𝖹𝖾𝗋𝗈 𝖲𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗌, 𝖣𝗈 𝖭𝗈𝗍 𝖱𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗇𝖽 • 𝖱𝖾𝗏𝗂𝖾𝗐

𝖬.𝖩. 𝖶𝖺𝗌𝗌𝗆𝖾𝗋

𝖱𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾 𝖽𝖺𝗍𝖾: 𝖠𝗎𝗀𝗎𝗌𝗍 6, 2024

★★★.5

I saw this cover and immediately wanted to read it. I will say the beginning of the book does just as good of grabbing your attention as the cover does! The story follows a man who finds himself trapped on an island resort after the sun explodes and he’s conflicted in saving himself & girlfriend or fighting for all the other island resort guests. I definitely wouldn’t want to spend my summer vacation that way but definitely would love to read about it happening to other people!

As intrigued as I was for how this would all play out, I found myself unable to connect with or even really like any of the characters (and there are quite a few to choose from). I look forward to seeing what else this author puts out as the storyline it’s self was very entertaining with the craziness and humor!

Thank you NetGalley & RBMedia for this advanced audiobook✨

This was a fun read with all the twists and turns. I love the narration and I feel the narration moved the story along with ease. I will be recommending this one!

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend is MJ Wassmer's debut novel and I was curious to read it by the title alone. This book is Survivor meets Under the Dome (the novel/tv series) meets White Lotus.

Dan Foster and his girlfriend Mara are on vacation at a resort on a remote island in the Bahamas when the sun explodes. Lilyanna Collins, a pyramid scheme business owner/fitness guru takes control of everyone at the resort. She rations the food, water and electricity, so the guests rebel and a war breaks out between the guests. The resort has been divided up by "class" with the rich in building A, middle class in building B and and commoners in building C. People are murdered and Dan and Mara needs to decide if they are up to standing up against Lilyanna. I did not guess where this story was headed, or what twists would leave me guessing! I liked some of the characters, while hated others and found the plot to be like no other I've read before. I recommend this novel to those who like action and romance with a little bit of suspense.

MMC and girlfriend are on an all inclusive resort trip on an island, and the sun blows up. Or does it? Tides are still tiding, stars are still starring, it’s just pitch black, cold, and all communications are down. As humans do, the super wealthy folks in building A take charge and take all of the food in all three buildings, handing out mandatory work assignments and ration cards based on the quality of their work. And the security guards definitely develop their God complex. There are other things on the island, it was once used for a large science compound, and the observatory is still active with one man checking out the space situation. Lots of disaster and shenanigans and rebellion happen, and the MMC is just kind of along for the ride. He shows a little bit of growth thru the book, but still heavily relies on his partner to actually make effective decisions and help out the folks in Buildings B and C. If he was a more likable character, I could definitely see this being a higher-rated book for me, but I did enjoy it and some of the ridiculousness of the side characters a lot!

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend is such a witty, sarcastic and fun-filled adventure to the end of the world. I loved that even amidst doom and panic, humor can still be found. One thing I loved about this book were the twists and turns in the plot. Something would happen and I would be utterly shocked, not thinking the story would turn down that path.

Dans character development was a fun journey because it happened so quickly since he was thrust into a decision making position. All in all, five stars, do recommend!

The narrator really helped capture the wittiness of Dan and Mara’s personalities through his tone and perfect timing on his sarcasm.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book started out strong. I am really into the end of the world, apocalyptic scenario so this had me hooked at the beginning. As the end of the world comes about and the people continue on, this started to drag. I still liked the humor and the way the relationships developed and were realistically portrayed by different couples, but I was kind of force reading during this stage. As the end approached, the speed picked up, but by then I had too much time to predict the ending. Overall, it was a quick summer read. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced audiobook!

A fun romp of satire, comedy, meets Shaun of the dead meets the last man on earth. It was fun, cute, thought provoking and had realistic characters.

