Reviews with content warning for Suicide - All That's Left in the World

I pretty much can’t fault this. I wish the characters were a little older but that’s a me thing.

For once the pop culture references didn’t annoy me! It actually felt pretty realistic for teenage boys to use them as a coping mechanism in this setting.

This was tense yet so heartwarming and now I’m feeling gay and emotional. It had some really good messages about hope, good people, shitty governments in pandemics, and love.

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davidbythebay's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I was skeptical, to say the least. I worried that I couldn't handle a dystopian world post-pandemic from an incredibly deadly flu. I waited to read this until I was able to better handle that because I was unsure how I would react to a post-pandemic dystopia. To be honest, I never once thought of COVID-19 as I tore through this book like a hot knife through butter.

I was kept guessing from page 1 about what was going to happen next. Some things did happen as I hoped/predicted, even if not in the way I originally thought. Other things came out of nowhere. No matter what, it was intense in all the best ways. I legitimately YELLED at the book at one point - no spoilers! - and pleaded with the author as though I was Annie Wilkes in Misery. Had things not gone to my satisfaction, I don't know if I wouldn't have gone full Wilkes. Thankfully, things worked out better than I could have hoped.

The pacing of the book made me hesitant a good amount of the time. It flew by to the point where what I thought the ending was going to be would have occurred only 50% of the way through the book. Yup. I was convinced that the story arch was one particular thing and that it was being resolved at 50%. I was pleased to see that there was some legs to the second half of the book - and I do mean a nice set of legs. It was almost like this was two books combined into one in that there were almost two different plots that were seamlessly and masterfully stitched together. Brown's book doesn't feel like two books smashed together. At the 50% mark I started wondering where we were going to go next. The second half naturally came out of the first half and transitioned smoothly.

Brown skillfully maintained the tension and begged the reader to turn the page. There was not a stray word nor a stray moment in this piece. I have to say, this was a masterful M-M Romance. Hope and the discovery of what love and what makes a home is the center of this novel. I have discovered a new book that I have fallen in love with. I hope that this author, whom I now adore immensely, will write again in the future. Whether it be in this universe or another, I want to see more from Erik J. Brown!

WARNINGS: Be of the mindset that you can handle discussions of a deadly super flu, detailed descriptions of illness and deaths, violence, some gore, death of family and loved ones, homophobia, and medical discussions.

Content Warnings