Hello everybody! For today’s second post, we have Melissa Welliver to talk about books she’s looking forward to in 2023, with a bit of a twist. Onto the post!
Hi all, I’m here to tell you about all the fabulous, uplifting, and life-affirming Post-Apocalyptic books I’m most looking forward to in 2023! I know what you’re thinking – surely we don’t need any more doom and gloom Melissa, especially at Christmas time? But trust me, friends. Come with me on a journey of escapism in the last place you’d think to find it – at the end of the world!
1. Broken Hearts and Zombie Parts by William Hussey (LINK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Broken-Hearts-Zombie-William-Hussey/dp/1803700033/ )
Okay, I’m cheating for this first one. But what’s a little stage makeup between zombie friends? This is the new YA from the dystopian king himself, William Hussey. In it, we meet Jesse Spark, who is trying to shoot an epic zombie movie before his heart surgery, which will land him with a huge scar. But will he also fall in love along the way? A Rom-Com to melt any heart, zombie or no!
2. Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth
(LINK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arch-Conspirator-Veronica-Roth/dp/1803363576/ )
I’d be a lying millennial if I didn’t list Divergent as a seminal text in my budding teenage writing career. And Veronica Roth, the creator of the divergent series, is back with more delicious dystopian stories! Arch-Conspirator centres around Antigone, who survives in the last city on earth. After the death of her parents, Oedipus and Jocasta, Antigone is sent to live with her uncle – but is all what it seems, or is this just another gilded cage? With Greek-Myth-inspired names abound, I’ve got high hopes for this one!
3. HappyHead by Josh Silver
(LINK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/HappyHead-Josh-Silver/dp/0861545532 )
See? This one even has happy in the title (although don’t let that fool you…) I was lucky enough to read a proof of this one earlier this year and now I am DESPERATE to talk to everyone about it, so this is probably one that I’m most excited about! Not technically post-apocalyptic (but honestly, it feels like the beginning of something!), this dystopian delight was an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish. Part thriller, part romance, part prison drama, we follow Seb as he is accepted into a radical retreat designed to solve the national crisis of teenage unhappiness. But the deeper into the programme he gets, and the closer he is to enigmatic Finn, the more disturbing the assessments become until it’s clear there is no escape from HappyHead. All the darkness with romantic peeks into the light, this one is a gamechanger for the genre.
4. World Running Down by Al Hess (https://www.amazon.co.uk/World-Running-Down-Al-Hess/dp/191520223X/ )
The cover alone will convince you of this one, but if you want more info, I got you! World Running Down follows Valentine Weis, a salvager in the future wastelands of Utah. Valentine dreams of earning enough money to afford citizenship in Salt Lake City, a utopia where the testosterone and surgery he needs to transition is free, the food is plentiful, and folk don’t need to watch their back for salt pirates. Honestly, the worldbuilding in this one sounds incredible, and the story does what every good sci-fi should by reflecting real world issues within its pages. I’m absolutely stoked about this one!
5. My Love Life and the Apocalypse by Melissa Welliver (LINK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Love-Life-Apocalypse-post-apocalyptic/dp/191369657X/ )
I started this list by cheating and I’m ending with cheating – look, there are no rules in the post-apocalyptic wastelands, okay? I’m probably the most excited about this one, because it’s my print debut! Out with Chicken House in April, this is my dystopian romcom with a lot of electronic heart. Planet Earth sucks. Humans have gone and cities lie empty, looked after by bots. But not all robots are machines. Echo is part human, his heart rules by an unreliable E-Mote chip which means he’s pretty much a normal teenager surviving on canned beans. Living his best life. Then a space pod crash lands in his neighbourhood with a girl on board. Pandora. She’s his last hope, and apparently he’s hers – if they really are all that’s left alive…
Thanks for coming with me on this incredible post-apocalyptic bookish road trip! I hope 2023 isn’t too dystopian for you, and have a very merry Christmas!
Thank you so much for reading! Have you read Melissa’s first book, or are you excited for her second? Which post apocalypse stories do you love? Let’s chat in the comments!
Speak very soon,
Amy xxx
Golden Books Girl 