I think there’s a lot of confusion about whether this book is YA or not. Emelia is 17, but even though the writing seemed to be for younger audiences, the content seemed adult at some parts. It’s not super spicy. There’s a good amount of swearing and violence though, so maybe it’s upper YA or NA?

Either way, I really enjoyed this. I don’t get the hate in some of the reviews I’ve seen for this book. Yeah it was instalovey. And trust me, I’m not a big fan of insta love at all. BUT that was done on purpose.
Also, the world building was very easy to understand - and this is a GOOD thing. It’s an urban fantasy set on earth in the very distant future where vampires now rule, (from context I got that they mutated somehow) which I thought was really interesting.

And vampires cry blood tears, which was a really minor but cool detail that I really enjoyed.


SPOILERS BELOW:

Regarding what I was saying about the insta love- it had to be this way because Kyle was always planning to betray her. HE HAD TO SEDUCE HER.

I KNEW there was something up with Kyle. Something about him I didn’t trust at the beginning. I had some guesses about what was up but after a while I kind of forgot about it and then BAM.

Emelia killing him?? Yeah that one got me.

Regarding Michael- I like him. I didn’t know what to expect with him but I wondered if the author was gonna make HIM the actual love interest instead of Kyle, and lo and behold, that’s exactly what she did. At least, it’s what’s implied for the next book.

I enjoyed this book! I appreciated that the plot was different from most fantasy books now. I liked how Emelia matures throughout the story and the knowledge that she gains.

The FMC is very naive, which helps the story but at times is a little irritating. There was also too much indecisiveness for my taste, she waffles between her decisions a lot. Overall though, I liked the story!

Really not a fan of this one at all. The writing felt very juvenile, and I really didn’t enjoy it at all. Plus I’m not a fan of the insta love trope. I’m really disappointed I didn’t like this one, especially with how gorgeous the cover is.

The only interesting thing about this book was that a human girl was born to vampires which you find out in the first five minutes. The rest of book is about as predictable as can be human girl falls for vampire boy. I also couldn't get behind the main character or any plotline with an heir who doesn't want their job.

First off, thank you so much to NetGalley for the eARC!

FIRST HALF OF REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE!

So, we meet our FMC, Emelia Raven. She is completely against becoming the next Raven heir because she is human, despite all Ravens being Vampires.

She is forced to go to a club to see her cousin, and her new personal guard is a handsome Vampire named Kyle.

Of course, she hates him. Hates the party. And so on.

As the story progresses, Kyle and Emelia become very close very quickly.

Kyle subtly shows and tells Emelia how terrible the humans live under Vampire ruling—despite her parents making her believe as she grew up that the humans who were used for feeding were comfortable, or doing it under their own free will.

Emelia learns there is a rebellion run by the humans, and she wants to learn more. She wants to hear both sides, and eventually she wants to become the Heir to change everything for the better.

——

note: this book is a bit spicy!! I would say 🌶️🌶️.75/5. There is on page descriptions that I wouldn’t have expected for a YA book!

——

I won’t lie, at some points in the story, I had no idea where it was going. A lot of things were going on at the same time, but it was a lot of tell not show unfortunately.

A lot of this was Emelia falling in love, and exploring the world outside her gilded cage and finding out how truly corrupt Vampires were.

Note my 4 star rating—I enjoyed it. It kept me entertained. There were some twists that were expected, and some not!

Emelia—she was… well, a young girl. I can’t say she was annoying, really, because she was simply naïve due to her upbringing and lack of education her parents gave her/how they shielded her from the world outside their castle.

She did frustrate me with her back and forth—not wanting to be a Raven, wanting to be a Raven. Wanting to leave home, wanting to go back home. Hating her parents, loving her parents.

It was a lot of back and forth, but again, she kept learning new things about her life and about the true relationship between Vampires and Humans. She wanted to make change, but didn’t know how, nor did she have the people to help her (sans Kyle)

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Kyle—I hate to say, but I knew from the very beginning something was off about him. The way he fell first and hard was setting off alarms in my head! I knew he would betray her, but the way he did it was surprising to me!

Jessie—I know for a fact we are going to see more of her in book two! I am very excited, and I am hoping her and Emelia will work together, despite their clashing in this book. I hope Emelia will be able to assist Jessie’s brother as well!

Michael—holy twist!! I assumed he was like Emelia—human but Vampire blood bourne—but I didn’t expect him to be Mistral! That was an exciting twist, and at least with that I can safely assume they will bond heavily over their childhoods growing up as a human in a Vampire family… as well as their hate of Mistral.

All in all, this book was entertaining, and I liked the idea. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series!

Again, thank you NetGalley for the E-ARC!

An enjoyable vampire romance. This book just didn’t go the way I expected so the ending was a bit of a let down for me. I’m sort of getting over the insta love in Romantasy books so this wasn’t something I enjoyed in this book.

Rating / Recommend
⭐⭐⭐🌶️🌶️
Maybe/NotReally

If you like romantacy, vampires, young characters, rebels take over the world books you may like this one.

My Thoughts:
I felt like this book gave me whiplash. I didn’t love it. I loved the idea of the plot? But hated the characters. The FMC is so poor pitiful me and whiny/helpless. I could see right through the MMC the whole time. The FMC is just your typical inexperienced 18 year old falling for the first person who gives her attention. It irked my nerves. That being said it’s a relatively short read and it kept my attention because I absolutely had to know if my theories were correct. (They were) so if you want a short stereotypical romantacy you might like this.

Content warning: mature content, open door scenes, murder

I had much higher hopes from this book, but the ending ruined it for me. The writing wasn’t great, and the book left a lot to be desired.

