THIS BOOK IS PHENOMENAL! ONE OF THE BEST SEQUELS

I loved this book so much! It had me crying and sobbing only 14% in, and the rest of the book was a true joy to read. This sequel adds so much to the development of the two main characters' relationship. It added new side characters whose stories had me sobbing. The "villain" was so infuriatingly accurate and heartbreaking to witness.

Also, this book is just hilarious like the Last of Us apocalypse-type humour, but to the extreme and with a whole lot less hopelessness. Andrew and Jamie's humour in this book at the worst possible moments is so good.

I was worried that this sequel would ruin the first book for me but it was so so so well written and just made me love this world more.

BOOK REVIEW - THE ONLY LIGHT LEFT BURNING by Erik J Brown

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to read The Only Light Left Burning before its public release, courtesy of NetGalley and Hachette Australia. As I settled back into the world of Jamie and Andrew once again, I was struck by the stunning book cover—just like All That's Left in the World—a perfect representation of the story within.

I loved All That's Left in the World, and this book picks straight up where we left it. As I got into the book, I was struck by the flawless execution of the queer YA rom-com. Every character shone in their role, making the story flow effortlessly. Jamie and Andrew's relationship is a true highlight, of course, and their struggles to navigate their desires and goals are so relatable. But the comedy! my lord.

The new cast of characters adds a fresh layer to the story, and I found myself drawn to Daphne, Rocky Horror, and The Kid.

Overall, I highly recommend The Only Light Left Burning to anyone who loves queer YA rom-coms. It's an engaging read that will leave you rooting for the characters until the very end.

I first picked up All That’s Left in the World because it sat at that all-too-rare intersection of post-apocalyptic and queer. I loved Jamie and Andrew’s journey through the ruins of virus-ravaged America and watching them slowly find love. Finishing was bittersweet because it felt like saying goodbye to friends.

Enter The Only Light Left Burning! Revisiting a world where you left friends is always an emotional thing. How have they changed? How have I changed? After all, it’s been years since we last spoke. A sequel comes with more baggage too. As reader’s we can sometimes get bogged down in our expectations, either building things too high or being grumpy if things change too much.

If that is how you feel, then I have good news! Erik Brown here has managed to walk that knife-edge with admirable skill. We return to Jamie and Andrew again where we left them in the Florida Keys, and quickly meet a new cast, including Daphne, a ribald romance author in her sixties, and the acerbic, gruff-with-a-heart-of-gold trans-man Rocky Horror. We follow our love birds this time on a journey that mirrors their first. They have to face unfortunately familiar adversaries, new critters (with many many more teeth!) and the daily challenges of surviving in a ravaged America.

One of my favourite parts of this as a sequel is that Jamie and Andrew are both deeply affected by what has happened to them. Their relationship has changed as well, moving from those first few sparks of desperate love to a deeper exploration of what love looks like when it gets harder and you realise you might want different things. Whilst miscommunication might sometimes be an issue (and a frustrating one!) it did always feel genuine and grounded in the reality of being seventeen-years-old.

If you enjoyed the first book here, the odds are you’re going to enjoy this one too! Whilst some of the motivation behind choices felt a little shallow or forced, and one or two subplots end somewhat abruptly, I still finished this with a bittersweet feeling of saying goodbye to friends who I’d grown even closer to.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for the ARC! All opinions here are my own.

When I saw I was given the privilege to receive an e-arc of this book by NetGalley I freaked. All That’s Left In The World was a very notable read for me, I remember where I was when I turned that first page, so I was beyond thrilled to continue Jamie and Andrews story.

This duology has a wonderful way of raising a lot of new “what if” situations; what if zoo animals escape? What if communes are two faced? What if natural disasters occur? Or…well read and find out for yourself!

Now, while Erik J. Brown excels at writing in a way that transports you and makes you fall in love with the side characters, I did find the first 60% to be a little bit frustrating. I felt as if the bad communication and unresolved tension became repetitive and draining, it was always one problem or another. BUT the last 40%? I devoured.

At one point I was about to look up fanart and gush over the characters only to be hit with the realisation that I have to wait a little bit longer so that others can fall in love with Rocky Horror, Taylor and THE KID. The Kid had me crying, he is the sweetest-most precious- bestest boy. If you are on the fence about this book, read it for The Kid, I promise you wont regret it.

For some of the characters, distance makes the heart grow fonder, but for me this series will always be close to my heart. Overall I give this book a 3.75 (rounded down to a three because it’s not quite as good as the first book but that tends to be the case for most series).

