My Love Life and the Apocalypse: a post-apocalyptic rom-com perfect for fans of They Both Die at the End

by Melissa Welliver

Planet Earth Sucks.

Humans have gone and cities are empty, looked after by bots.

But not all robots are machines. Echo is part-human, his heart ruled by an unreliable E-Mote chip which means he's pretty much a normal boy 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...

*A highly original and uplifting YA love story/science fiction mash-up with a slow-burn romance.

*Set in an abandoned but fully maintained New York City where the characters live out all our empty mall dreams.

*A thrilling adventure with plenty of unexpected twists and turns – and a dash of darkness.

YA readers will love Echo’s vintage 90s-00s culture obsession!

A post-apocalyptic rom-com perfect for fans of Adam Silvera.

'The most fun you'll have in an apocalypse!'
BRIANNA BOURNE, AUTHOR OF YOU & ME AT THE END OF THE WORLD

'A perfect blend of romance, humour and dark dystopia, Melissa Welliver has created something fun, thought-provoking and completely unique.'
AMY MCCAW, AUTHOR OF MINA AND THE UNDEAD

Genres: Romance, Dystopia, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Apocalyptic, Fiction, Post Apocalyptic

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 13, 2023

About the author

Melissa Welliver writes speculative fiction about how the End Of The World is never really the end of the world. After studying MA Creative Writing under Jeanette Winterson at the University of Manchester, she went on to complete Curtis Brown Creative’s Writing for Children course. Her work has listed in Bath Novel Award, Mslexia, the Hachette Children’s Novel Award, and the Wells Book for Children Competition. She has been published in two short story collections and is an avid member of the Twitter writing community. Born in Stockport, she now lives in the High Peak with an assortment of doggy friends. The Undying Tower is her first novel.

Reviews

[Melissa Welliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so proud of this book and I hope you enjoy it too!

[Amy McCaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect blend of romance, humour and dark dystopia, Melissa Welliver has created something fun, thought-provoking and completely unique.

[lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

the only person I liked in this book was Gort.
he deserved so much better.

I couldn’t care less about Pandora & Echo.
They were horrible.

AND THE UNEXPECTED CANNIBALISM??
that was the top of the iceberg BYE.
I‘m sorry but what the hell was that?!

[Phoebs · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book was a good premise but executed so badly

the dialogue is rather childish and simple and the plot went so fast it could’ve been developed sm more !!

also idgaf abt pandora and echo that relationship was so boring and underdeveloped too

the cannibalism plot twist was my final straw and solidified my hate for this book

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

[Arden Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE! LOVE! LOVED THIS! Didn't want to put it down from the minute I started reading! Echo and Pandora are such brilliant characters and in this dark dystopian world, these two filled me with hope, laughter and love.

[Becki Jayne Jayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had so much fun with this story!

The book is fast-paced and I found it really easy to whip through, with characters that were just the right side of imperfect to feel real and give them a personal development arc. The dual POV of Pandora and Eco was really well deployed - even when they had completely differing opinions or views on something I could see where both of them were coming from.

I also really enjoyed the world building and the reflection on the attitudes of current-day people towards climate-change (100 years ago in the book). It was subtle enough that it didn't feel preachy but it got the point across.

I finished this book on the train and honestly had to suppress the flailing for the final act! The character Gort was a particular favourite, and I love how much I was rooting for the 'emotionless' robot. Super enjoyable, funny and a great read.

[Ellama42 · Rating 4 out of 5]

okay ateeeee
tis echt je klassieke "bot- uh I mean *boy* meets girl" maar het is zoooo hdp. Geen gedachten gewoon lezen. shoutout naar m'n fav character gort

[Louise Stampe Langballe · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 *

[Anya Woodward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story and entertaining character with fabulous world building.

[Signe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I am a little too much adult for this young adult book. I thought it was fine, but I mostly cringed through it and it took me a long time to finish! Not the biggest fan of both the story and the characters, felt like most of it was a bit too over used and predictable. This girl falls from the sky and suddenly Echo remembers he haven’t ever tried to walk more than 5 minutes? From my perspective, everything went too fast, was too boring and too cliche. But I did like some of the plot twist in the book, and I have read much much worse books. An ok book I suppose, but if I could go back, I most likely would not have bought it.
2 stars

[Muse · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Wanted to love this book more than I did but I just couldn’t. The premise was something super interesting and I’m a sucker for apocalyptic, dystopian settings, so that wasn’t the issue. I just didn’t feel any chemistry between the two main characters, at all. I really liked Echo, but Pandora came across incredibly unlikeable to me. She was pretty mean to Echo and I just didn’t understand his attraction to her - if someone treated me like that, I definitely wouldn’t stick around - but I guess end of the world does put stress on a person

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was lovely. It was soft,dystopian and had a wonderful ending. adorable romance 💞

[aoibheann · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5✨

This entire book felt like a fever dream to read. Guess that’s what happens when you jump from spicy contemporaries to cutesy teen romance😭

Regardless, I honestly loved this book. The world building was awesome and the characters were fun. Was a nice chill read to keep me going during exam block :)))

[Lis P. Bück · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet, funny, intriguing and apocalyptic ♥️ Looking forward for a new book from Melissa Welliver ♥️

[DJBookgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

(No spoiler review)

This YA dystopian romance had everything for me.

