The Undying Heart by Zoe Archer - Samuel Reed had no idea magic existed, until it almost destroyed him. Thirsting for vengeance against the enemy who made him something less than human, Sam returns to England and crosses paths with Cassandra Fielding. His best friend's little sister has become a fearless woman on a dangerous mission of her own. And against all odds, she sees past what he's become, and stirs a desire he thought he'd lost forever...Simon Says by Bianca D'Arc - Special Forces soldier Simon Blackwell ended his affair with Mariana Daniels three years ago, but he hasn't stopped protecting her. Mariana has no knowledge of the dark, deadly creatures that lurk in the forest surrounding her clinic, or of the mysterious powers that make Simon the only one who can defeat them. But soon he'll have no choice but to reveal the truth, and urge her to trust in an explosive passion that never faded.
Half Past Dead
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Two very different novellas combine themes of love and zombies. Vintage horror, high adventure, and soul-aching romance blend in Archer's compelling The Undying Heart, prequel to the upcoming Blades of the Rose trilogy. Cassandra Fielding, a young pistol-in-the-skirts hunter of magical artifacts, renews her childhood infatuation with Sam Reed, even though he's been turned into a cold, fierce, disillusioned, but still handsome zombie by his unscrupulous Crimean War commander. In D'Arc's more modern Simon Says, a prequel to Once Bitten, Twice Dead, special ops agent Simon Blackwell chases contagious zombie Marines in the woods by night and dallies with military nurse Mariana Daniels by day, but both pursuits come off as lukewarm and somewhat routine. Readers who love Archer's powerful, polished tale may be disappointed to find that D'Arc's doesn't measure up. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By MissGnomer
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I really liked the story line and thought the Cassie and Sam had great chemistry. But I couldn't get passed the excessive sexual descriptions. I just wanted to warn others out there who aren't into detailed sex-scenes that this book is a bit over the top.
I didn't finish it, but if you don't mind that sort of thing you'll probably really enjoy the book.
I didn't finish it, but if you don't mind that sort of thing you'll probably really enjoy the book.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By SandyLu562
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Archer disappoints in the prequel to her four books in the Blade of the Rose series; the writing was either repetitive or failed to explain scenes adequately. This historical erotic romance starring a handsome zombie and a high society society assassin failed utterly to arouse my interest in reading the series. The flow was choppy, descriptive words indicated the indiscriminate use of a thesaurus (try to find a word that ENHANCES the sentence, rather than with a "just-off" meaning), and the least important descriptions were repeated at least twice within a few paragraphs.
The interesting premise made the uneven writing really annoying; it's always fun to read about a heroine stepping outside historical societal constraints and the love interest had appeal even if he was recently one of the undead dead, at least he only had one unhealed wound and immediately healed all but the wound which made him a zombie. Sounds like a vampire, right? well the whole premise was just too confusing to easily grasp and I still have no idea of the "rules" of this world. Save your $[..] (Kindle edition) for something else!
The interesting premise made the uneven writing really annoying; it's always fun to read about a heroine stepping outside historical societal constraints and the love interest had appeal even if he was recently one of the undead dead, at least he only had one unhealed wound and immediately healed all but the wound which made him a zombie. Sounds like a vampire, right? well the whole premise was just too confusing to easily grasp and I still have no idea of the "rules" of this world. Save your $[..] (Kindle edition) for something else!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By A. Lee
Format:Paperback
If blood-sucking undead vampires could be hot romance material, then it was only a matter of time before zombies were so re-imagined (hey, if Orlando Bloom's character in the last POTC film could still get Kiera Knightly's character to wait ten years at the end--or more importantly, after a long list of credits!--why couldn't other hunky guys without hearts beating in their bodies?). Anyway, here are two novellas featuring zombies:
"The Undying Heart"-- is a historical paranormal taking place in Yorkshire in 1858. Cassandra is a new agent with the Blades of the Rose, an organization that hunts for dangerous magical artifacts. She is trailing such an artifact when she encounters her brother's best friend and a man she always loved, Sam Reed, whom she thought had died with her brother two years before in the Crimean. Sam did die. He and countless others. In the chaos of battle he was shot through the heart by his commanding officer, Colonel Broadwell, who has an artifact that creates and controls zombies. Broadwell killed his own men and commanded all of them to do his will, but somehow Sam was able to break free and has been after the Colonel ever since, determined to kill him. This tale was definitely heart-wrenching and bitter-sweet. I loved it.
