DNF @ 34%

I could not bring myself to finish this and I LOVE dark stories... but this just reads so painfully slow. I may come back to this if I can obtain the audiobook version.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book reminds me so much of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It is very gothic, very purple, very much a long walk through a dark wood looking at every damn shadow along the way. There is a lot of blood, gore, assaults of every kind. This book is not kind or shy. If you loved Frankenstein I believe you will like this.

From the very first page of this novel, I was pulled in! Imagine waking up in an asylum without any knowledge of how you got there and being told that you murdered your entire family. I thought that was going to be the main part of the story, but I was so wrong. There's so much more to this story than I could have ever guessed.

The Last Immortal is a longer novel than I'm used to but don't let that discourage you! This was a page turner and it managed to cure me of my reading slump. I can't wait to read more from this author.

This book was extremely dark, which I love -- definitely a heavy read and you absolutely need to check your content warnings on this one. This book was so full of action and big reveals the ending felt a little out of the blue. Maybe if there was more alluding to this ending earlier in the book it would have felt more satisfying. Once you get past the graphic depictions of mental, physical, and sexual violence, "The Last Immortal" is a story of power and redemption. At first, the whole world and what is happening to the main character is slightly confusing but once you learn more I couldn't put it down!

This book was very interesting, had a unique plot and characters. This was my first book from Natalie but I will definitely be checking out more! Thanks Netgalley and publishers for the opportunity to read and review. 3.5 stars.

So while this one was extremely interesting it is definitely not for the faint of heart, the trigger warnings are there for a reason, but if you can stomach them this was a wild ride all on its own and it was a bit of a slow build I personally was glad that I stuck it out and I will be purchasing this one for sure

Unfortunately, I did not care for this story. It was difficult to get through and it was nearly a DNF for me. This had nothing to do with the triggering content however, although that could be a factor for other readers. First, it was too long. I understand the story covers a sizable period of time, but there were many redundancies and could certainly benefit from another developmental edit where the plot and conflict were more focused. It probably would have done better as three separate books. Secondly, I did not understand the main character's motivations. Not only was it unclear why she would share her story in the first place, but her objectives and reasonings throughout the entire novel were often unrealistic. I didn't understand her and I couldn't connect with her. I also didn't find the trauma fallout very accurate and at times problematic, in my opinion. It made it really difficult to relate to the MC and when the story is presented in first person, that makes for a tough read. You don't have to agree with a morally corrupt character's choices, but you do need to understand the logic behind them. The story tried to be an exploration in redemption and a reclamation of self, but any attempts made by the author to feature these themes were overshadowed by the plethora of confusing events, excessive number of characters, gratuitous violence, and continuous lack of logically actions and reactions within the MC’s internal conflict. I really wanted to like this, but it was a struggle to get through.

The Last Immortal by Natalie Gibson is a wilddddd ride!

It’s a very dark gothic fantasy/horror novel….and it’s pretty messed up. I wouldn’t normally describe a book like this but wow. This book won’t be for everyone and it’s definitely not for anyone under the age of 18. It has every trigger warning imaginable and then some. From SA, child SA, rape, incest, almost all forms of abuse, graphic violence, gore, language, BDSM, self-harm, abortion, murder, and so much more. This is a very dark and heavy read so again, it’s not for everyone.

With that being said, I loved this one! The character development and world building were both amazing. It immediately sucks you in and keeps you interested. As soon as you think you’ve figured out where it’s taking you or who someone truly is…it does a complete 180. Again, it’s very dark and it doesn’t really let up. As soon as you think it can’t possibly get more violent and horrifying…it does haha. It’s split into three sections and has multiple time jumps so it felt slightly rushed at times. I would’ve liked to see this spread out over multiple books but the author pretty much ties everything together perfectly. I loved this one and definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a thrilling, dark ride set in a Victorian Era fantasy world.

Was not prepared for the content of this book and felt trigger warnings should have been more forth coming

The Last Immortal is penned as a gothic dark fantasy horror and that absolutely hits the nail on the head. All I would add to this is that there are VERY dark themes - that’s not a criticism (you can’t criticize a dark book for being dark can you?) but it has to be mentioned. Going into this I didn’t think the dark themes would particularly bother me but there were several occasions where I really struggled with the book as things just got so dark and so… twisted!

