I thought this was a fantastic book, with the protagonist suffering from a heart condition but not letting this get in his way as he challenges himself to create a movie about zombies and romance, with the help of his friends. His best friend’s cousin gets involved and he has to try and balance the movie and his new feelings for this boy, all whilst the surgery date is looming overhead. I liked that this story involved a character with a heart defect as it was an interesting aspect to read about and I think really added the perfect overlying conflict. It was a very enjoyable read and the narrator did a great job as well.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ALC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I don't think there are enough words to say how much I adored this book! One of my very close friends had open heart surgery at the same age as the main character of this book and I remember when she messaged me to say she had just finished the first book that ever made her feel seen. So for that alone this book has given me more than I could have ever hoped for. This is a shining example of why representation is so important, because it means people like my friend get to see themselves in the things they love. I love how this book addresses Jesse's very real fears. It's done in such an authentic way that I forgot this was a fictional story.

The charm of this book is what made me fall first. I pulled me in like a soft embrace, Then came the fantastically written characters, each one with their own personalities, but its Jesse that steals the show. He is funny, adorable, nerdy and goofy plus he is a horror movie buff. A boy after my own heart (pun intended).

This was a remarkable tale of friendship, acceptance and love. Not just love in relationships but also self-love. This made me laugh, made me angry and also made me cry and I loved it.

This was a fantastic & heartwarming YA story! I have been leaning back to my queer YA book reader roots, especially via audiobook, in the last year, and though I had not read any of William Hussey's books before, the title, cover, and premise of this story really caught my eye. Not only does this book cover some important issues such as body image, bullying, internalized homophobia, bereavement of a parent, and heart problems/surgery (to name a few), but it handles them in a sensitive and relatable way. I found Jesse to be a relatable and realistically written teenager, which can sometimes be hard to find. And I would recommend the audiobook version of this book!

The story was just what I needed back when I read it. It was cute, heartwarming, funny, and addicting.

The main cast of characters were all likeablea and relatable.

The narration was top tier, Chris Nelson was the perfect narrator and really complimented Jesse's awkward humour.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

***AUDIO BOOK VERSION***
Broken Hearts and Zombie Parts was such a cute and fun listen, which I enjoyed listening to in the car as i was travelling to and from a weekend away. Not only does this book cover some important issues such as body image, bullying, internalised homophobia, bereavement of a parent, and heart problems/surgery (to name a few), but it handles them in a sensitive and relatable way. I loved Jesse's character and the dynamics and comradrey between his friendship group. I think Jesse is quite a relateable teenage character, and his passion and talent for movie making was inspiring and believable and not overdone. I found this a lovely, touching, and heartwarming read and will definitely be looking to read/listen to more books from this author.

What a surprise 5 stars!
Not to say that I wasn’t expecting good things, but I wasn’t expecting to love it so much. I had a great time with this!
(I also bought myself/Sam a copy of this during the last Waterstones points event. I may also have made Sam start reading it straight away.)
I do have to say the main character was somewhat irritating (often experiencing verbal diarrhoea) but you could tell he was well loved by the people around him in spite of this. But he did grow on me as the story went on. To be honest, none of the characters were without fault, but I think they all had a secret to hide.
I liked the romance that took place behind the scenes of the movie.
I loved the premise of the zombie movie and I wanted nothing more than to watch it at the end! It feels like this would be a good book for if you don’t want to read a horror book but want to read something loosely related to one for Halloween.

Jesse Spark’s heart fails, and the life-changing open heart surgery becomes necessary. Following his doctor’s advice, he decides to use the time before the procedure well and shoot an ambitious zombie movie over the summer. With his friends in tow, he begins his search for perfect locations and brilliant young actors. He’s also keeping his eyes open for a potential boyfriend so he can experience love before his operation leaves him with a hideous scar...⁠
⁠
I listened to this story as an audiobook, and I must admit that I kept looking for excuses to keep listening. I had to know how this would end. This novel is a gay YA romance with loads of humour, but it also touches on the topics of self-acceptance, homophobia and body image. It has a fantastic cast of characters with distinct personalities, backgrounds, and goals. It can be pretty emotional, as written from Jesse’s point of view, who is filled with anxiety about his health, the scar that would render him undesirable and the fact that his close-knit group of friends seem to drift apart lately. It also has many hilarious scenes about making an extremely low-budget zombie movie.⁠
⁠
Broken Hearts and Zombie Parts is an exciting YA romcom, perfect for fans of Alice Oseman.

