What’s more romantic than love that endures as society crumbles and disaster strikes? What’s more exciting than running away from zombies, cannibals and general baddies? And, what is more heart-warming than seeing people come together at times of great adversity? These are just some of the things we love about post apocalyptic books. So, today we are recommending some of our very favourite romance and urban fantasy books in the post apocalyptic trope. Enjoy!
Let’s talk about the apocalypse…
It’s weird and scary times at the moment, the world has fallen face first into a pandemic bringing uncertainty and anxiety along with a nasty, and for some people lethal, flu. We want to send everyone out there our thoughts and prayers, especially those who have lost loved ones or, have themselves become ill. But, it was a joy to see that even while it felt like the world was falling apart there have been some beautiful stories of human kindness.
Okay, so that’s the sincere and serious message out the way. Now let’s talk about the twisted urge the pandemic brought out in me. I am craving post-apocalyptic books, I think this comes from the same place that drives people to watch horror films and get on roller coasters. I want to scare myself, and also to some extent reassure myself that things could be way worse. Zombies could be craving my brains. A meteor could have wiped out 99% of human life. A series of natural disasters could have wiped out world infrastructure.
I can’t be the only one feeling like that, so us girls here at UTC have together our (delicious) brains and come up with our recommendations for post apocalyptic books and series.
Flash Bang series
by meghan march
Things to do during the apocalypse: find two sexy marines and bang your way to happiness. Seems like a reasonable plan to me. I love a menage story and Meghan March delivers a sexy post apocalyptic menage romance that may have you breaking isolation and hunting up some soldiers.
publisher’s synopsis
Rowan Callahan is a career-climbing attorney focused on her future. But vicious—and false—rumors are destroying her professional life. That all ceases to matter when a plane crashes in downtown Chicago and the entire city goes dark, and she realizes she’s just witnessed the kick-off to the apocalypse. Armed with a backpack of supplies, she leaves Chicago, intent on resetting her skewed priorities and seeking shelter at the family farm with her father and sister. She’s injured and running for her life when she stumbles directly in the crosshairs of two men who just might be her salvation . . . and her greatest temptation.
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Juniper Unraveling series
by keri lake
available on kindle unlimited
Keri Lake writes about a post apocalyptic world; it’s destruction caused by a contagious disease/virus that turned people into zombie-like states. But the story is about the survival of remaining societies. I see it as The Walking Dead meets Mad Max type of world. If you like your reads dark, spicy as hell with some violent scenes, this is the post apocalyptic book for you.
publisher’s synopsis
Papa says everyone has a story that deserves to be told.
Most begin years ago, after the second bomb hit, unearthing a deadly contagion that divided the population into the pure, the infected, and the Ragers.
Many recount the moment we rose up from the ashes and started anew.
Others tell of the day we built a wall to keep them out.
For some, they’re nothing more than the vestiges left behind—a simple name carved into the knotty bark of a Juniper tree.
My story begins with a boy. A mute, from the other side of the wall, known only as Six, who touched my heart in ways that words never could, and gave me the courage to face my darkest truth.
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Beyond series
by kit rocha
In Kit Rocha’s Beyond series, Dallas and his men are the top dogs. If you’re not into the heavy sci fi dystopian novels but want to give it a try, then this is a good one to start with. Especially if you’re a fan of romance. This series combines Erotic Romance with the dystopian elements really well whilst still giving readers enough action in and out of the bedroom.
publisher’s synopsis
All Noelle Cunningham has ever wanted was a life beyond–beyond her stifling role as a prim and proper councilman’s daughter, and beyond the walls of the patriarchal city of Eden, the only remnants of safety in a world destroyed by solar storms decades earlier. But when she’s banished for violating the prohibition against immorality, she’s unprepared for the lawless world outside the city’s walls.
The sectors surrounding Eden house those abandoned to fend for themselves–men like Jasper McCray, bootlegger and cage fighter. Jas clawed his way up from nothing to stand at the right hand of Sector Four’s ruthless leader, and he’ll defend the O’Kane gang with his life. But fighting hasn’t prepared him for dealing with a sheltered City princess who falls at his feet.
Her innocence is undeniable, but so is her intense sexual curiosity. Soon they’re exploring every dark fantasy she’s ever been ashamed to have. But if Noelle wants to claim her place with the O’Kanes and at Jas’s side, she’ll have to find the courage to embrace something even more terrifying than her own desires.
Her own power.
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The Resurrection Chronicles
by m.j. haag & becca vincenza
When there’s an apocalypse, there’s a few people you want to have on your side: doctor, mechanic, Bear Grylls. And a big, bad ass grey skinned warrior who happily tears apart your enemies and gives you multiple orgasms. Apocalypse sorted.
publisher’s synopsis
After a series of earthquakes, deadly animals with glowing red eyes begin attacking people and start the spread of a zombie-like plague. Safety is just a memory as she tries to make her way home. When a different creature attacks the people helping her reach Oklahoma City, Mya is sure she’ll never see the light of another day.
Despite his eerie yellow eyes and very sharp teeth, the grey-skinned creature is more intelligent and humanlike than he first appears. He’s determined to keep Mya by his side and protect her from the new world’s dangers. When his path starts taking her further away from home, she must choose between safety and her family.
