I honestly don’t know where to begin! The Last Hope by Krista & Becca Ritchie picks up thirty days after the end of The Raging Ones. Franny, Court, and Mykal are in a cell on board the Saltare-1 ship Romulus. Their friends – Kinden, the Soarcastle sisters, and Zimmer – are not with them, and they fear the worst. Revelations at the end of book one have left the trio’s minds in chaos. They aren’t Saltarians, they are humans. When an unknown saves them from the Romulus, Franny, Court, and Mykal have one goal: to survive.

Being Human
Court was seriously injured at the end of the first book, and now believes he is dying. His only recourse to be sure that Mykal and Franny survive. But this link between them has him concerned. If he dies, what happens to them? Court was (and is) my favorite character. He finally has opened up to a relationship with Mykal, and this tempers his cool exterior. Court cares too much, and it becomes an issue now that he is linked.

Mykal takes being human in stride. It honestly doesn’t seem to affect him that much. He was raised as a Grenpalish and that is who he is. He worships their gods and remembers the only parent he had. Then he meets Stork(more on him in a minute), the unknown that saves them from Romulus, and well let’s just say, he’s got a new family member 😉

Franny takes the news the hardest. She has struggled since surviving her deathday with the fear of the unknown. She wants to know when she will die. There is security in that for her, except she can’t know. She will never know as a human when she will die. Then there’s her nosebleeds. Every time they happen she fears for her life. And now she’s human, fragile. She doesn’t really know how to handle that.

The Saltarian Conflict
The plot of this book focuses on why the Saltarians hate humans. It also dives deeper into the whys surrounding Franny, Court, and Mykal. I found myself fascinated with the world-building here. The history the authors give Earth and the conflict with the Saltarians is interesting to say the least. But it’s the new character that is introduced early in the story that caught my attention.

Stork is a bludrader, Saltarian blood traitor. Like Franny, Court, and Mykal, he was stolen away at birth and raised on another planet. He was taken from his parents and Mykal was left in his place. Stork is a Saltarian raised by humans. He shows everyone that just because he is Saltarian doesn’t mean he can’t love humans. He carries the world on his shoulders, and my heart breaks for him instantly. There is so much he isn’t allowed to share with the trio and so much he wants too.

Stork with the help of Franny, Court, and Mykal have one mission: return to Saltare-1 and retrieve a baby, a new species that could save Earth from Saltare.

Final Thoughts
Overall I really enjoyed The Last Hope. There are plenty of answers to the questions burdening the trio, and I was happy with those. I wish it could’ve been longer. I want to know more about this world and see more of Franny, Court, and Mykal. If you enjoy YA sci-fi, I highly recommend it.

"After all that we’ve been through, we deserve a better ending."

The story leads off right where we last saw our beloved trio, Franny, Court, and Mykal…captured and in prison. When a stranger offers a way out, they are quick to accept the offer. Slowly, they start to discover secrets from their past and the reason for their existence. Will they choose freedom or saving the planet?!

In a world where everyone knows the day they will die, we follow three teenagers on a journey to defy all odds. But these three have a bigger secret…they are linked and can feel the thoughts and feelings of the other. After three admirals sacrifice their lives for the trio to be released, they start to realize that their lives are apart of something more. And Stork, their rescuer, won’t tell them anything.

Set to rescue a baby from Saltare-1 and save Earth, Franny, Court, and Mykal discover more about each other, but most importantly, about themselves. Through the majority of the book, we witness the self-exploration of the three. We see the undying love they have for each other through their self-sacrifice and risks they each take in order to ensure the safety of the others.

Does anyone else have a crush on Stork?! Ever since meeting him, I knew that he was probably going to be my favorite character. Everything he goes through to do things the correct way and cause the least amount of pain to our protagonists shows how crazily connected everything is in the story. I ship him and who he couples with (sorry, no spoilers!)

Krista and Becca are so creative! The ending is everything I could ask for and more! I feel like a proud parent.

The Last Hope is the epic conclusion to The Raging Ones duology. While this novel is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. The Last Hope is a story of survival, self-exploration, and friendship.

