Novas: Fortune Falls Tome 2 (Fortune Falls - Version française)

by Lou Vane

Novas est le deuxième tome palpitant de la série de survie apocalyptique pour jeunes adultes Fortune Falls. Parfait pour les fans de L’Épreuve, Divergente et Hunger Games.

Luttant contre les conséquences de l'attaque dévastatrice contre la communauté de Fortune Falls, Jess craint que l'histoire ne se répète lorsqu'un nouveau groupe de survivants arrive. Avec des provisions limitées, leur seul espoir est d'envoyer une expédition loin de la sécurité du plateau.

Jess rejoint une équipe pour un voyage périlleux afin de découvrir si d'autres communautés ont survécu. Déterminés à l'accompagner, Matt et Ethan doivent trouver un moyen de mettre de côté leur rivalité grandissante, ajoutant plus de tension à une situation déjà volatile.

Le groupe pourra-t-il trouver les provisions dont leur communauté a besoin ? Ou le succès de leur mission sera-t-il le cadet de leurs soucis ?

Recommandé à partir de 14 ans. Veuillez noter que cette histoire de survie apocalyptique pour jeunes adultes s’adresse principalement aux adolescents plus âgés et aux adultes. Elle contient un langage modérément grossier ainsi que des scènes de violence modérée, incluant des blessures et des décès.

Genres: Dystopia, Romance, Fantasy, Young Adult, Post Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Apocalyptic

329 pages, Paperback

Published August 11, 2025

About the author

Lou Vane is a New Zealand–born, Adelaide-based author of young adult post-apocalyptic fiction. She is the author of the Fortune Falls series, a character-driven survival story that blends high-stakes adventure with found family, loyalty, and the resilience of young people forced to grow up far too quickly.

Inspired by rugged landscapes, mountains, and remote wilderness, Lou’s stories explore what remains when the world falls apart — not just survival, but humanity, connection, and hope. Her writing is known for immersive settings, emotionally grounded characters, and friendships that feel as real as the danger they face.

When she’s not writing (or obsessing over timelines, translations, and audiobooks), Lou can usually be found planning the next adventure, working with her incredible reader community, or daydreaming about hidden valleys and end-of-the-world scenarios.

The Fortune Falls series is available in multiple languages, with audiobooks currently in production.

Reviews

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️...❀⋆.ೃ࿔*NOVAS°❀⋆.ೃ࿔* Is the thrilling second full length instalment in the young adult apocalyptic survival series (Fortune Falls) by author Lou Vane.

Much like the previous book, I enjoyed this one also, the only niggle is that we only got a glimpse of the time Jess was away from the group for 24 days, nearly the full month that was agreed upon by the group. I really wanted to see her struggles and triumphs whilst she was banished..

This one was faster paced than the previous book. Still barely a glitch in the book when it comes to the romance side of things, even less than the 1st book if that’s even possible. Though love has been declared. I expected a little it more. Many authors tend to shy away from the romance side of things when it comes to this genre, I’m guessing this is the same with this author.

Still a solid 4 star book.

Enjoyed seeing the small group of volunteers leave the mountain refuge, and getting their first glimpse of a changed ravaged world, barely any survivors, but a group is trying to take over what survivors have been found and eliminating others.

Still invested to jump into the next book..

[syd morrison]

loved this one even more than the first #teamethan sorry not sorry he is just spicy 🤌🏼and I love him 🤌🏼 get lost matt you seem like a good person it’s nothing personal

[Keianna Raee]

Y'all this book had me in shambles! I'm still not recovered after the things these characters endured together.

I discovered a newfound love for this series, Novas is the second installment to a young adult apocalypse story. In this we get to discover new characters and the complications and solutions they bring to our main group. I never caught myself getting bored as every page had brought on something new.

I truly enjoyed Novas a lot better than the first. Don't get me wrong I liked Fortune Falls it was the perfect foundation. But I found myself more engaged with the characters especially with jess after what her and Dean were put through. I adore the both of them with everything I have, they're such characters.

