The Turned

Live and Let Live #1

by Stella Craig

She’s rebuilding her life. Duty flows through his veins. When the undead rise, can they survive long enough to take a risk on each other?

Phoenix, Arizona. Lola Jenkins chooses loneliness over being burned again. And after she alienated her secret crush years ago by betraying his sister, her self-loathing follows her everywhere… even into a chance encounter with the handsome man. But as his bitter words chase her out of a sandwich shop, her day gets a whole lot worse when she runs straight into a world gone mad.

Cole Beckett values courage and honor. So, although he’s still angry with the girl who hurt his family, the former marine refuses to leave her behind as they escape a city suddenly overrun by zombies. And after gathering up his girlfriend, sister, and a comrade-in-arms, he slowly thaws towards his unwanted traveling companion as he leads them through peril toward safety.

Surrounded by the ever-present danger of monsters both flesh-eating and human, Lola digs deep to become a person the strong soldier can care for. But the protective Cole fights his own inner battle to choose between responsibility and falling in love.

Can they flee the jaws of the hungry hordes and forge a future together?

The Turned is the feverish first book in the Live and Let Live apocalyptic romance series. If you like dark humor, slow-burn relationships, and hair-raising thrills, then you’ll devour Stella Craig’s riveting page-turner.

Genres: Zombies, Post Apocalyptic, Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Horror, Romance, Dark Romance

326 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Rain · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn’t the worst zombie apocalypse story I’ve ever read.

Let me start off by stating that this is not a romance. I believe the author wanted to write a zombie apocalypse with a more serious or “realistic” side but the FMC was unreliable at best. Her entire life was a travesty.

Slight spoilers in review below, grotesque TW in spoiler tags.

The story opens up very quickly, I was instantly invested in the characters. Right off the bat, the reader is told the FMC had sex with her BFF’s fiancé the night before their wedding. All of the characters she is forced to flee the city with, hate her.

I’m an adulterer, and even if I don’t necessarily believe that of myself, I can’t remember enough to disprove it.

Unrequited love
Loads of drama
Cheating
Graphic descriptions of childhood SA
Possibly “date” rape
The H is with another woman
OW is a complete moron
Graphic zombie chomping

The blurb states:

If you like dark humor, slow-burn relationships, and hair-raising thrills, then you’ll devour Stella Craig’s riveting page-turner.

Was the “hair raising thrills” watching a very pregnant woman get ripped apart by zombies, and then reading a graphic description of them killing her unborn child? This was so horrific, I’m shocked this was not put in a TW nor were there any reviews that I found warning readers about it.

There is no “slow burn” relationship here. There are two kisses between the H/h. If you enjoy listening to the H have sex with his girlfriend, there is that to look forward to. Nothing like hearing the man you’re in love with give a screaming orgasm to OW. I guess it’s a positive that he knows what he’s doing?

How he manages to tolerate her long enough to fuck her is beyond me.

I am going with two stars. Because I was invested in the characters, and held out hope that there would be a love story at some point. Maybe it will be in the next book, but I don’t know if I want to tackle another story with these characters.

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I’ve been in such a funk, which I haven’t experienced before, here’s hoping it’s just the winter blues and I find my groove again.

I’m not sure how this one came under my radar, but being zombies it was hard to ignore.

It did take me a wee bit to get into, and took me an unreasonable long time to finish which is unusual for me, but I persevered, because a few times I just wanted to put it aside and jump into something else.

This wasn’t the worst zombie book I’ve read but definitely wasn’t one of the best.

This was a jumbled mess, and left me confused many times throughout, our FMC experienced a traumatic event which resulted in her being casted out from her most closest and dearest friend, without hearing her side of the events. It took an outsider to put two and two together about that night.

So this book was hand in hand with trauma and drama at every turn.

Lola has had a crush on Cole the day she met him, he’s her besties brother. I can understand the appeal but he’s a bit of a d*ck..He’s hot and cold, push away, pull,closer, the guy gave me whiplash. But it is what it is..

So in this I was hoping towards him, Lola would have more of a backbone instead of being a doormat to his every whim.

He was with someone else, get over it, move on. It’s the end of the world, don’t settle for trash, I’m hoping he redeems himself because even though I didn’t love this one, I’m hoping it gets better as the story progresses.. fingers x

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay…the thing is I ABSOLUTELY LOVE zombie romance books but holy sh*t this was hard to get through. Just very random acts of well this is why fmc is so lonely, this is why she’s so broken, this is why no one likes her. She’s said multiple times “I’ll never trust anyone” proceeds to trust some, only for it to me broken. And then TRUSTS SOMEONE AGAIN. Like good lord make up your mind and stop forgiving as soon as someone says sorry. I’m going to finish the series because again I love zombie romance but my goodness.

[Kit · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read: March 15, 2022
Rating : 1 Stars

Dissapointed, lame characters, tstl to the max, drama for lama sakes.