I adored this book so much more than book one and I really liked book one. This world is so different and interesting. Court, Mykal and Franny have to venture through so many new obstacles and places in this book. I love how it answered questions, but also gave us surprises I didn’t see coming.

We get a few new faces and a couple old in book two! I liked how Franny gets to become more her on character. All three get to shine really and that made me happy. I liked the romance take on this without saying too much=p this book was so full of things, but spoilers yall. I love em, but I can’t ruin it for those who don’t.

If you are a fan of sci-fi books definitely add these to your tbr. They are those secret underrated gems that need more love. Also for audiobook fans, book one is a multiple narrator style and hopefully we get the same for book two because they do a great job.

To see full blog tour review with extra book, social media, and purchase info, as well as author Q & A, please visit: https://teresacrider.wordpress.com/2019/08/10/the-last-hope/


A huge thank you to NetGalley, Krista and Becca Ritchie, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review and to be a part of the amazing The Last Hope Blog Tour! It is an honor to be able to talk about this book and be a part of the publicity campaign because The Raging Ones was by far one of the best books to be released in 2018. I am both happy and sad that this is a duology, for I do not have to wait for another installment, but that means one of my favorite series is already over!

This book was FANTASTIC! I absolutely adore Krista and Becca’s writing style! The book is so easy and fun to read, yet every sentence feels structured and thought out with just the right string of words. I love the pacing and the flow of this book. It helps that I flipped a table after finishing The Raging Ones in my eager anger for not knowing what happens next so some of my favorite characters in YA literature!

If you have not yet read The Raging Ones, be wary that this review will have some spoilers in relation to events in the first book (including the ending), but I will try to avoid spoilers for The Last Hope. You have been warned.

So as you know, we have three main character perspectives from book one: Franny, Mykal, and Court. These three are “linked” together for some unknown reason and can feel each other’s emotions as well as physical things that are happening to them, even from a distance. The thing is, this is a strange phenomenon. They have passed their deathdays, and must keep this link secret, otherwise they may become galactic experiment number one.

Through most of book one, Franny, Court, and Mykal power through a special program hoping to be the one to take a starcraft to space. Well, they ended up commandeering it with a few others, one of which is Court’s brother, Kinden. The book ends with the capture of Franny, Court, and Mykal by a Salterian craft, calling them human.

Human? What does that mean? When we start book two, Franny, Court, and Mykal have been locked in a cell for a month, barely being taken care of, hardly enough food to keep them alive. When a man named Stork arrived to deliver them to freedom, of course the linked trio is on edge. They just don’t know who to trust anymore, and who is this Stork guy anyway? (Well guess what, Stork gets two perspective chapters on top of our main three!)

Three human admirals from an Earth craft have sacrificed themselves in exchange for Court, Mykal, and Franny, who are actually a part of a greater scheme to save planet Earth, but Stork (and everybody else around them) won’t tell them jack about the planet their people are from!

Now they are being asked to find a baby on Saltare-1 that can teleport planets so that they can use this mythical child to teleport Earth a safe distance from the Saltarians that want to wipe them out!

The first third of the book is falling into Mykal, Court, and Franny’s situation, getting to know Stork, and setting up their time on the Earth starcraft. The middle section is some great character development, relationship building, and preparation to infiltrate Saltare-1 and find this special baby. The last third of the book is going to the planet and finding the baby. Like I said, I really thought the pacing was well done. The whole time I was at the edge of my seat thinking “80% through already? HOW ARE KRISTA AND BECCA GOING TO FINISH THIS STORY!?”

I absolutely adored the ending. One of the driving forces of the plot is the link between the characters. I would have been disappointed if the link was never revealed, and I am not disappointed! I love the explanation and the science thought out behind it! I love what the link means for the three characters and just how important they are to each other.

Other aspects of this book I love: A love interest for Franny! While I adore Mykal and Court’s “coupling,” I always felt a bit sad that Franny wasn’t really a part of the romance, though I still love their connection and need to care for each other as a trio. I also love the point near the end where everything gets explained, but the baby’s name and her origin most of all–yo, I cried. That was such a moving moment. While some of the science made me say “hmm, really?” for the most part, I loved every aspect of the explanation for the link, humanity, Earth, the baby–EVERYTHING! Like I said…I cried. Most books don’t do that to me. I also liked Zimmer, Padgett, Gem, and Kinden returning to be a rather large part of this novel as well. The relationship developments between the eight characters is vastly intriguing.

