Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for a review copy of The Last Post. I am a big Renee Carlino fan but this book did not carry the same weight as her others have. I admired Laya and her loss, however the other main character, Micah, I found to be unlikable and creepy at certain places. I thought his twin sister, Melissa, brought much needed humor to the story. This was not a DNF for me, but it wasn't a huge hit either.

This book didn"t quite give me all the feels like Carlino"s previous books. While I adored the heroine and her grieving process endeared her to me, I just did not care for the hero. He was just too beta and bland. I didn't like him, nor did I want him and the heroine together. .

Thank you Atria Books and Renee Carlino for allowing me to read/review The Last Post! This book is prolific and thought-provoking and healing! A full review will be posted closer to release.

DNF. Great albeit heartbreaking premise. Unfortunately the hero did absolutely nothing for me, so I must move on. Normally I adore Renee Carlino's books, but this one was not for me. :(

Laya and Micha and the relationship they have is one I dream to have! Very well written. Some parts are intense, as in my stomach actually hurt from being tense (in a good way)! Love how the characters all come together.

Such a great read. So happy that Laya was able to overcome her grief and find love again. It was very sad that she still posted to her deceased husbands Facebook as if he was still there. She was in denial and seemed as if she hoped it was all a dream and he would come back. I’m glad she found her way. Will recommend book to friends and family.

The blurb for this one was super intriguing and in my mind the possibilities were endless. Unfortunately, I had problems connecting with this one. Although it was not a DNF for me by any means, Renee writes too well for that to be the case. The beginning was a bit slow for my liking and I felt it was a bit all over the place. That being said, the end made all of it worth while, and I'm glad I stuck it out.

Laya Marston has had her world upended. Tragically, she loses the love of her life and denial bled into delusion for her. Micha Evans, an architect at her fathers firm, can't seem to shake her Facebook posts, and goes out of his way to console her, or try to. Even if his methods crossed into stalker territory more times than not, the premise was cute and gave new meaning to the concept of online dating.

Melissa, Micah's sister stole the show for me. Her sense of humor and quick wit left me shaking my head at her antics. Even if I didn't always feel the chemistry between the Hero and Heroine, I did love all of the characters individually.

THE LAST POST is a story about a woman drowned in the grief of the loss of her husband and the man who was determined to save her.

Micha wanted to be the reason Laya smiled, he wanted to be the one she thought about and loved, and he wanted her in his life.

Micah started as a stalker. There really isn't any other way for me to describe his character. It was difficult for me to like him or view him as a love interest. He was oddly obsessed with his boss's daughter, Laya (who is deep in grief over the death of her husband -- the death which she witnessed). He had a strange need to try and make her feel better. He would read her posts on Facebook she made to her dead husband, and then try to recreate for her those experiences she wrote about, in the hope that it will make her feel better …

"I looked at Laya's last post from six weeks ago about the movie. I wanted to have that moment with her. Instead of creeping her out by hiding tickets under her mat, I decided to ask her properly."

For the most part, I liked Layla. I was glad we were able to watch her work her way through the grieving process and come out at the end, a stronger person. There were times, however, when she would lash out at people, that I found it difficult to like her. But everyone grieves differently, so I had to accept her angry and often nasty behavior as a result of her grief.

I loved the first 30% and thought for sure this was going to be another winner for me by this author. But, sadly, by 53% I contemplated not finishing. I put the story away and went on with my day. The next morning, I picked it back up again and decided to give it another try. I am glad that I did. The last 20% or so of the book, the story turned around for me. And, therein lies the problem. The middle of the book was slow. It was heavy. The focus became on Laya's loss and her anguish, and on Micah's odd, obsessive tendencies toward her, rather than focusing on the characters themselves. And those things made me not interested in the characters or their story.

While this may not have been a winner for me, I have loved every other book I've read from this author. Her writing is emotional, and her characters are intriguing. I look forward to reading more from her.

Laya lost her husband, she watched him fall and now he’s gone. They had only been married for a year and nothing could have prepared her for what happened. Now, after months of grieving, things don’t seem to have improved and she doesn’t know what happens now.
Micah knows there has to be more to life but doesn’t know how to get to the place he wants to be, not only at work but in his personal life. Until he meets Laya and knows her story.
The Last Post was more complex than I thought, I wasn’t expecting to find so many emotions or so complex and carefully created characters, but that only made it more special, unique.
I enjoyed the characters, they were interesting and had a great development. It wasn’t easy to read about Laya’s feelings, though. Sometimes I couldn’t even understand her or her actions but I couldn’t judge her either. Micah was a really likable character, so sweet and cute.
What I liked the most about the story is that it not completely romantic. Actually, I don’t really know if I would classify it as a romance story because it is about so much more.
I liked the secondary characters but wasn’t completely a big fan. Melissa is not my type of character but she added to the story and made it funnier.
There were many phrases and fragments I loved and that I highlighted, and as you might know that is, for me, one of the best ways to show that I liked a book.
Overall, I deeply enjoyed it. It was a fast read, a compelling story that talks about second chances, and about love.

