A DH Review: Married With Zombies by Jesse Peterson

Hey there! Awhile back I convinced my hubby - the DH - to start a blog. Went well for oh......2 weeks, then he had to do stuff like work so he didn't have time to keep it up. So he's joined me here to post reviews every once in awhile. Here's his review of Married With Zombies.


A heartwarming tale of terror in the middle of the zombie apocalypse.

Meet Sarah and David.

Once upon a time they met and fell in love. But now they're on the verge of divorce and going to couples' counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things - the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client's throat.

Meet the Zombies.

Now, Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But, just because there are zombies, doesn't mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don't eat their brains, they might just kill each other.

REVIEW:

If two stand shoulder to shoulder against the gods,
Happy together, the gods themselves are helpless
Against them while they stand so.
~Maxwell Anderson

When I first heard about this book I was thinking…..ok……..Al and Peg Bundy fighting off zombies. When my wife Karen got a copy of the ARC from Kate at I Just Wanna Sit Here And Read, she looked at the cover and thought Mr. & Mrs. Smith, I agree. Well, after reading the book I think David and Sarah are more like the Bundy’s (to which the title refers) but morph into the Mr. & Mrs. Smith zombie butt kicking team.
Sarah and David’s marriage has come to that point where communication has collapsed and the marriage death spiral has begun. Weekly visits to a counselor to help don’t seem to working.
Sarah sees David as someone who has abandoned his dreams, which in turn means she has to abandon her own……..this is where both parties have chosen different ways of coping. Dave has turned inward and Sarah, well, as Clint Eastwood said to Sondra Locke in The Gauntlet…."Nag, Nag, Nag". I personally think the both needed a wakeup call……….walking dead style.
Our sparring couple must start working together to fight off an unexpected zombie invasion. What does it tell you when your first kill as a couple is your counselor? I guess therapy wasn't working. I The snarky little comments they flung at each other were pretty funny and I could see Karen and I having the same sort of spat even while trying to save our asses. They did make some standard stupid "zombie" book mistakes but I guess that’s to be expected. I did like how they learned from situations tough.
The story is written from Sarah’s POV so don't expect to get any real insight about why David is like he is. We can only base it on her narrative, but there is enough said to give you a pretty good idea.
Now for what I didn’t like…………….For the first half I didn’t really like Sarah. Not so much for her bitching, not that it helped, but for her inconsistencies in reacting to other people and situations. She totally welcomes Amanda, their quasi-dumb blonde neighbor, into their world even though David voices his disapproval. Amanda obviously was going to be an anchor, yet Sarah criticizes David whenever he makes a boneheaded move but let’s Amanda off the hook. Not that David doesn’t deserve her ire…..Dave pulls another standard idiot move by taking them to special place they always wanted to go. I know the traffic is light and you have a nice new escalade but sometimes you need to adjust your priorities when you’re being chased by brain eating zombies! Lucky for them there are “nice” people there to help them when they get there.....let’s just say it's not a good sign when you're happy to see the zombies.
The whole story boils down to a couple realizing why they love each other. Anyone who is married or in a relationship will be able to relate to a lot of this. There is a scene where they just start working as a team and realize how much they love and need each other…………..that is the moment.

Who needs a marriage counselor when you have zombies……..they’re good listeners.

Rating: 3 out of 4 – Good quick read with standard zombie interaction. Look forward to "Flip this Zombie" the next book in the series.

Authors website: http://jessepetersen.net/ Worth checking out for her "Ask Dr. Jesse" zombie related advice column, writing tips and movie reviews - the latest is for Resident Evil. A favorite of mine, plus she shares the same dislike of Michelle Rodriguez as me.

Buy the book! Married with Zombies (Living with the Dead)