I kept singing,'It's the end of the world as we know it' while reading..

What a mash up of genres.. rom com meets dystopian novel. An engaging read, and of course, I needed to see how it all played out in the end. It is one of those novels that you can get lost in simply because it's a fun ride. At times, the writing/ narrative felt forced, but I'm also not a huge fan of instant love/lust.. I like a little build-up to my romance/spice. Things did get a little spicy in this novel, but it wasn't over the top or too much. Played well into the story. The ending seemed a bit abrupt, and I'm curious to know if there will be a sequel ... I'd definitely check that out.

Thank you to librarything and the publisher for an advanced digital copy. All opinions are my own. ( )

I loved the premise: 2 damaged and broken-hearted near-strangers join forces on a (literal & metaphorical) journey on their quest for survival. And on the way, as they race towards safety, escaping danger (as well as their pasts), they find love and a better version of themselves.
Despite the book being set during a catastrophic event, its tone is weirdly light, but it does vacillate. It starts as a drama but morphs into a romance with a honeymoon-like road trip with lots of sex. It subsequently darkens to a dystopian Mad Max-like scenario. I generally don’t read romances and I think I would have preferred the book without the sex scenes. But it was a quick and engaging, fast-paced, read with only a few main characters to keep track of.
CW triggers: alcoholism, betrayal, estranged family, death, violence, apocalypse. ( )

This book was okay. It felt like there were lots of loose ends and partial story lines that didn't go anywhere. ( )

Love in a Time of Disaster.

Lena Gibson has created a worthy contribution to the apocalyptic genre with The Edge of Life. The story begins with weekend binge drinker Kat, workaholic lawyer Ryan, and their mutual friend Nick, an astronomer at a nearby observatory, who brings them together in a sort of intervention as an asteroid hurtles relentlessly on a direct path for Earth. After a cryptic warning from Nick between classified meetings and briefings, it’s up to Ryan to get Kat and himself halfway across the country to his grandfather’s bunker in South Dakota. Along the way amidst the ensuing cataclysmic destruction and chaos as fragments of the asteroid rain down after a partially unsuccessful missile strike, Ryan and Kat, both troubled by past traumas, learn they have more in common than they realized and soon discover a mutual attraction for each other.

As a nature lover and survival enthusiast (if not a prepper), I particularly enjoyed Ryan and Kat’s time spent hiking, camping, and sleeping in cabins as they traveled along the cracked roads, navigating their way around roadblocks, increasing volcanic activity, and raging infernos. This is a realistic, gritty novel, not for the faint-hearted, and that is one of its strengths. It has a depth and realism that lends to the sense of danger and urgency. But in between all the pulse-pounding action there are moments of rest and reflection—which are crucial, lest you exhaust the reader—with some fine, vividly descriptive writing.

The only complaint I have is that it did seem to end rather abruptly once they made it. I would have enjoyed reading more about the bunker. All in all, a solid book. I do recommend. ( )

The Edge of Life by Lena Gibson is a very entertaining story. The struggles of the protagonists as they try to leave their homes for a safe bunker held my interest into the wee hours of the night. Where the story breaks down is with the repetitive sex scenes. Other than the first one or two they didn't really advance the story.