Week 48 Review: The First to Die at the End

From Goodreads:

In this prequel to #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon They Both Die at the End, two new strangers spend a life-changing day together after Death-Cast first makes their fateful calls.

It's the night before Death-Cast goes live, and there's one question on everyone's mind: Can Death-Cast actually predict when someone will die, or is it just an elaborate hoax?

Orion Pagan has waited years for someone to tell him that he's going to die. He has a serious heart condition, and he signed up for Death-Cast so he could know what's coming.

Valentino Prince is restarting his life in New York. He has a long and promising future ahead and he only registered for Death-Cast after his twin sister nearly died in a car accident.

Orion and Valentino cross paths in Times Square and immediately feel a deep connection. But when the first round of End Day calls goes out, their lives are changed forever—one of them receives a call, and the other doesn't. Though neither boy is certain how the day will end, they know they want to spend it together…even if that means their goodbye will be heartbreaking.

Told with acclaimed author Adam Silvera's signature bittersweet touch, this story celebrates the lasting impact that people have on each other and proves that life is always worth living to the fullest.

My Review:
This was a really fantastic story, but a heartbreaking one. Most people who are reading this, have already read the first book in this series, so they had that framework to base their expectations on. I hope there isn't anyone out there reading this book first, because that would hurt even more then it would going in knowing that one of them will die by the end!

We know that Adam Silvera was going to kill one of the leads  in this first round of calls-it was just a matter of finding out which one. Which was hard, because they were both great guys, and I didn't want either of them to die, but I didn't want the leads of the first book to die, either.

This world of the Death-Cast, honestly, I don't know if I would want to be in it, to know when someone is going to die shortly, both yourself and loved ones (presumably they would tell you if they could.) To see when it was first introduced, and how people reacted to it before it became common place, was pretty interesting!

These characters really are brought to life. Orion has had a death sentence hanging over his head because of his heart, so he wants to know when he's going to die. Valentino wasn't planning on signing up since he's just moved to New York and has all these plans. I absolute loved their story and the time that they spent together before the end, it was bittersweet, but of course it was really well done. 

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read more by Adam Silvera! 

Author: Adam Silvera
Series: Death-Cast #0
Read: November 29th, 2023
Source: Edelweiss/Library
Reason Why: Loved the first book, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2023 Book and a WoW Book!  
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Published: October 4th 2022

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars