Reviewed by Dee
TITLE: Dead Heat
AUTHOR: Ren Thompson
PUBLISHER: Storm Moon Press
LENGTH: 194 Pages
BLURB:
The heart just knows…
The city of Toronto is now a thriving hotbed of undead activity, and Dana Layton, brash zombie hunter with a temper as fiery as her hair, believes in only one thing: taking care of business. As a member of an elite zombie hunting organization, Dana can hang with the best of them, but the wall around her heart is as high as the one erected around her fortified home.
Kelly Forrester thought she had what she wanted most of all—a career that made a difference. Blindsided by a crash course in reality, Kelly is left with a life-altering choice: Should she play it safe or follow her heart?
In an already dark world, a new kind of terror emerges, one that threatens to tear apart Toronto’s fragile peace. Dana’s back is against the wall, and time is running out for both her beloved city, and the woman who’s stolen her heart.
REVIEW:
I’m a huge fan of ‘The Walking Dead’ so I jumped at the chance to read to review this story the minute I saw the word zombies! Whether you are a fan of the show or not, if you enjoy stories with a post-apocalyptic setting, people fighting for survival and to rebuild a new world, this is a story for you! And before I continue I must state the story did not ‘mirror’ the show, therefore it was far from predictable.
The descriptive writing was great, although given the circumstances, not always easy to read. If blood and guts make you squeamish, you might find yourself reading between your fingers, or having to look away a time or two.
At the start of the story our heroine is put to the test while out on a survival mission and her own squad turn on her, teaching her a very harsh lesson. My heart broke for her, as it did when her at the time girlfriend, Jess, confessed her transgressions.
The characters were well fleshed out, no pun intended. I felt like I knew Dana and Kelly, and enjoyed being taken on their journey – both as individuals and together.
The sex scenes were sensual and smoking hot, exactly what I expect to find when reading a lesbian romance! In addition, they complimented the story, rather than overwhelm it. My inner lesbian purred in delight.
There’s a subplot with zombie porn peppered throughout the story, which kept me guessing to the very end. Hoping the douche bags would get discovered and receive their comeuppance.
The reason I didn’t give this a solid five stars is because the ending felt rushed. Just when my heart was pounding, anticipating a ground breaking conclusion, I turned the page to read the words – ‘epilogue’ and the story to continue more than a decade later. Granted it summed up everything but that was via telling versus the unfolding of events. To quote our heroine Dana – ‘It felt too perfect’.
I highly recommend this story to those who love fast paced stories, can handle a bit of gore, and who enjoy post-apocalyptic settings. And more importantly, a story of love and survival.
RATING: 
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