*4.25 Stars*

Jesse Spark has just been diagnosed with a heart condition and needs to have open-heart surgery. And while he is scared about the operation, what worries him most is the scar he'll be left with and that no one will ever find him attractive because of it. So he starts a plan to get everything he wants before the surgery. First of all, he'll film the movie he's been writing for a while now and then, he'll find love. If not forever, at least for now. But nothing is so easy, and made worst by his two best friends fighting for an unknown reason.

I'm very stupid and I don't read summaries so I thought this had actual Zombies. I'm kinda glad it didn't though.
I really had a great time with this. I felt for Jesse and his fears and struggles. I was so intrigued by the whole situation with his friends, I really wanted to understand it all and could barely stop reading so I found out. I was also way into the whole movie aspect of the book and just found it so entertaining overall. I didn't always agree with Jesse's decisions but that made it all the more interesting and fun. The end was a bit predictable but I didn't really mind.
This was just a nice, fun YA romcom with some deeper topics and I liked it so much.

This was cute, funny and heart-breaking (no pun intended). It was a sweet story about friendship and making a movie with an underlying story of body issues and coming to terms with surgery. I loved how Jesse's own issues about his surgery scar was mirrored in Morgan's confidence issues.

The audio was well done, but I couldn't get on with the narrator. It didn't distract from the story at all, but it's definitely not a book that I'll look back on and remember the narrator from. I did like however that he did sound like a teenage boy. I've heard so many audiobooks where the narrator is meant to be in their teens and they sound grown up and it's very off-putting.

There were a couple of things that put me off the book itself but they were minor. For the most part, I enjoyed it immensely and will look forward to reading more from William Hussey in the future.

Cute story with elements of YA romance and a pretty serious heart condition. Plenty of angst and coming of age elements. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more when I was younger, like 15-20.

I liked this book! It's sweet and treats its teenage characters with respect. You gotta love a book where everyone is a film nerd and there's loads of horror movie references/names chucked in. At its core, it's a book about accepting your battle scars in life - real and metaphorical - and not rushing to judgement about those scars (your own and others). Chris Nelson did a lovely job of bringing these disparate young voices to life.

i absolutely adored this book more than words. to be able to see myself in the lead character was so touching.

williams writing is so clearly heartfelt and passionate it brought tears to my eyes

I'm not the target demographic for YA at all, but sometimes it just really hits the mark and gives me everything I'm looking for from a book. This book really did it for me. I enjoyed that it was funny and obviously that it was queer, but most of all I loved that the author put so much of himself into it. He's clearly a fan of cinema, which is demonstrated in the main thrust of the plot, but the main character also has the same heart condition as the author, which gives us a great insight into what it must be like and the worries and concerns that someone living with this condition must experience.

I did see the ending coming from a mile off (although not all of it's details) but I loved seeing how we managed to get there. There is some homophobia in the story, but I thought that it was handled well, as well as some hints at internalised homophobia. My one gripe is that there is some miscommunication which went on for too long and I found a bit annoying, but it didn't take too much away from my enjoyment.

I was given access to the audiobook by the Publisher via Netgalley. It's narrated by Chris Nelson, so also narrated both of the other William Hussey audiobooks that I've listened to. I really love his narration style, which feels very 'energetic' and nicely varied. There were a couple of moments throughout the book where he either mispronounced or placed the stress on an odd part of a word or sentence, but other than that it was an excellent quality audiobook.

I really enjoyed this book, it was fun, emotional, and I loved seeing the friendships and relationships grow and change over the story.

This book has – if you’ll pardon the pun – so much heart!

Jesse Spark is the lovable lead, a teenage film-maker who finds out he needs to have open heart surgery. He sets out to make the zombie movie of his dreams, despite growing tensions between his best friends, and a complete lack of budget or equipment.

We join the friends on the adventure as they pull together a cast, locations, make-up artists, and everything they need for the film. It was laugh-out-loud funny, the mishaps they got themselves into, but they always managed to pull it off despite the odds.

I will admit that, at the start of the book, I thought I knew exactly where the story was going, and I was still fully committed to the ride. Over the course of the book, though, the story changes direction ever so slightly, until we see just before Jesse does what the true ending will be. It kept me on the edge of my seat and very emotionally invested!

