2.5 stars ✨

The premise of this book was fun! I love when a FMC is the unlikely lead. The one you’re not really expecting because she doesn’t “fit” the world around her. And in this case, Emilia was a human living in a world where vampires rule. It is an interesting concept! I think this book reminded me a lot of how it felt to read dystopian books for the first time, and it was fun getting to experience that again. (Aka the “perfect” world may not be as perfect as it seems) Then throw in a Twilight twist. (Honestly I saw a few reviews make this comparison & between the spider monkey moments and how similar Emelia acted to Bella - I can confidently say it was a true)

However, the pacing of this book was off. From the moment you start reading, you are both told too much and not enough about this world. There are little nuggets that help you piece the plot, but then it felt almost random at times? There’s a lot of “telling” instead of showing, so it was hard to get invested into the conflict. And by that, I mean she literally is told so much by those around her that it doesn’t let the reader be surprised. I also didn’t ever believe the romance aspect of the story. There’s no real time for you to get to know Kyle before he instantly is weirdly close to her? which on one hand, she’s sheltered so it makes sense? But it just was tough to believe. And I also felt like everything wrapped up way too nicely? There doesn’t feel like a big conflict for the rest of this series. I don’t think this is a series I will continue, but I do think that there is such potential for it!

If you’re looking for a fantasy that feels reminiscent of the Twilight/dystopian era, this could be the book for you!

Thank you Harper 360 for this ARC, all opinions are my own :)

This one was just not for me.

I had a good feeling going into this book, but it was very short lived. Sadly, this book just isn't for me. I just couldn't get into it. The FMC was not doing it for me, and I had no interest in her as a main character. I'm not sure what it really was about this book, but I just couldn't see myself investing my time to finish it. So sadly this book is a DNF at 15% for me. Not sure if I'll come back to it or not. This book was just missing that spark to really captivate me and make me want to read it.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: DNF

This was...something. I found this story to be really predictable, so I wasn't super enticed by that while reading. This was also a story that wasn't....novel. It wasn't a twisty story, and it didn't subvert what every human-hangs-out-with-vampires story that came before it did. The characters weren't great, the plot was weak, and honestly the world-building/etc. was just either not there or boring. I wanted to like this, but I just felt really let down by it. I feel like this story had promise--there were a handful of interesting ideas that were brought up but then they just didn't develop into anything or weren't explained at all. For me, everything about this was just painfully on the lower end of average. I don't think this is a bad book, but I do think that the promise and the payoff for this book do not align.

This is like a dark, twisting Twilight with a more naïve Bella and an evil Edward.

This kept my attention; although the female main character seemed juvenile and gullible, it was hard to watch. The MMC was full of red flags and just seemed so bipolar.
This book evoked many emotions for me in the last 10 chapters. I'm still trying to understand the ending and the plot twists. I also think her parents should have been more open and honest about things.

I saw major growth in the FMC. Overall, the book was a good read, and it was quick. It was hard with a main character so young which is why the rating, as well as the MMC. I understand we have all made mistakes at 17-18, but it was hard to get past that.

This was super predictable and didn’t really hold my attention. After about the first 50% I just skimmed the rest. It was a quick read but nothing really new. Shes a human around vampires, the hot guard she met and hated and then fell in love with turns out to be the bad guy, the guy you think is the bad IS the bad guy. It was pretty cookie cutter. Then ending wasn’t even really appealing and didn’t leave me begging for the rest of the series.

I read reviews off goodreads and they weren't great but I tried to keep an open mind... Unfortunately, this was not good. Emilia was weak and so gullible and Kyle had a smarmy vibe to him. That being said I did anticipate the twist toward the end. There really were no likeable characters in this book. I also feel like the line on the cover is super misleading and hated the ending. The only promising thing I can say is that I was never bored and it was a quick read.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC!

So.... I won't lie. The first half of this book absolutely sucked. There was not enough world building or character development to have been thrown into the story the way the readers were. And it took SO LONG to understand what was even happening. I will say, I requested this book not knowing it was for YA. But let me tell you, two chapters in and I KNEW it was a YA book. Think of how "Twilight" read and you'll understand this book. All this to say the second half wasn't AS bad, but it still was pretty cringe. I liked the story once we learned more about the world and the FMC finally got a personality past 'boo hoo me'. That being said the MMC didn't make the story any better. They love each other why? Again... I will reference 'Twilight' energy here. Overall, not awful- I did finish it. BUT- I wish I spent my time reading something with more substance. I wanted more details, world building, and character development. This book has so much potential, but fell a little flat. Two stars for the mere fact I was able to finish it. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. #NetGalley #NetGalleyARC

After reading the synopsis, I truly thought this book would be up my alley. I love a goods enemies to lovers, but not when there’s insta love. I could not connect with the characters at all.
As someone who is an avid fantasy reader, this just was not for me. Thank you for the e-arc, but unfortunately I did not enjoy this read.

Unfortunately, The Last Raven didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I’m not sure if I’m just not the target audience or maybe I'm just too old (30s). I had found the story’s premise to be promising, yet ultimately underwhelming. There were so many interesting ideas, but they weren’t explained or developed in a way that made them engaging. Instead of feeling drawn into the world, I was left confused and disconnected.

And then there’s Kyle. Ah, Kyle... It might sound trivial, but it’s hard to get behind a character when the name just doesn’t feel right. “Kyle” doesn’t exactly scream “hero” or inspire any swooning moments. It may sound silly, but it pulled me out of the story every time.

The writing style didn’t help either. The flow felt off, and the dialogue came across as forced and awkward. Instead of feeling natural or immersive, it just felt clunky, which made it hard for me to stay engaged. I wanted to like it, but ultimately, it didn’t come together in a way that resonated with me.

