Praying for Rain

Both works have that “apocalypse” trope (which I happen to love), that moody vibe and the crushing feeling of doom. But while Laura’s work is more about how her leading ladies survive and stay strong in the face of all that adversity, Rain, the main character of this novel was more on the other side of that spectrum.

This book was filled to the brim with feelings of hopelessness, defeat and despair. And honestly, I liked that, because as ugly as it could get at times, it felt gritty and real. I liked Rain’s pessimistic outlook and how she had a bunch of emotional issues and trauma that she absolutely did not want to deal with.

She was done with everything and ready for the end of days to come.

Enter Wes. He was, in some aspects, Rain’s complete opposite, willing to resist tooth and nail to survive another day. An ultimate fighter. But they still had things in common, like the fact that they were both so hurt and raw and stubbornly unwilling to admit it. And this balance of being different while still sharing similar personality traits was what made them have great chemistry.

Also, both of them having nicely fleshed out backstories and being nuanced characters (particularly considering how short this novel is), made it easy for me to like them individually and root for them to find happiness with each other.

I like fast paced books, and the exceedingly tight time frame presented by the fact that the story kicked off with the apocalypse being three days away when Rain and Wes first met, made every interaction between them and all they went through feel so much more intense and exhilarating. I’m a big opposer of instalove, but when your characters are in heightened emotional states and have roughly 72 hours left to live, it doesn’t feel that ridiculous for them to swiftly fall in love.

This was a super quick read. Adrenaline inducing and with an inescapable undercurrent of dread that will keep you hooked throughout.