the moment i found the words “terrorism” and “jihad” put in the same sentence, i knew it would alter my whole reading experience so why bother continuing. a shame, since the opening immediately hooked me.

One day the Sun explodes. Or at least sort of melts away. It's an arresting start to a disaster narrative, and then let your scientists try to work out what to do when the source of heat, light and therefore life on earth vanishes. Particularly when they discover that the Earth has remained in orbit around the space where the Sun no longer is. How long can we live without a sun, how quickly can we adapt, and is there a fix.

This is not that book. Perhaps as flippantly suggested by the title, Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend is instead about what happens on an exclusive vacation island when the sun vanishes. It is a closed system, there are three hotel blocks segregated by quite how luxurious the holiday is. The only planes coming in and out are those scheduled for the hotel charter. Luckily, for the exposition-hungry reader (and perhaps the more conspiracy theory minded reader too), there is also an observatory on the island and an astronomer, who can helpfully dump some basic situational information on us. But he is not the lead character either. Instead we see all of this through the eyes of Dan Foster, a kid who was told was gifted and talented and so far has not met up to this billing. On holiday with his girlfriend, he witnesses the disaster and briefly, during the initial meetings to try to plan for survival in the hotels, chips in with some knee-jerk but thoughtful comments. This means that when there is an island-wide coup run by a pyramid-selling sportswear magnate, he becomes the centre of the resistance despite being cowardly, self-interested and not all that good at planning.

ZS,DNR is a satire of survival and an experiment in proto-totalitarianism. It's not subtle and gets to its eat-the-rich conclusion pretty quickly. But Dan is an interesting protagonist for the very reason he is also rather frustrating: he isn't heroic and he doesn't know what to do. He knows that the de facto leader and her bully buy security guards are wrong, but hasn't got better ideas, and when he does get swept up in revolution it is often as a misplaced figurehead or trying to work another angle. It can be quite frustrating in places, particularly in the first half when the book seems to be ignoring the fundamentals of "the Sun exploding". By the time the book got to its big reveal, it was quite obvious to me, which is fine because - as mentioned above - the book isn't really about the science disaster part.

One minor quibble which bugged me throughout, however: Dan is American, as is (according to the biography) writer MJ Wassmer. So the occasional references to Poundland (rather than a Dollar Store) and the appearance of a Crunchie bar at one point really threw me for a loop. I wonder if it had been localised for now obvious reason for the UK? Doesn't spoil it, but feels odd. It loses the star it gained from the excellent joke in its title.

What would happen if you took the show The White Lotus and added a bit of world ending drama to it? You’d get ‘Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend’, that’s what.

Dan, a man in his late twenties, is enjoying his vacation, with his girlfriend, Mara, when the sun explodes. Which is a bit of a buzzkill. Suddenly plunged into darkness, cut off from the outside world, and threatened with the return of the ice age, all the residents on this tropical resort island are quickly confronted with the end of the world as they know it. With the planes that dropped them off not scheduled to return for another two weeks (if they’ll return at all) things descend into chaos pretty quickly, with the rich hoarding resources, a hierarchy system taking over, and rations and threats abound.

Dan and Mara become acquainted with a range of different people and their new little rag-tag group try to fight against the system in various ways, sometimes just for themselves, sometimes for the betterment of everyone. It’s equally full of humour and suspense which makes for such an interesting reading experience.

Dan struggles with his self worth, thinking that he hasn’t lived up to his full potential, feeling like he isn’t good enough for Mara, and struggling to react to the events that they find themselves in, in a way that he would expect a ‘man-in-charge’ type figure would do. Mara, a nurse, has a very strong moral compass and is constantly trying to fight for what she believes is right, even if she puts herself in danger in the process, much to Dan’s initial frustration. He and Mara are both such endearing characters, in their own ways, and I loved reading about them. I also adored that Dan truly loves Mara. He’s constantly thinking of how he can try to protect and save her, which was genuinely moving. A lot of the time, in these kinds of books, characters use their other halves as the butt of the joke, but practically all the relationships in this book are genuinely built on some level of love, respect, and appreciation, and it was so nice.