I’m not really sure what else to say because I WANT TO GIVE EVERYTHING AWAY IT WAS SO GOOD, but that would be rude. I guess you will just have to read this book for yourself. The Raging Ones and The Last Hope are two of my favorite books EVER WRITTEN and I know a number of people who will be getting this recommendation. It is also a duology that has some more serious elements to it that I would love to bring to a high school classroom in some way.

This was... wow. I didn't think I could be surprised after the first book's end, but the authors did it. I am officially mind-blown.

The writing was good, it kept me involved and interested, it kept me invested. I love the trio and I'll admit that I was a little sad at the way things were heading, but it's more like the disappointment just comes because I know things won't be the same. I'm sad but relieved that they'll get the same thing in the end and even after everything's done, it all happens the way it does and I'm totally here for it. The supporting cast felt more like loose ends that I didn't have to think about. The ones I call Secondaries only really mattered a little more to me than the third-ties because of how much they meant to one of the four main characters. While I'm glad that they were there, they just didn't seem as prominent in my mind as they did in the first book. So much more was going on and they took the back seat.

I enjoyed the story. The beginning dragged a little but I'm an impatient reader. It picked up after a few chapters and then I was wholly invested in what happened next. I liked how it kept me wanting to read more afterward and the ending has completely ruined me for other books. It was just so sad and perfect, like the ending of a good movie you wish wouldn't end because you want to SEE what the build up was moving toward, but at the same time you don't want a thing changed because it was just that. Perfect. It's a definite recommend if you've read the first book, and if you haven't read this series, go check it out.

The world is a pretty dark place right now. We see things on the news and in our every day lives that hurt and frighten us. We see our world turning into something we might not recognize. So it’s important to find those little things that make us happy and bring us hope. When I’m feeling that way I often turn to books. They not only provide escapism (which we all need from time to time) but they also allow us to live vicariously through fictional characters, which can sometimes help us to find parallels in our own life.
I was fortunate enough to receive an advance review copy of The Last Hope by Krista and Becca Richie, the sequel to The Raging Ones (see my last review!). Little did I know upon picking it up that I would be finding myself in a story not only full of love, friendship, and adventure, but also immigrant stories, war, and people willing to help strangers for the greater good.
The Last Hope picks up right where The Raging Ones leaves off. The alternating point of views of our three main characters (Court, Mykal, and Franny) continue, but we also get a new addition… Stork. He’s the one person that possesses the secrets to their past, but he needs them to help save the future of his people.
After reading this book throughout the last week I really connected to this story of people being lost from their home world. It made me think about how immigrant families flee their homes for the chance of a better life somewhere new and foreign. Language and cultural barriers make this difficult, and the characters in The Last Hope handle this with such compassion and grace. The idea that we’re stronger together, with all our differences, really shines throughout the story.
Science fiction often times seems to reflect things that are happening in modern times, or to serve as a warning for the future. I see this message throughout The Last Hope, even if that’s not what was intended. My hope is that you give this series a chance because it was the right amount of entertainment and reflection. Also, there are multiple love stories and you gotta know that I love a love story. Like, you’re cheering for ALL THE COUPLES!

A great ending for one of my favorite duologies! There was a bit more exposition and slowed pacing, but the characters 100% made up for that! The main three and even the new characters truly carried this book and though there were action packed scenes that made my heart race, I couldn't wait to go back to the quieter moments just to chill with the characters a bit more.. I mean.. what can I say, I loved this book a lot.

Krista and Becca Ritchie have masterfully blended sci-fi and romance in this book, the second installment of this entertaining duology. All the feels in outer space. This is a duology and the first book “The Raging Ones” should definitely be read first. The focus of this book is on the beloved trio from the first book Franny, Court, and Mykal. Imprisoned on an enemy starship with their “last hope” being a baby. There are also some new characters that added a bit of a splash, but honestly I enjoyed my time spent with the trio.

