Title: The Last RavenSeries: The Ravens #1
Pages: 384
Publication Date: Nov. 7, 2024
Publisher: One More Chapter
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Fantasy / Romantasy
Synopsis:
I’ll be forced to take the crown, simply because of who my parents are. Never mind that my skin, my eyes, the way I move, everything will give me away for what I am.
Human.
In a world ruled by vampires.
As sole heir to the House of Raven, there is nothing Emelia can’t have. The only problem is, she doesn’t want it.
But when a new guard enters her closed-off existence, she sees a way out. As rebellion and dark forces swirl around her, Emelia has a choice to make – leave everyone she loves behind, or stay and accept her destiny…
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I have mixed feelings about The Last Raven. The cover is gorgeous, and the premise is really interesting, but the main character and some of the plot points didn’t work for me. Though there are adult themes and sexual content, the majority of the story reads as a YA fantasy, which I found a little confusing. I think I would label this a NA read, and I would say it’s more fantasy than romantasy.
Emilia, the main character, is a human in a world of vampires. Her parents are king and queen, and she’s about to take over ruling the kingdom. I didn’t love Emilia or her parents. She is very naive and gullible, and she also doesn’t listen AT ALL – to her detriment. She continually puts herself in dangerous situations and never thinks through her plans before acting on them. It became really frustrating. However, I like how she changes and grows as she is exposed to some of the harsher realities of human life, and the relationships she forges are great too.
Emilia also trusts certain people way too easily. There are elements of this love story that went really dark, and I actually thought some of it was really messed up and tough to read. I found the main romantic relationship to be a bit cringe and thought the FMC fell way too fast. I think because she’s been sheltered so much and feels so lonely, she latches on to the interest shown her, but she went from dislike to love way too fast.
There are also plot points that I just couldn’t get behind. They seemed unrealistic even when suspending disbelief. Like, why would her parents, who are centuries-old vampires, make their human child an heir when she’s 18, especially when they’ve sheltered her completely from the world? They aren’t honest with her and haven’t really trained her or educated her to be the leader. It makes no sense. However, there were other elements I loved, like the exploration of this unique world and the juxtaposition of the desolate and bleak lives of the humans in comparison to the opulent greed of the vampires.
Overall, this was just an ok read for me. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
Helen Glynn Jones has lived in both Australia and Canada, but a few years ago she returned to her native England where, when she’s not writing stories, she likes to hunt for vintage treasures, explore stone circles and watch the sky change colour.
She writes about vampires and dragons and kissing and magic, as well as spicy contemporary romance under the name Isadora Love. She also has short stories in several anthologies. She now lives in Hertfordshire with her husband, daughter, and wonderfully chaotic cockapoo.
Great review! Looking at this cover, I would not have thought it was Adult romance fantasy so the sexual encounters and more adult themes probably would’ve surprised me had I not known in advance. But also, oof, reading what you said about the MC and the plot elements that didn’t work for you also makes it clear this probably won’t be for me. 😅 I reckon I’d get too frustrated, lol. Too bad cos the premise sounded interesting!
Thanks, Dini! The premise is sooo interesting, and that cover – gorgeous!! But, I don’t think you’d enjoy it.