Wren Greenwood, a successful advice columnist, finds herself a victim of a too common 21st century ploy: the Romance Scam. Lisa Unger introduces the lonely, lovelorn Wren in her latest: Last Girl Ghosted. Although she is capable of dispensing insightful counsel, she feels hypocritical and burdened by taking on the despair of her readers. At her best friend’s urging, she joins a dating app in hope of filling a void in her life with a relationship. Wren is particularly drawn to one profile-the owner of a security company who quotes Rilke. It seems that they are perfectly suited to each other, and Wren quickly finds herself in a romantic whirlwind. She feels safe enough with this man to share some of her closely held secrets about her traumatic childhood. When her paramour disappears without a trace, Wren devotes herself to trying track him down. She learns along the way that the man’s motives were not what she had thought. Wren is tracked down and questioned by Bailey, a private investigator who has been hired for a related case. Their attraction begins to grow as they search for answers together. Wren is conflicted because she still has feelings for the missing stranger, despite his alleged actions. When the search brings Wren and Bailey back to her hometown, she is surrounded by memories of her horrific past. It is difficult for the reader to cheer for Wren when she keeps making bad choices and sabotaging her own efforts. Last Girl Ghosted is a perfect example of a genre blend of Romance/Suspense that unfortunately fails to achieve credible balance. The romantic plot becomes more of a diversion that is both cringe-worthy and trite. Unfortunately, Last Girl Ghosted is a novel with too much romantic foolishness and too little genuine thrills.
Thanks to the author, Park Row and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I started this book about a month ago. I received an ebook of it and - I struggle to read ebooks - I am definitely a lover of the paper book - something g for me to work on in 2022! About a week ago, I remembered this book and was determined to finish. Most probably my last book of 2021 and it was - just OK.😑

Last Girl Ghosted starts somewhat strong with Wren - deciding to give online dating a try, finding a match and then being ghosted - with ‘Adam’ virtually disappearing after a fast romance. Wren wants to find out what happened to him - then, basically everything happens. Wren’s traumatic childhood is revisited, women have disappeared after meeting the mysterious ‘Adam’ and there are many investigators looking for all the missing people - and Wren decides to take it into her hands to make things right.🥴

This is an intriguing story - especially the first 50% - but there was simply too much happening and it becomes far fetched. I’ve read reviews of some that loved this book - including the short chapters and fast pace - which I can understand. For me, the last half of the book was all over the place and lost me. I received a copy of this book for review. ⭐️⭐️💫

This book was really quick to suck me in. There were quite a few nights where I ended up reading past my bed time because I couldn't put it down. It's set just before the start of the pandemic and there are many news snippets talking about "a virus spreading from China" which really ramped up the tension and helped set the tone for the story.

It starts with Wren meeting the seemingly perfect guy on "Torch" (aka fictional Tinder). They're dating for a while when all of a sudden Adam ghosts her. Wren can't find any trace of him online, his apartment is actually just an Airbnb, and none of her friends had met him. While she's trying to come to terms with his disappearance, Bailey, a private investigator contacts her. He's been on the case of a missing girl who vanished after dating a guy she met on Torch. Bailey thinks it's the same man Wren has been dating, and he's also linked to the disappearance of two other girls. Desperate to find some answers and still very much drawn to Adam, Wren's investigation leads her back to her own childhood which was filled with her own trauma.

There are two parallel story lines throughout most of the book, what happened in Wren's past and what's currently going on with Adam. You also get the sense that they are some how connected. While I had a pretty good guess of what was going to happen I was still very much hooked into the story. My only disappointment was just that the last 10% of the book was a little anticlimactic and some of Wren's actions were questionable. Thinking about how I would act in the same situation though it's possible I was too quick to judge Wren and the other women. I would still recommend it for fans of thrillers and dark dramas.

I loved this book!! It kept me on the edge of my seat, not necessarily in a ‘scary’ way, but in a suspenseful, need to know, sort of way. It was a bit of a slower burn at first, but when things picked up, they reeeeally picked up! I was so invested in this book, and it was a wild ride from beginning to end!

I was hooked by the premise of this book. Wren is great at giving advice in her advice column, but not great at taking it. When she meets an amazing guy on Torch (think Tinder) and they hit it off, she thinks she’s found the one. But then he ghosts her. Instead of letting him go, she’s determined to find out why.

The first half of this book was fast-paced and heart pounding. Then it almost screeched to a halt. The second half of the book seemed unconnected and slow. As things started to come together (or unravel), I wasn’t as invested as I was in the beginning. I did want to know how it played out, but just because I wanted the resolution.

This was my first Lisa Unger read and it will not be my last. I liked the fast-pace writing style she brings as well as the story and characters. A solid thriller!

“Last Girl Ghosted” was my first book by Lisa Unger and I don’t understand how I haven’t read anything by her until now!! I will definitely be exploring her backlist of novels!