I don’t generally read sci-fi but this was a lot of fun! There was just the perfect amount of world building to keep it interesting, but I was never confused or overwhelmed with it. The characters were all well-developed, engaging, and likable (well most of them). The story was swiftly and perfectly paste, never a dull moment. The Romance was sweet and satisfying. This book was out of my comfort zone, out of this world, and showed me the stars. I’m really looking forward to what this writing duo has in store for us next.

*** thanks Wednesday Books/St Martin’s press for my copy of this book ***

While The Raging Ones weaved a story of intrigue and mystery, and topped it off with one hell of a cliffhanger, The Last Hope picked up where the previous book left off, tangled the story further, then untangled it, and it was all so fun to witness.
The Last Hope is one of the most unputdownable sequels I’ve ever encountered.
The connection I felt to the characters when I read the first book was not lost in the second. The writing flowed very well, even with the multiple POVs. I really enjoyed how the plot was set up, the pacing was good, but so was the way the events transpired, it gave me enough time to get to know the new characters before the rest of the old ones joined in, and it didn’t cause me much confusion.
The story was incredible, so engaging, and unpredictable. The mixture of romance and friendship was beautifully balanced with the action of the plot. It was so enjoyable.
I recommend The Last Hope, especially if you’ve read the first book. If not, why not pick up both? You won’t regret it.

The Last Hope is the conclusion in The Raging Ones duology . The story picks up right where The Raging Ones ended. I don’t want to go into too many spoilers because the end of the first book is such a shock.
The story still follows Franny, Mykal, and Court, and reintroduces some familiar faces as well as some new ones. Stork is one of my favorite characters in this book. He is a new POV in this book. The story does still shift perspectives each chapter between Franny, Mykal, and Court, but the addition of Stork adds some depth and an outside perspective into Franny, Mykal, and Court’s relationship.
Towards the end, I felt like I was slightly rushed. Everything comes to a climax and tensions are high, then there is a time jump out of nowhere. I feel like the authors had to cram a trilogy’s worth of information and wrap everything up neatly in this book. Other than that, if there was a gradual lead up to the ending that we got, I would’ve been perfectly happy.
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

So we all have those books, those very special books that we read and instantly connect with. Those books that will forever remain all-time favourites .... and that ALWAYS happens when I read something from these authors. Anything that Krista and Becca write I KNOW it's going to be AMAZING and UNIQUE, and OH SO SPECIAL. They are my ALL-TIME FAVOURITE AUTHORS EVER after all and there hasn't been a book they've written that I haven't adored and cherished.... been emotionally invested in from beginning to end and in the afterwards and this book is no different. Thought-provoking, gentle, cryptic, passionate, intense, heartbreaking, uplifting... the whole story was so believable. Beautifully written, heartbreakingly deep yet heartwarmingly light, the emotions jump right off the page. And the characters, oh these characters grab you and just don't let go. A truly magical journey, reading it was like watching a movie unfolding. The Last Hope is Absolute Perfection, an unforgettable book and a FANTASTIC conclusion to this Duet.

So, I’m not known for remembering when follow-ups for books come out. It’s horrible of me, truly. I think I should probably start marking things down in a calendar but that is all beside the point. When I was approached to review the second half of the Raging Ones duology, I was beyond excited to jump on the opportunity. I remembered how much I loved the first book and how shocked I was at the ending. I worried if I’d get the answers I wanted, and if it would be satisfying. There was absolutely NO REASON TO WORRY! The Last Hope by Krista and Becca Ritchie was absolutely everything I could have asked for and more as a follow-up. Obviously, spoilers for the first book to follow.

Character developed continued and carried through the novel. We’re introduced to a new character, Stork, and goodness gracious, I loved him. I even grew to love Court after being lukewarm toward him in the first novel. Each character seems to grow into themselves, as well as their role, especially the three that are linked. We’re treated to something truly spectacular in this novel, which was initially seeded in the first book of the duology — the freedom of love and the lack of triangles. There was never once a moment of worry that we would have to read through will Mykal or Court need to choose between the other or Franny, or will Franny need to choose between Mykal, Court, Stork, or Zimmer. Love was love was love and that’s all that mattered throughout, the one cosmic universal, which I suppose in the end, might not have been that universal. But yes, reading a YA book without the stress of characters being pit against one another is such a refreshing rarity, and it’s great to see it continue in The Last Hope.