One of the big themes of the book is that of body image. Jesse knows that gay men are often held to incredibly high standards when it comes to their appearance, and he’s afraid that once he has the operation – and a scar on his chest – he won’t be considered datable. One of his best friends, Morgan, has felt insecure about how she looked her whole life, and while Jesse and their other friend Cas do their best to help her, she sees doesn’t find any validation in what they say. I thought these issues and storylines were handled really well. I also appreciated that the author didn’t go into the specifics of Morgan’s appearance, such as her exact weight or clothes size, because these insecurities can plague someone no matter their appearance (and also avoids giving a number to ‘too big’ or ‘small enough’).

There was also excellent narration from Chris Nelson, who brought all the characters to life so vividly.

I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored this book to the very depths of my soul. I think this may be the first time I’ve ever cried happy tears in a book but there were also plenty of sad tears and even more out loud laughter. This was honestly just the most magnificent book. Jesse is perhaps my favourite character of all time, with all his sweetness and his amusing babbling as well. He was so darn wholesome and downright hilarious, completely unintentionally. The narrator also had a great voice for his character and the delivery was perfect, really bringing Jesse to life.

The dynamic between Jesse and his two best friends, Morgan and Cass, was keeping me guessing most of the way through this book with the mystery of their weird behaviour hanging over Jesse and whilst I had my suspicions it was impossible to know for sure until near the very end when the truth was revealed and I really loved that because it meant the book wasn’t predictable and I truly empathised with Jesse in the I-have-no-idea-what’s-going-on camp. It broke my heart a little how much other people’s caginess and secrets were eating away at him.

This book obviously tackles some really difficult topics - first and foremost, Jesse needing open heart surgery. There were so many complex emotions surrounding this and they were so well written and it made Jesse feel like a real person rather than a character in a book. You definitely won’t love all of the characters, but I reckon you’ll love all the ones that you’re meant to. Especially all the people that are as charmed by Jesse as you will be. This book drives home how hard teenage years and school are but shines a light on the beautiful parts too and the bonds between friends and family.

I laughed, I cried, I loved it. Don’t miss out on a great thing!

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

Super enjoyable, as with all of the William Hussey books I have read. A tad predictable but surprisingly fun given the nature of the plot

Thank you NetGalley, Bolinda Audio and William Hussey for providing me with a copy of the Audiobook for review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Available now

This is a wonderful read following Jessie Sparks - the most adorable main character that the British Isle has to offer us! He is an iconic YA narrator, like the British Nicky Bell minus the superhero addiction but with a horror film obsession.

This story is great fun, one single summer to film the best zombie horror film of all time and land a summer lover. The pressure is seriously on!

Our side characters are also very dynamic. Lots at play with them and I love a good 'secret between besties' plot. I think that our side characters bring a lot of strong issues to this table for discussion. There is clear fatophobia and discrimination that is explored a little bit.

I think that what was most upsetting for our main mate Sparky is that he just sooooo lost in the white cis-gay body stereotypes. And really what else can you expect from a teenager? I mean just think about the recent discussions around the bodies in Troye Sivan's Rush music video. You can't expect him to have matured past this when it can literally take a lifetime to deal with body issues.

I really really enjoyed the British voice acting in this recording. It really brought Sparky to life.

I really did enjoy this one! It was fun and cute and I loved the characters, really feeling the warmth to Jesse. It was funny and full of action and friendship and romance. An easy and enjoyable read!

This book has a whole lot of ♥️

There isn’t a single thing that I didn’t love about Broken Hearts & Zombie Parts. If you love horror, like me, you’ll adore the references, I mean, Casper Loomis? Pure brilliance! These alone are enough to make me love this book, but there is so much more to this beautiful story.

Your own heart will ache and feel like it might break, but it will also smile, laugh and feel so much joy it might even burst! ♥️

The characters are fantastically written. Each with their own personality & quirks, but it’s the main character, Jesse that gets my heart. He is adorable, goofy, nerdy and bloody funny.
And was perfectly captured by the audiobook narrator, Chris Nelson. It truly felt like It was the real Jesse I was listening to, telling me his story.
It’s narration, like in BHaZP, that just reaffirms my love of audiobooks.

A magnificent tale of friendship, romance as well as self-love and acceptance. I cannot recommend this enough.

Even the authors note was beautiful.

A special mention goes out to Tiny. Listen to it and you understand.

References I love:

- [ ] Guillermo del Toro
- [ ] Freddy Vs Jason
- [ ] Rest In Peace, Pennywise
- [ ] Bad Dreams On Maple Avenue (It was a homage)
- [ ] Queer books as song titles

And those are just a few. There are just too many to mention.

Thank you, NetGalley & Bolinda audio.
This is my honest review.