No one expects the end of the world. Wren has been planning her senior year trip to London since freshman year, but nothing seems to be going as planned. So when she runs into the Prince of Wales fleeing paparazzi, she does something spontaneous: she helps him. But then she misses her flight home, and the world erupts in chaos as the news breaks that a comet will destroy the world in eight days. Desperate, Wren calls Prince Theo, who strikes a bargain with her: if she helps him get to Santorini, he will get her home. Road-tripping across Europe at the end of the world has never been so fun. 

The Prince and the Apocalypse by Kara McDowell is a rare book because it feels original. Now don’t get me wrong, I love YA chick-lit, but to do something new and different is rare, and to see an interesting concept written well is even more rare (as likely as a comet hurtling at earth). The story is set against a backdrop of catastrophe but remains hopeful and uplifting until the very end. Human nature is studied, in Wren’s reactions to the event, but also in the way society reacts to everything. If the world was about to end, I can only hope it would be as oddly peaceful as McDowell describes. That being said, the setting felt realistic in the most unexpected way: it wasn’t impossible to imagine a future like the one the author constructed. 

Beyond an interesting backdrop, The Prince and the Apocalypse featured interesting characters with strong relationships and hidden depth. The story is truly centered around Wren and Theo; there really isn’t a supporting cast, which means they have to be able to stand alone. And they were able to support the story together. Wren deals with what I have decided to call I-must-be-better-than-my-sibling complex. With an overachieving sister, she feels trapped in her sister’s shadow and uses plans and lists to stay in control. Obviously, the end of the world means lists go out the window, so watching her struggle to find who she was without a safety net was fascinating. While Wren spends all her time looking toward the future, Theo desperately wants to escape it. Watching him realistically deal with depression was crucial because it was casual mental representation. Especially in stories that don’t center around mental health disorders, casual representation is important because it normalizes what hundreds of thousands of people struggle with. 

Wren and Theo’s romance was sweet and natural: the chemistry between these two was palpable. They balanced nicely, and the banter between them was adorable! I loved how their romance didn’t feel rushed, even though the story only took place over a couple of days. My one negative with this novel is that the end (last twenty or so pages) really did feel rushed, and while the author is hopefully setting up for a sequel, it was unclear if that is the case. Overall, The Prince and the Apocalypse was such a fun read, and I’d recommend it to fans of They Both Die At the End (I promise, there’s less crying), American Royals (but better written), and Anna and the French Kiss (road trip addition).