I've always had a soft spot for stories that involve letters, texts, etc., and at the center of this story is a text message. The last message.

When Lizzie receives a text message that's obviously not meant for her, she can't help but be intrigued by it's meaning. Having lost her twin brother, she knows grief and she can feel the grief seeping through that message. When Lizzie meets Nick, she has no clue how that message might bring them together...or tear them apart.

I loved Nick and Lizzie. Both of their characters are older and mature, but almost like teenagers falling in love for the first time as their feelings for each other took hold. Their romance is almost an insta-love, but it's a slow burn that's mostly fade to black. It's a testimony to finding love after loss and grief. It's a story of hope and new beginnings.

I really liked the idea of this story. Although some of the imagery here is beautifully written, parts of the book seemed weighed down by the details. I found myself wanting to see more of Nick and Lizzie and less of everything else. There is a touch of mystery within this romance that I needed to see to the end, but I found the journey to get there slow going. The intrigue kept me turning the pages but I admit that I found myself skimming more than once. The ending definitely picked up the pace, but then, I felt like it was too rushed. I would have like more details, more explanation, just MORE as this story was resolved.

Oooffff, this was an amazing read. One of the utmost best best reads of all times. This story is about a girl going out on adventures and travelling the world to fulfill the last dying wish she had promised with her brother. One of her destinations is Savage Cove, a small town where everyone seems to know each other and it's simple, yet beautiful. Here she discovers a cafe that she like, gets interested in a picture of a woman hung on a wall, and from that picture alone, the whole journey starts. Of her researching, exploring and finding the love of her life, Nick.

It is a BEAUTIFUL story, if the capslock mean anything to you. I swear to God, if I have it in me to remove my memory and read it again? I hell damn would. I loved the built up, the plot, the storyline and how the author beautifully and intricately connected all the dots together. She kept me hooked like no other and I have never read a book so fast before. My day, other than university classes, revolved around no one but Lizzie and Nick. Even though they are book characters but seeing them two together did something to ME. I felt the butterflies within my stomach, I felt the blush creeping up my cheeks and I was the one to swoon and shriek loudly at all the right places for all the beautiful and private moments that they shared.

I loved how the author portrayed the emotions of each character, describing their inner turmoil exactly as one would envision it. The character development was FANTASTIC!!!!!!!! AMAZINGLY DONE AND BRILLIANTLY EXECUTED! These two sweet souls constantly had my heart and where a character would come that would try to drive these two apart to ruin the mood? I, myself, would want to jump inside the book and throw a trolley of bricks their way, which clearly shows that the author succeeded in her brilliance.

Thank you @catherinehopebooks for giving me the opportunity to read your masterpiece. This was my first book from you and definitely not the last at all. A beautifully well written book with two characters that live rent-free in my heart. For forever.🖤💞🖤💞🖤💞🖤

And oh yeah, Nick's dad was the absolute best! 😂🤣😂🤣😂

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“I’d rather spend time with you.”

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Where we touched flooded me with warmth.

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See you on the beach.

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“No, not at all, just happy. I could stand here all day with you.”

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And that kiss. That kiss! It still made me giggle, and heat radiate through my chest, when I relived it. I hadn’t felt butterflies like this, ever.

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“A woman after my own heart,” he said lightly, and liked the blush that rushed up to her cheeks.

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Nick hadn’t been this lost in a person, ever.

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Lizzie, I would like it if you decide to stay here with me.”
I beamed, and that spark leaped to a little flame. “I’d like to stay with you.”

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“You take my breath away.”

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“Nothing looks sexier than you in one of my shirts.”

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“You are irresistible.”

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“Where have you been all my life?”

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“I’m glad you came into my life so unexpectedly.” I don’t want to think of you leaving.”


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Your happiness makes me happy.

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“You know, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

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Then we’re the perfect couple.

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I’ve got you now. I’ll never let you go.

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“I have so much to tell you. But I want to say this to you first, before anything else. I love you. I’ve fallen in love with you. I love you, I love you, I love you!”

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Lizzie, I love you.

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What are the odds that those messages, which represented an old relationship, would be received by a new love?”

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I was in the arms of the man I loved.

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There’s a lot about you imprinted on me, Lizzie. You have become such an integral part of my life, and of me, it’s as if we can’t tell where one of us ends and the other begins.”

——

“I love you, Lizzie.”
“I love you too.”

——

🖤💞🖤💞🖤💞🖤

Catherine Hope is a new author to me and this won’t be my last book by her.
Lizzie is travelling alone after the tragic death of her beloved twin Rob. On her arrival in Savage Cove Lizzie drops her phone into the Ocean. This leads to a turn her life that will change things forever.
Nick also lives in Savage Cove and is trying to grieve for his dead wife, lizzie and Nick meet when his dog takes a shine to Lizzie.
Lizzie is torn between travelling to keep a promise to Rob but is now torn between staying and going. A random text arrives on lizzies temporary phone which throws everything up in the air.
A lovely story set in a beautiful location definitely worth reading.
Thank you NetGalley and Headline for an ARC of this book.

I felt the emotion just poured off the page and I was fully invested in Nick & Lizzie, Thew secondary characters were fun and would be a great spinoff. Highly recommend

A Breathtakingly beautiful story that pulls you in from beginning to end. I was so lost in the story and never wanted it to end.

Highly Recommend it to all readers.

2.5⭐️

I gave this book the old college try, I really did, but I just could not get through it. I got to 61% on my kindle and was fighting for my life.

