Exclusive Interview
Jeneva Rose Breaks Down ‘Dating After the End of the World’ Ending, Sequel & More (VIDEO)
[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Dating After the End of the World.]
Dating After the End of the World isn’t your average zombie apocalypse…
On October 1, Jeneva Rose, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of The Perfect Marriage, released Dating After the End of the World, a zombie apocalypse enemies-to-lovers romance. Following Casey Pearson, a doctor who grew up with a doomsday-prepping father, her childhood bully, Blake Morrison, and a motley crew of other survivors, Dating After the End of the World has the perfect mix of stomach-turning gore and butterfly-inducing romance. Following the release of her newest novel, Rose sat down with Swooon to discuss all things Dating After the End of the World.
According to Rose, Dating After the End of the World is her favorite book that she’s ever written. While she joked that she says that about every book when it’s coming out, she cited the blend of “horror, romance, thriller, humor, and heartfelt” in Dating After the End of the World that really put it over the edge. However, the inspiration behind the novel didn’t come from the enemies-to-lovers romance as some might expect. Instead, the relationship that inspired the novel was that of Casey and her father, Dale.
“I had this idea of a girl who’s raised by a doomsday prepping father,” Rose revealed to Swooon. According to Rose, this idea came from personal experience, as her own father was “a little bit of a doomsday prepper,” but “not a competent one.” Instead of years spent digging a compound, Rose’s doomsday prep experience revolved around her father hoarding canned goods. However, the reason the end of the world is zombies is because of a dramatic stunt her dad pulled at one of her events.
“My dad actually showed up at an event of mine in 2022,” she shared. “He was wearing a fake bloody shirt, and he held up a sign on the back of a Cheerios box that he had written that said, ‘Jeneva Rose, please write a zombie killer thriller.'” But don’t worry, Rose assured us that her dad received “a redacted version” of Dating After the End of the World because “he’s fade to black, and everyone else gets a little bit of spice.”
For Casey, it’s so hard to return to her father’s compound because “now she has to accept that he was right.” Once she makes it back to the compound, she is greeted by her childhood bully, Blake Morrison, who consistently picked on her apocalyptic family life but is now her dad’s best friend. As the story progresses, readers realize that their relationship is not as clear-cut as they once believed. As Rose put it, “Reopening yourself up, especially in the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse where you are extremely vulnerable, I think that’s where the difficulty comes in between them.”
Of course, Casey and Blake aren’t the only couple to date after the end of the world. At the compound, readers meet Greg, a college student who ends up stuck living out the zombie apocalypse with his clingy one-night stand, Molly. To the delight of “too much” girls everywhere, Greg finally sees her as “the one.” When it comes to side characters in the book, Rose was proud to say that Greg and Molly were her favorites.
In the eleventh hour, Casey’s pre-apocalypse fiancé, Nate, arrives at the compound. While she and Blake had forged a strong connection, Casey felt “obligated” to return to Nate. However, “it’s also her trying to fight her feelings for Blake, because she’s like, I don’t trust you, and I’m not going to get hurt again.”
Even so, Nate ends up hurting Casey and the entire compound she has grown to love, revealing the location of their compound to a group of burners. Leaving Nate for dead and returning to fight for her loved ones, Casey reunites with Blake but ultimately watches her father die. When asked how Rose would characterize the ending (not every love story can end with happily ever after), Rose responded: “To be continued.”
Teasing a second book, Rose identified some of the key unanswered questions throughout the book. From the new people in the compound to Blake’s father, we’ll have to wait to find out!
Dating After the End of the World by Jeneva Rose, Available Now
