Casey Pearson grew up with a doomsday-prepping father. At eighteen, tired of living an unconventional life, she left home, vowing never to return.
More than a decade later, a mysterious viral outbreak changes everything, including the people it infects, turning them into zombielike creatures. It’s the end of the world, and no one saw it coming—well, except for Casey’s father. With no place left to run and danger lurking around every corner, Casey is forced to return home.
Upon arrival, she’s surprised to find that her dad has hunkered down with a group of survivors, including her archnemesis, Blake Morrison, the high school bully who made Casey’s teenage years a living hell.
While struggling to live on the compound, face outside threats, and survive alongside her handsome enemy, Casey will learn that although the world has ended, hers is just beginning.
Dating After the End of the World is a wildly original genre-bending romcom that combines zombie apocalypse horror, enemies-to-lovers romance, and heartfelt family drama—all in a wildly original storyline that’s very different from Jeneva Rose’s previous books!
The story follows Casey Pearson, a Chicago-based doctor who grew up with a doomsday-prepping father. At 18, tired of living an unconventional life, she left home, vowing never to return. More than a decade later, a mysterious viral outbreak begins transforming people into vegetative states or zombielike creatures. With no place left to run and danger lurking around every corner, Casey returns home to find that her dad has hunkered down with a group of survivors, including her high school archnemesis, Blake Morrison.
Casey is a strong, complex protagonist. Being raised by a father who was always prepping for doomsday scenarios provided her some serious survival and self-defense skills that come in handy and bring some slapstick comedy to the action scenes. Her inner monologues show that she’s still dealing with unresolved trauma from her mother’s death and resentment towards her father. Her evolving relationship with her father is one of the emotional cores of the story, as they are forced into a reconciliation while they try to survive the end of the world! Blake Morrison, once her romantic interest and tormentor, is a complex, multifaceted character—and readers will have to hold out their judgement of him until late in the novel. There’s a lot of fun banter, rivalry, and unresolved angst between Blake and Casey—and their evolving dynamic adds richness and a lot of entertainment value to the story. Die-hard romance fans will be delighted by their intense chemistry and will be rooting for their second-chance romance, even amidst all their drama!
The novel maintains a fast pace throughout with a good balance of action-packed scenes, introspective moments, and funny banter. The middle section has the most character development, as we get more of Casey’s backstory and the reasons behind her trauma and fractured relationships (with both her father and Blake), allowing readers to connect with her on a deeper level. The story culminates with a high-stakes showdown that’s equally thrilling and heartfelt. But just when you think the story is headed towards a feel-good conclusion, the rug is pulled right from under your feet “in true Jeneva style,” and the ending that follows is much more open-ended—but it also leaves room for a potential exciting sequel!
Overall, Dating After the End of the World is a highly original wild ride of a story that wonderfully blends romance, slapstick humor, family drama, and edge-of-your-seat suspense. Readers who love chaotic enemies-to-lovers rom-coms, dangerous post-apocalyptic world stakes, and relatable, messy heroines will absolutely love this book!
Narrator Performance
The audiobook of Dating After the End of the World is a wildly entertaining, immersive listen narrated by the incredibly talented Abigail Reno, who’s known for her engaging and dynamic performances.
Reno does a standout job capturing the essence of each character, infusing them with distinct personalities and emotional intensity. Reno portrays protagonist Casey Pearson with a determined, witty voice and undercurrent of vulnerability and unease, perfectly capturing a resilient character facing unprecedented challenges while making a journey of self-discovery! Reno brings all of the supporting characters vividly to life—most notably, the enigmatic Blake Morrison, who Reno gives a cheeky, masculine voice that’s a perfect complement and contrast to Casey’s portrayal—and helps to make their chemistry very compelling and believable!
Reno does an incredible job pacing the story to keep listeners hooked to their headsets through a roller coaster of emotions—she increases her tempo during action and slapstick comedy sequences to provide listeners high excitement and comic relief and slows the pacing during emotional confrontations, introspective dialogue, and romantic moments—giving listeners the biggest bang for their buck in every single scene! Her use of distinct character voices helps listeners easily differentiate between characters, and even the male characters sound believable and distinguishable, which isn’t an easy task with the variety of characters in this book!