Going back into this world was a bit confusing and it would’ve been easier to have a reminder about things that had happened, having a slower introduction would’ve helped me be reacquainted with the characters for sure. I was just confused the whole time and it disengaged me. There were elements I enjoyed, I just really wanted to enjoy it more than I actually did. Maybe I needed to do a reread of the first book to be able to read book two.

The Only Light Left Brubing by Erik J. Brown

Release date: 28th May

I remember seeing the cover to All That's Left in the World on one of my first visits to a local library after it received an impressive renovation. Something about the cover drew me in. Once I read that it was a dystopian YA about two young boys finding safety and love in one another I immediately grabbed it. I devoured it in a few sittings. I gave the first book 5 stars, even though the ending wasn’t as satisfying as I’d hoped. This book takes that ending, throws it in the bin and gives us the ending we thought Andrew and Jamie deserved.

I was reading The Only Light Left Burning at the same time as a few other YA dystopians. The others were very reminiscent of YA I read as a teen, hitting all the typical marks. But this one gave me the most anxiety. It stood out as a book not afraid to make young (and older) readers squirm. So, thank you? I still cringe thinking about THAT animal scene.

Andrew and Jamie's relationship is already established, so it was a shock AND refreshing to see them already struggling to communicate in the first chapter. Jamie wants to go back to the cabin, Andrew wants community. This is a big theme of the book and drives both of them to make rash and sometimes deadly decisions.

There were times when I couldn’t put the book down because I HAD to know what happened next and other times when I was scared to keep reading because I was so invested in every character.

Top tier YA queer dystopian duology. Looking forward to rereading them both in the future.

Rating: Obsessed = 5 stars.

eARC provided by Hachette AU via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a great second book. It's past faced and has a lot of twists and turns, some I did not see coming.
This book feels like what happens after you get your happy ending, and it was nice to see the characters again and see where life has taken them
It's good to see what's happening in Andrew and Jamie's world
if you enjoyed the first one, you'll love this one just as much :)

I will be honest - I wasn't sure we needed a sequel to All That's Left in the World after they got to their final destination. They had found nice people and all was good right?

I am very happy to say that I was very, very wrong and we absolutely needed a sequel to this story. I might even go so far as to say that the sequel was better than the original...by the smallest of margins because I adored the first book. I finished it in a day because I could not stop and I probably would have finished this one in a day too, if not for the fact that I started it late in the afternoon.

We are introduced to a bunch of new characters which now own my heart as much as Andrew and Jaime do and old hurts/injustices are settled. I really loved the way this ended and while I know that there are no more books in this series because poor Andrew and Jaime have been through enough, I would not be unhappy if there are more books with different characters.

Thoroughly recommend this series. Thank you to Netgallery and Hachette for the ARC - you made my day!

D*mn Erik, how did you dare to let me cry at 14% already? And then that scene with Andrew! I cringed and got nauseous because of the pain he must have felt. And Jamie only showed his hardened outer shell, living with so much anger and frustration. I really wanted my favorite cinnamon roll back.

I loved the mingling of teen-related themes with all the action in the scary and heartbreaking apocalypse world, themes like learning to trust others and build upon one another, not talking about insecurities, doubting about proceeding sexually, etc. I constantly sat on the edge of my seat and wanted Andrew and Jamie to stay together and alive so badly, so I rooted, and I gasped, and goosebumps crawled over my body when Henri … and my hands were shaking while reading this sequel. And the Kid, OMG, the Kid. That seven-year-old is my favorite side character in this series.

Erik, your storytelling is sublime, and I need far more of your writing! Of course, I rated this beautiful sequel five stars! And can we please get a treequel (does this word even exist)? We both know that Albie should be the main character in that one!

The Only Light Left Burning is a phenomenal follow-up to the successful book All That's Left in the World. We return to Andrew and Jamie's story some months after the end of the first book, where they've found friends and work in their new community. But things aren't all roses, especially when Jamie isn't settled and doesn't want to put roots down, whereas Andrew thinks of the community as family and wants to stay.

But trouble comes knocking, and the two boys and their closest friends are soon on the road again. Much like the first book, there's a lot of post-apocalyptic problems the group has to deal with, from nature to unfriendly communities to relationship problems. Despite the cast of characters having expanded, it in no way retracts from the core of the series - Andrew and Jamie themselves.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it did not let me down for a single minute. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the pages just fly by as you hope desperately for the good moments to come for the characters. A must-read!