Golden Ruin

In the aftermath of a chaotic gold rush and the resulting war, a mega-corporation emerges, seizing control of the nation’s gold and the technology produced from it. Those defeated scattered to the coasts, left to fend for themselves. The once vibrant California now contends with radiation, harsh elements, and bandits.

Cassidy moves to one of California’s last two surviving towns for one thing: to save her life. Suffering from a mysterious illness, Bell Valley is her last chance at finding a cure. Despite her best efforts to keep her distance, she’s drawn to the town and its locals. New beginnings are hard — even harder in the wastelands, and it doesn’t help that her enigmatic boss, Willa, wants nothing to do with her.

But as things start to change between the two of them, Cassidy is being tracked by a man with a dangerous bounty on her. Will she be able to save herself before it’s too late?

Stardew Valley meets Westworld in this emotional adventure in the wastelands.

Golden Ruin is a sci-fi/western with a slow-burn sapphic romance. This book is a standalone.

Tropes: found family, small town, forced proximity, dystopian landscape