I received The Last Message as an ARC from Greys Promo in exchange for an honest review, so here it is:

The pros of this book are there, but limited. The writing is good and Catherine Hope clearly has the ability to create a vivid picture, but that is also the reason I could not finish this book. It felt like I was reading a VERY descriptive book about nature and the beaches and small towns of Washington, not a romance with a sprinkle of mystery.

This book moved so incredibly slow that I felt like I was reading for hours and getting absolutely no where. There was such a heavy focus on describing the beaches and the scenes that the actual plot of the book was an afterthought. I really wanted to like this book because the premise seemed interesting, but I could not get through it because of how descriptive and slow it was.

Overall, it had great potential to be a mysterious romance, but I wanted to stop reading it so many times that I could not justify finishing this book, even to find out the ending.

(I did want to add that this book was not for me, but I could see many readers out there who would love this book and all it’s description!! So do not let this review deter you if you are the type of person to want to read a book with lots of imagery, slow moving plot and inner dialogue!)

I had originally wanted to read the book because of the cover and the synopsis of the story. As I started to read it was something more than I thought it was going to be. It was a roller coaster of emotions, heartbreak, loss, friendship and so much more. I was able to read this book in one go, I couldn’t put the book down.

It was a okay read.
I wanted to dnf, but I made it trough.
Just was not my cup of tea
Not for me

I loved how this book's message was about healing and love and forgivness and those are my favorite types of books. this had a heavy theme but a beautiful ending.

Thanks to netgalley for providing an advanced copy for the purpose of review.

This was and intense, emotional story with a compelling narrative that keeps you reeled in.

A beautiful love story, full of emotion and heart, and stunning scenery. I loved losing myself in this one, it was the perfect escape.

Liz and Nick are both dealing with the death of loved ones. They quickly bond and form a friendship…and more. This is a book about loss, friendship and secrets. When Liz gets a message on her phone from someone she doesn’t know it’s a mystery and a mystery she starts looking into. This book has a lot going on! There are several layers and several different stories going on and they all eventually blend together nicely. The characters are a little quirky but definitely share a common connection.

This was unfortunately a DNF for me had a really hard time getting into the story and just could not commit to reading the book. I want to thank NetGalley and Headline for the arc just wasn't the book for me.

Thank you to Headline, NetGalley and the author for providing me with an ARC of this book. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

DNF - On paper, this sounded like something I would really enjoy but I just couldn’t continue reading it unfortunately. The characters felt very robotic and the dialogue was very awkward in my opinion. I also found the plot very slow which meant I just wasn’t able to justify reading on any further.

This could have been so good - but to me it wasn't. I liked the idea of "a message intended for someone else" however the execution fell flat. The romantic plot is unoriginal and predictable, the mystery is lacking. I enjoyed the long walks along the beach though, the dogs, and the never-ending coffee and cake scenes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Headline for an ARC.

DNF @ 22%. "The Last Message" by Catherine Hope is not catching my attention AT ALL. I am finding this book very boring, slowly paced, and super predictable. As someone who is connected to grief in more ways than one, I found main character Lizzie's grief to be surface-level at best. I felt little to no emotion in the 1/4 of the book I read. If you want to read a better book about grief, self-discovery, and finding love in the face of unimaginable pain, try "One Last Gift" by Emily Stone. This feels like a cheap knockoff of that book.

Thank you to Catherine Hope, NetGalley, Headline, and Headline Eternal for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for my review.

This was a good read. I did like the mystery part of the book but I felt that it didn’t really get resolved like I thought it would. It seemed to be glossed over at the end.

I have to apologize to the author as this took me so long to read because I wasn’t sure I could deal with another book full of grief-stricken characters, especially when I also lost my brother. However, you don’t see much of the grief. It’s there, but it’s brief, and Lizzie’s brother doesn’t have that big of a part, we focus more on the dead wife. I want to make sure I highlight the good because the book was good, but I also have a bone to pick with the ending. 
The writing was done well, the characters were flushed out well, the chemistry was good, and I think the story flowed well. There were definitely some filler pages that I just kind of skipped over, but a lot of books have that. Lizzie drops her phone in the ocean and has to deal with an “ancient” phone for the time being, it is with this phone that she receives a mysterious message.
Lizzie meets a beautiful man and his dog, and they begin bumping into each other often, and eventually, they start actually making plans and seeing each other. This section of the book is great and it’s cute, and I enjoyed reading it.
Nick is broken, but still hot. Nick is trying to put his life together after losing his wife three years ago, and honestly, Nick doesn’t have many flaws, but also this book is mainly from Lizzie’s POV so we only see Nick when she sees Nick. He’s a good dog dad though, and seemingly quite wealthy. Broken, rich, dog dad, hot, what more can you want?

The Last Message is one of those emotional reads that keeps the intrigue going through the story. Lizzie and Nick both have been through a lot in their past and so their meeting seems serendipitous. I loved how they kept bumping into eachother on the beach - a favourite place of mine to unwind and relax.
Grief and moving on play a big part of this story and I found both characters easy to empathise with. The twist reveal was cleverly done and added a little suspense to what is a lovely romance.

This was my first Catherine Hope book and probably my last.

I found the entire plot to be boring. While it had a good chance to be interesting, it wasn't executed very well. I found a lot of this book to drag, carrying on and on about random things. I also found it to be very predictable (and while sometimes it's unavoidable, this was just not great). It felt like parts were rushed and the ending of the book left a lot to be desired. It was abrupt and honestly didn't do what I did enjoy of the story any good.

This is probably why it took me so long to finish what was relatively an easy book to read. It didn't capture my attention in any way and I wanted to stop reading it so early but didn't because this was an ARC

Thanks to NetGalley and Headline, I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.