It’d been three years since my world ended in more ways than one.
Not only had I found my best friend in bed with my boyfriend, but I ran out of the house, straight into the freaking zombie apocalypse.
To escape becoming a walking corpse, I teamed up with the two who had betrayed me the most, and we fought our way to my parents’ off-grid ranch.
I did whatever I could to avoid my exes from hell, which was much easier said than done. All that mattered was staying safe in our bubble, but it was both a sanctuary and a prison.
That is, until two confident, protective strangers swooped in to save our lives. They warned us of an approaching swarm of the undead, then swept us away to a shelter called the Oasis.
We were safer than ever before, and I managed to get space away from the betrayers. It didn’t hurt that I was cozied up in a treehouse with three sexy men while an undead horde decimated everything in its path as it passed through.
With my family safe and sound in another treehouse, I felt lighter than I had since the world turned upside down. Just in time for those three men to make me feel things I’d never felt before.
It took two betrayals and the end of the world, but maybe my love life wasn’t as rotten as I’d thought.
My Rotten Love Life is a zombie apocalypse whychoose novel with a HEA. It contains mature subject matter that may not be suitable for all readers.
Lyra Winters is a twenty-something Kentucky woman who adores the book world. When she's not typing away on her laptop or daydreaming book ideas, Lyra is occupying her time taking care of her two spunky daughters and dreamy husband. She's addicted to Coca-Cola, 2000's rap music, and bubble baths. Her dream is to write love stories that touch the reader's hearts. Visit her website at https://www.lyrawinters.com/
I don't think there will ever be enough postapocalyptic RH novels out there for me. So I was really excited to read "My Rotten Love Life", and explore this world after the zombie apocalypse. Tori has already managed to survive for a few years with her family, and her cheating ex-boyfriend with his new girl, when some men passing by manage to protect them all from a big horde of zombies coming through. With the men immediately head over heals for Tori, she can finally heal from the mental wounds she encountered in the past.
"My Rotten Love Life" is a very interesting standalone, and I wouldn't have minded a longer series with these characters, or with some other survivors. It has some Sanctuary vibes, although it's an entirely different story, but it might help some readers deal with the wait for book 4 in that series ;-).
If you like a standalone RH with some insta-love feelings in a postapocalyptic world, I can definitely recommend this one.
The day the zombie apocalypse begins Tori finds her best friend and boyfriend having sex. To make matters worse Tori has to live the next two years as a sideshow to their love story because she was too damn nice to leave them. Every time one of them even opened their mouths I wanted a zombie to chomp through them. Along with her family and two exes, two years have flown by as they were all pretty self sufficient already before the end of the world. However two random men wander upon the farm warning them all of a huge zombie horde thus leaving them with little to no option but to flee. This was a very straightforward zombie RH read. Tori finally finds men who treat her as she deserves and now she can finally rub her own happiness in others faces. With a few run ins with the infected and other humans the group works to live as safely as they can in the after. Everything moves kinda fast but when you’re life can end in minutes the concept of living every moment like it’s your last takes on a whole new meaning.
In two minds about this one. Initially I didn't mind the whole venting about her ex, at about 50% I was over it, at 70% it just got annoying. If we take away the drama about her ex there isn't much of a storyline. I couldn't finish this, the dystopian thread was very thin on this read. Then again it is called my rotten love life, it delivers on its name I suppose.
This book has it all!! Kick ass FMC, why choose, spicy multi player scenes, three drool worthy MMCs, prior relationship angst, suspense, and ZOMBIES. Yes, there really are zombies! This is the very first apocolypse bc of zombies book that I have read with why choose and spice! Lyra never disappoints with her amazing ability to laugh, cry, and🥵🥵! Even if you aren't a fan of zombies and prefer the romance trope, this book can absolutely be for you!!
I picked this up because I like romance, post-apocalyptic stories, and zombies. And this book technically had those things. However, it could have used a little more polishing.
The dialogue often felt stilted, the drama was forced, the relationships had zero actual development, and the fact that any of them survived as long as they did is unbelievable.
There was so much dialogue about how Daisy and Jay betrayed Tori and, honestly, it felt like there were much bigger issues to be worried about. I get the desire for an apology but y’all are barely surviving in a world where zombies just want to bite to infect, not actually eat you, and that now includes zombie animals. There are so many animals of varying sizes, speeds, and strength! How would humans be able to outmaneuver all animals? That’s impossible (well, not in this book). It just felt unnecessary to constantly focus on the petty drama about stolen boyfriends, especially since that relationship was destined to end anyway considering Jay wanted kids and Tori was unable to give them to him.
