The Last Vampire reminded me how much I love paranormal romances. I loved the modern take on it, and how what was happening academic-wise related to what was going on with Lorena's life. I have to admit I didn't like William at first, but he grew on me. The plot twist was a little predictable, but it was satisfying to read. I love this world and it's characters, and I will be gettig flashbacks everytime I see or hear the name Stoker. For all these reasons, I give this book 4.5 stars.

I loved Castle of the Cursed.
So I was super excited to read The Last Vampire by Romina Garber.
I totally binged it and I could not put it down! From start to finish I just wanted more!

The Last Vampire is easily one of my new favorite books I’ve read this year. It’s beautifully written, with intriguing characters and a unique storyline.
I enjoyed this spine-tingling, twisty journey!
This book is a spellbinding gothic romance that enthralls readers from the very beginning.
The setting and plot were very immersive, the characters were easy to root for, and the conclusion was fantastic.
Garber’s writing is lush and evocative, painting vivid scenes that immerse readers in Lorena and Williams story.
A gripping vampire/human romance story that I devoured.
I downloaded this book yesterday and finished it the next day!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for the ARC of this book!!

I will cross post my review closer to publication date.

I absolutely ate this book up, loved the mystery and light romance it had me hooked from the first chapter. Lore started out unsure and but her charter found her voice in the end. Our Mr Darcy/ Lore banter was giving and hilarious. The friendships were real, fun and you could feel the hurt/ hard times we all have in our real life friend groups. I hope a book 2 is on the agenda!

Man, I fucking love vampires😩 I straight devoured 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘝𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦! I couldn’t get enough of the gothic school, the vampire lore, the friendship dynamics, a centuries old vampire trying to fit into modern times, and all the action and tension towards the end.

I loved Salma and Lore’s relationship. It reminded me so much of mine and my best friend’s relationship. The arguments, love, care, and how they would do everything and anything for each other. William, Trevor, Zach, and Tiff brought a true friend group dynamic. The secrets were kiiiiiilling me towards the end!

Even though I figured out a couple of the twists, there were plenty I did not, and they completely blew me away! I was so worried that the end was the end. The meaning ‘The Last Vampire’ absolutely crushed me, but we get the best ending🥹 There were so many pieces that came together sooooo well at the end!

Thank you so much to the author, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the gifted copy🖤 I’ll never get enough of Romina’s books🫶🏻

The premise of this book—Pride and Prejudice meets Dark Academia meets vampirism—immediately caught my attention. It sounded like such a fun and intriguing combination, so I didn’t hesitate to request a copy when I saw it available on NetGalley.

While the concept remained compelling, the writing style wasn’t quite what I typically gravitate toward. I had hoped it would grow on me as I got further into the story, but I found it difficult to fully connect with the tone and pacing. I also struggled to see how the various themes—romantic tension, academic intrigue, and supernatural lore—blended cohesively.

That said, this book may be a great fit for readers who enjoy a more stylized, genre-blending narrative. If you're a fan of the writing style and pacing found in books like Zodiac Academy, you may find The Last Vampire right up your alley.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley, Romina Garber, and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for a ARC of "The Last Vampire".

I had high hopes going into this book, as it was marketed as a vampiric Pride & Prejudice. I was really excited because while there are plenty of retellings and books inspired by Pride & Prejudice, I have found very few that incorporate the paranormal/supernatural. Unfortunately, this book was not for me, and I was seriously considering DNF'ing at several points throughout the story.

First, I don't think the relationship between Lorena and William was believable. In their first encounter, William threatens (and her friends) and traumatizes Lorena, so much so that she becomes paranoid about seeing him again. He continues to come back and terrorize her, and only stops terrorizing her after she blackmails him. It is clear that throughout so much of the book, William sees Lorena as nothing more than a blood bank and doesn't consider her thoughts or feelings. As L:orena is trying to help William navigate the modern world, after he's been asleep for 250 years, he looks down on her and decides that he can learn everything himself because "she's merely a mortal and what does she know". Even as he slowly starts to treat her with a bit of respect, he is constantly doing things she begs him not to do, mainly messing with her friends minds and making her keep secrets from them. I just don't see how realistically, they would ever end up with one another because it's clear as day that he has no respect for her, or humans as a whole.

Second, the pacing of this book was all over the place. Sometimes, the chapters would drag, but when I was wanting more information/development it would skim and skip time which was frustrating because I actually did enjoy a lot of the world-building elements that were present in this book.

