I'll be honest, I didn't make it past the prologue. It was just SO STRANGE to have an author say: I've outgrown this pen name, but here's a book I wrote like it. It's probably not going to sell well, so don't get your hopes up for a sequel. The whole thing just left a really bad taste in my mouth, both like the author was judging readers for liking her old books and blaming us at the same time for not buying enough of them.

I guess you can tell us all that, but I just put the book down and didn't have much urge to read past that, which felt very shaming and strange. but why would I want to read a book even the author feels ambivalent about?

I was so happy to read a story with such a different premise. The story grabbed my attention from the first page to the last. I love Claire Kent books and this one is one of her bests!!

4 stars. This book was really good! Last Light is a new take on Dystopian romance. This book takes place not too far into the future and it felt very realistic. An asteroid hits Earth and nothing could be done about it. Many people moved away from the projected hit zone in Europe before the asteroid hit. But the displaced people, the tsunamis, hurricanes and other storms that were caused, as well as a lot of dust in the air, and climate change have wrought havoc on the planet. The US is a lawless area and it's everyone for themselves just trying to survive. Many people have died from sickness. Most plants and animals have died out and people have to scavenge abandoned buildings for food and supplies to live. Everything that happened was very easy to imagine and it definitely felt like something like this could actually happen one day.

This book is Travis and Layne's story. Layne grew up in a small town in Georgia, raised by her grandparents after her parents died. She was sixteen when the asteroid hit and the world changed. Travis was from the same small town but he was a bit older. He worked at the town garage and serviced Layne's grandparents' cars. He was divorced with a baby (who later dies) when the asteroid hit. Now it is five years later. Their small town banded together and moved on from the town, as a group, to try to find other survivors at a army base where people have formed a safe community. But Layne has to stay behind to care for her sick grandmother. When she dies, Layne is left alone, traveling to catch up to the rest of the town. Along the way, she meets comes upon Travis, who was an acquaintance and is also traveling. They decide to trust each other and travel together, and eventually, they end up falling for each other too.

I really enjoyed this story. It was unique, interesting and well written. I liked Layne and Travis a lot. He was the strong, silent type, but also a good, shy, sweet man. Layne was twenty one in the book and had been through so much. She still kept some innocence about relationships because she was so young when the world changed. In some ways, she was a lonely young girl. Both she and Travis needed each other. I really liked their slow burn relationship and felt the love between them. I did wish that they had defined things between them a bit earlier, which would have kept down the angst some and kept them from wondering where they stood. But it didn't hinder my enjoyment too much.

Overall, this was a good read. I see lots of possibilities for it to turn into a series, because there are may interesting characters I can see getting their own books. Unfortunately, there is an author's note that this is her last book under the pen name Claire Kent, so that probably will not happen. But I still very much enjoyed this book and I definitely recommend it.

I loved this, it’s a dystopian romance I think would be the best way to describe it, Layne and Travis live in a post apocalyptic world who are travelling together to reach the same destination, both are great characters, strong , independent but flexible and willing to change/learn. This book is so addictive, you can’t stop once you pick it up. It’s well written, the world building is really good and I will definitely be looking for more books in the future by Claire Kent

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Last Light is an amazing post-apocalyptic romance. I couldn't put this one down. I highly enjoyed Layne and Travis's journey together. Layne is so strong and can really hold her own. Travis is that added bonus that you will just love. He is strong and his connection to Layne is amazing. Survival at it's finest and finding love when you least expect it. Last Light is all about suriving and new beginnings. I love how Claire Kent paints the end of the world to finding the new normal. I just loved this book so much and it was a breath of fresh air I didn't know I need to read.

4 1/2 Stars!

I'm all in for a dystopian or apocalyptic tale...doubly so when you give me a romance I can get behind as well! In Last Light, Claire Kent successfully does both and I reveled in it!

The world has been mostly decimated by a meteor strike. It wasn't total annihilation but the world's population has diminished greatly and all of the comforts we take for granted have vanished. It is a society where only the strong survive. As such, it is often dangerous to be a woman alone because you can easily fall prey to men who don't have the best of intentions.

Layne has recently left her hometown and is traveling to Fort Knox, where she's heard that the majority of her townspeople went in search of a safer existence. Along the way, she meets up with Travis. He's older than her and she remembers him from when he used to fix her car. They've both recently lost loved ones that they stayed behind with when the rest of the town evacuated. Therefore, they decide to travel together since they are both heading to the same place.