I have so many mixed emotions about this one, I really wanted to like it and I think it could have been really good. This story follows Dan, a rather dickish character who does have some laugh out loud moments, but his main raison d’etre is being a man. He has to save his girlfriend because he’s a man and that’s what men do. He can’t cry, because that’s not what men do. “What men do” was mentioned about a thousand times. The side characters were also all rather flat, they felt like caricatures and bad stereotypes. You have the gay couple, the pastor & his MLM influencer wife from Nashville, the New Jersey deli owner, and then of course the characters of color are overly violent. I think spending more time with these characters in the beginning of the story, before the sun exploded and flushing them out into more than their surface level would have helped the story immensely, instead they fell flat and I really didn’t care when any of them died. Because shockingly this book was pretty violent, not really when the sun exploded more so when gangs took over the resort and there was copious amounts of gun violence and decapitated bodies. My last comment will be on the casual racism and homophobia. I think that the author thought this would be okay because it was always a “bad” character that was saying it or it was laughed off as part of a joke. But you can be funny without it and it really added nothing to the story or to the characters. Casually joking about black face and Rodney King is just not funny and it never will be. Making the pastor Islamophobic adds nothing when we already hate him. Having the body guard throw out a homophobic slur once at the end of the story so you can jokingly say come on man it’s 2024 doesn’t add anything, we already hate him.

I guess I had more grievances than I thought, for the good. I did think the story was original, it did make me laugh out loud multiple times, Mara was a great character, and the narration for the audio book was fantastic. It just needed to be a bit more upfront with what you are in for at the beginning and to really question itself on why something is being added and what does it add to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley & RBMedia for the audio arc of this novel.

Dan Foster is enjoying a break from his mediocre life with his girlfriend, Mara, in the Bahamas when the sun explodes. Things go from bad to worse when a wellness influencer/pyramid schemer named Lilyanna rises to power along with the elite guests at the resort and commandeer the supplies. As the temperatures drop, revolution begins to brew among the classes and Dan somehow finds himself as the unlikely hero among the surviving vacationers.

This apocalyptic satire from MJ Wassmer about the end of the world hits close to home for those of us still reeling from the early toilet paper hoarding days of the pandemic. It toes the line between the absurd and terrifyingly plausible as a good satire should. I highly recommend this on audio as the narration for Lilyanna was especially hysterical with the perfect amount of southern twang and girl boss tone you’d expect from an MLM tyrant.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me this arc to review.

“It’s like, society thinks there’s something broken about a person who’s just living. Like there’s no inherent worth to people unless they’ve accomplished something.”

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend was hilarious. It’s like if you put the Stanford Prison Study on an island, with a Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy type of humor - which is to say, right up my alley. Come on, with quotes like “Apocalyptic dictatorship,” “Teamwork makes the regime work,” “They showed my butt — (“Did they at least pixelate it?”) Yeah, but they only needed like, two pixels,” it’s hard to not bust a gut.

I laughed out loud a lot. A super funny Lord of the Flies. Humans can be cute and funny sometimes, but human nature is violent. And we definitely see that unfurl throughout the story. I especially liked the emphasis on the class war - because same. There were also nuggets of wisdom laced throughout about mankind that I found endearing, and those little nuggets and the humor really made me fall in love with this book.

But speaking of violence, there are two or three references to someone being violent like a pit bull (I’m paraphrasing because I can’t remember the exact quotes), but in 2024, can we all agree that pit bulls are not a good standard for describing violence? They are the greatest, most loyal dogs, whose intelligence and loyalty are used against them.

Overall, I loved this - save for the pittie slander - and I highly recommend it if you want a lot of good belly laughs.

MJ Wassmer’s new novel ZERO STARS DO NOT RECOMMEND finds Dan and Mara vacationing with a travel group at a private island resort. All seems delightful despite the vacationers having been unexpectedly assigned lodging in “Buildings A, B, and C,” on a sliding scale of luxury based on wealth and supposed relative positions in society. Problematically, the “Buildings” each quickly spawn “Groups” A, B, and C, but real trouble does not begin until an existential danger arises and essential resources become scarce. The resort’s manager then decided that leadership is needed and unilaterally declares that Group A should take that roles, since, by virtue of their money-making skills, it follows that they are “obviously smarter” and “should” be the ones to make the decisions for all Groups. It would be improper to reveal the denouement; suffice it to say that a classic LORD OF THE FLIES scenario is created, with a;l that implies. Although well structured as a satisfying thriller with several unique twists, this is also one of those rare timely, though-provoking books that deserves serious political and sociological discussion.

The cover, the clever title, and the promise of a dystopian White Lotus-esque book really drew my interest. The premise was very unique and fun. While the book started strong, I found myself losing interest at the halfway point and I felt like the pacing was a little off. There was a twist at the end (while predictable) that kinda redeemed it for me, but overall Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend is Three Stars, Might Recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

I'm not a huge fan of satire but the premise was interesting. I didn't love the narrator but ended up enjoying this and finding it quite funny! I think fans of Grady Hendrix and Christopher Moore would enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley, MJ Wassmer & RBmedia for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

I wanted to love this book. It had a fun cover & intriguing premise, but fell completely flat for me.

