My Rating : 3/5
“So, what’s that mean? I have to get over you acting like a tool because you think it’s stupid that I’m mad?”“Yeah,” he says with complete sincerity. “And I’ll get over you acting like you’re too misunderstood by everyone to be friends with a tool like me.”
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This book is the perfect starter to dip your toes into Paranormal YA coming -of-age Fantasy Romance. It has all the following :
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• A clueless MC re-animating his one-sided crush/classmate
• A great group of friends who will support you even when what you are spewing is absolutely impossible.
• Amazing friendships that form over discussing Neçromancy powers
• Over-enthusiastic Puppy MC trying to see the positive in everything
• The guilt ridden MC trying to make the other person stay alive without dyiñg himself
• Protective Mom & Aunt mode on
• Secret rendezvous meeting in the woods to talk to your déad father
• Neçromancy business goes awry when you accidentally bring your math teacher back
• Difficult times calling for difficult life decisions
• Did my aunt just say she hit the car??
• And an ending that'll make you smile like an idiot because things work out??
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While I love all the small things in the book, I still didn't believe in Jaxon and Christian's relationship. Sure, they had their sweet and vulnerable moments, BUT they were so co-dependent on each other. If we have gotten some out of context romance, I think this would have been perfect! Other than that, I really enjoyed this book!!
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Thank you @harper360ya and Netgalley for the gifted arc!!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit spooky but I pushed through. Very loveable characters, accessible writing. Not once was I bored.

A very sweet and strange necromancer drama. The two main characters are very cute, and the plot reminds me a bit of Cemetary Boys. That isn't a bad thing as that is a very good book. The ending felt a little bit contrived with how they managed to fully resurrect the boyfriend/childhood friend without killing anyone, but it worked well enough.

The necromancy aspect is not fully fleshed out and I'm not sure if that was intentional but most things I kind of don't understand about it I can just handwave as like well its magick. I don't have to understand it.

I very much enjoyed seeing Jax and Christian together though, even through the bumps during the ride. The slow burn of their romance was very teenager, and it worked. So much awkward not quite but almost flirting and the blushes. Oh, the blushes. I absolutely loved their dynamic. It reminds me of Nico and Will from Rick Riordan's Lightning Thief series. Their silly banter during make out sessions was very cute and Buffy-esque I'm a fan of that kind of thing.

Thank you, NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Santiago's mum is the town's mortician, but he never paid much attention to the bodies brought, but when he boy he had feeling for ends up dead, his world is turned upside down. Former best friend and first crush, Christian is weirdly brought back to life by Santiago and while Santiago has to learn how to control his newfound power, he soon discovers Christian has borrowed time and it's almost out. Navigating family secrets and magic, Santiago has to learn how to control his power, how to open up family wounds if he wants to keep Christian alive for good.

If you recommend this book as perfect for fans of Cemetery Boys, how could I not wanting to read it?
Till the last beat of my heart is a sweet, emotional, gripping and lovely queer young adult story and I loved every single page of it. Santiago and Christian are amazing characters and I loved how they dealt with death, grief, loss and love, and second chances in this book. I've never read a book with a character who has necromancy as power and it was so intriguing and I was really excited to learn more about it and about Santiago's feelings for Christian.
I adored this book. It was loving and funny and I was so invested in their story and in Santiago's family's history and secrets. I needed to know everything!

📚Till the Last Beat of My Heart
🖌️Author: Louangie Bou- Montes
🖋️Publication: @harper360ya
📝P.g.: 384
🗂️Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy

5/⭐️

📌Summary:
When you grow up in a funeral home, death is just another part of life. But for sixteen-year-old Jaxon Santiago-Noble, it’s also part of his family’s legacy. Most dead bodies in the town of Jacob’s Barrow wind up at Jaxon’s house; his mom is the local mortician, after all. He doesn’t usually pay them much mind, but when Christian Reyes is brought in after a car accident, Jaxon’s world is turned upside down.