It’s funny, as this book is largely satirical, but it’s satirical in a way that you can still see happening. Like it’s ridiculous, at times, but…honestly, the world is ridiculous, and yeah, I believe that a large portion of people would full into line behind an Instagram pyramids scheme celebrity who talks loudly enough, and blares top 40 inspirational pop music.

While the first half definitely has it’s shocking, sobering, moments, the satire and humour tended to out-weigh it, which is why I found myself so shocked when I was moved to tears by moments in the third act. I did not think this book would make me cry, let alone make me cry multiple times, but it did. I also feel like it stuck the landing beautifully.

Overall, I think this was a fantastic debut. It’s has a fascinating premise that it manages to live up to, really holds the mirror up to us as a society, has multi-faceted characters, and managed to make me laugh out loud AND cry, which is pretty impressive feat in of itself. I highly recommend checking this one out.

Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.

I enjoyed Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend.
It's about Dan, a professional underachiever who finds himself trapped on an island resort after the sun explodes, and suddenly must choose whether to save himself from the chaos, or help fellow guests make it off the island alive…

It was a fun apocalypse story that made me laugh a few times.
It had a lot of great and memorable characters!
The villains were really entertaining, especially Lilyanna, who was the CEO of a fitness pyramid scheme.
I also really liked the main character, Dan, and found him a little relatable even when he was silly. I especially loved his girlfriend Mara, who was probably one of my favourite characters in the book.

I did guess the twist early on in the book, but that didn't really affect my enjoyment, and it was still really fun to read it all play out.
There is definitely more that I'd love to say, but that would put me into spoiler territory, so I'll refrain.
In the end, Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend was a good book that I'd recommend to anyone looking for a fun satirical apocalypse story.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.

DNF. There is a deep, unpleasant cynicism in this book that left me with a rather bitter taste in my mouth. I've attempted to pick it up multiple times, even in different formats, and I just can't get past the writing style.

4.5 stars

This was such a gripping and addictive read that I found myself staying up into the early hours to finish! While it started off a bit slow I found it really picked up and I could not put it down. Maybe it's the psychology lover in me but I found it so interesting to see how these people reacted to the situation they found themselves in and the choices they made.

This one is definitely a mix of genres from dystopia, comedy and mystery which I really loved. I had no idea where the story was going to go and I was just hooked. It also discusses a lot of societal issues, especially when it comes to class divides and I could honestly see this happening just as quickly if it were to happen in real life.

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend was a fascinating and for me a thought-provoking book that I could not put down. I definitely recommend it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ignore the title, this is definitely one to recommend! If you like your end of the world dystopia delivered with humour and style, check it out.

30 something Dan and his out of his league girlfriend Mara are at the opening of super-luxury resort built on a remote Bahamian island, living their best all-inclusive life when the sun literally explodes in front of their eyes. There's no way off the island, meaning that Dan, Mara and the 1000s of other guests are all stranded. They'll have to eke out the limited supplies and try to survive in any way that they can until the world freezes and its all over. The hotel guests quickly form into factions, with the richest and most powerful seizing control and taking charge of all of the supplies. The leader of it all is Lilyanna Collins, an online fitness influencer and head honcho of MLMs far and wide, who has already proved that she can persuade people to do anything,

To his horror, Dan finds himself the face of the resistance, with the other guests looking to him for guidance and decisions. How can he speak against Lilyanna, and help these people at the most stressful time of their lives when he can't even look himself in the eye most days? Or should he try and focus on saving himself and Mara and put themselves first for once?

Its a real page-turner with some wickedly funny insights about human behaviour and class division. Really enjoyed it. 4.5 rounded up.

