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.

Thank you Entangled for the e-arc! I bought a physical copy for my shelf. The cover is amazing and I cant wait for book 2 and see how this all turns out. I enjoyed the author event with the Facebook Party Room

The Last One offers an engaging combination of romance and fantasy, featuring well-developed characters, with a particular focus on the central figure, Kia. While the pacing in the first half of the narrative may pose a challenge for some readers, the extensive character development renders this story a compelling literary experience. By the conclusion, readers are likely to find themselves fully engaged by Kia and the intricacies of her character.

The exceptional world-building is an additional aspect that enhances this narrative centered on self-discovery and love amidst adversity. For those who appreciate a captivating fusion of romance and fantasy, "The Last One" undoubtedly merits inclusion on your reading list.

Thank you so much to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

Better than I expected! I was unsure about the amnesia trope but thought it was done well. It was both surprising and heartbreaking learning about Kai’s past as she did.

Kai wakes with no memory of who or where she is. She’s immediately found herself in trouble and is saved by the handsome blacksmith Jadon. As Kai is thrown into more dangerous situations, they set out to restore her memories and find her purpose.

I loved that the world was unique and full of magical creatures. The plot moves quickly and is full of action. The only part that didn’t really work well for me was the romance. There’s some cute banter between them but the chemistry wasn’t really there and it read more YA than adult.

Those reveals at the end! Wow! It definitely has me looking forward to the next book!

Thank you to Entangled for the advanced copy of this book.

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This fantasy starts with Kai being awoken being robbed of all her belongings. She has no memory and ends up in a diseased town. Soon she is away she is being hunted but has. O idea what for. The memories are brief and don’t give her a sense of who she really is.

Her amulet seems to be her power but what secrets does it hide? As she tries to uncover her truth she has a band of stragglers that join her on her adventures.

AMAZING BOOK!! I could not put this book down. To the point that I was reading while vacuuming and doing laundry. I absolutely loved the writing style, and the storyline.

3.5 rounded up.

The Last One was an absolute rollercoaster of a ride that kept me guessing until the very last page. When Kai wakes up in a monster filled hellscape with no memories, she finds her only ally in the form of the infuriatingly skilled (and infuriatingly attractive) blacksmith Jadon, who is definitely hiding some deadly secrets of his own. Kai doesn't let the disadvantage of her amnesia drag her down and remains strong and witty despite the circumstances. Full of action and adventure in a unique world that's suffering from a mysterious illness with well rounded side characters that stood out against the backdrop, I am intrigued where the story will go. The cliffhanger and my need to know what happens definitely has me preordering book two already.

I have mixed feelings about this book, on one hand it has potential and so does the series. The characters are well-fleshed out, and their backstories are compelling along with the mystery of Kai throughout this book. The romance being a slow burn was still very insta-love and the focus of the book almost equally with the fantasy plot line, which I don’t mind, but in the case of a slow burn, I almost wish it was more longing and pining rather than admitting their feelings from the get go.

The other thing I wasn’t a huge fan of what the writing style, it flipped from a fantastical type language to modern language back and forth. The names are all old sounding, along with the setting and time period, but the communication between the characters felt like it was written in our current time period. So I was always pulled out of the story when the modern language came up cause it wasn’t consistent the whole time.

The one thing I loved is the complex dynamic between the group of characters, all having their own secrets, backstories, reasons for this journey, but also helping and betraying each other when they can make the story move so fast when they were just hanging in one spot. This also allowed for some great comedic relief moments as well!

I will definitely be reading the second book after that cliffhanger, but I’m curious to see how my feelings change as I read the rest of the series!

Rachel Howzell Hall’s debut into the romantasy was definitely a success. This book is heavy in fantasy with plenty of magic and creatures and an appropriate amount of romance. However, the characters lacked the depth I generally require in order for a book to be truly enjoyable. I just needed more character development and growth. And while the romance is not horrible, it definitely felt instantaneous and really just physical… the dialogue and monologue was tough to read at times.