I didn’t check the authors before I picked this book up, and I really should have

Because yikes this is, this is yikes

Not only is this full of complete and total utter lies. It’s badly written, poorly put together, and significantly problematic.

None of this is true. None of this happened, and I’m tired of it.
I am tired of Donald Trump and his cronies throwing fits about the election he lost and trying to throw a fantastic deal with it.

I’m tired of people supporting a terrible, terrible man
I’m tired of people coming up with other reasons why it was stolen and making up evidence and all of this nonsense

This group of conspiracy theories truly has real-world problems that hurt real people.

Whether or not you believe that Roswell was an extra dresser across doesn’t affect the outside world.

Whether or not you believe elections are valid does, and it’s scary that people like this are out there
What about face? Don’t read this book. I need this book at all. It’s not worth it, and I won’t tell you anything.
This comes from somebody who knowingly seeks information different from what I know and contradicts what I believe in and thinks.

This isn’t that this is just a bunch of lies and propaganda meant to make sure people feel better about it and try and convince others and leave a paper trail so when they try to recoup again, they can pretend they didn’t

This book was so boring and just seemed more like a guidebook rather than a fictional story. The narrator was too upbeat for the content.

"The Last Election" by Andrew Yang and Stephen Marche is a contemporary political thriller set amidst a presidential election.

While the plot evokes Watergate-ish vibes with its New York Times news tip leak, the plot lacks the gripping intensity one might expect based on the pre-launch hype.

The audiobook, narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross, is relatively short at 7 hours and 21 minutes, making it accessible for quick consumption.

Unfortunately, the story's ending failed to leave a lasting impression.

Despite this, it provided some insights into the world of political campaigns and the potential end of American democracy.

Special thanks to RB Media for providing an advanced listener copy through the NetGalley app.

I would round this review up to 2.5 because I desperately wanted to love it. I love political thrillers and I love politics. The content was good and the concept was enjoyable. I enjoyed this book from NetGalley and Recorded Books who provided me a copy of the audiobook of this publication, so I can provide an honest review.

Narration: The narrator, Jonathan Todd Ross, was excellent. He made the complex story, multiple characters and shifts across locations and times easy to listen to. His voice and inflections are a great addition to the book.

Story: I think I could better have appreciated this complex book as a paperback in hand. The story was engaging and the concept was exciting and terrifying. But I never really connected to the people in this story including the main characters, Mikey and Martha, along with the countless side characters. I could never really figure out who was working together to do what. I might have appreciated the complexities of this story better if it had recorded with additional indicators that had been omitted in the writing, such as: said Martha. Said Balfour. Said Mikey.

There is much dialogue and the added indicator cue language could have helped distinguish the multiple speakers. However, in an audiobook with so many twists and turns, it was hard for me to keep up.

I think many fans of political thrillers could find this enjoyable. However, for me, I would have liked to have better connected to who was doing what, to whom and why. I felt disconnected to the narrative and that was disappointing overall. All of this said, I listened to the recording twice just to see whether I could appreciate the story better if I slowed down during the second listen. But even on my second listen, I found it entertaining if not truly understandable or enjoyable.

I think many folks used to Tom Clancy novels, which I also enjoy, will enjoy this novel. However, it's been a while since I've enjoyed a political thriller which could be why it was hard for me to connect to the characters here. There are also quite a few over the top analogies which I felt were out of place in the world the authors worked hard to create. I can appreciate campy asides and analogies when reading straight noir or campy detective novels, but they felt out of place in a smart political thriller.

If you are like me and if you are looking for characters you can connect with like Sara Linton, Will Trent, Jack Reacher or Tess Monaghan or my friends from the Thursday Murder Club, you may feel entertained but slightly deprived with this story.

I love a political thriller! I was really looking forward to diving into this one, ESP thinking about what the 2024 election might look like…

While this book was intriguing and read at a great pace that kept me engaged and wondering what’s coming next, I was unfortunately left confused at the end. Not over what happened, but over the fact that’s how the book ended. I was definitely left wanting more…not in a good way.

Reading any book that’s political, I find to be extremely difficult and hard to do well, especially if you very obviously lean towards one side. You’re not going to engage the readers that lean the other way…but regardless of political views/leanings, I did enjoy the storyline.

Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for the ALC of The Last Election

The Last Election teases, even with just the title, to offer great intrigue and roller coaster rides. And then, utterly fails to deliver. The story is boring and pointless. It teases with having some excitement and good plot lines, but then abandons those suggestions and moves on with the most boring drivel ever committed to the page, bundled for sale and foisted on the unsuspecting public.

It earns far less than one star.

At first i didn't think i'd like the book, but then it turned around and i started to enjoy it. It surprised me. Although it may not be my favorite book, it is a good read.

"The Last Election" is a novel by Andrew Yang and Stephen Marche, narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross.

This was my first read of a political thriller. It's pretty good, overall, with a focus on two political insiders in the 2024 election. Martha, a NY Times reporter, handles the Times tip line and is dealing with infertility and in vitro fertilization procedures in her personal life. Mikey is a campaign manager for the 3rd party (Maverick) candidate, Cooper (a thinly disguised Yang).

This novel explains by example why a 3rd party won't work in America and depicts growing violence that might ensue, as well as the fall of democracy. Then, when no party can be certified as the winner, the contingency election occurs. This archaic method of resolution last used in 1824 is still in the constitution in real life and must be changed before it happens!

Honestly, given the recent violence we already had in the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021 rebellion at the Capitol, this book wasn't at all shocking nor unbelievable. It is, however, scary because it is so plausible.

The narration by Jonathan Todd Ross is exceptionally well done. He made the story better, and I recommend this narrator. He is easy to listen to, and the tone of his voice is pleasing.

Thank you to Netgalley and RB Media for providing me this audio book in exchange for my honest review.

This is scary stuff. This book explains how back door politics work. Things that get put into the newspaper or omitted. Journalists and editors who sit on stories until just the right moment to push a candidate forward or make him/her fall behind. The apathy of the American public is shown as well. Yang and Marche have certainly done their homework on this one. I think the American public should be scared. Things aren’t as simple as they were. This book would be good for a book club. I can hear people choosing sides right now. Read this book

The Last Election by Andrew Yang and Stephen Marche. I listen to a lot of audio books (about 80+ a year) - all different genres and narrators. I love a good political mystery/thriller however, this book was so slow. I didn't even look forward to listening or cared what happened. There were so many characters, so many different points of view and everything was easily confused. The narrator was okay, but not great. This book was really one of my least favorite this year. Thanks RB Media and NetGalley for the ARC.

Very well written. Fantastic plot. Narrator had an easy to follow and pleasant voice although some parts felt slightly awkward, however that’s a very subjective idea and not meant to deter someone. In my opinion ALL characters in the book should have been fiction if Yang was going to put his name on it this book, but again, that’s an extremely subjective point and not meant to deter readers interested in this book to shy away. The overall theme was executed very well and my critiques are both minor and quite subjective to my personal beliefs and point of views.

Political thriller, or near-future election prediction? “The Last Election” could be either, or both, featuring a 3rd party presidential candidate making a mark on election season and the potential consequences of an amped up political environment similar to the current state of the US. With a title like “The Last Election” I thought we were in for something a little more flashy, but this book is filled with the existential dread and slow-motion disaster that characterizes a lot of the current political environment.

Andrew Yang’s insights, and platform, as a former presidential candidate clearly played into the writing of this book. I also enjoyed the pop culture and political references, which really made this feel like it could be the 2024 election under slightly different circumstances.

Political thrillers are nearly always an automatic “YES!!” for me. I have a special place in my heart for the movie Air Force One (and Harrison Ford’s “Get off my plane!”) - and bonus points here for it being mentioned in this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and RB media for allowing me early access to this audiobook.

I admittedly had a hard time getting into this one but I am glad I stuck with it. The second half really picked up and left me thinking “Woah, could this happen?” It made me think back to my high school government class to the point that I even reached out to the teacher and told him to read it! I listened to the audio book and had a hard time keeping things straight at the beginning. Because it was so fast-paced, this is probably best read in hard copy. Written by a former presidential candidate, it has an insight into the government and election process that we never thought twice about. This is one that will stick with you as the 2024 election nears. Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This book was terrifying b/c I can totally imagine this happening in our world today. The end of our democratic republic as we know it. It's not a perfect system but it's the best we've got. And allowing anarchy to take over in the guise of "helping" the citizens is just gross!

#TheLastElection
#NetGalley

The narrator kept the pace manageable. I listened at 2x speed and had no issues.