"Simon Says"-- is a modern romance. Simon Blackwell is a special forces soldier who was called away from a possible relationship with Mariana Daniels, a doctor. He found himself fighting zombies (the icky kind) and was bitten and infected, but wasn't turned into one--although that may happen at any moment--no one is certain about these zombie things! Mariana only knows that Simon never returned to her, so when he appears at the military base facility where she is working, wounded, she's not sure how she should react. Apparently, there are still zombies out in the woods, unknown to anyone, and Simon needs to take them out since he seems to be the only one who has survived their infection so far. This tale had a decent set-up and characters, but not quite the emotional impact of the first story.
"The Undying Heart"-- is a historical paranormal taking place in Yorkshire in 1858. Cassandra is a new agent with the Blades of the Rose, an organization that hunts for dangerous magical artifacts. She is trailing such an artifact when she encounters her brother's best friend and a man she always loved, Sam Reed, whom she thought had died with her brother two years before in the Crimean. Sam did die. He and countless others. In the chaos of battle he was shot through the heart by his commanding officer, Colonel Broadwell, who has an artifact that creates and controls zombies. Broadwell killed his own men and commanded all of them to do his will, but somehow Sam was able to break free and has been after the Colonel ever since, determined to kill him. This tale was definitely heart-wrenching and bitter-sweet. I loved it.
"Simon Says"-- is a modern romance. Simon Blackwell is a special forces soldier who was called away from a possible relationship with Mariana Daniels, a doctor. He found himself fighting zombies (the icky kind) and was bitten and infected, but wasn't turned into one--although that may happen at any moment--no one is certain about these zombie things! Mariana only knows that Simon never returned to her, so when he appears at the military base facility where she is working, wounded, she's not sure how she should react. Apparently, there are still zombies out in the woods, unknown to anyone, and Simon needs to take them out since he seems to be the only one who has survived their infection so far. This tale had a decent set-up and characters, but not quite the emotional impact of the first story.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
HALF PAST DEAD
A REALLY GOOD BOOK. HARD TO PUT DOWN ONCE YOU START READING IT. A GREAT SERIES TO FOLLOW TOO. WANT MORE.
Published 2 months ago by Sam Moon
3.0 out of 5 stars
Found 1st boring, Loved the 2nd
I bought Half Past Dead in order to read the story Simon Says by Bianca D'Arc. I'd come across the 2nd book in the series (Once Bitten, Twice Dead) and liked it enough to search... Read more
Published 10 months ago by T. C.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sexy, suspenseful
This is actually two books in one, a nice way to be introduced to the two different authors. I enjoyed the story line and coupling scenes in both. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Celticstorm76
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Your Usual Zombie Romance Anthology
Of course, since I know of the existence of exactly one other zombie romance anthology Hungry for Your Love: An Anthology of Zombie Romance that isn't saying much, but at least... Read more
Published 18 months ago by fredtownward
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good read
Someone must have told these women that zombies can't be romance heroes because they pulled out all the stops to prove that theory wrong. Half Past Dead is a pair of novellas. Read more
Published on April 11, 2011 by Michele Lee
2.0 out of 5 stars
He impressed her with his serious mien
These two books, "The Undying Heart" and "Simon Says," are my first foray into zombie-themed romance. Read more
Published on March 29, 2011 by upfront_reader
2.0 out of 5 stars
unimpressed with undead lovers
What is this world coming to where a book like "Half Past Dead" is published promoting the idea that zombies can make positive relationship partners? Read more
Published on November 28, 2010 by mamallama
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome read
I am offically a Zoe Archer fan! I love the story and all of the action, Zoe really knows how to balance both.
Published on November 26, 2010 by my husband's book worm
4.0 out of 5 stars
Romance Plus Zombies
I have to give Zoe Archer big props, because I NEVER thought a zombie would work for me as the hero of a romance. Read more
Published on January 9, 2010 by Sonoma Lass
4.0 out of 5 stars
entertaining zombie romps
"The Undying Heart" by Zoe Archer. During the Crimean War, Sam Reed has been turned into an uncaring zombie soldier by his commander. Read more
Published on January 3, 2010 by Harriet Klausner
