I enjoyed this much more than I expected! It was engaging and very interesting, especially in light of the ongoing pandemic.
I loved the story itself, and how it made me think about the realities of the characters situations vs. my own, and I loved the characters themselves.
Frankie is super relatable and likeable, and Auden is adorable and you can’t help but really root for them, as well as for magnetic and interesting Yorke—not to mention Beast!
This is a great pick for anyone who loves post-apocalyptic, dystopian, or survival fiction, and maybe even for those who aren’t sure if they do.
4 well-earned ⭐️!

If you’re looking for an epic tale, intriguing
second-chance romance, all-consuming novel, you’ve come to the right place.
After The Plague by Imogen Keeper will show you that even in the darkest time of your life, there’s still hope. There’s always light at the end of the tunnel.

Now let’s talk about the two very likeable main characters, Frankie and Yorke. These two never thought to find comfort in each other when surviving an apocalypse through grief and dread were hard enough. This book will blow your mind with it’s heartbreaking and comforting story all at the same time. The kind that stays with you long after you finished the book. I never thought any story about surviving an apocalypse would be high on my favourite book list. But here I am.

Reading a book means learning something new. This book is so much more. The survival skill, military stuff, the gun, the fighting, the relationship.. Wow! It’s a perfect balance of action and romance. So, if you haven’t already, read this book now.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the free copy I received.
#imogenkeeper #NetGalley

First of all, thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!

I went into this book my favorite way to do so- nearly blindly. I had read the synopsis and that’s about it. I didn’t really know if this book was going to be all spice and no plot and I can definitively say it is not. It’s very much a post-apocalyptic story with some romance sprinkled in.
I enjoyed the book a lot more than I thought I would, but it also had some aspects of it that I wished were just a tiny bit different.

Pros: The story kicks off right around when the world is ending. I’ll be honest, I was hoping that the story would take place five years after the plague to avoid the emotional toil of the main character losing her entire life. It was a bit difficult for me to get past the first few chapters because real life already feels a little bit too saturated with people dying and being afraid of dying from C19. Ultimately, I think this was the right way to go. It gave so much more depth to Frankie to know who she was before, during, and after the plague.

I like Frankie. She is kind of who we all hope we would be in a terrible situation. While she does still struggle with the inevitable despair that would go along with losing everything and everyone you love- she manages to keep her eyes on the horizon at the end of the day as well. One foot in front of the other, so to speak.

After the aforementioned difficulty getting past the first few chapters, this book had me hooked. Especially towards the end, I couldn’t put it down. Even when I wasn’t reading I was thinking about it.


Cons:
The author uses some modern day lingo throughout that I personally just dislike. Again, this is just personal preference, but honestly part of the reason I read is for beautiful language and there is an entire chapter where the characters put “shmu” in front of every other word they say. I get that some people might think this is funny or relatable…but it’s just not for me.


Yorke is still basically an unformed human blob to me, even after finishing the book. I get wanting to leave characters kind of nebulous so that the reader can superimpose whoever they wish on them, but by the end of the book I didn’t really feel anything towards Yorke. He is basically written to be hot, brave, and for some reason absolutely obsessed (but not in a creepy way, of course) with Frankie. I wish that I felt about Yorke the way I do about Frankie, but honestly you could replace him with a cardboard cutout and I emotionally wouldn’t notice.

The ENDING! Not a cliffhanger! I was SO disappointed. Will I read the next book that comes out- probably if I can remember to look for it. I was really excited to see the end of the story, but there are still quite a few loose ends, so I guess another book is in order. I just thought with the book being in three parts the end of the story would be included.


Overall, if you aren’t feeling too emotionally raw from C19 I think this is a solid way to escape reality.

After the pandemic I have become obsessed with dystopian novels and this one was a really good one, I just enjoyed it and devoured it.

This was very well written and I am so glad that I found this author.

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

This is such an addictive, sad, and heartwarming series with so many twists and nerve wreaking situations. I could not put it down until I was finished! I genuinely loved this. When I started it was giving me a lot of anxiety because it just felt so damn real, it just seemed to be describing what our future will be like.

The characters were so well developed, they felt genuine and the struggle they went through to survive at the end of the world felt very real, they had flaws and they had background stories (although I wish we had a little bit more of Yorke, we had his point of view but I think his chapters were a little rushed and short compared to Franki's, I wanted to know a little bit more about his past and about him.) I felt so emotional with the whole Jimmy death, it made my heart hurt for Frankie not just when he died but through the entire grieving process, you could feel her pain through the pages. Auden and Beats were the cutest things ever and I just wanted to hug Auden through the entire thing. Frankie really needed the two of them so she had a purpose and Yorke really needed them to feel like it was worth it to fight and live another day. I really do think Jimmy was the love of Frankie's life, but Yorke was her destiny, her true love.

