Reviews tagging 'Grief'

All That's Left in the World by Erik J. Brown

69 reviews

o__o's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This book is so good!! It focuses a lot on the inner-monologues of the characters while also being action-packed. The chapters bounce between two POVs so you really get to know both characters. It’s almost freakishly real, especially after Covid, but not too similar to the point where it’s particularly disturbing (in my opinion). Some parts of this book are disturbing, such as violence, the general nature of the “super-flu”, and a lot of bodies, but it’s also a post-apocalyptic story so it kinda comes with the package. The romance is subtle and not the main focus of the story which is also nice because, for once, the conflict in the story does not revolve around being LGBTQ+. However, I do think it correctly addresses the concerns and conflicts that would arise as an LGBTQ+ person in the apocalypse. Overall, this book is well-written, emotional, balanced, and entertaining.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Gore, Child death, Homophobia, Murder, and Cursing

Minor: Antisemitism and Alcohol

raccoonteeth's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Genocide, Animal death, Body horror, Gun violence, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Medical content, and Murder

lotte5322's review against another edition

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Homophobia, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical trauma, Grief, and Gore

Minor: Religious bigotry, Racism, Sexism, and Suicide

lim's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death

Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism, Death of parent, and Grief

White supremacy, post apocalyptic, slow burn.

amy_reading_23's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

I really enjoyed this book, I thought the relationship between the boys was sweet, and I found it interesting the presentation of how different people would cope with the end of the world and what would become of society. I also appreciated how despite having dark themes it was overall quite lighthearted, with some humour in it, and an easy read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Medical content

sennaje's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Homophobia

svjak's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-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? Yes

4.0

I struggled a bit at the beginning because the way the author wrote each POV was too similar and I kept getting them mixed up, or I would be reading and forget whose POV I was reading. 

After a few chapters I started to get a better feel for their individual personalities and could enjoy the slow-burn of their kinda enemies to friends to lovers relationship. 

I really felt like I was going on a journey with Andrew and Jamie, exploring the world they were living in and their quest to get to some place better. It was wholesome and nice to read a dystopian post-apocalyptic novel with some lgbtqia+ rep. 

The only complaint I have is about the world building. It felt like it heavily leaned on the experiences of the past few years with COVID and the reader had to create a lot of the backstory based on those experiences. That held things together when I read it now in 2022 but I don't know how that's going to hold up in the future when things may change (hopefully) and fear of a pandemic isn't fresh in the readers minds. 

But for right now in 2022, I enjoyed this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Grief, and Gun violence

Moderate: Stalking

redheadorganist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense medium-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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Medical trauma, Murder, Death of parent, Gore, Child death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia

chris_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Grief, Blood, Confinement, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: Homophobia, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders

davidbythebay's review against another edition

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

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Misogyny, Homophobia, Gun violence, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Terminal illness, Child death, Death of parent, Gore, Bullying, and Violence

Minor: Suicide