Why so tortured h, the whole h and H origin story was so dumb.

Like, dude you don't go hey you okay? Nope ignore that it looks like she just got dateraped by 2 dudes, yeah victim blaming to the max for this book.

Sissy got a nasty lot, felt like a plot device alltheway, she's just there to cause drama and be the cause of more drama.

So much hopes got slammed and dragged trough the mud and shit, what a dump this was.
The entire book made me ragey, and sad at how misogynistic this book was even though it's written by a female.

[Book_Mom_Of_Three · Rating 3 out of 5]

First my thoughts are all over the place. But Honestly loved the start of this book, it hooked me from the beginning!

You can tell that Lola is a fighter when she talks about her past my heart hurts for how young she was and all that she went through.

You start the book with the core group.
Michelle - ex best friend (Michelle dump Lola due to thinking she slept with her fiancé)
Cole - love interest, brother to ex best friend. He’s interested him Lola but thinks she’s a home wrecker, also has a girlfriend.
Sissy- girlfriend to Cole, just a young immature girl
Jase - marine buddy to Cole

Honestly with learning the main situation that tore our group apart, I am more upset with Michelle for never listening to Lola about the whole situation that made them stop being friends. Along with Cole he’s kind of an a**hole for treating Lola like he is (30% in) he’s implied she was a slut let’s the other two girl treat her bad then gets jealous of his friend Jase who flirts with her (just calling her sugar, like for real you have a girlfriend!) then he goes and kisses her twice.

When he finally ask her what happened the night of the incident he accuses her of being drunk and acting like her mother (just a guess but I think she was drugged and even if she wasn’t and was just drunk who cares she was vulnerable and the guy took advantage of her not her fault. How dare her supposed best friend just dumped her without listening to anything that she has to say. Even when everyone knows the guy is a sleazeball.)

“The Titanic. That’s a pretty big mess, sugar. But don’t sweat it. If someone tells you they don’t have inner demons, then they’re lying. You see, sugar, we’re all one step away from the iceberg.” - Jase

So the group is headed north and they come across some dangerous situation (obviously, lol) Cole is still being a d*ck he tells Jase about the “situation “ and now Jase isn’t speaking to Lola. Honestly she is so strong I give her so much props for persevering through all of the groups crap. If I’m honest I don’t like Cole at all, or any of them at this moment. (50%)

“Maybe there’s another group of survivors that would take me in since Cole single-handedly took the last person that could’ve been a friend and ally and smashed the relationship beneath his heel.” - Lola (I really would like her too.)

Crap this girl just keeps getting hit, she can’t catch a break. Man my heart just breaks for her, I just want to hug her 😭 With that being said the group finally finds a large group of people that they can start surviving with and try and build a life with. Within the first couple days of being there Cole and sissy find out that they are expecting (like seriously, who doesn’t use protection at the end of the world) just after he finally admits he wants to try something with Lola. With this news Cole’s sense of duty takes over, and he goes back to sissy. Then at dinner, a blast from her past comes back to haunt her.

We have a time jump of 3 months we have some new people Manny ugh I love him he is the perfect friend she has been waiting for throughout this book. I love that she is finally get the space she need from her “friend group” honestly I wouldn’t call them friends just people from her old life. The one person I like Jase just ups a stops talking to her and starts dating Michelle (and they are now so in love) But obviously something happens and she has to go back to the main group. Then going back to the main group they’re over run with zombies. More stuff happens that just what you would predict and expect for this type of book.

It was a good book and honestly Lola is a survivor and so strong the people (other than Manny) are just A**holes and I really can’t get behind any of them. Idk if I’ll read on.

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve been on a Zompoc kick lately and decided to give this a shot.

I can’t remember ever being as frustrated and annoyed reading a book as I was reading this one.

One second I felt bad for Lola, and the next I wanted to slap some sense into her because... seriously? WT actual F.

In one sentence/paragraph/page she's hopeful that she can have her friend back or that there's a chance for her and Cole (despite the fact that he's in a relationship with the spawn of satan). Then the next, one of them (Cole, Michele, Sissy) says something nasty to her and she's 'cold-as-ice' Lola who doesn't need anyone and knows that she'll never make inroads with her ex-friends. Then, she's all squishy inside with hope when Cole gives her a look or Michele laughs at a joke.
It's a rollercoaster of emotions.
The first time, I'm feeling all defensive of the MC and wishing they'd stop being a buncha buttholes and just listen to her, but after the 20th emotional whiplash I experienced, I'm just ready for Lola to find a new group to survive with.

It's a lot of back and forth following Lola and her emotions/reactions to whatever someone said/did to her.



Its exhausting.

The whole book is a series of injustices against Lola and she's forced to just grin and bear it. No one acknowledges that they've wronged her. No one apologizes. She just accepts it and moves on while internally complaining about how unfair it all is, how unloved she is, yada yada yada...
I'm not heartless, it's a lot of repetitive "woe is me" and although, she's justified, it's annoying that no one actually acknowledges it.
And, IMO, there's a lot that needs to be apologized for. However, that doesn't happen and there's even a point where Lola decides that she can't blame them for feeling the way they do and that if she wants them in her life, she has to accept them as they are...