The plot stacks higher and stronger, delving deeper with the virus and the effect it has.

This love tringle this book has going on will be the death of me. I honestly couldn't choose between them, they're both perfect for Jess. She shares the best moments with each of them and it gets me choking on air. They both have their own special relationship with Jess, and I just can't stop loving them.

[Jake]

Was an ok read but the ending left me intrigued so gonna continue with the series even though I said I wouldn't 😂

[Carly S.]

Oh this book was good! Fortune Falls was a perfect first installment to this series and laid a perfect foundation for the plot and character’s relationships and personalities, but this second book was nerve-wracking. The stakes were so much higher and the group wasn’t safe in the confines of the bunker ! I loved reading more about the situation in society and how messed up the virus has made things.

Gosh, it must really suck not knowing what has happened to your loved ones but having to persevere regardless!

I really think Ethan is perfect for Jess and I’m obsessed with his wittiness and caring nature! I’m sorta leaning towards him a tad more, but Matt is just so sweet and I have a soft spot for sweethearts<3 Freaking love triangles😂

That cliffhanger was intense, but I can’t wait to pick up the next book!

[✿ | thatgrl.kuoya | ❥]

3.5 Jess stars



Jess makes dumb decisions, trying to be the hero.

[Mary-jayne]

I received a free copy in return for an honest review.

I love this book, its a great follow up to fortune falls.

New survivors, new challenges and plenty of action following the group.

It was worth the wait, I'm already looking forward to more.

[Donna’s Escape]

I’M LOVING THIS SERIES!!

Another action-filled, hard to put down book in this series!! I love the characters and the world building in this Survival/Post Apocalyptic series!!

I love Jess! Also Dean, Ethan, Matt and I’m starting to like, and trust, Aaron (although I still worry he’ll let me down). They’re now out in the world, away from the isolation of the mountains, and it’s a cruel world that they find. There are two groups to fear - The Chosen (the immune) and The Royals (those who survived the virus and are forever changed). These two groups are at war, and our NOVA group (Jess, Katie, Aaron, Dean, Ethan & Matt) are caught up in the middle of it all.

Left off on another cliff-hanger, I need book 3 NOW!! I ordered it and am waiting for it to arrive!! This is an AWESOME and pretty ADDICTIVE series! If you enjoy Post Apocalyptic and Survival Stories, I highly recommend this one!!

*FYI…a strange thing. The paperback copy I bought of this book from Amazon came with 2 pages from Dracula, upside down, at the start of the book. I could have exchanged it, but I was impatient to read it. Too bad, because I hate having it in my library. Someday I’ll get a better copy, but I’m restricting my spending right now and need to get the rest of the series. I just wish I could have bought it from B&N because Amazon has sent so many physically messed up books and B&N never has. Oh well…

[Luzia]

YUHHHHHH MY 100TH BOOOOKKKKIIIEEEE
SO WORTH IT
THE ONLY FLAW LIKE 4.8 STARS BUT I ROUND UP TO 5 IS THAT JESS IS SO DELULU AND DUMB WHEN I COMES TO A RELATIONSHIP
I LOWKEY ALMOST HATE ETHAN NOW
HE IS JUST WAITING FOR JESS AND MATT TO BREAK UP SO HE CAN TAKE HIS PLACE
AND SHE IS SO DELULU AND DOESNT REALISE IT
HE
HAS
SAID
IT
HIMSELF
LIKE BRO
LOCK IN AND STOP CUDDLING WITH HIM
LOCK IN AND REALISE THAT YOZ HAVE A BOYFRIEND
LOCK IN AND REMEMBER THAG YOU ENDED THINGS

Other than that I love all characters and I gen would be so fucking sad if any of them died on that mission and now with the enemies
Love Aaron he’s so mature
Love dean hes just so fun and smart … priya flashbacks
Love Matt he is such a cutie boyfriend
Hate Ethan
Love Katie also so smart
Like Jess, she is the main but as is said delulu

