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Dead Rapture Series #3

Love Starts With Z

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Twenty-four years into the Dead outbreak that ended the world, Soren Mitchell sticks out like a sore thumb in the remains of the human race. She's an anomaly: a hybrid of human and Dead, created by her mother's genetic immunity. Like her parents, she's fierce and strong. But despite their hopes for her happiness and safety, and even though she is no real threat to the colony, she has let the humans muzzle her and confine her within the walls of Dead Run River in search of a cure.

When Kaegan Langford stumbles into the colony with an injured friend draped across his shoulders, her world is turned upside down. Intrigued and affected by her, he asks her to come to Empalme, Mexico with him to fight in the war between Deads and humans. It'll be a long, treacherous journey to the coast, but she's had all she can take in the colony.

Battles with Deads, betrayal, injury, kidnappings, and a criminal-run train ride stand between them and the war. But in the end, it's not just the war with the Deads that could be the death of them.

Tera Shanley's final book in the Dead Rapture series will thrill your heart...and your braaaains.

238 pages, Paperback

First published February 17, 2015

6 people are currently reading
92 people want to read

About the author

Tera Shanley

14 books133 followers
Born and raised in small town Texas, Tera Shanley grew up in books. Her cousin gifted her a signed copy of Beauty by Bill Wallace when she was young and that was it for her. So smitten was she with getting lost in a story, that while other eleven year olds her age were groaning at the accelerated reader program in school, she was racking up the points just for fun.

Balancing chronic book-wormyness is her devotion to the outdoors. Hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, camping - her soul is happiest out of doors. And lucky for Tera, her family feels the same. She grew up a wild child helping her grandma ranch cattle, and has a hundred memories out in the wilderness which tend to influence her books.

When she's not eating chocolate, slinging rifles, or soaking up some sun, she's lost in a book, but these days it's more often one she's writing. From historic western romance, to paranormal romance, to apocalyptic (zombie) romance, the genre doesn't matter quite as much to her as the love story.

She currently lives with her husband and two young children, and is owned by two crazy mini-cujos.

Find Me Here:
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5 stars
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17 (12%)
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Lori.
Author 2 books60 followers
November 9, 2024
Tera Shanley's Dead Rapture Series has to be one of my favorite zombie series of all time. Love Starts with Z was just a continuation of all the things that I loved from the first two books. The heavy amounts of gore, and romance are both things that I really, really enjoy in my zombie books. Tera does a fantastic job of weaving both of these elements throughout the book. Z aka Soren is probably my favorite lead from the series. I thought that about Laney, I thought it about Vanessa, but I really mean it with Soren.
The covers are simply beautiful to look at, and fit the stories well which is always an added bonus for those of us who do judge books by their covers.
Elyse and I called the first book Love in the Time of the Dead, almost perfect. I called Love at the End of Days perfect, but I think Love Starts with Z was even better than the second book.
I was lucky and got an early copy of the book for my blog. Since it came out this morning I've started reading it again so that I can write my review. I'm about 50% through my second read through and absolutely nothing about my initial reaction has changed.
Love Starts with Z is still an amazing ending to a series that I never wanted to end.
Profile Image for Mandy Reads Indie.
1,987 reviews91 followers
February 16, 2015
I have been in love with this series from the moment I started the very first book. And now we fast forward 2 more books and over 20 years into the future. The daughter of famous Laney Landry is now all grown up and living back at Dead Run River, desperately searching for a cure. But life is not wonderful. Not by a long shot. Forced to wear a muzzle and treated like flesh eating scum of the earth, she goes about her days praying that this day will be the one a cure is made. But it never is. Then limps in hope....

First and foremost...this book, out of all 3, was my absolute favorite. And I will tell you that it is all due to the characters. I adored Soren. She carried a burden of guilt from her childhood and was hated among her neighbors. But she still was a fantastic character with a lot of heart and kindness. Then there was Kaegan. I loved him. Like so, so much. He is one of those guys I will always think back on. He has a heart bigger than any I have read about in quite some time. He was absolutely romantic and knew how to work his way into the reader's heart. Loved him!

The story was oh so fabulous. I grew more and more excited as the story flowed at where the author was taking everything. I also grew sad knowing this was it. This is where the zombie goodness ended for all the characters I have grown to love and care about. But in the end, I was left smiling and happy. Yay for happy endings!

