Ground Zero: A Sapphic Post-Apocalyptic Romance

by Clara Ann Simons

A catastrophic solar event.
A world in total collapse.
Two women who never should have met.

When a Miyake event, a solar storm a hundred times more powerful than anything on record, strikes the Earth, civilization disintegrates in a matter of hours. No electricity. No communications. No law.

Isabel Reyes, a PhD student in physics, saw the disaster coming from her lab. But understanding the science doesn’t prepare you to survive on streets where predators lurk around every corner.

Arizona doesn’t save people. Not anymore. Her past is written in scars and a list of names she’d rather forget. She trusts only her training, her instincts… and hands that are always cold.

When their paths cross, neither imagines that the encounter will change their lives forever. Together, accompanied by a German Shepherd who refuses to leave their side, they fight their way through the chaos toward a survivor colony where hope still holds out.

But Arizona has a past. And that past is coming back to claim her.

In a world where humanity shows its worst face, love can bloom in the absolute darkness. But first, they have to survive the winter.

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 23, 2025

Reviews

[Nikki KR · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really post apocalyptic/dystopian books and this had a fun premise (big ass solar flair all technology goes to shit) and an interesting plot but something felt missing almost like it could have been longer to really get into it (like hello wouldn’t planes be falling out the sky and shit??) or maybe dates at the start of chapters to indicate passage of time or something because chunks of time felt missing and that wasn’t satisfying to me.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!

I’ve read a lot of Clara Ann’s books and this one hit all the right notes! Love story ☑️ dog ☑️ international assassins ☑️ and a world made primitive ✅. Arizona and Isabel meet when the world goes dark-can they survive when everything they have ever known is gone in a flash? Get this book and find out!

[Coffee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un post-apo court et efficace qui se lit très vite. La tension est constante, portée par un monde en effondrement crédible et oppressant. La traduction est soignée et les deux héroïnes sont intéressantes, avec une romance touchante… même si, clairement, l’ambiance post-apocalyptique prend le dessus (et c’est assez logique 😅).
Une lecture rapide qui fait le job.

[Shazh76 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, quick read. A post apocalyptic story with a side of love. I thought it was well done, if a bit short. Would lend itself to a sequel or a series.