Likes:
- I loved the storyline… it is very relatable with how many people use dating apps and the dangers of meeting people online.
- Right away the story picks up and draws you in… there is no waiting for something to happen. Every chapter ends and makes you want to read more!
- I love the character development of the main characters in the story. I find having a good background is so important for me as a reader to make a connection and understand the characters.
- There are secrets unfolding the entire book. There is never a moment I feel like I know what’s going on (in a good way for a thriller)

Dislikes:
- I feel like there were some parts that were dragged out a bit that could have been cut shorter.

Overall this was a fabulous read all thriller lovers will love!

Thank you @harpercollinsca and @launger for the gifted copy!

Synopsis:
She met him through a dating app. An intriguing picture on a screen, a date at a downtown bar. What she thought might be just a quick hookup quickly became much more. She fell for him—hard. It happens sometimes, a powerful connection with a perfect stranger takes you by surprise. Could it be love?

But then, just as things were getting real, he stood her up. Then he disappeared—profiles deleted, phone disconnected. She was ghosted.

Maybe it was her fault. She shared too much, too fast. But isn't that always what women think—that they're the ones to blame? Soon she learns there were others. Girls who thought they were in love. Girls who later went missing. Chasing a digital trail into his dark past—and hers—she finds herself on a dangerous hunt. And she's not sure whether she's the predator—or the prey.

I really enjoyed this book, the dual timelines, and the characters were well developed. However - I didn’t find it super thrilling. My attention sometimes wandered and I hate that authors are throwing covid into stories when it has nothing to do with the plot. (It is very slight - would not consider it a trigger warning.) Rating: 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger is a psychological thriller.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Harlequin and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
29 year old Wren Greenwood runs a very successful "Dear Birdie" advice column and podcast.   She meets Adam Harper through the dating site Torch, and falls hard for this cybersecurity expert who owns his own company.  For the next three months they are barely apart.   It appears they have both finally found what they have been looking for.

Then, just after Wren tells him her darkest secret, Adam stands her up.  He totally disappears from her life.  His social media and telephone are all deleted.  She has been ghosted.  Had she told him too much, or was there another reason for his disappearance?

A private investigator appears at her door.   Bailey Kirk has been searching for Adam for many months.  But he knows Adam Harper as Raife Mannes.  Bailey had been hired by the father of Mia Thorpe, who had met Raife through Torch.  Mia has disappeared, along with her sizable bank account.  As his investigation spread, it seems that this "ghost" has taken at least 3 other girls with him, and Bailey fears that Wren may be next.

But Wren is not going to take this lying down.


My Opinions:   
In this day and age, when dating can be a treacherous road to follow,  and privacy issues a thing of the past, this book seems like a very true-to-life possibility, which made it a little disturbing.

The story is told mainly from Wren's perspective, but occasionally one of the other girls takes over, as well as Bailey.  This method worked well.

The book dealt with on-line dating, and ghosting.  It also dealt with mental illness, PTSD, Doomsday Preppers and an abusive home-life.  For some reason, the author made a number of references to the "virus from China"....which had no real reason for being in the book. Then there were the secrets.  But it was also about friendship, kindness, and love.

The characters were intriguing.  I really liked Wren and Jax, and their friendship.  Bailey grew on me, and I really liked Jones Cooper, who added another element to the story.

Unfortunately, for a 29-year old woman with so much going for her, Wren often acted like an 18 year-old with her first crush.   The other issue I had with this book is the over-use of the word "layer".  It was a central theme, which was okay, but there had to be 3 dozen instances of this word....not impressed.  "I am the storm" was also repeated again and again (although I did like the phrase).  As well, the identity of Adam was sort of a fore-gone conclusion early on, so there weren't any major surprises there.

However, the plot was really good, and it kept me turning the pages right to the end.  In one way it seemed like a very long book, and yet it still held my interest.  It didn't really drag (although at times I felt it start to).   Yes, I figured out who Adam was, but there were a couple of other twists that I had not seen coming.

Although this author's books are a hit or miss for me, this one was quite good.

I so enjoy Lisa Unger’s novels but this one wasn’t a favorite. It took off interesting then got boring and it took quite awhile to find out who was “Adam”. The references to covid weren’t needed they just seemed like filler. Not sure I’d recommend this. 2.5 stars as I enjoyed her friends.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going into this book. The premise sounded so intriguing. Online dating came after I found my husband, so it had me all the more interested to see what it was all about. This was also my first book by Lisa Unger, and I can say, that I absolutely loved it. It started off really strong and had me sucked in from the beginning. The section beginners were a tad confusing at first, but I think that was more to the fact that I was reading on an e-reader and being able to quickly flip back and reference something is not an option. Once I understood the section starters I really appreciated it though. It added a different perspective. I was able to sort out one of the main twists about 2/3 of the way through and for me that's pretty good. Through out the whole thing I was on the edge of my seat, guessing, anticipating, waiting, and I'm so glad and thankful for the opportunity I had to read this book. I felt like the end could have been a bit stronger, but as a whole I was ok with how things ended up. My one gripe, might be the font size for the e-reader version, the print was so incredibly tiny, though again, not sure if that was just the arc version I got or if it will be the actual book size. I will gladly pick up more of Lisa's books though and can't wait to get caught up on her backlist!