1. Cute MCs falling for each other - I was rooting for them throughout. I've never felt so attached to a 90s-loving android. Echo is adorable and I love how his backstory is given as much time and attention as Pandora's. Pandora is an easy MC to warm to because she feels deeply and has no choice but to trust Echo and survive the apocalypse with him. I found their romance really sweet and loved the humour in them crushing hard when they are in the worst possible scenario.

I have to give a shout-out to side character Gort as he was pure joy and he needs to be protected at all costs.

2. The worldbuilding and Apocalyptic setting was so well executed. I loved that this book is fun - yes an apocalypse would be terrifying and we all know that BUT this book asks 'What if it had some funny moments and you happened to meet a cute half-human robot teen who wooed you with 90s film quotes?' It's the book for readers who like to mix up genres. I for one love a good dystopian with humour and romance.

3. It got dark. That's all I'm saying. I love a sinister twist.

This book is the perfect one to get you out of a slump. It had the same vibes as The Last of Us with the humour of a 90s romcom. If you're a fan of Brianna Bourne then you'd love this.

Can't wait to see what the author does next! Gimme all the YA dystopian novels please! ❤️

[Sharron Joy Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Echo is a teen synth, part human part robot in a post apocalyptic world where humans and animals are no more. Robots are the only things left. One night a pod crashes and inside is Pandora, a human girl, awoken from cryosleep with a past she wants to keep secret for now. They leave the city in a stolen car with Gort (a robot whose purpose is to help humans) in search of the rest of humanity, asleep for 100yrs, are they still alive?

This is wonderful, funny, quirky dystopian YA read that is honestly a joy. It is fast paced and laced with humour but with a warning of the dangers of our reliance on technology when misused and corrupted and our ignorance of what damage we are doing to the planet. There is peril, adventure, romance and friendship.

This is found family on a barren planet, connection and empathy, love and fear, paranoia and compassion, funny robots, angst ridden teens, fallible adults, new beginnings, it is an utter delight and completely unique.

[Tülay · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
Arkadaşımın tavsiyesi ile okudum ama bu kadar beğeneceğimi düşünmemiştim. İlk başta kitaba girmekte biraz zorlanmıştım ama neyseki karakterin espirili oluşu beni kitaba çabuk bağladı. Sonlara doğru ise cidden heyecanlandığım ve şaşırdığım olaylar oldu. Çok popüler bir kitap olmamasına şaşırdım açıkçası. Kıyamet senaryolarını seven okurlar için mükemmel bir kitap ve mutlaka okunması gereken bir kurgu. 🤌🏽

[Seyma · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5
Bayıldım!!

Kendi pisliğimizin sebep olduğu İklim krizinin korkunçluğunu okuyorum tüylerim ürperiyor hoop Echo bir espri patlatıyor ya da sadece konuşuyor espri yapmasına bile gerek yok asla ciddi kalamıyorum 😅 hem eğlenmek hem de güzel bir kurgu okumak istiyorsanız bir de türü seviyorsanız hiç durmayın koşun kitabı okuyun.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! Really enjoyed this one and couldn't put it down! Fabulous writing and loved the characters- Pandora and Echo were really fleshed out and loveable. Can't wait to read more from this author in future.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cute little book. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did! It honestly felt so much shorter than it actually was. The ending was also so sweetttt. Loved it 🫶

