Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

So many adjectives come to mind when I think about describing this book- atmospheric, gripping, tragic, mysterious, gruesome, dark, and unlike anything I have read before. I hadn't yet read anything by this author before requesting this ARC, but I think I have become a fan. This book's contents are disturbing at times but it's like that train wreck you can't look away from.

The characters are written strikingly well, you feel their pain along with them as they strive to put together the pieces of their lives. The kind of lives they are living are rough and unfiltered, Anna Bailey brings readers along on an adventure into the Louisiana swamp where both a murder mystery and deeper, darker town secrets are lurking. Piece by piece the mystery becomes clearer and it's an incredibly gritty journey to get to the truth.

There is a lot of violence in this book including police corruption and the death of animals, so please be mindful of the contents before choosing to read. Regardless- Step into this novel with an open mind- it gets pretty wild pretty quickly and will take you on an adventure that you likely can't predict.

Ranking this book at 4 stars based significantly on creativity and how much I don't think I will ever forget what I read in this novel.

“Our Last Wild Days” is Anna Bailey’s newest thriller set in Louisiana. Loyal May has just returned to her hometown to car for her mother and gets wrapped up in the mysterious death of her childhood friend, Cutter, in the bayou. This book is atmospheric and suspenseful.

I loved the sense of place that was so pervasive throughout “Our Wild Last Days”. The situation, the setting, and the characters all contributed to the richness and well-rounded was of this story.
I appreciated the varied imperfect characters and how the story progressed through their points of view. Not only was this a book with mystery and presence, but a book that enabled readers to have empathy for the many characters involved.

Loyal May returns to her childhood home of Jacknife, Louisiana to care for mother and work for the small town’s local paper. Shortly after her return, Loyal’s estranged childhood best friend, Cutter Labasque, is found dead in the swamps. While law enforcement assumes it was suicide, Loyal does not believe that Cutter would kill herself, and begins to search for answers of her own.

The writing is incredibly atmospheric, and I felt fully immersed in every scene of the story, with the setting so descriptive both in terms of the environment and the residents that inhabited it. The author did such an incredible job of setting a suspenseful scene for this mystery. As the book went on, I did struggle to keep track of the many side characters, and felt the story wasn’t always holding my attention—perhaps just because of so many different characters and different things going on. Ultimately, it wasn’t the best match for me for this reason, but I’d give it a read for yourself!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for my gifted ARC and e-ARC!

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Our Last Wild Days by Anna Bailey
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Southern Thriller
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: May 20, 2025
📖 352 pages

📍 Jacknife, LA
💚 Plus-Sized FMC
🍻 Multiple POV
⚜️ Good 'Ole Boys
💀 Drug Operation

The writing is excellent, and though there are some sensitive political topics (that I prefer my books without), I still enjoyed the story of an ex-best friend fighting to find the truth of her friends' passing, as well as the twists the author managed to incorporate. I loved that we got to read so many of the other characters' POVs, as it made them feel more authentic. Overall, I loved the swampy setting and liked the book.

Thank you so much, Atria Books and NetGalley, for the digital review copy!

⚠️: bulimia, drug abuse, racism, abuse of power, abortion

Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books, and the author for access to this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Omg another absolute banger of a book from Anna Bailey!! I read their debut novel, Where the Truth Lies, a few years ago (and LOVED it) and have been patiently waiting for their next book! Being approved for the ARC was truly like Christmas came early.

This literary mystery is gripping right from the first page. The author’s writing is perfectly atmospheric, drawing you into the world as if existing within the story in real time. The southern gothic vibes were on point; you could feel the swampy heat, hear the cicadas, and feel the tension that is ever-present in a small town rife with poverty, racism, and corruption. The murder mystery keeps you guessing until the end, and many plot elements/points were so timely. The ending was so perfectly executed; I rarely feel this way about a thriller.

I loved this book so much, it will certainly be on my best of the year list. If you enjoy breathtaking and BEAUTIFULLY written literary thrillers, do not sleep on this one!!

I really enjoy settings that take place in the swamps just because it adds different dynamics and culture to storylines. I enjoyed the characters a lot in this book, but I felt like a few of the characters development felt rushed. There were a few dynamics between different characters that I would have liked to see develop more as well. I would still recommend for someone looking for a quick twisty book as I didn’t see the ending coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for early access to this book. What a treat! A slow-burning and atmospheric mystery full of complicated, flawed characters. Bailey is so good at setting the scene that I swear I could feel the stifling heat in the air. As other readers have stated, this book truly transports you to the bayou and gives an authentic feel of growing up in a small town in Louisiana. This was a new point of view for me, and I couldn’t wait to finish it. I loved the ending.

An atmospheric Southern Gothic thriller about a small town with big secrets set in an alligator-infested bayou. We follow a young reporter looking to find out how her estranged friend really died. Brooding, dark and beautifully described, the story is definitely a slower-burner, but the characters really bring it to life, with a downtrodden family, friendships gone wrong, and one woman’s quest for redemption all mingling into one gritty, elegant drama.

This was my first ARC that I received on NetGalley. Anna Bailey did a wonderful job with this bayou thriller! If I didn’t have so many adult responsibilities, I would have read this book a lot quicker! I didn’t want to put it down! I enjoyed the different character POVs and had to know what happened and who did it! This was also my first book by Anna Bailey and I plan to read her other one soon! Great read!

