I had high hopes when I saw this book first pop up - vampires!? Yes! I've not read a vampire book in a while, perfect for Halloween.
This book was definitely enjoyable and entertaining enough - there wasn't the most in-depth lore and world building which I did find lacking. But it was fun. I think there's so much potential for more in the setting and depth of the story - more tension, darkness, romance, more about a vampire kingdom!
I definitely recommend this as a read if you want a fun and enjoyable vampire read for the October/Halloween season. But other than that, it was lacking world building for an in-depth fantasy, and a bit bland in the romance for that to draw you in alone.

I had such high hopes for this book. It has everything I love but I felt like it fell incredibly flat for me

I enjoyed this one.Quick and easy read !The story is filled with relatable characters facing real-life challenges, making it easy for readers to connect. Glynn Jones’s writing is clear and engaging, creating a vivid world that draws you in. The themes of love, loss, and personal growth resonate throughout the book. Overall, it's a fun and entertaining read!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

“The Last Raven” was a lackluster read for most of the book until the final 100 pages. I really couldn't find a good connection between Kyle and Emilia and I found both characters too flawed to find likable. Both way too whiny but the ending is so good I just wished it got good like at the 45% mark.

Thank you so much One More Chapter, Harper Collins Uk and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy of this book!

This book is for all the people that love Twilight and still watch it more than once a year. The vibe of this book is immaculate and perfect for this time of the year.
This book has it all, a vampire x human relationship, forbidden love, a brooding bodyguard, and a rebellion that will keep you at the edge of your seat.

I enjoyed this book, it fits perfect with the season and it is an easy read. I was not a huge fan of the insta love trope and at times, the FMC felt a bit too juvenile and childish. I also was confused with the setting, at times the book seemed to be set in a more medieval time but the MC had access to the internet and laptops.

There was definitely things in this book that weren’t to my liking but this being said. I think the book is perfect for the season and it’s an entertaining and interesting read.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Once again, thank you so much Netgalley and Haper Collins Uk and One More Chapter for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc, but The Last Raven was just not for me. I ended up DNFing because I couldn't get into it :(

I was excited to read this and I did enjoy it but felt there could have been more in regard to tension, dark forces, the rebellion, romance, etc. It felt as if those elements weren't strong enough (for me) to rate higher. Maybe I've read too many darker books so have higher expectations?