There are a lot of things Jaxon wishes he could have said to his once best friend and first crush. When he accidentally resurrects Christian, Jaxon might finally have that chance. But the more he learns about his newfound necromancy, the more he grasps that Christian’s running on borrowed time—and it’s almost out.

As he navigates dark, mysterious magics and family secrets, Jaxon realizes that stepping into an inherited power may also mean opening up old family wounds if he wants to keep the boy he may be falling for alive for good.

📌Review:
The book caught my eye, just from the magnificent and unique cover, and then the synopsis and the premises mesmerized me. From the first pages i was hooked. A YA novel about teenage love with supernatural elements? Count me in.

The author really managed to capture the essence of young love, while describing the feeling of loss.

A sweet story that lovers of YA Fantasy shoul read.

I would like to thank @harper360ya for the free copy.

This was such a fun concept and I couldn’t put the book down! We follow a teen boy whose mother is a mortician, as he discovers he has powers of necromancy by accidentally raising his crush from the dead. Chaos ensues as he has to try and explain to everyone how this very dead boy is no longer dead, as well as trying to handle his new powers and also work out how long he has left with his crush and if he can do anything to keep him alive. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in fun ghost stories with bittersweet tales throughout.

The hill that I will always die on is that magic that comes with a cost or needs equal exchange is the superior magic.
Till the Last Beat of my Heart has this.
I can definitely see the comparison to Cemetery boys but I will say the other comparison, 'The Taking of Jake Livingston' did not fit.

I loved the take on this plot premise, about bringing back that dead crush you had from death and trying to keep them alive or learn to let them go. This book added a touch of background mystery because of the secrecy of family gift and why he hasn't been told of their gift before. The romance had potential to be amazing but unfortunately this book lacked some luster.
I felt the build up was drawn out to a point it was annoying the character and me the reader, the romance felt like it was missing a dimension and lastly the writing failed to full capture my attention.

I have to say I did love the sweet touch is the moment we get with Jaxon and his dad after the plot twist.
The fact that his father had seen so distinct while alive was all because he loved Jaxon and did something that was killing him to save him. That actually made me cry. It's the kind of moment that moves you.

In conclusion, this book had a great premise, some great plot twists and good potential. It didn't live up to what it could have been but it was still a good read. Compared to a few other books I have read with a similar idea, this was is the second best.

Till the Last Beat of My Heart is a YA contemporary fantasy about Jaxon who has the ability to bring people back from the dead and how he accidently brings back his childhood friend and crush and the consequences of that. I liked Till the Last Beat of My Heart and thought it was an enjoyable read.

I really liked the story and premise of this book, I was intrigued by Jaxon's abilities and wanted to know the effects they would have on both Christian and Jaxon. Jaxon's mum is a mortician so he lives in a mortuary which gave the book a creepy atmosphere which I liked and I think it's a good book to read in the autumn/spooky season.

I liked the relationship Jaxon had with his mum and how close they were. The friendships between Jaxon and his friends were intriguing but I did find the romance between him and Christian to be a bit sudden. And I also felt like the story wasn't as emotional as I expected it to be but I was still interested in the characters and what was happening in the story.

Overall I liked reading about Jaxon's abilities and what was going to happen to him and Christian but I didn't find it as emotional as I thought it would be. I did still enjoy Till the Last Beat of My Heart and I think it's a good book to read for the autumn season.

(I was sent a Netgalley arc of the book to review)

I had such a fun time with this! Till the Last Beat of My Heart is a great YA paranormal book about Jaxon, who lives in a morgue and accidentally reanimates a dead body... who happens to be his friend who he had a falling out with (and also a crush on). Jaxon spends the rest of the book trying to figure out his powers and find out if Christian can safely stay alive. While the blurb compares it to Cemetery Boys, there's a lot of different stuff going on in this book. Since Jaxon knew Christian before his death, when he brings him back to life, it is a chance to resolve conflict between them. Things came together in a sweet way for them. I did find the resolution of the story to be a little too easy - there is a consequence to what Jaxon and his friends do at the end, but then that consequence is waved away with magic, so it lessens the impact of the sacrifice that was made. Overall, this is a great spooky season read, and I can't wait to read more from Louangie Bou-Montes!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

This book is the perfect Halloween read!

