I really loved this book, the feeling of being locked in, and confused as to what has happening was intense. I loved how everything ended and was wrapped up, almost making me want to read it again with what I now know...the only thing preventing this from being 5 stars, are the last few pages....just when i was comfortable with all explanations...what does the last few pages in the book mean for Caz. I never wanted to slam my kindle down harder, i loved the book so much, but the last few pages left me upset and confused! Still I would recommend this book, one of my favorites, it's pretty long, but never did it stall or stop being entertaining!

Caz is finally on an international holiday with her boyfriend. What should be an exciting and well-deserved break from her life back home turns sinister when Caz awakes to find the ship deserted except for her. Or is it?

***

*2.5 stars rounded up*

This was a 5 star book for me until the last few chapters. Despite Caz constantly reminding us about her father being a gambler, I generally found this book to be well written and fun to read. It escalated quite nicely, and you were definitely left guessing up until the very end.

However, is it too late for the author to change the ending? Are we getting a sequel so we can torture this sad, unfortunate victim?

Spoilers and some thoughts and questions that are driving me nuts:

<spoiler>
*Look, I know that these actors didn't know that Caz's father committed suicide by walking off a bridge...but c'mon. Having Frannie mirror that just a coincidence? Which leads me to...
*So Caz's boyfriend is like the mastermind right? He def knew about Caz's father and was like let's have Frannie walk right off the boat the same way her dad died? HAHAHA. Psychopath. Seriously.
*While I'm sure the show's creators knew how traumatizing this was, can none of the actors (Michelle, Frannie/Jen, etc.) understand just how freaking AWFUL this would be to do to someone? And Smith/Walter was only going to get $25K??
*Also, why did they leave Caz in the water so long after Smith "drowned"? Why was Smith the one who randomly drowned when they both jumped off the boat? He picked the wrong life safety device, so Caz just automatically wins? (Even though she totally deserved to, because everything she went through was way worse than everyone else.)
*There's a lot we have to suspend belief about here, but the actors who they had in the ballroom? That takes the cake. Look, I get that we had to start questioning if this was all really a game, or the work of one really powerful psychopath, but it would have been easier to assume dummies, then having that many actors moving about the boat like that without the others noticing. B+ for the helpful wrench it put into the reader's perspective though.
*Speaking of suspending belief, the boat thing, fine whatever, they was passed out. Got everyone off. Blah. Blah. But the plane thing? C'mon. There's no way that in the time she was in the bathroom they were able to just abandon her there. That's nuts. And what would they have done if she never fell asleep or went to the bathroom? And what is the end game when she completes this challenge? This chick will never eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom again. I'm going to have to just believe that she is having a bad dream on the plane and is just totally ruined by the PTSD.
*THE BOX. No one opened the box, right? Or the viewers decided to open it? IDK! Stupid box.
</spoiler>

All in all, this one is going to leave me banging my head against the wall for a longtime, but I couldn't help but love what it did to me just a little bit.

Woooowwww! What a ride! Caz wakes up after her first night on a cruise ship alone. All the other passengers have disappeared. She finally finds three other passengers, but what has happened to the rest? This is just the beginning of the terror that is awaiting her.

✨RATING: 4.5⭐️

✨REVIEW: Thank you @netgalley for my advanced eCopy of this one! Personally I felt as though it was an extremely slow start, however, that didn’t stop me from constantly going “WTF” from page 1 😅 I had multiple jaw dropping moments, cringing moments, and felt like I was right there with Caz all along and it wasn’t a fun place to be 😅I don’t want to say too much about the story because it’s not shown in the description and I feel like you have to read it for yourself and experience the shock factor! But I can say I don’t really wish to go on a cruise any longer 😅
Knocked down .5⭐️ because I felt like it was that art project that should’ve stopped one bottle of glitter earlier. It was 50 pages too long, but overall did exactly what it needed to and I LOVED it.

✨PROS: SHORT - I mean 1-3 pages SHORT chapters! While I called some of the “twists” I wasn’t mad when it happened 🤣

🚨WARNING: Potential triggers include abandonment/feeling alone… cruise ships? 😅

Well this one will sure make you debate getting on a cruise ship! It was an intense ride with likable characters that Will Dean really brought to life! I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this book!

