How far would you go to save those you love?
Lowrie and Shen are the youngest people on the planet after a virus caused global infertility. Closeted in a pocket of London and doted upon by a small, ageing community, the pair spend their days mudlarking for artefacts from history and looking for treasure in their once-opulent mansion. 
Their idyllic life is torn apart when a secret is uncovered that threatens not only their family but humanity’s entire existence. Lowrie and Shen face an impossible choice: in the quiet at the end of the world, they must decide who to save and who to sacrifice . . .

Honestly there is something about Lauren James’ writing that really speaks to me, I get so easily lost in her books as the worlds she creates are so accessible, inclusive, filled with diversity and full of amazing twists. It’s these twists that always make writing a review so hard though!

Set in London some 80 plus years from now, the familiar sights are already crumbling but with only 300 occupants remaining in the capital, that’s hardly a surprise. Despite being the youngest two occupants by far for Lowrie and Shen, their time is still spent with education and learning, although with a generous dose of fun. I loved how they adopted the Victorian occupation of mudlarking and the randomness of their finds, that were ultimately disposable to us but cherished relics for them. I loved how one such random find in the opening pages shaped the entirety of the book, Lowrie’s discovery of Maya through her old facebook and twitter posts is just as exciting a story as that of the main protagonists. I actually really enjoyed how well the posts translated onto the page and combined with the news articles it really brought the story full circle. I found myself rooting for Maya as much as for Lowrie and Shen. Maya’s posts were able to convey all the stages of grief, through a world losing it’s fertility and then also hope as humanity strives to find a way to cope and move forward.

The story raises so many important questions surrounding evolution and human rights, but ultimately brings a hopeful message that actually humanity is inherently good and accepting of change. I want to write so much more but it’s such a twist filled tale I don’t want to let a single thing slip, so whilst it’s a shorter review from me today I don’t want it to detract from the fact that this book was amazing and I absolutely loved it!

I was pretty excited that Lock and Ness turned up again in this story and I really hope they become a regular easter egg in Lauren’s books!

5*