I had a hard time connecting with the characters in this. Rory's hatred and anger at Mara did not ring true to me. I can see how someone could develop resentment or fear of the ex-ticks that turns to hatred. It's a little victim-blamey, a little self-centered, but it's the post-apocalypse, all these people are traumatized and grieving; they don't need to be rational or examine their reactions to their emotions. But Rory's (and Carter's, Mara's sister's) hatred felt forced. Maybe their characters just needed more development in general for me to get why they were the way they were. I could probably say the same for the villain, Mal, but he's not much of a character really, bit of a stock villain, and this story is more about the romance so it matters less.
So, the characters' behaviors were 'off' and I couldn't connect with them. Then, the non-romance plotline and the world were very standard zombie apocalypse fare, not done any better than I've seen before. There were also a lot of bits and pieces, not usually major to the plot, that took me out of the world and annoyed me. A lot of it was packed into the end, so I won't spoil anything, but the way certain things were written made the minor characters look dumb or inconsistent or made me have to put in more work than I'd like to justify how something could fit the world of the story.
So, the characters' behaviors were 'off' and I couldn't connect with them. Then, the non-romance plotline and the world were very standard zombie apocalypse fare, not done any better than I've seen before. There were also a lot of bits and pieces, not usually major to the plot, that took me out of the world and annoyed me. A lot of it was packed into the end, so I won't spoil anything, but the way certain things were written made the minor characters look dumb or inconsistent or made me have to put in more work than I'd like to justify how something could fit the world of the story.