I finished this book with a feeling of “that was horrible” and “that was awesome” with a side of “wtf did I just read”. To say I finished this book in a conflicted manner is an understatement! I was completely invested in this book from the get go. I could not put it down! I was enthralled and frantically turning pages. I never saw the ending coming and had my mind blown! The author really got me on this one. It was unique, dark, pulse pounding, and twisty.

I knew absolutely nothing about this book before reading it. This book was wonderful! Kept my attention and I would definitely recommend to others.

The Last One
Will Dean @willrdean
Genre: Thriller/Suspense

Think Death Race meets Titanic

“That part of the ocean. Marine biologists and oceanographers call it the midnight or bathyal zone. It’s constantly very cold, just above zero, and the life down there is unearthly. Needle-teethed viperfish, giant squid and anglerfish. Translucent amphipods. There are eel-like frill sharks down there that people call living fossils on account of their brown skin and blank eyes. They are the depths where no sunlight can ever reach.”

MAYDAY MAYDAY please send search and rescue, I'm going to be walking around aimlessly unable to stop thinking about this book for a very long time.

I'm sorry, WHAT!?! I finished this late last night and my heart is still racing. Well done Dean, Well Done.

Before I go any further I have to say GO IN BLIND. Seriously skip the synopsis just dive right in ,you'll thank me later.

To say I was stressed the eff out during the entirety of this book would be a huge understatement. And we won't even talk about the amount of times my jaw hit the floor in genuine shock of what the heck was conspiring inside the pages of this book.

Caz is one badass female lead character. Battling against all odds to survive. And danm she really went through it.

The atmospheric descriptions y'all. Top tier. Grab those sea sickness pills because in no time you will be transported straight aboard The Atlantica cruise ship, smelling the fresh sea air, hearing waves splashing against the ship, wind blowing thru your hair. With claustrophobia and panic not far behind.

Go read it I promise you won't be disappointed.

"I wish you all fair winds and calm seas.”

Thank you to @netgalley @atriabooks
@simonandschuster
For the advanced copy in exchange for my honost review.

I'm not sure what I was expecting with this one but what I got was not that. It was more of a locked-room thriller when was expecting more of a locked-room mystery. And the concept was amazing but the execution wasn't quite as was a bit more challenging for me. The premise was out of the box interesting and I was all in initially. I was totally engaged but then it began to fall apart a bit for me. I don't want to ruin it for other readers as going in without a lot of information was key to the entire book, in my opinion. I think my expectations for a mystery are part of the reason I was a little frustrated with the novel. If you go in expecting a thriller, I think you'll enjoy it more. I liked this and definitely recommend it but want to be sure the reader knows what to expect so they aren't off put like I was with it being a thriller. MANY others have adored it so it may be just me and my initial expectations. So, I definitely recommend it if the premise and the idea of a locked room thriller speaks to you!

A page turning thriller with an engaging mystery and amazing twists.
Many thanks to Atria and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Survivor & Big Brother meet!

I’ve always wanted to go on a cruise but have not yet had the chance & The Last One just unlocked a new fear!

Caz & her boyfriend, Pete, have just boarded the RMS Atlántica for a cruise to the Atlantic coast of America! However, when Caz wakes up on the first morning she finds she is the only one on the entire ship. Confused and scared she starts searching the ship for others and luckily she finds 3 others. And so the fight for survival starts!

I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator was good. The short chapters kept me hooked and helped move the story along while keeping me intrigued.

The ending has me so excited for what is next. I enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more from Will Dean!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for an ARC of The Last One.

I was able to receive an ARC of thebook, “The Last One,” by Will Dean. Once I began the first chapter, I knew right away that this was going to be a good read!. It was very well written and an intense read. I give this book five stars and recommend it to everyone who wants a good thriller!

Wow! This one was a wild ride. Believe what everyone says about this one to go in totally blind. You just want to start this one and go along with the banana pants journey!! This book made me anxious, but was wildly entertaining. And that last page had my jaw DROPPING. WHAT? I can’t wait to discuss this one with others!

I lOVED this. Holy smokes, will dean is a literary genius the man can create such a brilliant twist in just the shortest amount of time.

Oh my! This was an incredibly difficult book for me to read. I'm not a fan of horror, so that did not bode well. It was hard to rate, because it left me feeling ick. I did want to know how it was going to end, but I guessed the last page. Overall, I really wasn't happy reading it for the most part, so 2.5 it is.

Thank you Atria books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Can wakes up on the RMS Atlantic’s after her wonderful first night on the luxury cruise ship. Her husband is missing. When she leaves to go look for him she finds that she is the only one left onboard - the crew and all other guests are going as if they were never there at all.

The premise was so exciting! Something different I have t read before but honestly what was this? The ending was super disappointing and undid the creepy mystery aspect of the whole book.

