This thriller reveals some of its secrets early on, but keeps others hidden enough to make it interesting. I liked how the story switches between points of view and lets us see things from the angles of different characters. The author cleverly subverts our expectations and notions about them, possibly even causing us to change who we sympathize with along the way. The art subplot is not very necessary, though, and goes on for a bit too long in my opinion. There is also at least one story thread that is dropped halfway and remains unresolved.

The narrator for Virginia's chapters isn't very good at making different voices without them sounding exaggerated, and her attempts at a 10-year-old girl with an American accent sound especially comical. Other than that, I enjoyed the narration. The standout in particular are the parts where we get to know the thoughts of the absolutely psychotic villain. These are exquisitely narrated and are quite chilling.

I’ve done a few posts for LAST GIRLS already but it finally hit the shelves this week!

I’ve been looking forward to this release for a LONG time so I hope loads of readers add it to their libraries and TBR lists now that it’s out.

**It’s kind of rough for authors to be releasing books while bookstores are closed during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Authors and local bookstores could really do with your support right now so show them your love of books by placing online orders of physical copies of books to be SHIPPED TO YOU!!* 

 

Synopsis:
Demetra Brodsky's Last Girls is a twisting, suspenseful YA thriller about sisterhood, survival, and family secrets set in the world of doomsday prepping.

No one knows how the world will end.
On a secret compound in the Washington wilderness, Honey Juniper and her sisters are training to hunt, homestead, and protect their own.

Prepare for every situation.
But when danger strikes from within, putting her sisters at risk, training becomes real life, and only one thing is certain:

Nowhere is safe.

what makes this a great read…

Honey, Blue, and Birdie haven’t had a choice but to live in The Nest and although they feel like weirds among their peers at school, they are tightly bonded to each other. They have been brought up to follow strict rules and guidelines, to not trust Outsiders, and know how to survive in all kinds of situations (without the constant use of technology, and while also not knowing the full truth about their past).

They are strong despite the trauma they’ve been through. They are connected despite the distance they must maintain from others around them. They are smart beyond their years despite everything that is missing from their lives.

It’s a story that unfolds as thriller, a mystery about a prepper community that gradually appears to be a dangerous group with some dark plans, but this is decidedly a contemporary novel with superb character development. The entire story also wouldn’t be complete without a family secret and the ending encapsulates some of my most positive feelings about ‘Last Girls’; nothing cheesy, just full-on satisfied it ends that way.

Author Demetra really allows the reader to get to know her characters and writes her contemporary ‘worlds’ with the detail of a fantasy novel (I love the way she uses actual survivalist terminology for chapter names); these give the story so much more depth. Getting lost in the woods of the Pacific Northwest is one thing (I don’t think I’d advise it). But getting lost in this book for a weekend is immersive and wonderful.

*some thoughts about the state of the world around us in relation to LAST GIRLS*

Once the COVID-19 outbreak started affecting our communities jut a few short months ago, the concept of doomsday-prepping became something that seemed to be terrifyingly necessary because we suddenly went into ‘lockdown’ mode.

When our minds go into catastrophic thinking mode amid crisis (and the Coronavirus outbreak definitely can be described as a real one, not imagined), we turn to ways of coping that may be extreme, but not always rationally thought through.

Across the country and early on in the outbreak, many people started hoarding supplies such as toilet paper, cleaning products, hand sanitizer, and disposable face masks. They were panic-buying.

*Doomsday-preppers/preppers/survivalists don’t hoard per se; they spend months preparing and saving supplies, and plan to disperse these within their community if there is an emergency.

Because many people bought way more than personally needed or that they needed for their families, many people, including those with less resources and also essential personnel, could not get what they needed. This has been just one of the vey unfortunate issues of the pandemic, but thankfully many people have shown their compassion for others by sharing and caring for their neighbors and strangers in this time. Crisis has the potential to bring out the best in some people but not so much for others.

LAST GIRLS author Demetra Brodsky wrote her sophomore novel about a trio of sisters who live in a prepper community over a year ago, long before the current outbreak of COVID-19 that has swept the United States and much of the world.

