The Last Word

3 stars because although the initial premise had me intrigued, it fell short because the book was never-ending.

The idea about a psychotic, sexist indie author stalking and attempting to murder a book reviewer for a bad review was fun, and hit close to home. Although I haven't been stalked by an indie author, I have definitely taken heat for my one star reviews. That plus stalking equals, chilling, right?! Meh, the story lost a lot of its appeal because it dragged on. I wish there was more creepy stalking, because that's what scares me, because i was a victim of stalking, twice. I love plot twists but there is such thing as too much. By the end I was over it.

I will say I enjoyed the relationship between Lyca and Emma. Animal babies are always a plus. I also thought there were some genuine sad parts that made me feel terrible for the MC. I also have no complaints about the author's writing.

3 stars for keeping me slightly entertained.

I always absolutely love Taylor Adam's books, the twists always surprise me and this was no different. The premise of this was very interesting: a house sitter takes a book recommendation from her neighbor and she HATES it, so she writes a negative review on the internet and the author is.... not happy. This book is full of gore, exploration of grief, red herrings, and character development you don't see coming. If you've ever read Taylor's other book, No Exit, and loved it, I'm sure you'll love this too. I read it during one of the busiest shifts at work so far this year, and it was incredible being so sucked in while running on autopilot.






Thank you to William Morrow for providing me with an ARC copy to review

3.75

Fun and Fast

I bought this on sale on Amazon, because i didn't feel like waiting for the library. It's self-aware for the most part regarding its thriller absurdities. There were a couple twists I didn't see coming, and I started to second guess myself a couple times, but I did figure out something major early on. That's not too say this is predictable, not at all. It probably would have gotten a higher score, were it not for using the old mental illness trope–always a very thriller thing to do–and unnecessary fatphobia. Same character. Can we please get past the constant treatment of fat being a moral failing? And mental illness as murderous? This book was fun, until we got to those parts, and then I was frustrated and annoyed. On the whole though, this was, for me, the rare truly enjoyable thriller.

And the dog does not die.

❖ Review Quickie

One of my favorite pastimes is cozying up to a not-so-great horror film and laughing along with its questionable acting, special effects, and non-conformity to norms. The 30s through the 50s are top tier, but I also have a definite sweet spot for 80s classics. So, what if I told you that The Last Word by Taylor Adams is an amalgamation of some of the classic horror tropes but with a slight meta-lean? In a nutshell, I had fun with it. It was thrilling and pressed the right buttons.

I felt kind of inadequate with my choice of book on the plane, though. The person to my left was reading Jane Austen, and the person on my right was reading Tolkien. This being my first trip to different parts of Europe, I packed some books with local ties as well, but decided to kick the trip off with something light, exciting, and recommended by my trusty GR friends. I'll do my best to catch up and update over the next few days.

It's good to be back and to see what everyone has been up to.