A review by bookalyptic
The Wastelander: A Post Apocalyptic Romance by E.S. Luck

adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

My rating for The Wastelander is 3.5 stars.

Claire has never known anything outside of the walls of the compound. When the virus took over and decimated the population, she was lucky enough to be amongst the chosen few and was able to live in a protected community. But when she is forced outside after an attack inside of the compound, she needs to survive in ways she never had to. The wasteland shows her the harsh reality she never encountered before, but it also shows her beauty she didn’t know existed.
 
The first part of the book left me feeling a bit disappointed, the writing style is rather simplistic and I didn’t get sucked into the story. A bit further in the book this changed somewhat and I became more invested. For the most part of the story we get to see how Claire learns to navigate her new life, learning basic survival. There is also the romance happening with John, a wastelander. And although the love interest isn’t unlikeable perse, I found myself thinking multiple times that communication is underrated, also between Claire and John. And even in this dangerous wasteland there is room for quite alot of spice.

I like dystopian and post-apocalyptic books, but reading a post-apocalyptic romance with a heavy sprinkle of smut was a first for me. While the plot is interesting, and there is a fair bit of action, it does focus alot on Claire learning how not to be a burden. The worldbuilding was good, and the characters were appealing.
All in all, the Wastelander was gripping and fun to read and did keep me engaged throughout. The book ends in a cliffhanger, and I am kinda curious to see how this story will continue. 

Thanks to the author E.S. Luck for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. I read this book as an ARC reader, my opinions are my own and my review is voluntarily.
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