A Breathtakingly beautiful story that pulls you in from beginning to end. I was so lost in the story and never wanted it to end.

Highly Recommend it to all readers.

2.5⭐️

I gave this book the old college try, I really did, but I just could not get through it. I got to 61% on my kindle and was fighting for my life.

I received The Last Message as an ARC from Greys Promo in exchange for an honest review, so here it is:

The pros of this book are there, but limited. The writing is good and Catherine Hope clearly has the ability to create a vivid picture, but that is also the reason I could not finish this book. It felt like I was reading a VERY descriptive book about nature and the beaches and small towns of Washington, not a romance with a sprinkle of mystery.

This book moved so incredibly slow that I felt like I was reading for hours and getting absolutely no where. There was such a heavy focus on describing the beaches and the scenes that the actual plot of the book was an afterthought. I really wanted to like this book because the premise seemed interesting, but I could not get through it because of how descriptive and slow it was.

Overall, it had great potential to be a mysterious romance, but I wanted to stop reading it so many times that I could not justify finishing this book, even to find out the ending.

(I did want to add that this book was not for me, but I could see many readers out there who would love this book and all it’s description!! So do not let this review deter you if you are the type of person to want to read a book with lots of imagery, slow moving plot and inner dialogue!)

I had originally wanted to read the book because of the cover and the synopsis of the story. As I started to read it was something more than I thought it was going to be. It was a roller coaster of emotions, heartbreak, loss, friendship and so much more. I was able to read this book in one go, I couldn’t put the book down.

It was a okay read.
I wanted to dnf, but I made it trough.
Just was not my cup of tea
Not for me

I loved how this book's message was about healing and love and forgivness and those are my favorite types of books. this had a heavy theme but a beautiful ending.

Thanks to netgalley for providing an advanced copy for the purpose of review.

This was and intense, emotional story with a compelling narrative that keeps you reeled in.

A beautiful love story, full of emotion and heart, and stunning scenery. I loved losing myself in this one, it was the perfect escape.

Liz and Nick are both dealing with the death of loved ones. They quickly bond and form a friendship…and more. This is a book about loss, friendship and secrets. When Liz gets a message on her phone from someone she doesn’t know it’s a mystery and a mystery she starts looking into. This book has a lot going on! There are several layers and several different stories going on and they all eventually blend together nicely. The characters are a little quirky but definitely share a common connection.

This was unfortunately a DNF for me had a really hard time getting into the story and just could not commit to reading the book. I want to thank NetGalley and Headline for the arc just wasn't the book for me.

Thank you to Headline, NetGalley and the author for providing me with an ARC of this book. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

DNF - On paper, this sounded like something I would really enjoy but I just couldn’t continue reading it unfortunately. The characters felt very robotic and the dialogue was very awkward in my opinion. I also found the plot very slow which meant I just wasn’t able to justify reading on any further.

This could have been so good - but to me it wasn't. I liked the idea of "a message intended for someone else" however the execution fell flat. The romantic plot is unoriginal and predictable, the mystery is lacking. I enjoyed the long walks along the beach though, the dogs, and the never-ending coffee and cake scenes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Headline for an ARC.

DNF @ 22%. "The Last Message" by Catherine Hope is not catching my attention AT ALL. I am finding this book very boring, slowly paced, and super predictable. As someone who is connected to grief in more ways than one, I found main character Lizzie's grief to be surface-level at best. I felt little to no emotion in the 1/4 of the book I read. If you want to read a better book about grief, self-discovery, and finding love in the face of unimaginable pain, try "One Last Gift" by Emily Stone. This feels like a cheap knockoff of that book.

Thank you to Catherine Hope, NetGalley, Headline, and Headline Eternal for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for my review.

This was a good read. I did like the mystery part of the book but I felt that it didn’t really get resolved like I thought it would. It seemed to be glossed over at the end.

I have to apologize to the author as this took me so long to read because I wasn’t sure I could deal with another book full of grief-stricken characters, especially when I also lost my brother. However, you don’t see much of the grief. It’s there, but it’s brief, and Lizzie’s brother doesn’t have that big of a part, we focus more on the dead wife. I want to make sure I highlight the good because the book was good, but I also have a bone to pick with the ending. 
The writing was done well, the characters were flushed out well, the chemistry was good, and I think the story flowed well. There were definitely some filler pages that I just kind of skipped over, but a lot of books have that. Lizzie drops her phone in the ocean and has to deal with an “ancient” phone for the time being, it is with this phone that she receives a mysterious message.
Lizzie meets a beautiful man and his dog, and they begin bumping into each other often, and eventually, they start actually making plans and seeing each other. This section of the book is great and it’s cute, and I enjoyed reading it.
Nick is broken, but still hot. Nick is trying to put his life together after losing his wife three years ago, and honestly, Nick doesn’t have many flaws, but also this book is mainly from Lizzie’s POV so we only see Nick when she sees Nick. He’s a good dog dad though, and seemingly quite wealthy. Broken, rich, dog dad, hot, what more can you want?

The Last Message is one of those emotional reads that keeps the intrigue going through the story. Lizzie and Nick both have been through a lot in their past and so their meeting seems serendipitous. I loved how they kept bumping into eachother on the beach - a favourite place of mine to unwind and relax.
Grief and moving on play a big part of this story and I found both characters easy to empathise with. The twist reveal was cleverly done and added a little suspense to what is a lovely romance.

This was my first Catherine Hope book and probably my last.

I found the entire plot to be boring. While it had a good chance to be interesting, it wasn't executed very well. I found a lot of this book to drag, carrying on and on about random things. I also found it to be very predictable (and while sometimes it's unavoidable, this was just not great). It felt like parts were rushed and the ending of the book left a lot to be desired. It was abrupt and honestly didn't do what I did enjoy of the story any good.

This is probably why it took me so long to finish what was relatively an easy book to read. It didn't capture my attention in any way and I wanted to stop reading it so early but didn't because this was an ARC

Thanks to NetGalley and Headline, I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Headline, Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book. I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.

I wasn't sure if I was in the mood for this book, which is why it took me a while to pick it up. I am glad I did but I still don't think I was in the mood for a sad story. In saying that, I can see why this book would appeal to many readers.

Lizzie is getting over the loss of her twin and Nick is getting over the loss of his wife. The story is told mainly from Lizzie's perspective, but the reader does get a peek now and then of Nick's thoughts and feelings. While I found the dialogue between the two characters a little stilted at times, the overall feeling I got from the book was that it was a charming and, although sad, overall beautiful story.

It wasn't depressing but there were moments that were too heavy for my state of mind. Still, a lovely story.

The Last Message was sadly not a top book for me this year. I feel like it was quite predictable and that led to the entirety of the book being hard to read. I didn't want to keep turning the page due to the fact I "knew" what was coming next.

I will say that the small-town setting was a fun aspect of the book. I always love a small-town feel, it makes the book read more towards the cozy side of things.

I don't mind when a thriller book has romance aspects to it, but it felt like the book wasn't sure what form of genre it was teetering on.

I enjoyed Catherine's writing style, it made the flow at least somewhat better. I would pick another book up by her in hopes her writing pushed through and the plot of the next one had more surprises along the way.

The Last Message by Catherine Hope is a sweet story. The characters are wonderful, fun, and very likeable. Did I mention Houdini the dog because he is the best! Lizzie's twin is dying and she wants to fulfill his last wish for her to see the world. In doing so, she meets Nick, owner of Houdini. Bring on the charm and romance. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

This was a little on the slow side for me, but I enjoyed the chemistry between Nick and Lizzie and the added mystery. A nice read all in all. *I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.