What a RIDE! This is absolutely my type of thriller and I enjoyed every second of it. I love the vague yet intriguing synopsis, and I love the direction it went but can also see why some readers won't. I laughed out loud at the very last twist, which is always fun. Is it perfect? No. Was it perfect for my taste? Yes! I'd recommend this to fans of Reckless Girls and other thrillers that have a great atmosphere + over-the-top twists and turns, and if you're willing to suspend your disbelief and questions and just go with it. Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!!

The description of this book does a great job of not letting you know what was going to happen. I did not expect that the reason everyone was gone was a reality show. Had I know, I wouldn’t have read. But I’m glad I did. It was hunger games + squid games and I gasped several times. The ending is still stuck in my head.

I’ll start by saying I love looking at a good book map, and the inclusion of the map of RMS Atlantica in the beginning of the book immediately got me excited to dive into reading!

I never realized how much I fear being completely alone, but this book really drove that point home for me. Just imagine waking up on a massive ship in the middle of the ocean, completely and entirely alone…. Nope!!!

This book had me rethinking my cruise plans for October and unlocked fears for me I didn’t even know existed! The twists kept me hooked and I absolutely needed to see what would happen next on this massive, abandoned ship.

Definitely one of the most suspenseful and shocking books I’ve read this summer and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

The Last One by Will Dean
Publishing Date - 08/08/23
Rating (3.5/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you Netgalley, Atria books, and the author for this eARC. This one started off at a slow start , but at about half way through I found myself more interested to find out what happens.

Synopsis - Caz is on a cruise ship with her boyfriend. When she wakes up in the morning she finds him gone. On inspection of the ship she appears to be the only passenger left on board. She eventually finds other passengers and they try to piece together what has happened. Overall , great premise , slow at times , but a wow ending! I think this one will be a hit this August.

Thanks to Atria for the eARC.
This book is truly a wild ride. As soon as I finished, I had a whoa moment and was so impressed with what Dean accomplished here. I highly recommend going into this book without any prior knowledge and just settle in for a wild ride. It does require some suspension of disbelief, but it is so worth it for the edge of the seat feeling you get while reading this book. The ending will be polarizing - as in you'll love or hate it. What I'm truly impressed with is that this was a long book, 448 pages, yet it didn't feel like it at all. So, so impressed with everything here!

Oh. My. God! The Last One by Will Dean was such a crazy, thrill ride of a book! Caz and her boyfriend Pete board the luxury cruise ship RMS Atlantica for a relaxing cruise. The first morning Caz wakes up and Pete is gone…along with everyone else on the ship! What a nightmare! This book had me so disturbed and anxious. Caz was a multi-layered character with a lot of sadness in her past. She is also a strong, bad ass woman! I don’t want to say too much else about the plot and give anything away. Please read this book! You will not be disappointed. I am excited to read more books by Will Dean! Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Last Passenger is a well written, well plotted thriller of a very modern-day concept. The premise of this book had me engaged from the beginning: Caz Ripley goes on a cruise with a thousand other people for some fun and relaxation. She goes to sleep that night with her partner lying beside her, to wake the following morning.... with everyone gone on a ship in the middle of the ocean and the ship headed in a different direction. Fantastically creepy and mysterious, I highly and enthusiastically recommend!

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for my advanced copy.

The Last One by Will Dean
Rating: 2 stars
Pub Date: 8/8

You have to suspend a lot of disbelief to enjoy this one, and unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me.

Caz and her boyfriend Pete are on vacation aboard the luxury cruise liner, The RMS Atlantica having a wonderful time. But then Caz wakes up the morning after their first day to find that Pete is gone. And when she goes to investigate, she realizes that every passenger is gone, and she is alone onboard.

That’s all I’ll say about the premise because you need to go into this completely blind. The blurb hooked me, and I was immediately drawn into this story. The beginning promises a suspenseful, locked-room-style thriller as we follow Caz while she tries to understand what is happening to her. It’s kept a secret until about 30%, and then part of the mystery is revealed. This is when things started to go downhill for me.

The characters are all very unlikable, and it’s impossible to connect with or care about any of them. At almost 500 pages, the book is also way too long. The plot moves along quickly, but the backstories of each character and all the extra information they’re sharing are very repetitive, to the point that I started skimming through it.

To top it off, the ending was ridiculous and unbelievable. I wish I had more positive things to say, but this was so disappointing on so many levels.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for my advanced copy.

I just finished this book and I have no words! From the very beginning, I honestly didn’t know what to expect and this lasted throughout the entire book. Up until the very last page, the twists had me reeling and staying up way too late in the night reading! What a ride. I will be recommending this book to everyone! Thank you Net Galley & Atria Books for the advanced copy!

The Last One by Will Dean had an intriguing premise but lacked the “can’t put it down” feeling of a great thriller.

Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for this EARC in exchange for an honest review.

Caz enjoys her first night on a cross-Atlantic cruise ship with her new partner. However, she wakes up the next day and finds all the cabin doors open and no one else on board. The ship is still sailing but no one is manning the boat, where did everyone go and how will Caz survive?

WOW!! What a true thriller! I was on the edge of my seat this entire book, I had no idea what was coming next. The synopsis of this book is very limited in information and that is a good thing cuz you want to go into this blind.

The only disappointment I had was the ending which felt a little predictable and safe. But MAN was the plot of this book messed the heck up. Every turn in this book I was like this cannot be real. It felt like a very unique premise and ALAS I can’t tell anyone about it lol 😵‍💫. Once y’all read this book come find me so we can discuss!!

If you like Taylor Adams' thrillers, I think you will enjoy this book!

