The opening of the Last One reminded me a bit of the Prisoner - our hero wakes up in a quiet village without any knowledge of who she is or what she was doing - but we suspect she had quite a life beforehand!. She is quickly drawn into the town when her clothes are stolen (I admit, it was hard not to groan in solidarity) and she ends up living with feisty thief Olivia and older brother Jaden.

Though this reading was just a preview, I really enjoyed the homage to classic fantasy tropes while seeing the unique aspects of Howell Hall's world building - you can tell that the author has a background in mysteries, since this is positioned as more of a thriller to unlock than most romantasies.

Reading this preview has encouraged me to purchase the book - I am really interested to see how some of the themes (there is a brief mention of colonialism) and the relationships develop over time.

I've seen tons of readers discussing this book so I downloaded this preview. Reading it, I can tell it would be hard for me to really get into this story so I'm glad I just downloaded the preview and didn't request an ARC.

I was so into the story that I forgot that it was only a preview! I am locked into the story now and I have to find out how it ends! Excuse me as I sprint to purchase this book.

Thank you, Netgalley and Rachel Howzell Hall for the ARC preview of this exciting book, I can’t wait to finish it.

I am leaving this review voluntarily, without coercion or prompting.

This preview is the a good way to decide if you should read the book. After the first chapter I already got the audiobook.
The story is interesting, in the first chapters you get some information about the world building and the characters are intriguing.
I am looking forward to knowing more about Kai and her past.

4 ⭐️

This book really started with a bang (or should I say violence, since that’s what Kai chose)! There’s a lot of world building but it’s not overly complicated. I really like Kai’s character so far and think this will be a 5 ⭐️ book as I get more into it and continue to understand the world. I’m excited to finish it, I already got the audiobook to keep going!

Thanks to Entangled Publishing and Red Tower Books for the preview ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This review is based on the first 6 chapters in a preview provided by NetGalley.

The book opens to an interesting premise with the main female character waking up with an amnesia while being robbed. We get the sense she’s someone important with powers but are left wondering by the end of the preview. There are slight Witcher vibes to the story which definitely has me intrigued. The preview left me curious enough to dive in the audiobook I already had downloaded for the book.

Thank you to Rachel Howzell Hall, Entangled Publishing, LLC | Entangled: Red Tower Books, and to NetGalley for providing an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Entangled for granting me a preview of the first 50 pages of The Last One! I can’t wait to read the rest of this book!

Such a strong start!!! I only have access to the preview but I'm excited to see the rest! I had been thinking about purchasing this title, but now I know I want to see how everything plays out. Also, that opening sentence is everything!!!

I want to thank Entangled Publishing and Red Tower Books for letting me review the 6 Chapter Preview ARC for this book via NetGalley. Please note that my honest and unbiased review is only based on the first 6 Chapters.

I like how this book started with a conflict, it really drew me in because I was invested in the protagonist's journey and how she would overcome her obstacles. The first 6 chapters not only drew me in but also establish a good amount of world building. I would love to see how the story develops and I'm interested in reading the rest of the book. If I get a chance to, I will revisit my review if I do.

this book is very captivating. Jane Doe who is the main character seems like a powerful female lead who drags you into the book immediately.

Right off the bat, the book felt more like a YA fantasy than an adult fantasy. While there is nothing wrong with that, it wasn’t was I was expecting. The prose is clear, but very simple. I really liked the premise and may return later to give the book another shot.
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Thank you Entangled Publishing, Red Tower Books, and NetGalley for this preview ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review! 📚(No rating for previews on GoodReads, as NetGalley requires a rating to post reviews I am giving an average rating).
Publishers release date 12/3/2024

This was only a preview of 6 chapters, and not the whole book.

The start of the book was okay, but I wasn’t drawn into the story with the tidbit given. That might have been because the village people seemed so dumb with the conflict at hand or maybe the conflict felt a bit too forced to get the main character into the path of the main love interest.

We don’t know much about the world other than a couple pages about the religion and a few areas of the land. The villagers kept referring to the main character by other species names or rude ways to say them, but the readers aren’t given much context when they are first brought up. We’re about as clueless as the main character who is suffering from memory loss.

This was just a preview of the book, so I haven’t read the entire book yet. The story begins with action and intrigue and has me hooked instantly. I’m enjoying the “Who am I” trope of lost memories, and I am excited to see where the story goes. The author’s writing seems well done and easy to follow. I will be continuing this story to the end.

I really wanted to love this book, but I hated the relationship between Kai and Jadon. The plot is amazing. 5 stars. Kai is great, but I HATED Jadon. It wasn't until the end of the book that I realized that I think I'm supposed to hate him and that if that was her goal, the author succeeded with flying colors! I hated him to the point that I had a difficult time reading their relationship, but the ending was worth the wait. Stick it out. The truth is worth the wait.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

First off.. I didn’t realize this was only a preview until I got approved. Now, I am dying with the need to finish the book! Six chapters was not nearly enough!

I am so curious to find out who Kai actually is, where she’s from, why she’s feeling the way she is.

Also I’m devastated about the Miasma spreading through Maford and so hopeful that it can be cured!

This was so freaking good and I cannot wait to read the full thing!

Hard to give a full review on a short extract but, like many other reviewers, I struggled with the writing style with this one. The text might benefit from another edit, to tighten up the language, otherwise it risks putting readers off as they have to plough through overly-wordy descriptions to determine what is happening.

Yes, a tease - an immersive fantasy - a world so rich in detail you can feel it. This series is more than a story, more than romance, it takes you away.

I rarely DNF but I did have to with this one. The writing bothered me and I could tell with the world building and characters that it was going to be a frustrating read.

I'm glad I was able to read a preview of this, but I think it falls into the Red Tower trap of not being well edited and therefore difficult to read.

This preview of The Last One features only the first six chapters, but it's enough to get a strong idea of where the story is going. It opens with a woman who's just been robbed... but she has amnesia and apparently no memories of her life before. What is her name? Where is she from? She couldn't say. But she is intent on getting her stolen clothing back, so she chases the thief into a depressed town and gets sucked into their own issues.

The writing style in this felt rather disjointed to me. It was somewhat hard to follow, if only because it was choppy and awkward. The story itself looks interesting, but not enough for me to really want to keep reading.

This is a shame, because Rachel Howzell Hall is an author I've been wanting to read; I have at least one of her books on my shelf. Hopefully that will be more to my taste, but The Last One didn't captivate me.