Anyways. I was also annoyed with the lack of dialogue. It's a lot of Lola's inner musings. I felt a disconnect with the other characters. This book would have definitely benefitted from multiple POVs, if for nothing else than to give the reader a break from Lola and all the wrong that's been forced on her. There's a lot of telling rather than showing, which is unfortunate.

Needless to say, I will not be continuing this series. I barely finished this book... I skimmed quite a bit in the last half because it was just... frustrating, but I kept holding out hope for the end making up for all the crap I read through.
Spoiler... it did not.

The actual writing was good, however, the story was not. Do with that what you will and happy reading!

[Athena Que Será, Será · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tags: age-gaaap, betrayal, cheating-on-ow, child_abuse_alert, cruel-cruel-hero, damaged-broken_heroine, dark-romance, doormat_heroine, dystopian-post-apocalyptic, enemies-to-lovers, friends-brother, hero-hurts-heroine, hero-loved-or-loves-ow, heroine-is-ow, military-exmilitary-romance, no-grovelling, older-hero-younger-heroine, om_drama, ow-drama, rape-survivor, read, southern-romance, unlikable-hero, unlikable-heroine, unrequited, weak-heroine, zombie-scifi-survival

[Hime · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much drama and angst that doesn't make sense. The book consists of people being trash to the FL most of the time (specially ML), then asking for forgiveness...the zombie aspect of the book is good, but the romance is awfull, the chraracters and dialogs are kind of childish. I kept reading, hoping some redemption from ML or at least an attitude from FL, but she kept pinning for the ML till the end. Disappointed. Reading this book just made me angry. Its a shame really, because I love some horror/romance books.

[Vchilling · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually really liked this while reading but unfortunately the romance was a little TOO slow burn until it just simmer out. Meaning by the time they were able to be together comfortably all the passion and heat was gone. Too much back and forth and her lying to herself the entire book. He doesn’t end up like actually choosing her. He ends up almost just stuck with her. Like she’s what he has left to pick. He obviously cares for her (which is weird cause he goes from hating her to suddenly kissing her) and idk I don’t feel like I need to read the book. This book ended with an epilogue which was weird and tbh while the writing is pretty great I found myself having to skim and skip over paragraphs and paragraphs of unnecessary content. Like pages of daily day to day things that just really halted the story full stop. Like it wasn’t like she was even inner monologue or anything like it was just explaining what she was doing which didn’t matter bc we don’t want to know what all you have to do now to make daily life functioning, it’s a post apocalyptic world we understand there is no electricity/appliances/working water or anything please dear god skip to the action,


No spice at all. Two maybe 3 kiss scenes, pretty hot tho and I was so disappointed they never hate banged or anything or at least like sneaky banged. We didn’t like sissy so Idgf girl was his low down. Glad sissy died

[Tam Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

I'm still conflicted about this book. Firstly it is NOT in any way a romance! There is maybe 2 or 3 kisses between Lola and Cole, the rest of the book is trauma and drama.

So Lola has basically just had life kick in her in the ass at every turn. Shes very flawed and jaded and has been treated like shit by everyone in her life. Even Cole who she somehow still loves even after he treats her like shit, calls her a whore and slut multiple times, gets with the other chick in front of her, accuses her of murder, and she still just forgives him every time?

Ive already forgotten Coles baby mamas name, shes just a way to add drama really. She is a total pain in the ass and almost gets Lola killed multiple times! But she met the end she deserved, perhaps her foetus didn't though.

Every time I expected to story to go one way it made an abrupt turn in a weird direction, mostly just to add drama in my opinion.

I'm so glad Lola got to fuck up that guy though, that was satisfying. All in all it was an addictive read but too much drama and not enough zombie killing. Still debating whether I continue because I don't want her to end up with Cole, she deserves better.

[Brenna Hilkey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Edited after thinking on this review more: 2🌟 A couple things of note:
‼️check the trigger warnings, this book is dark and a hell of a lot of trauma (including SA). Kinda confused how no one picked up on some facets of FMC’s trauma and the conflict between her friends - like it’s pretty clear from the get-go 👉🏼👈🏼. Like home girl was drugged and assaulted and she did not even put two and two together let alone her ‘friends’. Honestly, I wouldn’t even consider any of them to be her friends.
🔅slow burn between the FMC and MMC, really no spice but a couple points where it gets pretty heated. But see below…
🔅 I can’t say I even like the MMC because he’s kind of a dick (like I said, a lot trauma in many ways for like all the characters).
🔅overall pretty standard zombie apocalypse world/world building. Kept my attention enough but probably not going to continue the series.

