I'm on the fence with The Last One.
It starts off really promising with Kai waking up with no memories, no idea where she is or who she is. I really enjoyed Kai's character and experiencing getting to know who she is at the same time as her.
Now, the other characters, I didn't connect with any of them. And honestly, hated most of them. Jadon has zero redeeming qualities and gaslighting Kai every chance he had was annoying.

I enjoyed the world, the magic, and all the different creatures and people we meet. I think my biggest complaint aside from the characters is the pacing. It felt very slow and bogged down through most of the story making it hard to get through. Then all of the twists and turns come to fruition in the last 30 pages.

I'm not sure if I'll continue the series.

Thank you to Entangled and Red Tower for the earc. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Rachel Howzell Hall is a successful mystery and thriller author however, she is new to me. With The Last One, the first book in her Kai Megidrail series, she takes on the romantic fantasy genre.

For me, The Last One had a very slow start. Told in first person, it’s the story of a young woman named Kai who awakens in a strange place, with no memory of who she is and someone trying to steal from her. She quickly discovers the thief’s name is Olivia, but a misunderstanding results in Olivia and her brother Jadon being ordered to be responsible for her. When the town they’re in is attacked, Kai joins Jadon in defending it. Soon Kai finds herself, along with Jadon, Olivia, and Olivia’s friend Philia, journeying to find a sage and possibly traveling to the Sea of Devour, in an attempt to uncover Kai’s identity. Along the way, they encounter otherworldly creatures set on destroying them, while at the same time trying to evade enemies.

Rachel puts you in Kai’s shoes, where you as a reader learn things just as Kai does. I found that frustrating because I wanted to know everything up front, but this strategy kept me glued to the pages. So much happens within the pages of The Last One. I think Rachel leaned heavily on her mystery writing ability. There were twists upon twists upon twists. Just when you thought you had things figured out, something new happened or was revealed.

I found the romance between Kai and Jadon to be lacking, at least physically. They have great banter and the scenes between them were fun, engaging, at times a little sweet and endearing. You sense their attraction, but I’m not actually sure if things went further than that. For me, I didn’t care. I don’t think the romance makes or breaks this story. I would have loved for the story to actually have been told from at least the dual POV of Kai and Jadon. There were many times when I wished I knew what he was thinking. The Last One contains a lot of action/fight scenes. These definitely made the story. The ending was surprising and has me anxiously waiting for the next book, The Cruel Dawn.

~ Favorite Quotes ~

“Be gracious. There’s always something to compliment.”

“I’ll always listen. Know that.”

“You are more cherished and respected than you think.”

“Don’t trust anyone to bring you that which makes you whole. They may not want you whole.”

“Stop pouring worry into your bowl. You have plenty on your plate.”

“You are in charge of your destiny.”

“I can’t do anything with ‘shouldn’t have.’ Only ‘should.’”

There are some book that change your brain chemistry and stick with you forever, and this is one of them. It is always refreshing to get a unique take on fantasy, especially where there is so much sameness. The unique world and the unique pantheon and magic systems were a breath of fresh air. It can be such a risk to do this, however, it really paid off. And the cliffhanger at the end? Immediately need book 2.

It is also refreshing to get such a diverse read. For a debut fantasy in a space that is growing in diverse writers, this was a fantastic addition. The writing was complex, but didn’t lose me, and the world building was really good. Readers are immediately thrust into the action of the story through the lens of the FMC, and while at some points we are just as clueless as she is, the twists and finale really fill in those gaps. Sometimes having plot holes along the way can be frustrating, but given the premise of our FMC, those gaps make total sense. Overall, the characters are complex, the world is unique and the story has me wanting more. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a fantasy with diverse characters, a lot of uniqueness and a great cliffhanger that will have you wondering how book two is even going to go. I cannot wait for book two and to read more of Rachel’s writing!

Thank you Entangled and Red Tower for allowing me to read this one early!

The pace of this book was perfect, the plot twist were twisting, there was mystery and intrigue. The only negative I have to say is that I can’t believe she left us on that cliff hanger while waiting on book 2. This is a GREAT FANTASY read.

