This book really pulled me in with the title, the blurb and the cover but I was really disappointed. The premise had such potential but wasn't executed well. It's all quite pretentious and very saying rather than doing. It took a while for the story to pick up and none of the characters were particularly likeable.
None of this is aided by the narrator of the audiobook. His voice is better suited to reading an encyclopedia, it was so monotonous that I found myself really struggling to take in what he was saying. I think had I just read it for myself I maybe would have given it at least an extra star but the audiobook is a definitely 1 star.

I won't be sharing this review publicly as I do not like to give negative reviews on a public platform.

This book was quick-paced and an entertaining read that felt a little like an adult version of "lord of the Flies' - but with more humour and wit. Dan and Mara and a cast of characters are trapped at an island resort after the sun explodes and it takes less than 24 hours for class wars to break out. The tensions between building A, where the wealthy are located, and buildings B and C are real and the fight for resources and coping with the cooling weather cause a rapid decline in behaviours and alliances. There is a lovely assortment of characters and some serious topics are covered. I found the book engaging through to the end. It also made me a little bit leery and my next vacation will have a different feeling. :)

'Stephen R, Thorne does a great job of narration. His tone and pacing was engaging and made it easy to listen to, and his character differentiation was excellent.

'But then there was this soft low rumble, a flicker, and the sun exploded. It was upsetting.'

'And after a few coconut rum and pineapple juices Dan started tipping Julio two singles per drink because - What the hell! - and he kind of felt like Oprah.'

'That was one thing they didn't touch on in post apocalyptic movies - human beings turned rank in a matter of days. We don't keep well.'

'Dan rolled his head and sniffed real loud. Tough guys always sniffed real loud before a fight.'

'What happened on Tizoc wouldn't stick to Lilly Anna like it was going to stick with Dan. At a certain tax bracket trauma is deductible.'

Thank you to NetGalley and RBMedia for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

(quote punctuation is my best guess as the book was in audio format)

I liked this even more than I thought I would. What a delightful apocalypse adjacent read. The narration was also good, the voices were really well done. I went in a little blind but wasnt able to guess the plot. This was funny, entertaining, intestine and made you think about what you would do in that situation. Five stars, do recommend.

A dark, funny (potential) apocalypse tale set on a remote Caribbean island. Such a unique read, but I don’t think the White Lotus comparisons are entirely warranted (though this would make a killer limited series!) and the cover is a bit too rom com-y, but it’s so good.

There are certain books that push boundaries not to necessarily test the limits of a genre but to act as as a transitional key for readers of one type of story to test the waters to see if they might be interested in expanding their reading go-to list. This is the seat I feel "Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend" fills. For better or worse, these types of stories seem to be the most susceptible to the 'you either adore it or you hate it' reaction set. I can easily see why this will be a lot of people's joy ride. Personally it feel short.

While I believe my reactions and assessment aren't severely impacted by some personal failures, there is no doubt that it did make me a little less receptive to things I might let breeze over otherwise. So, in the interest of full disclosure I'm making note before review.

First, I thought it would be a brilliant pick up after I had just finished a very traumatic and intense read. That's usually when I'm most receptive to humorous tales that more often miss than hit with me. Except instead of setting this up for a more favorable intro, for the first time I think it did the book a disservice as I think my brain had to sit longer with the previous read. I had the best of intentions.

The second I have no excuse for. I skim read the pitch. I've grown accustomed to this as too many descriptions these days give away more of the plot than I enjoy. in this case, I somehow thought I was going into a heavier sci-fi setting. Going into a book and not getting what you were expecting can be great, or just set you up to being a little grumpy.

On the positive side, there were many very quirky moments and snappy witticisms. Lighthearted banter and pop culture/generational references are a choice and for my demographic I can see them working very well. i appreciated the various backgrounds of the characters and there were some I gravitated to. This will also be a great book for people who are getting a little tired of the weight that comes with disaster-survival but still like the concept.

The problems start with me when it comes to the overall humorous tone. if you're going to make something like this work for my personal tastes, you're probably going to have to take all of it to over the top. Make the world entirely bonkers. I think the author was trying to tap into the the hitchhikers vibe of sardonic in middle of the whimsical. But by playing a middle ground it never really lands for me. in fact, you start to feel just as frustrated with the main character as his partner does.

The problem is that the author does address the source of this character's attitude, it is called out, and there is a very touching couple of conversations that i absolutely did love when it came to the primary romantic relationship. I do love the set up of someone stuck because they didn't slip into the slots that they presumed they were groomed for growing up. All of this would have been great... except for the other residents.

The ring leaders that come to play at this hotel are such over the top caricatures of how a certain type of people are in our current political and business world that it just felt like we're going to shove all the negative personality traits culturally associated with X and try to sound like we're calling out this sort of behavior'. It didn't want to lean into the humor or make it more literary, but it ends up feeling like a punchline before you have the joke.

Then you have the action, the mystery, and to be frank I didn't catch the actual twist, but I came in close enough, very early on. Between that and this initial timeline set up, I confess I kept listening thinking: okay just get to it now! Stir in that one of the bigger twists is half way through the book...needless to say it dragged for me. I can understand there was still story to execute after that, but it just felt drawn out.

Despite all of this, when it was being more heart felt, I did enjoy it. It wasn't a bad read at all. It just didn't bring me as much amusement or giggles as I think it intended. I will say that I think it would be perfect for fantasy or humor fans who are curious about say, romance or scifi. i think it just suffers from a little bit of a crisis of intent.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ALC. Dan and his girlfriend Mara are on the vacation of a lifetime when the sun explodes, plunging the newly opened resort into darkness. White Lotus x Lord of the Flies is a perfect description of this book. Recommended for fans of Alissa Nutting's
Made for Love or Liane Moriarty's Nine Perfect Strangers.