Ok, enough with the rambling, overall I really liked this one and I think it deserves a little more hype around the internet because it was so good! If you like dystopias or are interested in some post-apocalyptic books please try this one, you won't regret it. on my way to read the fourth book ihhhh. 4/5 stars ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley & the publishers for allowing me access to this book in exchange for an honest review!

After the Plague (Volumes 1, 2, &, 3) is what I like to call a hidden gem that kept me entertained the entire time I was reading. If I didn't start this book on a weeknight I would have stayed up all night to see what happened.

The Pros:
1. The depth of the main characters and the chemistry between them.
2. The fact that there was a plot and a romance.
3. The comedic element. I did not expect to laugh so many times while reading about a deadly virus that kills 99% of people.

The Cons:
1. Given the fact that 99% of people are dead in this book, I find it hard to believe that the water supply was available in all of the houses they found and how the FMC always had shaved legs. Without a doubt, the MC's did go through trials and tribulations but I find it hard to believe that the houses they squatted in had working dishwashing machines.

Quote that resonated with me: "The only reason it's not total pandemonium is because people are too scared to leave their houses for fear of getting sick."

Thank you to the publishers for sending me this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

This series shifts perspectives between a woman named Frankie and a man named Yorke. Most of the world died from an exceptionally deadly flu, leaving few survivors, including our glorious main characters. Of course, with not many people left in the world, society cannot function as normal. This means that there is no food stocked in the grocery stores, and most importantly, no one to enforce the law. Frankie and Yorke have to navigate through this dangerous post-apocalyptic world, grieving over their loss and trying to build a new future.

Let me just start by saying, the writing in this book is incredible. Everything is described in such precise detail that the world came to life and the characters left an imprint on my heart. The whole experience of reading spanned from tears to laughter. There was only one character that I was not fond of, but that is solely due to my jealous nature... By the way, if anyone is looking for a little spice, it is undoubtably there. There was the perfect balance of love, lust, and loss in this series.

This has quickly become one of my favorite books of all time.

I received a copy of this publication from NetGalley for an honest review.

After the Plague

Imogene Keeper

Publication: November 1, 2021

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the book After the Plague, especially in a world that is currently experiencing a pandemic. While this futuristic world has a more devastating plague that kills off the majority of the population, it had a very scary-realistic vibe to it that you could easily imagine if our world were to take a turn for the worse. This is a book of survival. This is a book about how a society meets the challenges of a new world. I love the character growth of our heroine Frankie. A woman who loses her husband early on in the book. In her previous life she was well taken care of and now she has to change her role to an active caregiver even when she thinks she is out of her element. There is a slow burn romance with Yorke who is such a strong, wonderful character. While Frankie had a good husband (I almost wish he wasn’t so Frankie could give her all to Yorke RIGHT NOW!) she is conflicted with this connection she has with another man. I absolutely love the family unity built out of tragedy with Frankie, Yorke, Auden and Beast! I am anxious to see where this story goes…

Thank you to Mindless Muse Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


In AFTER THE PLAGUE 99% of the population dies due to virus. The world is mostly empty and there is no way to communicate or learn more about other parts of the country. Frankie is part of the one percent that survived. She has no skills to survive this post apocalyptic world but somewhere deep inside she finds the will to survive.

The post-apocalyptic world is fascinating, and enjoyed how well developed the characters were. I really enjoyed this book. If you enjoy a good apocalypse book you need to pick this up.

I received access to After the Plague (Volumes 1, 2, & 3) on NetGalley. An 890-page novel that takes place in a world with an extremely contagious virus that wipes out almost all of the world. Frankie, Auden, and Yorke are the main characters of this volume set. An artist, a little boy, and a soldier must go through a series of events with the end of the world happening. There is death, nation, suspense, and more. The writing is SO good, I couldn't put this one down! In exchange for an honest review, this is definitely one of my top ten reads of 2022. GO CHECK THIS OUT!

If you liked ‘The 5th wave’ books or the netflix show ‘Sweet Tooth’ this book is definitely something you will enjoy! I read it in one sitting I couldn’t put it down !

This book was a devastatingly beautiful masterpiece. Set decades in the future, we meet Washington DC resident Frankie as she and her husband Jimmy brace themselves at the height of the Australian Flu sweeping the world. With an 80% mortality rate, we get a front row seat to the panic, resolution, and ultimately the heartbreak that makes up Frankie’s journey to being a survivor of this catastrophic disease.

In alternating chapters we also meet Yorke, a US Army member who is sent home from Germany along with the other surviving members of the military so that they have the chance to die on their home soil. Trying to find his homeless and drug addicted brother in the city, we watch as he inevitably goes from house to house caring for people in their final hours and eventually driving himself to desperation and slight madness trying to find a new “normal”. One night, standing drunk on a rooftop contemplating suicide, he hears the anguished cry of a woman and realizes he is not alone and becomes determined to find her.