This is one book you just gotta read. Sure, LOVE STARTS WITH Z can be read as a standalone. But I also think you should read the first two just because they are so amazing and wonderful you won’t be able to put them down. 5 Zombie'lious Stars!
Profile Image for Michelle.
98 reviews36 followers
January 25, 2015
Review to come. But it was WONDERFUL!! What an awesome ending to a awesome trilogy!! It couldn't have ended any better than it did!!
Profile Image for Jennifer.
Author 13 books977 followers
March 8, 2015
Love Starts With Z is the third and final book in the Dead Rapture series, and I have to confess upfront that I’ve haven’t yet read the first two books.

Tera’s novel was brought to my attention by her publisher, and after hearing a little bit about the plot I decided that I would give it a go. Admittedly, this was a bit of a risk but I’m happy to say that the book can easily be read as a stand alone novel. And perhaps the even better news is that I now plan to backtrack and read the others in this series.

The easy description of this novel is to call it a zombie story, but it is a zombie story with what I considered to be a unique angle. The main character of the book is a young woman named Soren Mitchell. Born in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, Soren is a living, breathing, conscious human who happens to possess many of the physical traits of a zombie. While her zombie-like appearance and her tendency to enjoy extremely rare meat make it difficult for other humans to trust her (most humans initially are inclined to kill her at first sight), these traits also make it possible for Soren to come into direct contact with zombies (also referred to as Deads) without danger of being attacked.

At the beginning of Love Starts With Z, we learn that Soren has left the colony of humans she was born into and raised by to live with a different colony. The purpose in doing so is to assist researchers in their quest to develop a cure for the deadly zombie outbreak that constantly threatens to wipe out the dwindling human race. In this new colony, Soren is treated more like a Dead than a human. She is forced to adhere to a strict series of rules developed to protect humans, but at the cost of dehumanizing Soren. Despite the inhumane treatment, Soren endures in ultimate hopes that her personal sacrifice will benefit mankind.

Amidst this chaos, a young man named Kaegan Langford finds himself at Soren’s colony. Once he’s made aware of her existence, Kaegan becomes infatuated by Soren. What begins as intense curiosity in Soren soon develops into something much more substantial. Kaegan finds her treatment by others in her colony cruel and is soon inclined to become a defender of the mysterious young woman.

Anger coursed his veins, red and blinding until all he could think about was wrapping his fingers around Colten’s throat. Closing his eyes, he counted to ten, and then ground out, “If you call her a zombie again, your nose will match Mark’s.”

“Geez, man. You’re so touchy now.”

“He’s got it bad,” Ben said.

Bad? Nah. He’d liked girls before. It had been a few years since he’d had any kind of steady relationship with one, but bad? So he thought about her more than was maybe healthy. And he worried about her wellbeing. And when people insulted her, he wanted to kill them slowly. Okay, so maybe he did have it worse than he ever had before, but it was Soren. She was different. Not just the way she looked, which enamored him more every time he saw her, but she was kind. Not polite-kind to trick people into liking her, but she was someone who honestly cared about the feelings of others. And she did what she thought was right no matter what anyone else thought of her. She was respectable, beautiful—this gorgeous warrior who had consumed him, mind and body, without any effort at all. And when she fought? She was an artist.

“Hello,” Colten said, waving his hand in Kaegan’s face.

Irritated, he swatted it away and ducked a low hanging branch.

Soon, a friendship begins to grow between Kaegan and Soren and the two allies quickly find themselves caught up in circumstances that accelerate both the depth of their connection and their respect for one another.

While I’m pretty open to reading books of all kinds, I do have to admit that I’ve never sought out zombie stories. What I enjoyed about Love Starts With Z was that while the zombie outbreak is an integral part of the overall plot, this novel is really more about how humans can sometimes be more frightening than the numerous Deads wandering aimlessly in search of brains. The unusual dynamic that develops between Soren and Kaegan made for a compelling read, and ultimately I found their eventual outcome uncertain due to the unconventionality of their relationship.

The action scenes were well-written, the various characters were numerous and interesting, and the emotional scenes were captivating. There were great moments of suspense and swoon, and I’d happily recommend the Dead Rapture series to anyone looking to read something a bit outside the usual realms of the typical romance novel.
Profile Image for Rie Warren.
Author 52 books674 followers
January 31, 2015
Love starts with Soren and Kaegan!

Hooked from page one of the Dead Rapture series, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. In fact I begged for an ARC from my fellow author, Ms. Shanley.

This series grabbed me by brass balls start to finish. Women who know how to take care of themselves, and the men who see them as they are—slightly wild, dedicated to saving the human race, completely real and in your face except when the realities of life and death pull out the heart-feels.