Trigger Warnings:
Abduction, Abuse, Assault, Language, Stalking, Murder, Drinking, PTSD, Mental Illness, Trauma Loss, Animal Death, School Shooting, Gun Violence, Sexual Assault and Attempted, Toxic Relationships, Talk of Drug Use, Fire Claims Lives, Pregnancy

This book fell a little flat for me after a strong start. I'm a fan of the unreliable narrator; not so much a fan of main characters who make questionable choices that lead them into dangerous situations. As a result, I wasn't a fan of Wren, who really seemed to have some amazing people who loved and supported her, and yet she ignored all their (practical) advice in favour of her own (stupid) decision-making.

Dual timeframes / plot lines can be tricky because inevitably one suffers when compared to the other. I liked the present day story better than Wren's backstory; I liked the secondary characters better than the main one; and I would have preferred to know more about Mia, Melissa, and Bonnie, who seemed way more interesting than Wren at the end of the day.

The story jumped the shark a little for me when Wren made the ultimate decision to head out on her own, but at that point of the book I was pretty much over Wren, so it really didn't matter.

Loved the multiple stories and timelines. It’s suspenseful and engaging I couldn’t put it down. Would love to see this as a movie someday!

I was engrossed by this fast-paced, unique, thrilling and suspenseful story from start to finish! This book has an interesting, intricate plot and carefully-drawn, believable characters. I loved Jax, Bailey, Jones, Wren and Jay. As usual with Lisa Unger’s books, I just couldn’t put this one down!

Big thanks to NetGalley for my gifted e-copy.

Last Girl Ghosted is creepy and twisted and horrifying, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think i would have enjoyed it more had there not been so many flashbacks setting up Wren’s story. They detracted from the pace and i found myself speed reading through to get to back to the action.

This is the first Lisa Unger book I have read. I was really hooked by the plot and quickly got sucked into the wonderful writing and story at the beginning of the book. As the last quarter of the book unfolded though I felt things just get a little confusing and hard to follow/not as interesting as I had hoped it would be. I will definitely give her other books a chance and am looking forward to reading more from this author.

I really loved the premise of this one, because it seems really realistically terrifying; an apparent connection between an identical dating profile posted under different names and girls who have gone missing. The whole play on Ghosted has several layers that come to light as the book goes on; it's really clever- I love it when authors are able to do that kind of thing.

Wren's backstory was really tragic and sad; the drip by drip way we're fed information as the story unfolds was enthralling. At points in time, you're not really sure what really happened and what is a figment of Wren's imagination, which for me kept me guessing until the very end.

I did think that the pacing on this one was a bit slow and drawn out at times; by the end, I saw why most things were included in the story, but while I was in the middle of it, it sometimes was hard to understand why it was being included.

I'll definitely have to go back and read Confessions on the 7:45 now and will keep an eye out for future releases from Lisa in the future!

The concept of Last Girl Ghosted hooked me immediately. If you have done any online dating, this storyline will feel familiar. Who hasn't been ghosted? But for Wren, unusual things start happening next. This book definitely kept me guessing. The tone of the book changes a bit in the middle as Wren heads to the home she has avoided for so long, and her backstory is slowly revealed. Overall an interesting and engaging read that kept me guessing until the end!

She met him through a dating app. An intriguing picture on a screen, a date at a downtown bar. What she thought might be just a quick hookup quickly became much more. She fell for him—hard. It happens sometimes, a powerful connection with a perfect stranger takes you by surprise. Could it be love?

But then, just as things were getting real, he stood her up. Then he disappeared—profiles deleted, phone disconnected. She was ghosted.

Maybe it was her fault. She shared too much, too fast. But isn't that always what women think—that they're the ones to blame? Soon she learns there were others. Girls who thought they were in love. Girls who later went missing. She had been looking for a connection, but now she's looking for answers. Chasing a digital trail into his dark past—and hers—she finds herself on a dangerous hunt. And she's not sure whether she's the predator—or the prey.

This was my first Lisa Unger book, and I became hooked and read 2 more after this one. She has the ability to really draw the reader into the story.

I am always on the hunt for a good thriller and was hopeful this would be one, but for me, it was not.

Last Girl Ghosted is about Wren who decides to start online dating and is quickly matched with Adam. They immediately click and fall into a whirlwind romance until he suddenly disappears.

Wren is approached by a private investigator who tells her that he suspects Adam isn’t who he says he is and is actually responsible for the disappearances of several other women before her.
Wren feels betrayed and assists with the investigation into Adam to figure out who he really is and where he went. All the while battling the feelings she still has for him.

The book jumps back and forth between the present and Wren’s past and explains what happened to her when she was younger.

The idea of this book was much better than the execution of it. This book felt way too long and repetitive. There were also SO many things that didn’t make sense or add up. The things Adam did were fairly implausible and the fact no one had caught him but he stayed in the same area, just made me roll my eyes. I was into the book for the first half, but by the second half it just lost believability and my interest.

Overall this book was incredibly disappointing to me and was too long with way too many holes. This is not one I would recommend

Rounded down from 2.5 stars