I initially requested this book because the cover reminded me of a RomCom and I needed a book title that started with "Z" to finish my goal for the year. Even though this book was not what I was expecting, I loved it so much. The book was laugh out loud funny, thrilling, and heart retching as well as heart warming.

When Dan and his girlfriend take a vacation to a private island, the unexpected happened when the sun exploded, and they are stranded and everyone quickly has to decide if they can work together, or it is every man for himself. The book is filled with likeable and quirky characters. It sucked me in from the beginning and could not wait to find out what happened.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC

While vacationing in the Bahamas, Dan and Mara witness the sun exploding, plunging the world into darkness and chaos. As the resort descends into panic, the couple must navigate a growing crisis, while facing environmental dangers like an impending ice age and Mara's urgent concern for her mother's health. Amid the turmoil, the resort's power dynamics shift dramatically when a ruthless influencer takes control, leading to a clash between the wealthy elite and the "commoners" that drives the action, as Dan and Mara are forced to confront their survival instincts and fight back against an oppressive regime.

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend can be read as a funny apocalypse tale, but uses that humor to mask an all to real commentary on class warfare.

Zero Stars. Do Not Recommend by MJ Wasteman is a darkly comic and surprisingly insightful social satire that blends absurdity with apocalyptic tension. The novel follows Dan Foster, a professional underachiever who is enjoying a lackluster vacation with his girlfriend at a tropical island resort, when the unimaginable happens: the sun explodes. Suddenly, Dan finds himself trapped in a chaotic world where survival takes precedence over everything else.

The story unfolds with sharp wit and biting humor, as the once-idyllic resort becomes a powder keg of class warfare, dwindling resources, and growing desperation. With a coup staged by wealthy guests and class divisions growing ever more evident, Dan is thrust into the unexpected role of a reluctant hero. The absurdity of his situation—caught between the desire to escape and the pull to help his fellow stranded vacationers—provides both the comedic and emotional heart of the story.

Wasteman’s writing skillfully blends satire with action, taking jabs at the entitled attitudes of the rich, the vacuity of modern life, and the complexities of human nature in a crisis. At its core, Zero Stars. Do Not Recommend is a clever commentary on the collapse of societal norms, with an everyman protagonist who may not have much going for him, but finds himself in the most unlikely of positions.

Fans of The White Lotus and Kevin Wilson will enjoy the novel’s quirky humor, sharp character insights, and exploration of morality in the face of the apocalypse. Wasteman crafts a story that's equal parts absurd and profound, a blend of high-stakes survival and dark social critique that offers more than just laughs—it leaves you questioning what you'd do when the world as you know it falls apart.

Can an apocalypse be fun, well in this story, Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend, it definitely is grand. This unusual story is full of humor and a cast full of "rich" characters. This book is social satire experiment centering around social status, and WOW what a crazy ride.

Thank you, Sourcebooks

Two stars, do not recommend.

I had high hopes for this book. The description caught my interest immediately, and I impatiently waited for an ARC opportunity (thank you Netgalley!).Unfortunately, the narrator was not a personal favorite, and often times made it difficult to follow along. The characters were difficult to like and the story took turns that were kind of out there, not in a good way. Two stars for the concept, but I ended up DNF'ing it about 30% in.

Professional underachiever Dan Foster is finally taking a vacation. Sure, his life has been average at best, and yeah, he’s never quite lived up to his potential. But after a few Miller Lites in paradise with his girlfriend, Mara, things are starting to look up.

Then the sun explodes.

With the island resort suddenly plunged into darkness (he really should’ve sprung for the travel insurance), Dan’s holiday goes from bad to worse when elite guests stage a coup and commandeer supplies. As temperatures drop and class tensions rise, revolution begins to brew on the island, and Dan accidentally becomes a beacon of hope for the surviving vacationers. But when one six-person plane is discovered that could get them back to the mainland, Dan realizes he has a choice to make.

Does he escape the island with Mara? Or does he stay and fight to become the most unlikely hero of the end of the world?
Really enjoyed this story. Kept me hooked until the very end. Cannot wait to read more from the author.

Review!
I liked it! A phenomenal debut for fans of romance that need a little side plot. Taken place in a dystopian like era, where the apocalypse takes on a wild twist, that does not include zombies (thankfully). Dan and Lil are super witty, cute and lots of pinning. This book is 50% romance, 25% weird/paranormal and 25% funny..

More people should read!!

first, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an arc.

1000% will say not I was not prepared for what this book was about to be.

when I applied for the arc, I didn't even truly read the synopsis, I just thought the cover was cute and it would be a light-hearted summer romance read...and holy cow, was I completely wrong.

this is definitely more of a social satire book with two main characters fighting an apocalypse... I mean who expects the sun to explode on your vacation????

the only reason I give it a four, was the writing style was definitely different and I caught myself wanting to skim some in the middle, but the beginning and end? amazing.

