Okay so imagine Twilight but make it political, add some vampire royalty drama, sprinkle in betrayal, and then shake it all up with forced proximity slow-burn romance. That’s the vibe here.

Emelia is basically “reluctant chosen one but also secretly human in a vampire world,” which is juicy in theory but sometimes dragged in practice. Kyle is your standard morally-gray vampire hottie - broody, dangerous, kissable, occasionally frustrating. Their chemistry works, but the pacing? Kinda all over the place.

The third act chaos did have me clutching my Kindle like it owed me money, but it also left me yelling, “girl WHAT are you doing??” more than once.

Would I call it my next fantasy obsession? No. But if you want broody vampire angst, forbidden love, and a dash of rebellion with your bite marks, it’ll scratch the itch.

I thought this book would be great but it fell woefully short. I did not enjoy reading it and will not be recommending it to anyone ever.

Thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Last Raven by Helen Glynn Jones is a YA romantic fantasy about vampire royalty. The story revolves around Emelia, who is a human born to vampire royalty. She must put on violet-scented anti-feed in order to hide the fact that she is a vampire from the other vampire royals. She feels trapped in her circumstances. One day, everything changes when she meets Kyle, who has been assigned to be her personal bodyguard. He opens her eyes to the ways that humans have been mistreated in their vampire-dominated and ruled society. Suddenly, Emelia sees a way out of her situation.

Overall, The Last Raven is a book that is like if The Vampire Diaries meets CW's Reign. In fact, this book is like a CW TV show in all the best ways. One highlight of this book was the twists and turns, which I wasn't expecting. For the majority of the book, I enjoyed going along for the ride and seeing where the plot took us. I took off 1 star, because the ending felt sudden and rushed, almost like it was supposed to end in a cliffhanger but the author decided to wrap up the book instead. If you're intrigued by the synopsis, or if you're a fan of books like Twilight, I recommend that you check out this book, which is available now!

The Last Raven

Vampire romances ten to be hit or miss for me, and sadly this one was a miss.

The last raven follows Emilia, a human born to vampire parents who struggles to fit into her own world and family. Destined to one day become Queen, she’s assigned a body guard to get to know her kingdom. Ultimately she discovers the way humans are treated in raven and must decide between her vampire family and her fellow humans.

The world building was odd, as an urban fantasy, there were elements of the modern world included but I felt like it the fantasy aspect was severely missing. I mean this is a book about a vampire kingdom, missing a lot of the fun parts about vampire kingdoms. I mean where the imagination here.

The plot was meh, honestly I was kinda bored and the FMC was annoying with serious ‘I’m so different from other girls’ energy. The romance in question just wasn’t enticing. I didn’t find Kyle very swoony at all and that’s pretty much a requirement for Romantasy.

All in all I think it’s safe to say that I won’t be reading the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for an arc in exchange for a review.

I couldn’t get into this book, the young MMC kinda put me off. Was predictable soft DNF 70% of way through

I really tried to hold on to hope that this book would be okay. It started out okay, the FMC is very young, lots of complaining and clearly sheltered, that was rough but on brand for the story. The main love interest was not great. Nothing special. But I held on.

Then we get to towards the end ...and I'm done. The twist at the end just was anticlimactic. All of it was. I'm really kind of shocked it'll be a duology because it could be done here, I don't think a second book will redeem it. The pace was everywhere, the characters were pretty flat, the villain didn't villain enough and it either needed to be a middle school YA or an adult book, I didn't care for the plot to have the spice that it did. Seemed out of place.

Overall I don't think I'm interested in continuing the series .

Thank you for the opportunity to review this title. I attest that I am leaving my review voluntarily and honestly.

A dark, intoxicating blend of power, rebellion, and forbidden desire, The Last Raven is a vampire fantasy that sinks its fangs in deep and refuses to let go.

✨ A reluctant heir trapped in a deadly legacy 🖤 A world where humans are prey, and vampires rule 🔥 A rebellion simmering beneath layers of deception

Jones crafts a world dripping with tension, where every choice carries weight and every alliance is a gamble. Emelia’s struggle between duty and defiance is gripping, and the slow-burn intensity between her and Kyle crackles with unspoken danger. Jane Fox’s narration heightens every moment, weaving urgency into the intrigue and emotion into the quiet devastation. Her delivery makes the stakes sharper, the betrayals sting deeper, and the world feel even more immersive. Listening while reading amplifies the tension, making it impossible to pull away.

