Book Review: The Last by Hanna Jameson

Hey Guys!

Over the past couple of months, I've been posting a lot more content related to books and book reviews. Before I didn't really talk about books much on my blog but as I've found my love for reading again I've become more interested in discussing the books I'm reading, what I potentially want to read and my thoughts on particular novels. 

Back  in August, I received 'The Last' by Hanna Jameson in the post after being chosen to receive the book. I've never been sent an advance proof copy by a publisher before, so to be one of the three individuals chosen by Hanna was very exciting!

The Blurb

Jon Keller was on a trip to Switzerland when the world ended. More than anything, he wishes he hadn't ignored his wife Nadia's last message.

Twenty people remain in Jon's hotel. Far from the nearest city, they wait, they survive.

Then one day, the body of a girl is found. It's clear she has been murdered. Which means that someone in the hotel is a killer...

As paranoia descends, Jon decides to investigate. But how far is he willing to go in pursuit of justice? And what happens if the killer doesn't want to be found?

About The Book

The Last is written from a first-person perspective. It is an account/diary by Jon Keller on life before and after the world ended, including the discovery of a dead girl's body. Jon details life at the hotel in Zurich, events and relationships between the characters, problems they face as a group of survivors and the investigation into who murdered the girl. The main storyline focuses on life after the world suddenly ended and the uncovering of a murdered girl, but alongside these events, mini-stories develop throughout the book relating to the lives of the other characters and how they all ended up at the hotel in Switzerland, detailing their back stories and relations to other characters.  

It isn't really a diary, but more of an account of information and events, which details the feelings and thoughts of Jon and what he has discussed with other characters. Jon details his life before the world ended sharing memories of his wife and children, what would have happened hadn't such events taken place, his ideas and thoughts of the future and what might happen to the group he has found himself residing with. 

When I was reading the book it reminded me a lot of 'The Walking Dead'. There are a lot of parts in the book that reminds me of a lot of scenes I saw in 'TheWalking Dead' series, especially because of the end of the world scenario where shops are ransacked and people have to kill to survive. I loved watching 'The Walking Dead' so to read a book with a somewhat different storyline but a similar outcome was fun! I would always finish a page or a chapter and talk to my mum about what was happening or my thoughts, as there was so much going on all at once and I was always coming up with scenarios in my head of who was behind the events taking place and who I suspected as the murderer. 

My Thoughts

When I read the first couple of pages I had absolutely no clue what was going on! I was so lost. The book started without explaining any of the context or what had happened, so I had no idea what to think about the storyline until I got further in and the story properly began. The first couple of pages are very similar to those of a diary/account and are very short and don't explain a lot of detail, so for a while you don't really know what is going through the mind of Jon Keller. However, after a while, the story takes full swing and a lot more context and detail is given to the reader to help you understand why such events had taken place.

Having the book written in a first-person perspective made the book feel a lot more personal, you felt like the character was sharing their thoughts and feelings with you,   details that nobody else knew, so it felt very special as a reader. I became invested in the story very quickly! 

There are a few moments in the book where you are wondering what the hell is going on, as it can jump from one thing to the next without much notice. But when you finish the book a lot of things make more sense and all the random details add up to paint one big picture! Especially as there is a huge plot twist that explains a lot of what was going on in the main storyline. 

The book made me question and think a lot about the world we live in currently and I was always asking myself what would I do in an end of the world scenario and whether I would be tactical enough to survive. Questions like what resources would I need to survive and how would I plan to live as long as I could with the resources I had came to mind. 

What was kind of scary reading the book was that what happened in the book could actually happen in real life, and is a very realistic novel when it comes to how the world ended and the reasons behind it.  

When I finished the novel and read the last page I was questioning what happened to so many characters such as what did Nadia's message imply, what happened to Nathan and did everyone survive? What happens next? The book will leave you with so many different questions about what will happen next and about what everyone around the world experienced in those last few weeks. It is definitely a book where you have to stop and think sometimes, what would we do if this disaster really happened? 

A lot of the time I had to put the book down to process what was going on and take it in, especially as a lot of things were going on at the same time throughout the book! 

If you like murder mysteries, adventure or apocalyptic novels then this is a book for you! You won't be able to put it down and you'll be constantly questioning what will happen next.

 As the book isn't officially out yet, look out for 'The Last' on the 31st January 2019, the link to pre-order the book on Amazon is here. Make sure to check out the author Hanna Jameson on Twitter here. 

Look out for some more book reviews soon. What book are you reading at the moment? Let me know in the comments below ❤

See you soon! 

Amy x