laheath's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Emotional read centered around the 2 main characters coping with grief, each in his/her own way. Relationships with secondary characters are also examined as they deal with grief differently. The book is ultimately hopeful in portraying how the 2 main characters begin to have hope for the future, helping each other to resolve the guilt that each has been feeling. Their sweet romance is slow to develop, but they eventually realize that they have each found the perfect person to help them move on, if other circumstances do not get in the way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Car accident, Death, Mental illness, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death
razanarozzy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia
Minor: Child death, Car accident, and Death
smlima1992's review
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts
galena417's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death
swhence's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
'Grief is a funny thing', he began slowly. 'People think of it as sadness. But it's much more complex than that. It has so many layers, so many tangled emotions-including anger'.
This book is about dealing with grief and moving on from loss. I loved how the author represented sorrow as a nuanced emotion and how everyone has their own grieving process.
The highlight of the book was the writing. It was smooth and gripping. The protagonist Anna was well developed while the other main character Brody could have been more fleshed out. Although the pacing was slow, it was consistent. However, I cannot help but feel that this could have been a 350-page book.
I would have rated the book 3.5 stars if it weren't for the last portion which was rushed and overwhelming. Nevertheless, it was a good one-time read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child death, and Death
bethanreads's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Death
rachrreads's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I was given an eARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
It’s been three years since Anna’s husband, Spencer passed away due to an accident. Anna’s still struggling— unable to get out of bed, going through days of numbness, and shutting herself out from the world. Her best friend constantly is trying to get her out into the world by trying new things. But, Anna isn’t ready to move on yet. She still has all of Spencer’s things where he left them and her fortnight dinners with his family are spent mourning him.
Anna calls Spencer’s phone on occasion, just so she can hear his voice. On New Year’s Eve someone picks up, someone who’s not Spencer. Through the next year, the two form a bond and help each other through their grief. Anna is able to pull herself out of her depression and get back out into the world. Brody, the man on the other end of the phone, finally begins to stop isolating himself from the world. Through it all they heal, and maybe even find love along the way.
This was a beautiful book about grief and mental health. Anna and Brody were struggling and Fiona Lucas did a fantastic job depicting this. There were subtle hints throughout showing the characters beginning to heal, as well as setbacks to their healing. The two characters were so real.
Overall this was a beautiful book on healing after loss and finding yourself again.
It’s been three years since Anna’s husband, Spencer passed away due to an accident. Anna’s still struggling— unable to get out of bed, going through days of numbness, and shutting herself out from the world. Her best friend constantly is trying to get her out into the world by trying new things. But, Anna isn’t ready to move on yet. She still has all of Spencer’s things where he left them and her fortnight dinners with his family are spent mourning him.
Anna calls Spencer’s phone on occasion, just so she can hear his voice. On New Year’s Eve someone picks up, someone who’s not Spencer. Through the next year, the two form a bond and help each other through their grief. Anna is able to pull herself out of her depression and get back out into the world. Brody, the man on the other end of the phone, finally begins to stop isolating himself from the world. Through it all they heal, and maybe even find love along the way.
This was a beautiful book about grief and mental health. Anna and Brody were struggling and Fiona Lucas did a fantastic job depicting this. There were subtle hints throughout showing the characters beginning to heal, as well as setbacks to their healing. The two characters were so real.
Spoiler
I felt like the book dragged in the middle and also I wasn’t totally buying that they were falling for each other. To me it just seemed like they were mistaking their healing and dependence on each other for love.Overall this was a beautiful book on healing after loss and finding yourself again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
lastingliterature's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It has been 3 years since Anna’s husband tragically died and she can’t seem to move on. After a rough New Year’s Eve, she decides to call his phone to hear his voice one more time through his voicemail. Instead, someone answers. It turns out that after the phone bill not being paid, they finally recycled the number and gave it to someone new. The man who answers, Brody, becomes a safe haven for Anna. Together they are able to talk through their individual griefs, coping with loss, and taking small steps to re-enter the world again.
This is a beautifully written story centered on loss and how other people expect you to cope with it. Anna, for instance, has her mother and friend encouraging her to try new things and possibly date, whereas her mother-in-law implies Anna is being disloyal when she finally starts to live again. Everyone handles grief differently and there is no perfect amount of time for how long it takes to cope; Fiona Lucas portrayed this extremely well.
While I wasn’t particularly looking for a sad read, this story enraptured me from the start. Despite the sensitive material, the book was pretty uplifting and inspiring. Brody and Anna found each other when they both desperately needed someone who truly understood what they were going for and were both able to help each other climb out of the holes they have been living in. Both of their stories will tug at your heart.
I do have to also add that this is a great one to check out on audio—the narration was so well-done and it really brought the story to life.
Please go buy this book when it’s out in the US on June 8th!!
