Winter Comes in June is a gripping and emotionally charged sci-fi survival novel that blends hard science with raw humanity. Set in a post-apocalyptic world scarred by the devastating Amira Event, a massive asteroid strike, the book unfolds through the voices of Sunday Rain and her parents, Oksana and Michael. The story moves between the sterile safety of the Moon’s Armstrong base, the grounded resilience of life on Earth, and the reflections of survivors trying to rebuild amidst ruin. It’s a chronicle of love, legacy, and loss as told by a young woman trying to understand the past by reading the diaries of those who lived through the unthinkable.

What struck me first was the immediacy of the voice. The writing is blunt, sometimes even crude, but in a way that feels honest and necessary. The characters speak the way real people might in a world gone sideways, candidly, with humor and despair all tangled up together. The author doesn’t waste time dressing things up. Instead, the rawness of the narration pulls you in. I felt like I was sitting beside Sunday or watching Oksana float down a Moon corridor. There’s something deeply personal in how the characters observe beauty, process trauma, and navigate love and fear. It’s not tidy, and that’s what makes it believable.

What also stood out to me was the heart behind the science. The book is packed with believable technical detail, from lunar base life to asteroid composition, but it never lets the science drown out the human stories. Michael and Jenny’s romance is sweet, grounded, and tender. Oksana’s guilt and pride as she watches disaster unfold from afar is gutting. The scenes between characters, whether they’re sitting at a breakfast table or staring up at the sky, hit harder than any explosion or battle could. The asteroid might be the monster in the sky, but it’s the people who give this book its weight.

Winter Comes in June is a story about surviving not just a planetary catastrophe, but the emotional aftershocks that follow. It’s not polished or flowery, but it’s deeply moving and hard to forget. I’d recommend this book to readers who like post-apocalyptic fiction with brains and heart, fans of Andy Weir or Emily St. John Mandel. If you want a sci-fi novel that feels less like a blockbuster and more like a diary, this one’s for you.

Pages: 294 | ASIN: B0F9VW85SH