Finally, the ending. The entire ending really made me question why I didn't DNF the book earlier. There's this big build up to the ending, just for nothing to really happen, and the things that do happen to Lorena and her friends were just frustrating to read.

Overall, 2/5 stars.

I liked this alot, anything with vampires and boarding school is so addictive! Lorena was great but at some times this did read a bit more middle grade than YA but a darkly romantic ride!

This book was pretty good and it definitely kept me interested enough to keep reading.

I liked that the story took place at a manor turned into a school. I liked the vampire piece and the history of the vampires and why William was in the room he was found in.

This book didn't really have that much romance in my opinion. And I didn't really feel like there was chemistry between William and Lorena. There was banter and they definitely cared for one another, but it just didn't give romantic vibes. Friends...yes. Lovers...no.

Tiffany and Salma's characters annoyed me a lot. Trevor and Zach weren't bad. I enjoyed William's character. William's story overall was interesting and I enjoyed learning more about him. He definitely had the most character growth, I would say. Still not sure how I feel about Lorena though. She had her good and bad moments.

I did like the ending a lot as well. I was nervous it was going to end very differently than it did and I am so happy it didn't.

I'd say I would still recommend this book to other fantasy readers!

<i> Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. </i>

I liked this a lot, but found myself wondering why the vampire lead was such a jerk to our femc. The writing was great, but unsure where pride & prejudice comparison comes in. But like I said, I did enjoy this, but motives for a lot of characters weren't clear for me. I'd like to see more (even if it means I am torturing myself LOL)

A romantic vampire fantasy that didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

I believe my biggest issue while reading this book was how much of the plot was focused on telling us the feelings of the characters through simply quoting and referencing other, more famous, novels. Much of this as a plot device was dependent on the reader knowing exactly which characters were being referenced, the plot that occurred during this time, and then being able to relate the events to how our main character was feeling at that specific point in time.

By about the third time this happened I was already checked out of the book.

In all honesty, I wound up finishing this book for the sole reason that I could almost glimpse a better novel behind the pages - one that focused on the worldbuilding created and the actual conflicts present, as opposed to the main conflict this book focused on - the issue of “should I be attracted to this vampire?”

The conflict of the main character being attracted to a monster who threatened not only her but her friends and everyone at the school kind of fell apart for me once we were given a greater look at the world and realized that there was an entire underground world of vampires that held a secret history that no one was aware of. This was the world I wanted to explore! But every time something happened we were thrust back into the - very childish - drama of the main character’s feelings for one another, as opposed to the very literal vampiric apocalypse threatening the world.

I also, just personally, wasn’t a fan of how many characters were present within this novel, or how each of them felt like they were included to specifically fit one very narrow stereotype. Her friend is “edgy and goth,” their roommate is “bitchy and pink,” (often referring to her as ‘Barbie’ in the MC’s head), the boys are “nerd with camera,” “jock,” and I honestly don’t remember if there’s another one. This could very much be me disliking the YA feel of the novel (which the fade to black/implied sex scene then felt very much out of place), it all felt much too like this book was intended to feel like a highschool drama where you don’t need to actually explore the characters if you have them fit a certain vibe. Also, there was too many of them, and the conflict with the main character’s best friend felt out of place.

Speaking of - the ages in this book felt extremely inconsistent. Most everyone attending this school is, I believe, either almost 18 or actually 18, but I could never pin down the actual intention for where this school is supposed to hit in their ages. I think(?) this school was intended as a kind of school to take between high school and college, but I cannot be sure as I’ve never heard of such a thing.

I do think anyone who wants books that focus more on the romantic aspect, and who have read all the books referenced in this book and enjoy the kind of surface-level introspection that reflects the characters talking about it, would enjoy this book. As for me, I only wound up finishing it because I was interested in the events going on in the background and was hoping they’d come to an interesting conclusion. They didn’t.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for providing me this e-ARC.

Wh I le i think this boom was ok, I didn't love it. Found that the romance between Salem and the vampire fell flat and fell a little forced.
I didn't enjoy Salem and Lorenas friendship though!

