Last Girl Breathing

The emotional punch this book packs was insane. I don’t know if it was my heightened emotional state at time of reading or what, but probably due to the intense writing. This book had me sobbing!

Eight years ago, Lucy lost her little brother. While her heroics were enough to save many others, she couldn’t save him and she lives with that pain. Now, when her stepbrother is missing in the same area that happened years ago.

Deaths and missing persons are shocking this small community and she cannot help but think it is all connected. When her ex-boyfriend is pinned for murder, Lucy knows she needs answers.

This book spans years of tireless effort, dark town secrets, greed and loss and each moment had me HOOKED. Lucy was so strong, never wavering and always pushing for the truth, even if she didn’t like the outcome. What a fantastic listen. I usually never dislike a narrator and can listen to anything, but this felt like the narrator truly helped bring this story to life!

I need a few days to process this. It was SO much more than I expected.
Lucy is on her way to the Olympics. She is in love with a childhood friend and her mom is remarried to the richest guy in town.
Anyway, when L:ucy was young her brother drowned when the town dam broke in a record storm. Now her friends and stepbrother are missing. Bodies are found and she is stuck coping. Her boyfriend is convicted of the crime even though she knows he is innocent.
A lot happens and it comes down to some major eco crimes and a cover up.
It is so good and so so sad.
The narration was perfect.

5 Stars! Court Stevens has done it again with a plot-twisting page turner. Lucy's lost a lot in her young life - her younger brother in a flood, her dad to divorce, now her friends due to murder. But who's the murderer? The narrator does an excellent job of keeping you on the edge of your seat.

Whew, this book was heartbreaking...

Eight years ago, tragedy struck. Lucy Michaels’ life changed forever.
But under the surface of her small town lies a secret that could pull her under.
During a camping trip, the rain didn't let up causing the local dam to break..
Lives were lost. Including five-year-old Clay Michaels, who was swept away in the floodwater
Lucy, has never forgiven herself for her little brother’s death, She was supposed to protect him.
Now, her world is once again shaken when tragedy strikes Grand Junction.
Three of her closest friends are missing and presumed dead.
The more Lucy uncovers about the secrets of those around her, the more she realizes that she, too, is a target.

A stand-alone young adult thriller
Perfect for fans of We Were Liars and The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

Thank you NetGalley for this Advanced Readers Copy of Last Girl Breathing!

Last Girl Breathing
By: Court Stevens
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Narrated by: McKenzie Fetters
Release date: 11-07-23

#FirstLine ~ The bulk of Mom’s messages come through in a span of thirty-eight minutes.

What makes Last Girl Breathing truly captivating is its compelling characters and their emotional depth. Lucy's journey, filled with guilt and determination, is both heart-wrenching and inspiring. The novel keeps readers on the edge of their seats as it unravels the truth, revealing the intricate web of lies and deceit in the town.

Court Stevens delivers nonstop suspense, creating a story that keeps you guessing until the very end. Last Girl Breathing is a riveting exploration of the human spirit, the power of redemption, and the resilience of the last girl standing. With its well-crafted characters and suspenseful plot, this novel is a must-read for those who enjoy thrilling mysteries and stories that tug at the heartstrings.

I was able to read and listen to this book via @netgalley eARC and audiobook!!! Thanks so much!!

Stevens last novel, We Were Kings, held me spellbound, so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of her newest YA mystery.

Tragedy struck the small Kentucky town of Grand Junction several years ago when the dam broke after excessive rain, and lives were lost. Among the victims was Lucy’s little brother, Clay. Eight years later, Lucy is focused on making the US Olympic air rifle team and taking care of her mother, who is still very fragile after Clay’s death. Tragedy strikes again when two of Lucy’s closest friends are found murdered in the same vicinity where her brother died.

Small towns seem to hold the biggest secrets, usually deeply buried, and Grand Junction is no different. Some characters have held them close for decades. The author created realistic and flawed characters, making it easy for readers to empathize with them. A wide net of suspicion is cast over the town, and there’s no shortage of red herrings to throw readers off the trail. I never got to a point where I felt as if I knew without a doubt who was behind the murders, and I love it when that happens. When all was said and done, it’s nothing I could have predicted.

The story moves seamlessly as chapters alternate from present day to the past, the weekend Clay died, and my heart went out to Lucy after the gut-wrenching nightmare she lived through. With Grand Junction being such a tightly knit community, the whole town grieved when the dam burst, and wounds are still fresh eight years later.

Passages of this story will break your heart, and the gripping mystery will keep you guessing until the end. I listened to the audiobook, and narrator McKenzie Fetters does a fantastic job. If you’re a fan of small town mysteries with realistically drawn characters, you can’t go wrong with Last Girl Breathing.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I will forever shudder when I hear the words “underwater” and “baby”. First book read by this author and I am a fan.

