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What Remains: A Gritty Age-Gap Post-Apocalyptic Romance
The world ended. But in the silence, two survivors might find something more dangerous than death – connection.
After society collapses under nuclear fire and plague, 17-year-old tech scavenger Alex Reyes flees the ruins of Portland with a backpack full of salvaged electronics and a desperate dream of rebuilding.
Diana Morrison, a 44-year-old former corporate VP hardened by loss, escapes Salt Lake City with nothing but a rifle and an iron will.
When their paths converge at a remote mountain cabin, trust is a luxury neither can afford. He’s impulsive, brilliant, and starved for connection. She’s guarded, pragmatic, and unwilling to let anyone close.
But winter is coming fast – and in a world overrun by the infected and fractured by fear, survival means sharing space, secrets… and something even more hope.
As the firelight flickers and days grow shorter, their uneasy alliance deepens. Her maternal instincts blur with forbidden desire. His adolescent longing sharpens into love – messy, sincere, and all too real.
Can two fractured souls build something worth living for in a world that’s already ended?
A slow-burn, emotionally intense post-apocalyptic romance about survival, intimacy, and the fragile line between dependence and devotion. For readers who crave both grit and grace.
After society collapses under nuclear fire and plague, 17-year-old tech scavenger Alex Reyes flees the ruins of Portland with a backpack full of salvaged electronics and a desperate dream of rebuilding.
Diana Morrison, a 44-year-old former corporate VP hardened by loss, escapes Salt Lake City with nothing but a rifle and an iron will.
When their paths converge at a remote mountain cabin, trust is a luxury neither can afford. He’s impulsive, brilliant, and starved for connection. She’s guarded, pragmatic, and unwilling to let anyone close.
But winter is coming fast – and in a world overrun by the infected and fractured by fear, survival means sharing space, secrets… and something even more hope.
As the firelight flickers and days grow shorter, their uneasy alliance deepens. Her maternal instincts blur with forbidden desire. His adolescent longing sharpens into love – messy, sincere, and all too real.
Can two fractured souls build something worth living for in a world that’s already ended?
A slow-burn, emotionally intense post-apocalyptic romance about survival, intimacy, and the fragile line between dependence and devotion. For readers who crave both grit and grace.
345 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 3, 2025
3 people are currently reading
About the author
M.P. Blackthorne
13 booksM.P. Blackthorne crafts deeply immersive and emotionally resonant stories that explore the complexities of human connection, transformation, and the profound journey of self-discovery.
From the brutal fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic landscape where unexpected bonds are forged through shared resilience, to the intricate dance of devotion and earned authority in contemporary settings, Blackthorne's narratives delve into the quiet hunger for purpose and belonging. His characters are often strong individuals, navigating worlds that challenge their perceptions of freedom and control, finding their truest selves in vulnerability, unwavering trust, or the stark realities of survival.
Inspired by the raw emotional resonance of literary fiction and the immersive tension of diverse human dynamics, Blackthorne invites readers into worlds where quiet moments hold the deepest weight, and where love is something built, not stumbled into. When he's not writing, he's riding remote roads, delving into wartime memoirs, or losing himself in story-rich computer games where survival is earned.
From the brutal fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic landscape where unexpected bonds are forged through shared resilience, to the intricate dance of devotion and earned authority in contemporary settings, Blackthorne's narratives delve into the quiet hunger for purpose and belonging. His characters are often strong individuals, navigating worlds that challenge their perceptions of freedom and control, finding their truest selves in vulnerability, unwavering trust, or the stark realities of survival.
Inspired by the raw emotional resonance of literary fiction and the immersive tension of diverse human dynamics, Blackthorne invites readers into worlds where quiet moments hold the deepest weight, and where love is something built, not stumbled into. When he's not writing, he's riding remote roads, delving into wartime memoirs, or losing himself in story-rich computer games where survival is earned.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 23, 2025
I found What Remains to be a captivating story with great imagery, action and descriptions, putting me right there in the middle of the story. I like how Alex and Diana, being almost 30 years apart in age, have different views of the apocalyptic world they live in. The younger wants to build a new world thought his inventive skills which he learned on Youtube, while the older just wants to survive the next week, with her the businesses mind and experiences of the supply chain world. Their relationship changes through battles, danger, trauma and the will to survive even with their differences. They both have their own unique skills which help them and a small community close to them. I will be on the lookout for more by this writer.
Displaying 1 of 1 review