Last one at the Party 

by Bethany Clift 

5 out of 5 

Synopsis 

THE END OF EVERYTHING WAS HER BEGINNING

It's November 2023. The human race has been wiped out by the 6DM virus (Six Days Maximum - the longest you've got before your body destroys itself). The end of the world as we know it.

Yet someone is still alive. Alone in a new world of burning cities, rotting corpses and ravenous rats, one woman has survived. A woman who has spent her whole life compromising what she wants and hiding how she feels to meet other people's expectations. From her career to her relationships, to what she wears and where she lives, she's made a lifetime of decisions to fit what other people want her to be.

But with no one else left, who will she become now that she's completely alone?

Review 

When a global pandemic hits, we follow a woman who may just be the last human alive.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is set in the very near future. In two years time, the world is hit by another virus - 6DM (Six Days Max before it kills you).

With the situation we are currently in... the book hits the right note to send shivers down your spine.

We follow a dual timeline of the same character.

Following the news of the pandemic wiping out America and the rest of the world; of Britain closing its borders and holding strong for a while longer. Until the virus hits.

We get to watch our protagonist lose her husband, the love of her life; and have to deal with how she is not suited for survival. She's a city girl through and through; completely incapable of self-reliance. She was the weak one, constantly needing her husband's support.

She's too much of a coward to take the government provided suicide pills, so she has to find out how to survive in the new world, which gets increasingly harder.

We also follow her story, from being a music journalist when she was young, to meeting James.

I was surprised at how much I liked this timeline. I was worried that it wouldn't hold up to the apocalyptic drama; but I was addicted throughout.

Our protagonist is likeable, but very flawed. We get to see that they are far from the perfect picture of marital bliss that was suggested on her husband's deathbed.

There was nothing big, or dramatic. Many of the issues that plagued them, and the poor choices that our main character makes, are so heart-achingly normal and familiar. The writing really hooks you in.

I don't want to say too much about this book, because I don't want to spoil what happens.

This is a character-driven book, but also explores a chillingly-real pandemic, and how it affects the UK.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I can't wait to read more of the author's work.

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