[Neve Regler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am unsure on how to feel about this book. The book itself did not confuse me but I feel like it dragged on so much at the end that my opinion of it was tainted.
First, if we look at the concept and story line, it is really cool. Having a dystopian world that is pretty safe in the city with working technology and enough food is a very cool concept. The fact that there are bots there and that Echo can watch TV. TV made Echo's personality which I think is reflective of the present day in a way. Echo's movie quotes and language was cringy in some parts but I did think it really added personality. Echo's character POVs were always enticing which was due to a mix between his personality and (mostly) good story telling as well as the concept of his character; the fact that he was half robot. I cannot say I was that interested in Pandora's chapters.
I really wanted to like Pandora as a character. I did. But she just fell flat for me. She did not really express her personality and I felt like she hardly had one; she mostly spoke about her past experiences. She may have appeared 'boring' as she contrasted Echo's fruitful character. I hated that Pandora didn't feel as alive as a character because I always want a girl character who I love in a book I read. I wish that Pandora was the one who was the half robot and who had been on Earth and Echo was the human; basically the genders switched roles. I feel like that would have been better.
Echo and Pandora's relationship didn't feel that exciting either. The fact that the book is meant to be centred on their love life and it fell flat for me is ironic. It felt natural and organic but also inevitable. I did not like the way Echo was completely enamoured by Pandora but it always felt like Pandora had control. Like how her father had controlled and then ended the world. It felt like there was a hierarchy in the relationship. And when Echo expressed feeling uncomfortable in a place that hated him because he was half robot Pandora was only thinking of herself. It felt as though she was only 'in love' with him when he was convenient. And the cringe I got at some of the things Echo said about her was unmatched.
Why did I give it three stars then? Because it was a good entertaining book! The story line was so good! The addition of the cult and that being an expression of human inability to settle as a community was entertaining and intriguing. And the plot twist about what they were doing with the pods left me SHOOK.
Overall, I think the concept was amazing however the character execution deducted some of my enjoyment of this book.

[Sifa Poulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a review copy from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.

MY LOVE LIFE AND THE APOCALYPSE is a fun romp after the world as we know it has been destroyed by human-made climate change and is now cared for my robots. It is full of 90s pop culture refences and has a road-trip-esque vibe.

This is a dystopian story that isn't dark and grim. Instead it's light and funny, about trying to bring humanity back but also two teens on an impromptu road trip finding connection after so long in isolation. I loved the lightness of it, the fact it saw the end of the world as a chance for a new one, particularly as it comes from the isolation and overwhelming strangeness of covid lockdowns.

The book also explores a possible way that the future of conglomerations could go - and then asks how it could end. What happens once the people (and the money it is set up to grab) disappear? I really loved the destroyed city (New York, I think), the somewhat unsettling difference of it not being quite as you'd expect.

The book is narrated by Echo and Pandora, alternating between their first person perspectives. The chapters have very cute headers with the illustration of them but with the heart over the head of the narrator. I thought that was a very nice touch!

Echo has been alone, save for robots without personality, for three years (that he has memory of) and has instead binged old films and TV. This is borne out in his speech and unrelenting pop-culture references (which late 21st-century Pandora does not get!) Not only did it immediately make it easy to tell which narrator was talking, but it was also very funny. Particularly his interactions with Gort (a robot determined to help Pandora but without the same independent thought as Echo.)

[Kath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Echo wakes 100 years after the remaining humans on Earth have been put to sleep to ensure their survival through catastrophic climate change. Echo is a TeenSynth, androids that were built to feel emotions and to be loved by human parents. Echo has no memory and a malfunctioning E-Mote chip, and all the other androids around him were wiped and programmed in to HumanKind robots, their entire purpose to ensure the survival of the sleeping humans. So, there's not much for Echo to do other than watch The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in its entirety. That is, until a pod crashes in the local park and Pandora emerges. Where did she come from? Where are the other humans? Echo quickly falls for the girl, but will a lonely robot's heart be enough for Pandora at the end of the world?

This fun dystopian is compulsive reading. It is told in dual narrative between Echo and Pandora, switching between views chronologically. The narrative flows smoothly and there's a clear delineation between the characters voices. The little pictures of a couple with a heart-shaped cursor over the character telling the story for that chapter is a very cute subtle way to notify who's point of view we are following.

Things all get a bit dark at the end, but I love that Echo never loses his sense of humour. The real star of the show for me though is Gort. At first he does just seem like a robot following his 'primary directive' but actually as the book progresses his personality really starts to shine. And Echo and Gort's new found family are adorable!

If you enjoyed books like They Both Die At The End and You And Me At The End of The World then you won't want to miss My Love Life and the Apocalypse off your TBR.

[Ili · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,25 ⭐️

Ce livre est assez léger et facile à lire . J’avoue qu’au début Pandora me tapait sur les nerfs mais à un point ou j’ai hésité à arrêter de lire. Au final , j’ai continué malgré tout et HEUREUSEMENT que Pandora a eu une évolution et est devenue moins chiante (et aussi qu’il y a d’autre perso genre Echo et Gort) sinon ce livre aurait été direct dnf.
Je me serait bien passée d’un des plot twists

⚠️⚠️SPOILERS⚠️⚠️

-Genre le plot du cannibalisme et tout non psk bon j’ai trouvé ça assez inutile au final-

⚠️⚠️FIN SPOILERS⚠️⚠️

Sinon mais omd Gort >>>>>>>>>> . Lui aussi il a eu une évolution vraiment incroyable , je l’aime là. Et bien sûr , Echo , attachant du début à la fin . Le voir tomber amoureux était choupinou, bien que c’était un peu cucul la praline au début , mais bon , c’est ça le premier amour . L’amour entre Echo et Pandora est tellement pur .