Broken into 3 volumes (or parts) the first called “Broken” sets the tone for both Frankie and Yorke’s stories and sets them on the path to meeting each other. The second volume “Lost” shows them trying to navigate the best way forward…both in the new world they are still a part of as well as personally, having found each other after so much loss in the midst of everything. The third and final volume “Found” shows them bearing new scars from “Lost” but finding their footing and a new sense of normalcy that they can accept and embrace as they move forward into a new future where they hope to rebuild a life together.

This book was devastating. There’s just no way around it. Ripped from the headlines it gives us a painful look at what the current pandemic could have been and fires a warning flare into the sky of how easily the world could in fact look like something similar to this in the future. It hit almost too close to home but gave the accurate picture of what I’m sure so many of us have thought, felt, and worried about over the last few years. What made this book beautiful and an absolute masterpiece was the one thing that still courses through humanity even after we’ve lost everything imaginable: hope.

Frankie is the embodiment of that hope. She doesn’t wear rose colored glasses, she doesn’t try to fool herself into seeing the good or thinking positively, she just simply looks forward. After watching her gut wrenching loss of her husband, you see her give up on life entirely…until she meets a little boy (recently orphaned) and his dog, who ultimately give her the purpose she needs to face forward and press on. I will include a spoiler at the bottom of this review regarding the boy and the dog if you’re like me and have anxiety about something happening to either character :-)

Yorke is the embodiment of the strength, tenacity, and ultimately the compassion that still drive humanity forward even on its darkest days. Tough as nails and trained to be a machine, he can hold his own but chooses to protect, love, and guard those around him; his new found family in Frankie, little Auden and his dog Beast, and the good hearted people they join along the way to somewhere they can all settle down and begin life again. You see where his identity is so tightly wound around his ability to protect and care for others and how that haunts him from his past, but his continued growth through that is incredible to watch especially when played out in such a strong, masculine character.

I did not expect this book to be a spicy as it was but HOLY MOLY did this book send me to the freezer to cool off for a bit!! I don’t know how the author did it but the romance she built between Frankie and Yorke was so pure and beautiful and it burned right off the pages. It did not discredit the love or the loss Frankie felt for her husband, it didn’t follow the “we’re practically the last people on earth so we might as well hook up” trope so often found in post-apocalyptic stories, and it was far from a cheap plot filler. It dealt with Frankie’s grief and loss head on, but did not make Yorke seem fake or like the stereotypical Perfect Male Lead/Book Boyfriend™️. He allowed her the space and the time to grieve her loss and process those feelings and emotions, but also still allowed himself to process her grief and to help her make sense of that without him coming across as feeling threatened, hostile, or alienated in any way. By the end of this book they haven’t even had full blown sex yet but the pure heat and passion between them in the lead up to it has me dying to see them finally collide!!

All in all this was a hard read. Like I said, it hits very close to home given current and recent world events, but the author took such care to deliver a realistic yet beautiful picture of humanity and the darkness that can befall us (no rule or law in a brand new world and the evil that can stem from that), but also the true spirit, grit, determination, and ultimately the love and compassion that runs deep beneath the surface of every person. It reinforces how those qualities should be clung to no matter lies ahead of us in order to build a new, still bright, and hopeful future. I cannot wait to read the next installment and see what comes next for Frankie, Yorke, Auden, Beast, and their new friends.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Imogen Keeper for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!!


**SPOILER** I’m not going to lie, any time I encounter a child or a pet in a story I spend so much time worrying about their well-being that it distracts me from enjoying the book, so I did ravage reviews until I could ensure they would both still be okay in the end. And they both are!! This is a plot point spoiler, hence the marker, but I did just want to include this in my review in case there’s anyone else like me out there who can’t breathe or focus at the thought of losing a child or a beloved pet. **END OF SPOILER**

Thank you to Mindless Muse Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A virus becomes active with a fatality rate of 80%, leaving families decimated, children left orphaned.
Society shuts down with groups of people banding together to secure weapons and food, trying to survive.
This story has a sense of realism to it which will fill you with fear, especially given the current pandemic the world is dealing with.
This title contains the first three installments of this story with a 4th available, which I will definitely be getting.
Great story that will terrify you with the consequences of a deadly virus that has the power to destroy life as we know it.

This book was fan-freaking-tastic! If you are into post-apoc survival stories, this book is for you!

After the Plague is broken into three sections, or volumes, but in this version, they were all in one book, and I liked it that way. Each volume is pretty short, and I didn't want to stop reading. I didn't want to stop so much so that when I finished last night, I immediately downloaded volume 4 because I needed to keep going with these characters and their stories!