I think what really stood out to me was how the book managed to CONTINUALLY get more twisted. There were a couple of dark themes I saw coming and so they weren’t a surprise but throughout the book there would dark turns and reveals that just turned my stomach honestly. At 66% I put the book down and just stared into space questioning how twisted this book was. Then again at 68% I was just blown away with how this book managed to continue to come up with and portray such twisted relationships… There were situations and relationships in this book that I couldn’t imagine getting worse and yet somehow they always did!

I can’t say I enjoyed reading The Last Immortal - but I don't think you’re meant to enjoy reading a book this dark!

Putting aside the issues of some of the themes in this book, there were a lot of strengths to The Last Immortal.
The world building was top tier. Set in the Victorian era, the atmosphere was set beautifully. Perfectly blending the Victorian era with an entire underground society with its own history and hierarchy - when I reflect back on the world building it really did feel faultless honestly.
I also loved that every character felt complex and nuanced in their own way. While none of the characters were particularly likable (I’m assuming this was deliberate), each felt individual and like they had their own rationale for their behaviour and decisions. Honestly the character building was really good but I do wish there had been at least someone a bit more likable.

I think my only real complaint was that it was all a bit slow for my liking and I feel like this would have been a much stronger book if it had been tightened up. In particular I hated how the author would recap things for us. Now I understand the premise is that we’re reading Ramillia’s journals and so in that context it might make sense to briefly explain who X is and what they did. But I literally just read what that character did 2 chapters ago - why am I reading a recap of it? Things like this really bogged the story down for me and made the pacing a struggle. The last third in particular really lost my interest and I struggled through it.

This is certainly a book I will never be reading again. I am sure there is an audience for it but for me it skews too dark and too slow.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC

P.S
Having written my review and then looked online I’ve seen there is a huge divide on the ratings and I think this division seems to hinge on whether there were ample trigger warnings provided. All I can say is that my copy had all the appropriate trigger warnings, so while I can’t say I was prepared for what I read (because the dark themes far exceeded what I had imagined) I also can’t complain that they didn’t warn me!

DNF at 50% (and I barely made it)

Having my second book of the year be a 2 star is truly a disappointment. I almost didn’t make it to 50% but my rule is I have to read at least this much to feel comfortable rating a DNF.

Originally I requested this book bc it sounded right up my alley. Gothic Victorian vibes, supernatural elements, a woman breaking out of toxic relationships,,, one of the comps I believe is A Dowry of Blood, which was one of my favorite books the year I read it. And while I can’t say that anything I knew about the book was misleading I also have to say it failed to deliver on all of these aspects.

The book is split into three parts. I made it through the first and about a third of the second. First of story and pacing wise the book should’ve just kept the finale of part one as the finale of the story. Then there was some weird exposition at the beginning of part two that made me think there was at some point the intention to split the story into multiple books? We were given info we already had but in the way that is usually done at the beginning of a sequel to remind us of something that happened.

Something else that bothered me about the way the story was built is that there were almost no indicators how much time passed, which often was multiple years. We were often just completely lacking contextual clues (development etc.) in that regard.

Lastly, let’s come to the thing that actually made me dnf.
There’s many reviews out there already, talking about how dark the book is, and to be aware of the TW provided (although it was apparently not from the very beginning that the TW actually reflected the contents fully.
Personally I don’t mind dark stories, disturbing stories etc. under the right circumstances. I mentioned earlier that A Dowry of Blood is one of my favorite book, a book centering the escape from a toxic relationship. Another of my favorites is Juniper & Thorn, a book that maybe isn’t necessarily the same in themes but certainly in parts of the darker content.
Something both of these books however do, that I was sorely lacking in this one is exploring those dark contents with care , matching up the themes and seeing the stuff that’s happening reflected in the characters it’s happening to.
With all of that missing this book felt a bit like gory and voyeuristic trauma porn.
The stuff that happened to the FMC felt like it was there just to be shocking, it had almost no impact on her or the story at all. Even with the excuse of the missing memories (and other stuff i won't get into here for spoilers) there should have been *some* reaction on the side of Ramillia concerning all the stuff she found out was being done to her body. Instead it felt like it was "be angry for a bit, shrug, move on". This made it so that there was absolutely no point in any of the things she went through aside from titillation of the reader.

The book also at least started as queer but omg do I have so many issues with how that was done, again in a way I can't go into for spoilers.

For this review I will stop here, my reviews on Storygraph and Goodreads will include spoilers

I love a dark fantasy but please check trigger warnings for this book! If you're a fan of horror or paranormal, I think you'd like this. The atmosphere is very gothic, and told from an almost "unreliable narrator" perspective.

