πΈ ππππππ πΈ The Dead Woods (The Blackbird Plague Book #1) by Ellie Welsh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
All post-apocalyptic novelist Bobbie Stevens wants is solitude—one quiet month in her mountain cabin to finish her book and escape the grief and heartbreak she left behind her in the city.
But when eerie wails echo through the forest at night and hints of a real apocalypse appear on her doorstep, peace becomes impossible. As society collapses and communication with the outside world vanishes, Bobbie is forced to confront the very monsters she once wrote about as they roam the woods just outside her door. Terrified and unprepared, denial is easier than survival… until she meets another survivor who slowly chips away at her chilled heart.
Noah McLean knows how to endure. Hardened by loss and armed with the skills to survive almost anything, he’s prepared for violence, isolation, and the brutal realities of a dying world. When Bobbie crashes into his carefully controlled survival plans with a group of other survivors, Noah’s instinct to protect is reignited, threatening the emotional walls he constructed to survive the monsters in his past.
As the infection spreads and dangerous people begin to emerge from the shadows, Bobbie and Noah must navigate a world where trust can be risky—and isolation is deadly. Facing relentless danger and impossible moral choices, they discover that true survival might depend not only on staying alive, but on finding someone worth staying alive for.
Ellie Welsh writes post-apocalyptic fiction about survival, zombies, community, and the complicated relationships that take shape when the world ends.
Her debut novel, The Dead Woods, book one of her series, The Blackbird Plague, blends zombie horror with emotional elements like found family, slow-burn romance, and her own stubborn hope that people can still be good, even in the face of destruction.
If I hadn't seen this pop up within a zombie group I'm in I would've missed this book!! Zombie books fast became a weakness of mine, I'm always on the lookout and I jump into this genre any chance I get.
The virus is being referred to by officials as the 'Blackbird Virus.' Those infected with the Blackbird virus are bizarrely attracting the notice of a large number of carrion birds, namely crows.
* Bobbie * Zombie apocalypse author, clumsy as all hell, introvert with her loyal dog Duke. Twin (Sam). No survival skills whatsoever.
* Dean * Closet doomsday prepper (has all the gadgets), protector.
* Noah * Ex military, guardian to niece, survivor, lives off the land, has somewhat of a sanctuary
I tiptoed into this one with a little bit of trepidation being that it's this author's debut novel, but that thought rapidly turned into dust, because as soon as I started this I was pulled in, it felt like I was reading a novel by a seasoned author, the flow and storyline was perfection, the characters are easy to connect with and relatable. This author had me sitting in the palm of her hand as I ate this story up like candy.
That feel we all strive to seek of not wanting it to end hit me more times than I could count, this had everything I ask for in this genre. Definitely keen to read the next book in this series and I hope many more like this book to come..
