REVIEW - DESPERATE WORLD - EMP AFTERMATH BY GRACE HAMILTON

 

Title: Desperate World

Series: EMP Aftermath

Author: Grace Hamilton

Publisher: Relay Publishing

Release Date: 20th May 2026

BLURB

All they want is a safe haven. They’ll have to fight to get it…

Dr. Laurel Rivera, Bear and their small band of survivors have left their home, fleeing into the wilderness near Lake Superior. With children to protect, they’re forced to make ruthless choices, as they run a gauntlet of desperate survivors willing to kill for vital supplies.

Then Mae collapses.

Pregnant, feverish, and slipping fast, she needs medication Laurel doesn’t have—and can’t make. The only remaining supply belongs to another armed, organized, and determined to protect what’s theirs at any cost.

Stealing the medicine could ignite a war they won’t survive. Walking away will condemn Mae and her unborn child to death.

As time runs out and enemies close in, Bear and Laurel must decide how far they’re willing to go to save one life—and how many others they’re willing to damn in the name of survival.

REVIEW
The book cover depicts a tense scene within the book really well and it fits in with the rest of the series well too. It is the type of cover that would make me pick it up from a bookstore shelf to read the blurb.
As I was about to start reading Desperate World EMP Aftermath bk9 by Grace Hamilton I was really looking forward to rejoining the characters, discovering what is going to happen next. So far it has been an amazing series with fantastic characters and a brilliant plot but at the same time I'm having mixed feelings as this is the last book in the series so I am sorry its coming to an end.....I wonder what Grace Hamilton has in store for the characters.....happiness or heartache?

The group has decided to leave Thunder Bay, heading to Lake Superior in the hope of settling on an island, rebuilding a home, a clinic and community. The group are still recovering from the last battle with the Rossi’s so they want to put as much distance between themselves and Thunder Bay as possible. They hop that if the Rossi mafia return to Thunder Bay and they have already left they will do no harm to those still living there. The truck Kate, Gideon, Sharon, Lisa, Thomas & Maggie arrived in is quickly repaired with Kate and Lyle working around the clock so the group that are leaving can get back on the road as soon as possible. They leave some basic medical supplies behind and surprisingly it is Harkins that steps up as the new Thunder Bay Medic.

The group make their way to the lake and find a boat big enough to carry them to nearby islands to try to find one to settle on, but Mae is taken ill. Laurel quickly diagnoses gestational diabetes.

The initial idea was to avoid any contact with any of the Rossi mafia at all, unfortunately the plan ends up having to change when it becomes clear that Mae is in desperate need of medication for her diabetes. When Kate reveals she knows where the Rossi's have a secret stash of medicines & medical supplies the group take a vote on what to do.....go raid the supplies......or forget about the supplies....
It’s decided that with Mae having developed gestational diabetes & possibilities of complications during the birth...that they should plan and risk a raid on the Rossi compound.

It’s the first time the group will have done anything that they would consider selfish or being on the attack/offensive. Though I think they were thoroughly justified on planning the raid as it wasn’t like the Rossi’s would have even negotiated with them to “buy” or trade for the medications they needed for Mae. The Rossi’s are the selfish one’s stock piling medications and selling them to the highest bidder!

It’s a risky plan and involves two members of the group being decoys so the others can sneak in and steal the medications that they need for Mae. Of course, Bear is in the decoy party of two saying it makes sense, and that he should take the risk as Mae is his daughter. Laurel has to be in the raiding party as she knows which medications they need.

Once inside the compound and the warehouse Laurel discovers that it really is a treasure trove of medication, medical supplies and medical equipment too. There’s more than enough if she takes it to set up a clinic for anyone who wishes to use it. Laurel, Kate and the others quickly find the medication for Mae’s gestational Diabetes and for any other pregnancy complications that may arise. They find pain medication, much needed antibiotics for future illness and other equipment that would help when setting up Laurel’s dream clinic.

Obviously, the head of the Rossi mafia is furious, first Kate steals his cargo of medication and Laurel and the Thunder Bay group use them. Then they shoot his son when he goes with a group of men to get the medication back. Rossi will not be happy until someone pays for the death of his son and after they raid his so called secret compound, he knows it is Kate that has helped them so he wants her and anyone else who won’t cooperate and surrender dealt with!

Laurel and Bear’s group eventually settle on an island and they are planning to build a clinic for the benefit of anyone who wishes to come to it. They are caught unaware when the Rossi’s Mafia are suddenly spotted. It’s revealed that Mae had seen Vin, one of Rossi’s men on a different island they had been scouting and had said nothing, but it’s too late to lay blame or argue the Rossi Mafia has arrived and they need to be dealt with once and for all.

Characters I loved were of course Laurel, Bear, Mae and Trent, their family unit is built on trust and mutual respect. Even though they needed the medication for Mae, the idea of raiding the Rossi’s secret compound was put to a vote between themselves and the wider group. It was a relief and a a lovely scene when Trent reconciled fully with Laurel and told her he no longer blamed her for Alyssa’s death.

I had spotted the possibility of a “relationship” between Vin and Mae in the previous book, though I think Gideon ran some interference there and being protective of Mae wouldn’t let Vin get any closer to her. Then in this book when Vin and Mae come across each other on an island and its just the two of them, there is an instant affection between them. They may be on totally opposite sides of the Rossi battle but its clear the care about each other. I adored the scene where despite being pregnant Mae fought and tackled him to the ground. He was certainly shocked and perhaps a little bemused by her feisty side.

The scene was definitely left as the group settling into a future of sorts together, a thriving community where perhaps they may be on an island but they are in touch with other survivors and attempting to rebuild a decent life for everyone.

My immediate thoughts when I finished reading Desperate World were that though I was sorry to see the series some to an end and was sad to be saying goodbye to the characters I had grown to love, Grace Hamilton had wrapped everything up really well. We had conclusions such as Mae giving birth to her baby and looking toward the future and the prospect of Laurels dream clinic becoming a reality. Though at the same time certain things were left open for the readers imagination to finish off such as a hint of a possible relationship for Trent and a future where they are in touch with other survivors who like them wish to rebuild and live in a peaceful society, of course there will always be the Rossi’s in the world but they will be dealt with as and when. 

Summing up it is a fitting ending to an amazing series but I can't help being book greedy & wishing there were more bks to come. Maybe we can revisit them in the future, or perhaps some of the characters could have cameo’s and appear or be mentioned in another series too. (hey, I can hope!) As you can tell I'm a little sad to be saying goodbye to these characters whom I have become really attached to over the past 4 years....I highly recommend this series and others by Grace Hamilton.