For the story, I found myself needing to do 30 sec rewinds regularly. Names were thrown around quickly and regularly, so it was a bit hard to keep up with the who's who game going on. The interconnectedness of all the characters + their spooling social networks was tough to keep track of when listening.

Pros: Realistic. Clearly the division within the country means we've seen many of these instances already play out and that more of them seem inevitable rather than merely possible. Nice to acknowledge the "games", the traded sex, the breakneck speed, the rotating door of subject matter experts that flits in or out based on the latest poll.

Cons: Nothing too mind blowing about the story itself in terms of originality. Martha's role didn't seem all that essential, and the fertility angle really bothered me on a personal level (even if much of its portrayal was heartbreakingly accurate). The celebs at the convention made me roll my eyes (can't we escape them, PLEASE).

Overall: 4 stars

I'll tell my students about: language, sex, alcohol, suicide/death, abortion, infertility/trauma

**Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media, Recorded Books for the free ALC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

This audiobook wasn't as exciting or action-packed as I'd hoped, and in fact the writing was so sloggy and boring that I found myself zoning out several times while listening.

Was hoping for more but left disappointed.

The story focuses on Mikey Ricci, a political operative who has lost faith in traditional structures following the bitter races of 2016 and 2020; and Martha Kass, the anonymous tip supervisor of the New York Times.

This is one of the very, very few instances when I up my rating of a book for “objective” purposes, even though I personally didn’t really enjoy the book because of my personal literary preferences.

The Last Election is a very political heavy book, it takes itself very seriously (as it should!), so if you are looking for a not so heavy, fast-paced thrilling mystery, this is not the book for you.

The writing is well done, and engaging for a such political heavy book so that’s also one of the reason I’m giving this read 3 stars! Definitely recommend if you are feeling like reading something to think about, even if you are not American.

This novel written by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang and author Stephen Marche was pretty disappointing. The description said it would be "a gripping, intricately plotted political thriller". Unfortunately, I didn't find it any of those things. I didn't feel a "thrill" of it being "gripping". I was not worried that someone would save the day. The plot didn't seem "intricate" at all. It was pretty straight forward and plain using plot devices I've heard before.

The writing wasn't that great either. First, there was one sex scene and it was horrible. It truly sounded like an entry for a contest of bad writing. Next, the names of the characters weren't thought out very well. There was a character named Nellie who wasn't introduced until later in the book. At the Maverick Party national convention, they had celebrities and musical artists like at most political conventions. I was assuming this character was the rapper/singer Nelly and the dialogue wasn't making sense for a while. Finally, I figured out my mistake. Lastly, there was a LOT of "insider" talk that would happen during a political campaign. I'm sure this was meant to give authenticity to the story, but I kind of found myself getting lost with all of this campaign strategy and vocabulary.

I wish this review could've been more positive.

Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This is a whip smart political thriller with the main character fashion after our last president. The public loves him because he is a plane talking no apology egomaniac I thought the authors did a brilliant job especially with the sycophants that surrounded him and what more can I say I absolutely loved this book! It is a book I highly recommend to those who love political dramas and smart thrillers because the one thing I kept thinking is how brilliant this book was. I thought the narrator did a brilliant job and had great character distinction and knew how to set a great tone for the book. I want to thank RB media and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

The Last Election audiobook is not a book I would recommend. To be fair, I am not a political person, but I wanted to listen to this book because one of the authors is former presidential candidate Andrew Yang; and, though I was at odds with his political views during that run for the nomination, I thought he had a unique take on things, and I wanted to see how those unique perspectives might make their way into a book. Unfortunately, I was not prepared for the disdain that was so pervasive throughout this book.

This book is very critical and, at times, even mocking of certain political beliefs. I guess I wanted an interesting story but instead got an exaggerated, partisan political tale that paints people in the worst possible light.

Politics aside, the book spends a lot of time following a 3rd Party candidate who is very entertaining, but who then disappears for the last 25% of the book. This was disappointing, as he was a focal point and the best character in the story, in my opinion. There are unsettling relationships that seem to pop up with no explanation and no resolution. I didn't find the characters to be well-developed. A literary tool that I did not find appealing is the use of actual celebrities, news outlets, former presidents, current Senators, and well-known reporters in the book; especially in a story that is so filled with hate and extremism, it felt very odd to insert these real-life entities into the plot.

In the plus column, I did enjoy the narrator, who was easy to listen to and held my attention despite my not being a fan of this book overall.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.