There are so many sudden twists in Z I didn’t stop reading until I reached the end. Soren is a half-breed of sorts. She’s the child of Laney Landry and Mitchell. She’s part zombie genetics but so goddamn human it hurts to read about the way she’s treated in a new colony.

Cue Kaegan—a nomad warrior intent on spilling as much zombie blood as he can. He’s a veritable brick shit-house. Tall as a tree, darkly sexy, dedicated to humanity.

The moment he comes face-to-face with Soren, he’ dedicated to her, whether he wants it or not.

She’s unnatural to the human eye, and she’s been made to know that in the most grueling ways. To Kaegan, she’s more real than anyone he’s ever met. The moonlit eyes, the whisper-pale blonde hair, the fluid moves of a woman who is more than the apocalypse, more than this war against zombies, more than anyone he ever saw before.

Soren becomes a woman, a soldier, a leader. She’s a lover, and a fighter.

The only problem is Kaegan has one last secret to tell. As they battle the biggest migration in Z history, no one’s life is safe. Least of all Kaegan’s.

This book is a landmine of gasps and cries and oh my. It’s sexy. Smart. Scary. Riddled with anxiety, and fear laden with hope.

It’s a love story, a war story, an HEA at the end of times.
Profile Image for Traci.
228 reviews21 followers
January 15, 2015
When the editors got a hold of this book, they couldn't stop fangirling/fanboying over Soren. And they were right. SOREN. IS. AWESOME. This book has everything- the Walking-Dead-like descriptions of zombie fights, and the unbelievable UST of...well, I mean, Soren can't kiss Kaegan or he'll turn! GAH. I love how Kaegan fights for her, through lots of prejudice and their own hang ups-- I mean, who doesn't have attachment issues 24 years into the apocalypse?!

This could be read as a stand alone, but you don't want to miss the whole series, it's AMAZING.
46 reviews
March 13, 2018
Great!!!

Tera I am so happy I had pleasure of meeting in KC. Tell Amy she was right. This series was wonderful !!
Profile Image for cRistina.
33 reviews14 followers
February 25, 2015
This epic, off the beaten path tale boldly entices readers every step of the way with its ingenuity, immense sense of wonder, and the ease with which the pages vividly come to life. Shanley gives readers a skillfully wrapped ending that exceeds expectations.



Nothing screams look at me more than looking like a Dead in a post-apocalyptic world where fear not only brings the worst out in the masses, but also keeps them alive. Soren Mitchell is a hybrid of sorts. Born to a parent with zombie-bite immunity, that was discovered the hard way, she has inherited zombie-like features: almost translucent skin, milky white irises, bleach blond hair, and a propensity for raw meat. Surprisingly enough, those aren’t the only characteristics that set her apart from the rest… Thrust into adversity from birth and shunned by most of humanity, Soren still manages to think of the greater good as she sets out to finish the mission her mother started when she tried to help find a cure, even if it means she needs to wear a muzzle and allow her body to be sliced and diced. Soren pushes on, until a newcomer with a kind heart encourages her to want more for herself and more out of life. Soren takes a giant leap of faith as she embarks on a new mission that changes everything!



Book three is set up much like the first two. It revolves around a new set of main characters, in this case the 2nd generation of survivors, but still includes previously adored characters in ways that contribute in a deliberate manner. This is a big selling point for me!



The premise is fitting for this installment in the series. This storyline follows an unconventional, lonely heroine as she overcomes the obstacles that the Dead, humanity, and her genetic make up have put in her way as she falls in love, replaces insecurities with a deep sense of power that only comes from embracing oneself, and ultimately uses her divergence to save humanity. Of course there are also a lot of impressive Dead rendezvous, emotional jolts, heartwarming tugs, and laugh worthy exchanges. This author really has a knack for putting a spin on the unorthodox that leaves readers at the edge of their seats!



What I liked? Everything. Characters are strong, intriguing, and personable. Story progression is on point. Content and the manner in which it is written makes this one of those novels that moves forward naturally, the kinds you can't put down from start to finish.
What I didn’t like? Eh. It was too cheesy for me. I like romance, but some of those sweet nothings uttered made me queasy, and not in a good way.

That's just a personal preference for me. Less talk, more action.

In any case, this series will forever remain dear to me. From beginning to end it challenged my perception of zombies, romance, and series with changing main characters. I’ve never been up for series with shifts in characters, but this series expertly motivated me into caring deeply for new leads while still allowing me small indulgences for past favorites. I recommend this series for anyone with a taste for romance in a post-apocalyptic realm, especially if there lies a desire for a story with a bite.

