An Empty World With You: A dystopian romance about survival and the one person who made the silence feel like home

by Jemima Ceesay

When Lo wakes up in a deserted hospital, the world as she knew it is gone. Cities lie silent, people have vanished, and nature is reclaiming what humanity left behind. But just as she begins to lose hope, she meets Dexter and a loyal dog named Alfa.

Together, they navigate the eerie stillness of a post-apocalyptic world. In the ruins of what was once civilization, every step is a fight for survival, and the silence grows louder with each passing day. But what begins as a fragile alliance, slowly turns into something deeper, something that feels impossible in a world like this - love.

As strange and unsettling changes begin to stir around them, Lo starts to realize that an empty and motionless world may not be their only challenge.
Because even in the quietest place on Earth… nothing stays still forever.

A dystopian romance about a connection that makes even the end of the world feel alive.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy

167 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 5, 2025

About the author

Hi, I’m Jemima Ceesay, a self-published author of both fiction and self-help. I wrote my first book An Empty World With You when I was just 18, a post-apocalyptic love story about survival and connection. My second book, The Main Character Playbook, is a deeply personal self-help guide about confidence, growth, and becoming the main character of your own life.

Even though one book is fiction and the other is non-fiction, they share a common thread: mental health and survival. Through both stories, I hope to inspire readers to find strength in their own journey.

You can also find me on TikTok @jemsliving and Instagram @bookjemss.

Reviews

[Britt de Korte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohh, how I love having my heart broken... 5✨️

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I’m dehydrated… I wouldn’t wish such heartbreak on my worst enemy. And the ending 🤯 My jaw was on the floor.

I liked the style and atmosphere. There is a lot of inner monologue, which I loved. I’m a big fan of post-apocalyptic books and movies, so I was instantly hooked. At the beginning there were things that I thought were weird and non-realistic, but trust me it all ties together at the end.

I would have loved it more if there was a more coherent explanation on what happened, but I also lowkey like that it’s open to interpretation.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written

I was looking for something a little outside of normal read and I’m so glad I stumbled upon this book. Jemima wrote a beautiful story. Although it was fast-paced and short, I was drawn in by the characters and her writing. Definitely didn’t see the sending coming but it really tied the story up nicely. Can’t wait to read more of her works!

[J. L. Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story?? Didn’t like how everything just sort of feel a part at the end though

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book in less than a day. The writing is so easy to follow and takes you on the adventure with the main character. You will feel all the feels in this book. I love that it’s quick and that the plot twist got me good! The author is super sweet I DM’d her on tik tok letting her know I loved the book and she responded so quick & was very humble & kind. I can’t wait to read more of her writing in the future.

[zzoereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 ✨

[Elivia Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

the only reason it wasn’t 3 is because of the “and then I woke up”. This changed the entire feel towards the book and completely changed the emotions I had especially since I’ve been taught since primary school to not end a story with this.
I loved the idea behind the book but some of the plot points occurred and were left with the idea they could be revisited but kind of just hung there after.
I was going to say the characters logic was missing (like wondering if her family was ok but not actually looking for them) but the ending kind of made this obsolete.
I also felt like sentence structure was always abrupt which made it feel less flowy (but I don’t love overuse of abrupt syntax anyway so that’s just a personal preference).

I think the author definitely did a good job since it’s self published and her first book of this sort but the ending changed my perspective.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE PLOT TWIST?!

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ

[Rae ‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending??? 😭💔

[Mia Jevley · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 MILLION STARS!!!

i don’t usually ready dystopians but this one had me hooked. the short chapters made it digestible, the characters were lovely, AND THE DOG!!! i’m in literal shambles from the ending, just WOW. Lo + Dexter foreverrr🫶🏽

[starry skies · Rating 5 out of 5]

this books descriptions are honestly amazing yes they can be heavy or lengthy at times but i didnt mind that becuase a high majoriity of the time they were beautiful descriptions. despite only being 160 pages this didnt feel that rushed to me at all but i wouldve liked to see more interactions between the two character and how their banter built. the ending honestly has me in tears because just no it was so sad but then it had me going what the heck because what the heck. partial mixed feelings about the very end but in my opinion it was handled in a much better way then some books like this are. i loved this book alot and definitely recommend this if youre looking for a short, cosy and beautiful description dystopian / post apocalyptic vibe book.

[Trisha Reeder · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a small self published author so I will give credit where credit is due. However, I was expecting a heart wrenching story but it was just so choppy and so incredibly kind of boring to read. I’m so sorry I didn’t love it; I just think the writing itself needs so much improvement. It kind of felt like reading a high school English paper

[Lyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very quick and easy read. I thought this book was going to put a nice spin on the “post- apocalyptic “ genre but overall it was just too fast paced and the writing was so overly descriptive it felt hollow. Nothing was really explained nor exciting and the ending felt rushed as if the author got tired of writing as soon as she had something interesting going on.

[Lia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
It was a very nice reading and I really enjoyed it. I was a bit skeptical at first but I’m glad I chose to read it. I liked the characters and enjoyed the way the story evolved. I would recommend it, even when the end made me cry so hard that it woke my husband. 😂

[Danisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me cry I loved this book the details were amazing and I truly felt the love our main characters formed.