I think there’s something quite wonderful about this having been written before the outbreak but most will read it afterwards. I read it during ‘quarantine’ and it colored the way I was feeling at that time; I was barely leaving my house! 

It seems crazy to have written about people preparing for TEOTWAWKI (and people prepare for ‘The End’ all the time) when it kind of felt like it for a while when so much was unknown.

I’m grateful to Demetra and all my books and for the privilege of reading so I can escape my own reality when things are hard. For real.

COMING UP...

Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore will be hosting a Virtual Launch Event for LAST GIRLS on Saturday May 9th at 2pm, and you can check out the info at the FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE!

You can order signed copies of the book through Mysterious Galaxy, whether you tune in for the event or not.

HAPPY READING. Stay healthy, everyone :)

*A review copy was provided by the author Demetra Brodsky in exchange of an honest review. THANK YOU!*

A ruthless young assassin's journey for revenge comes to a stunning end in the conclusion of this acclaimed epic fantasy trilogy.

The Republic of Itreya is in chaos. Mia Corvere has assassinated Cardinal Duomo and rumors of Consul Scaeva’s death ripple through the street of Godsgrave like wildfire. But buried beneath those same streets, deep in the ancient city’s bones, lies a secret that will change the Republic forever.

Mia and her brother Jonnen must journey through the depths of the ancient metropolis. Their quest will take them through the Godsgrave underdark, across the Sea of Swords, back to the library of the Quiet Mountain and the poisoned blades of Mia’s old mentors, and at last the fabled Crown of the Moon. There, Mia will at last discover the origins of the darkin, and learn the destiny that lies in store for her and her world. But with the three suns now in descent, and Truedark on the horizon, will she survive?

Holy smokes, what a crazy wild, epic and emotional ride this book was.

I should mention if you have not read and finished book two, this review will spoil some stuff for you.

The book starts off pretty much where book two left us hanging and of course Mia is totally shocked but that doesn’t stop her and she jumps right into action to save and take Jonnen with her and the crew.

 Mia also gets some other nasty and some shocking surprises all the way through the book. But no matter what she stays true to herself and others she loves and cares for. When it comes down to it she really has a soft heart. It is hard to write a review to this stunning book, because there is so much and most of all I don’t want to spoil anything.

All I can say is that this book is breathtaking and will keep your heart rate going and maybe even will break your heart a bit, but if you liked the first two books you will love this one and how it all ends.

As a site note, I loved all the snarky remarks Kristoff left throughout the book about the writing style, it was hilarious and gave the series a nice touch.

I was curious how it all would end, I must say I was very satisfied and enjoyed the ending.  But I will miss not only the series but also the characters. Farewell my friends.

I give it a full 5 ★ for not only the book but the entire series.

Available NOW 

Amazon *** B&N *** Kobo 

With the Festive Tasks in full swing, Halloween reads behind me, and the end of the year in sight, I'm turning to seasonal reads. 

While Bleak Expectations is obviously a spoof on Dickensian works and themes, and while I am not a fan of Dickens (tho I still want to read A Tale of Two Cities), the programme is brilliant and has had me laughing out loud all morning. There is a stellar cast here who bring out the silly while still keeping the tone in line with what I expect from a Dickensian tragedy.

Oh, and Anthony Head - already a firm favourite - playing the arch nemesis is priceless.

Audience: Adult

Format: Audiobook/Owned

Blackeberg. It makes you think of coconut-frosted cookies, maybe drugs.

- first sentence

Let's see, the narrator was amazing and I enjoyed listening to him. The story was creepy and the vampires were scary as hell. The human characters were highly flawed; there are no heroes in this story. Oskar is bullied relentlessly and puts up with it until he meets the new girl next door. The boys who bully him deal with difficult home lives. There are other characters who drink together and that's pretty much it. There is also pedophilia, abuse, adult bullies, and parents who don't seem interested in what their kids are doing. I would say this takes a dark and unflinching look at the more disturbing realities we try not to think about.

The reason I didn't really like the book is because of that darkness. I'm better with stories that have less of the realistic evil and more of the supernatural I guess. I'm glad the book is over and eager to move on to something less disturbing.

I read this for the Vampire square.