⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Holy moly! This is one high octane thrill ride!
It is literally nonstop action. It’s about an author who receives a bad review from a reader and everything goes off the rails. (I don’t want to say more than that)
Definitely recommend!!

Like No Exit (which I absolutely loved!), Every Last Word sucks you in immediately and is incredibly fast paced! The plot is sort of a reverse Misery. A woman living in isolation leaves a poor review on an indie authors book and the author does not take kindly to it. He begins to stalk her and harass her. Of course all is not what it appears and the twists and turns are endless…in a good way! The ending especially us great with a back and forth I’ve never read before in my life!

I really enjoyed this author's previous novel and while I enjoyed this one too, it didn't grab me like No Exit did. That being said, an enjoyable read and I will certainly read any other work Mr Adams releases.

The Last Word by Taylor Adams follows Emma and her dog Laika as they housesit a beach house on a deserted stretch of land. Emma communicates with nobody excepted through whiteboard messages and telescopes to the nearest neighbor Deek. While housesitting she drowns out her problems by reading cheap books on her e-reader. After leaving a one-star review on one of the books, Emma starts to notice creepy disturbances around the house. She begins to wonder: is the author of the book stalking her and how much danger is she really in?

I loved this book. I found the first portion in particular to be genuinely scary. I would not read this part in particular at night, especially if you live alone. The rest of the novel is a propulsive thriller that explores self-preservation, forgiveness, and finding strength when you think you have none left. There were many twists and turns as well as flashback sections that uncover what Emma is running from. I found myself going through a whole range of emotions in this book from fear to anxiety to pity to empathy to happiness and many others in between.

Though some may feel the need to suspend their disbelief at some points of this book, I found I loved the wild ride. Every time you think you have everything figured out, Adams changes the script. I think it is best enjoyed by going with the flow and allowing the story to pull you along. I did unintentionally figure out one of the major twists pretty early on, but I found it didn't overall hinder my enjoyment.

I loved Laika and felt just as connected to her as a character as I did to Emma.

This is my first book from Taylor Adams, and I will definitely pick up his others!

I really enjoyed this book, which had genuinely scary moments as well as an overall twisty plot. The story centers on Emma, who takes a job house sitting in an isolated beach house after experiencing a tragedy. She spends her time reading, and after leaving a one-star review, gets in an online argument with the author. All the scary stuff starts happening from there.

I really liked Emma and thought she was a strong and believable character. Her remembered discussion with her husband about why you wouldn’t want to live forever was one of the creepiest parts of the book, in my opinion. She displayed a lot of moxie throughout the events that transpired and I respected that. The writing style was cool, with real life events alternated with events from a book being written. There were enough twists that even when I figured them out, they still somehow managed to surprise me. The author goes really far in making the reader think something happened, only to take a hard shift at the very last second. I liked the end of the book; as others have said, it’s slightly cheesy, but it works.

Overall, this is a really good book with a mix of psychological thriller, action, and horror, and I’d recommend for readers of all of those genres. I’ll think twice before I leave my next negative review! Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 strong stars! Taylor Adams never disappoints. This one was intense and full of plot surprises. I admit, I won't be ranking this in my top 3 Taylor Adam's books. It has a slight drag to it, in only a few parts. Perhaps a touch more convoluted in plot that ultimately I didn't grasp the significance until later and the affect was lessened. Eagerly awaiting his next book as always!

Well, 5⭐️ for the adrenaline rush alone that this book provided me. Reading a Taylor Adams novel feels like riding a rickety roller coaster and I mean that as the highest of compliments. Upon reading the final chapter I get beat up, tossed around, and banged up on all sides in every possible way. So many twists and turns made me feel like I was watching a tennis match.

And is it possible to guess the villain early on but STILL be surprised by the way it all plays out and the ending? Taylor Adams, well done keeping all of on our toes until the very last page. There truly was no rest for the wicked with this book.

This book was creeeeepy to start and like heart-pounding thrill ride to finish. The action just. never. stopped. Could easily see this becoming a movie someday.

Five stars to The Last Word and now excuse me while I go catch my breath.

3.5⭐
Genre ~ psychological thriller
Publication date ~ April 25, 2023
Page Count ~ 343
Audio length ~ 9 hours 57 minutes
Narrators ~ Carlotta Brentan, Jim Meskimen
POV ~ dual 3rd
Featuring ~ revenge, animal abuse (view spoiler), book within a book

Emma and dog, Laika, run away together to an isolated location, away from husband, Shawn. They spend their days reading, walking on the beach and talking to each other, yes, the dog talks back.
(For some reason I thought when she was talking to Shawn he was a ghost the whole time, I don't know why I thought that, perhaps because of the dialogue with the dog making her seem crazy.)
I don't want to give away why she ran away because we don't find it out for quite a while, but I didn't like it (obvi) and I don't know why they were trying to convince her she wasn't at fault because she absolutely was.

Between the flashbacks, the dog talking in complete sentences, creepy neighbor, Deek, and excerpts from the author's book, I wasn't loving the flow.

Overall, there were definitely some suspenseful moments, but I wasn't on the edge of my seat like I was for No Exit (I preferred book over the movie btw, in case you were wondering). The ending was crazy and unbelievable, but I did like the last zing at the very end.

I was able to listen to an audio copy as well.
Narration notes ~ they did a fine job.

