Title: We Burned So Bright
Author: TJ Klune
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication date: April 28, 2026
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Bookshop | Goodreads | StoryGraph
Summary
The world is ending. A black hole is heading towards Earth and there’s nothing that will stop it. Which means that husbands Don and Rodney are out of time. The thing they’ve been putting off is now staring them in the face. It’s now or never.
So, they decide to take a road trip across the United States from Maine to Washington. It’s a race against the clock, but they’re determined to make it. Along the way, they meet all kinds of people. People ready to face death and people pretending it’s not real. Will Don and Rodney make it to Washington before the world ends?
Review: We Burned So Bright
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for an advanced copy of We Burned So Bright by TJ Klune to review! If you know me, you know that TJ Klune is an automatic read for me. At first, I didn’t realize this was such a short book, but it stills packs quite the emotional punch.
Klune covers such a wide variety of reactions to the end of the world in this story. Don and Rodney meet people desperate to pretend it’s not happening, desperate for it to be over, and people just accepting that it’s coming. We only get to meet most of these characters for a short time, but you get such a glimpse of who they are as people.
There’s tension in the story as you don’t quite know what Don and Rodney are driving towards. I liked that this question kept you engaged until the very end, knowing that it’s going to be another emotional story. Though this story is heading towards the end of the world, it does still have an element of hope.
All in all, this is a story that is sure to sit with you once you’re done reading it. And make you contemplate, what would you do if the world was ending?
4.5/5 stars