Joshua is a classical grumpy hero with a charm of shit on a stick. Occasionally I enjoy reading a slow-burn romance, yet there wasn't much of that either (in a classical sense at least), if we don't count incessant staring contests and short dialogues (I guess long lines would make Joshua look less grumpy in our eyes, sure thing) with not much essence to them as the epitome of slow-burn. Their daily routine was so insipid, I started skimming pages early on, even if the writing itself was surprisingly good.

I kid you not, half of this book the heroine and her 'hero' (metaphorically and literally) spend in his cabin, and I would love to say that this part focused on their slowly developing feelings and building sparkling chemistry, but it was quite simply. I love books and films that feature apocalyptic world because they have a perfect setting for what I generally seek in books: conflict, displays of human nature from unexpected angles, thrilling sensation of danger and adventures to name a few. The character development that made no sense whatsoever. Nonetheless, in the second part of the book, she's way more gullible and trusts mere strangers who gave her exactly zero reasons to. We are led to believe that the girl doesn't trust anyone after witnessing the ugly forms human behavior might take when challenged by harsh ordeals in the wake of 'apocalypse' (not to offend the author, but the cause behind it is a little too forced). That being said, Olivia is also one of the least consistent characters I've ever come across. I guess that part where she denied being fed with meat triggered a lot of starving meat-lovers out there. That's one of the coping mechanisms we have at our disposal and to put many unpalatable labels on her just because her psyche dealt with 'the end of the world' in a less logical and effective manner than readers expected? That's a simplistic approach.

Nonetheless, her attitude can be easily explained: people often stick to old habits and cling to the things that once constituted normalcy to them. Her survival skills indeed suck and I have no idea how she had been surviving on her own for almost half a year. In the post-apocalyptic world, her vegetarian status might seem stupid, irrelevant and even bratty to many. I tried to find a negative review for this book that captures the story's weak points, so I could let it go and not write a review myself (savvy bitch that I am), but all I came across were the complaints about Olivia (h) and her irrelevant first-world problems and I thought huh? that's the worst you can? 🤕Īlthough Olivia is not one of my favorite heroines, far from it, I wouldn't say that the book's major issue was her adamant refusal to eat meat after having been starved for days. If this hero got paid every time he asked the heroine ' what's wrong with you', he'd be richer than Zuckerberg - one of his key personality traits too.

Moonshine by kat bostick