by Isaac Marion
First published 2011
R exists as a zombie without memories, without a pulse, without even a full name. He wanders the ruins of a devastated city alongside other undead, following the basic drive to hunt and feed. Then R encounters Julie, a living girl whose vibrant presence cuts through his gray existence like a burst of color. For reasons he cannot understand, R chooses not to kill her. This decision violates every rule governing the relationship between the living and the dead. Their strange connection grows into something both tender and perilous, something that has never happened before in their broken world. R begins to dream of breathing again, of truly living once more, and Julie becomes his guide toward this impossible transformation. But their world will not accept such change without a fight.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, romance, fantasy
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: City
Period: 21st-century
318 pages · Paperback · Bragelonne
Content warnings: violence