The story was so hooking in general with the vaccine and the novas
Kinda don’t like the newcomers that they wanted to kick them out of the bunker when they did everything there
Also like Maria now, she has such a genuine reason to not like Jess but she needs to lock in a bit
Like
You’re a bit cooked in an apocalypse when YOU ARE WITH CHILD

[Jenny]

This isn’t a bad series, 4 stars for the storyline but I’m not going to continue because it’s just too YA for me in the interaction lol

[Whitney Wilson]

It was really good. It had a good plot line with good characters, and the love triangle continues, overall so far a good distopian apocalyptic book

[Jasmijn]

3.5⭐️
Started a bit slow and since I forgot what happened in the first book, I was a bit confused with al the names. Halfway through, the more exciting part started and it was a lot of fun to read.

[Amy (Sun)]

This was somehow better and worse than the first one for me. Better because I liked the plot better and it felt like a lot of things were happening. Worse because the love triangle stuff seemed a lot more... pointed and pointLESS. I'd say I wish she'd just pick one of them, but she HAS, yet we still keep getting the second guy pushed at her. Ugh.

Anyway I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. I enjoy apocalypse stuff in general, though I do think the people in these books (especially Jess) make a lot of dumb decisions. And the end was a bit abrupt. I'll probably read the last one, if only to see what happens.

[Jason Marchingo]

Holy cliffhanger! This second installment of Fortune Falls - Novas, introduces so many new characters at different intervals, and provides an insight in to the intense reality of what is happening in the real world.

As the group of young adults adventure away from their newfound comforts and safety (well, partially) from book 1, they really step up to the plate and take on board their new responsibilities with next to no complaints.

The introduction to different perspectives and survivors which was to be expected, was really enjoyable in that their demeanour and behaviours were quirky, humour filled and almost made you want to stay with them for longer than we did.

Like the first book and novella, this is action packed and is also relatable and gave so many moments of ‘what if this was real’ and ‘what would I do in that situation’.

The ending was one that had my mouth drop to the floor in anticipation and anxiety and I can’t wait to dive in to book 3 - The Ark.

Lou, thank you again for sharing this experience with me, and the rest of the world..you deserve as much recognition as you can get. Needless to say I’ll be venturing further in to this universe very soon, and have a feeling that you’re going to rip my heart out when this comes to an end.. I’m so invested now!!

5 stars. Go and pick up Fortune Falls, book 1, asap, and join me on this adventure!

[Carrie O'Dell]

Novas

I am totally hooked on these books! So well written, I just adore Jess. Not sure why, but I’m rooting for Ethan and not Matt.. for some reason Ethan stands out more 🤷🏼‍♀️ and I love Dean.. he’s so funny. Great series so far.. off to read book 3

[Rosalinda Valdez]

hate the love triangle but i like the plot fav guys are dean and aaron ! jess has improved a bit i like her more now #teammatt

[Krisztina]

4.75⭐️

[Sineade Mcgrath]

I loved this book so much, I had been looking for something that was similar to the hunger games or the 100 and this was perfect. One of my new favs, I have already started the second book Novas!

[Mélody Bourgeault]

C’était TELLEMENT bon! Honnêtement, dès que je lis plus qu’un chapitre, je ne peux pas m’arrêter. Il faut que je sache ce qui se passe dans le prochain😂

[Sarah Sharp]

4.5✨If Dean dies I will riot.

[Ana C]

Jess Maddox has become a favourite FMC of mine. By book 2, she is no longer the awkward teenager that despite being smart and capable is unsure of herself. Tragegy, trauma has harden her and she has really come out of it stronger and braver

So here is my review of Novas- book 2 by Fortune Falls

Really enjoyed this book!!! This is where it gets good!!!!!! The characters and dialogue felt more developed and there is a lot of character growth. The love triangle more complicated, that is now technically a quadruple. Jess is with one of them while fighting her feelings for the other who is just patiently waiting for her. Torn between two green flags in my opinion. They're both great.