If you love morally grey characters, high-stakes intrigue, and vampire politics that cut deep, this is your sign to grab a copy immediately. Just be ready for the darkness to linger.

This book was super predictable but I ate it up regardless. I love vampires, I love angst, I love bodyguards, I loved this book. The angst was just right and the idea of humans in a vampire world is one of my favorites to read about since it’s decently relatable. It felt like a hallmark movie if hallmark did angsty romantasy.

I have conflicting feelings about this book. The storyline was great! I really thought the premise was really interesting, I just felt like it was a little bit rushed. Maybe that’s just personal preference as I do enjoy a long description of the setting, the characters, everything. The fmc is a badass.

I really enjoyed this forced proximity x forbidden romance vampire story! Thank you so, so much to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this title!

Blurb:
I’ll be forced to take the crown, simply because of who my parents are. Never mind that my skin, my eyes, the way I move, everything will give me away for what I am.

Human.

In a world ruled by vampires.

As sole heir to the House of Raven, there is nothing Emelia can’t have. The only problem is, she doesn’t want it.

But when the mysterious Kyle enters her closed-off existence, she sees a way out. As rebellion and dark forces swirl around her, Emelia has a choice to make – leave everyone she loves behind, or stay and accept her destiny…

i done everything to like this but I felt it was so predictable and I didn’t like the FMC. I get she’s been shut away from everyone but she’s so naive like her thoughts i don’t even know how to explain it but i just couldn’t connect with her. This was also insta love / lust and I really don’t enjoy that it instantly puts me off the relationship. The pacing was also weird but I can understand this is a YA book and I might just not be the demographic for this one.

This one had an interesting premise, but it just didn’t deliver for me. The pacing felt off, the characters were hard to connect with, and the story never fully came together. There were moments that showed potential, but overall, it lacked the depth and cohesion I was hoping for. It ended up feeling more frustrating than engaging.

I really wanted to love The Last Raven. Honestly, it just fell so flat that it was a solid no for me.

This was just so anticlimactic. I just could not get interested in the plot. Everything was predictable and the pacing was just so off all the time. I had high hopes for this but it did not deliver.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC copy. I enjoyed this story very much, the plot wasn't predictable abd had some excellent twists. It was fast paced and well written. I'd give it a 4/5.

I enjoyed the idea of this but unfortunately it felt a little too fast paced for me/slightly rushed - I’m also usually not big on insta-love so I think that was swayed me a little but overall, I liked the concept!

Really enjoyed this one! Love seeing this book in my local bookstores now. I will definitely be on the lookout for future series from this author.

Apologies for the late review. Things got hectic, and I read as many arcs as I could, but some fell through the cracks.

Unfortunately, this wasn't for me. The fmc was frustrating and maddening, being immature and illogical. The plot and prose were not stable, either. Things felt rushed, unexplained, and undeveloped at the same time.

1.4⭐️

This story had promise, but unfortunately was executed poorly. I only skim read the second half as there were a number of issues that I struggled with, as well as things that didn’t make sense which kept taking me out of the story.

1. I couldn’t connect with the characters at all. Kyle is so bland and boring, and Emilia is so whiny, entitled and annoying. She really took the “not like the other girls” trope to a whole new level tbh.
2. The Wattpad style writing is just not my preference.
3. The world building was not good. Assuming humans in this world have “normal” human lifespans while vampires live for centuries, why on earth would Emilia be heir?
4. Also, she’s supposed to become leader “soon”, but they’ve kept her completely sheltered, and not educated her at all (except in propaganda).
5. The instalove made no sense. Emilia and Kyle hated each other on sight, but then pretty much immediately started hooking up?
6. If she’s so precious, why did they replace her experienced bodyguard with someone barely older than her, and without any other checks aside from Mistral’s “just trust me bro”?
7. How did she keep getting away so easily with Kyle? Even taking into account the antifeed, why didn’t the guards stop them?

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m sorry but this book just wasn’t for me. I didn’t like it from the very beginning. I wanted to but it wasn’t my thing.