While a human borne from vampires is a unique take on vampire lore, I can’t say this book was an enjoyable read. All of the characters (not just our sheltered FMC) are very immature and don’t really have strong identities other own. Insta love works for some people and that’s fine, it does however not work for me.

2⭐️ .5🌶️

There is one 🌶️ scene but it’s not smut. Very YA.

The Last Raven is advertised for fans of Twilight and I knew I had to pick up this book!

Emilia’s parents are vampires while Emilia is human. Her parents are rulers and she is meant to become heir. She’s 17 and her dad is like 600 years old so I’m not sure why she’s supposed to take over when her life span is so small compared to them.

I was expecting more world building. Especially since this is a fantasy. But the characters wear jeans and have watch tv (it takes place on earth). I really wanted to see a world where vampires rule.

The MCs were okay. Given their age, it’s normal for them to be kinda annoying, but I found myself skimming a lot through the book. I also wasn’t expecting an insta-love. I didn’t believe in their chemistry at all.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Last Raven by Helen Glynn Jones.

I was super excited for this because of the Forced Proximity and Royalty x Bodyguard tropes. This was a decent read, but it wasn’t exactly what I wanted in a vampire romance

This is a great twist on the vampire genre. The idea that two vampires can have a human child is not your normal fare. Add to that the fact that Emelia is the Heir to the throne. She's considered an abomination and she's hidden away for that reason. But now she has to step out into society. Her desire is to live as a human but her view of their life has been hidden from her. They are the cattle that keep the vampire in power. Protecting her is a new guard that wants her to stay right where she is. Definitely interested in reading more.

The last raven was the book that I needed to get out of a reading slump. The first chapter drew me in with the way it was writer . Usually it a hit or miss for me if they writing can’t draw me in it was written so nice and I was able to follow the main character, Emelia.
The push and pull between Kyle is way too cute. The typical hate you but I crush on you hard is what I needed during this cold chilly season !

Thank you to Net galley for letting me read this Arc before it hit the shelf ! You guys are gonna love it the spice is there 😍

ThIs story was “just okay” in my opinion. It wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t the best vampire story I’ve ever read either. It has a good premise, however, I think it could’ve used a bit more fleshing out overall. Especially since the characters felt a bit one dimensional and as if I didn’t know much about them, even though they were given time on the page. Overall, I can’t say I enjoyed the book all that much, and probably wouldn’t read it again if given the choice between it and another story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I fell in love with the cover of The Last Raven and was so excited to read this because it seemed like something I would be into. Unfortunately, I was not a fan.

This is the first time I’ve gotten the chance to review a fantasy advanced readers copy— for which I am very grateful. Thank you @HarperCollins360, @netgalley, and @helenglynnjones for giving me the opportunity.

Tropes:

Forced Proximity
Human x Vampire
Royalty x Bodyguard
Forbidden Romance
YA Romance

4.25 - Stars
1 - Spice

For starters, I really enjoyed this story. It was the perfect length, the pace made sense— and the world building was vague initially but over time, it felt like that was the author’s intention.

It’s important when reading to remember that we’re seeing the world through Emilia’s eyes and she is extremely naive, unexperienced and learning as she goes.
That being said, I was surprised by the plot twist and ending.

Emilia is the human daughter of the vampire king and queen of Raven. She is constantly trying to fight her birthright and responsibility. When she meets her new bodyguard, Kyle— it is attraction at first sight, though they can’t stand each other.

The Last Raven is the intriguing, yet heartbreaking journey of Emilia learning whom her enemies are, growing up and taking on responsibility— all while experiencing her first love.

“The Last Raven,” by Helen Glynn Jones

This was a really good book. It is everything I look for in a YA vampire royalty book. I love how the princess is human despite her parents being vampires, I loved how she was torn between the two worlds of vampires and humans. The morality of their world and how humans are treated was the main focus of the entire book. The main character is such a sheltered princess, her knowledge and thoughts about it was so naïve and innocent. I liked seeing her grow into the person she became at the end. Above all, I adored the forbidden love romance aspect. Those two characters were so good together and I loved every scene. 4 out of 5 stars.

-Vampires
-Forbidden Love
-Royalty

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

My review is simply this... Book shows General Fiction (Adult) and Romance. I thought this meant I would be reading about adults. But this main FL i this book is 17. I stopped reading and looked for spoilers to make sure there wasn't going to be any spicy scenes. There was. I do not and will not continue to read a book with minors. And while the main ML is depicted as looking 18, he is hundreds of years old. That's a double no where minors are concerned. There were no warnings in the genres that it involved someone who was under the age 18. There were no warnings in the blurb that she was under 18. Please for all that is sane......... Let us know the age of characters if they are under 18.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

This was not for me but maybe I’m just not the target audience. Way too juvenile and meh. Nothing really to grab me and hold my attention.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book.
This book is not at all what I was expecting. I feel that this was more of a YA or New Adult Romance than the General Adult Romance it was labeled as and is VERY low on the spicy meter.
Emelia is your typical very sheltered, spoon-fed character that “hates” the guilded cage her parents put her in. I love stories where the main character finds their true self and courage to stand up to what they know is not right during their search for truth and independence. However, Emelia has some major co-dependency issues with her family and other characters that diminish the strength and independence she finds. I feel that this character build could have been stronger by making her unshackle those co-dependent chains and truly step into her own.
The world building and politics are amazing! The mystery and the questions Emelia is trying to answer keeps the reader engaged. The twist toward the end had me ABSOLUTELY floored and gasping out loud. I won’t say much more on that as I don’t want to ruin it for anyone else.
I look forward to the next book and hope that Emelia can progress into a stronger character.