The Z word

Review by Booklist Review

In the throbbing chaos before Pride, Wendy is seeing the shimmer of things to come in the Arizona heat. Her ex, Leah, has moved on romantically, and also landed a strange new job with conservative local company, Seabrook. Super sexy drag queen Logan threatens to distract her when, suddenly, everything explodes in a shower of blood at the local queer club. As the crowds of partiers down their hard Seabrook Seltzers (made with pride in San Lazaro!) Wendy has to figure out how to score some Plan B in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Debut author King-Miller's strengths here are many, with unforgettable characters like nonbinary Sunshine, the dedicated pizza delivery stoner. The plotting is tight, with a smart blend of relationships, rainbow-washing, politics, and profit. It might not be just the usual local haters out to sabotage Pride, but deeper rooted motivations at higher levels using hashtags to align popular sentiment to their purpose. This cinematic romp has something for nearly every reader; humor, gore, heat, action, and mystery all swirl in the San Lazaro desert. For fans of Back in the Land of the Living, by Eva Crocker (2023), and authors Grady Hendrix and Nino Cipri.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

A zombie apocalypse grips small-town Arizona in this hot and sticky queer horror romance from King-Miller (Ask a Queer Chick). It's high summer and, as San Lazaro's annual Pride parade approaches, tensions and spirits are running high. Wendy, reeling after a catastrophic breakup, is just trying to avoid her ex-girlfriend, Leah, but as unprovoked violent attacks disrupt Pride preparations, she and Leah are both swept up in the turmoil, with their respective new romantic attachments in tow. It becomes clear that Seabrook, a local brewery and SL Pride's biggest corporate sponsor, is connected to the violent outbursts, and it's up to Wendy and the others to do something about it. With an endearingly messy protagonist and wonderfully complicated relationship dynamics among the entirely queer cast, King-Miller skillfully explores real issues facing the LGBTQ community while cleverly pairing the beats of a romance novel with the visceral gut punches of survival horror. This will appeal to horror fans looking to scratch the same itch as Gretchen Felker-Martin's Manhunt and queer romance readers who are unafraid of a little gore. Agent: Kate McKean, Howard Morhaim Literary. (May)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by Library Journal Review

DEBUT Pride is about to kick off in the small town of San Lazaro, AZ, home of Seabrook, a hard-seltzer maker that is the corporate sponsor of Pride across the globe. As the queer community gathers to celebrate, readers are introduced to the novel's narrator, Wendy, a transplant to Arizona who is still finding herself, especially after her difficult breakup with Leah; party host Aurelia and her wife Sam; Logan, a drag queen; Beau, an older lesbian; Sunshine, the nonbinary pizza delivery person; and, of course, Leah, Wendy's ex. This sexy, thoughtful, and fast-paced sardonic zombie adventure is told with layers of unease, stemming from forces both supernatural and real. Readers will love to root for this band of survivors, a found family that works together to figure out what is happening and try to stop it from destroying everything. VERDICT King-Miller's (Ask a Queer Chick: A Guide to Sex, Love, and Life for Girls who Dig Girls) fiction debut expertly balances social commentary with fun in a novel that will have readers cheering for her queer heroes and questioning their own brand loyalties. Will have wide appeal for fans of Jennifer Government by Max Barry, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, and Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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"Don't they have anything besides this hard seltzer bullshit?" I fume to nobody in particular. Only a handful of people are foolish enough to be sweating their asses off out here on the front porch, instead of inside, where they would still be sweating their asses off but also dancing or flirting or getting laid. "I think the good drinks are in the kitchen," says a young, heavily bearded white guy sprawled on the porch swing. "The planning committee got, like, ten cases of this stuff donated, so they're trying to offload it." I recognize him vaguely from the few Pride planning committee meetings I attended last summer and fall. I think his name is Mike. "Right." I sigh, pick up a seltzer and inspect it--Seabrook Black Raspberry--then drop it back into the sea of melting ice. I'm sure if I go inside, I could find something better in the fridge. Our hosts, Samantha and Aurelia, are craft beer lesbians. But Sam and Aurelia are also nonmonogamous lesbians who are, apparently, an hour or less away from a threesome with my ex-girlfriend Leah. I was inside for five fucking minutes before I caught a glimpse of Aurelia caressing Leah's neck. No beer is worth that. Excerpted from The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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