Ground Zero: A Sapphic Post-Apocalyptic Romance

by Clara Ann Simons

A catastrophic solar event.
A world in total collapse.
Two women who never should have met.

When a Miyake event, a solar storm a hundred times more powerful than anything on record, strikes the Earth, civilization disintegrates in a matter of hours. No electricity. No communications. No law.

Isabel Reyes, a PhD student in physics, saw the disaster coming from her lab. But understanding the science doesn’t prepare you to survive on streets where predators lurk around every corner.

Arizona doesn’t save people. Not anymore. Her past is written in scars and a list of names she’d rather forget. She trusts only her training, her instincts… and hands that are always cold.

When their paths cross, neither imagines that the encounter will change their lives forever. Together, accompanied by a German Shepherd who refuses to leave their side, they fight their way through the chaos toward a survivor colony where hope still holds out.

But Arizona has a past. And that past is coming back to claim her.

In a world where humanity shows its worst face, love can bloom in the absolute darkness. But first, they have to survive the winter.

Genres: LGBT

215 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 23, 2025

Reviews

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. Would’ve been higher but I had a few qualms. Isabel told Arizona that she loved her after a few days or so. Girl, what? A mess. I also thought Isabel was annoying as hell and kinda inconsistent but I loved Arizona. She was badass and had a very intriguing back story. I wish the romance between them had been better. I totally got why Isabel fell for Arizona, especially with how she saved her but there was just something off about their chemistry for me. I wasn’t feeling it unfortunately.

However, the plot of the apocalypse itself was really cool and I appreciated that the author didn’t hold any punches. This book is gritty and violent and I loved that part of it. Anyone could die at any moment and the stakes always felt high. The pacing was also really good and kept the story moving to where I never felt bored. A very entertaining read.

Spice: ❤️‍🔥/❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥
Content Warning: Sexual assault (on page), Violence, Murder, Death, Dog harmed, Mentions of human trafficking, Death of a child (mentioned, in the past), Death of a parent (on page), Grief

[Nikki KR · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really post apocalyptic/dystopian books and this had a fun premise (big ass solar flair all technology goes to shit) and an interesting plot but something felt missing almost like it could have been longer to really get into it (like hello wouldn’t planes be falling out the sky and shit??) or maybe dates at the start of chapters to indicate passage of time or something because chunks of time felt missing and that wasn’t satisfying to me.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!

I’ve read a lot of Clara Ann’s books and this one hit all the right notes! Love story ☑️ dog ☑️ international assassins ☑️ and a world made primitive ✅. Arizona and Isabel meet when the world goes dark-can they survive when everything they have ever known is gone in a flash? Get this book and find out!

[Coffee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un post-apo court et efficace qui se lit très vite. La tension est constante, portée par un monde en effondrement crédible et oppressant. La traduction est soignée et les deux héroïnes sont intéressantes, avec une romance touchante… même si, clairement, l’ambiance post-apocalyptique prend le dessus (et c’est assez logique 😅).
Une lecture rapide qui fait le job.

[ZoraYuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pasé miedo, porque ese evento solar catastrófico (o cualquier otro evento) puede producirse sumiendo al mundo en un colapso total, haciendo que lo peor del ser humano salga a la luz con total impunidad y eso es verdaderamente terrorífico, aunque donde hay oscuridad siempre hay luz y ellas, junto con otras personas, la encontraron.
Adoré a Molly.

[Jackie Wolf · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf halfway through. Characters felt flat and the pacing was really weird. An odd combo of refusing to use contractions with just a couple sprinkled in made the characters sound robotic. By the halfway mark I was bored in a book about the apocalypse so I gave up.

[Lisa Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story!

This story had everything that I love in a good book. Dog, love and somewhat HEA.
What a cute love story. I loved the characters and the storyline. Support the author’s books and make sure you leave your reviews.
Thank you for using Kindle Unlimited.

[Shazh76 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, quick read. A post apocalyptic story with a side of love. I thought it was well done, if a bit short. Would lend itself to a sequel or a series.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was okay but not something i would read again

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good

One of the better post apocalypse stories I have read. I did not expect it to go the way it did and that is usually the best part of any story.

[Jayme Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[carla :) · Rating 1.5 out of 5]

well hay lesbianas

[Nilyal · Rating 2.75 out of 5]

It lacks complexity in the storytelling, but a nice, simple and light read.