The Things We Cannot Change

A Zombie Apocalypse Love Story #5

by Kate L. Mary

Jade is smack dab in the middle of a personal crisis when a killer virus sweeps the country, only making matters worse. Before she even has a chance to wrap her brain around what’s happening, the world has vanished and everything she knew and loved is gone. Even worse, she’s starting to think she might be the only living person left in New York. Which probably has a lot to do with how she reacts when she bumps into Trevor in Central Park. What can only be described as a celebration of life is followed by an awkward morning where she realizes she doesn’t even like the only other living person she’s seen in days. And she’s pretty sure he isn’t too thrilled with her either. But when Jade and Trevor realize that this outbreak is much more than just a killer virus, they suddenly find themselves dependent on one another for survival, and it isn’t long before Jade is forced to forget the things from her past that she cannot change, and instead focus on the things she can change in the here and now.

Genres: Zombies, Dystopia, Romance, Survival

122 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 6, 2018

About the author

I'm a mom of four, Air Force wife, and author of adult and young adult dystopian, post-apocalyptic, and science fiction. I love intense world building and character driven stories that feature strong female leads - as well as a side of romance - and any end of the world scenario. Zombies, aliens, a distant future where people have no clue how the world ended in the first place, you name it, I will create a story there!

Having lived in a lot of different places after more than a decade as an Air Force wife, I love setting my books in cities I've actually lived in to give them authenticity. I've resided in: Indiana, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, California, and Oklahoma but am currently back in my home state of Ohio where I live with my husband, four kids, two dogs, and three cats.

When I'm not writing, you can find me by my pool (in the summer), getting lost in some binge-worthy show or at a play with my husband, patronizing one of the great restaurants in my small town of Troy, Ohio with my family, or traveling. I want to see everything and make a point of visiting a new place every year!

Some of my favorite books are The Hunger Games, Pride and Prejudice, The Host, and The Stand. My favorite movies are Aliens, Jaws, Signs, Say Anything, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and The Greatest Showman.

Awards:

Outliers
Winner in the 2018 Kindle Books Awards for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction
B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree
Finalist in the 2018 Wishing Shelf Book Awards For Adult Fiction
Top 10 Finalist in the Author Academy Awards for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction
Cover Finalist in the 2019 RONE Awards from InD'tale Magazine

When We Were Human
2015 Children's Moonbeam Awards Silver Medal winner for Young Adult Fantasy/Sci-Fi Fiction
2016 Readers' Favorite Gold Medal Winner for Young Adult Science Fiction

Tribe of Daughters
Winner in the 2020 RONE Awards for Time Travel/Science Fiction
Bronze Medal Winner in the 2019 Readers' Favorite Book Awards for Science Fiction
Honorable Mention in the 2018 SPR Book Awards

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Reviews

[Cc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and I enjoyed the closure with this one.

[Darlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jade is a busy successful ER surgeon. Her life is perfect married to a loving man. Then tragedy strikes and she is now a widow lost in the bottom of a bottle. When she shows up drunk to work her boss gives her an ultimatum, attend meetings, clear up her life or she’s fired. In between all this there’s a virus running rampant and people are dying by the thousands. All of a sudden Jade is alone ,no one is left and she dives back into the bottle figuring who would care. Then she meets Trevor and they find solace in each other figuring they were all that’s left. So starts their journey in trying to survive what turns out to be a zombie apocalypse, and keeping each other alive and for Trevor keeping Jade sober to help keep them alive. Very short read but packed a huge fabulous story!

[Mandy Reads Indie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What started out being a little more than I was expecting, I quickly warmed up to this novella. Trevor was great throughout the whole story. Jade took some getting used too. But in the end, it ended up being a great read and another quick one. Again, I am in awe that Mary puts so much into a short read. When you are done reading her novellas in this series, in the end, it feels like you got a novel with all that happens.

Very intense at times, Jade and Trevor find that the dead may not be their only fear in this new world. 4 Stars!

[Shayay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Narration was okay; her voice was nice. The recording levels changed volume at times; it was probably just edits, but could’ve been done smoother. Still a good listen.