Young Ramillia wakes up in an asylum with no memory of brutally murdering her parents with her bare hands. Of course there are a lot of things she doesn't remember about her childhood. But when Sir Julian takes her under his wing as benefactor and fiancé, a whole new world opens up to her: one of power, deceit, and (most of all) the promise of eternal life.

Ramillia is a "Carrier": a rare genetic mutation of humans gifted with strength and immortality, rarer still for being female. Despite being inducted into this powerful species's society, however, she is still left largely in the dark about what they are and how they operate. As she learns more about her nature, from the relationship between Carriers and Incola to her own affinity for violence to the other version of herself living in her mind, she begins to see the broader world for what it is. And, in the book's final act, she sets about destroying what she finds.

The Last Immortal is a difficult read for many reasons. Thematically, it is thick with abuse (both physical and sexual), treats pretty much nothing as off-limits, and fades to black less and less as the story goes on. While initially this does serve the theme, the third act of the book seems to fall apart, and not in a way that feels at all tied to Ramillia's own character journey. There's a marked difference between the character rushing things and the writer rushing things. And while the first part felt slow and the second felt perfectly paced, the third felt as though it was written to a deadline... and not a diegetic, character-driven deadline. Burning questions are either left unanswered or addressed in haste — not in the way that the rest of the book explored gaslighting and disinformation, nor even in a way that leans into Ramillia's own collapsing psyche, but in an extra-textual way that feels almost as though an indelible upper word count is being approached. From metaphors for feminine power in a masculine world to a psychic octopus and scrambled brains, it feels like a rug-pull. Should you choose to read it, I recommend leaving off at the end of part 2.

This book was fabulous. I was captivated from the very first sentence, desperate to know what happens next. The premise of this story is excellent, and I loved the blend between the historical genre and the fantasy genre.
However, it must be noted that the book is not entirely accurate. At the beginning of the novel, the protagonist meets a character who has been lobotomised. However, this book takes place in the Victorian Era. Lobotomies were not ‘invented’ until the 20th century. This, combined with the lack of appropriate commas, make the book feel unprofessional.
Once I was able to move on from these mistakes, I found the book to be very pleasant and worthy of my time, one of the best books that I have read pre-release.

A sexually charged dark fantasy about a woman who discovers she is more than a lunatic locked up in an insane asylum.

DNF @ 15%

Upon taking a look at the revised trigger warnings I’m deciding not to read any further as the themes are incredibly bleak and tragic and will surely put me in a reading slump. I am giving a 3 star rating as I could not read enough to fairly give it a review.

Thank you to Netgalley and author for
the opportunity but unfortunately this read is not for me.

Absolutely loved this the writing style was right up my alley and I’m going to need more books from this author asap

The first thing : Please read the trigger warnings! this book wont be for everyone and is very dark and gory!

This was a different book to what i have read recently but i did enjoy it once in understood the story more. a good book if you love gothic fiction!

3.5 stars would be my rating

This was fantastic! I loved this book!!! It is definitely going to be on my to keep shelf. I was hooked from the very beginning and I couldn't put it down til the very end! Great read!!
I just reviewed The Last Immortal by Natalie Gibson. #TheLastImmortal #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

This was a really captivating narrative. Once you understand more, the world and the main character's experiences become somewhat clear, but once you do, you won't want to put it down!

In order to recall her life, Lady Ramillia Winmoore is creating a book in which she is chronicling every moment of her life. Every section is separated into a "phase" of her existence, and Ramillia's whereabouts are a mystery. I enjoyed reading the book because of its engaging plot overall and my need to know what was going to happen next. In spite of her odd actions, I definitely learned to love Ramillia.

However, I will concede that there ought to have been more clarity in the trigger warnings—or lack thereof. There was a lot of gore, trauma, darkness, and taboo content that not everyone would enjoy.

My opinion of the book was impacted by a few things, including the confusing and oblique way in which the multiple points of view were switched between. It would take me some time to figure out who was speaking. There were a few recaps at the start of Parts 2 and 3 that seemed pointless and redundant. Each section appeared to be its own book, even if that was not the case. In addition, the ending felt hurried, and despite all the build-up over the entire book, it wasn't a satisfying conclusion.

The worldbuilding was intriguing and the writing style was enjoyable. If someone wasn't a fan of the dark or horror genres, I'm not sure if I would suggest it.