Her friendship with Dean is just the best part of these books though. Bonded by shared trauma, he truly becomes her ride-or-die and it's never toxic ir romantic.

In Novas - the world of Fortune Falls expands as they discover what ever happened in the rest of the world while they took shelter in the mountains to wait out the deadly virus. A group of them sets out on a dangerous mission to save any remaining survivors with the help of the owners of the bunker where they take shelter at the end of book 1. Problem is, they don't even know if there are any other survivors and when they find out, seems other the survivors don't exactly want their help and will instead hunt them down.... It's messy.

Also, as a claustrophobic person, it felt realistic how panic attacks feel.

It is vivid, thrilling. scarily realistic in away as to what humanity does when in this scenario. 100 It ends in such a cliffhanger too!!!


Read it! You won't regret it.

[Lauren]

okay so im kinda mixed on this one but overall i still liked it. in the first book i absolutely hated the love triangle content but in this book, i love it. it seemed natural and was not overdone. it was much more believable and i was able to relate to it a lot more.

in my review of the first book i said there were a lot of "immature" relationships and interactions, i dont feel the same in this book. i did also read somewhere that the first book in the series was the authors first book, so that could explain the change in writing style a bit. i feel like this helped me connect and relate with the characters a but more which resulted in me being way more engaged in the book.

the first book also hardly gave us any information on the virus, which makes sense because the characters didnt know much, BUT i wanted them to talk about it more because i sometimes forget there was even a virus and would find myself forgetting why they were even in the situations they were in at times. this book though focused on it a lot more and truly made it feel like an apocalyptic series. so learning more about the virus was a huge plus for me.

one thing i didnt really like was how i felt that not much happened. the first book seemed like there was a lot going on and a lot of different side things going on. this book was just one plot line it felt like, which is fine, but it left me waiting more to have happened in this particular book.

with that being said however, I AM OBSESSED with how it ended. such a cliffhanger. i cant wait to start the next one.

[robyn dixon]

I really need to go back and review the first book...

....which I didn't do. I have to say that overall these stories are very, very well-written with well drawn characters and actually believable action. Very little of what happens in either the first or second novels reads as forced or... well, made up. They are quite good. And even though it is billed as a young adult book, the characters are quite sophisticated. I believe there was a warning in the first novel's description about "zombie-like" characters in future books, so I was hesitant to read them but the zombies haven't shown up yet.
One small criticism is that I never knew where I was. What I mean is was this the United States? England? Australia? Or some invented world or a future time. I strongly suspect that the author is English or Australian, based on the word choice in some case (motorway, torch, paracetamol). These aren't words used in the States. This isn't exactly critical but does leave one mentally floundering sometimes and really makes all the dispiciously places superfluous. This. especially true if these towns aren't real in any country.
Nevertheless it is a great read. Well worth the time.
Respectively,

[Nikki Taylor]

Book 2 in the Fortune Falls series and while it was slightly better and ending with more intrigued, it was still a tad cumbersome to get through.

The stakes are higher for Jess and the team, with the community within the bunker getting bigger, supplies getting low and tensions between individuals getting higher. They embark on an expedition back into the suburbs and city, which leads to some answers, but even more questions and unexpected danger.

I enjoyed the virus, lab and vaccination details that came with this instalment, along with the introduction of the Chosen ones and the Royals. The abilities that come from the vaccination, I thought was pretty cool too.

It is however slightly too dramatic in parts and the characters are a bit too resilient and perfect, while it did show a bit more emotion, things were just a bit too unrealistic, especially being that they are all teenagers. The love triangle between Jess, Matt and Ethan also annoyed me and had rolling my eyes over and over again - I feel this part in the story brings down a notch.

The ending with the Chosen Ones has left me intrigued emought that I’ve decided that I will continue on with the series - so up next is The Ark.