*Outlier Opinion*!

This book has A LOT of 5 star reviews but every book needs an outlier so, 👋🏻 here I am!!

Caz and her new love, Pete, enjoy a wonderful first evening aboard the luxury cruise liner, the RMS Atlantica, but when she awakens the next morning, Pete is gone.

In fact, as she enters the corridor, she finds that all of the cabin doors are open, and the ship’s crew and its remaining passengers are all missing.

Described as a locked room mystery, I expected an atmospheric tale, which might be Dystopian or perhaps be a reimagining of what might have happened to the real life Merchant ship, the Mary Celeste-found adrift in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. ( It was in excellent shape, with months of provisions aboard, but no Captain or crew, and they were never seen or heard from again, and it remains an unsolved mystery.)

“I WISH YOU FAIR WINDS AND CALM SEAS”

The book synopsis doesn’t say much more than what I wrote above in the first few sentences, and you won’t learn what is ACTUALLY going on until the 33% point, so, I won’t spoil this for fans of the author who are looking forward to reading this.

But, I will say that it is much more of a “Beat the Odds” kind of survival book, than it is a locked room mystery,(think Hunger Games) - so it didn’t work for my personal tastes.

It wasn’t what I was hoping for or expecting.

I also don’t think ANY book needs to be 448 pages in length-It’s hard to sustain interest for that long!

I am going to play with the title of the U.S. release here and say that THE LAST ONE (as in the last chapter) has been VERY polarizing in the reviews that I have read.

Will you be #TeamLovedIt or #TeamHatedIt?

It’s the ONE part of the book, I actually DID find very CLEVER, so count me in as #TeamLovedIt!
But, unfortunately, it could not save the rest of the book for me.

Find out on August 8, 2023. (U.S. release date)

This title has also been released as “The Last Passenger” in markets abroad.

Thank You to Atria for the gifted ARC, provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

I really liked this novel and would highly recommend. I felt it was realistic and so realistic I’m still thinking about it. I liked that it was unpredictable and full of suspense. There’s nothing I would change about the plot or climax. Excellent, engaging writing… I’m hoping for a part two.

I might have liked this book more if the description actually described what this book was really about.

Everything that is in the description is only accurate from chapter 2 until the end of chapter 4. And considering there’s 133 chapters, obviously that’s a very small portion of the book.

I feel like the actual story would appeal to a lot of readers, who may not pick this up because they don’t actually know that that’s what this is about. I don’t want to give spoilers, so I’ll just say that it was just SUCH a different story than I expected / wanted when I read this, that it instantly soured my experience. So I never got on board with it.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book! I voluntarily read this book, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was actually unexpectedly fun and different. Pretty unique for a mystery/thriller.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62919433

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the copy of The Last One by Will Dean. I don’t know if I loved this book or hated it, but I know I can’t feel indifferent to it! The writing was as great as I expected, and the story started out so interesting I couldn’t wait to find out what was going on! Then the story took a really unexpected turn and it felt like a horror novel. Horror isn't necessarily bad, I just wasn’t prepared for how dark the story got. I know the characters were stressed but there were some things going on that they should have at least considered some possibilities about what was going on. Then the big reveal happened and it was completely implausible. If you like a big shocking ending you will love this book, but to me it was over the top. It was still a suspenseful, engrossing read! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Ok I absolutely loved this but hated the ending, like the last 5 pages. I don’t fully get it. Is it happening again? Is it leading to another book? I would have given this 5 stars minus the last 5 pages. I liked the plot and characters. Even Mr smith was likable. It was a different plot from other books. I would still recommend even though I didn’t like the very ending.

Wow this was one scary, twisted book that I devoured in one sitting as I couldn’t wait to see what happens next. I felt for CAZ immediately as her fear of traveling and she goes to bed and then wakes up and everyone is gone. My anxiety spiked just reading that and I felt her panic as she desperately searched for people and a clue to what happened.

Somehow she is in a new reality show which is terrifying. The challenges and things they must endure are horrendous. I am not sure which would be worse doing the challenge or being held captive in a locked room knowing only someone else could let you out. Each challenge building and getting more and more outrageous and terrifying.

