This book was phenomenal. I was gripped from the very early parts of the book. I finished this book in less than a day because that’s how much I needed to know what was going to happen next. This book takes you on such an emotional journey. I absolutely felt so much for the main character Caroline, Caz, who is the narrator of this story. The writing is so well done that you feel what Caroline feels, you feel the anxiety on what lies ahead. This is my first book by this author and now I am a loyal fan. This writing was so well done, with so many great twists, that I was honestly so unable to predict because it was just such a unique story. I give this book all of the stars because that’s how much I adored it. This is one of those books that you wish you could experience again for the first time because it left such a profound impact on you. Everyone immediately needs to go read this book!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Caroline (Caz) and Pete go on a romantic cruise getaway together. The first night is great, they have dinner, drinks, and she shares a arory of her past with him. The next morning she wakes and Pete is missing.

As she walks around the room, she starts to realize Pete isn't in the room at all and when she leaves she notices all the other cabins are empty as well. The ship is unattended, going full speed, ships controls can't be altered with.

Very interesting concept. I would hate if I got added to a reality show against my wishes and not knowing where the rest of the passengers are.

What did I just read. I never want to get on a cruise or plane again in my life. The ending... I'm so confused. Is it PTSD, is it Peter, is she just delusional? I can't say more without spoilers but woah.

3.5 watery stars

Caz is ready for the vacation of a lifetime with her partner Pete. Together they board a luxury cruise liner and have a nice meal. They go back to their cabin to rest, the next morning Caz wakes up alone. She frantically search’s other cabins and the rest of the ship to find out she’s alone. She is on a massive cruise liner in the middle of the Atlantic alone.

I enjoy this book, but there was a few parts that left me confused I feel should’ve been wrapped up in a more clear, concise way. But the last paragraph of this book left me screaming and staring at my kindle. It was 100% the way to end a book like this.

The Last One by Willl Dean: ⭐⭐⭐⭐(💫)
Format: ARC courtesy of Atria Books (S&S) via NetGalley
Pub Date: 8/8/23

At first glance, the blurb for The Last One reads like it's the actualization of a common nightmare, where you realize that you’re stranded and completely alone. But I am telling you that the blurb doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the WILD ride this book goes on. I was surprised when the catalyzing event- Caz discovering that she is alone on the cruise liner- took place within the first few chapters, wondering what else could be in store for the remaining 400+ pages. The answer is- PLENTY more is in store!

Not only is this book full of the suspense that the title suggests, but also full of puzzling challenges, heartache, and high-stakes action. The Last One is one of my favorite types of books to read, where reality is constantly under question and not all is as it seems. The final sequences and resolution might be polarizing for some, but I personally loved it!

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Last One publishes this Tuesday August 8th.

The fine print- what kept this book from a 5-star read:
I tried and failed to get into this book a few times. Even though the plot takes off right away, I didn’t feel very connected to the characters and backstories.
I think it would have benefited the book overall to be a bit shorter. Some of the “down”periods of time between the big events of this book seemed to drag. It would be a true white-knuckler if it moved a bit faster.

“Stepping aboard a ship is an act of faith…you decide, actively or passively, to offer up your autonomy.”
Suppose you are on a luxury liner, crossing the Atlantic, no land in sight. You awake to find your lover gone, all the other cabins empty of guests and luggage, your fellow passengers gone.
The crew is missing, there is no one on the bridge, but the ship is still moving. You can’t call for help, there is no cell service, and the WiFi and internet are not working. Welcome to the RMS Atlantica!! This is the stuff of nightmares in our modern world, and the riveting beginning of Will Dean’s latest thriller, The Last One!
Cameron ‘Caz’ Ripley awakens to this daytime nightmare and must spend the next five days navigating the startling, life-threatening events that unfold around her.
No spoilers here—I was invested in this story from the first chapter and found it one of the most intense thrillers I have ever read. Much of the intensity comes from the surprises, mostly unpleasant, that are revealed in the short, staccato chapters, punctuated by little cliffhangers at the end of each one. The tension ramps up inexorably to an astounding conclusion, and a final, gut-wrenching twist!
The characters are richly drawn, especially Caz, the protagonist who narrates the whole tale from her first-person POV. As a middle-aged café owner, caring daughter, protective sister of Gemma, and lover of Pete, Caz has plenty of past history and baggage to grapple with as she faces the challenges of this voyage. The vignettes about her past, especially regarding her father, make her character particularly sympathetic, and invite the reader to understand what informs her decisions in the present.
This is a complex tale, an ominously tense thriller. It tackles issues of trust, loyalty, family dynamics, betrayal, gas-lighting, and psychological abuse, in a very contemporary setting.
I highly recommend this locked-room thriller that keeps the edge-of-your-seat drama high, while looking at some more serious aspects of the human condition in our fast-moving modern society.