[Sierra]

Novas is so much more suspenseful than Fortune Falls. Of course now that they know what happened in the world, they decide its best to stay at the bunker. They work to build the indoor gardens and just staying alive until new people show up, the owners of the bunker.

Things change now that these extra people are there, especially because they brought children with them. Of course, things get tense as the original group things they might get kicked out of the bunker. Beside it comes to that, they get hit with something unexpected. A possible cure. Now they are have a reason to fight and continue.

I really enjoyed this book. The original group become like a family, some more than others. They realize they are the odd ones out and have to stay together no matter what. I love that it become a found family, with friendships, relationships, and pain. I can’t wait to see what the third book has to offer.

[Marie Spring]

For my remembrance:
So in the last book Jess was sent to the cabin for a month. 21 days ish in this, a group of people approach the cabin and she bolts back to the bunker. Turns out this are some of the Jacobs family who own the bunker so they start to share it. Then Jess and a group get a vaccine from the main Jacob’s guy who’s made it. They then go into the city to find more of the cure components. They find out some people are immune and some have gotten infected but survived with zero memory and purple eyes. An attack ensues and Jess is shot in the arm but all good. They things it’s all happy days as they make their way back to the bunker however they’re kidnapped by a group of people who kill those who aren’t true immune and they basically say they’re going to decided whether they’re accepted into the group, even if they don’t want to, or they’re going to be killed. Then it’s the next book.

[Starr Davies]

Another great book from Lou Vane! I haven't read a book this quickly in a while and found it hard to stop turning the pages.

After the owners of the bunker arrive to take over, Jess and her friends realize their lives could be in danger. But a potential cure could change everything...assuming they can find everything necessary to make the cure and distribute it. Jess and a handful of companions leave the safety of the bunker and venture into the world. What greets them is far from hope-inducing.

Character dynamics are intensified as the stakes become even more dangerous for everyone. If you enjoy post-apocalyptic stories with a lingering sense of hope (something rarely found in books like this), you need to read this series. Some of the reactions and themes to the outbreak ring far too close to reality, and it will give you chills to think how our world could have ended.

[Bek ✨]

I’m hooked! Novas, the second installment in the Fortune Falls series, has me invested.

This young adult apocalypse story introduces new characters, adding depth and complexity to the narrative. The pacing is relentless, with every page turning up the ante.

I enjoyed Novas slightly more than the first book, Fortune Falls. The character development shines, particularly with Jess.

The love triangle is skillfully woven, leaving me torn.

The plot intensifies, raising stakes and deepening the world-building.

But, be warned: Lou Vane ends Novas on a heart-stopping cliffhanger! I’m eager to dive into the next book.

If you’re a fan of YA dystopian fiction, add Novas to your reading list. Prepare for an emotional ride!

[Onceuponatiktok]

I absolutely powered through Novas. After finishing Fortune Falls, I desperately wanted more of this world, and Nova definitely didn’t disappoint.

It does feel a little slower than the first book, but I think that works because it focuses more on the aftermath of everything the group went through in Fortune Falls. You get to see how those events have affected the characters and how they’re trying to move forward while everything around them is still very much a mess.

The love triangle is still going strong and right now I think I’m Team Ethan… but I also know myself well enough to know how quickly that could change.

I’m definitely hooked on this series now and can’t wait to see where it goes next. I need to know what happens to these characters!

[Jennah Sobevski]

The Maze Runner meets Insurgent

This series is absolutely amazing, a real page turner!

Jess has been exiled from the safety of the bunker, but when her life is in danger from an outside threat she decides ‘better the devil you know’ and returns to warn her friends.

What comes next is a mission to be able to mass-produce the vaccine that will protect from the outbreak.

This is by far one of the best apocalyptic series I have ever read and I am desperate for the next book to come out. Every plot-line has been well thought out and executed. I am so invested in these characters right now…it’s going to be impossible to wait for the next book!