Hearing Red

Man, what a story. The detail that the author provides in her writing is amazing. The story was fast-paced, organized, and well structured. The two female leads are realistically and consistently written. Saff's stoic, tense nature and Maddie's relentless positivity and stubbornness are expressed in entertaining, realistic, and relatable ways. The ability to float seamlessly from one POV to the next while clearly maintaining their different perspectives, desires, and distinct personalities is refreshing. Also, being able to write from a blind person's perspective (Maddie) was truly inspiring and entertaining to read. It is a great book with tense, heart-wrenching moments and a sapphic love story that is expertly woven into the plot. I highly recommend it.

Hearing Red is a stunning blend of emotional slow-burn romance and gritty apocalypse survival. Maddie, a blind protagonist, offers a unique and vivid POV that deepens the story, and her dynamic with Saff is electric—grumpy/sunshine perfection. Nicole Maser writes with such heart and care, especially in the portrayal of disability and queer identity. The pacing is thoughtful, the characters unforgettable, and the narration (if you're listening to the audiobook) by Lori Prince is phenomenal. It’s less about zombies and more about resilience, connection, and love in the darkest of times. A must-read for fans of character-driven sapphic romance with real emotional weight.

I generally don't go for action-oriented books or zombie books, but I have to say that "Hearing Red" really won me over. I really liked the slowburn of Saff and Maddie, and I really liked the idea of seeing how people with a disability would survive a situation like this. This book was very well-written, and Nicole Maser absolutely knows how to build tension, let me tell you! I loved her imaginative descriptions of what life would look like post-apocalypse, and her take on how society would reform. I also loved how sweet and caring the romance here is. I felt every pain, every worry, every nervousness, and every elation of the two main characters. They were adorable. Def recommend this one, especially if you're looking to break out of the modern romance genre a little.

I was looking for a decent sapphic book to read that was available on kindle unlimited and my standards weren’t entirely high, I just wanted something to pick up and browse before bed. The rave reviews and premise of this book had me intrigued so I gave it a shot. To say that it blew all of my expectations out of the water and had me hooked by the first chapter would be an understatement. I absolutely devoured this story. I never wanted it to end and at the same time couldn’t bring myself to put it down. The characters were so amazingly crafted and voiced that both perspectives were equally riveting and never felt confusing or bland. The pacing was expertly weaved with all of the perfect amounts of action, suspense and vulnerability that it never felt rushed or boring. Every part of the relationship between the two protagonists was written to absolute perfection. I could go on and on. If there was a way to will a sequel into existence I would do it just for a few more chapters with these characters. Seriously. Just read this book.

I love zombies. If you tell me that a book is sapphic and has zombies in it, the book immediately goes on #tbrlist. It could even have very little stars. Zombies, people!!! 😆 Now imagine being blind and having to fight zombies and other survivors, I can’t but Nicole Maser writes just this scenario in Hearing Red. Saff, a survivalist, trying to escape her crews comes across Maddie and can’t decide whether to kill her or help her. Maddie promises medication that Saff desperately needs if she helps her. The two navigate their way through foes, human and zombies, to get what they both need and maybe a hope for the future. First let me talk about the cover because for someone reason it has a new cover. I love the original cover. It’s the reason why I picked the book. I hadn’t even read the blurb and I wanted to read it. If it had the cover it has now, I wouldn’t even have looked twice at the book. To say that this book is action-packed is to put it mildly. It is awesome! Blood, gore, violence, zombies (I can’t say that word enough) are throughout this book. What makes this story better than the Walking Dead is that it is sapphic and both leads have health complications that makes their fight amazing. Their romance doesn’t come easy and it shouldn’t. This isn’t a time for trust or even love. Yet, the respect they build for each other leads to just that. The secondary cast is just as good. They are filled with drama, betrayal, violence, and family. While I was reading, it felt…