; you're the appetizer!
Fine, but if she rips your throat out, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Overall then, this was a well-executed and extremely interesting take on the zombie genre. I know I've said it many times before, but I definitely have a real need to fulfill my regular quota of zombie books and this was more than a worthy - and very original - addition to my collection. And even if an older cisgender, heterosexual male can't necessarily identify with every single aspect of the story on a personal level, it's still written in a way that allows the more open-minded and accepting people of the world to unhesitatingly sympathize and commiserate with our players. And seriously, eating frat boys ("Blood was everywhere… this wasn’t just a mess. This was a frenzy.")? Personally I don't see an issue…
October 9, 2025
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Some of the humor was hit or miss for me personally--just a little too on the 'zany-quirky' side-- but Something's Wrong With Maddie is an entertaining read that brings gore and queer romance together beautifully. What would you do for those you love? What would you sacrifice?
My other little criticism would be that some areas seem a bit overwritten or repetitive but not enough to ruin the pacing. Overall still would recommend!
3.5 stars
Some of the humor was hit or miss for me personally--just a little too on the 'zany-quirky' side-- but Something's Wrong With Maddie is an entertaining read that brings gore and queer romance together beautifully. What would you do for those you love? What would you sacrifice?
My other little criticism would be that some areas seem a bit overwritten or repetitive but not enough to ruin the pacing. Overall still would recommend!
3.5 stars
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