Mild spoilers for the beginning and the premise
Surviving Romance was, to say the least, a thrilling experience, with lots of plot twists, that I had not expected. From the title itself, I labeled it a romance story, but I was in for a surprise and a good one. You might think this from the title and the cover, but you would be completely wrong and “judging the book by its cover,” which I did, but I am glad I did because this outshines most series, but is it even about romance?

A bit? The beginning is about a romance between a high school boy and a girl but it is completely ignored after the story shifts tone. I’d say it is much more about self-love, appreciating yourself, and what you have, and cherishing your bonds, rather than actual romance. That is really only present throughout the beginning phase before the protagonist’s goal changes and also sometimes throughout the story, but plays little of a role, and romance is also not listed as a genre on AniList.

Chae-Rin Eun, the female lead, wakes up inside a romance novel, but instead of sticking to the romance part, it sets up huge plot twists that, in short, change the entire genre. Instead of merely being inside a romance novel, we learn that it has merged together with a survival novel, (Surviving Romance.) and now has to survive a zombie apocalypse. In the romance novel, Chae-Rin Eun was the biggest ass-hole. She only thinks of her boyfriend and does not care about others, but Chae-Rin Eun is not Chae-Rin Eun anymore. She is the reader, not the fictional character from the novel. I have read a little amount of Manhwa, so I’m not sure how generic it is, but from what I’ve read, it usually plays little of a role, but in Surviving Romance the entire beginning is about how Chae-Rin Eun was written in the novel; an ass-hole, indifferent, etc. And it also plays a role throughout the entire story. Further, the generic part of the protagonist knowing the entire plot is not present in Surviving Romance, which creates an actual interesting story.

Chae-Rin Eun does not pay attention to the other fictional characters, which are fully black-colored characters because she ignored them and has to remove that prejudice/rumors and bond with them to be able to see their face which is vital for surviving the apocalypse and creates for nice wholesome moments.

The reason I found it to be a great read is because of Chae-Rin Eun’s character development. It starts out with her being dislikable, but quickly after certain events, she is tested. The entire zombie apocalypse puts her in a situation where she cannot survive by herself. She is heavily disliked by her classmates, as she never talks with them, and does not acknowledge them. But when the apocalypse starts, she is the only one aware of it and, therefore, has to change the prejudice surrounding her character and start connecting with the other fictional characters, and also has to change herself. And to survive the zombie apocalypse, she takes leadership, but being heavily disliked means she needs to change.

The supporting cast is not the greatest and sometimes has weird traits that can get annoying over time, but overall I’d still give it a 9/10. It is a great read that I’d fully recommend.