While this book is definitely not a horror novel, there were plenty of spooky moments and horror references that feels just in time for Halloween season. I hadn't expected that based on the cover, so it was a pleasant surprise!

The characters read as realistically teenager-y to me. Jaxon is moody and anxious and stubborn (same, dude) while Christian is upbeat and cheerful but is also putting up a front to hide his fears. Also, I really appreciate that Christian is a glasses-wearing jock.

There were certain conflicts that I feel got brushed off/didn't get resolved fully, but for the most part, everything gets resolved pretty well.

I feel that the necromancy aspect isn't fully fleshed out, but as Jaxon is new to this/still figuring things out, I think that's fine.

Overall, a pretty solid YA fantasy, I will definitely be looking forward to see what the author writes next!

P. S. I love Grimalkin the cat so much 😭😭😭

I went into this book with an open heart. The premise sounded so good, and I was really excited to read about this queer story. However, I found the actual story totally unbelievable. I had a difficult time following the story because I just couldn't believe how much miscommunication there was. I hope that this will still be of interest to some, I just couldn't get into the story.

Thanks NetGalley and HarperCollins for a copy of this ARC!

Till the Last Beat of My Heart is a touching story about the messy relationships between family and friends. It is filled with imperfect characters who sometimes make epic mistakes but also care deeply about each other and would sacrifice a lot for their loved ones. Some parts are predictable, and some questions about Jaxon’s abilities are left unanswered in this whirlwind week of Jaxon discovering he can resurrect the dead and constantly trying to keep Christian alive. Overall, that feels appropriate given the timeline and urgency. I appreciate the intersectionality of a protagonist who is queer, Afro-Latinx, and takes medication for anxiety. For those of us not fluent, some Spanish phrases are easy to interpret from context clues while others may need translating. While there is a budding romance, things are kept PG and occasional language is the only mature content, so I’d recommend this to middle school and up.

In Till The Last Beat of My Heart, Louangie Bou-Montes writes of death, resurrection, necromancy and love. Jaxon’s mom is a mortician so he’s used to being around death. His friend, Christian, dies in a car accident and his body is brought to the morgue. Jaxon feels compelled to check on his friend and somehow Christian comes back to life. This is a perfect spooky story to read around Halloween. I loved the friendship between Jaxon and Regan, the romance of Jaxon and Christian and the family dynamics. Anticipatory grief had me crying in certain parts but I was definitely laughing as well. ARC was provided by HarperCollins Children’s Books via NetGalley. I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The son of a mortician discovers his powers over life and death when his crush ends up in his family's morgue

With his mum being the local mortician, sixteen year old Jaxon is used to death. There's quite often a body down in the basement waiting to be prepped for a funeral. It's normal, routine. Living in a small town, Jaxon's mum has worked on many of the residents, but when Christian Reyes, Jaxon's old friend and crush, ends up on the morgue table after a car accident, Jaxon can't help but go down to the basement to see for himself.

Accidentally resurrecting Christian brings a whole host of problems, from Jaxon's family history of necromancy, to Christian's limited time. For Jaxon, inherited necromancy powers aren't as fun when they come with secrets that could tear his family apart, and with Christian's second life about to be cut short, Jaxon must quickly learn all he can about his powers, or he'll lose Christian for good.

Marketed as for fans of Cemetery Boys, I went into this a little hesitant. Cemetery Boys is one of my favourites, one I'll always hold close, and just lately I've been let down by incorrect marketing comparisons. Till the Last Beat of My Heart? Perfectly comped. My hesitation quickly dissipated, and I found myself easily loving this as much as Cemetery Boys very early on. 

The characters are easily likeable, and Christian's bright, sunny disposition is impossible not to roll your eyes with a smile at, just like Jaxon. You get the real sense of family, of love, friendship and connection. At times it felt like I was a guest in the kitchen, happily observing the interactions between Jaxon, his mum and aunt, and then later, Christian and his extended family. It has that real sense of warmth despite the themes, and Jaxon's need to save Christian quickly became mine, too.