The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall is the first book in The Last One fantasy series.
 
This story is about Kai who wakes up one day without memories and in an unfamiliar setting. This was really interesting because the reader and Kai have the same knowledge in the beginning, and you can follow this story easily. I really wanted to know what was going on with Kai but sometimes I couldn’t understand her actions mainly because the world was so different and unclear, and I had a difficult time grasping the story.
 
Her journey to the Sea of Devour was actionpacked and filled with twists and turns. And she meets the blacksmith Jadon who agrees to help her, and sparks fly between them. They were cute together but sometimes I couldn’t take them seriously because the dialogue was so cheesy, and I cringed several times. At the same time their connection felt a bit predestined because of Kai’s mind reading power.
 
The premise of this book was really unique and intriguing, but I’m still left uncertain and have a lot of questions regarding the ending and the characters motivation. This is definitely not your typical romantasy and I really liked the representation. 3,5 stars.
 
(Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an arc.)

The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall is a fantasy novel about Kai, who has no memory of her past and is trying to survive in a dangerous, dying world. This story is full of action and mystery, with Kai struggling to uncover secrets about who she really is. The world building was initially interesting but became muddled and confusing making it hard to follow along and engage with the story. The characters often had erratic behavior and inconsistent motivations, making it difficult to connect. Overall, this story fails to deliver on its potential.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the eArc in exchange for my honest opinion. These thoughts are my own.

Overall this book is a good read. If you can get past the cringe worthy flirting and the same issues plaguing the FMC & MMC. The creatures feel well thought out and so do elements at the end of the book.

The spice build up was decent and had me wanting more. Overall, I've definitely read worse books.

If there's another book, I will probably read it as well at some point.

DNF at 5%. This book is not for me. The writing felt heavy handed and forced. It had a weird mixture of more modern language thrown in too and was extremely repetitive. Everything was choppy and the whole story felt like juvenile. Like her nickname for someone she didn’t know “night star sparkle”. It should be exciting because you get thrown right into the action of the story. The main character lost her memories and is woken up by a thief and chases her to this town filled with rot/death.

I appreciate the arc but this book is not for me, sadly.

This book was really juvenile. It had a dated teen feeling to it with constant sexual innuendos and in no way as the mc believable as a goddess. She had memory loss yet didn't loose her sass or her memories of the "important" things like food and sex. The forced banter gave me second hand embarrassment. The world building is confusing and just thrown at readers in between heavy flirting scenes. The twists were not well done .The characters were so shallow it was hard to care. And the book also meandered for way too long repeating the same info over and over again.

Thank you Entangled for the e-arc! This was such a good book! Couldn’t put it down! Excited to see where book two goes and the characters development. Loved the morally grey characters and the romance in this story. I was worried about the reviews hearing it was a hit or miss but I really enjoyed the story this has romance, Found family, and a FMC with loss memories! Definitely recommend

I was instantly intrigued by this book due to the blurb and cover! Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations.

The Last One follows the story of Kai, who wakes up in the middle of the forest to someone trying to steal her belongings. The other thing missing? Her memories. In effort to get her possessions back, she follows the thief into a sickly town. After escaping the possibility of jail, she finds asylum with a blacksmith and his sister. They agree to work with Kai to recover her memories and find out who she is. However, trouble seems to follow her wherever they travel. She continues to fight for her survival in hopes of finding the answers she seeks.

I loved Veril and his story line, as well as the sexual banter between Kai and Jadon. However, there was almost too many things going on without being cohesive. I found myself skimming through the fighting scenes because they were repetitive. The book was too long and read slow. Overall, I was confused and frustrated while reading this book. I think the plot and storyline were unique, but it did not read smoothly.

Thank you Entangled for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Rachel Howzell Hall knows what she's doing when writing a story! I had the opportunity to interview her and she's a joy!