[Augusta Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very grab your attention take on the zombie apocalypse! I loved all the characters and how they all had their weird quirks and flaws! It was very realistic and thankful it wasn’t “insta love” the characters and plot are developing beautifully and I can’t wait to dive into the next one! If you’re looking for a believable “real world” take on the zombie apocalypse, then this is your book!

[S.K. Ryan-LaVail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, Not Great

The storyline is interesting. The characters are relatable. The situations are scary. All great for a post-apocalyptic book. But I had to dock one star because of the incessant back and forth of the main character. She loves him and is going for it…no wait he is horrible and untrustworthy and she should never have let her guard down…rinse, repeat. Blah.

[Serena Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romance postapocalíptico me dejó asombrada, horrorizada y con el corazón en pedazos!





•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 Turned de Stella Craig serie Live and Let Live libro 1

Argumento:

Ella está reconstruyendo su vida. El deber corre por sus venas. Cuando los muertos vivientes se levanten, ¿podrán sobrevivir el tiempo suficiente para arriesgarse unos a otros?

Phoenix, Arizona. Lola Jenkins elige la soledad antes que volver a quemarse. Y después de que ella enajenó a su enamoramiento secreto hace años al traicionar a su hermana, su autodesprecio la sigue a todas partes... incluso a un encuentro casual con el apuesto hombre. Pero mientras sus amargas palabras la ahuyentan de una tienda de sándwiches, su día empeora mucho cuando se encuentra con un mundo enloquecido.

Cole Beckett valora el coraje y el honor. Entonces, aunque todavía está enojado con la chica que lastimó a su familia, el ex marine se niega a dejarla atrás mientras escapan de una ciudad repentinamente invadida por zombis. Y después de reunir a su novia, hermana y compañera de armas, se descongela lentamente hacia su compañero de viaje no deseado mientras los guía a través del peligro hacia la seguridad.

Rodeada por el peligro siempre presente de los monstruos, tanto carnívoros como humanos, Lola profundiza para convertirse en una persona que el fuerte soldado pueda cuidar. Pero el protector Cole lucha su propia batalla interna para elegir entre la responsabilidad y enamorarse.

¿Podrán huir de las fauces de las hordas hambrientas y forjar un futuro juntos?

The Turned es el primer libro febril de la serie de romance apocalíptico Vive y deja vivir. Si te gusta el humor negro, las relaciones lentas y las emociones espeluznantes, entonces devorarás el fascinante libro de lectura de Stella Craig



Mi humilde opinión:

Este romance postapocalíptico me dejó asombrada, horrorizada y con el corazón en pedazos! Nunca había leído una historia de zombies que me dejara exhausta emocionalmente, obviamente está lo sangriento y el horror, pero nunca pensé que iba a ser tan difícil de leer en cuanto a lo angustiantemente duro que fue.

Sin dudas era 'Vivir y dejar vivir', Lola me llevó a través de esta desgarradora aventura en la que su vida, de por ya difícil, se vuelve aún más complicada cuando un virus comienza a atacar de repente a las personas.

La parte de los zombies estuvo bien, me recordó un poco a Guerra mundial Z pero me hubiera gustado un poco más de explicación sobre cómo ocurrió.

De romance cero, nada, gran decepción! necesitaba algo de romance en este mundo que se iba al tacho!

Aunque Lola tiene un fuerte flechazo con Cole desde que lo conoció en su primer día de universidad, el hermano mayor de su mejor amiga... yo no sentí que esa atracción entre ellos fuera algo que me emocionara por saber cómo se desarrollaría a lo largo del libro.

Cole era un ex marine que debió ser un héroe para ella, defenderla y apoyarla pero termina siendo un gran cobarde imbécil que lo único que hace es maltratarla verbal y emocionalmente, la denigra y desprecia fríamente todo el tiempo.

Nota para la autora: Dónde estaba el héroe del que vale la pena enamorarse y que lucha por la mujer que ama? Dónde carajos estaba el romance que vale la pena esperar? Lo siento, pero me has hecho odiar a Cole Beckett desde el comienzo y aquí es un pobre interés romántico.

Y no es solo Cole. Todos sus supuestos amigos le hacen lo mismo y señalan a Lola por un error que cometió tres años atrás! Un error que por cierto era recontra evidente y para mi enojo la verdad de lo sucedido nunca es mencionada para limpiar por así decirlo el nombre de Lola. Ella no se acuerda de lo que le pasó esa noche en el hotel con el novio de su mejor amiga! Yo no podía creer que fuera tan ingenua como para no llegar a la conclusión de que fue abusada sexualmente! Entiendo el enojo de Micha, pensaba que su mejor amiga se acostó con su prometido, pero nunca le dio el beneficio de la duda a Lola, no la dejó explicarse, a pesar de que el novio era un imbécil y Micha lo sabía! Entonces por esta 'supuesta' traición todos se creen con derecho de tratarla como la mierda! Quería llorar de bronca por Lola y quería gritarle para que no lo permita! Ella se definía como una persona fuerte por su traumática infancia pero se aguanta los ataques sin defenderse y hasta piensa que merece ser menospreciada! Un horror!