I do think this book is aimed more at the younger part of YA, as an adult I didn't mind it, but I would have likely enjoyed it more if I was younger.
It was still a great book and was one of the better ones I've read

Thank you Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Lorena Navarro loves the works of Austen and when a new boarding school opens in the woods of New Hampshire she enrolls hoping to find her own Mr. Darcy. While poking around with her friends they find a coffin and then she accidentally awakens the vampire within. William Pride has been sleeping for centuries and knows nothing of the modern world. He is, however, desperate to find his family. Only he soon discovers he might be the last of his kind. To fit in he enrolls in the school and he relays on Lorena for blood and help. But when he’s the last hop of his species will he choose protecting Lorena and those around him or will he bring back the vampires? Will love or darkness win? I loved the dark gothic vibes of this one! Some charm and romance mixed with twists and turns that kept me engaged! Romina Gerber’s story is exciting, thrilling, and super cute!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

The Last Vampire is a haunting, lyrical take on vampire mythology that feels both ancient and fiercely modern. Ilana is a compelling narrator—raw, angry, and aching for truth—and her journey is as emotional as it is powerful. Romina Garber weaves folklore, grief, and identity into a darkly beautiful narrative that lingers long after the final page.

This isn’t just a story about vampires—it’s about legacy, survival, and the quiet rage of girlhood. Highly recommended for fans of atmospheric YA with bite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, I DNF'ed at 40% of the way through.

The premise is intriguing, but the execution was lacking. It's a very fast-paced YA book with generic characters. The two protagonists couldn't stand each other and were jerks to each other so I thought the romance kinda stunk in that regard.

Also thought the drama with Lorena and her mom was really stupid and overblown. They made it seem so dramatic, I thought she had driven drunk and hit someone but no it was just a lame picture, lol. The vampire stuff was bizarre and confusing, it didn't make sense to me that a vampire could last over a month without drinking blood, the lore overall was really all over the place.

Not it for me.

I was granted an ARC by Net galley to provide a review so while I read the book through, I have mixed emotions about it. Most YA books I’ve read can easily be enjoyed by any adult, however, this book is truly geared toward the mid to late teenager. While attending an academy in a very old castle, a group of teens venture into a restricted area and stumble upon a coffin. Our heroine in the book is drawn to who remains in the coffin and unwittingly becomes his blood source. From there, the book follows their adventure as he learns how he came to be, how he was awakened and how the world has evolved during his sleep. With a few twists and turns, the book can and does hold interest. Three stars for a novel that will probably be enjoyed by the right age category. #Netgalley

While I personally don’t think this book was for me, I do think it would appeal to a younger audience. I think I would’ve genuinely enjoyed a book like this when I was maybe 15 or 16, but now it’s just not really the type of story I’m interested in. I went into it thinking it was going to be something that it just ended up not being, and that’s not the fault of book itself, really. Though I do think the blurb for the story may have been a bit misleading. In some ways, the general vibe of this book reminded me of the House of Night series, and I think if you’re someone who enjoyed those books, then you might like this as well. Or if you like the Vampire Academy books, maybe. But again, for me, I do unfortunately think it was a bit of a miss.

The Last Vampire by Romina Gerber is an enchantingly original vampire story that takes place in an exclusive boarding school. The school itself was set in a Victorian manor house so you get all the gothic vibes mixed with Dracula's lair. William becomes like Dracula, lusting after Lorena, as his Lucy. The story centers around the romance between William, who is searching for his family, and Lorena, who is searching to find out who she is outside of her family. The story is well told and you don't want it end. I'm eagerly hoping there is a second book to further tell Lorena and William's story.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the an advanced copy.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!
This story has such a great start and premise. The story started to drag on for me around the halfway point though and felt like more of an obligation to finish by the end.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book.
I love how there’s a resurgence of vampires books being published lately. I’ve read many in the past few months so I was excited to see how the author would approach this genre.
Lorena and her best friend Salma are accepted into Huntington Academy. It’s the inaugural year and when they first enter the campus, everything is weird. There’s no wifi or cellular data. Lorena and Salma and their new friends decide to investigate and go in the areas under construction. They uncover a coffin and inside is William who is a vampire. He’s the last vampire. Or so he thinks…
I thought part one was interesting. But then part 2 dragged a bit and I almost stopped reading. Then the story picks up again around the 70% mark and the pace is suddenly really fast, the stakes are high. The romance between Lorena and William developed very quickly, from I’m scared he’s gonna kill me to I love him. The interactions between Salma and Lorena made me a bit mad as I don’t think they are good friends to each other. Overall I still enjoyed the book and the atmospheric setting ! I thought it was a nice take on a vampire story, and the author was able to make it different.