This book was very interesting and was written very well.

I will pick up another from this author. I really like the different aspects in the book.


Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Reading this after powering through White Lotus was a good choice. This book kept me on my toes until the very end, and the dark humor was *chef's kiss*

This was a humorous and adventurous "end to the world". I liked the way the story starts with the sun blowing up and the fact that the title itself is an intentional pun.

This was a very well done and interesting premise from MJ Wassmer. There were really good moment sprinkled throughout the book and I am curious to what they write next.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

This was one of the most scarily accurate dystopias that I have ever read. The ultra-rich in our society would absolutely behave exactly like the ultra-rich characters in this book if they thought they could get away with it. Their better-than-thou attitude for anyone with less money, forcing their way into political power and creating a horribly inefficient fascist state - and then wondering why the people they’ve subjugated want to overthrow them. The fact that everyone gets what’s coming to them is actually the least realistic part sadly given what our real society is like.

The behaviours of the normal people in this book are also completely understandable given the extreme situation they’ve been thrown into. Even though we all like to think we’d all immediately work for the collective good first, most of us would behave like Dan and be worried about our immediate circle of people first and making sure they’re safe.

I did sort of see the major plot twist coming, but not exactly how it happened. Very good use of near-future technology in achieving this twist. It’s a smart, funny, and scary book.

So weird and so creative! I didn't know quite what to expect but I was really impressed with this, it went in so many different directions from where I was expecting in such an interesting way. I was talking to some friends about how often the partner of the reluctant hero is the true hero and that I liked that this actually addressed that, at least to a small extent. This book is a bit bananas but in a fun way!

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

This book follows a man and his girlfriend who go on a trip to an island. While there, the sun explodes and choas quickly ensues.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I was not vibing with the writing style or the humor throughout. I know it was supposed to be a humorous book but it was just not my type of humor. I hope others love this one but it wasn't for me.

Dan Foster and his girlfriend, Mara, take a vacation together. They have dated for some time, but are not yet engaged. Dan feels like he is wasting time at his job, and is happy to be relaxing at a resort with Mara.
Then, the sun explodes, and the island is plunged into darkness and a bit of chaos. A war of social status and power erupts.
Dan is an unlikely (and mostly inept) hero. Mara tries to encourage him to do the right thing and help others as they try to get off the island, but other forces are at work.
A darkly funny novel, with a bit of a look at our social priorities and their dangers.

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend is a satirical look at what would happen if the sun exploded and vacationers on a private island were cut off from the rest of the world. It had a great start, but unfortunately, for me it slowed down in the middle and fell apart by the end. I think this is more of an issue of taste than the book actually being bad.

I read a lot of SFF, and this was more light on the apocalyptic and heavy on the satire than I would have preferred. I found all the characters annoying, and their arcs didn't ring true to me. I was also able to predict the ending, so any element of surprise was lost.

Again, I think the right reader will really enjoy this book, it just wasn't for me.

Read if you like:
-Satire
-Over the top characters
-Light sci-fi/apocalypse

Dan is finally taking a vacation with his girlfriend Mara. The resort has just opened and they are ready for paradise. Shortly into their vacation though, the sun explodes. They are suddenly thrown into darkness, and there is now ay off the island. Building A is the VIP guests, who quickly gather the available supplies for themselves. As the different buildings begin to fight, Dan somehow becomes the person everyone turns to for guidance.

This was such a crazy story. I didn’t read the synopsis before I started it and was like wait what? The sun just exploded??? This book will definitely give you some flash backs to March/April 2020 when people were fighting over a pack of toilet paper in the grocery store. It was just completely bonkers, and the book took so many turns I did not expect. I did this on audio and the narration was so perfect! This book mixes humor and absolute devastation that was just the perfect combination.

Thank you to @bookmarked for my gifted copy of this book!

This is probably the most misleading cover for a book. I am not saying the book is bad, it is super interesting but you think its a rom-com style resort book and instead its like a post apocalyptic battle royale. Not to spoil anything but its a story of human nature, survival and fascism. I found it interesting even if I hated most of the characters through the whole thing maybe with the exception of Charles. I could not stop reading it though because I wanted to see how it ended, I wanted to see what the twist was.

This was a hysterical fun apocalypse thriller, we follow a resort of people stuck in the Bahamas after the sun exploded. The resort quickly devolves into different groups fighting over ruling the resort. I can honestly say I never thought I would laugh so much in a post apocalyptic novel but this was such a great time. It was fun but I cared about the characters and really enjoyed the writing. Did not see the ending on this one coming. I flew through this book and hope to read more from this author in the future. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.