Pacing, which was my initial complaint with the first book in the duology, was perfect in this concluding novel. There was purpose to every scene, every page, and there was never any lag. In fact, it almost worried me at how well and quickly paced it was as I was sure there would be no way for the authors to answer everything. I kept looking at how much was left in the book and panicking over how it would end. Turned out there would be no need for me to worry about the ending, it was everything I didn’t know I needed. Which is another thing that makes the novel so fantastic — the ending which was something I wanted but didn’t expect! That is such a hard thing to do, especially in YA fiction. Half the time, the ending is completely predictable while the rest of the time we get endings that are such a surprise solely to surprise with no forethought or foreshadowing. Here, the ending surprised me, but was definitely an earned ending. It made sense, did not feel forced, and boy howdy, did I cry.

The Last Hope by Krista and Becca Ritchie is a marvelous ending to a fantastic duology. With expert pacing and terrific character development, The Ritchie sisters truly know how to deliver a book with an ending that delivers and produces plenty of tears — both happy and sad. If you haven’t picked up The Raging Ones, do so now and then pick up The Last Hope. It’s definitely worth it!

”After all that we’ve been through, we deserve a better ending.”


Wow. That was fykking awesome. Mayday.

Well, what exactly can I say to describe this book without spoiling it? Honestly, not very much. What I can say is that Krista and Becca Ritchie once again take us on an adventure with our linked trio of Franny, Mykal, and Court.

We start off where we left off in book one. Then, somehow a whole new and unexpected mission begins. I read a few reviews before I started that mentioned that TLH felt like an entirely new story, and I was a bit afraid. After reading, I can somewhat see that, but to me it feels like the next step in a journey. We get some new settings, a few new characters, the reappearance of some old ones, and a new mission. Our trio gets the much awaited answers to some of their (Ok Franny’s) questions. What I especially liked is the arc that Franny’s story takes. Of course I love Mykal and Court, but Franny was sort of the outlier even in TRO. In The Last Hope everyone has time to shine and finds more of their place.

All in all it’s just an all around good read. It kept me turning pages wanting to find out what would happen next. There is some world building once again in this book, but the authors kept it a bit tighter so it didn’t feel like reading another series opener. I can honestly say I enjoyed this installment a bit more than the first one. And the ending. Sigh. That’s all I can really say, but yeah. Sigh.

The world of the Raging Ones was expanded so much in The Last Hope and I absolutely loved it. The bond between the characters was so unique and fascinating that I never wanted to leave their world. I adore these characters, especially Court. Overall so glad I had an opportunity to read this series and definitely recommend it. Fully review will be live on www.readandwander.com for my blog tour stop August 13th.

I was really excited to see the second and final book for Court, Mykal, and Franny. Their connection is literally spellbinding, and after what happened at the end of book one, I was on edge to see where the story would go.

We find out so much more about the trio's history, and the love between Court and Mykal intensifies.

There were some spots where the pacing was a little slow, but the last several chapters definitely made up for it in a whirlwind.

And the ending was absolutely beautiful.

4.5 stars

The Last Hope is the sequel to The Raging Ones and Becca & Krista Ritchies finale to their duology. After the amazing ending from the first book, I had to get my hands on the second. I was, thankfully, not disappointed. Personally, The Last Hope blows the first novel out of the water. The characters that we’ve grown to love and care for - Franny, Court, Mykal, Kinden, Gemma, Zimmer, and Padgett - are all back, with a brand new mission and and brand new allies. Not only was I intrigued by this mission, it incorporated plot lines and themes from the first over so well. We still get questions of identity, family, belonging, destiny, etc., while big questions are answered throughout. Characters grow, and I am so blissfully content with the ending. Every character was fine justice, and their endings felt so right. There’s also some wonderful plot twists and reveals throughout the book, which kept the pacing consistent.

In short, this book was so wonderful, and is one of my favorites of this year.