El único que me gustaba era Jace y eso hasta que Cole mete cuchara y la deja sin un amigo que no la juzgue mal. Lola se merecía alguien como Jace! Pero para ella todo era Cole, Cole, Cole. Por qué? Y cuando parece que resuelven finalmente estar juntos, su ex novia le dice que está esperando un bebé suyo? Paren el carro me quiero bajar! WTF! Cole, te cuento, puedes ser responsable de tu hijo sin abandonar a la mujer que amas!

A pesar de lo terrible que pasaba Lola y tenía una amiga en mi, la historia estaba bien de acción y me intrigaba lo suficiente como para seguir leyendo. La protagonista no me simpatizaba al comienzo pero después al descubrir que era una sobreviviente de abuso sexual la comprendí más y quería, necesitaba urgente que le pasará algo bueno entre tanto maltrato y zombies.

Supuestamente la autora ama los finales felices, veremos cómo sigue todo en el siguiente libro porque este terminó dándome un ataque al corazón!

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this but .. (and I have no idea why) I’m not eager to jump into the next book, I feel like there was just something missing for me, it’s a good story so I’m not going to rate it low, I just don’t know if I want to read the rest of the series .. maybe I’ll come back to it

[Kristina Bray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite zombie book I've ever read so far I haven't found any other zombie book to fall in love with which I thought was odd cause I'm A huge zombie fan but finally, finally!! A zombie book I can see myself re reading and enjoying whole heartedly!!

[Nessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

THIS REVIEW IS BASED ON THE TRILOGY.

May contain teensy spoilers. Proceed at y0ur own risk.

LIVE AND LET LIVE WAS A PAGE TURNER FOR ALL THE WRONG CLICHE REASONS. The characters were annoyingly flawed like a television drama. It would have given The Walking Dead Season 1 a run for it's money in terms of the romantic betrayal.

Why the wrong reasons? Well, I don't mean wrong in the literal sense, but some things that happened - YOU KNOW IT'S CLICHE - but hah! it still made ya flipped that page and buy the next book, didn't it?!

For once, I didn't like the MMC's honorable attitude. The female lead was an atypical white trash kid who was unwillingly given birth to by the neighborhood 'whore' and horribly raised and yes, of course she was raped given where, who and how she grew up with. The MMC had hero syndrome and that's the worse kinda guy to ever shack up with during an apocalypse.

There was a lot of miscommunication and misunderstandings that drove the ANGST, and boy THERE WAS A LOT OF ANGST. Thus, the reason(s) I stayed.😅😅

I felt sorry for LOLA. She was a good girl despite her upbringing and life threw her a lot of undeserved nasties. Even so, she soldiered on, but people constantly betrayed and emotionally let her down. All she wanted was for someone to BE ON HER SIDE, to LOVE HER for her. Despite being beautiful, the attention it brought her were...a nightmarish headache.

LOLA bumped into the crush(love) of her life COLE when the apocalypse broke out, and here we have the typical "He loves her all his life but never had the guts to tell her, and judged her the same as others". Their non-existent relationship fell out when everyone assumed Lola slept with Cole's sister's fiancé. Mitchelle (Cole's sister) was Lola's BFF. No one believed she was framed, and everyone thought the worse of her. So they parted ways.

I WANTED TO TEAR MY HAIR OUT when the angst began. First, Cole still believed her to be a slut. Secondly, they met again after 3 years and Cole's dating a Subway Bimbo who just barely passed the 2o year mark. Ughh what? I'm sure by now that the author brought Sissy to life and impregnated her just for the angst and conveniently had her eaten by zombies later (not that I'm complaining, she was fucking annoying, and a romantic killer).

I feel terribly cold-hearted when Cole lost his baby....as in...wow I didn't even feel sorry for him because the situation was THAT BAD! Maybe because we often read the story from Lola's POV so I'm not kind enough to feel sorry for him who treated Lola like shit. But LOLA being Lola who has loved Cole her entire life was such an angel.

LOLA DESERVED BETTER! That's all I can say. There wasn't once where Cole put her first, even till the end, THE ENDING was so abrupt...I felt bereft after I finished the trilogy. I WANTED/NEEDED some closure, but there was barely any. SEDDD.

OVERALL the DRAMATIC plot of the story was the winner here. The romance sucked big time, and the sex or kiss scenes were always at the WRONG TIME! I couldn't help but feel EWWW, WAIT WHAT..SERIOUSLY NOW? HE DOESN'T EVEN DESERVE YOUR KISSES! WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU LETTING HIM KISS YOU!! No kiss or sex is ever going to make up for him never putting or choosing you first!! WOMAN WHERE'S YOUR DIGNITY!?

