I truly loved the first part of the book. Even though I had to throw away everything I thought I knew about zombies and, at times, it felt that R is more of a senile vampire than a zombie, I really enjoyed his inner monologue. It was so sweet and funny and just very well written. I also loved the airport setting and his daily routine.I kept thinking "this book I so awesome" until the part where he and Julie got separated, when she took the car to return to the stadium and she left him behind. From there, it seemed like I was reading a different book. The passages where R was daydreaming were the only ones that kept me going because I lost interest in the rest of it. There's a lot happening in just a couple of days and I didn't like that. Their bonding was rushed and just about everything that was happening felt that way too. Another thing that was pretty frustrating throughout the book was the fact that nobody really treated R like a monster, not even just for a while. Both Julie and Nora dismissed the fact that he killed Perry way too quickly. "Perry" forgave R way to quickly. They kept making up excuses for him. But normal people don't react like that when one of they're loved ones is killed by someone else, even if it's not that person's fault. They freak out, even if it's for just a little bit. They have to blame someone, even if it's irrational. She was supposed to be angry with him, even if she had to come to a different conclusion later, she was supposed to be angry with him and even fear him. I know it's a fantasy novel and things are supposed to be different, new and strange, but, personally I would have loved a more realistic approach to Perry's death.The book had potential.R is a special character and his relationship with Julie could have been special, but if felt underdeveloped to me. I found myself wanting more. I didn't care much for their "love" at the end. All of the characters needed more time to work their way through things properly. R needed to find redemption for the crimes he committed and Julie to warm up to him, forgive him and start loving him. I do get it that this was intended to be lighthearted humorous read, but some well placed moments of tension would have only made it better. Especially since the book has a lot of humor at the beginning, but gradually gets away from that. I wouldn't say the last part of the book gets serious, it just isn't funny anymore. I would have bought the whole "we started something, the other zombies are changing because of us" if I actually believed they were in love. "R" needs to learn to love Julie through his own "alive" self and Julie needs to deal with Perry's death before feeling something for R. Also, Julie's and Perry's relationship was too downplayed. She once loved that boy, and even if their love was pretty much zombified by the time he died, there had to be a part of her that needed to mourn him. Why isn't anyone morning Perry for God's sake??! I definitely liked that fact that she wasn't your usual helpless heroine and that she was a tough cookie. I loved that she wasn't afraid or melodramatic, but I needed to see a softer side of her as well. Just a little bit. So I might seem to be criticizing this more that praising it, but overall I highly enjoyed it and even if it's just for R, I would definitely recommend this book.
