The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold

As the end of the world approaches, is there time for one final love story?

An apocalyptic storm has wreaked havoc on the world. Haunted by the memories of those she couldn't save, Liz returns to the only place she felt safe before the world fell away: the bookstore where she used to work. She settles into a routine - operating the shop as a trading post, welcoming stragglers who want to trade supplies for a book or leave behind messages for loved ones.

Then she learns another life-ending storm is coming and she's nowhere near ready. Until she finds an intruder breaking into the bookstore late at night. Enter Maeve, a guarded, spikey, and potentially dangerous out-of-towner.

When Maeve's secrets come to light and Liz's inner demons come back to haunt them both, the pair find themselves fighting for their lives in more ways than one.

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Introduction

It's not often that you read the first book in a new type of genre, but the only way I can describe this is as 'cosy apocalypse'. Not in the snide way that some people described John Wyndham as cosy catastrophe; this book mixes the gentle feel and local stakes of cosy fantasy with the danger and settings of post apocalypse. However, being apocalyptic it does have some darker moments, though the overall feel is still quite cosy.

Book Cover

I don't always comment on the covers but I thought it was warranted here! These are both really atmospheric covers and sum up the book really well in different ways. The beautiful colours in the UK cover, and the grim burning flowers in the US! Plus, although I obviously didn't realise until I read it, everything in the UK cover is plot relevant. The more I look at it, the more things I notice.

Plot Summary

The Storm mentioned in the blurb is a kind of supercharged acid rain. It came without any specific warning the first time around, killing anyone caught outside, damaging buildings and other structures and flooding everywhere, trapping survivors inside until it drained away. Now the survivors have established a sort of society, but there's another Storm on the way...

Characters

Liz and Maeve, our main characters, are both teenage girls. Although they try to hide it in different ways - Liz by simply ignoring it, Maeve by putting on a brash front - both are deeply traumatised by the first Storm. We don't get Maeve's pre-Storm background in much detail, but we do hear Liz's and it's pretty horrific. Both girls have to learn to open up and to deal with their pasts during the course of the book.

Writing Style

Everything is from Liz's POV which gives us a great, up close look at everything. The tone is chatty and light with some banter and funny lines. It's an easy read. 

It's worth noting that the timeline jumps a bit, going back and forth between Liz's life pre-Storm and the main story. Although I sometimes find that style confusing, this was very easy to follow and I was never confused about what was happening. I also enjoyed the occasional insertion of the story of an unrelated character describing how they survived, as Liz has made a hobby of collecting people's stories as proof that they existed.

Themes and Messages

The main theme of the book is about learning to survive and the different ways people choose to do that. Liz and Maeve both have things they need to forgive themselves for, and their different ways of coping lead them to clash more than once. Each has to learn to bend to the other. There's also a bit about the practicalities of surviving, but surprisingly little!

Setting

Post-apocalyptic New Jersey. A lot of the book is set in the dilapidated book store Liz has fixated on, but there are some trips outside to see how the rest of the world is getting on, and it's really well written, very atmospheric. 

Favorite Quotes/Passages

It's difficult to quote this without spoiling it, but I did love the tone of this passage and how effectively it conveys the new world:

“Is this what it’s always like?” I ask as we pass by a deserted football field, a jersey and water bottle still draped across a bench. The field is completely overgrown, weeds up to my knees with moss and ivy strangling the bleachers. A scoreboard looms in the distance, a few degrees from falling over completely. Maeve looks ahead, like she’s trying not to acknowledge it. Like maybe, if she doesn’t move her gaze, she won’t meet my eyes, and I won’t be able to ask her anything about Becca. "Is it always this empty?"

• Strengths
• Clear and easy to read
• Loved the cosy tone in the bookshop and the implication that more people choose to be good than bad
• A fascinating story line

Weaknesses

• Some timing elements were off, but I'm reading an early version so they'll probably be fixed in the final version
• This is not at all confined to this book, but the relationship between the girls develops very quickly

Personal Connection

I really enjoyed reading this. I love a good apocalypse story, and I am a bookseller, so this was perfectly positioned for me. It's a fantastic read and I absolutely devoured it. I very much hope there'll be a sequel!

Conclusion

Highly recommended to teens and up. There's a small amount of danger and a couple of gross medical moments - of course, anything is very dangerous medically in a post-apocalyptic world, but these really are pretty gross. Still, it's definitely worth it for the rest of the book.

Author Information

Amazingly, the author is still a teen! 19 years old and still in college, she works at a bookstore, so I imagine the store in the book was based on hers. I'd love a map or floorplan in the final book as I'm very visual and love to be able to picture the layout properly!

Further Reading/Viewing

Victoria Bergin wrote a duology about deadly rain a few years ago, The Rain and The Storm. Hers didn't damage buildings, though! For another post apocalyptic romance, try All that's Left in the World. The most famous cosy catastrophe - although it wasn't all that cosy, really - is The Day of the Triffids. Both 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead paid tribute to this classic of post apocalyptic writing.

The Last Bookstore on Earth publishes on the 7th of January, 2025 in the US (top image) and on the 9th of January, 2025 in the UK (lower image). I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.