Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

When Lucy was nine years old, she and her brother Clay were in a terrible flood. Clay died. Now 17, Lucy is focused on making the US Olympic air rifle team when two of her friends are shot. Lucy's ex is the main suspect. Lucy works to uncover what really led to the dam breaking and the current murders.

This book was so good! I really wish I had wrote my review immediately after finishing the book Sunday night because I would have had a much better review. This book literally made me laugh out loud at parts and cry at others. I alternated between the ebook and audiobook. Both were done very well and kept me interested. I didn’t want to put it down! The characters were so well written and such a deep backstory, that I felt like I knew them. There did seem like a lot of characters at first but it was easy to keep them straight on who was who. This book is so full of misdirection, lies and deception. I thought I would have it figured out only to be thrown a curveball! This happened several times. I think I finally had it figured out just pages before the reveal. This story is told in present and a specific time in the past. It is revealed little by little throughout the book what really happened in the past. And then all the events that lead up to the reveal. This book was gut wrenching and heartbreaking. I personally felt betrayed! Which was kind of odd. Swipe over for the synopsis. Or don’t. And just go grab the book! I highly recommend it.
The narrator of this audiobook was perfect for this book! I had no trouble following along, she had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning. She was able to do a good job distinguishing between everyone. So much emotion was conveyed through her narration. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

This book is a heart-wrenching story of love and loss. One you will remember for a long time. I read the book and didn't get the audio downloaded on time. Must have missed it in my books. However, the book is well worth reading. I can't say how well the narrator did sorry, but I can tell you no matter what form it's well worth reading or listening to.

I loved reading this book! I've read her first published book, but now I need to go back and read We Were Kings, because this was so good, I loved the mystery, and I need to read more by her! This story was so fantastic, I had to know where the mystery would go from here!

One thing that I loved even as it hurt me, was that we slowly were told of what happened 8 years ago when Lucy's brother died. We knew it happened, but not the details-at first I thought that he was with the scouts, which just made what happened all the worse.

Another thing that I really enjoyed was the time jump. Just over half of this book takes place in the immediate happenings of when her stepbrother is killed. The other part takes place a few years later, and I really enjoyed that contrast!

This was a really fantastic mystery, I loved all the twists and turns, like the fact that someone was bribed to compromise the dam, but it wasn't clear who was bribed-just who'd done the bribing. This story dealt with so much with the politics of a small and tight knit town, and it was so satisfying when it came to a close.

Loved this book so much, it was so good, and I can't wait to read more by Court Stevens!

I really enjoyed listening to Last Girl Breathing by Court Stevens and narrated by McKenzie Fetters especially as it is not a book I would usually read, but the cover caught my eye and I am so glad it did. This audiobook/book kept me guessing till the end and also kept me awake, when I thought I had guessed who it was.......Bang the narrator changed pace all over again! Hence why it was a good Whodunit and a page turner.

I highly recommend this Audiobook/book and McKenzie Fetters did a wonderful job with the narration! Superb book

Big Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins Christian Publishing/Thomas Nelson Fiction the publishers for an opportunity to both read and listen to both versions of this excellent novel. x

This book was extremely well written. It was fast paced and extremely entertaining. The narrator set a good pace and I couldn't stop myself from listening. Overall great experience listening!

This one was just okay for me. I liked how it showed how messed up families can be and what happens after a family death/tragedy. I also enjoyed the kind of Stranger Things/evil community overlord vibes. What I didn't enjoy? The mystery/thriller aspect was a bit weak, and I really didn't love the characters.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me intrigued all throughout. Every time I thought I figured it out, I hadn't, which I found even more appealing. Very well written, and the plot was so good!

This story was as twisty as it was heartbreaking. McKenzie Fetters did an amazing job bringing Lucy to life and keeping me engaged throughout. There were parts that were very hard to handle but overall it was still a great story.

This one takes some unexpected turns, mostly in the realm of scope. It stretches out much further than I expected. The eventual reveal of the murderer was not especially surprising to me, and I felt like it took the motivations several steps to an unnecessary extreme.

Lucy lost her brother in a tragic accident many years ago, but was there more to it than just an accident? This was a suspenseful story that kept me hooked until the end.

"Last Girl Breathing" by Court Stevens is a riveting and emotionally charged thriller that delves into the complexities of survival and self-discovery. Stevens skillfully weaves a suspenseful plot with well-drawn characters, making it difficult to put the book down. While the resolution is satisfying, a slightly faster pacing in certain sections could enhance the overall experience. Nonetheless, it earns a solid four stars for its gripping narrative and exploration of resilience in the face of adversity.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the arc. This book gets published today, so go get it!

In this thriller, we follow Lucy. Years ago, his brother Clay died when a dam broke. Now, her brother gets murdered and her sister disappears. Things point to all of this being connected.