The pacing is set perfectly, with the urgency, anxiety, and all out desperation combined with the necessary slowed down, and not quite relaxed. This will be a great spooky season read, and well worth a read if you're looking for something to break up any dark horror books. 

As a debut, it's clear the author has a lot of potential, and I'm excited for what's next! This is firmly on my favourites list, and I hope it finds its way onto yours too!



Did I like the book? Yes!

Did I love it? Yes!

Would I recommend it? 100%! As a spooky season read, or for the Cemetery Boys lovers, it's a new favourite for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for this earc. I had a fun time with this book and it is definitely one I will be recommending for a fall read. This book does a great job of handling death and how it affects people. I enjoyed the friendship between Jaxon and Regan. My favorite character would have to be Christian, I loved his sunny personality and how much he loved live and his friends. I thought the romance and progress of it between Jaxon and Christian was cute. I liked the authors take on necromancy and how it runs in family bloodlines, I also liked how it wasn’t all copy and paste of each person having the same ability too.

When the son of the local mortician accidentally brings back his dead ex best friend/crush, he finds that his life is connected with him... and that they'll have to find a way to figure it out before he takes the life out of him. Jaxon is a sixteen-year old boy who grew up in a funeral home, he's the son of a mortician, and he's used to death... until he finds the dead body of his ex best friend/crush Christian Reyes right on the table. Christian died in a car accident and that was before Jaxon was able to make up with him, let alone confess his feelings. Yet when Jaxon visits the body and accidentally reanimates Christian...he discovers that Christian's life is connected to his own and that he's taking from it. It also doesn't help that Christian is determined to get back into Jaxon's good graces, making it harder and harder for Jaxon to even think about letting him go. Jaxon has to figure out what inherited abilities he has and how he can keep Christian alive without killing himself. This book had an interesting premise and a simple necromancy system however I just didn't really care all that much for the characters or the relationship between Jaxon and Christian. The ending wraps up and I am left feeling "meh" about it all. It just felt like a miss for me and the plot just felt bland. The characters don't really connect with me and I really wish that they had. Their relationship just didn't feel all that well fleshed out and I'm just happy to have reached the end of the book. I would say if you like queer YA Romances and second chances then I'd give this one a go.

Release Date: September 10,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Since Jaxon's mom runs the neighborhood morgue and funeral home, he's not surprised with all the bodies his mom works on. He is surprised when he found out that his mom is working on the body of his ex-bestfriend and crush Christian. And... Jaxon just accidentally resurrected him.

I think I'm too old for this book. I just really didn't connect with the characters at all. Maybe it's also because I'm an adult that I don't understand why the characters are not listening or confiding to the adults in the book. So. maybe this is a me problem.

The Necromancy in the book is simple enough. Nothing too crazy in that front. It also felt like the book tried hard to be scary. I thought the creepiness was minimal and it's not too scary to dive in. Plot wise, I thought that everything was too easy in the end.

I have to acknowledge that there were some twists that I really appreciate. I didn't see them coming and they were a nice throttle to the story.

As I mentioned, I think this book is not for me. I thought the book was okay but it's not something I would read again.

This was such a refreshing story.! I'm personally not a fan of gore, and this toed the line at times, but only because there are some realities necessary to living in a morgue.

Overall the romance was sweet, the paranormal aspects were just right and I cant wait to see what this author does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The cover for this is incredible. Thank you Louangie for sending me this ARC!

I really liked Jax and his portrayal of anxiety. It was nice to see someone deal with it and have medication and everyone not make it seem like it was something that hindered him. Christian seemed so sweet. I didn’t quite understand the part where Jax was mad at them for talking about his dad cause it never seemed to come up again. The group was super nice to him from the beginning and he held a grudge but we never see that happen on their end. Why did they do that? He was talking about it but it was never shown that they were mean or anything. Rhys seemed like a nice guy and a good friend. The necromancy elements were interesting and I would like to know more about how the powers worked. The few twists within the book were really good and I enjoyed getting into this world a lot.