Book picks similar to
Afterglow by Maria Monroe


romance
dystopian
post-apocalyptic
dnf

The Darkness We Crave


Katie May - 2018
    On the beach drinking margaritas? In the arms of a lover? How about in a shit-ass resort run by your shit-ass parents? I have always lived my life as the perfect daughter. At seventeen, I had no other option than to follow my parents' strict regiment. Did I mention that they're assholes? The world didn't decide to suddenly end. Oh no, that would be too easy. Instead, it was a series of events that led to its eventual demise. Earthquakes, tornados, and a mysterious virus that turned people into raving lunatics. Fortunately for me, I have the help of seven handsome men to combat the coming storm. Literally. Declan, an enigma from my past. Ryder, a flirty musician. Asher, the sweetest boy I had ever met and probably the only one that I don't want to kick in the balls. Tamson, shy and timid, with a past I'm aching to uncover. Ronan, my sarcastic leprechaun. Fallon, the stoic leader. And, finally, Calax (but he doesn't really matter because I kind of hate him and want him to fall on his head and die). I will have to learn to rely on these boys and myself if we're going to survive the apocalypse. This is a slow-burn reverse harem series. Warning: This book deals with sensitive issues such as abuse, rape, and suicide that some readers may find triggering. Reader discretion is advised.

Nightfall


Ellen Connor - 2011
    Growing up with an unstable, often absent father who preached about the end of the world, Jenna never thought in her wildest nightmares that his predictions would come true. Or that he would have a plan in place to save her-one that includes the strong, stoic man who kidnaps and takes her to a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest.The mysterious ex-Marine named Mason owes a life-debt to Jenna's father. Skilled and steadfast, he's ready for the prophesied Change, but Jenna proves tough to convince. Until the power grid collapses and mutant dogs attack-vicious things that reek of nature gone wrong.When five strangers appear, desperate to escape the bloodthirsty packs, Jenna defies her protector and rescues them. As technology fails and the old world falls away, Jenna changes too, forever altered by supernatural forces. To fight for their future, she and Mason must learn to trust their instinctive passion-a flame that will see them through the bitter winter, the endless nights, and the violence of a new Dark Age.

Run


Gillian Zane - 2015
    But, an apocalypse is an apocalypse and she should have this covered. She has been “prepping” for the last three years. The problem is location and timing. She’s stuck downtown and she has to get to her house on the outskirts of the city so she can get her supplies and bug-in (for the “non-preppers” this means hole up and stay safe).Agreeing to work on a Saturday is now coming back to bite her on the ass big time. Hopefully, it won’t be a literal bite by the walking dead.Luck favors the prepared, and as luck would have it, it comes in the form of the ridiculously hot Blake Miller. Former military man, current mercenary, Blake Miller, the man with the plan, his goal: steal a boat and trek up the Mississippi until they find safety. Alexis thinks this is a great plan and she decides to team up with Blake. The two team up in unexpected ways as they find they can’t keep their hands off of each other even when the world is falling down around them.Can Alexis and Blake survive the end of the world, and if they do make it through the night, find a place that is safe and secure? Can their newfound attraction lead them down the road to love or heartbreak?Zombies, sex, romance and carnage…you can’t get any better than this.

The World Without a Future


Nazarea Andrews - 2013
    She’s mostly happy there. But when a zombie horde breach the walls of her Haven, she has to trust her brother, Collin, and his best friend to keep her alive. He just wants his past to die…Finn O’Malley has given up on voicing warnings that are ignored. No one cares that the zombies are changing. Now all that matters is keeping Collin and Nurrin safe from what’s outside the walls of a Haven. But when Nurrin’s best friend picks up a contact infection, he agrees to get the medicine needed to save his life. Forced together, relying on each other in a strange Haven, zombies aren’t the most dangerous thing they’re facing.In their world, only one thing remains true: everything ends in blood.

The Reapers are the Angels


Alden Bell - 2010
    A young girl named Temple is on the run. Haunted by her past and pursued by a killer, Temple is surrounded by death and danger, hoping to be set free.For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself - and keeping her demons inside. She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks.

Alive


Megan D. Martin - 2013
    On the hunt for her sister, she runs into Gage—the first and only boy to have her heart and break it. It’s been four years and he isn’t a boy anymore, nor is he the same person he used to be. Against her better judgment, Eve agrees to stay with him when he divulges information on a safe haven near the small town they grew up in—but that doesn’t mean she has to like it…Returning home elicits a myriad of emotions that both Eve and Gage thought they had buried. The past and present collide and they are forced to the face bitter deceits that ruined them in the before and threaten to destroy them now…

Aftertime


Sophie Littlefield - 2011
    Having no idea how many weeks have passed, she slowly realizes the horrifying truth: Ruthie has vanished.And with her, nearly all of civilization.Where once-lush hills carried cars and commerce, the roads today see only cannibalistic Beaters -- people turned hungry for human flesh by a government experiment gone wrong.In a broken, barren California, Cass will undergo a harrowing quest to get Ruthie back. Few people trust an outsider, let alone a woman who became a zombie and somehow turned back, but she finds help from an enigmatic outlaw, Smoke. Smoke is her savior, and her safety.For the Beaters are out there.And the humans grip at survival with their trigger fingers. Especially when they learn that she and Ruthie have become the most feared, and desired, of weapons in a brave new world….