It's the grand opening of a beautiful new hotel complex in the Bahamas. Dan and his girlfriend, Mara, are having a great time. Then the sun explodes. On the dark and increasingly cold island, the guests scramble to figure out what happened and what's next. This dark comedy pokes fun at our worst human traits. It's a physical and psychological adventure for the guests and staff, and a fun read or listen. I can't say more without spoiling it, but think of popular shows at fancy resorts and books about people stranded on an island. Now add a ladle of humor and a dollop of the absurd.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, the audiobook producer, and #NetGalley. Four stars for #zeroStarsDoNotRecommend. Recommended escapist reading that can't help but make you think about what one might do in a similar situation.

Apocalypse meet the Truman show.

Zero Stars Do Not Recommend was witty and clever, depicting what can happen when a self serving few put their desires before the good of others.

A laugh out loud, lighthearted, tale with an unexpected turn of events.

Wassmer’s main character was relatable and fun - like spending time with a sarcastic friend.

After an early copy thanks to NetGalley, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an enjoyable read.

I liked this one! It was funny literally laugh out loud funny. The whole concept was original and great. Some of the characters were a bit over the top but that made it all the more funny. I did see the twist coming which always bugs me but it was done well.

About the very worst people can be, and the very best?

To be honest I don’t know if I love or hate this book.

Read the book + listened to the audiobook. This one such a fun read and was "White Lotus" vibes. What a funny cast of characters put in a tough situation.

The narrator did a fabulous job of bringing some of the more obnoxious characters to life. This book felt like I was watching a train wreck just waiting to happen.

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend is so funny! I wanted to read this story just based off the title and I’ve found it to be very clever and it had me laughing throughout.

The narrator does a great job bringing all the different characters to life with lots of different accents.

3.5 stars
For a post apocalyptic book, this one was quirky and funny! What do you do when the sun goes out while vacationing in the Bahamas, surrounded by entitled rich people? Dan is not one of those entitled rich people so the struggle is real when it comes to him navigating their greed and the decision of whether he’s going to save everyone, or just himself. I found this to be a unique and attention holding listen. The narrator was a bit annoying but it totally fit with the character and the vibe so I went along with it!
*Thanks to RB Media and NetGalley for the audiobook copy

This was a little exhausting to read. The world is a mess right now. The last thing I want to do is listen a book about the elite taking over when the end of the world is approaching. A little too close to home. I mean there is an “uprising” but by that time, I didn’t care anymore.

Even the narrator who is lumped in with the non-elite, spends so much of his time being judgmental. It feels like the point was missed… or if not, it was a conscious choice…

The story is juicy and incredibly entertaining, but the characters are so freaking exhausting. I’m meh about this one. It was clearly written by a white man and just didn’t give me enough to enjoy… except Mara!

Pub day: August 6th, 2024

4.25/4.50 I LOVED this book and was so surprised by it. I found it really funny. The book doesn't take itself too seriously and is great satire!! The book follows the vacation/trip of various couples on an isolated island...and they're trapped given some interesting turn of events. You follow Dan and his girlfriend as they navigate this vacation gone to hell (lord of the flies style).

I can honestly say I have not read anything like this book before and the humour was just so good. Totally feel like this book could be a movie (I sure hope so!)

What a fun enjoyable book! I definitely recommend Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend lol. The narration had me giggling, “Do planes still fly when the sun explodes?” The story line pulls you in with the sun exploding right away in chapter 1, line 1. I kept finding myself asking how is this going to end and I really enjoyed how it all played out.
I listened to the audio version of this book and the narrator did a great job. Sometimes I get annoyed with the different character voices, especially when a man does a woman, but this one did not bother me.
If you are looking for a fun light summer apocalyptic read, this is a great choice.
4.5 stars for Zero Stars
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

What does the eternal underdog do when the sun blows up on vacation? This book was hilarious in a very unfunny situation. You will fall in love with a ragtag group of characters stuck together in the Bahamas. It was an excellent commentary on human nature and how people can justify anything to survive. "Love is the sound of Legos clicking together" was the most poignant description of two people being right for each other. The author did a fantastic job creating characters with witty, emotional banter. " At the end of the day, everyone just wants some trans fats and a quiet place to shit." What a blatant reflection of the human experience. The audio version was one of the best narrations I have heard in a long time. I will probably be annoying, telling everyone to read this book. If you know me, be warned. When in doubt, "always get the pretzel".

I received an ARC audiobook for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and RB Media, Recorded Books.

The title of this read was Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend. Don’t be fooled! This book was worthy of four stars! The audio version was excellent!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC .

I just couldn't find this funny, neither the fact that as usual, the rich get special privileges, nor the idea of the sun melting (when we are experiencing global warming at an unprecedented rate).

I listened to a hilarious mystery about an obnoxious homicidal boss yesterday, so I was primed to be distracted from my problems and laugh - this audiobook served neither function, unfortunately.

Regarding positive feedback, the voice acting team for the audiobook version of this book were an excellent choice, they did a great job.

If the premise of this book / audiobook interests you please give it a chance, it might be your cuppa, it definitely wasn't mine for some many reasons.

This was a good book. The plot was interesting and kept me engaged. It was interesting to see how people react in stressful situations. It was different than I expected, in a good way. The ending was shocking. I enjoyed the book. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration.