Beth and Derek have been together since college and often meet up with old friends. So they gather in a luxurious mansion but A storm is raging, and they can’t go anywhere. sounds like a fun right?! But then strange accidents begins to happen.

I must say this is a gripping thriller but Beth’s constant whinnying did dull the story a little. But nonetheless this is a quick read and fast paced. When you think that you know who’s doing this, you are wrong because they end up dead.

I love nothing more than an isolated cabin in the mountains setting. Thats what attracted me to this book. Unfortunately I had no connection with the characters and that affected my rating.

Every year, Beth and her college friends go on a reunion trip. This year, the trip is a secluded but luxurious cabin in the wilderness. Beth immediately has a bad feeling about the trip - the road out is blocked due to a snow storm, and everyone's cell phones go missing. When one of Beth's friends is found dead, she becomes even more worried and scared. Everyone else says it was just an accident, but Beth is not so sure. And when yet another friend dies in an accident, Beth is 100% convinced that something is not right. Is one of her friends a killer?

This book reminded me so much of another book I read. I was looking but can't remember the title of that other book. But very similar plot line.

I did enjoy the suspense and the constant guessing of who to trust and which friend might be responsible for the deaths. However, given I had read a very similar book and the over reliance on locked room tropes, this novel fell short for me. In addition, I found much of the plot unrealistic and, at times, a little silly.

I also found our main narrator, Beth, a bit annoying. What further annoyed me was her husband - the constant gaslighting made me hate him! The rest of the characters were also really annoying, so that made the novel a bit difficult to read.

Overall, an average read but the above-noted negatives leave me giving this one a solid 3 star rating.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

"The Last Trip" by Rowen Chambers is an emotionally charged and deeply moving novel that explores themes of loss, redemption, and the enduring power of human connection. Chambers, with his masterful storytelling and evocative prose, crafts a narrative that resonates long after the final page is turned.

At its core, "The Last Trip" is a story about confronting mortality and coming to terms with the choices we've made in life. The protagonist, grappling with a terminal illness, embarks on a journey of self-discovery as he revisits the significant moments and relationships that have shaped him. Chambers skillfully navigates the complexities of grief and regret, capturing the raw emotions of his characters with sensitivity and authenticity.

The novel is elevated by its richly drawn characters, each with their own struggles and triumphs. From the protagonist's poignant reflections on his past to the tender interactions with his loved ones, every moment feels achingly real. Chambers imbues his characters with depth and complexity, allowing readers to empathize with their joys and sorrows.

One of the most compelling aspects of "The Last Trip" is its exploration of the bond between fathers and sons. Through flashbacks and memories, Chambers delves into the protagonist's relationship with his own father, illuminating the legacy of love and loss that spans generations. These moments of introspection add layers of depth to the narrative, highlighting the universal themes of family and legacy.

The novel's setting—a cross-country road trip—is both a physical and metaphorical journey for the protagonist. As he traverses the open road, confronting the ghosts of his past and the uncertainty of his future, readers are swept along on a poignant and cathartic odyssey. Chambers's evocative descriptions of the landscape serve as a backdrop for the protagonist's inner turmoil, adding to the novel's sense of atmosphere and resonance.

Ultimately, "The Last Trip" is a testament to the power of storytelling to heal and to connect us to our shared humanity. Chambers's poignant prose and heartfelt storytelling create an unforgettable reading experience that lingers in the mind and heart long after the final chapter. It is a testament to the enduring power of love, forgiveness, and the journey toward redemption.

Great twisty mystery….couldn’t figure it out til the story changed narration …a good technique. The cliffhanger wasn’t necessary.

This was a really well done mystery with a locked room feel which i love.
Who can you trust from your immediate friend base... great plot with twists and turns
Well plotted with a great pace

Thanks to Netgalley, Xpresso Book Tours and Rowen Chambers for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love this type of thriller trope and I really wanted to like The Last Trip, but unfortunately it fell short for me.

I liked the premise and the setting was atmospheric. The storyline was good, but the characters and their behavior really let it down.

Beth was far too suspicious of everyone all the time, it was unrealistic. She was also whiney and argumentative. I didn't like her character at all.
The other characters were a bit flat and stilted. Most of the conversations they had with each other were strange, they didn't seem like things people would really say to each other, especially seeing as they were meant to be close.

It was all a bit too outlandish to me.

2.5 stars from me.

This was an amazing book. I highly recommend it to everyone. Great characters and a great plot. I will be looking for more books by this author. The book is superbly written. Lots of twists, turns and shocking turns of events. Quickly becoming a go to author for me!!!!

This was a really well done mystery going on, I liked the idea of figuring out if your closest friends are trustworthy. It had a great concept and I enjoyed how good the plot was. The characters were what I was hoping for and were written perfectly. Rowen Chambers has a great writing style and this book has a great concept and enjoyed getting to read this.

My feelings about this book changed as I went on, but it's definitely a solid 4 stars for me. The hard part was that I wasn't crazy about any of the characters, but I enjoyed the build-up and stayed interested the whole time. I had to put aside other things I was planning because I wanted to see where this was going, and I did not guess correctly. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this suspenseful thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book! I had a hard time deciding what to rate this book. I wasn't sure how much I liked or disliked it. I settled on 3 stars because I did read the book until the very end. But didn't give it more because it was sometimes a struggle to get there. The story premise was a good one (Beth and her husband Derek are going to a week-long annual reunion getaway with college friends in the middle of winter, with a snowstorm brewing. You can see where this is heading right?). They realize fairly quickly that they're snowed in and stuck at the beautiful chalet of one of their old friends and his wife. They don't have phones since someone has seemingly stolen them. There is tension almost immediately between a guest that one of the friends (Tyler) brings with him...her name is Amber and unbeknownst to everyone else, she knows Beth from years back and knows a secret Beth has been keeping from her husband Derek. The weeklong getaway was meant to be a relaxing trip and a chance for the friends to catch up and for Beth and her husband to reconnect. Things don't turn out so relaxing as one might imagine. The main issues I had with this book were that first of all, it took more than half the book to get to a murder. Seriously. Over half. And it was a fairly anti-climactic death to be honest. After waiting so long for it to happen. Will it be the only death? Who is hiding what? Who is trying to slowly pick them off one by one? The second problem was that the book was VERY dialogue heavy. It was almost all dialogue...just talking and overexplaining things with the talking. The characters spent the first half of the book just talking about what they'd do this week, then it would be a meal and then they would talk about old memories etc. It really felt like a laundry list of their days from one meal to the next. And so much talking. Beth also was really grating on my nerves pretty early on. She was super paranoid right away. Like immediately....they'd barely been there for 5 minutes. Then one of the characters Ryan, who is the troubled younger brother of one of their old friends (Shelby) was made out to be some psycho and Beth couldn't let it go that she suspected him of EVERY little thing. She was irritating me and came off as not just paranoid, but also nosy. Too much dialogue and too much explaining through dialogue...not enough descriptive wording/setting the scene with imagery etc. I felt like the author felt the need to tell me everything and explain everything in so much detail, when I could have gotten there on my own had they just created a nice mental image with their writing. Again, I finished the book, but was a bit disappointed with the way it ended and how it just felt contrived at that point. And again with the overexplaining. Sorry, I wanted to like this book because the description sounded like an interesting mystery.

The last trip is a thriller book where the characters in the book have accidents….deadly accidents. One by one.

Secrets start to haunt the group…..

This book was… wow. It kept me engaged throughout the whole book. The twist and turns and I wish I would have read it sooner.

A group of college friends have what they believe will be one of their last reunions for a while because life happens. People get married, have kids and they all know it’s going to get harder to get together each year. What they don’t know is that someone wants to make this their last trip ever.

I really wanted to love this book but it fell short for me and I gave it my all to finish. The “killer” was obvious to me from the start but the author managed to add a twist there I didn’t see coming but even that seemed unlikely. The narration of the book was juvenile and what I’d expect from a YA book. Not grown adults 10 years married. The main character had me annoyed with her internal dialogue throughout the entire book. It was whiney. So whiney and was really the thing that ruined it for me.

3.5 Stars

I received a copy of this book from Xpresso Book Tours via NetGalley.

Annually, Beth and her husband Derek embark on a trip with their college friends, a tradition that leads them this year to a luxurious cabin nestled deep in the snow-covered mountains of New Hampshire.

Yet, shortly after their arrival, an uneasy feeling settles over Beth. She implores Derek to leave, sensing an impending threat, but he's resolute on staying, given this is their sole vacation for the year. Attempting to quell her unease and enjoy the time with friends, Beth's sense of foreboding intensifies. The situation takes a darker turn when the only road out is blocked, and their phones mysteriously vanish. The ominous atmosphere reaches a peak when one of their friends is discovered dead. Despite assurances that it was a mere accident, Beth remains unconvinced. Her suspicions deepen when another friend meets a similar fate, leading her to believe these incidents are not accidental but intentional.

Isolated with no means to call for help or leave, Beth becomes convinced that their trip was a setup, a trap designed to bring them there and systematically eliminate them. The pressing questions echo: Why were they lured into this perilous situation, and who among them is the puppet master behind it all?

Diving into this book, I was immediately drawn to the vibes reminiscent of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None," a classic mystery that I loved the whodunit plot theme. The secluded luxury cabin in the snowy mountains added a promising layer to the setting, setting the stage for a suspenseful narrative that I found quite intriguing.

It took a bit of time for the story to hit its stride. The allure of the remote cabin and the unfolding mysteries kept me turning the pages, but the plot could've benefited from a quicker pace.

Beth, serving as the primary narrator for the majority of the story, struck me as somewhat one-dimensional. Her character, high-strung, perpetually suspicious, and often veering into anxious territory, dominated the entire storyline. Every event seemed tinged with suspicion, everyone appeared as a potential threat, and her husband's dissent became a recurrent theme that was pretty off-putting to me. A shift to multiple perspectives could have added depth to the storytelling, offering a broader exploration of the characters and their perspectives. Despite this, the secrets and the unraveling of the plot made for a compelling read.

I was constantly questioning who to trust and believe throughout the book, with each private interaction between characters evoking a sense of anxiety. Isolated thrillers like this are truly among the best in the genre.

However, I was let down by the reveal. I would have preferred if the illusion was maintained until the very end, preserving the element of suspense and surprise. Additionally, I was puzzled by how Beth positioned herself as the victim in the end, despite her infidelity. While Derek's lack of support was frustrating, her own actions weren't revisited.

Overall, I found the book to be fantastic and it was effortless to become immersed in the story and its mystery.

Interesting characters and several twists along the way. A good read

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the arc of this book.

At first, I thought this was a bit repetitive, but I am glad I stuck with it. I was completely surprised by the twist and was glad that I followed through and read it. Also, the character development was good!

This was a fun, suspenseful read!

I loved that throughout the book it leaves you questioning who to trust and who to believe. The amount of anxiety that filled me every time a character went somewhere privately with another character was insane. I genuinely felt the need to say my goodbyes every time it happened.

When I say that this whole premise is literally my worst nightmare. Isolated thrillers? They have to be some of the best of the genre.

What let me down about this book was the reveal. I would’ve loved it if the illusion was kept up to the very end and not given us all the answers the way it did. I felt like their point of view took away an element of suspense and surprise for me.

Also, how did Beth end up turning herself into the victim at the end of it all? She cheated on her husband but SHE’S the one who decides a divorce? Don’t get me wrong, it annoyed me how Derek never supported her concerns or listened to her when she spoke up about what was happening but why wasn’t her infidelity brought up again?

Overall, I found this book fantastic and I found it so easy to become immersed into the story and the mystery surrounding it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rowen Chambers for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was super intrigued by this one, it sounded amazing. Unfortunately it did not do it for me. I felt the narrator was one dimensional and lacked depth, I couldn't get into it and had to DNF this one.

Torn between 3-3.5 stars. It was giving Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None vibes. It was fast paced and you had a reason to suspect each character so it kept you guessing. It was a bit cheesy and predictable at times but overall thought it was a good read that kept me coming back to finish it quickly. I enjoyed that towards the end they brought in multiple POVs to help the story come together.

Content Warnings:
Violence, Toxic friendship, Injury/ Injury detail, Confinement, Murder, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Gore, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

Minor Content Warnings:
Bullying, Vomit, Medical content, Car accident, Alcohol, and Grief