TW: death of spouse, death of child, depression, panic attacks, agoraphobia, anxiety, grief
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
amym84's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.75
Anna is still grieving the death of her husband Spencer. Though it's been just over three years and her closest friends and family are encouraging Anna to put herself out there again, she simply can't. That's why on New Year's Eve, desperate for that connection she misses so much, Anna finds herself dialing Spencer's mobile phone just to listen to his voicemail message. Except, this time, someone picks up. Thinking she was under some kind of cloud of grief, Anna hangs up. But when it happens again a couple of months later in another overwhelming moment of sadness, Anna decides to call the number again convinced that she hallucinated the person on the other end. But no, Anna wasn't hallucinating, someone else has been assigned Spencer's old phone number. Curious, Anna begins to confide in the stranger and eventually begins to come out of the shell she's formed around herself since Spencer's death.
On the other end of the phone, Brody is just as shocked by the woman randomly calling his number in the middle of the night. But Brody, like Anna, is dealing with his own grief, something that has caused him to retreat almost entirely from society.
As Brody and Anna embark on this tentative friendship, they both discover again what it truly means to be alive. Both the joys and the sorrows and what's really worth fighting for.
Listening to the audiobook of The Last Goodbye I thought that Antonia Beamish did a wonderful job with the narration. Really giving each character - though especially Anna and Brody - their own distinct voice. Really giving nuance to the vulnerabilities of each character, but keeping things from drifting too far into the maudlin.
On that note, I feel like The Last Goodbye is one of the best examples of the varying forms of grief that I've read in quite awhile. I think that Fiona Lucas does a fantastic job of giving taking us on this journey with Anna and Brody and seeing how their grief differs yet also the points where it is the same. Not only grief itself but the actual act of grieving.
When the story starts Anna is still cocooned in her own loss and we're seeing her very early stages of emerging. While Brody has been living with his loss for quite sometime more, but he's let it kind of overshadow his day-to-day life to the point where simple interactions with people are nonexistent.
I kind of liked how we see Anna's grief clearly. We understand immediately what has happened. Whereas with Brody we're not given the full picture right away. We, like Brody, have to work up to the point where we hear his whole story. It's like we experience the growth with the character and I think this makes it all the more rewarding when he's finally at that stage where he can talk about his past with Anna. It shows a depth to their forged relationship.
I know that books that deal with these kind of topics can feel heavy at times. I myself often hesitate to pick up something that I feel is going to delve too much into the desolation of loss. The Last Goodbye certainly has those moments, along with plenty of heartbreak, but it was also full of so much hope that outweighed much of that sense of helplessness that accompanies those moments in life in which we have no control. I think seeing both Anna and Brody take back some of that control, to make the conscious effort to continue to move forward and forming that connection with one another are the shining moments of the book. That they are both fully supported in their grief, but also supported in moving out of that grief.
Overall, I was so happily surprised by this book, this story. It's the first book I've read by Fiona Lucas, but I'll definitely be on the lookout to see what comes next.
On the other end of the phone, Brody is just as shocked by the woman randomly calling his number in the middle of the night. But Brody, like Anna, is dealing with his own grief, something that has caused him to retreat almost entirely from society.
As Brody and Anna embark on this tentative friendship, they both discover again what it truly means to be alive. Both the joys and the sorrows and what's really worth fighting for.
Listening to the audiobook of The Last Goodbye I thought that Antonia Beamish did a wonderful job with the narration. Really giving each character - though especially Anna and Brody - their own distinct voice. Really giving nuance to the vulnerabilities of each character, but keeping things from drifting too far into the maudlin.
On that note, I feel like The Last Goodbye is one of the best examples of the varying forms of grief that I've read in quite awhile. I think that Fiona Lucas does a fantastic job of giving taking us on this journey with Anna and Brody and seeing how their grief differs yet also the points where it is the same. Not only grief itself but the actual act of grieving.
When the story starts Anna is still cocooned in her own loss and we're seeing her very early stages of emerging. While Brody has been living with his loss for quite sometime more, but he's let it kind of overshadow his day-to-day life to the point where simple interactions with people are nonexistent.
I kind of liked how we see Anna's grief clearly. We understand immediately what has happened. Whereas with Brody we're not given the full picture right away. We, like Brody, have to work up to the point where we hear his whole story. It's like we experience the growth with the character and I think this makes it all the more rewarding when he's finally at that stage where he can talk about his past with Anna. It shows a depth to their forged relationship.
I know that books that deal with these kind of topics can feel heavy at times. I myself often hesitate to pick up something that I feel is going to delve too much into the desolation of loss. The Last Goodbye certainly has those moments, along with plenty of heartbreak, but it was also full of so much hope that outweighed much of that sense of helplessness that accompanies those moments in life in which we have no control. I think seeing both Anna and Brody take back some of that control, to make the conscious effort to continue to move forward and forming that connection with one another are the shining moments of the book. That they are both fully supported in their grief, but also supported in moving out of that grief.
Overall, I was so happily surprised by this book, this story. It's the first book I've read by Fiona Lucas, but I'll definitely be on the lookout to see what comes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
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