Books like What Remains — picked by fans

Sarah Lyons Fleming writes beautiful prose. She also writes characters that you’ll fall in love with (or hate) and want to keep reading about. The main character, Cassie, embarks on an epic journey through the zombie apocalypse for a second chance at love with her ex-fiancee. Along the way, she has to rediscover who she is and grow to overcome everything that the world keeps throwing at her. The action is great, but it’s the relationships between the characters that make this a truly excellent series. I cried my eyes out reading these books and the others set in the same universe, which isn’t something I often do. But however heartbreaking parts of them may be, Sarah Fleming always leaves room for hope for love and a future.

Flesh has it all – zombies, characters who come alive on the page, romance that sizzles, and action to keep the suspense going. Ali, Daniel, and Fin have to discover how to deal with each other as their relationship develops, while at the same time battling zombies and other survivors to reach safety. They learn to fight for each other, make sacrifices they would never have imagined in their old lives, and love like they would never have believed possible. The key to it all is the trust they develop in each other which forms a team that nothing can break.

This is a slow-burn romance in the zombie apocalypse. It’s a story that’s really about learning to forgive the people you love when they hurt you, and forgiving yourself for your mistakes. There’s sizzling chemistry between Lola and Cole, a plot that blends romance with action to keep you turning the next page, and characters that you want to hug and strangle at the same time.

These are short, but the author crams so much into each book it feels like they’re twice as long. Frankie and Yorke are seriously flawed as characters, but their flaws tend to complement one another’s. It’s those flaws that drive most of their actions in the book, so even when they do something stupid you know exactly why they did them, and it’s not just a random TSTL thing thrown in to move the story along. The chemistry is hot but the romance is a slow burn because they’ve got so many issues to work out. There’s gripping action to keep things moving, plenty of zombie fighting, and psycho survivors trying to ruin the apocalypse for everyone.

In Dead City, Ian Keys created a drug that stopped the ravages of the zombie infection and allowed infected to live alongside humans again…or did he?

The cure he’s developed may not be a cure afterall and the company that hired him is keeping dangerous secrets from the world, with a secret agenda that threatens all of humanity.

If Ian can’t find out the truth in time, the world as he knows it may be destroyed.

I got caught up in the suspense, wondering what would happen next and if Ian would survive or get caught by the company or the zombies.

I know, I know. Lots of people are over The Walking Dead. I have a love/hate relationship with the television show, as well. But I’ve read every chapter of the comic book series, and I have to tell you that zombie fiction doesn’t get much better. Kirkman’s epic spans 22 collection editions comprising 193 total comic books, and it’s pure dark magic from start to finish. He populates his tale with compelling characters and terrifying zombies. The tension is palpable and absolutely no one is safe. One of the hallmarks of this series is the shocking, unexpected deaths of key characters, which made all the more impactful because Kirkman makes us feel genuine emotions for them all. 

We’ve somehow managed to make it to the end of a list of post-apocalyptic fiction without mentioning zombies, but I’m here to remedy that with this book. It has everything you love about zombie apocalypses but with the added element of a sweet, sizzling romance between a capable, kickass heroine and a dreamy former Marine.

This novel kicks off a series with plenty of zombies, spice, and even a mystery or two. Both main characters are compelling, and I enjoyed following their journey over the three books in this series.

An interesting and funny take on the zombie apocalypse.

The main character has a morbid sense of humor and a loyal dog and is trying to find his daughter no matter what it takes.

The story is fast-paced and will keep you wondering what will happen next, as well as discovering what the main character will do to survive the zombies and also get some food.

I enjoyed the balance of humor and action, which kept me reading until the last page.

I love zombie apocalypse stories, and I especially love zombie apocalypse stories that feature unlikely groups of survivors being forced to learn to work together to ensure their new family’s survival.

No one does this better than Lilith Saintcrow in her book, which follows Ginny, a failed medical student turned small-town librarian, and Lee, a close-mouthed, socially awkward, but scarily competent ex-soldier, as they learn to trust one another and lead a group of strangers out of their backwoods town during the onset of an undead pandemic.

Not only are the road-tripping found family dynamics here sublime, but Saintcrow has a special talent for describing each character’s viewpoint and unique voice in ways that elevate the chest-aching romantic tension and human psychology at play. 

Miranda Tucci is looking for love during a zombie apocalypse but finding love is hard when the majority of available partners are either zombies or psychopaths.

On top of that Miranda has a lead on a cure for the virus, but the government is trying to control it. Can she get the cure and save civilization?

I enjoyed the character development, especially around trying to find love and surviving the zombie apocalypse.