Thank you to Emily Bestler Books/Atria for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was FANTASTIC! I had zero idea what was happening, and that is my favorite feeling when reading a new book. I loved the twists and turns, and trying to figure out along with the main character what the heck was going on. This story would make an EXCELLENT movie too. 5 very well deserved stars!

This was a page turner! My emotions were all over the place! This thriller novel had me guessing until the very last page.
This book follows a woman names Caz (Caroline) who is going on a cruise with her partner. Upon waking the next morning on the cruise ship, Caz realizes that there is no one left on the ship...or so she thinks. This was a roller coaster of a ride that had me concerned for the main character's safety and survival throughout! The ordeals that the main character has to overcome, both physically and mentally, is insane!
I absolutely loved this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel provided courtesy of NetGalley. It was an original premise, to me, and while the outcome was sort of predictable, it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the book. The main protagonist, was likable and complicated enough of a character.

The setting was a spooky abandoned cruise liner which was unique enough. I was a little annoyed that every time the main character said something couldn’t happen, it essentially did. The thing I liked most about the novel was the statement made about a certain industry which I will abstain from mentioning to keep from spoiling the outcome. I was disappointed that this seems like the first of a series. I think the author should have spent more effort with the detail of this book, which would have made it more epic. It goes by so quick that I’m left thinking it was more a premise for a film rather than a novel. Ultimately, that is a characteristic of good writing. Wanting to spend more time in a created world, rather than rushing to the ending.

I did not just read all of this for THAT to be the ending. 🙄

I swear there were like 7,000 twists in this book. Every time you think you might slightly know what is going on, something else happens and the book changes. It definitely keeps you hooked but not always in the best way.

This book just kept pissing me off. I’m not sure if the author intentionally wrote the characters to be somewhat dumb or if the author the self didn’t know that you can boil seawater and make it drinkable… So many times the characters were worried about not having enough water to drink. While in the middle of the ocean. And access to fire. And pots. But nooooo! They would, however, boil the rainwater they collected. Clearly I have thoughts and feelings about this 😂

This book was a lot. I’m going to go read something light and fluffy now.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Need something you can’t put down? Something that grabs you right off and you just have to get to the next chapter. Ok just one more! And another! This is it! This was a fantastic book and well written! This definitely is my favorite Will Dean book that I’ve read. Imagine you get to take a long overdue holiday on a pristine cruise liner with your wonderful boyfriend. What could be better right?? You go to bed and wake up to find every single person on the ship is gone!!!! The ending …….. well you’ll need to read it to find out!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Last One
By Will Dean
Pub Date: 8/8/23
Publisher: Atria

Caz and her boyfriend Pete are headed out on a luxury cruise. The first night is absolutely perfect.
But Caz wakes up on the second day she finds herself completely alone. No Pete, no crew…nobody. As she begins to search for Pete she realizes it looks like no one has ever been there. She’s completely alone on the RMS Atlantic in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
This was such an intense read. You never knew what was coming next! It was very easy to put yourself in Caz’s shoes and experience the book from her vantage point. Fingers crossed there will be a second book.

When Caz steps onboard the cruise liner RMS Atlantica, it’s for the vacation of a lifetime. In her fifties, she thinks she has finally met her life partner in Pete and is looking forward to spending this trip with him. However, when Caz wakes up on their second day out at sea, she comes to the realization that she’s the only one on the ship.

THE LAST ONE by Will Dean is my first read by him and was such a crazy ride!

This one is best to go in blind with (and the synopsis does a great job of revealing the bare minimum!) and is such a wild, claustrophobic story that was very difficult to put down.

The short chapters made it easy to binge (even at a whopping 448 pages) and the characters were interesting enough to keep me caring and wanting to engage with them.

Definitely excited to read Dean’s backlog after enjoying this one!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: August 8

Wow! I am never shocked by books anymore…until today. I’d give this book 6 stars if I could!

Caroline (Caz) is on a cruise with her boyfriend, Pete. On day 2, she wakes up and Pete is nowhere to be found. In fact, she soon discovers that there are no other people on the ship; No crew, no passengers, she is completely alone…..and the ship is moving full speed ahead. Where did everyone go?