Ugh this book was just so ughhhhhh. Like in the best possible way. I have the biggest book hangover now. I don’t even know how to write a good enough review for this one. I suspected everyone throughout the whole book. Well except the dog.

One thing made me laugh and it’s a just me thing. I’ve had my name misspelled a lot but Joanny is a new one even for me. I wouldn’t have even assumed it was Joni if I hadn’t listened to the audiobook in tandem with reading the book.

Thank you Netgalley, Court Stevens, and Harper Collins Christian Publishing for the audiobook!! This was a great listen. Started off as a slow burn and had me wondering what was going on. I truly felt for all the characters and had me questioning a few. Picked up pace and threw some twists I truly did not see coming. I still can’t believe how it turned out, but the ending was very satisfying!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC of this book.

I LOVED this book. It kept me on my toes the entire time. I also loved our main character Lucy.

I know some folks on Goodreads said they were able to pick out the culprit of the Lucy's missing friends was from the beginning, but I had no idea. Each character has some sort of redeeming quality that makes the reader doubt that they are capable of any sort of foul play. The characterization in this book was top-notch.

This book also brings into play how a large corporation/factory/plant can impact a community and community member choices. As climate change and the impact of factories is more on the forefront in todays news, this subplot I found to be very relevant and interesting.

The alternating timelines really worked with the plot of the book. You slowly learned the background of what happened when the dam broke while getting deeper into the present day investigation.

Now, can we talk about the twists. The last third of this book was WILD. I could not predict the outcome at all. And all of the subtle little details made it even more difficult for me to infer what would come of Lucy and the investigation. When you learn the whole story, if you are like me, you will spend time just sitting in shock.

I also need to add that I listened to the audio narration of this book and McKenzie Fetters did an excellent job. You could tell who was speaking by how she changed her voice in the story. As the majority of the story is told from Lucy's point of view, I have to add that her narration for Lucy was very genuine and fit Lucy's character perfectly.

Loved this. Would recommend it to any mystery reader- especially the audiobook version! And will be looking into reading more of Court Stevens other books.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel.

Oh my gosh! I loved this story. It was heartbreaking, but that made it even more endearing. I found myself connecting with each of the characters in different ways and I kept hoping that the ending wouldn’t be heartbreaking, even though I knew it would be. I don’t have a bad thing to say about this book at all.

I look forward to reading more of this author’s work.

This story was as twisty as it was heartbreaking. McKenzie Fetters did an amazing job bringing Lucy to life and keeping me engaged throughout. There were parts that were very hard to handle but overall it was still a great story.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me intrigued all throughout. Every time I thought I figured it out, I hadn't, which I found even more appealing. Very well written, and the plot was so good!

I loved reading this book! I've read her first published book, but now I need to go back and read We Were Kings, because this was so good, I loved the mystery, and I need to read more by her! This story was so fantastic, I had to know where the mystery would go from here!

One thing that I loved even as it hurt me, was that we slowly were told of what happened 8 years ago when Lucy's brother died. We knew it happened, but not the details-at first I thought that he was with the scouts, which just made what happened all the worse.

Another thing that I really enjoyed was the time jump. Just over half of this book takes place in the immediate happenings of when her stepbrother is killed. The other part takes place a few years later, and I really enjoyed that contrast!

This was a really fantastic mystery, I loved all the twists and turns, like the fact that someone was bribed to compromise the dam, but it wasn't clear who was bribed-just who'd done the bribing. This story dealt with so much with the politics of a small and tight knit town, and it was so satisfying when it came to a close.

Loved this book so much, it was so good, and I can't wait to read more by Court Stevens!

This book was so good! I really wish I had wrote my review immediately after finishing the book Sunday night because I would have had a much better review. This book literally made me laugh out loud at parts and cry at others. I alternated between the ebook and audiobook. Both were done very well and kept me interested. I didn’t want to put it down! The characters were so well written and such a deep backstory, that I felt like I knew them. There did seem like a lot of characters at first but it was easy to keep them straight on who was who. This book is so full of misdirection, lies and deception. I thought I would have it figured out only to be thrown a curveball! This happened several times. I think I finally had it figured out just pages before the reveal. This story is told in present and a specific time in the past. It is revealed little by little throughout the book what really happened in the past. And then all the events that lead up to the reveal. This book was gut wrenching and heartbreaking. I personally felt betrayed! Which was kind of odd. Swipe over for the synopsis. Or don’t. And just go grab the book! I highly recommend it.
The narrator of this audiobook was perfect for this book! I had no trouble following along, she had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning. She was able to do a good job distinguishing between everyone. So much emotion was conveyed through her narration. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.