3,5 stars.
The premise and the conceptualisation intrigued me and they are well done.
I immediately got immersed and liked the first quarter of the book. The change of events and twists happen after that and there is always something happening, but I enjoyed the introduction to the resort and Dan and Mara more engaging. The first half is also where I smiled or laughed more. But, I did not take the offensive jokes as offensive, and rather as the mocking of racist and homophobic mentalities. I hope I am right in thinking it as intended as such. Otherwise, I would be furious. Writing this as a disclaimer.
I liked Mara, and disliked Dan, and some of the humour was communicated through their dynamic.
Writing style: 3
Plot: 3,6
Characterisation: 3
Concept: 5

What a fun book! I loved the premise and the novel didn’t disappoint. Fast paced, funny and speedy to read

Completely bonkers but in a good way - and with a heart. The characters are all flawed, except maybe one (it’s for you to decide who) but they are all relatable. The book is humorous and shocking in equal measure. A real exploration of what desperate people will do.

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by MJ Wassmer is one heck of a debut! This is an apocalyptic comedy that you just won’t be able, or indeed want, to put down.

Zero Stars takes us to a beautiful, and secluded, island in the Bahamas. Those on the island are the first guests at the grand opening of the Tizoc resort. Amongst them is Dan, our MMC, a man who feels as though he’s never lived up to his potential. Whilst contentedly nursing a Bud Lite with his girlfriend Mara, Dan finds himself witness to the sun exploding.

With the island suddenly plunged into darkness, the ultra rich guests hijack the remaining supplies and declare themselves in charge. Led by a fitness influencer turned ruthless dictator, martial law is declared. As temperatures drop and class tensions rise, Dan thinks he’s found a way to escape with Mara, but this would mean abandoning the burgeoning revolution that he might-have-kind-of-sort-of single-handedly started.

There is so much I could say about Zero Stars, but I also don’t want to say too much as this book has so many great twist and turns that I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. So here’s what I will say:
☀️ the blurbs likening this to a mash up of White Lotus with Lord of the Flies are so on point. Witnessing what happens at the start of the apocalypse in a luxury resort is something else!
🤯 if you like dark humour (think Edgar Wright’s Cornetto trilogy) you’ll love this
☀️ there is some incredible social satire going on here
🤯 we’re gifted a brilliant cast of characters that bring so much to this story, and each of them feel so real and cleverly crafted. In some cases you’ll be rooting so hard for them, whereas for others you’ll be booing like they’re a pantomime villain
☀️ though the narrative being third person took a little getting used to it worked so well and you’ll reach a tipping point where you simply cannot put this down
🤯 the twists are brilliant and the final one especially so! It’s the kind that has you thinking back to find the bread crumbs that were so carefully left out for us

I really enjoyed this one, and can’t wait for more people to read it so I can chat to them about it. It would make an incredible film. Given this is Wassmer’s debut I cannot wait to read whatever he writes next. For Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend I give five stars and would certainly recommend.

I thought I was going to love this. The premise is so fun but it just didn't connect with me as I would have liked. Enjoyable though.

If Stephen King's Under The Dome and Edgar Wright's 'Cornetto Trilogy' of movies merged together to make an apocalypticomedy, this would be the outcome!

When Dan and his girlfriend, Mara, wind down to enjoy their all inclusive Bahamian holiday of a lifetime, they didn't realise it would be so literal. The sun explodes as they are enjoying the sandy beach on the newly built luxury resort, and everything starts to go very pear shaped.

The twists in this book caught me off guard a few times! The action never stopped. Fast paced, loveable characters, so many laugh out loud moments, and an absolutely awesome plot. Thoroughly enjoyed this book and loved MJ's writing style!

Thank you, NetGalley, Bonnier Books UK, and mostly MJ Wassmer for the opportunity to read this before release!

I love dark British humour so I knew this book was a definite one for me and really enjoyed it / felt immersed in the nightmarish occurring's throughout.