*** An ARC was received via the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ***
4 reviews
March 4, 2017
Not quite up to par with TS Joyce .. I enjoyed the end of the world part

Followed by bad ass women who can hold there own in a fight .
Thank you for letting me know about Max
Profile Image for Jessie Potts.
1,178 reviews103 followers
February 25, 2015
Why you should read it: This is the third and final book in the Dead Rapture series and finishes with a bang. There are so many twists and action-packed plotlets in this series that I couldn't wait to read LSWZ, but I was also sad that it was coming to an end … I mean, love and zombies? Always a unique favorite of mine. Each book in the series features a different couple, starting all the way back to four years after the Dead outbreak all the way to 25 years later with Soren and Kaegan. Soren, the daughter of the couple in the previous book, is a half-breed (part zombie genetics), and Kaegan is a fierce and hot nomad who kills zombies. I have to say this was my favorite. All the characters are more real and have dark emotions and passions that just spoke to me. For fans of romance, strong women and passionate men, I would definitely recommend reading this series. While each book could be read as a stand-alone, reading them in order creates rich histories for the world and the characters.

Head over to the HEA blog to see how Tera feels to wrap up The Dead Rapture Series!
http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyev...
Profile Image for Sandra.
3,353 reviews12 followers
April 4, 2015
Not as good as the first one, but better than the second (mostly cause Soren & Kaegan are more likable than Sean & Vanessa). I was very happy for Soren to have someone so accepting and loving especially after all she had to put up with but the relationship was probably one the most unbelievable cases of insta-love I have ever seen (which is a departure from the first 2 books where the couples actually knew one another and had adventures together before falling in love). I mean Kaegan sees her (looking like a Dead) with a freaking muzzle on in the Dr office, she is stabbed by his friend and doesn't attack and that's it. He basically loves her from that point on. I really like Adrianna's character and her & Soren's friendship. She is VERY different from the sweet little 4 yr old we see in the first book. I can see Vanessa's influence there. It was funny - I liked both Soren & Adrianna and could actually see the influence's of their respective mothers in each of their characters. I was annoyed by Soren's acceptance of all the abuse at Dead River Run and thought taking Mark as part of the team was completely stupid and I cannot believe Ade suggested it or anyone agreed. It was obvious he hated her and would not be part of the team if she was.
Profile Image for Dakota Storm.
Author 3 books38 followers
February 18, 2015
my favorites of all times and just gets better and better. I am syked we get to know Soren but hate what she has been through I wanted to kill everyone in the Dead River Run colony. Soren is a amazing women, who is tough as nails and a ultimate bad ass fighter but she has a huge heart and cares and loves hard. Kaegan, is sexy as hell...I mean sexy sexy! and he is just as awesome as Soren, he's kick ass and loves hard to. I learned so much from these two characters and I loved every minute of it.

When I first read this series I didn't know how much I would like a Zombie story but this story is more than that. It is amazingly written, action packed with phenomenal characters that stick with you for a long long time. I'm sorry to see this series end but loved seeing Sean and Soren's amazing parents and love the love they all have for each other. Amazing story! a must read. I won't ruin anything you have to read it for your self. Your killing me with the end, I want more This is my favorite or close to it in this series. 5 huge stars review by Nanee at upallnightreadallday.blogspot.com
27 reviews1 follower
October 31, 2015
Amazing!!

Loved loved this series! Such a imaginative take on the zombie apocalypse. The author throws in a mutation of the zombie virus towards the end that I've be never thought of. Very scary actually! But most of all the zombie apocalypse / romance totally works for me. This whole story is truly well thought out and if you're into zombies and romance , The Dead Rapture series is a must read! . I caught myself watching the clock at work , and getting so excited about quitting time so I could read a lil more of this series! Thanks for an amazing read Tera Shanley.
Profile Image for Amanda Lockie.
9 reviews1 follower
March 9, 2015
Such a great series....I want more!

I wish this had been a longer series three books just didn't seem to be enough. Well written, captivating, good love stories. All three books were excellent would recommend to everyone.
97 reviews2 followers
March 29, 2015
4.75 absolutely loved this series- loved Soren and Kaegan..loved the writing...just great all around!
Profile Image for Allie Rashkow.
208 reviews12 followers
May 26, 2015
Set 2 decades after the first two, it was just as amazing! Loved Soren!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

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