Average guy, Dan is on vacation with his girlfriend Mara when the sun seemingly explodes, causing all the guests at this small island resort to panic & go into apocalypse mode while they try to figure out what happened & if they’re going to survive.

I literally couldn’t stand a single character in this book – not one.

It wasn’t tense or suspenseful. I kinda wanted everyone to die. The humor didn’t even hit right. The entire book was just so drab.

Then, the cherry on top was the ending. Such a letdown. A dome? Really? Incredibly lame. Perhaps if the ending had been something more original, I’d have rated it a little higher.

A couple of my book friends really enjoyed this book, though, so, it’s definitely just my personal reading preferences. While I do think others will share my opinions, I also know that a lot of others will enjoy this book.

4.5 rounded up to 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the audio narration.

The topic felt wildly current events and outrageous but was so funny with incredible descriptions (more the first half of the book than the second). I loved the observations and the way the setting and characters were developed.

Overall, a fantastic, enjoyable, entertaining book that was fast paced and kept my attention.

Advance reader copy provided by RB Books and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

The post-apocalyptic / dystopian genre is one of my favorites. While this audiobook maybe doesn't quite fit that category, it does scratch that itch for me. The narrator was great (however, I almost exclusively listen to audiobooks at 1.50 or 1.75 speed - anything less feels like I get annoyed and beg for whoever the reader is to 'just spit it out already!')

This book is quirky, thought-provoking, and unexpectedly hilarious. The characters are well developed and relatable, if not a touch caricature-y. I found heartwarming moments where character growth occurred which inspired me even during such a fantastical story (the sun exploded / melted and we're stuck on this island with a Boss Babe running the show?!)

I did not read this on vacation but I could see myself enjoying it as an un-stereotypical beach read in that it's like a fun treat.

This was FABULOUS! I loved everything about it, from the snarky dialogue to the social commentary to the somewhat wacky (but unfortunately also bizarrely believable) denouement. The pacing and characterizations were marvelous, keeping me wholly engaged and entertained from the opening salvo. I love the Everyman reluctant hero construct, and it played out beautifully here, with credibility and incredulity in equal measures. There was just enough menace and creepy end-of-the-world feel, and when you layer on the Lord of the Flies elements, the hapless protagonist, and the weirdo scientist-in-the-woods components, the result is genius. It was narrated to perfection, with each character's unique voice managed beautifully. This was a very fun - and smart and witty and thought-provoking - listen, and I'm definitely keeping an eye on Wassmer going foward...

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you, to NetGalley and RBMedia for the opportunity to read this book as an audiobook!

I went into this book blind, without reading anything about it. I cannot believe that this is a debut book. It was well-written, hilarious, had plot-twists, and kept my attention the whole time with marvelous cliffhangers.

It has been awhile since I have read a dystopian book that leans towards the apocalyptic, so this was a breath of fresh air and a great break from my usual romance reading.

While in the Bahamas on vacation, the sun all of a sudden explodes, leaving the residents of the resort stranded on the island with no light and everyone is scared. For Dan Foster (and his girlfriend, Mara) this is the time to decide whether it is going to be fight or flight (literally).

There were a lot of elements of this book that made it a great read and some of those are as follows:

-Different “classes” of people on the island must “compete” with each other if they want rations and the “good” work assignments.
-Elements of fascism, militant operations, murder, earth cooling (upcoming ice age). All of this was creating a “battle of the fittest” scenario that this book lended to.
-Heavy religious aspect (which was not something I was a fan of but it did tie into the story well).
-MAJOR plot-twists throughout the book, including an ending that I was not able to predict.

The narration for this audio book was fantastic and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves this type of genre.

3.5 - 3.75

Narrator: it did take a little bit or me to figure out if the voice fit the character, but the narrator chosen ended up being a good choice. There were several characters to voice and the narrator did a good job.

Story: This wasn't the right book for me, but it does include several elements I think others will enjoy.

This story overall was an enjoyable read. There were funny moments, action and a bit if suspense, which drew me in. While everything in the story was reverent to the overall story, it did feel like it was longer than it should have been. A scene or two could have been cut and still achieve the ending and effect the author intended.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook.

Is this a comedy? Is this a drama? Is this dystopian fiction? It’s all of the above. To be honest, this book stressed me out at first. Is this what could happen to us? Would people really act like this? But it was written in a light enough way to counteract those feelings. Overall, it was an interesting premise and an enjoyable little book. But I did really want to see that annoying LilyAnn character permanently silenced.