3.5 stars

I think I’m probably really picky about southern small town settings since that’s where I’m from. This one didn’t pull me in as much as I’d hoped, but I did enjoy it. I felt some of it was a bit unrealistic, but that is 100% my own opinion. In the end, this was a solid read, and I will read other books by this author.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This cover + the Southern gothic setting = an instant request. For those who want to sink into a slow-burning atmospheric book, Our Last Wild Days is definitely for you. If you want something a little more fast-paced, which I was hoping when I picked this up, then it might not be the strongest fit.

This book really drew me in, like I could feel myself in this tiny Louisiana town! To start, I had no idea the author was nonbinary and I love that! I really enjoyed Sasha’s character and the growth of Dewall, and the glimpses of Cutter in the past really made me feel like I knew her myself. I didn’t love the plot twist but I was definitely satisfied with the ending!

What a fantastic book! The first one I have read by this author but definitely can't wait to read more! The characters stay with you long after you finish the book. Highly recommend!

Small town secrets + the Bayous of  Louisiana
Thank you, Atria Books,  for the gifted copy of Our Last Wild Days {partner}
 
Genre: Mystery
Format: 🎧📖
Pub Date:  5.20.2025
Pages: 329
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆

“Some people go through life like broken bones that haven’t been properly set, never really getting better, just slowly racking up damage for later down the line.” 

One of the things I love about being a reader is how every book resonates with each person uniquely. Through reading, I’ve stepped into worlds and perspectives I never considered before.

When I first finished Our Last Wild Days, I was unsure how I felt. It was a dark read, and there were moments that made me uncomfortable, leaving me questioning what I’d just experienced. But then, after reading other people’s reviews, I realized how much depth Anna Bailey infused into this book. She dives deep into heavy themes like relationships, addiction, abandonment, redemption, oppression, and social justice—all while crafting vivid, complex characters. Even though they have tough exteriors, you can’t help but grow attached to them.

CW: animal abuse, child abuse, drug abuse, gore

Read if you enjoy:
🖤 Atmospheric reads
🤫 Small towns with secrets
🗣️ Deeply flawed characters
📖 Southern Gothic literature 

Our Last Wild Days is definitely one that I plan on revisiting again and taking in with a new appreciation.

Thank you NetGalley & Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Our Last Wild Days follows a young reporter looking for answers about her estranged best friend's mysterious death.

I love books about the bayou, and gators, and this one did not disappoint. Our Last Wild Days features a diverse cast of wild, unpredictable and complicated characters that seem to come alive. I loved them all for different reasons, and I especially loved Loyal, for her name and for her fatness, something so plainly stated and without any morality tied to it, and I loved her for her dogged determination to get the truth, whether she likes it or not. Sasha, a gay man living in the rural south with pink hair, is another amazing character that is all at once flawed, innately good, and deeply relatable. Some of the other characters will sneak up on you - they will start out ugly and confusing, and end up touching you in a way you wouldn't have guessed. The town and the water surrounding it is a character itself, and it plays a pivotal role in the creepy-crawly dread that winds its way through this story.

There's not much I love more than complicated characters that you want to hate, but just can't, and want to root for, but just can't.

I will definitely be reading whatever Anna Bailey writes next.

"I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger
Traveling thru this world below
Theres no sickness, no toil, no danger
In that bright land to which I go"

awesome, well-written, suspenseful thriller with an interesting mystery to investigate and an awesome set of characters. 5 stars. tysm for the arc. would recommend.

Journalist Loyal May returns to her small hometown of Jacknife, Louisiana to care for her ailing mother and work for the local paper. When one of her childhood friends is found dead in a swamp, Loyal questions the sheriff’s verdict of suicide and sets out to discover what happened to her friend. But small towns can hold big secrets, as Loyal soon finds out. Our Last Wild Days is a brooding, dark and suspenseful tale of a town given up for dead, and author Anna Bailey hits it out of the park with this sharply written and beautifully described story of a downtrodden family, friendships gone awry, and a quest for redemption, all set against a backdrop of alligator-infested swamps. The writing is absolutely mesmerizing, and you can almost feel the stifling heat and humidity and fear the lethal reptiles as the almost lyrical prose envelops the reader. Loved the characters and the gripping plot, and was sorry to see this one end, it was so good. Easily a five star read through and through. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I love Anna Bailey books. This one was not my favorite. It was very atmospheric and the writing was well done if a bit fluffy, A solid mystery with corruption and some heavy topics. All in all not a bad read.

This is a very good story, I think you would really enjoy it if you like southern life that's rough around the edges. Loyal May has recently moved back to the town she grew up in, her mother has a dementia type disease that has found her out in the yard digging tulips in the middle of the night, or wandering around not knowing where she is, Loyal is there to help her. Loyal found a job with the local paper, she worked for one in Houston where she had moved to when she left Jacknife. Jacknife is a very small community, everyone knows everyone else, no strangers there. Loyal had upset her best friend Cutter, when she wrote about Cutter's family in the local paper before she left, it was not a nice article, hinting that perhaps Cutter's family may be intimate with her (she lives with her 2 brothers and a father who had passed by the time Loyal returned). Cutter's bothers make their living by hunting alligators, not always legally, they sell the meat and the skin and can make a lotta money from it. One day Cutter is found dead in the swamp, and the police quickly rule it a suicide and close the case. Loyal is convinced that Cutter wouldn't do that and starts to look into on her own, and quickly catches the attention of the police, and not in a good way. A young girl also goes missing and that has the whole town out looking for her. The story is told at a good pace and you really get the sense of the environment, and how it's not a good idea to get too close to alligators. The story ends very nicely, all the loose ends come together. Overall I would recommend. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Atria for the ARC.