Great book! Got me hooked from the beginning.

Lucy is a shooter training for the olympics, so she surrounds herself with people who do the same. This plays into the story perfectly cause it makes us doubt even more about everyone.

I loved how everyone could be the villain.

I got the audiobook, which has a great narrator. The only thing I need to mention is that sometimes we hear someone breathing beside the narrator. It drove me nuts.

- Sorry about the delay. This was a goodreads review and I posted it on the release date!-

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel.

Oh my gosh! I loved this story. It was heartbreaking, but that made it even more endearing. I found myself connecting with each of the characters in different ways and I kept hoping that the ending wouldn’t be heartbreaking, even though I knew it would be. I don’t have a bad thing to say about this book at all.

I look forward to reading more of this author’s work.

I was excited for this book because I thought the setting was interesting and I love a good thriller, but I found it lacking. The plot felt a bit all over the place. I did like that the story wasn't totally predictable, which is a problem I find in a lot of thriller/mysteries, but I didn't love this as much as I was hoping.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

✨ About the Book ✨

When the answers to a present-day murder lie in the past, one teen girl must examine a tragic event to prevent more lives from being lost. No one expected it to rain that much. But the rain kept coming, the dam broke, and lives were lost. One was Lucy Michaels’s little brother. She was there and while she saved the lives of many young boy scouts, despite being a child herself, she couldn’t save him.

Now eight years later, Lucy is preparing to graduate from high school and compete in the air rifle competition at the Olympics when her stepbrother goes missing right before his most important football game. The search is focused on the same plot of land where her younger brother died, and she can’t help but draw parallels.

When the search for a missing person becomes a murder investigation, Lucy knows the secrets she holds about what her stepbrother was up to that day could help find the murderer. The clues quickly connect Lucy’s ex-boyfriend to the murders, but he couldn’t be guilty... could he?

Everyone involved has their own secrets and revealing hers to the wrong person could put her life—and her whole town—at risk. Last Girl Breathing is a page-turning hunt for the truth as Court Stevens once again creates nonstop suspense with characters who will break your heart.

Author: Court Stevens
Release Date: November 7, 2023 by Thomas Nelson
Genre: Mystery thriller
Pages: 400 pages, Hardcover
Star Rating: 2.7 /5


📚 How I See it 📚

When I saw the cover of this book I was really looking forward to reading it. The branches sticking out of the water were giving me creepy, mystery, eerie vibes.

However, I ended up not enjoying this book. The slow pace of the plot just didn’t do it for me and I found the story as well as the characters flat and uninteresting.

I really thought I would enjoy this book, since I had really liked Dress Codes for Small Towns by the same author but ended up being disappointed.

💛 Find Me Here 💛

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Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own thoughts

This book will grip you from the first page and keep you guessing until the end. I saw a few reviewers mention they figured out the twists, but I sure don't know how. I just suspected everyone and still never figured it out. I thought the author kept the reader guessing until the very end. I am not one that likes to give a lot of trigger warnings, but I will say that this is a very emotionally intense story and might be too much for some readers. I don't consider it a negative, but I felt like I needed to share that there are a lot of characters in the book so it did take me a bit before I kept them all straight. I don't want to say much more for fear of giving anything in the plot away. If you are in the mood for a fast-paced thriller, I would definitely recommend.

I thought the narrator did a great job and was easy to listen to. I had no issues with the audiobook version of this story.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this audiobook. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This one kept me guessing and I found it too be a quick and enjoyable listen. I'll definitely be recommending it to my friends

Last Girl Breathing, written by Court Stevens, is a thriller that follows Lucy and her friends and family. When the book begins we learn that Lucy had previously lost her little brother Clay to a dam breaking, and she is looking for her stepbrother who seems to be wanting to find out information. As the book continues more questions are asked, and the reader is introduced to different individuals who are trying to find out what might be happening. I really enjoyed this book, and the way Lucy helps her friends and family throughout the book, but also the ways that she learns to depend on them as well. When I first started the book I was a little unsure if I would understand the different aspects of air rifle competition, but I think the author explained them well. I did have a little trouble keeping track of the different characters, but that happens sometimes to me with audiobooks. Thank you to NetGalley and the author and publisher of this book for a free ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for another ARC,


Last Girl Breathing by Court Stevens is a young adult mystery thriller about a young woman's search for answers. There is nothing wrong with the book, it was written well enough and the characters are interesting; my problem with it is entirely personal, choices were made, plotwise, that really made me dislike this book.

The narrator, McKenzie Fetters, does a great job at differentiating the characters (it’s an ensemble cast), and even though some characters read a bit similar, I was never confused about which characters were speaking (it did help that I had the ebook with me, though).

Overall, Last Girl Breathing wasn’t really for me, but it could be for you.