I wasn’t a fan of this; it was written well and I love zombie romance type of stories, but this was mostly about Jade being a major alcoholic with a brief pop up of zombies. Jade’s husband died about a year ago; she couldn’t handle it, so she became a major alcoholic. Now, lots of people are dying from some disease and turning into zombies, so Jade takes the first chance she can to drink herself into a stupor. She’s a complete mess. Luckily, she happens to sleep with some random guy, Trevor, she knew for about 30 seconds; without knowing what he looks like and without protection mind you, but it turns out he’s mostly a decent guy. If it weren’t for him, Jade would’ve been dead in no time; I don’t know how Jade was a doctor because she comes across as an idiot quite a bit. Trevor was an okay character. The read was an okay one, just not for me.

[Serena Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

’Hubo un tiempo en que estuve segura de que mi vida había terminado. De que había llegado al final. De no haber sido por Trevor, podría haber sido cierto, pero él me salvó, no solo me dio una segunda oportunidad, sino también una razón para vivir.’





•Mi opinión puede contener Spoilers.
•Esta destinada a ser un descargo personal no para que alguien más lea pero si lo haces y te ofende, me disculpo porque sé lo que es que te guste un libro y otros lo critiquen.



The things we cannot change de Kate L. Mary Serie Zombie Apocalypse Love Story libro 5

Argumento:

¿Te apetece un poco de calor en tu apocalipsis? Repletas de supervivencia apocalíptica y romance apasionado, ¡las novelas cortas de amor sobre apocalipsis zombi te encantarán! ¡Consigue las nueve ahora y sumérgete en un romance apocalíptica!

Jade está en medio de una crisis personal cuando un virus mortal arrasa el país, empeorando las cosas. Antes de que pueda siquiera asimilar lo que está sucediendo, el mundo se ha desvanecido y todo lo que amaba se ha ido. Peor aún, empieza a pensar que podría ser la única persona viva que queda en Nueva York.

Cuando se encuentra con Trevor en Central Park, lo que solo puede describirse como una celebración de la vida es seguido por una mañana incómoda en la que Jade se da cuenta de que ni siquiera le gusta la única persona viva que ha visto en días. Y está bastante segura de que él tampoco está muy contento con ella.

Pero cuando Jade y Trevor se dan cuenta de que el brote es mucho más que un virus mortal, se ven dependientes el uno del otro para sobrevivir, y no pasa mucho tiempo antes de que Jade se vea obligada a olvidar las cosas que no puede cambiar y, en cambio, centrarse en las que sí puede.

Ambientada en el mismo universo que la serie Broken World , esta novela es una lectura rápida y apasionante que te dejará con ganas de más.



Mi humilde opinión:

Romance postapocalíptico, durante un virus, zombis, de extraños a amantes.

Esta es la historia de Jade, una doctora que esta atravesando un mal momento, hace un año que su esposo murió y eso la llevó a la bebida. Un virus de pronto ataca la ciudad y se esparce, la ER no da abasto y tienen que cerrar el hospital. Todos los que conoce están muriendo y ella es la única doctora que sale del hospital, esta sola en N.Y y tras un tiempo de estar sobria recae en la bebida. Se despierta con resaca y confundida en el banco de un parque cuando un extraño la sacude y le dice que pensó que era el único que quedaba en la ciudad. Lo mas loco de todo es que terminan teniendo sexo en Central Park. Jade y Trevor estaban lejos de ser perfectos y tienen su lado oscuro, sus luchas, dolor y arrepentimientos. Es la primera vez que la autora trata más profundamente el tema de una adicción y la historia tomó un tono diferente a las demás en la serie.