In saying that, I did finish this, and am curious what Emilia does next.

~~~~~~

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…

Thank you very much to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Raven by Helen Glynn Jones is such a good read! I really enjoyed reading this book. The plot is fantastic, the characters are perfect! I loved it.

Thank you for an early copy. This is the first book. I believe it's was a great start up and it's promising for a continuation of this series.

This was honestly such a slog to get through. I read the blurb and had high expectations for this. I love a vampire romance and this had such a good premise to it. Unfortunately it didn’t live up to the mark.

I found Emilia and Kyle to be the most annoying main characters I’ve read in a long time. They go from insta hate to insta love within a few pages with no chemistry or development in their relationship.

As for the ‘rebellion’ this barely took place in the book apart from the set up the ‘twist’ in the story. This just wasn’t one for me I’m afraid.

The first chapter of last Raven and a little background about Emelia (MFC) was interesting. In the first few chapters, Emelia is the next heiress in her family and not a vampire. As her story is unfold, it is revealed that Emelia wants to be as she is, a human. Emelia’s parents decide to hire a body guard named Kyle (MMC) to be with her and watch over her. Between the two, a forbidden romance brews and evolves.

I felt like this is a modern day fantasy, insta love, and vampire/ human kind of book. It can relate to Twilight and can target young type of adult. In my opinion this read needed more character, world buildup. It was a nice cozy quick read, just felt flat in the sense of world building.

“I have everything I could ever ask for except the one thing I truly want. A human love lived in sunlight and warmth instead of dark shadows . “She is representing Raven” - Emelia Raven

2.75/5⭐️
1/5 🌶️

If you like:
🩸vampire x human
🩸forbidden love
🩸modern day fantasy
🩸insta love
🩸rebellions/uprising

Then you might like this book!

For me, it fell a bit flat. I personally do not like modern fantasy, it takes me out of the story a bit. It’s a bit confusing to have guards refer to our FMC as “my lady” but then read that she is flipping open a laptop as soon as she gets to her room.

In general, I do not enjoy reading about really young. As a woman nearing 30 I just do not relate to a 17 year old FMC.

The romance was also very insta-lovey which is off putting to me.

The MMC is named Kyle, which sorry to all the Kyle’s out there, but that name also really took me out of the fantasy setting.

Overall, this just wasn’t for me but it did keep me engaged, especially with the plot twists. If it had been any longer though, I fear it might’ve taken me a bit to get through.

Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for access to this ARC!

This book seemed really promising, but unfortunately, it missed the mark for me! A few of the reasons:

1. Worldbuildng - the world felt small, and it seemed as if we were only told about the most important parts, rather than being immersed in the larger world.

2. The FMC - felt very immature. She read as very whiny and stomp-y, overly naive and trusting, and privileged in a way that was only barely resolved.

3. The plot - I was left feeling unsure whether this was a stand-alone or the first in a series because of the way it ended. There are certain 'rules' to romance that this didn't necessarily meet in my opinion!

4. Marketing - This read much more YA than NA. The age of the FMC felt questionable and I feel like the tag lines and cover were fairly misleading.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for giving me early access to this book! All opinions are my own.

I mean, listen…is this the greatest book? No. Can you see the twists from a mile away? Yes. But if you take it at face value (a new adult vampire romance) then yeah it’s a fun read. If someone were to ask you for the quintessential New Adult romantasy, you could easily nominate this. Fun read for what it is. 3⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK/One More Chapter for the advance reader copy.

This was a struggle to read and I feel like I finished it out of spite so I could right a proper review and not say I DNF’d it.

The synopsis for this book leads you into a story that isn’t what is written. The main character is essentially a child who has been raised very sheltered and essentially falls for the first ‘boy’ who pays her any attention.

So many characters in this were unlikable and boring, which didn’t help with me caring about the supposed romance element.
There needed to be a lot more world building and also some sort of system for how the vampires existed.

I think comparing this to twilight is correct as both are loose with their understanding of vampire mythos.

I would consider this a NA romantasy with some mentions of spice. The concept was interesting and the journey the main character went on throughout is great. The emotions were well described. I feel like it's missing some depth and world building, and the story was quite predictable. I enjoyed it and was a good quick read but if I compare to a similar concept book (from blood & ash) it's not at the same level.

⭐️⭐️2.5/5 🌶️ 1/5
Tropes:
🍷Vampire X Human
🍷Forbidden Love

Emelia is the sole heir to the House of Raven the only problem is she’s a human walking amongst the vampires. Emelia is lonely and isolated and when Kyle enters her life he offers her the one thing she was craving, freedom from her families expectations.

I personally didn’t enjoy this book and I would have DNFd it if it wasn’t an ARC, it wasn’t awful it just wasn’t what I was expecting. I liked the idea of the plot and the world building had so much potential but it unfortunately fell flat for me and I really struggled with the pacing being so full on Insta love and then you start to see their relationship unfold and change.

I would highly recommend changing the marketing for the book as I expected a romantasy and I would say based on the writing alone that this read more like a Y/A fantasy book.

Thank you to NetGalley, One More Chapter/HarperCollins UK and Helen Glynn Jones for the ARC.

"Better I fail then never try at all" I liked the premise of this book but it just wasn't for me I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters and I felt the storyline between the main MMC and FMC was quite obvious. I had a lot of hope for this book but I just don't think I was the right audience for it sadly. It was very insta love and the pacing of the book was good. I liked the twist at the end but unfortunately not one for me.

⭐️⭐️.5

I really wanted to love this book. The description really sold it to me. Unfortunately, the book just didn't deliver.

Emilia is a vampire born human and heir to the vampire throne. The story had a lot of potential for world building, but it just fell a bit flat. They are based in the UK driving cars with mobile phones so seem to be quite technology advanced as if it could easily be our world now, but then in other parts of the story felt like it was based in an older time with no technology so it was a bit disjointed.
As for the forbidden romance, it was all very superficial, and nothing made me want to root for them and spent the whole time waiting for the other shoe to drop, and eventually, it did.
The ending left me feeling so confused as well. It just felt so abrupt with no explanation. I just felt no connection to the characters in this book.

Thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the arc of this book for my honest review.

Three and a half
I think this is trying to jump on the current romantasy trend but with a nod to Twilight because our heroine is human in a world run by vampires. Oh and oddly she has vampire parents and is shortly to inherit her kingdom which just totally bamboozled me as to why ? Emilia has been extremely sheltered in the hope of protecting her from vampires who might see her as food and not their future ruler. She sees the humans who serve her family almost in a blinkered way and just doesn't seem to realise that they are essentially treated like cattle ! A new guard Kyle, is assigned to Emilia in the hope that she will embrace her vampire heritage and finally want to step up and rule when the time comes. Yup you've guessed it he is the love interest in play here . Through Kyle Emilia begins to see that the society of humans that she's desperate to join do not have the safe, protected lives she imagined and that there are plots and plans that will change her world. Vampires are predators and sadly humans are always prey !
If you want a happy ending you will not find it here nor is there a happy for now . Instead the ending offers new possibilities if the reader chooses to buy the next book.
I found Emilia naive, spoilt and perhaps a little gullible. However she's seventeen and is truly innocent about the way her kingdom treats humans and I realise that it's only through experience that we grow and learn. Her mother clearly loves her but her father is cold and pretty distant and sadly I'm left scratching my head as to why hundreds of years old vampires would hand over the kingdom to an untried teen when they turn eighteen ! Perhaps more world building would have helped but it's not a terrible book just not perfect although I have no doubt that many will enjoy it.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair