A Haunting, Beautiful Love Letter to Stories and Survival

I was utterly captivated by *The Last Bookstore on Earth*—a novel that is as heart-wrenching as it is breathtaking. Lily Braun-Arnold has crafted a story that lingers long after the final page, blending the raw intensity of a climate apocalypse with a deeply human tale of love, loss, and the power of stories to keep us alive.

Liz is a protagonist you can’t help but root for—wounded yet resilient, clinging to the remnants of a world that no longer exists through the books she trades and the tales she collects from weary survivors. The bookstore, once a sanctuary, has become a relic of a bygone era, and Liz's desperate attempt to hold onto it feels both tragic and profoundly moving. And then there’s Maeve—fierce, enigmatic, and carrying secrets that could shatter them both. Their connection unfolds against the backdrop of impending doom, forcing them to reckon with the past while daring to hope for a future that may never come.

The tension is palpable, the stakes impossibly high, and yet amidst the chaos, there is beauty—found in whispered stories, fleeting moments of tenderness, and the simple, aching truth that love can still bloom even at the end of the world.

If you loved *Station Eleven* or *The Last of Us*, this book will grip your soul and never let go. It’s a gut-punch of a novel, filled with searing emotion and lyrical prose, reminding us that even when everything else is lost, stories—and love—are what endure.

It’s the end of the world and like every bookworms dream Liz finds herself in a bookstore, possibly the last working bookstore. People still come in occasionally to trade items for books or leave notes as a make shift post office of sorts. Liz is content, not happy, but managing. The rain that destroyed the world and most of those in it, the loss is immense, the damage to buildings is severe and not even the bookstore could escape that. Another storm is coming and Liz is unprepared, she needs to deal with the safety and security of the building if it’s going to survive another attack but that’s a lot of work for one person in such a short time. Enter maeve, or more accurately, break and enter maeve. Prickly and untrusting, but the girls make a deal, she can stay if she helps with the building, a truce is made. Both girls are keeping secrets and the longer they spend together the more undeniable their feelings become, but the rain isn’t the only dangerous thing left in the work, and that dangers about to come knocking.

This book was a really nice read, and I loved the gentle and slow-burn romance. It made the characters’ relationship feel much more realistic. I found Liz especially relatable – hiding in a book shop after the apocalypse is definitely something I would do!

I would have loved for the story to go into how and what happened around the storms that occurred and caused the end of the world. But the parts that were described were very interesting if a little graphic in their details. Although a good level for a Young Adult book.

The story was resolved really well and theres a little bit of a mystery with a lovely twist. Some of the adventuring reminded me a little of The Last of Us, but without the zombie creatures! The story felt more probable than a lot of apocalyptic stories, which made it a more enjoyable read.

This was a lovely easy LGBTQ+ dystopia read, and what could be better than sapphics in bookshops! I’d recommend for any fans of YA romance stories, or end-of-the-world type stories.

Happy Reading! xx

When I first requested this book, the name had caught my eye because, what do you mean LAST bookstore?! The very idea of it made me cringe, so I needed to aee where this went! And i was far from disappointed. The premise was so interesting, so engaging that I devoured the book in two days. I can’t wait to see what the Author will do next!

This was SO good!! All twists and turns and stories within stories! So damn good!! If you loved ‘all that’s left in the world’ and want a sapphic version with bookshops… you’ll love this!!

This title, cover and tagline is all very much right up my street and I’m delighted to say that it was a very enjoyable time.

Since the Storm destroyed the world, Liz has been stuck alone at work in an abandoned bookstore in New Jersey. The occasional customers bring her supplies and in return, she gives them books. It’s the only place Liz feels safe anymore. But another Storm is coming. Then one night, an outsider named Maeve breaks into the bookstore looking for shelter. Maeve has the skills to help repair the bookstore, ready for what’s coming, so Liz lets her stay. Is there time for one more love story before it all comes to an end?

I really admired Liz for just getting on with life as normally as she can amidst the apocalypse. She’s still making to-do lists and thinking of how to fix the building despite knowing that every day could be her last. It just reminded me of the power of humans’ innate need for shelter and the determination to protect it when it’s threatened.

I also really liked the slightly sarcastic tone of voice in Liz’s narration. Her sense of humour shows itself a few times in spite of the book actually being pretty bleak. The idea that we can still make jokes and consider things like etiquette in the endtimes is weirdly comforting and felt a bit like a warm hug.

Of course, there are parts that are full of hopelessness and despair. As the book progresses and secrets come to light, I did feel that Liz was perhaps on the verge of breaking whereas I never felt that with Maeve, who seemed hell-bent on getting through this thing. I wasn’t convinced that Liz’s strength was bottomless and I knew that she needed Maeve, now that she had her, to drag her through what was coming.

Most good apocalypse stories also get a bit philosophical and my heart sank when Liz talked about her life before the Storm and how silly her anxieties from back then seem now. Imagine knowing that you don’t have a long-term future. Some people might find that freeing and like there’s no point in worrying about anything ever. Others might find themselves mourning for who they used to be and what could have been. I think I’d swing between the two.