Claimed


Elle Kennedy - 2015
    Now she really sets it on fire in a new series about men and women living on the edge of violence, sex, and life and death.After a devastating war decimated most of the world, Hudson Lane has only known the oppressive life under her own father’s tyranny. She finally escapes, branding herself an outlaw and hunted by the Enforcers. Her best chance at survival is Connor Mackenzie, an aggressively sensual fugitive who opens her eyes to the wicked possibilities of a world without rules.As the leader of a band of outlaw fighters, Connor can’t resist the beautiful stranger who asks for his protection. Despite his reservations, he agrees to introduce her to a whole new way of life. But when Connor discovers Hudson’s connection to the enemies of liberty, he wonders how far he can trust the woman who has abandoned all inhibitions to challenge every forbidden desire.

Theirs to Protect


Stasia Black - 2018
    It’s the law.Welcome to the apocalypse.Nix never put his name in the marriage raffle for a reason. He doesn’t need a woman. There aren’t that many to go around anyway after a genetically engineered virus wiped out 90% of the female population. He has his job as head of the Security Squadron and it’s all he need. He looks out for the township. He protects the few women there are left.But when his name is called to be one of the five husbands to the woman rescued from the badlands, he doesn’t speak up to correct the error.Because Audrey’s like no one he’s ever met before. Feisty. That’s the name for her. Not like so many of the women they’ve brought back before. She’s not broken. She might be just the woman to handle a rough, brutal man like him.Sharing her with four other men is a small price to pay. In fact, the closer they all grow, the more Nix realizes he might finally have again what he lost so long ago—a real family.But when outside forces threaten everything he holds dear, Nix will be forced to face his deepest, darkest fear. When Audrey’s life is endangered, will he be able to save the woman he’s just learned how to love?Please note that this book contains some dark elements and covers sensitive topics. Any reader that feels they shouldn't venture into this apocalyptic world of sometimes harsh realities should please consider before reading.

Born


Tara Brown - 2012
    There are no regular people anymore."Ten years ago when the world ended she ran for her life.Five weeks ago the world she'd hidden from came knocking on the door of her secluded cabin.Ten days ago she found salvation hiding amongst the dead.Yesterday she went back for the living.Today she wonders if she will live to see tomorrow.What do you do when the world you were born to is gone?Where do you hide when even your own body isn't safe?Emma ran when her daddy told her to. She hid like he said she should. He was the first person she turned her back on. The first one she let die.Ten years has gone by and she still lives by the simple rules he taught her when she was nine years old."Don't help anyone. Don't go where other people are unless you have to. Trust no one. Always pull the trigger."Until one night she hears the worst sound in the world, a knock. A simple, timid knock, on the door to her cabin.Only the voice of the brave little girl, ready to die for her brother, persuades Emma to open the door.As her fingers turn the lock, she has a terrible feeling she will regret her decision.But even as regret fills her world, so do love and companionship. Things she never imagined she would ever have again.Everything comes at a cost; you decide what you'll pay.

Broken


Imogen Keeper - 2021
    there will be survivors. I'm just not sure I want to be one of them.We'll be broken, lost, grieving, plunged into a world without order, and no one to enforce it anyway.At least, no one but him.Before the apocalypse, we were strangers. Now our lives will forever be entwined.A romantic Walking Dead ... minus the zombies, this suspenseful and seductive saga blends romance, adventure, and hope into an unforgettable read. Fans of Outlander, Station Eleven and the Walking Dead will love this saga. Look for the next three books in the series available now!

Dark Inside


Jeyn Roberts - 2011
    An inner rage has been released and some people cannot fight it. For those who can, life becomes an ongoing battle to survive - at any cost!

Ashwin


Kit Rocha - 2017
    Unfeeling. His commanding officers consider him the perfect operative, and they're right. Now, he has a simple mission: to infiltrate Gideon's Riders, the infamous sect of holy warriors that protects the people of Sector One.He's never failed to execute an objective, but there's one thing he didn't anticipate--running into Dr. Kora Bellamy, the only woman to ever break through his icy exterior.When Kora fled her life as a military doctor for the Makhai Project, all she wanted was peace--a quiet life where she could heal the sick and injured. The royal Rios family welcomed her like a sister, but she could never forget Ashwin. His sudden reappearance is a second chance--if she can manage to touch his heart.When the simmering tension between them finally ignites, Kora doesn't realize she's playing with fire. Because she's not just falling in love with a man who may not be able to love her back. Ashwin has too many secrets--and one of them could destroy her.

Wanderers


Chuck Wendig - 2019
    She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that only she knows. But Shana and her sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey. And like Shana, there are other "shepherds" who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road ahead.For as the sleepwalking phenomenon awakens terror and violence in America, the real danger may not be the epidemic but the fear of it. With society collapsing all around them--and an ultraviolent militia threatening to exterminate them--the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart--or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world.

100 Days in Deadland


Rachel Aukes - 2013
    In its place rose a new species: vicious, gruesome, wandering monsters with an insatiable hunger for the living. There is no government, no shelter.Still in her twenties, Cash has watched her friends die, only to walk again. An office worker with few survival skills, she joins up with Clutch, a grizzled Army veteran with PTSD. Together, they flee the city and struggle through the nine circles of hell, with nothing but Clutch’s military experience and Cash’s determination to live. As they fight to survive in the zombie inferno, they quickly discover that nowhere is safe from the undead… or the living.This is the beginning after the end.(100 Days in Deadland is a modern remake of Dante's Inferno, the classic tale on the horrors of hell... zombie apocalypse style!)