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foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Locked-room thriller at its finest. A unique premise of waking up alone on a cruise ship, there were so many twists and turns I wasn’t expecting, and I just did not want to put the book down because I had to know what happens next.
When the big twist happened, at first I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, but overall I think it had a great commentary on the exploitative nature of reality TV that honestly didn’t seem that far off from how people are treated on these shows today. The ending made me so mad and upset though (in a good way) that I’ve been stewing on for days.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Sexism, Torture, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
disguisedposer's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
greatestheights's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Suicide, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
shaziareads's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
Ok so first off - the book's description is very misleading. Even reading the Goodreads summary, you're lead to believe that the main character, Caz, wakes up after her first night on a cruise and realizes the ship is completely empty. That's not the case and it actually happens quite early on in the book (so this isn't a spoiler?) that there are 3 other people on the cruise. Everyone else, including her boyfriend, has disappeared.
I feel like anything else I may say about the book would be spoiling it, so I'll keep the rest of my review vague. There is a twist revealed that the four passengers have to deal with, which yes, was ridiculous, but because the book is very fast paced, I didn't mind how bizarre the plot got. However I did have to draw a line at the ending - Will Dean definitely went overboard with it (pun intended?).
I feel like anything else I may say about the book would be spoiling it, so I'll keep the rest of my review vague. There is a twist revealed that the four passengers have to deal with, which yes, was ridiculous, but because the book is very fast paced, I didn't mind how bizarre the plot got. However I did have to draw a line at the ending - Will Dean definitely went overboard with it (pun intended?).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Abandonment
Minor: Suicide and Death of parent
kdheuer's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I started reading this after Marc Sebastian’s followers chose it on the world cruise. Thanks to Atria Books for sponsoring him!
I have mixed feelings about this book. If I had been reading a hard copy, I would have chucked it across the room upon reading the first major twist. The pacing kept me going, but I had a big chip on my shoulder for the rest of the book. I felt as manipulated as our main character did the whole way through. After putting the readers through what they did, the twist ending felt like a slap in the face.
Still, I like a thriller, and I was on the edge of my proverbial seat. I just wish I didn’t feel so manipulated.
I have mixed feelings about this book. If I had been reading a hard copy, I would have chucked it across the room upon reading the first major twist. The pacing kept me going, but I had a big chip on my shoulder for the rest of the book. I felt as manipulated as our main character did the whole way through. After putting the readers through what they did, the twist ending felt like a slap in the face.
Still, I like a thriller, and I was on the edge of my proverbial seat. I just wish I didn’t feel so manipulated.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
luverbyrd's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Death, and Suicide
a_libraryghost's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is hard to rate because it’s got some really good pros but also some glaring flaws. The short chapters are great but I agree with others that it’s longer than it needs to be. All of Caz’s inner monologuing about her family feels unnecessary and sometimes breaks the tension and pacing of more interesting scenes. Also there were still a couple things that didn’t make sense by the end. It also kind of feels like it doesn’t know what genre and tone it wants it to be?
But at the same time we really get to know the characters and I cared for all of the main characters plus you really feel the isolation and confinement of being trapped on a ship out at sea. It’s genuinely creepy. There’s a few good twists and I have mixed feelings about the ending.
But at the same time we really get to know the characters and I cared for all of the main characters plus you really feel the isolation and confinement of being trapped on a ship out at sea. It’s genuinely creepy. There’s a few good twists and I have mixed feelings about the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Death
Moderate: Suicide
soobooksalot's review
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
When I skim to the end of a book, I don't often post about it on here.
However, my experience with The Last One lends to listing pros and cons.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and Netgalley for my eARC for review.
Caz and her new-ish bf Pete board a cruise ship and when she wakes up the next morning, absolutely nothing is as it was the day before.
Pros:
- short chapters usually ending on a cliffhanger.
- unique take on a locked-room (ship) mystery.
- a big twist happens very early on to set the stage for what's to come, then another about 1/3 in.
- the ending! Eek!
Cons:
- after the first few chapters, the action wasn't sustained for me.
- I really enjoyed the author's previous The Last Thing To Burn, but this didn't work for me like that one did.
- much longer than I anticipated, with characters I never really connected with.
- a lot of ruminating from Caz about her family life that bogged the story down for me.
But don't go by my opinions. There are many a mixed review on this one, so check it out for something different!
Released on Aug. 8.
However, my experience with The Last One lends to listing pros and cons.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and Netgalley for my eARC for review.
Caz and her new-ish bf Pete board a cruise ship and when she wakes up the next morning, absolutely nothing is as it was the day before.
Pros:
- short chapters usually ending on a cliffhanger.
- unique take on a locked-room (ship) mystery.
- a big twist happens very early on to set the stage for what's to come, then another about 1/3 in.
- the ending! Eek!
Cons:
- after the first few chapters, the action wasn't sustained for me.
- I really enjoyed the author's previous The Last Thing To Burn, but this didn't work for me like that one did.
- much longer than I anticipated, with characters I never really connected with.
- a lot of ruminating from Caz about her family life that bogged the story down for me.
But don't go by my opinions. There are many a mixed review on this one, so check it out for something different!
Released on Aug. 8.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
collinsd's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Torture, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction and Drug abuse
A mix of locked room mystery/ The Truman Show/ Wreck/ Black Mirror/Then There Were None and Lord of the Flies. If Trauma Porn, Gaslighting and Father issues was a book. Short snappy chapters but terrible ending if I wasn't reading this on my laptop I would've flung it across the room.readingwithmeredith's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Torture
Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Cursing