As more secrets unravel and we learn about both Liz and Maeve’s pasts, I became more invested in them. They were real girls who for some unknown reason had survived when most of humanity hadn’t. I think it’s hard not to wonder why that would be and perhaps even feel guilty about the fact that so many amazing people have gone. Isn’t that how we all feel when we lose someone who gave so much to the world and yet your regular old self is still here?

The Last Bookstore On Earth manages to be simultaneously cosy and devastating. Although the bookstore is falling apart, Liz has managed to evoke the warm, safe vibes that an intact bookstore has. It’s easy to see why she doesn’t want to leave it. We know that the characters don’t have big futures ahead of them, so the romance has a melacholic quality to it. It’s for a short, good time not a long time. The book also touches on the resilience of humans and the importance of collaboration and love when everything else has gone. I’d obviously highly recommend it to dystopian lovers but I also think anyone who loves a slow-burn romance that starts tentatively and gradually evolves will enjoy this.

I really enjoyed this dystopian tale of a girl holed up in a bookshop in the middle of a post-apocalyptic world as it felt unusual for the genre, sensitive and fresh. As a Librarian the thought of finding yourself a role in a dystopian world as a purveyor of books and kind of community hub really appealed to me of course!

This is a really strong debut from such a young author. I really enjoyed the story and found the characterisation was really strong. It's quite a slow burn, but I think that really works in terms of being able to understand what Liz's life looks like after the tragedy of a world-destroying storm.

Kind of The Last of Us, meets The Road. Liz has understandably taken shelter in the only place that feels familiar without being home. She has a pretty distinctive trauma-informed personality and is kind of neurodivergent. With that comes plenty of sarcasm and dry wit, but also her vulnerability when it comes to the reality she's facing. Maeve is a really nice balance to Liz because where Liz is self-conscious and hesitant, Maeve goes in all guns blazing (sometimes literally) and together they learn to be better versions of themselves.

Definitely one to add to library collections for older teens. I'll use it in my year 9 booktalks because they love apocalyptic and dystopian fiction.

For it's genre and it being a debut, a solid 4/5 for me.

I'm sorry to say this needs a lot more work. At times it makes a fair effort at setting atmosphere, but mostly I found myself boggled by its gaping holes in character motivation and the kind of wacky things the author thought it could get away with. I kept getting the sensation that I'd fallen behind, but I hadn't - the narrative just keeps unevenly jumping across yawning holes.

Strangely, simultaneous to leaving gaps in all the wrong places, the novel is also packed with all this extraneous stuff that kept me from becoming invested in the content. 'The Last Bookstore on Earth' ends up with a whole lot of insubstantial puffing out anď a whole lot of wasted words. The novel could have had at least a third shaved off and lost nothing in the process.

Mostly, I detested the way the whole mystery of Liz's past is handled; matter of fact, it became infuriating. More than three quarters of the book is spent hinting, and nudging and winking, dropping mentions and tantalising hints. Yet after about a quarter of a novel's length of that kind of business, it just gets really flipping tired. In the end, it comes across as juvenile.

I got to over three-quarters of the way in and I made a note that the author STILL hadn't cleared up the obfuscation of Liz's past. I actually no longer cared to find out how or why she ended up in the last bookshop on earth (the author actually never pays us the courtesy of telling us). I didn't care about Liz and Eva's secret past or whatever the hell they'd gone through (spoiler alert: it's nothing! They used to work together - literally nothing more!); I didn't care about Liz and Maeve's pairing.

The story limps towards its end, finally popping the comically lacklustre bubble of Liz's _supershady_ backstory (after 80% of refusing to tell us, the 'secret' is that she hesitated to open a door!), and staging some truly motivationless, unprompted yet overwrought 'fight' scenes, there's absolutely zero payoff for having lasted this out. I'll never get the hours of my life back that I spent on reading this. Save yourself and DNF it at the earliest opportunity (or better yet, don't let the cool cover and Sapphic tag lure you in)!

Reading this made me realise that when the world does inevitably end one day, I would like to be tucked up in a bookstore and writing down the stories of passersby in exchange for snacks and batteries.

This was my first read in the dystopian/end of the world genre, and I loved it so much! This was such a cosy YA read, with themes of survival, a race against time, found family, and the complexities of finding love in the face of grief and loss.

I loved the format and flow, we slowly learn about what Liz went through in the days leading up to the present, as well as getting to read snippets of the stories of those who have passed through the bookstore.

The Last Bookstore on Earth is fast-paced, heartwarming, and has characters you’ll fall in love with.

⭐️3.5 stars

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin for the early copy.

A page turning read that will have you hooked from page 1. A brilliant atmosphere, intriguing protagonists and a plot that will keep you captivated right till the final page.

A heartwarming and semi self-aware post-apocalyptic tale about a bookstore being a last place of refuge, living with the ghosts of our decisions, and coming to terms with your own small strengths. Bonus sapphics!!

I enjoyed Liz as our narrator, an accidental recluse who’s survived a year in her local bookstore when The Storm hits and turns the world into a dangerous and volatile place. Everything changes overnight, and Liz retreats to her last safe place: the bookstore.