With all that said, I think there’s definitely an audience for it. But unfortunately, for me, it fell a bit flat.

Thank you so much to much to Harper360 for the earc, all opinions are my own.

Spoilers ahead.

I was very excited tor a new “twilight” with a forced proximity, body guard twist. Emelia is Raven, heir to one of the strongest vampire families, except she’s human. This is a sort of post apocalyptic world where humans are kept like cattle for vampire food. She is assigned a guard, Kyle, and they slowly fall in love. Throughout the book I was comparing it to Tender is the Flesh and I was really enjoying it until… Kyle betrayed her. This was no longer a romance. The story is ended. There is a revelation and a cliff hanger. But our girl Emelia is single.

Although parts of this book were enjoyable I found the writing to be a bit too immature. The pacing to give me whiplash with how quick things were moving but at the same time nothing of substance ever really happened. It just felt like a lot of the same points being rehashed in slightly different ways. The characters all very very underdeveloped and plot points were too obvious. I feel this book might be better enjoyed by a younger teen reader.

I am rating it 3 stars but I feel 2.75 would be more accurate.

As someone who is new to fanatasy, I had really high hopes with the book but it failed for me on various marks.

The way the book was blurbed I thought that the world building would be great as it had potential and there were so many loop hopes in the same. The plot also felt weird as there was no connection between what was happening and why. I cannot recommend to people who have read romantasy before as they wont like and readers who havent read before, it will leave a sour taste in general for future romantasy books. or just plain fantasy in general.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
18 year old me would have ate this book up. It was still a quick and fun read. The ending did pull me in and I was shocked by some of the twists. Shocked enough to be curious about book 2. I am intrigued where the story will go.

The Last Raven by Helen Glynn Jones is a dystopian vampire romance novel teeming with secrets, betrayals, family obligations and a healthy dose of vampire romance.

Unfortunately though, this one just wasn't for me. The premise was interesting and what initially drew me in but I just couldn't get past how whiny and immature Emelia, the FMC, was made out to be. I feel as though her character development was underwritten and really lacking.

Kyle, the MMC, was okay at best and 'stab your eyes out' at worst. The insta-love after a few miscommunications was a huge red flag for me and he became a very predictable character.

It does end on a low key cliffhanger but was very anticlimactic and felt like an after thought. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be continuing this series it just didn't hit the mark for me.

I really want to give this book a four. I love the plot and the world building. But the fmc is so indecisive and the last 20% of the book the pacing is off.

It’s a phenomenal story of young love and self discovery. I look forward to the rest of the series to see if the pacing settles.

I was so excited for The Last Raven but unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations. By no means was this a bad book. It had entertaining elements and I was somewhat interested in the love story. However, my experience reading this was mostly lackluster. I am interested to see where the story goes and would definitely consider picking up the next book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper 360 for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is perfect for late teens/early adults. Even though I’m nearing 30, I still love this and I need book two NOW.

The plot twists were so twisty and I truly didn’t see it coming. I like to think I’m smart and I guess the twists normally but this one TRULY got me.

The world building was very limited but when I took time to reflect after I finished the book, I understood that it was intentional because of Emelias lack of knowledge of the outside world. It was very clever of the author to do this.

The romance was instant it seemed, but it tied together nicely with the plot twist.

But don’t get in your mind that this is a romantasy, it most definitely is NOT!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Last Raven by Helen Glynn Jones is a first person-POV romantic fantasy set in an alternative modern day where vampires are real. Emilia Raven is the heir to the Raven vampire house, one of the four great houses. Just one problem: she's human. When her new guard Kyle starts to take her out of her family's home and shows her more of the world, she has more doubts than ever about her future.

I went back and forth on whether or not to call this a romantic fantasy because the term is used in such a broad variety of ways. Is it a fantasy book with a romance subplot that's prominent? Does it have to end in a happily ever after or a happy for now? Does it need to appeal to the crossover reader space? What exactly defines a romantic fantasy that separates it from a fantasy romance or a fantasy with a romantic subplot? I ended on romantic fantasy because, ultimately, the story does not go if the romance between Kyle and Emilia does not exist but I don't think it can be called a fantasy romance by any stretch of the definition. If Kyle is not there, the likelihood of anyone showing Emilia the things that change her perspective are fairly slim but the story doesn’t follow the rules of romance genre.

The setting is more of an alternative modern day UK, particularly England. There are safe zones for humans so they have some protections but many are depicted as ‘free-range blood dancers’ meaning that they are fed from directly instead of giving their blood in a facility and having it bottled. There's also night clubs, cars, and the internet so it's a modern day-ish vampire court rather than something that feels more historical.

Spoilers ahead: the use of instalove here and the romantic relationship as a whole are a lot more for a subversion of tropes commonly found in Romantasy rather than playing them straight. Emilia is extremely sheltered with seemingly little experience with people her own age or romantic relationships. When Kyle is brought in and he shows her how the world actually works, it does draw her closer to him but that's him taking advantage of her naivete. If someone is looking for trope subversion, I think this could appeal to them but if they're looking for a Romantasy that plays everything straight, this probably is not what they're looking for.

Content warning for brief depictions of sexual assault

I would recommend this to fans of romantic fantasies that are about critiquing tropes or subverting expectations

I loved this book! A new take on vampires that I truest couldn’t put down. Can’t wait to read more from this author!

The Last Raven is set in a world were vampires rule, and humans are seen as slaves. It follows Emelia Raven, the human child of two of the most politically powerful vampires, who is set to soon take over as the leader. Not only was this a really cool concept, but its was executed fantastically.
My problem with giving it five stars is that I found the story line a bit predictable and I was a little disappointed by the conflict and resolution.
I think this book would be perfect for fans of dystopian and vampires books.