No me gustó ver a Jade autodestruirse bebiendo botella tras botella de alcohol, despreocupadamente al ver que morían personas a su alrededor. Pensé, bueno, ella es doctora en la ER, este va a ser su llamado de atención pero ella siguió en negación. Y qué se lleva del departamento en su bolso cuando los zombis estaban allí afuera queriendo comerla? Botellas de vino! Me pregunté para qué quería escapar si su intención era beber hasta morir, no le importaba que los maten a ella y Trevor cuando escapan con el bolso que no quería dejar y le ralentizaba la huida de los zombis. Me reí cuando menciona que no pensó en tomar un arma para defenderse, ah pero sí se le ocurrió llevarse botellas de vino! Entendía que tenia una adicción y no reconocía que la tenía, entendía también que estaba sufriendo la muerte de su esposo que no podía superar pero las actitudes de esta mujer me frustraban! Menos mal que Trevor le hizo ver la realidad y que no podía continuar de esa manera, no iba a aguantar que continuara tomando día tras día. Él calló por semanas mientras salía afuera arriesgando su vida a buscar provisiones para enfrentar el invierno. Al principio, Trevor no era un personaje que me cayera bien, él mismo se llamó imbécil y así era pero de pronto lo veo preocuparse por Jade cuando enfermó, no la juzgó por su alcoholismo, todo lo que paso desde el virus lo cambió y se preguntaba si podía redimirse. Los dos llegaron a la conclusión de que no podían cambiar los errores que cometieron en el pasado pero podían ser diferentes en el ahora, que podían hacerlo mejor de allí en adelante para sobrevivir juntos.

Jade y Trevor no tuvieron los mejor de los comienzos, no se gustan en realidad pero mientras se refugian de los zombis, nace el compañerismo y se vuelven amigos. Jade comienza a ver otro lado de él, la atracción entre ellos crece durante el invierno pero es difícil para Jane superar a su difunto esposo y la bebida aunque lo intenta. Quería entender a esta mujer pero no pude con ella, encontró alcohol en la casa y no le dijo a Trevor, lo iba a guardar porque lo consideraba una red segura? Se quito los anillos de boda del dedo y los guardó en caso de que se los quisiera volver a poner? WTF Jade!? Cuando ella cree que perdió a Trevor cuando descubre el alcohol escondido fue lo que le hizo darse cuenta que lo único que necesitaba era a él.

La historia llegó a drenarme emocionalmente por el tema del alcoholismo de Jade. Trevor fue cambiando, desde el momento en que ayuda a Jane y todo lo que hizo para protegerla cuando estaban enfrentando el apocalipsis zombi, todo logró que fuera un hombre nuevo, alguien que merecía redención y lo logró. El final fue lindo, fue bueno ver a Jade por fin en un buen lugar, feliz junto a Trevor y que estuvieran creando una pequeña comunidad a pesar de que no tuvieron una buena experiencia con personas que no eran buenas.

[Scarlet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book via promo code and this is my voluntary review. Book 5 in the accompanying novellas to the Broken World series, but don't worry about that, you can listen along as a standalone without losing any context. Jade, is an ER doctor with a problem... a drinking problem. A year ago she joined the ranks of young widows, only finding a solace at the bottom of a bottle. She's been battling her addiction and trying to reclaim her life during the sweeping of a killer virus in NYC. As a doctor, even a disgraced doctor... she gets a front row seat of the fact that the government is lying to people and soon, the virus wipes out 75% of the worlds population and until she meets Trevor in Central Park, she thought she was the only survivor in New York. The city feels like a tomb. That's what social media, the newspaper... most of it. Neither of them like one another but the situation forces the two of them to combine forces when the dead begin to rise and attack the living. Jade wants nothing more than to finally fall into the bottom of that bottle, after losing everyone, but Trevor won't allow her to. He begins to feel like the piece of her that was missing. There was a pleading in him that told her she was his hope and she agrees to quit drinking and spend what little life she may have left can with him.

[NightShade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay. I liked the zombie theme. I did not like the h however it’s not the author’s fault. She is/was a self medicating alcoholic because her husband died a year ago. I CAN NOT stand alcoholics mainly because I had to deal with one first hand. I couldn’t stand the h because of it. She does get sober with the help of H but it was too late for me to really like her and Unfortunately, it ruined the book for me. I also did not like how they first met. Because of those two things I only gave it 3 stars.

[Ashley Hedden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Things We Cannot Change (A Zombie Apocalypse Love Story #5) was a great read by Kate L. Mary. Jade is dealing with a personal crisis when a killer virus sweeps the country. The world has vanished and everything she knew and loved is now gone. She believes that she's the only living person that is still alive in New York. She bumps into Trevor in Central Park and have a bit of a celebration. They believe that the outbreak is much worse that the virus, and become dependent on each other for survival. I really enjoyed reading this book and can't wait to read more by the author.