⚠️⚠️SPOILERS⚠️⚠️

/\Et voir Gort devenir papa m’a tellement fait chaud au cœur (même si techniquement c un robot et je pense pas qu’il a capté qu’il est papa mdr)
En parlant de Gort , c’est triste qu’il considère Pandora importante mais pas Echo, alors que ils sont besties wsh. Tout ça juste psk Pandora la grosse pute est humaine./\

⚠️⚠️ FIN DU SPOILER⚠️⚠️

Big up à l’intelligente Rebecca d’ailleurs👍👍

Bref , je recommande pour une lecture légère et sans prise de tête. (J’aurai mis 5 si Pandora n’aurait pas été une grosse pute qui me tape sur les nerfs et que t’as juste envie d’étrangler tout le long du livre , bien que ça s’est un peu arrangé à la fin mais omd qu’elle était chiante celle la).

[Katina Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melissa Welliver has created a new brand of YA dystopian fiction with her novel 'My Love Life And The Apocalypse'. This is dystopia with bags of humour, inspired use of last century pop culture references and a romance between teen human and teen android, Echo, who's part human.

It has a wonderful cast of characters with a variety of personalities and hilarious dialogue. Echo's 90s fashion sense and movie-themed witticisms, along with HUMANKIND Gort's deadpan lines may one day be quoted in the same way that Echo drops in lines from movies like 'Forest Gump'.

But it's also a thrilling, road-trip adventure set in a future which raises present day questions on the way we treat our planet, and society treats those who aren't wealthy.

The romance at the centre of the story is adorable as Pandora and Echo learn more about themselves and each other. Their love story gently evolving whilst they try to survive the dangerous world they've woken up in, and save countless lives.

I recommend this unique and thoroughly enjoyable YA novel to teens and adults alike. Echo is now one of my new favourite fictional character and in his words - this book is totes rad!

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Chicken House for providing this book in exchange for an honest review!

3 stars!

If you’re looking for a post apocalyptic rom-com with equal parts humour and life lessons, then this is for you. With tropes such as found family, insta love, last humans alive, this book is an all around wholesome read.

I found this book so easy to read! The dialogue, pace and plot made it so digestible, I finished it in 3 hours.

The ‘us vs them’ plot point could have been done differently I think. I found it hard to read whenever they were discussing ‘technophobia’ and I think the story would have progressed well even if that wasn’t in it. And (spoiler warning) I could have done without the cannibalism plot point, don’t think that added anything either.

I also can’t help but make comparisons to Wall-E! The descriptions and set up of the robots that clean and the whole ‘humans being evacuated to save the Earth’ really remind me of Wall-E, and I love it!

[Paula Gilfillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cosy read kept me company through the pressure of finishing the last of my assessments for my MA with its romantic comedy, a heavy sci-fi setting reminiscent of Forbidden Planet (for those of you that are old enough to remember this) and all the numerous references to contemporary film culture of the 20th and 21st century that are littered with nostalgic and comedic effect.

It's not common to find a blossoming love story within a post apocalyptic setting either, but it's a brave move for Welliver that we need to see more of in the YA science fiction genre with a gentle admiration that grows into love between the two main characters (and I'm not giving away any spoilers here as the title speaks for itself).

I also liked the alternating points of view between the two main characters as they navigate a highly technical world full of mutant beasts to one that is barely existing and under authoritarian rule. The world building is intricate and calls upon the moral basis of using technology to further society with some sinister warnings. Underlying what seems a light hearted story, is some thought provoking themes about the integration of science and politics with a bucketful of moral dilemmas to be dipped into.

If you love apocalyptic fiction with an uplifting message, then give this a try.

[Felicia Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars for me woooooow! I bought this book at the romance bookstore in Edinburgh since it was a ”blind date with a book” moment which I’ve always wanted to try and I’m sooo glad I picked this one.

I’ve always found dystopian books fascinating since they feel so real- this COULD happen in real life if we continue down this road in the world. And this book, considering all the AI developments going around, felt very realistic in that sense.

The book felt like a mix of the world aesthetics (if you can call them that) of the Walking Dead, The Last of Us and perhaps The Scorch Trials, but remove the zombies and add robots instead. It also felt like the game Detroit become human in how Echo was written: a bot with human feelings and so on. Oh! And also The 100 series when it comes to how the world was ruined by radiation which resulted in the animals being mutated!

All in all, I really do recommend this if you enjoy any of the series above :)