Now, a year later, we follow Liz as the days up to the next Storm dwindle, outside threats start creeping closer and a potential future busts in during the middle of the night (literally) with the intent of sweeping Liz clean of all she’s worth. But Maeve ends up staying, and Liz ends up finding the future she had given up on being brave for.

This was a fun romp, a sweet tale I managed to breeze through quite quickly. Elements were pretty formulaic, but Liz was a fun and complex narrator, realistically written for those of us who like the idea of badass sword wielding protagonists but who’d probably crumple at the first sign of danger. Go introverts! I liked Liz and Maeve’s relationship, but they did have Communication Issues.

Though, overall this was a cute if imperfect end of the world love story, and I hope when the world does end, there IS a one last bookstore where I might leave a letter for a loved one…

If you love “All That’s Left at the End of the World” or literally *any* dystopian YA book - this fills that void with a thrilling sapphic twist!

I love Lily’s writing style and the way she gives you such a vivid backstory for the characters and the experiences they are living through.

I also appreciate the narrative surrounding how The Storm happened and it’s very terrifying parallels to current events.

Also, who DOESN’T want to be trapped in a bookstore for the end of days

Thank you to the author & publisher for this arc

This was such a lovely story, despite being dystopian! I wish it was longer and I wish there was more of the backstory because I loved it so much. Cosy and cute and the perfect read for a winters night

I was hooked on this book from the moment I saw the title! As a book girlie at heart, the idea of hunkering down in “The Last Bookstore on Earth” sings to my soul!
This book was fast paced and amazing fun, I read it almost in one sitting and I will not hesitate to recommend it to patrons looking for LGBTQIA+ stories in different genres.
Liz & Maeve may be a romance of forced proximity but the cosy vibes of this book make it the perfect Queer dystopian for younger secondary school readers!

The premise of this book is an interesting one - who knew the setting for a tentative YA sapphic romance would be a crumbling bookstore that survived an acid rain storm? This is a fun dystopian read but I would have loved to know more about the bookstore and Maeve's journey to Liz!

This was such a fun read. I have to admit, with the real apocalypse seeming more and more imminent, I’ve been enjoying post apocalyptic books less and less, but this one was different. The humour and tone of it, right from the start was great to just relax into.

There was no mention of autism in the book or the synopsis, but Liz felt very autistic to me. Whether she was or not, I felt very seen by this book. She is definitely autistic in my heart. What is mentioned is that she likes girls and that also was really nice representation to see. The romance was cute and I really liked both Liz and Maeve.

Honestly, this was just a really good read. The world felt a little too real, but not in a bad way, the characters felt authentic and the humour was just perfect. I was absorbed from page 1.

Looking forward to more from this author!

The end of the world happened and Liz tries to make the best out of what little is left in the world by hiding away in a bookshop and still providing books to a random assortment of customers. Then Maeve shows up and brings chaos into Liz's life in both good and bad ways.

I really felt like this book gave me an insight into how teenagers must feel right now. With their lives paused because of the lockdowns and their future being so uncertain because of the catastrophic destructions we keep raining on on our planet. It was heart wrenching to read the parts where Liz just talks about craving the banalities and insecurities of normal life. Craving it so badly that she created this pocket of normality for herself in a bookshop she loves so dearly. She was also such a relatable character. I think YA can often be extremely enjoyable and the characters can be fun to follow, but rarely they remind me so much of my younger self and make me appreciate the person I've grown into. This one certainly managed that.

I will admit certain choices in the ending didn't land for me but I enjoyed the whole story so much that it was easy to ignore those small hiccups. I would also love to explore the larger world of this story because this version of the end of the world seems extremely horrifying.

This short YA dystopia is a superb novel and one that I'll think about for a long time. Set in a close future USA in the aftermath of a toxic acid storm which claimed the lives of her family, Liz has taken to living in the bookstore where she worked before the storm. Haunted by memories, she lives alone and few pass by the shop, until Maeve breaks in one night and life changes for Liz.

This is a pacey story of survival and love in unlikely circumstances, where destruction and loss give way to a fight for what means the most. Liz's backstory is told through her memories, a nostalgic look at teen life and it's troubles, and the coming to terms of her actions past and present.

With a bookstore setting, LGBT+ characters and a superb narrative, this is a wonderful story and will appeal to fans of Patrick Ness and Erik J. Brown.

This was a sweet and easy-to-read end of the world story, which whilst not being particularly heavy on darker or elaborate plot elements, still had much to offer. It is just worth noting that the plot isn't the central, dominant driving force as typically found in this sort of book, otherwise you might be in for a surprise. The setting was an obvious hit for bibliophiles and had such heart and prominence that it became a character of its own (and a great one at that.) The characters were certainly a relatable bunch, although I will admit occasionally forgetting some of the side characters in between their rare appearances. Overall, I thought from prose to momentum to world-building that Braun-Arnold did a terrific job for a debut book (and I am definitely going to keep an eye out for future publications!)