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Chronicles of the One
by nora roberts
Anyone who likes their apocalypse to have magic, prophecy and the chosen one trope, step right up! This is the post apocalyptic book trilogy you are looking for. It’s finished now, so you can read it from beginning to end without interruption, perfect for the impatient (like me).
publisher’s synopsis
It began on New Year’s Eve.
The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed—and more than half of the world’s population was decimated.
Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magick rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil, and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in fetid tunnels beneath the river—or in the ones you know and love the most.
As word spreads that neither the immune nor the gifted are safe…
…from the authorities who patrol the ravaged streets, and with nothing left to count on but each other, Lana and Max make their way out of a wrecked New York City. At the same time, other travelers are heading west too, into a new frontier. Chuck, a tech genius trying to hack his way through a world gone offline. Arlys, a journalist who has lost her audience but uses pen and paper to record the truth. Fred, her young colleague, possessed of burgeoning abilities and an optimism that seems out of place in this bleak landscape. And Rachel and Jonah, a resourceful doctor and a paramedic who fend off despair with their determination to keep a young mother and three infants in their care alive.
In a world of survivors where every stranger encountered could be either a savage or a savior, none of them knows exactly where they are heading, or why. But a purpose awaits them that will shape their lives and the lives of all those who remain.
The end has come. The beginning comes next
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Outlaw series
by elle kennedy
If you’re looking for something spicy to help you pass the time, then look no further. This is the series that will burn up your e-reader! This post apocalyptic world is a blend of Mad Max with kissing. Lots of and lots of kissing…in all the places our deliciously dirty minds can imagine. This book mixes post apocalyptic drama and romantic suspense excellently. And these books will have you reaching for a bucket of ice to cool off.
publisher’s synopsis
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.
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Fireblood Dragons series
by ruby dixon
available kindle unlimited
Most people know Ruby Dixon for her Ice Planet Barbarian series, an alien romance, but, she also has a post apocalyptic paranormal romance book series as well. With sexy alien shape shifting dragons. Did she combine two of my favourite things, dragons and aliens? Why yes, yes she did and I love it!
Although, if you haven’t picked up her Ice Planet Barbarian series you really should! They aren’t post apocalyptic books, but they do have a survival element. The heroines are dropped on to a primitive ice world with nothing but their trauma. Thankfully the locals are willing to take them in and keep them warm and satisfied…
publisher’s synopsis
Years ago, the skies ripped open and the world was destroyed in fire and ash. Dragons – once creatures of legend – are the enemy. Vicious and unpredictable, they rule the skies of the ruined cities, forcing humanity to huddle behind barricades for safety.
Claudia’s a survivor. She scrapes by as best as she can in a hard, dangerous world. When she runs afoul of the law, she’s left as bait in dragon territory. She only has one chance to survive – to somehow ‘tame’ a dragon and get it to obey her.
Except the dragon that finds her is as wild and brutal as any other…and he’s not interested in obeying.
What he is interested in is a mate.
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The Scorpius Syndrome
by rebecca zanetti
Zanetti writes of a world that is wiped out by a single virus affecting the human body and its mental capacity to survive it. The post-apocalyptic aspects of this book include corruption at the CDC/politics, mental illness, the survival of the fittest, and having hope in a world of chaos. These post-apocalyptic books are packed with action, suspense softened with romance. We fully recommend this to satisfy your post-apocalyptic craving.
publisher’s synopsis
The deadly Scorpius Syndrome has decimated North America. Now the few remaining survivors struggle to avoid infection and rebuild society. Dr. Lynne Harmony believes she can find a cure—but she knows she can’t do it alone. With nothing but rumors to lead her, Dr. Lynne Harmony has trekked across a nightmare landscape to find one man—a mysterious, damaged legend who protects the weak and leads the strong.
Former military man Jax Mercury is more than muscle and firepower—and in post-plague L.A., he’s Lynne’s only hope. But with powerful forces searching for Lynne, and some in Jax’s camp desperate enough to betray him, they’ll have to keep close if they want to survive.
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Arcana Chronicles
by kresley cole
When it comes to post-apocalyptic and dystopian books with a unique twist, there’s no one that does it better than Kresley Cole. If you are a fan of The Hunger Games but you wanted a little more romance, then this is the choice for you. These are also a bit of a game and the players are actually part of the Arcana. This is twisted into the story so well! And the romance, even with the love triangle, makes this one of the most addictive reads on this list. You won’t want to stop at book 1.
Want to see more? Check out our Arcana Chronicles series guide and fantasy cast!
publisher’s synopsis
She could save the world—or destroy it.
Sixteen year old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life—until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, killing everyone she loves, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.
But she can’t do either alone.
With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can’t totally trust Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?
Who can Evie trust?
As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side…
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intrigued? let us show you more…
The Arcana Chronicles Series Guide
If you want some post-apocalyptic with an arcane twist, the Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole has to be your next read. And, in our series guide for the Arcana Chronicles we have a spoiler free series synopsis, fantasy cast and more.
Kate Daniels series
by ilona andrews
It’s my mission in life to add the Kate Daniels series to every list I do. Why? Because it’s my favourite series ever and I want everyone to love it like I do. Or, at least to give it a try. It’s an urban fantasy set after the world as we know was irrevocably changed with the reintroduction of magic. This has romance, this has action, this has an AMAZING world and set of characters. It’s also a finished series, so you can read it from beginning to end without having to wait.
publisher’s synopsis
Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way our of her league—but she wouldn’t want it any other way…