Along the way, as they spend more time together, they grow closer. Both of them are unsure what the other one ultimately expects from their relationship. Their lack of communication leads to some confusion once they get to Fort Knox. They both have to decide what's most important to them at this point. In order to do so, they may have to swallow their pride and put their hearts on the line.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Ms. Kent for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I'm looking for something different from the usual romance story, this is what I love to read. The best way to describe this would be to think of the tv series The Walking Dead but without the zombies and instead of following a group of people, this only follows one couples journey across the United States trying to stay safe in a very unsafe world.

This isn't your typical "disease ravages the world" kind of apocalyptic story. In fact, this is something that could truly happen in real life. It's pretty scary to think about and that's exactly what I kept thinking as I read this book. What would I do? How would my family and I survive under these circumstances? It made for a connection to a story that should seem pretty far fetched. I was on the edge the whole way through waiting for anything to happen. It made the ending to this book mean so much more.

You would think it would be hard for a book to have such a good romance when the main focus is survival but no only did the author succeed, she created one of the sexiest slow building romances. If you need steam in your books, let me just tell you there were some pretty sexy scenes. The romance is not lacking in this book.

I really liked the main couple. Travis pulled off the strong, protective alpha while still showing a vulnerable side to him through Layne. Layne is a heroine I can get behind. She's young, only 20 years old and she is braver than most. She was smart and practical. You do not see any immaturity in this girl. She had to grow up and grow up fast. As a couple, these two fit perfectly when they never would have even looked twice at each other before the world fell.

This was a creative story that made for very enjoyable read, especially if you are looking for something different. I highly recommend it!

4.5 stars

I’ve been a long-time fan of Claire Kent ever since her book ‘Escorted’ and while this isn’t a pen name the author writes under much, I jumped on the chance to read and review this one. I have enjoyed a number of post-apocalyptic stories, those with and without romance and this take did not let me down. I read this book in one sitting, I couldn’t put it down.

LAST LIGHT is carried by a cast of two, Travis and Layne. They were from the same home town, a few years after the world-changing event and having to travel to safety. All the things you might expect from this kind of setting were prevalent, no food, no power, gangs of vigilantes and increased vulnerability for women. That said, at no point was there a thread of the weakness of women, on the contrary, Layne was empowered and fierce in her own way.

This story centred on a slow growing connection and a romance to light fires. I lived for it and I loved it. I found everything about their past and presents engaging. There was a strong and detailed world in the background and a plenty of storyline to hang on to. The steam was pretty strong in this read but it fitted so well.

There were other characters that came into the story, friendlies and not-s0-friendlies. There was a background of mild tension as you might imagine in a world such as this which added to the pacing of the story.

I would love to read more of this world and characters and I continue to love anything written by Claire Kent.

Thank you to the author for the review copy through netgalley.

I have a difficult time resisting a post-apocalyptic romance novel. There is just something about the going back to basics state of the world that really appeals to me. Material things that are important in normal times don't mean anything when you are trying to survive a disaster. During these times, groups of people turn on each other and can act like monsters. You don't know who you can trust and what you'll have to do to survive. I love the unpredictability of the situation and the growth the characters will go through.

Last Light by Claire Kent was a great book and it kept me interested until the end. Even though the main character Layne is young, she really stepped up and did a great job in adjusting to the new world. She was strong and independent and I enjoyed getting to know her. However, I also liked that the author was able to capture her innocence in certain situations. You could feel that she was young and had to grow up faster than she would've had to if earth wasn't hit by a disaster. Travis is a good man and wants to protect Layne. I really liked how they met and how they both handled the situation. It was nice seeing these two individuals growing closer together. The pacing was great and I can't continue without saying that the sex scenes were really hot. I really enjoyed this book and I think fans of this genre will as well.

This book started off so good and I was instantly hooked on the story. But half way through it fizzled out and became very unrealistic and a disappointment. I had great hope for this story and wanted to see what happened with Layne and Travis but just lost interested and didn’t finish it. This definitely wasn’t the end of the world story I was hoping for.

Who would have thought dystopian romance would be my jam?
I really liked this book. I finished it in two days. I was interested from the first page. The story of Layne and Travis was well developed. I was worried when I first read the premise that the relationship between them would be antiquated. But the author clearly gave each character their own strengths.
The story without the romance would have been enough for me but the romance was the cherry on top. I will be looking for more books by this author.