Daniel, Frannie, CAZ, and Smith try and survive the best they can. This had so many shocks, twists and moments that horrified me that I loved it!

The ending just brilliant!

4.5 rounded up! What an insane ride. I could not have guessed any of the twists with a gun to my head. Yes, some of the logistics behind things made me scratch my head but I was so engrossed in the story that I didn’t even care. The last page (or sentence, really) was almost a little TOO much, though.

SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD.


There were too many characters mentioning estranged children for that to not have been connected to the plot whatsoever. I was convinced it would have something to do with why they were chosen but nope, it was never brought up again? Weird move.

This came really highly recommended and I wanted to love it, but I just didn’t. It was just TOO far fetched, TOO much and the ending? Laughable in so many ways.

The writing was good and kept me engaged even though it felt overly repetitive. If you can suspend reality for a bit, you may really like this one!

I had such high hopes for this one because I loved his first thriller, FIRST BORN. THE LAST ONE has an Agatha Christie-vibe and it was good but not awesome. I'll def keep reading his books, though - great writer!

Review: The Last Passenger
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Absolutely terrifying. Will Dean is at the top of his game! The Last Passenger is an absolute masterpiece. It is a true work of perfection. You think you know what's happening until you don't. I love the social commentary that Dean worked in here. I can't even express how much I absolutely love this book because you need to go in blind. Trust me this is the book of the year!! DO NOT MISS THIS!

This book releases in the U.S. as The Last One on August 8, 2023. Thank you Atria Books for the advanced copy

100% recommend if you're looking for a twist-filled thriller. Perfect for a fun beach/pool read! And I guarantee you won't guess the ending.

Book : The Last One
Author : Will Dean
Pub Date : 08 Aug 2023

Thank you NetGalley, Atria/Emily Bestler Books & the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Uhhh WHAT did I just read!? This book had me in a griiip! The chilling, creeping & mysterious twists and turns it took me on. I seriously wanted to pace myself with this book but it had other plans. I couldn’t get enough of it.

I tried so many time to figure out what was going to happen or how this book was going to end—nope! Just don’t—you won’t! The author turned this story into the best creepy vacation gone wrong that’ll have you thinking twice about that cruise ship trip.

If you want to read something that absolutely takes you on a trip and makes your heart pump a little faster and your mind race a little more then scoop up this book! You will not be disappointed.

This. Book. Is. Wild.

Honestly one of the best books I've ever read. When Caz and her boyfriend Pete embark on a trip of a lifetime aboard the luxury ocean liner the RMA Atlantica, everything is absolutely perfect. The food is exquisite, the wine is superb, and other than a little seasickness, everything is exactly as it should be. For maybe the first time in her life, Caz feels like she can relax. She drifts off into a peaceful sleep.

When she awakens, the dream turns into a nightmare. There is no one else on the ship. Caz is completely alone. Or is she? Where did everyone else go? Why did they leave their pets and take their belongings? Is she dreaming from the medication or is something more sinister at play?

One thing is for sure. The ending is one you won't see coming and the last line will haunt you long after the book is closed.

This is my first read by this author and it won't be my last. Absolutely 5 stars.

Caz and her partner Pete are spending their first holiday together on the luxurious cruise liner RMS Atlantica. They spend a lovely first night together exploring the ship and enjoying a nice dinner. The next morning, Caz wakes up to an empty bed and not even a note from Pete. As she searches for him, she realizes that the entire ship is empty and all passengers and crew seem to have departed sometime during the night. As things continue to go from bad to worse, Caz departs on the most dangerous journey of her life. Does she have the strength to make it out alive?

Oh my goodness 0_o What did I just read?! This book was extremely fast-paced, full of tension, and kept me on the edge of my seat! The story is told from the perspective of Caz. It took me a bit of time to warm up to her but in the end, I found her to be a very endearing and complex character. She had already been through quite a difficult life, but nothing compares to what she went through on the RMS Atlantica. I did see the ending coming but that didn’t make it any less satisfying. Really twisted but I can also see this happening in real life at some point which is horrifying. Will Dean hit it out of the park with this one! He is a master of tension and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next :)

Thank you to Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.