Dawn In Ruins: An Australian Post Apocalyptic Romance (The Distorted Horizon Book 1)

From the author of the dystopian trilogy comes another series.

"...what do you do when you can?"

This is a great YA dystopian for fans of The Last of Us and other end-of-the-world vibe books. This is a world that threatens not just the body but the sense of humanity.

I liked the first trilogy as well, but these characters (Annie and Jude) from book 2 are more adult and confident. High-stakes moves Annie not just because of her brother's life in danger, but also after understanding the secrets behind it all. They don't start as ideal partners. He resists her help and antagonizes her a lot, not wanting to call her Annie, but Annabella and Bella. She keeps correcting him, ahah. He's all: Obey. Be quiet. Be what you're told. But that's not how she words. Her past is filled with fingers pointing that she was never enough, not capable, so she won't take this from Jude. I like the wave of VFPs (zombies) attacking. They are well-written scenes with tension, page page-turning kind of book with also well-balanced slow moments. And it's easy to read, not too long, good-sized font.

Jude is something more, filled with secrets, too. We start getting some hints that there's something different about him. Not all goals are completed in this first volume. So the journey continues.

My only remark (personal preference that doesn't ruin the reading) is that I would like to see a paragraph break between switching Povs. The author uses hints of time and action, but I would still prefer some kind of break.

I like how their relationship gets closer.

This is another book that would make a great video game (I like them a lot).

The world ended in silence. The fight for what’s left will not.

Ten months after the collapse, teenager Annie’s world has shattered, and with it, everything she once believed about monsters. They don’t always lurk in shadows. Sometimes they wear uniforms. Sometimes they wear the faces of those you love.

In the ruins of Sydney, Annie finds an unlikely ally in Jude—a half-infected boy marked by virus and twisted science. His strange, dangerous abilities make him both a threat and their best hope. But the line between abomination and saviour is thinner than either imagined.

Haunted by what was done to him, Jude carries scars deeper than flesh. Meanwhile, Annie’s younger brother, Lucas, remains a prisoner, infected and altered. If she doesn’t reach him soon, Lucas will face the same fate that nearly destroyed Jude—experiments that don’t just scar flesh but twist what it means to be human.

As secrets unravel and the origin of the virus comes to light, Jude learns a devastating truth: his connection to the outbreak is deeper, darker, and far more personal than he ever imagined.

Together, Annie and Jude race through a city where every shadow hides a threat. When they are torn apart, survival becomes more than a mission—it becomes a promise: to endure, to protect, and to bring each other back from whatever hell awaits.

From the shattered edges of the Fractured Reality universe comes a story of desperate hope and fierce loyalty—because in a world this ruined, some things are lost forever. But some are worth risking everything to save.

Get book here