✨New Review!✨

The Last One
By Will Dean
Publish August 8, 2023
Genre: Thriller

Wow! Insane. This book really had me questioning what was going on at every turn of the page. I did not guess or expect what was around any corner at any point. Absolutely disturbing and unputdownable!
I’ll give this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.


All this and more….
🌊 Atlantic Ocean
🛳️ luxury cruise ship
🩳 short chapters
🫣 gripping…can’t look away
🤯 what?!?!?!…incredibly disturbing
🌪️ crazy plot & twists
☝️ single female pov
🎭 two-faced characters
🔒 locked room/isolation scenario
🛟 survival
📺 Big Brother/The Wilds (on Amazon) vibes
📕 Lord of the Flies/Hunger Games vibes

Thank you @netgalley and @simonandschuster and @atriabooks for the ebook arc! It was thoroughly engrossing and traumatic.


#disturbingbook #traumaticthriller #newrelease #bookreview #grippingnovel #fictionalsurvivalstory #thelastone #willdean #simonandschuster #atriabooks #cruisethrillerbook
#bookrecommendation

The Last One is about a 49 year old woman named Caz who goes on a cruise ship with her boyfriend Pete. This is supposed to be a nice holiday for the couple. They enjoy their first night together on the voyager but by the time Caz awakens the next morning, Pete is gone along with a thousand other passengers and staff. This story follows Caz along with three other survivors and their time on the ship. Caz does a lot of reminiscing about her father and the turmoil she experienced growing up. While this story has a great plot, it feel a little flat for me. The characters were not that interesting to me. There was some repetition that got to be a bit much. But the twist at the end was quite shocking. Over all this book was a 3star book for me.

If you are looking for a summer read with a twist, The Last One by Will Dean is your book. In the novel we are introduced to four people Caroline, Daniel, Smith and Frannie. They find themselves stranded on an ocean liner. They are very inventive in handling all their difficulties, as well as certain challenges given to each of them. We learn the interesting back stories of the four and really get to know them as they share their fears and strengths. They soon begin to rely on each other and form a real bond of friendship. The ending is unbelievable. Enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it as a really different summer read. It will keep you guessing.

Thank you so much to Atria books for my #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!


𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
Oh the joys of a relaxing luxury cruise! I was absolutely HOOKED on this locked room thriller-to start with. A luxury cruise, missing passengers and crew, and one last passenger aboard—what a terrifying scenario and the perfect premise for a thriller. I was completely invested, and devoured this book, but then THAT ENDING came and ruined it for me and left me feeling VERY disappointed with it. I will say that the plot is unique, and clever, and the author did a good job trying something new and outside of the box with this one. I think that many people will love this one, but others will hate it. It was entertaining and it grasped my attention for most of the book, it is just the ending that I have major beef with. Also, the length of this book is LONG, too long at almost 450 pages. Overall, it was okay-minus that painstakingly disappointing conclusion-UGH!

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞?
Fans of Big Brother or Survivor the reality tv shows and fans of locked room mystery/thriller books may enjoy this one.

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️3/5

What a thrill ride!

A woman boards a luxury cruise and wakes up the next morning to find herself seemingly all along on the ship. She starts to try to figure out how to escape, but is taken on a very wild ride.

Without going further, this book definitely left me guessing almost until the end. I had a few guess as to what may happen, but the book is written such that I was never entirely sure of what I was thinking.

Caz and Pete set sail on a cruise of a lifetime. Only when Caz wakes up after the first night, she is all alone.

I loved the idea of this book, and I REALLY wanted to love it, but it just didn’t quite hit for me. The idea of being alone on an ocean liner seems so intriguing! I didn’t feel like I connected with or cared about the characters and I felt like it dragged on a little long. I think it was a little too far fetched for me as well. I was hoping the ending would make it worth it for me, but it did not.

I think this book is one of those people either LOVE or it just doesn’t sit well, I’m sad I was part of the second group.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to
Read and review this ARC!

This was my first book by Will Dean. I had no idea what the book was about as I started it but it was really good. I could visualize the story and it kept me flying through the pages. Definitely a thought provoking story of what our society craves and how much should be risked for entertainment value. Thank you for the ARC from Net Galley!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Artia books, Simon and Schuster, and bookclub favorites for my gifted copies. Pub date 8/8.

4.5 stars

OMG, this book, was so crazy and intense my heart is still pounding!! I don't even know how someone could come up with something like this, it's SO good!!!

I will be very vague on this review, because any spoilers will give away so much, and you definitely want to be surprised reading this masterpiece. Caz and her boyfriend, Pete, board an exclusive cruise ship, the Atlantica, for a week long romantic vacation. They have the best time together on their first night, but when Caz wakes up the next morning Pete is nowhere to be found. She leaves her room to go search for Pete, but there is nobody on the ship, no other passengers, no workers, nobody.

I had absolutely no idea where Dean was going to go with this one, but Holy cow I'm still in shock! Definitely add this one to your list, you will not be disappointed.

This is my first book by Will Dean, but it won't be my last. You will never guess where this one's going. I love that the synopsis doesn't reveal anything, so you are just as in the dark as Caz is. This is a long book, but the short chapters and cliff-hanger endings make it go quickly. It's so hard to say anything without revealing spoilers, but I will say The Last One makes you think about the direction society is heading. I thought this novel was a lot of fun although it requires some serious suspension of disbelief. The only reason I am giving 4 stars instead of 5 is the ending. I don't even know how it's possible or what we're supposed to think. It was really frustrating and unnecessary, in my opinion. Maybe there's going to be a sequel. I don't know, but I do know that I will never go on a cruise again without thinking of this book.

Expected publication is August 8, 2023.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!