[Katie Komo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story

With some authors, I like only some of what they write & I’m choosy. Not the case here. Every single thing she writes, I will read- because she’s amazing. This story is no huge depart from her other works: a great plot filled with an interesting story with outstanding character development. It may be a short read, but as a reader, I still feel like I was able to get to know the characters and become invested in them.

[Nikkita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating!

I would highly recommend this book! I'm not usually the reader of zombies, and apocalyptic stories, however I was stunned by how much I was drawn into the story. Kate shows us what falling in love during such a time may be like. I'll definitely be reading more of her work.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another win!

As someone who is not a fan of any type of paranormal romance, I continue to fall in love with each book in this series. There’s something to be said about finding love and a little hope in such bleak times and let’s be honest, what’s more bleak than a zombie virus killing 3/4 of the human population. Another home run in this series

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love story #5

Jade and Trevor meet in Central Park as two lone survivors . The first sexual encounter
begins. They get out of the city and head north. His family is gone but he gets them safe and then Jade. almost drinks herself to death. Not much zombies battles,mostly developing love story with sexual tension.

[Cathy Greco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really Deep and Touching

This story really gave me all the feels. It wasn't just about a virus and zombies. It was about Regrets, Addiction, Loss, Friendship, Love, Hope & so much more! It really got to me and for being such a short book it felt so complete and perfect. Great story, definitely recommend.

[Gerri Blanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow!

What a great book! I am stunned by emotions this book put me through. The In dept emotions the characters went through. Jade has a problem with alcohol addiction since her husband died and accepting of it. Throw in the zombies apocalypse and you have a great story. This one of her books is the best one

[Kim Gauger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love and zombies

There's just something about finding love while fighting or avoiding zombies. This series is the first zombie series I read and I am glad it is more on the love then zombies, even though there is some. Really liked it

[Trina · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

Jade is a alcoholic who meets Trevor. They seem to be the only people in New York. After much debate they travel upstate to see if Trevor’s children have survived the apocalypse. Read their story

[Teresa R.Fieck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

I enjoyed this story.Trevor and Jade endured so much. I didn’t want the story to end . I look forward to Ms Mary next book.

[Stephanie Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. I love Kate L. Mary. It was a nice, easy, fast book. It didn't get too into the zombies and such, but focused more on the story of Jade and Trevor which was kind of nice!

[Boo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another success

Another amazing zombie short story. I don’t think I could get enough. The writing is great, The story and romance are awesome and add in some zombies? Count me in!

[Lulu Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate L Mary does it again! I love her shirt stories soooo much!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!!

This book was unlike all of the others!! You could really feel Jades pain as an alcoholic!! I really enjoyed this book!! So much raw feelings!!

[Lex · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!!

Not your standard apocalypse novel. Both MC’s had baggage and that had to be dealt with, along with zombies, winter, bad guys, etc.

Great story length too.

[Candy Hearts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh this is book 5 in a series? Whoops. It totally works as a stand alone book.

The amount of emotional turmoil and emotions in this book are so real and explained so well. Jade has been through a lot of stress when this sickness suddenly starts taking out everyone to the point where she feels like she's the only person left in the world (which I mean, she says that people are all in their homes (presumably dying off) but still it seems like she thought she was totally alone really fast) and when she meets Trevor. An asshole and an alcoholic, a match made in heaven or hell?

I don't really see them hating each other in the begin, disliking sure, but not hating or really struggling to get alone. They get closer though and have real issues and talks, even though they were pretty much the entire focus of the book, their relationship doesn't feel overplayed or dull.


This was a good, short read about survival and romance in an unlikely situation. I pretty much flew threw it, I would have liked a bit more action but I enjoyed it overall.
The end was abrupt to me, suddenly finding new people to make a group with and they should be important to me? It makes sense but I feel nothing for these characters that are in there for all of two pages, but I guess I don't need to feel anything for them.