I wanted Lola to kick Cole to the curb and be with someone who would always choose her, and not play hero LOL. I understand she's a capable and strong woman, but that doesn't automatically mean she didn't want to feel soft emotions - be needed, loved and supported. Fucking Cole took her for granted BIG TIME. The only reason that made him redeemable a teensy bit in my eyes was being able to read from his POV in the second book's epilogue where he realised he fucked up, and the third book where he was trying to bring her back.

[Teany · Rating 4 out of 5]

great start!

The Turned is the first book in the Live and Let Live series, and it has a strong start for a zombie apocalypse romance. The book follows Lola as she is thrown into a terrifying post-apocalyptic world where the danger is not only from the undead, but also from the people who are still alive. That survival element was one of the things that pulled me in early. I enjoy when an apocalypse romance gives me fear, tension, uncertainty, and a group of characters trying to figure out how to survive when everything around them has fallen apart.

Lola was an interesting female lead to follow. She is dealing with the chaos of the world changing while also trying to survive emotionally and physically. I liked the way the story put her in situations where she had to adjust quickly and find strength in herself. The zombie-apocalypse setup gave her character room to grow, and I appreciated that the book was not only about romance, but also about survival.

Cole, as the main male lead, had potential. He has that protective, capable energy that works well in this type of story, especially because he is someone Lola can depend on in a dangerous world. However, my biggest hiccup with the book was the back and forth between Lola and Cole. At times, it felt like Cole was in love with her, and then at other times, it felt like he was pulling away or unsure. That kind of emotional push and pull can work, but after a while, it started to frustrate me. I wanted their connection to feel a little more steady or at least have a clearer emotional direction.

I also liked having side characters like Jase, and Michele involved because they helped make the world feel bigger than just Lola and Cole. In a zombie apocalypse story, the group dynamic matters. The people around the main characters can add tension, loyalty, conflict, and emotional stakes, and I liked that the book had more going on than just the romance.

Overall, The Turned was a good start to the series. It had a strong opening, an interesting survival setup, and enough romance and danger to keep me reading. I liked the zombie-apocalypse atmosphere, and I thought Lola’s journey had a lot of potential. My main issue was the romantic back and forth with Cole, which kept me from rating it higher. Still, it was an entertaining read, and I would recommend it to readers who enjoy zombie apocalypse romance, slow-burn tension, survival stories, and protective male leads.

For me, this was a solid 3.75-star read.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted so badly to like this series, and I actually read all three books before writing this review. Unfortunately, in my opinion, each book got harder and harder to read. The main thing I had issue with was Lola and Cole. They were so incredibly toxic and they constantly made such frustrating decisions that it routinely got the people around them killed.

The first book is heavily weighed down by past trauma, betrayal, and self-flagellation. Lola is treated like crap and it felt like everyone just enjoyed kicking her while she was down. The action, descriptions, and overall storyline were good, I really disliked the characters. I kept hoping Lola would just leave and strike out on her own to escape the toxicity. But even after everything she loves Cole, so she just has to stick around. Cole was constantly condemning Lola for sleeping with his sister's fiancé while he actively had a girlfriend and was making out with Lola on the side. And while a later thought process hints that what happened might not have entirely been Lola’s fault, it’s only teased and never actually accepted or cleared up by anyone. It felt like the author trying to backtrack.

Book two moves the plot forward and delivers some twists I didn't see coming, but the constant back-and-forth between the leads was exhausting. It felt like drama for the sake of drama, to the point where I was actively wishing for a new love interest to step in. By the end, it was a total train wreck, but I committed to seeing how it all wrapped up.

Sadly, the third book left me with the exact same feelings. Even though Lola and Cole are finally together, I never actually felt the love between them; it just felt like they ended up together because the book required it. The author tries to fix this by introducing deep introspection and explanations to promise character growth, but they immediately go right back to acting the same as always. The conclusion felt incredibly drawn out and predictable.

Overall, I’m just really disappointed. The concept had so much potential, but the execution and the characters completely ruined the ride for me. Take out all the romance and its a good series.

[Wren Rogers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alright, This is my first ever review...I felt obligated because this book was so terrible that my friends have asked me to finish the series so they can hear me rant about it.

First off, I fully believe that Lola is NOT a likable character, which is tragic considering she's the MC. There is a heavy emphasis on her sex appeal despite the fact that she was a childhood sa victim. Every male character she meets likes her or wants to have sex with or rape her. Outside of that, All of her flaws or poor actions are written off as her past trauma, meaning there is no accountability for what she ACTUALLY does wrong, instead, the other characters borderline torture her with 'accountability' for acts she DIDN'T do. I am a victim of SA and in my personal opinion, Objectifying and sexualizing an SA victim rather than providing genuine insight into the psychological impacts of the victim takes away from it.

Secondly, Cole as the Main male lead is absolutely Horrible. He is mean, cruel, physically violent at some times...and it is all written off with a quick apology only for him to repeat the same behaviors of playing with Lola's feelings. Additionally, He is incredibly hypocritical, as the reason he doesn't like Lola is because she 'slept' with his sisters fiance, only to then REPETITIVELY cheat on his (very poorly written barbie of a girlfriend) MULTIPLE TIMES.