Wow! This really blew me away! While not necessarily the best written novel I've read in a while, this book gets all the points for originality. I couldn't get through it fast enough. And THAT ENDING! How deliciously infuriating!

WHAT..A WHAT, A WHAT??!?!!

5 stars!!

My best advice: go into this book completely blind! (I read the synopsis forever ago but pulled it out on the plane and just dove in, and it was perfect because I didn’t know what to expect).

This is an edge-of-your-seat thriller, with a WTF, jaw dropping end. I loved it!

Will Dean books are amazing! I highly recommend his last two, as well!
Thank you @atriabooks for my #gifted copy!

QUICK TAKE: clever concept, dull execution. i needed the characters to have more fun with the "I have an entire cruise ship to myself" before the villains take away food, water, shelter, booze. It gets dark too quickly, and then it's a little bit too mysterious for the sake of being mysterious. Ending was as expected but still glad to see the author stick it.

Holy crap that was intense! A truly unique storyline that had me guessing til the very last page. Bravo to Will Dean for scaring the pants off me and making me never want to board a cruise ship. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

This book started off great. I love going on cruises so I was excited to be terrified while reading. Once I got to the major plot twist my enthusiasm for this book significantly decreased. I had to force myself to read it to get through. The excitement had washed away.

I think if you don’t mind that specific trope in books then this is still a good book.

I couldn't race through this genre-bending novel fast enough! Was it a horror novel, a survivalist tale, a friends-in-need saga? Edge of the seat excitement, along with confusion and a touch of horror, sprinkled with well fleshed-out characters made this an un-put-downable Book!

I was never quite sure what I was reading or where the story was going, but it was fun following along to the eventual conclusion. Extra points for having such a likable and relatable main character. I always enjoy when men can write good female characters, a talent not all male writers share.

Imagine waking up the first morning of your luxury cruise, and your partner is not beside you. Then when you go to look for him, you find you are on a deserted, huge ocean liner. It's a frightening thought. This is what happens to main character Caz, or Caroline, and we live every moment through her eyes.

I listened to the audio version of this book, and the reader did a great job with American and British accents, as well as male and female voices.

This was my first Will Dean novel but won't be my last I'm giving it five stars for giving me something fresh, different, and surprising.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Will Dean, and Atria Books for allowing me to read this ARC in exchage for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
•
Caroline(Caz) is on a trip of a lifetime with boyfriend Pete on a luxury cruise ship. The next morning when Caz wakes, she finds herself the only one alone, with no one else on the ship…
•
Sounds super addicting right?? You essentially go into this one blind, because what i’ve written above is basically the entire synopsis given on the back of the book - which I’ve grown to love going in blind so I wasnt mad about it. Not going to lie, right from the start I was hooked. My heart was racing as Caz searched the ship high and low for any signs of life; it gave me a sense of clostophobia almost. I always love a good locked room mystery/thriller, this was choking all my boxes. Then once Caz found at least one other person and things started happening that I found the premise to be a unique and pretty terrifying.
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Heres the thing, I can’t say much more than that without giving spoilers away, but one thing I will say is that this book is a thriller in some sense, I would even venture to say its a book more about survival, it gave me an adult hunger games type of vibe - only less brutal if I’m being honest…
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The short chapters in this book makes this one a very fast read and it is definitely a bingeable read. It was a bit long for my liking, I think Dean could have easily shaved off a few of the chapters and the story would have continued to flow perfectly, but hey thats just a me problem. This was ultimately a very entertaining read, as I said it was unique and equally terrifying.
•
The ending… I’m not really even sure what to think of it. I am not sure if I am a fan or not, I’m not sure if it was a cliff hanger leading to another book, or if it’s one of those left up to the imagination of the reader ending. Things are tied up to a point, don’t get me wrong, I think I just needed it wrapped up more tightly.
•
Overall this is a very unique and entertaining read that will most definitely have your attention right from the start. To all my locked door mystery fans - I would give this one a shot. This was released on 8/8. Huge thank you to @netgalley, @atriabooks and Will Dean for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

📖 The Last One
🖋️ Will Dean
✨ Suspense

•What To Expect•
Many WTF moments
Lots of guessing
What true? What's not true?

•Rating•
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 stars
I recommend this book!

•Similar Recommended Reads•
In the Clearing
The Last Thing To Burn
Rust & Stardust

SOMEONE MAKE THIS ONE INTO A MOVIE!

What a story! I could not turn the pages fast enough. I just had to know what would happen next.
I think as others have said before the less you know about this one the better. Just go with the flow!

Caroline (Caz) and her boyfriend Pete are travelling on an ocean liner across the Atlantic. The first night of the cruise after dinner and drinks they head off to bed. The next day Caz wakes up alone in bed. Pete is nowhere to be found. She soon realizes no one is left on the ship. She is frantic and so this crazy but good story begins!

I just loved that ending! Really fitting! I'll be sure to pick-up another book by Will Dean. I really enjoyed his storytelling.