The Prince & the Apocalypse

By: Kara McDowell

Narrated by: Laura Knight Keating

Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Wren Wheeler has flown five thousand miles across the ocean to discover she’s the worst kind of traveler: the kind who just wants to go home. Her senior-year trip to London was supposed to be life-changing, but by the last day, Wren’s perfectly planned itinerary is in tatters.

There’s only one item left to check off: breakfast at the World’s End restaurant. The one thing she can still get right.

The restaurant is closed for renovations—of course—but there’s a boy there, too.
A very cute boy with a posh British accent who looks remarkably like the errant Prince Theo, on the run from the palace and his controlling mother. When Wren helps him escape a pack of tourists, the prince scribbles down his number and offers her one favor in return. She doesn’t plan to take him up on it—until she gets to the airport and sees canceled flights and chaos. A comet is approaching Earth, and the world is ending in eight days. Suddenly, that favor could be her only chance to get home to her family before the end of the world.

Wren strikes a bargain with the runaway prince: she’ll be his bodyguard from London to his family’s compound in Santorini, if he can charter her a private jet home in time to say goodbye. Traveling through Europe by boat, train, and accidentally stolen automobile, Wren finds herself drawn to the dryly sarcastic, surprisingly vulnerable Theo. But the prince has his own agenda, one that could derail both their plans. When life as they know it will be over in days, is it possible to find a happy ending?

©2023 Kara McDowell (P)2023 Recorded Books

One of my favorite reads this year.

It's heavy without being overbearing, romantic without being sappy, and just a wonderful adventure at the end of the world. The conflict is delicious, the choices are not easy, and you truly find yourself worrying for and caring about both of these main characters. But the ending. Oh, God, the ending. I hope there's a sequel. Or at least a follow up novella. That last line was murder on my nerves in the very best way.

A fun story we’ll told.

I really enjoyed it. A fun book that tells an over the top story with characters you can believe it.

Great story and narration

I read this book last summer and enjoyed it. Can’t wait for the next book. With a recent sale, I grabbed the audiobook. It was well worth it. Oftentimes, the narrator will sound to old when voicing teen characters, but this was not the case here. Laura Knight Keating did a great job with Wren, Theo and the broader cast of characters and really brought the book to life.

Real love story about dropping your expectations and living life

Love the book. It’s different fare from what I usually read. Came recommended. Like the author’s style. Writes in the 18-year-old voice of the main character. Very enjoyable. Not a typical apocalypse story. Heavy enough without being depressing. Light enough to fall in love with the characters. Great summer novel. Helps crystallize what is important in life through the actions of the heroes. Left me wanting more.