Third of all, This book has ZERO trigger warnings. The fact the SA and rape was brought up MULTIPLE times with 0 warning, including child rape (MULTIPLE TIMES) is insane to me.

Finally, There is insane gore In this book, more than normal zombie gore. (Specifically The death of Sissy and her baby). It felt that the author wanted us to cheer because sissy and the baby died, only because it meant Cole would be available. When the book focuses on the horror of the apocalypse and the psychological impact, you get a well written portion. However, the romance aspects of this book ruin it.

According to my friends, “World War AO3”, "The Wattpad Dead", and "Highschool of the Dead fanfiction by Stephen King"

And finally... “Not even good booktok either, just cheap y/n smut"

[Abraham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really did want to love this book but a few things stood out for me like how the main Character Lola couldn't decode what she wanted, how all her past friends punished her for a mistake she couldn't even remember basically she was drugged and raped and still got blamed. Two everything about her life is tragedy after tragedy, she's always raped, or hurt by men her mother wasn't great either, come on give this girl a break no wonder she has a plethora of mental illnesses. Also I was hoping she would have a healthy love interest, I think there's too much darkness between her and Cole and honestly I dislike him,how he constantly changes and hurts Lola he acts like he wants her but isn't sure? Also why does Cole never actually give her the benefit of the doubt? Lola gets hurt and the moment Cole does something nice she's back to falling for him after being constantly being hurt but also Lola doesn't act vulnerable with anyone when she's always so fragile and vulnerable? She's a conundrum too confused and doesn't even know what she really wants or stands by her choices. I was actually hoping she ends up with Manny someone who treats her well isn't quick to judge her and doesn't treat her like she's an option, im tired of reading about Lola's self hatred and sabotaging herself ? Also how is every man in her life like a better love interest than Cole? Also why did Jase act that way when call mentioned about the cheating makes no sense. Michele and Cole not cutting Lola slack when they had their own demons was baffling to understand. I skipped a few pages because it was too long and dragged alot. I wanted action and an actual love story not confused two characters even during the end of the world could not get their lives together? How is Cole and Lola still confused about their feelings when the world is literally ending. I don't know if I will continue reading this but I may end here because its too much for me. Overall its an okay read just too many irrationalities and irregularities.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brutally action packed - not a Romance AT ALL - HUGE TRIGGER WARNINGS

Firstly I couldn't put it down! Secondly it took me on a horror show ride of one bad thing after another happening for Lola.

Basically it's a book that just beat on our main character over and over. There was only a glimpse of safety and with another character who was more of a brother figure than anything else.

Tones of trigger warnings here - that I kinda wish I'd known about before deciding to read. Rape, child abuse, child death, bullying, assault and murder - and I'm not even talking about zombies... just to name a few - a long with an insane amount of gore and fear. The pages just drip fear, depression, and complete and utter devastation of the human spirit.

It was well written because you truly felt beaten to a pulp right along with the main character. Definitely would never call this a ROMANCE. If I read the next book in the series... well it will be after taking a break from this world.

Man I feel absolutely just beaten and devastated after reading it. 3 stars only because it was well written but I was beaten down so much I had to start skimming at the end in hopes of some light to the utter darkness. Thought it would be a enemies to lovers kinda thing at first but there was never love at all only pain. Man I just can't stop reeling.

Not sure I'd recommend.

[Erica Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent character development

I battled with what rating to give. The author did an excellent job of portraying a character with a history of sexual violence and the PTSD/panic attacks that inevitably ensued. Minimal zombie fighting. I graded her down for a few places in the book which were badly edited or unbelievable. Near the beginning the main character is left alone in a house and many zombies get in. Later, her crush return, gets through the zombies to rescue her. There’s no explanation about how he does this so I assume he kills them all (however unbelievable that would be). But then they have to escape out the window because of those same zombies! What the heck happened? In another place they sneak by a horde of zombies in the dark. They’re in the ditch at the side of the highway but they’re crunching on gravel and nothing happens. Then the stupid character screams and they have to fight off the zombies. No one dies. The lead character gets bit but once they’re safe, there’s not another word about the bite. Was she protected by her coat? Is there a horrible bruise? We’re left to guess. These are two examples where the author has made mistakes that didn’t get corrected in editing. After that she does a much better job.

[Alexandrea Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I went in kind of excited to read a zombie romance book and was a little bit disappointed in the heroine. I understand that the circumstances would be a little hard for her to work around her feelings but personally she was just a little too finicky for me. She would go from saying that she was closed off and not willing to let anyone in to almost immediately going back on her word multiple times.

I also feel as if the dynamic between her and the siblings (aka Mich and Cole) was unbelievably annoying. Although she talks so highly about them and how she wants to help there are multiple times where she’s almost left to die because of the mistake that happened between her and mich’s ex-husband. I kind of saw it coming when she explained multiple times that she didn’t remember what happened and I feel like they should have given her the benefit of the doubt also.