This book had me hooked from the very beginning and gripped me until the last word. Twists? Oh my goodness, too many to count and I didn’t see ANY of them coming.

I am so sad it took me so long to read this ARC! Don’t let the page count deter you. It is so fast paced, I read this in one sitting. I did not want to put the book down. I even had my dinner delivered because I didn’t want to stop reading so I could cook.

This is the first book I have ever read by Will Dean. You better believe that after I type this review, I’m going to go buy more of his books!

I am so sad that the book is over.

I felt like the rug was being pulled out from underneath me REPEATEDLY and I loved every second of it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were well developed and the story was engaging. I recommend that others try this book as well. Well done!

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I still can't decide if I love the ending or if I'm mad about it. I guess I could be both.

There was no way that I could predict the big twist in this book. That big twist took this book from a person stranded to something completely different. Something I don't think I've ever read before. I enjoyed it immensely.

This book had very very small chapters that made it very easy to say oh I'll just read one more and then you've read another 5 chapters without realizing it. The one drawback for me with the short chapters though is that the book did feel a little long.

Caroline and her boyfriend head on a cruise aboard the RMS Atlantica. The ship has all the amenities you can think of, so Caz and Pete eat, drink, and dance their hearts out on the first night. Caz wakes up with a splitting hangover and Pete nowhere to be found. She looks around the ship for him, but…no one else is there either. She heads to the captain’s quarters and no one is steering the boat! She’s alone on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean.

This turns into a Survivor-like adventure with a lot of twists and turns. Overall the ending had me like “WHAT THE HECK” and I won’t take a cruise any time soon!

Thanks to Net Galley and Atria books for my ARC! Pub date 8/8/23!

Tired of reading the same thrillers all summer long? Ready for something completely different?

An ocean liner steams its way to New York. Thousands of guests on-board enjoying the luxuries from Gold level status on up!

After the evenings first party on the ship, Caz slowly wakes and automatically reaches for her boyfriend. He’s not there. Not on the balcony, not in the bathroom. Totally confused, she emerges from her suite and notices all the cabin doors are ajar and not a soul in site.

Turns out all but four (not so) lucky travelers are all the only ones left on board. On the bridge, no captain piloting the ship…no engineer to keep the boat running. Nothing. No one.

Where is everyone? Why are these four the only ones left on board? How do they get off this ship?

Eventually they discover there is more at play here. Now the question is, will they work together or will it all descend into primal survival with everyone for themselves?

I’m staying quiet and saying nothing more because this is one that is best to go in blind!

Is it over the top? Yes! Do all the pieces fit together? Well mostly. Did any of that take away from my enjoyment? Not one little bit!

There I was, thinking finally… a book to get me out of my recent reading slump. Clearly a solid four, maybe even 4 and ½ star read.

Then came the ending!🤯😱 OMG!! One of the best endings ever!🙌🏼
Deserves all the stars!🤩

Will Dean is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books

I'm so sorry to say that I truly disliked this. I was drawn in by the synopsis of a woman trapped alone on a rogue cruise ship (which is negated just a few chapters in), but the execution ultimately felt silly and nonsensical. The tension was mostly sapped by repetitive scenes and internal monologues and a bloated page length, and that final scene was.... not it.

The premise got me. Caz wakes up on a cruise ship and it's deserted? No boyfriend, no crew, no other passengers. What the heck happened? It's got to be ghosts, or Bermuda Triangle, or some otherworldly supernatural, right? This hook is what pulled me into this book. One star for the hook. The vanishing happens pretty quickly.

Incredibly short chapters led to propulsive reading. One star for the short chapters.

This is going to be 100% non-spoilery while I review what I didn't like. We don't know enough about Caz to care that much. We're not that invested in her while she tries to figure out what's happening and her backstory is square pegged into the current story and I didn't find it that compelling. The narrative felt derivative of some pop culture events of the past few years, and a Mötley Crüe concert I went to in the 80s (heh). And other movies. Some great, some not-so-great and that's all I'll say about that. Finally, the events are mean, cruel, and go from bad to worse to just nope. I thought about putting it down many many times, but, short chapters!

So I did make it to the bitter end. One star for finishing! [Actually that star should go to me.]

My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC. The Last One will be published in August 2023.

I am extremely disappointed to say this, seeing as First Born was one of my favorite books of 2022, but I struggled unbelievably with this one. I was so bored and I had to will myself to keep reading. I had high hopes for this one, but it just missed the mark for me.