Title: All We Have LeftPages: 384
Publication Date: June 30, 2026
Publisher: Titan
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Dystopia
Synopsis:
Thirty years after the end of the world, a young woman enters into a marriage of convenience with a man she hardly knows so she can secure vital medical care for her beloved younger sister.
The world might not have ended all at once. But end it did.
Kayla Hollins is a survivor. Living in the fragmented wasteland of the Canadian Pacific Northwest, she's outlived a colony, a cult, a paramilitary group, and most of her family. So when her younger sister April falls seriously ill, Kayla will do anything to save her. They trek to Salt Spring Island, a beacon of hope in their otherwise brutalized world, which is rumoured to still have a hospital. But Salt Spring's utopia comes with a price. Not just anyone can enter paradise or access their medical care, and Kayla's past is chequered.
Desperate, Kayla makes a deal with Sid Charles, an aspiring politician with whom she had a chance encounter before arriving on Salt Spring. If Kayla and Sid get married, it will boost Sid's chances of election, and grant April automatic access to the medical treatment she desperately needs. And in two years, when Kayla is eligible for citizenship herself, they can get a divorce. Simple, right?
Sid is distant and cranky, but Kayla comes to learn he is also shockingly kind. The more time she spends with him and his ragtag group of rescued boys, the more she comes to admire him. But with April's treatment and Sid's election on the line—and the constant terror of her past being discovered—Kayla isn't sure she can risk trying to change their arrangement.
Trapped together in the closest thing left to paradise, Kayla and Sid both know what it means for the world to end. But as they try to rebuild with the people of Salt Spring Island, there may be time left to save—if not the world—themselves.
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All We Have Left is a unique post-apocalyptic romance that proves the end of the world does not have to mean the end of love, family, or second chances. While the setting could be considered bleak on the surface, the story is full of warmth and heart, balancing survival with healing, humor, and a lovely slow-building romance.
The heart of the story is Kayla and her unwavering devotion to her younger sister, April. Everything Kayla does is driven by her determination to keep April alive, even if it means risking her own happiness or entering a marriage of convenience with a man she barely knows. (He’s amazing, btw) Their relationship was one of my favorite parts of the book. Kayla’s spent years acting as April’s caregiver, protector, and pseudo-parent, and the depth of their bond was fantastic. Since there’s a ten-year age difference between them (Kayla’s a woman in her mid-twenties, and April’s a teenager), their experiences are very different. It’s interesting to see how they both adjust to their new surroundings and how their relationship shifts and changes.
Kayla’s emotional journey was really moving. After surviving years of unimaginable trauma, she has spent her entire life expecting danger around every corner. Arriving somewhere safe should have been a relief, but instead she struggles to adjust because she no longer knows how to live without constantly being on high alert. The way the novel explores trauma, healing, and learning to trust again is layered and nuanced, and watching Kayla slowly lower her guard and begin to believe she deserves safety, happiness, and love was wonderful. Of course, she gets help from some very special people.
The love story between Kayla and Sid is one of my favorite parts of the book. Their marriage-of-convenience relationship develops through acts of kindness, growing trust, and mutual respect and support. It built slowly, which makes sense considering all Kayla’s dealing with. And I can’t say enough about Sid. I adored him! Sid’s gruff personality hides an incredibly compassionate and kind heart, and I loved the patience and understanding he showed Kayla as she worked through her past.
There’s also a great found family feel to the story, which I loved. It stood out against the stark and isolated years Kayla and April spent in the wild. There are times when the story focuses on some heavier topics, but overall, it’s a unique and cozy story about resilience, hope, and finding the courage to build a future and take a chance on love.
- post-apocalyptic
- marriage of convenience
- found family
- slow burn
This sounds like a really interesting and emotional read! I think a dystopian romance is an unexpected duo but I’m glad the relationship was great. Marriage of convenience is a trope I recently discovered I really enjoy 🙂
This sounds like a very intriguing book. There are a lot of new dystopian books being published, but very few of them are romance. Why not fall in love after the end of the world?
This sounds good and I’ve been reading a lot of dystopian lately so I’ll add this to my list!