For me the pace worked and the character development was great. This was such a different take on the genre and I liked how the characters especially Robert grew and then it fitted in well with the original story.

However for me the highlight of the audio was the narration, Craig Bowles just adds to the book. I just devoured the book and had to keep listening at all times - helped with the current English weather. So a combination of the story and the narration worked perfectly.

So recommend the audio narration to this book.

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

This book was a little graphic on the death scenes and things like that. I liked how in some instances they banned together to survive. How they worked together to get the supplies they needed and how to make new things to help them survive.

DNF 22%

TL;DR: Schmoopie-schmoopie.
Characters so annoying that you wish death on them 😂 The characters, romance and narration killed this book.

I adore post-apocalyptic worlds but this really didn't work for me. I didn't enjoy it.

*Info dumping.
The first thing I noticed was that there was too much explanation of new tech. What year it was introduced, what it does, why it's better than old tech. And explanations of the world in general.

Being told how and why things are what they are is not a very exciting way to experience a new world. Your readers are intelligent, you don't need to explain everything. Just show us. We can keep up.

*The Narration
I have been spoiled by some spec-tac-u-lar narrators. This just wasn't to the same standard.

Not enough distinction between certain voices - and the acting was lacking (particularly noticeable during news reports and the portrayal of AI voices). Sometimes no short pause between scene changes.

And for whatever reason, the British accent just didn't work for me (I had believed the story was set in the USA?) But then, I heard the narrator's attempt at an American accent, and I figured it was probably for the best.

*Romance/Characters=Schmoopie-schmoopie (only worse and without a loveable Jerry)
So soppy and cringy. Baby talk and constant terms of endearment. Zylv's voice is so whiny. I couldn't stand them. It was nauseating.

I was seriously hoping they'd both be killed off so I wouldn't have to listen to them anymore. They are annoying. So very annoying. Listening to them caused me actual pain.

It's a shame because the post-apocalyptic, virus, quarantine story has such potential.

When I started wishing the main characters would die, that's when I knew it was time to quit 😂