This story has a virus that wipes out most people, leaving just a few survivors who start to find each other. The narration alternates between Frankie and Yorke. Frankie loses her husband, and it is devastating to her. So much so that while she doesn't get sick, she's determined just curl up on his grave and die, but life doesn't work out like that for her, and pretty soon she's out there surviving just like she promised her husband she would.

Yorke and Frankie have a hot and spicy connection and the author does a great job of letting that relationship have a slow burn as Frankie is grieving for her husband. I like how she gives the reader snippets of relief allowing them to get entangled in their feelings, but then pulls back, and we have to wait again. These scenes are descriptive and on fire so be ready for that!

The survival aspect is something I love in post-apoc fiction, and I really enjoyed that Frankie isn't a survivalist. She "can't do anything", but we find that she can, and it's awesome to follow her as she learns. Yorke on the other hand, is a man that is trained to survive, so he's our hero that sweeps in with guns blazing, giving the story lots of high-velocity action!

I absolutely couldn't put this book down, and I immediately grabbed the next one, so it's a huge 5 stars for me, and I highly recommend it!

Content Warnings: Drug use, kidnapping, murder, hostage situation, abuse, descriptive gun violence, and graphic sexual depiction (it's good though😉) Really, everything you think about a post-apoc world.

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

This book is three books in one, there is Broken (1), Lost(2) and Found (3). The book is in two person POV, and starts with Frankie a painter who lived with her husband in DC and Yorke an trainer in the Army who was just sent home to DC from Germany. The year is 2038 and the world is recently recovering from WW3 with Russia. The flu mutates in Australia and from there breaks out all over the world killing 90% of the population. This harrowing story is one of heartbreak, and finding people to make a family during tragic times. There is romance between the protagonist but it slow burn since Frankie is still mourning her husband. I enjoyed this story immensely and definitely recommend.

When I started this book, it felt very similar to the beginnings of covid which was an eerie connection for me. The book quickly became much much more. The world in a few short weeks overcome with a flu strain with an insane death ratio, that ends up wiping out almost everyone. It has an 80% death rate, but not everyone is susceptible. A small population never got sick at all, and these survivors built their new post-plague world.

One of our main character's Frankie seems immune to the flu variant, but gets through the outbreak it with deep heavy loss. She finds a boy, Auden, and his sweet collie named Beast. The boy and his dog give her a reason to continue living. After settling in with Auden and his dog, she meets Yorke, and together they form a tight family-like unit. They begin looking for people like them in hopes to be a part of a bigger community.

If you're looking for a fast paced, slow burn post-apocalyptic romance that doesn't revolve around sex then I highly suggest this book.

This story reeled me in. I wasn’t sure about reading a book about a pandemic turned apocalypse but was so intrigued. Once I started down Frankie’s story, I couldn’t help but want to know more. As she met Yorke, and hearing his side of the story it only got more intense. Imogen exquisitely writes how they process their feelings for themselves, their loved ones and each other across each part off the story. I’ve already read the 4th installment and eagerly await to see how Frankie and Yorke continue to develop.

This book was so good! It had me reading it within one day. I was obsessed with the characters and needed to find out what would happen to them. As this book is not fully finished, I would love to be an arc reader for the next installment. If you are into The Walking Dead or any apocalyptic show, then this book is a perfect choice for you! Be looking at a later date for my full review on Instagram @maggiethereader.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Only 1% of the world’s population remains after a mysterious plague, post Coronavirus. Frankie and Yorke are part of this 1%and their only agenda now is survival.

This book captured me. It’s a great post apocalyptic romance that kept turning page after page until we’ll into the night. Enjoy!

After the Plague by Imogen Keeper had me in awe. I want to start off by saying that I love this author’s writing style. It made the story easy to follow while still adding so much detail. This story follows Frankie, a woman who is dealing with the after affects of a full blown plague. After losing her husband to this disease she runs into a child who has lost his parents. She takes him under her wing and they both run into a man named Yorke. The story goes on to tell their adventure of escaping a city full of malicious people who are killing adults and kidnapping kids. Not only this this book have adventure and thrills, but romance too. Frankie goes through the emotions of losing her husband but falling in love with Yorke only a few months later. I was truly captivated by this book. I have read a lot of apocalyptic books in the past, and they all seem to follow the same old story. A plague or disease, lots of death, survival, and so on. But this story…. This was so much more. It ties in the grief, a little bit about before the outbreak, love, friendships, relationships. I could read this over and over again. In fact, I’m definitely putting the next book of this series on my to read list. The author did an amazing job at captivating all the emotions of real grief and love, and then wrapping it all up in the end yet still having us wanting more. One of the best apocalyptic books I have ever read and I will continue to recommend this forever.