While I have more I could rant about regarding the Daisy and Jay drama, I’m going to move on, which is something no one in this story could do.
The “development” of Tori and the guys relationship was nonexistent. It was basically them deciding to be together within moments of meeting each other and that’s it. I wanted some sort of build up or clear indicator for why they’d want to commit to each other but I got nothing. Well, I did get them coddling her like a child every chance they got. So, there’s that.
Finally, I’ll share a bit about why I’m amazed any of them are still alive. Nathan and Tori continued having sex even though a zombie was coming towards them, when they shouldn’t have been so off guard in the first place since they were out in the open. Not only that, they discover a zombie mountain lion had been engaging in some voyeuristic tendencies in the tree above them, which could have easily bitten them (but that would have made too much sense, so it didn’t happen). Then, that same mountain lion walks in through an open tree house window and knocks over a candle, setting the tree house on fire. The tree house inhabitants were like, “we left a window open while we were sleeping but we don’t know why.” I’ll tell you why they left it open: for the plot. How else would they be able to illustrate that zombie animals are very clever and stalk their prey if the mountain lion didn’t have a chance to make a reappearance in a devastating way? Never mind that it was super cold outside (and inside), so having a window open makes zero since or that leaving a candle burning while you’re sleeping is dangerous regardless of whether zombies are nearby. It was necessary to move the plot along.
There were several things that were clearly plot devices because they were too “convenient” otherwise (here’s looking at you fully stocked warehouse they’d never seen before).
I really wanted to like this but the execution just wasn’t right for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
DNF at 43%, but might go back to it. I get that it’s a standalone and the guys have to be into her pretty quickly, but it was all too far. She was at their house for a night and then suddenly they’ll ‘declaring their intentions’, it felt a bit forced. I either love insta-love or I love it less.
Again though, I might go back.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Genre: Adult Apocalyptic Contemporary Romance (Zombies) Spice: 2.5/5 🌶️ *spice ratings are relative to similar books in the same genre*
Tropes & Themes: MFMM, zombie apocalypse, forced proximity, MMC recovering from mysophobia, danger & gore, inexperience MMC, they fall first and hard, bondage
TW/CW: bully behavior (not by MCs), animal death, gun violence, zombie related gore, infertility
Spoiler-Free Summary: Tori and her family have been surviving the zombie apocalypse in something of a bubble on their rural homestead. Everything would be perfect if Tori weren’t also stuck with her ex, and her ex-bestie that stole her boyfriend. All of that changes the day two men run through their property, warning of an incoming zombie hoard. The men, Nathan and Micah, tell Tori’s family that they will not survive the hoard if they don’t leave immediately. They pack up and follow the men to their tree-house sanctuary, the Oasis, where Tori rooms with them and their roommate, Calix. For days the zombie hoard will trap them in their house. Whatever will they do?
Thoughts: This was surprisingly so good. Both the very slight horror element from the zombies, as well as the romance itself. Of course, it was a little bit faster burn than I typically go for, but it made sense for the story and the characters. I imagine most things are faster burn in the apocalypse.
That being said, I was immensely entertained and really enjoyed the characters!
If anyone else is a fan of the Walking dead \Zombie apocalypse entertainment and RH romance and also has an affinity for and appreciation of infidelity angst ,you will likely enjoy those elements explored here concurrently! Each of these is explored in equal measure.On the day that marked the advent of the Zombie apocalypse ,the h had walked in on her bf and bff doing the deed! Notable for my fellow cheating aficionados is the fact that the cheating scenario spans the length of the tale,is quite consequential and is fully and impressively fleshed out(pun intended,lols) with confrontations finally endeavored and any and all questions pursued to fruition!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
4,5*/5 I have received an ARC in exchange of an honest review Post-apocalyptic RH sounds exactly like my cup of tea. Even though I don't normally read zombie centric stories, I had to give this one a chance. And boy oh boy, am I happy I did! I loved it! This standalone had a little bit of a rocky start, but once I got into it I was so happy I continued reading. Tori, our FMC, is one selfless and strong lady. She did not have a good time if the past few years (on top of the zombie apocalypse stuff) and yet she stayed kind and nice. I loved her as a character. As for the MMCs, they are so well written. Each one is very unique. I don't think I have ever come across a character such as Calix. I also loved their living arrangements and had my imagination going, trying to imagine how these houses looked like and worked. I would have loved to read this story in a series rather than a standalone, since it felt a little bit rushed and I would have loved to see the characters and their backgrounds explored more. Overall a very worthwhile read, would recommend!