The blurb for this book was very intriguing and drew me in, not to mention the cover! The story follows Kai, who wakes up in the middle of the forest with amnesia as she navigates getting her memory back as well as her possessions. She meets up with a blacksmith and his sister and they decide to assist her and travel with her as she attempts to learn who she is. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me as there was a lot of telling, not showing happening throughout. The travel sequence felt repetitive - get attacked, fight, run away to next destination, find out a little bit more about who Kai is through a conversation with someone, repeat. I wish it had been broken up a little by something else.

For it being a medieval/historical setting, there was a ton of modern language usage that felt jarring to me and didn't fit with the overall plot. The love interest felt insta-lust/love and the constant sexual innuendos felt repetitive and I had hoped the relationship would be established a bit more.

Thank you Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC.

I'm trying out Romantsy in 2025 and kicked off with this. It wasn't much of a hit with me.

Kai wakes up, practically naked and robbed. Robbed of more than clothing, missing special items but remembering why. We are brought on a journey with Kai and Jaden through realms, plagues and war.

This ready very YA trying to be adult if that makes sense. The back and forth between main characters was exhausting and anticlimactic. The pacing was strange and the book far to long. I'm still trying to figure out if it was left on a cliffhanger or not?

It is always fun seeing an established author tread into new territory like Rachel Howzell Hall with The Last One. Best known for her mystery/suspense work we now get to see a brand new side of her writing chops and her take on the blossoming romantasy genre! Even with the new settings and worlds you still get that same core of a strong and powerful lead who is a genuine delight to follow! Can't wait for the sequel!

Really wanted to like this book more but it was slow and frustrating. Reader spends too long not understanding the premise and getting misled.

To start off, I’d really loved the concept of this book and felt like the storyline was really cool. However, I had multiple points during the book where I had to reread things to fully understand them. The writing is very conversational and back and forth rather than story telling and plot line moving. I felt like somethings got easily missed.

Kai was a really fun and outgoing character and I loved discovering new powers or things about her but literally everything by kept tracing back to the memory loss and I understand that that’s important but I felt like a good portion could have been skipped if she just lived her new life rather than constantly worrying about the lost memories. Like it’s okay to love someone even if you loved another before ma’am.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the story and had a great time with the characters. I think if you were used to the writing style and you enjoyed the memory loss trope, you’d easily rate this book 4-5 stars.

I'll admit, I found it a little confusing at first as the start was chaotic however having pushed through, it all came together eventually and truly made sense. What a great way to start a book, a story, and I bet it would make an amazing show or movie! I really enjoyed this book, the plot twists, the action, the opposites attracts, and well just everything!

Target audience best suited for teen borderline young adult, the writing was simplistic without taking away from the content and connection to the characters. There's some good humor, angst against some character and event development, but overall it was a very good story. Different than what you find out there right now which was enlightening. I will definitely read book 2 whenever it comes out.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the e-Arc, it was quite a nice read and wonderful to discover a new author (to me)!

A woman wakes up disoriented and unsure where or who she is and realizes that she is in the middle of being robbed. She ends up being indebted to her attacker by way of punishment from a corrupt jailer in the town she chased the attacker into. She then goes on a journey with said attacker and acquaintances to try and go to the place everyone is saying she probably came from so she can try to get answers as to who and what she may be, but keeps finding trouble along the way.

Kai is a complicated character in that she has amnesia, and so her growth throughout the story is more about her rediscovering who she is and what her purpose is. Jadon and Olivia are also complicated chatacters in that they seem to help but also hinder Kai's progress. The author did a good job with the world building and keeping the story moving along. Some of the plot didn't quite blend well from scene to scene, though. It seemed like all the character's emotions were quite exasperated and didn't flow with the story the best.

The writer threw in some plot twists, and the story ending left it open for a book two. Overall, it was a good plot line, though, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I'd rate it 3.5, rounded up to 4 stars.

I had high hopes for this book, but it ultimately fell short. The writing feels quite juvenile and lacks a smooth flow. Many sentences come across as repetitive, and the author's frequent reliance on vague terms like "something," "this," or "that" diminishes the imaginative quality of the narrative. The romance is particularly cringeworthy, with characters pining for one another just five minutes in. There's no real buildup, making it feel forced. Additionally, the characters lack depth, and the female main character gives off strong "pick me" vibes.