Overall, Abigail Reno’s engaging narration greatly elevates this story to a new level and makes it feel truly cinematic and addictively engaging! The audiobook is a must-listen for fans of unconventional romantic comedies, wild post-apocalyptic stories, and single-narrator performances that are dynamic and incredibly entertaining. If you haven’t listened to Abigail’s narration before, this is a great example of her impeccable acting skills, engaging voice, and expert pacing—and you’ll definitely want to check out her impressive backlist of diverse titles!
Narrator Performance
The audiobook of Dating After the End of the World is a wildly entertaining, immersive listen narrated by the incredibly talented Abigail Reno, who’s known for her engaging and dynamic performances.
Reno does a standout job capturing the essence of each character, infusing them with distinct personalities and emotional intensity. Reno portrays protagonist Casey Pearson with a determined, witty voice and undercurrent of vulnerability and unease, perfectly capturing a resilient character facing unprecedented challenges while making a journey of self-discovery! Reno brings all of the supporting characters vividly to life—most notably, the enigmatic Blake Morrison, who Reno gives a cheeky, masculine voice that’s a perfect complement and contrast to Casey’s portrayal—and helps to make their chemistry very compelling and believable!
Reno does an incredible job pacing the story to keep listeners hooked to their headsets through a roller coaster of emotions—she increases her tempo during action and slapstick comedy sequences to provide listeners high excitement and comic relief and slows the pacing during emotional confrontations, introspective dialogue, and romantic moments—giving listeners the biggest bang for their buck in every single scene! Her use of distinct character voices helps listeners easily differentiate between characters, and even the male characters sound believable and distinguishable, which isn’t an easy task with the variety of characters in this book!
Overall, Abigail Reno’s engaging narration greatly elevates this story to a new level and makes it feel truly cinematic and addictively engaging! The audiobook is a must-listen for fans of unconventional romantic comedies, wild post-apocalyptic stories, and single-narrator performances that are dynamic and incredibly entertaining. If you haven’t listened to Abigail’s narration before, this is a great example of her impeccable acting skills, engaging voice, and expert pacing—and you’ll definitely want to check out her impressive backlist of diverse titles!
The audiobook of Dating After the End of the World is a wildly entertaining, immersive listen narrated by the incredibly talented Abigail Reno, who’s known for her engaging and dynamic performances.
Reno does a standout job capturing the essence of each character, infusing them with distinct personalities and emotional intensity. Reno portrays protagonist Casey Pearson with a determined, witty voice and undercurrent of vulnerability and unease, perfectly capturing a resilient character facing unprecedented challenges while making a journey of self-discovery! Reno brings all of the supporting characters vividly to life—most notably, the enigmatic Blake Morrison, who Reno gives a cheeky, masculine voice that’s a perfect complement and contrast to Casey’s portrayal—and helps to make their chemistry very compelling and believable!
Reno does an incredible job pacing the story to keep listeners hooked to their headsets through a roller coaster of emotions—she increases her tempo during action and slapstick comedy sequences to provide listeners high excitement and comic relief and slows the pacing during emotional confrontations, introspective dialogue, and romantic moments—giving listeners the biggest bang for their buck in every single scene! Her use of distinct character voices helps listeners easily differentiate between characters, and even the male characters sound believable and distinguishable, which isn’t an easy task with the variety of characters in this book!
Overall, Abigail Reno’s engaging narration greatly elevates this story to a new level and makes it feel truly cinematic and addictively engaging! The audiobook is a must-listen for fans of unconventional romantic comedies, wild post-apocalyptic stories, and single-narrator performances that are dynamic and incredibly entertaining. If you haven’t listened to Abigail’s narration before, this is a great example of her impeccable acting skills, engaging voice, and expert pacing—and you’ll definitely want to check out her impressive backlist of diverse titles!