This book was terrifying. The setting was terrific and so scary. It was a little too long and drawn out but I do want to say this may be a spoiler but I think it’s important to say THE DOG DOESN’T DIE.

This books was not for me. I prefer not to leave a review since liking or disliking a book is very subjective and not always a reflection of the author's and editors' work.

Emma Carpenter is house-sitting an isolated beachfront home with her dog, Laika. One day she reads an incredibly gruesome-and poorly written-horror novel by H.G. Kane. When Emma decides to leave a one star review, an online argument ensues with the author himself and things take a turn for the worst. What could H.G. Kane be capable of?

This was my second book by Taylor Adams and I was not disappointed! The Last Word is a thriller in every sense and will make you want to double check all the locks in your house. Fair warning, you will definitely need to suspend your disbelief with this one as it’s a tad unrealistic but still wildly entertaining! I love when a thriller is SO good that it makes my stomach clench, makes my heart pound, and keeps me flipping pages until the very end. And Adams delivered on all of that so well! My only thing was that it just didn’t quite measure up to NO Exit for me. But overall it was a very fun and fast paced thriller! If you’re looking for your next thriller read, definitely consider picking this one up. Thank you so much to William Morrow, Taylor Adams, and NetGalley for my gifted e-ARC!

This is a book they kept me guessing. The author skillfully leads the reader one direction only to change direction a few pages later. If you are looking for a book that you won’t figure out until the very end, this book is for you.

This was so fun to read! I love this more than No Exit.
This story made me react and try to figure out twist after twist. I hope to
This one becomes a movie because it is filled with so much suspense and horror.

Okay, I feel like it was too clever for 1 star, but this really wasn't my cup of tea. The plot was way too much. It reeled me in with the idea that if you write a bad review, the author will come after you and claim their revenge for your attack on their livelihood. Luckily, I saw many great reviews on this. It was fine, but unbelievable and kind of annoying to the point where if I wasn't gifted an advanced reader's copy, I probably would have DNFed this one. Taylor Adams is immensely talented and I'm sure there were tons of others who will love this and recommend it to all their friends. I really liked Hairpin Bridge and I loved No Exit, although the No Exit movie was terrible. I know his next book will be awesome.

Thank you so much to #Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy for an honest review.

4.5 rounded up to 5!

Like many others, I've desperately been craving a similar readers high like the one I got from Adam's debut, No Exit, and while this story is definitely VERY different from that, I still really enjoyed The Last Word and had a hell of a lot of fun with it.

If you're someone who doesn't enjoy thrillers that get to be borderline ridiculous at parts and sometimes are more "out there", then this may not be for you - but damn was it ever for me! I read it physically and was desperate to keep reading and find out the story. I loved the alternating of getting the story real-time, flashbacks of Emma's life, as well as excerpts from the book that was written to describe the events of that night - it kept things moving very quickly and each chapter flowed seamlessly into the next. If you previously enjoyed Taylor Adams work, I definitely recommend giving this one a read as well.

I went into this wanting to love it. I have seen this book all over social media, especially bookstagram. However, I was not a fan of how the formatting of the book was. Emma’s character annoyed me to no end. The ending was super cheesy as well.
That being said-I did love the detailed descriptions of everything going on. I also enjoyed that each chapter led you to want to read another one. I had it figured out early on that Deek was very involved in everything Howard was doing.
All in all I would recommend the book to people because I did like it but it was not the intense amazing thriller I thought it would be.

You've probably left a nasty review somewhere--be it a restaurant, a hotel, a product, or a book. Emma Carpenter is being paid to house-sit on a lonely beach after a personal tragedy. To kill time and to keep her mind occupied, Emma reads and reviews books. Inevitably, she comes across a bad one, and she reviews it accordingly.

The author responds. Confrontationally. Emma makes the mistake of engaging, and her quiet little life quickly unravels as it becomes clear that this mysterious person is a little unhinged. Maybe even ... watching her.

Stuck, alone with her dog, in a house visible for miles around with only one mostly-drunk, cantankerous old neighbor down the beach, Emma finds herself jumping at shadows, the wind, the occasional odd smell. Is it in her head? Surely, no author would track down someone for a bad review--right?

Though I didn't find Emma to be a terribly sympathetic character, this book grabs you from the moment that Emma gets her first electronic response from the book's author and doesn't let up until the last page. Terrifying enough to drive anyone think twice about posting that nasty review.

This deadly cat-and-mouse game between a house sitter and an author who wants revenge is absolutely insane! Taylor Adams always puts me on the edge of my seat!

Parts of this book stressed me out so much that I had to put the book aside at certain points! There were multiple mysteries within the book and I enjoyed how each of them were explored. Overall a great thriller (and as with all thrillers, it's good to suspend some disbelief). Thank you so much to William Morrow for the arc of this one!

Emma has experienced her fair share of tragedy and prefers to stay isolated with her dog. When the neighbor that she has only communicated with through the window suggests a book for her to read, she takes him up on it. Turns out it is a terrible book and Emma leave a 1 star review when she finishes. The author begins to threaten her when she refuses to take it down. This turns into a sinister situation that Emma didn’t know she was signing up for.

I loved No Exit, so my expectations for this book were super high. While it wasn’t quite the ride as No Exit, I still really enjoyed it!