I have read a couple of Renee's previous books and thoroughly enjoyed them. However, I struggled with this one.

The opening of the book started out strong. My heart broke for Laya and what she went through. I couldn't imagine myself in her shoes.

As the story continues and Micah is introduced, I failed to feel the emotional connection between him and Laya. It felt force and abrupt, especially on Micah's behalf. I do understand that Micah just wanted to help her but I didn't feel their emotions and chemistry. I needed more from both of them together and individually.

I loved Melissa! Her personality and banter had me laughing. I would love to read her story!

The Last Post was an ok read for me but I am sure many will love it.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for the advanced copy!

The Last Post is a story about grief, moving on, and finding a second chance at love.

Laya is a newlywed who is finishing up her fellowship to become an orthopedic surgeon. Her life is on track, even though she's married to someone who is her opposite in so many ways. Cameron is a professional daredevil and even though it terrified Laya, she supports him. They have a whirlwind romance until one stunt doesn't go right and her world is forever changed. Laya never thought she would be widowed before thirty. She doesn't know what to do with herself, so she comes home to NYC.

Micah works for Laya's dad's architectural firm and from the moment he first sees her, there is something about her that draws him in. He knows she's widowed and going through a lot, and even though they don't know each other, he feels a pull. He wants to help her, wants to know her.

I wanted to love Micah and Laya together, and maybe by the last 20% I did, but it took me quite a while to connect to the two of them and their story. There were things with the posts and the reaction to all that I didn't jive with. I don't know if it was my mood, or the book itself but this book didn't evoke the emotion or the feels I wanted it to. There were parts I really enjoyed, but overall it was just alright for me.

As always, Renee Carlino's writing is superb. This is true with every single book she writes. Although The Last Post isn't my favorite of her books (primarily because I didn't personally connect with the characters or become invested in their story) I still enjoyed parts of it, and her writing style and story-telling are two things that made this book enjoyable for me. If you're looking for a romance that focuses on overcoming loss and finding yourself and love again, give this one a go. It might just be the book for you.

When I think about The Last Post, I think about Laya and Micah being in this bubble of grief, and longing, with a sense of hope encircling them. These two characters were, as all of the characters I’ve read from Renee Carlino are, quirky and interesting and a lot in their heads. These two in particular seemed to live more in their heads than in the world—the world seems to be too much many times and so a lot of the novel was them backing away, pondering and working through things and then trying to venture out into life again. Understandable for Laya and a little harder for me to figure out when it came to Micah.

Laya was working through tragedy and grief and a sense of being doomed to losing those she loved. She felt so lonely to me and I just wanted to hug her and show her some happiness. Micah, on the other hand, was harder for me to grasp. He was going through that mid-20s crisis of finding himself and trying to find his space in the world—the one that felt like a life he wanted to live and that made him relatable. It was the way he engaged with Laya that I found so strange. I couldn’t understand why he was so unaware of how bizarre his good intentions were.

Their relationship was also something unconventional and I can’t quite put my finger on what made it feel a little unusually disconnected? I don’t know. I think I was trying to see how they worked. What he felt for her seemed so deep so soon and I don’t think I truly understood what triggered it other than her beauty and his curiosity.If I were Laya I would’ve been a little freaked out by Micah. And if I were Micah I maybe would've tried alternate ways to express my feelings, earlier, rather than scare her by using her posts as a reference point???

These two had a lot of stops and starts before it seemed to click and it was in those in betweens that they both started understanding themselves and each other better. It made the ending, which really seemed like their beginning, sweet and earned because their path to getting there was so bumpy.

So to end this rambling weird review, I’ll say that this pair has got to be one of the most unusual pairings I’ve read —not because either is so strange or bizarre—but it’s the way they worked that was unusual and interesting. It’s unlike any other love story I’ve read. There are a lot of spaces between their meeting and their ending that I’d love to know more and understand them better, but maybe that wasn’t the point. Maybe the point was to see that on their own, and together, they figured some things out—one being that them being together was way better than being apart.

I know these will be characters, like all of Renee Carlino's characters,I won’t forget and will wonder about them for a long time.

