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breewriteback's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
this was scarier than i expected (i completely missed the horror tag lol), but i still thought it was good.
the writing wasn’t the best at times but the plot had me captivated from the very beginning. i will say the romance was definitely rushed and felt somewhat forced. i would have loved to see more development in rachel and lota’s friendship before they dove into dating.
overall, i still really enjoyed the story!
the writing wasn’t the best at times but the plot had me captivated from the very beginning. i will say the romance was definitely rushed and felt somewhat forced. i would have loved to see more development in rachel and lota’s friendship before they dove into dating.
overall, i still really enjoyed the story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Blood
kris_lovegood's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
Honestly ended this book with more questions than I started with. I liked the characters and the idea but it felt overcomplicated. The last few chapters feel like a separate story and then ended very abruptly with little explanation or resolution.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
purplepickle's review against another edition
dark
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
clack's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The author has a lot of potential and a tremendous gift for creating a sense of unease and eeriness. I do think this book would be better appreciated by a younger audience than I, but it still had moments that struck me, where anguish and emotional heaviness was written beautifully. Overall, the universe is a delighful curio and I long for more answers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent
lolajh's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
First off, the author was like fucking eighteen or younger when she wrote this???? And that is so fucking amazing. I could never think of being capable of writing a book of this length at that age. It’s truly something admirable and I am so incredibly impressed.
As a book itself, it did fall short slightly in my opinion, mainly because of the ending; it just felt a bit unfinished. What I did like is that I did not at all expect the plot to develop as it did. I knew Rachel and Lauren were going to eventually meet and fall in love, but I didn’t expect Lauren’s whole mindfuck situation going on. I definitely felt like even just one extra chapter could have been provided to see how Lauren’s mind really was after the cave, but oh well. That plot point was definitely quite confusing to read, and I’m still not sure I understand what even happened to her. She got hit with weird monster light and started having visions and turning into light??? Why was Rachel wanting to tear Lauren’s eyes out never revisited??? The monsters were kind of underdeveloped in their whole history and existence and why they have weird angel halos and shootable light beams and weapons and stuff? but that’s okay, they were still very intriguing, and I loved that some of them were nice. Jeremy kinda freaks me out, but Victor is awesome. poor baby
And the setting was sick!!! Post apocalypse, being one of the only humans left alive (maybe???), and having to develop all these skills was so cool. Like all the engineering, building a camera and computer from scratch, the radio stuff, all of it was really cool to read. I’m only slightly iffy about Rachel getting Lauren’s coordinates, that wasn’t really explained much.
Characters were lovely too. Just funny, dorky lesbians in their twenties trying to survive on their own. Overall a fun read!!! Liked it a lot
As a book itself, it did fall short slightly in my opinion, mainly because of the ending; it just felt a bit unfinished. What I did like is that I did not at all expect the plot to develop as it did.
And the setting was sick!!! Post apocalypse, being one of the only humans left alive (maybe???), and having to develop all these skills was so cool. Like all the engineering, building a camera and computer from scratch, the radio stuff, all of it was really cool to read.
Characters were lovely too. Just funny, dorky lesbians in their twenties trying to survive on their own. Overall a fun read!!! Liked it a lot
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
oliverreeds's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
fine but the wnding was a let down. i wish there had been more abt the creatures and stuff and abt lotas past esp bc it seemed to haunt her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
sssssoup's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Confinement, and Medical content
idkwhatimdoingg's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Rating: 4.5/5
Radio Apocalypse is set years after an apocalypse leaves most of Earth radioactive. Rachel and Lota both think they are the last people alive – until Rachel stumbles across the radio broadcast Lota has been sending out in the hope that somebody is listening. Realising she isn't alone, Rachel journeys across the Atlantic Ocean to find Lota.
One of the unique features of Radio Apocalypse is the style of narration. Lota's chapters are all transcripts of her radio broadcasts while Rachel's chapters are in the more standard prose, which provides variation. It's really cool to read in the two different types of narration and it highlights the differences between the characters, which you notice especially towards the end of the book.
The world-building and take on the apocalypse was new and refreshing. With the cause of the apocalypse and the origins of the creatures left unclear, there was a vaguely ominous atmosphere, but Gallagher's writing style kept it light for the most part (fans of Welcome to Night Vale will definitely love this book!). I also loved that both characters befriended/helped creatures despite being a bit afraid; it was such a human thing to do and I found it heartwarming to read about. It was nice to read a post-apocalyptic story that wasn't focused on death and instead revolved around friendship and love.
Diversity is difficult when there are only two living characters (and two others in flashbacks), but I would say this book meets the mark! Additionally, both Rachel and Lota were likeable, and had unique voices. However, I felt that their relationship went a bit too fast for me. I would have expected it to take a little bit longer for them to get together after they met in person as they both have limited experience with other humans, let alone romance, and of course even though they had spoken before they had met very recently. The middle section of the book was a bit slow and the ending was almost rushed, but overall the plot was engaging. The ending was also a bit too vague for my liking and didn't give me enough closure or explanation, but that's more personal preference.
Some of my favourite (spoiler-free) quotes:
Rating: 4.5/5
Radio Apocalypse is set years after an apocalypse leaves most of Earth radioactive. Rachel and Lota both think they are the last people alive – until Rachel stumbles across the radio broadcast Lota has been sending out in the hope that somebody is listening. Realising she isn't alone, Rachel journeys across the Atlantic Ocean to find Lota.
One of the unique features of Radio Apocalypse is the style of narration. Lota's chapters are all transcripts of her radio broadcasts while Rachel's chapters are in the more standard prose, which provides variation. It's really cool to read in the two different types of narration and it highlights the differences between the characters, which you notice especially towards the end of the book.
The world-building and take on the apocalypse was new and refreshing. With the cause of the apocalypse and the origins of the creatures left unclear, there was a vaguely ominous atmosphere, but Gallagher's writing style kept it light for the most part (fans of Welcome to Night Vale will definitely love this book!). I also loved that both characters befriended/helped creatures despite being a bit afraid; it was such a human thing to do and I found it heartwarming to read about. It was nice to read a post-apocalyptic story that wasn't focused on death and instead revolved around friendship and love.
Diversity is difficult when there are only two living characters (and two others in flashbacks), but I would say this book meets the mark! Additionally, both Rachel and Lota were likeable, and had unique voices. However, I felt that their relationship went a bit too fast for me. I would have expected it to take a little bit longer for them to get together after they met in person as they both have limited experience with other humans, let alone romance, and of course even though they had spoken before they had met very recently. The middle section of the book was a bit slow and the ending was almost rushed, but overall the plot was engaging. The ending was also a bit too vague for my liking and didn't give me enough closure or explanation, but that's more personal preference.
Some of my favourite (spoiler-free) quotes:
- "It reminds me of the medieval paintings in the art history books I used to pore over—not for the elements of the scene, but for the sad, hollow feeling of staring into some reminder of a time long gone."
- "Would they even be a serial killer if they were one of two people on Earth? Don't you have to, like, kill multiple people to be a serial killer?"
- "My emotions always come too late, after I’ve made up my mind."
(I loved that there were almost equal amounts of 'deep' and funny quotes!)
Overall, I loved this book. The concept of the radio broadcast, the world-building, and the characters were amazing. I had some minor issues with the pacing but these are definitely outweighed by everything else. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone!
Overall, I loved this book. The concept of the radio broadcast, the world-building, and the characters were amazing. I had some minor issues with the pacing but these are definitely outweighed by everything else. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
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