Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has been extremely gracious to allow me to review a copy of this novel, through NetGalley, prior to its release today.  The synopsis is as follows, from Goodreads:  Meredith Willis is suspicious of Adrien, the new guy next door. When she dares to sneak a look into the windows of his house, she sees something in the cellar that makes her believe that Adrien might be more than just a creep—he may be an actual monster.  But her sister, Heather, doesn’t share Meredith’s repulsion. Heather believes Adrien is the only guy who really understands her. In fact, she may be falling in love with him. When Adrien and Heather are cast as the leads in the school production of Romeo and Juliet, to Heather, it feels like fate. To Meredith, it feels like a bad omen. But if she tries to tear the couple apart, she could end up in the last place she’d ever want to be: the cellar. Can Meredith convince her sister that she’s dating the living dead before it’s too late for both of them?

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I’m sorry to say that I really did not care for this novel.  I was drawn to it by the synopsis, and in the beginning, I was really into it, but as the story progresses, I feel like it begins to slowly fall apart and become confusing.  One of the main aspects of the novel that is perplexing is the constant flux between first and third person narrative.  Nearly every chapter changes point of view.  Meredith initially begins telling the story, but then the chapters begin alternating between Meredith’s narration and the third person narrative, which explains what’s happening to other characters.  While I don’t think this ruins the novel, I also don’t think it strengthens it.  I like both narrative styles equally, but I am not a fan of their juxtaposition within a novel.  I am more traditional and like a constant writing style present as I read. 

I also was unable to connect to the characters.  I’m not sure if the narration style had anything to do with this, but I never felt like I was able to get to know them.  From what I gathered, the characters really don’t seem to have many redeeming qualities either, and in order for me to fall in love with a novel, I really need to like the characters.

The amount of blood and gore in the novel shocked me.  I don’t mind a little, and I actually come to expect it in zombie novels, but this is not for the faint of heart.  There are occasions within the novel when innocents become meals, and their flesh is stripped from their bodies, piece by piece, while they scream in agony.  That was a little too much for me to handle, and I found myself skimming those sections.  Aside from that, I do think that the premise for this novel is a good one, but it isn’t my forte, hence, I give it two stars.