The premise is pretty straight forward - Tori finds her long term boyfriend in bed with her best friend on the day the zombie apocalypse hits. They’re all “forced” to hole up at Tori’s parents farm together. Stuck for years on the farm with the zombie hoard running amuck is almost paradise, next to having to live with her ex boyfriend and ex-best friend (now flaunting their relationship in her face).
Tori has become accustomed to dealing with her two exes. Not that she enjoys it, but it’s the end of the world…so what choice does she have?? After rescuing two enigmatic men from a zombie attack, her life irrevocably changes!
The two men, Micah and Nathan are from a settlement that is more “established” than Tori’s farmhouse (where she lives with her exes, sister and parents). They take the group back to their home, “The Oasis,” and soon after moving in with Micah, Nathan and their roommate Calix, all four of them fall in love. What ensues next is a pretty stereotypical zombie apocalypse book with splashes of “romance.”
“My Rotten Love Life” was just a so-so book. Frankly the zombies were the best part of the book. I really wanted to love Tori, our female main character, but for a girl who is supposed to be a kick-ass character, she just kind of fell flat for me. Sure she was nice. Sure she killed zombies with a golf club. Sure she’d gone to school for agriculture…so she knows all about living off the land *eye roll* but her interactions with her ex and her ex-best friend made me nuts! And she was also much too “tame” with her boyfriends. She’s supposed to come off as this hard nosed, really strong yet sweet girl, but only ends up being portrayed as rather weak, and sort of gullible!
I detested, seriously detested, Daisy and Jay! The fact that Tori not only saved their lives, but put up with them for years, saying NOTHING in defense of herself was utterly ridiculous, and made me dislike her. I get that she’s being portrayed as the “better person.” But there is being better and bigger and just being pathetic! She literally just lets Daisy continually belittle her, and say nasty hurtful things to her without defending herself. She doesn’t confront Jay for being a two-faced a-hole. Only after she hooks up with her three men does she begin to grow a bit of backbone, but even then she often wilts under Daisy’s attacks, leaving her men to have to “come to her rescue,” and defend her.
I might’ve liked Nathan and Micah more if the book had been either longer or a duet. I didn’t feel as if their characters were fleshed out. They felt very “surface-level,” and not really three dimensional. Calix, although “supposedly complex,” with his germaphobia…had the same issues. He also “recovered” from his agoraphobia, and germaphobia way too “easily.” Someone with that deep of a “problem,” would not be hopping into bed with a girl (no matter how pretty) and swapping bodily fluids (which would completely gross a germaphobe out) so fast after meeting her. It doesn’t matter if he tied her down or not…the body fluids enough would make the situation impossible!!
In conclusion, the book HAD potential, but couldn’t really come through with it. It would’ve been much better if the book had been split into two books, or even three, to REALLY delve into the characters further, and learn more about their histories, and how they were “rebuilding” a functioning society.
Apocalyptic zombie book and finding love. This book will put you through the ringer. Our H has been through the worse by the two ppl she loved the most. And honestly, they are really unapologetic about what they did. Sure they claim how sorry they are but they're action speak louder in this book. Jay and daisy we're so out of pocket I was wishing them bad for awhile. Our H finds love with 3 strangers and hopes to rebuild her life the best she can when its pretty much the end of the world. This ends up kinda being sad, many ppl die, and idk how I feel about it. Its pretty much a guarantee that some people will die with zombies. But it left me no real closure?
I love zombie apocalypse stories to the point that I'll tolerate almost any amount of bad writing for them, but this barely had zombies for most of the book. Their world was already set up, and there was ZERO tension when the leads got together by 35%. Just disappointing.
This was an entertaining read, if you like dystopian/zombie fiction, but I found the insta-love without real cause to be a let down. I also abhorred the character Daisy. For being in her late 20's, her behaviour was about 10 years younger and made it difficult to read. She was incredibly annoying. I also found the dialogue a bit stilted and repetitive. However, like I said above, if you like dystopian/zombie reverse harem, then you might be able to overlook my issues and enjoy this story. ✌
It was surprisingly pretty good! The MC Tori wasn’t annoying, she was smart and had good ideas about things. The guys didn’t really have much character development though other than Calix. Holy crap Daisy was such a jerk. Sleeping with Tori’s boyfriend for a year and then calling her infertile💀! It was a quick, fun read.