There were multiple time skips and parts in the book where it was a little bit confusing to understand what was going on. I had to go back a few times to figure out what was happening and on top of that I spotted a few grammatical errors. There weren’t that many but it seemed a little bit weird at times to see some obvious errors.

[Shh, I am reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a ride !!

So I will be honest, the first book is an emotional rollercoaster and at FIRST I thought I wouldn’t like it because the main character almost seemed a bit younger than her 18 BUT I stuck through because honestly wow. This is an intense, gory, emotionally filled series with surprises that will keep you asking yourself.. WHAT THE EF!? But it was worth it. For a while I was almost getting fed up with the MMC until the third book where we got Coles POV and it finally made things work. I hope the author writes a novella or a 4th book because yes it can end that way but it felt like a HFN and not a HEA. Which is fine but that also left a few unknowns for us.

There are triggers especially in the first book so please be mindful.
Some majors triggers that stand out are
SA, Gore, Violence, Consensual Adult Spice (book 2), Zombie kids mentioned, and lastly a graphic scene of a pregnant women involving zombie gore (book 2)

It was definitely intense but worth the read. It’s also a super fast paced book! So buckle up buttercups and enjoy the wild zombie ride!

[Ester · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sinceramente, esse livro foi ruim do início ao fim. O livro todo trata sobre as diversas formas de violência em que a personagem principal vive sendo exposta e sofre. Ela não se defende, porque nem tem a oportunidade de se defender. Ela continua passando pelo ciclo da violência o tempo todo e os personagens secundários estão lá apenas para perpetuar esse sofrimento e essa violência. Eu não recomendo esse livro e nem quero ler o restante, porque não vale a pena a perda de tempo e de ânimo.


Honestly, this book was bad from beginning to end. It deals entirely with the various forms of violence to which the main character is constantly exposed and the adversities she suffers. The protagonist doesn't have a chance to defend herself, remaining trapped in an ongoing cycle of violence. Moreover, the secondary characters only contribute to perpetuating this suffering and violence around her. For these reasons, I do not recommend reading this book, and I have no interest in continuing with it, as it's not worth investing time and enthusiasm in it.

[Brooklyn Tipton · Rating 2 out of 5]

WOULDN'T READ THIS AGAIN, [SPOILER]

Honestly to most people it may not be a bad book but I HATE the way they treat her. I HATE how she continues to let treat her however he wants and cheats on his GIRLFRIEND when he treats our mc like crap because of what he THINKS she did that is somewhat similar. A man is not fricken inlove with you if he can treat you like utter cow dung and use you when its convenient for his damn feelings. This book is disgusting and i only finished it because i really dislike unfinished book theories and to just pass time. It was just utterly disappointing, especially when he finally broke up with his girlfriend only to go back because she's pregnant, so?! You weren't in a happy relationship so just freaking take care of her while she's pregnant as a dang friend but no because he's a piece of rotten feces he does whatever HE wants. Just made me madder then a crazy clown on coke 🤬.

[Emily Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed discovering Stella Craig and reading her captivating story of a young woman surviving the apocalypse. Lola was a heroine with lots of baggage prior to the apocalypse that just kept dragging behind her as she struggled to survive. While at times she was perpetually weak for a survivor and her group was intent on making life hell, Craig provided enough good and interesting storyline from present to past that kept me reading. While Lola wasn't necessarily my favorite to root for, her life was very interesting and she definitely was a survivor. Craig kept the apocalypse and the zombie scares flowing pumping your heart for more action with each turn of the page. Overall, I was very excited and happy to start this series and immediately clicked to buy book 2.

[Avery Dwyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intense, fast paced

This book was way more intense than anticipated. With the main character having been raped (which is detailed...) she is constantly being treated like shit! My heart hurt this entire book, waiting for her to have something good finally happen to her. I read it completely within 2.5 days because it was an easy read and was gripping. I was looking for something more romance based, maybe even some spicy parts, but not completely disappointed by this. The post apocalyptic aspect of this book was very good. I do wish there had been some sort of warning about sexual assault before hand. It really really caught me off guard, but definitely was an integral part of this story!
Overall pretty good read.

[Simi ☁️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️ not bad, the plot was interesting but sort of got lost toward the middle. It’s strange how Lola is written as strong and smart but also weak. She just would not stop running back to Cole, and that’s crazy! Also, as someone who was already a victim of sexual assault, why was she so quick to accept blame and deny that Ben assaulted her? Why didn’t she stress her nonconsent when telling the story? It just didn’t fit her character. It was nice to see her get the sheriff but there was just too much tragedy and too much assault for comfort. And killing sissy?? It literally felt like a throwaway death to pace the way for Lola and Cole to be together, when she should be with Manny or alone. Idk. Very odd. Not sure how to feel about this one