Ultimate Blog Tour Review: Things To Do Before The End of The World by Emily Barr

Hey everyone!
Today is my stop on the ultimate blog tour for Things To Do Before The End of The World by Emily Barr, and I am excited to be sharing my review with you all.

A massive thank you to @The_WriteReads, and @PenguinPlatform for allowing me to be a part of the tour, and for providing me with a copy of the book, in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Blurb:

A timely and powerful coming-of-age thriller from the bestselling author of The One Memory of Flora Banks.

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What would you do when you hear the news that humans have done such damage to the earth that there might only be a limited amount of safe air left – a year’s worth at most?

You’d work through your bucket list, heal rifts, do everything you’ve never been brave enough to do before?

Olivia is struggling to do any of this. What it is she truly wants to do? Who do she wants to be?

Then out of the blue comes contact from a long-lost cousin Olivia didn’t even know existed. Natasha is everything Olivia wants to be and more. And as the girls meet up for a long, hot last summer, Olivia finds Natasha’s ease and self-confidence having an effect on her.

But Natasha definitely isn’t everything she first appears to be . . .

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My Review:

I have to admit that I’m not usually in to the whole end of the world/apocalyptic theme in books, but the book blurb sounded very promising, so when Dave told us about the tour, I made sure to sign up. I’m so glad I did, because I really enjoyed this book.

This wasn’t your typical end of the world story, which was obvious from the very beginning. Firstly, I want to point out that the cause of the end of humanity in Things To Do Before The End of The World is very possible, and if we don’t think about our actions and how they impact the planet now, it could all too soon become too late, and in the future this may become a reality. I liked the fact that it was realistic to what is happening in our world today, not like the usual meteor hits the earth or anything like that that you find in most end of the world stories. I also liked that everyone kind of carried on with their normal lives, and didn’t completely lose their minds (even though they would in real life), because honestly I’m too fed up with the chaos in the real world anyway. It was quite a refreshing way to view the end of the world.

The best thing about this book for me was that it becomes more of a story about Olivia finding herself, and also a sort of thriller, and it made it such a fun and enjoyable book to read. I loved following Olivia and Natasha on their adventures, especially because a couple of the places they visited are places that I would love to go myself.

I’m not sure how I felt on the views towards spiritualism, as it just seemed like they were making fun of it a lot of the time, and although I’m not overly spiritual, there are aspects that I do believe in, so I didn’t appreciate the way it was being approached. But that is probably my only complaint about the whole book to be honest.

Olivia was a lovely character. In some ways, I could really relate to her, but she was definitely way too naive. Her character development was an interesting one, but I’m hoping that there will be another book to follow, because I would love to see her grow more as a character. I’m also totally routing for her and Zoe!
Then there was Natasha… There was immediately something about her that I didn’t like, and that feeling continued to grow throughout the story. I didn’t trust her. Her behaviour towards Olivia was odd to say the least, and I don’t think she had any redeeming qualities about her.

The ending of the story was a joy to read. So much happens in those last few chapters, and it has you on the edge of your seat. There are so many revelations, some of which I saw coming, but others that were complete surprises, and I couldn’t stop reading. Overall, this is a great read, and I certainly recommend it.

I give Things To Do Before The End of The World a 4 star rating!

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About The Author:

This became Backpack, a thriller which won the WH Smith New Talent Award, and I have since written eleven more novels for adults, one novella, and three book for Young Adults, published in the UK and around the world. I live in Cornwall with my husband Craig and our children.”

YOU CAN FIND EMILY HERE:
Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

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