3.5 stars: This was a rather different read for me. I cannot say that zombies are usually something I would go for, but in this case it kind of worked for me. What stood out here was the situation that the FMC finds herself in- stuck with her ex boyfriend and ex best friend, struggling with the reality of the situation and unable to do anything about it as the world that she once knew, no longer exists. I did appreciate the family unit as her parents and sister were lovely and I have to say quite tender -hearted.
When the main heroine crosses paths with the MMCs, things change for her and rather fast at that. I was hesitant at first because such a quick romantic development seemed unrealistic, but then I thought what if all that mattered was now, the present as tomorrow you may no longer be alive. Then the romantic relationships kind of made more sense to me. Live your life as it might be your last day on this earth and for the characters in this book, that seems to be the case.
This story touches upon rather sensitive topics and I have to say that the author has done a good job at portraying some of struggles that females go through in life. I think those elements were the gem in the story for me.
3.5 is more my rating but definitely not a 4. This book may go down as a guilty pleasure read for me, because telling someone I read this book and it's plot is just not on my list of to dos. Zombie apocalypse and reverse harem....
I liked the connections, the zombie apocalypse was well written and the overall plot flowed well. I wish we had more romance in it, I get the sex piece but having actual romantic scenes would also be great. I also think the daisy and jay thing was pardon the expression "like beating a dead horse". We get it. It's been two years though, and you clearly didn't really love the guy. And daisy being the basic mean girl during the apocalypse? And Toris family just being cool with them staying at the farm? Meh not buying it.
Also, I'm not sure what I wanted from an epilogue but a board game night a year later with barely any real progress. Meh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Tory finds her boyfriend and best friend in bed together and it's the end of the world for her. Quite literally actually since there is a zombie apocalypse happening. She's forced to team up with the two people who betrayed her in order to stay alive. At least until some sexy strangers save them all and bring them to a sanctuary called Oasis. Now it's not quite the end of the world anymore and Tory's love life just got a lot spicier with three men.
This book was a unique cliche. You have your stereotypical zombie apocalypse situations and the cheating boyfriend/best friend scenario. However, mixing the two cliches together really worked in making a fairly unique story. We have a fun, semi spicy story that is just quirky and a great way to take you out of the real world for a couple hours. I loved Tory and felt for her with her whole love life situation. But the girl snagged some extra men in the end, so I think she got what she deserved.
5/5 Stars! Idc what anyone says. This might be my favorite read of January! A quick read w/ reasonable amount of spice & good somber moments. Ik some people in the reviews wanted more depth to the characters & story (and tbh it could have been more intense if the author wanted it to be BUT it was good regardless!!!) I think that the people getting mad about Calix's character don't get that his condition could have happened for many different reasons which he even explains but maybe they didnt even read it that far to get the whole story.. the second i read post apocalypse reverse harem & got to know Calix I loved his story line & having the other men also wanting to know her for more than smexy time was great! I am eager to see if Spencer gets her story! I just want more of this world.
Lyra does not miss!! This was sooo good! As soon as i heard she was making a post apocalyptic why choose romance i was immediately supper excited!
I absolutely DEVOURED this book. It was such a quick and satisfying read. I loved the FMC Tori, she was both a sweetheart and an absolute badass.💜 Her backstory really tugged at my heart, but to see how strong she remained without becoming cold was inspiring. Her guys were hot hot hot!😮💨 Micah, Nathan, & Calix were all so good to Tori it made me so happy because she truly deserved nothing but the best. Calix was definitely my favorite! He was so gentle with her it made me melt.
I’d also love to point out the way Tori was so understanding and compassionate towards Calix and his phobia. As someone who struggles with OCD it was so nice to see the way Tori navigated their relationship with such patience while Calix worked threw his fear of germs.
Overall i had such a fun time reading this book! Definitely recommend!🫶🏼
This why choose romance was a 'let's cuddle on the couch together' cute. Even with the zombie apocalypse. Who knew killing zombies together made a relationship stronger? I did!
It all started on a farm as they lived off the land. Then, two sexy men come to warn them about a huge horde of zombies heading their way. They decide to go with them after a discussion about it. On the way, we got to learn more about Tori and her horrible ex friend and ex boyfriend. But what was really important was the two men that were slowly falling for Tori. When they get back and meet another sexy man with phobia things just get more interesting. There was no big bad to fight though. It was them living and surviving hordes of zombie, evil men, and narcissistic ex friend.
What I loved about their relationship was they didn't hold Tori back. They let her fight and go on supply runs. I hate it when the men refuse to let their woman be strong. But I do have to say, I kind of wish the dog wasn't on the cover. It should be the horse. I guess the dog looks better, though.
If you love apocalypse why choose romance and a healthy relationship, I recommend this one.