You guys, I was so excited about this book. I wait for it since last August when I first read an ARC of "The Raging Ones." I'm not the biggest Sci-Fi girl out there, but what I like about this duology is that is not only a Sci-Fi. It's also a fantasy, a romance, and so much more.


So basically this book starts right after the first one finished, and I was so happy to see Franny, Mykal and Court again. I wanted nothing but their safety and their happiness. I was also so in love with all of the new characters, but especially Stork. From the first moment we set eyes on him, I knew he was gonna be helpful and great in general.
There wasn's a lot about the plot until almost the end of the book, but it was okay and I was satisfied. The book is full of revelations and explanations and even though some of them were a little bit too confused for me, I also think that the book in general has a great structure and a great plot altogether. It's not the classic Sci-Fi set on a foreign land, Earth is a big part of the plot and I was glad that it was the "main planet". It's not something we usually see.
Romance is also a big part of this book, and the two main relationships were so right and so sweet that I was in awe all of the time. Big shoutout to our LGBTQ+ favourite couple that I won't name cause spoilers, but they were my favourite relationship in the whole duology.


I'm not going too much into spoilery thoughts, but the last part was a little bit confusing. The resolution was a bit rushed in my opinion and there were some rules to be set beforehand.
After all, I think this book really preaches what it says in the title. Hope is the last thing to die, the last thing to go away, and you can find hope even in the worst moments if you are loved.
In conclusion, I think this book is an amazing ending to this duology, and I can't recommend it enough.

Thank you Wednesday Books and Krista and Becca Ritchie for the opportunity to read and review The Last Hope. A full review will be posted closer to release!

One of my most highly anticipated books this year and it didn’t disappoint! I’m pulled in to the story from the very first chapter. All those months of waiting for the final book, I’m immediately rewarded with some answers to the lingering questions I had at the end of The Raging Ones. I went into this book blind with no expectations; I had no idea there were four POVs. When the fourth POV was introduced, I was very delighted and pleasantly surprised.

Every chapter I find myself even more engrossed in the story. The twists and turns and the surprises, I couldn’t wait to find out what happens next, but wanted to take my time reading and soaking in all the information and all the revelations. True to Krista and Becca Ritchie fashion, The Last Hope has humor, witty banter, strong friendship and relationship bonds, well-developed characters, gut wrenching moments, as well as intense emotional moments. Where romance was secondary in the first book, there was more focus on it in this book. It was so wonderful (and heartbreaking) to witness Court and Mykal’s love continue to grow. “I want to be where Court and Mykal are in each other’s arms and happy. So deeply happy.” The chemistry between Franny and her new love interest is so strong it’s explosive. Franny is really hilarious when she’s all flustered and I adore his term of endearment for her. They are just way, WAY too cute!!

I loved finding out the truth about Court, Mykal, and Franny, and I loved finding out what happened in the past explaining how they came to live on Saltare-3.

What the triatomic group is willing to sacrifice for each other and to save humanity is truly selfless. Overall, it’s very well written and I love this book so much more than the first because it answers all my questions from The Raging Ones, and because there was more focus on the romance aspect of the story. As I neared the end, I just couldn’t put the book down. The pace picked up and I was in a roller coaster of emotions. I honestly love where the characters are at at the end of the story and I only wish there was more. I don’t want to accept that this is just a duology. I’m not ready for the story to end just yet.

You know when the first book ends on such a massive cliff hanger you almost throw the book across the room? Meet me after finishing The Raging Ones. So to tell you I needed to get my hands on The Last Hope is an understatement. If you read The Raging Ones, then you probably don't need to hear much from me about why you'll enjoy The Last Hope. Talk about an epic cliff hanger. What consistently impresses me about the story is how Becca & Krista aren't afraid to completely dispel any expectations about what you think regarding the genre. The series is one that will keep surprising you. The Last Hope asks us both what makes us human, and who are community will become.

Faced with an enemy that won't die, one where consequences, foregone conclusions, and fate are second nature. The secrets, revelations, and mysteries constantly unfold across the page. As they must navigate their bond and relationships between Franny, Court, and Mykal (especially as their romantic relationship becomes stronger), is a challenge they must still face - will they ever emerge on the other side? Especially as they evaluate the pros and cons of their bond, what it gives, but also takes from them.