On the outside, Laya and Cameron appear to have the perfect marriage. Sure they’re complete opposites, one performing death-defying stunts while the other is devoted to saving lives, but somehow they make it work. That is, until Cameron dies tragically and Laya is left in a state of grief where she isn’t ready to accept that Cameron is really gone. She begins posting on his Facebook account as if he is still alive, and those around her begin to worry about the state of her well being.

Insert Micah, who works as an architect for Laya’s father. He’s stuck in a rut, fed up with the direction his life is going and not sure what he’s looking for. But once Laya is introduced to him, he does some snooping around and discovers her Facebook posts to Cameron. Now he is determined to not only help Laya heal from the loss of her husband but to finally open himself up to the possibility of sharing his life with someone who brings meaning and energy to it.

Micah’s way of going about getting to know Laya was a bit unconventional and some might consider it a bit stalkerish. He leaves Laya gifts and takes her places that she mentions in posts to her deceased husband, and while I thought the gestures were sweet and that he had good intentions, I can see how they might be taken the wrong way. But once Laya and Micah get to know each other, I think she starts to see the sincerity in his attempts to help her. I do think he pushed for them to be together a little too quickly, and it’s apparent from many of her responses and reactions. At times some of the dialogue was almost bothersome because of how desperate Micah was for Laya to not give up on whatever was beginning to develop between them. Again, I believe he had good intentions and cared for her, but it felt as though she was becoming a bit of an obsession for him.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I thought it was a really unique story and one that those experiencing grief and loss can relate to.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2834363444

I’ve read several books by Renee Carlino and enjoyed them all. This one missed the mark by a long shot. I found Micah very stalkerish and that turned me off completely. I found Layla to be pretty relatable with her grieving; the story as a whole just didn’t jive with me. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

Renee Carlino is GREAT when it comes to writing emotional romances. I have been a fan of her books for a little while now and was really looking forward to this one based on the blurb. For the most part, I enjoyed the story. I felt the heart-wrenching emotions, even had a few tears in my own eyes. However, I didn't find the story to be very realistic which is sort of a requirement for me. That's not to say that the book is bad because it isn't. I just feel it wasn't personally my cup of tea.

In the end though I do enjoy her books and will continue to read them. She has a way of bringing these emotional stories to life and making readers believe in love after loss.

I adore Renee Carlino. So I knew I’d be sucked into this book just like all of her others.

I was not disappointed!!! Loved this story so very much. The characters stole my heart, and the story pulled me into it and I didn’t want it to end.

Its very sad but very good! It really shows you what its like when you're just not ok after a tragedy. I thought it was written very well.

1.5 "utterly disappointed" stars !!

Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books and the author for a copy of the book in exchange for a review.

Ms. Carlino has written one of my all time favorite contemporary romances. That gem of a book was titled Before We Were Strangers and I still sweetly smile thinking of that book and what it means to me. I look forward to re-reading that and swooning all over again.

I was so excited to receive a copy of a new book thinking that this would be a book about grief and finding love again. I was anticipating some tears, some heartache and a swelling of the heart when our heroine gets a second chance at love. That was not my experience of this novel. Ms. Carlino continues to write in a very clear and accessible way. BUT and the big BUT was that the story was completely unbelievable, the characters were fairly unidimensional, the comic relief was mostly crass, the romantic elements were cliche and I was annoyed, irked and disappointed.

I know Ms. Carlino can deliver as she did in that most lovely and heartfelt book: Before We Were Strangers. I hope she goes back to that rather than this book which could be really a bad movie starring Lindsay Lohan making a comeback.

4.5 Stars

Renee Carlino crafts such unique and beautiful stories you can't put them down. The Last Post is no different except it's probably going to give you all the feels. Laya is grieving and struggling to accept the death of her husband. Micah is an architect that's struggling to find inspiration and meaning in his life. Together they will find a way to heal and grow. This story is beautiful, heartbreaking and charming. I loved how realistic this story felt. It takes place over many months and years. It definitely hurt a little...it was sad but wonderful.

REVIEW
Renée Carlino does it again with her emotional novel, The Last Post. This book takes on grieving in the age of social media as young widow Laya pours our her soul to her deceased husband Cameron. This means of very public mourning causes varied reactions from those who care for Laya, but these Facebook posts also have the unintended effect of sharing the information that just might help her find love again.

AUTHOR
Renée Carlino is a screenwriter and the bestselling author of Sweet Thing, Nowhere But Here, After the Rain, Before We Were Strangers, Swear on This Life, and Wish You Were Here. She grew up in Southern California and lives in the San Diego area with her husband and two sons. To learn more, visit ReneeCarlino.com.