| Title | : | The Last One to Fall |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1335915869 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781335915863 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 368 |
| Publication | : | First published May 9, 2023 |
Savana Caruso and Jesse Melo have known each other since they were kids, so when Jesse texts Savana in the middle of the night and asks her to meet him at Cray’s Warehouse, she doesn’t hesitate. But before Savana can find Jesse, she bears witness to a horrifying murder, standing helpless on the ground as a mysterious figure is pushed out of the fourth floor of the warehouse.
Six teens were there that night, and five of them are now potential suspects. With the police circling, Savana knows what will happen if the wrong person is charged, particularly once she starts getting threatening anonymous text messages.
As she attempts to uncover the truth, Savana learns that everyone is keeping secrets—and someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep those secrets from coming to light.
The Last One to Fall Reviews
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**3.5-stars**
The Last One to Fall is the second novel I have read from Gabriella Lepore. I read
This Is Why We Lie in 2021 and had a lot of fun with it.
When I heard Lepore was releasing another YA Mystery-Thriller this year, I was excited to get to it.
This story is set in a small coastal town and it follows six friends after one of them plunges from a warehouse building to their death.
At the very beginning of the story, you know someone has died, but nothing about the incident is clear, not even who the victim is, or if foul play was involved.
Through a couple of different perspectives, as well as some great mixed media usage, the night of the fatal incident is slowly pieced together, until the truth is revealed.
I had fun with this. It's a good, solid story, full of drama, back-stabbing, secrets and lies. Frankly, we live for that.
I did struggle with my rating. I decided on a 3.5, because I didn't enjoy it quite as much as This is Why We Lie, which I rated 3.5-stars and rounded up to 4.
I think that's fair. I feel like, for me, this narrative was a bit of an uneven experience.
My level of commitment to the story got stronger in the second half. The beginning was slow-going and it also had some parental drama effecting the kids and their friendships. I'm not down for that IRL, or on the page.
With this being said, there is quite a bit of family drama, which I do enjoy. Stuff does go down in families, with many barely holding it together. I get it. It's when parents choose romance, flings, drugs, etc., over their kids well-being that starts to ruffle my feathers.
That is a tiny part of this novel though, I am just using it as an example of why I didn't enjoy this quite as much. Also, I did find the first half, the relationship dynamics, a little difficult to follow.
In the later part of the novel though, once I had more of a handle of who everyone was and what their role was in the friendship group, I couldn't put it down. I needed answers. I had no clue what the truth was and it did surprise me.
I did really enjoy the mixed media aspect of this as well. I felt like it added intrigue to the story, as each time it was used it left me with more questions than answers.
Overall, I had fun reading this one. While it probably won't stick in my mind as a new favorite for 2023, I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a solid YA Mystery-Thriller.
Thank you to the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I had a great time trying to figure this one out and will definitely pick up whatever Lepore writes next! -
Thanks Netgalley and Inkyard Press for this ARC that will be released May 9, 2023.
Jesse texts Savana and asks her to meet him at the Warehouse. When she gets there she sees someone fall from the upstairs window to their death. Five of her friends were in there too. All of them are murder suspects and lying. Savana questions her friends and starts uncovering their many secrets.
This was a great read that held my attention and had lots of twists and turns. I hope to read more by this author! -
Thanks Netgalley and Inkyard Press for this ARC that will be released May 9, 2023.
Jesse texts Savana and asks her to meet him at the Warehouse. When she gets there she sees someone fall from the upstairs window to their death. Five of her friends were in there too. All of them are murder suspects and lying. Savana questions her friends and starts uncovering their many secrets.
This was a great read that held my attention and had lots of twists turns. I hope to read more by this author! -
A wonderful contemporary "whodunit" teenage murder mystery with flashbacks, multiple point of views and numerous plot twists!
Savana makes her way to Cray's Warehouse in the middle of the night since her friend and neighbour Jesse texted her to meet him there. As she's walking up to the warehouse though, she sees someone fall to their death and now Savana and 4 of her friends are suspected of murder!
The novel alternates between two timelines: the ensuing weeks of suspicion/police investigation and the past social interactions within the group of 6 friends. Add Savana and Jesse's points of view, a sprinkle of detective case file transcripts and a dash of secret texts from a burner phone and you have quite the mystery recipe indeed! Just when I thought I figured it out another little bit of information was given and I was clueless yet again!
Although it is a YA story it contained some serious topics such as bullying, domestic violence, alcoholic parents, unattainable expectations, mental health etc. It was done tastefully without being overly graphic or hard to stomach assuring that the murder mystery itself remained the main focus. It was a great reminder that we never know what goes on behind closed doors and that poor mental health is often a product of your environment.
"He might act like nobody can touch him, but I know what it's like to never feel good enough. To always feel like you've got to prove you're good enough."
There were some great character ARCS and it kept me on my toes! I am giving it 4 stars as I have to admit: I was lost sometimes and I found there weren't enough clues tying the murder to the murderer. That might have been the point... or I might pick up on them the second time around so my rating might change at a later date!
Thank you to Goodreads, Inkyard press and Gabriella Lepore for a free Advanced Reader Copy. -
Thanks NetGalley and Inkyard Press for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I consumed this book in one day! I loved the way it was written, similar to the show How To Get Away With Murder! Savana and Jesse are the protagonists, the story starts with Jesse texting Savana to come see him. When she arrives she see someone falling through a window. And here is the fun part, at least for me the next half or so of the book tells the events leading up to the person falling from the window and at the end of many of the chapters their are police reports or interviews that give you clues to who the suspects are and to who fell from the window. The next half takes place after the body fell and goes through Savana and Jesse trying to figure out what happened. I love the present with flashes forward kind of mystery it adds to all the intrigue for me! Plus there were a lot of side plots that just added to the overall mystery of the story! Gabriella Lenore wrote a story that kept me guessing both in terms of who had died and in who had done it! For most of the book I had no clue with all the twists and turns there were! If you enjoy mysteries that keep you guessing especially if you like ones that keep you guessing on who the murdered is then you will love this book! I highly recommend it! Can’t wait to read it again!
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I had so much fun with this.
The Last One To Fall was as if One Of Us Is Lying and A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder had a baby and I loved every minute of it.
The Last One To Fall was a fantastic murder mystery with twists and turns that left me on the edge of my seat. It also covered some very important topics and it was done in a way that wasn’t overly intense or graphic which I think was great as it is a part of the Young Adult genre.
This was another great example of the unreliable narrator which has got to be my favourite feature in Mysteries and Thrillers. I love not having a clear-cut innocent character because it makes the story feel more engaging and interesting.
I loved the characters and all of the different personalities and quirks they individually brought to the story.
The story pacing back and forth between before the murder and after it added a fantastic setting for me. I loved searching for clues along with the characters on just who the killer could be.
I’m super excited to check out more by this author.
Thank you to HQ for providing me with this copy to review. -
3.5/5 stars
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I had a great time reading this book, the mystery was so intriguing!
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Six friends. Five suspects. One murder.
I really enjoyed this book and kept the pages turning.
The book opens with a body falling from a warehouse. Five friends are at the warehouse. Did one of them throw the other out?
The book is told in the past - how the friendships were formed and built. - as well as the present - the investigation of the fall. Was it murder? if so, who was guilty- and was it more than one?
This book reminded me of One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus and I really enjoy that type of YA suspense novel
To be honest, I didn't LOVE it at first - it felt a little slow, and confusing at the same time. There were a lot of characters and their stories felt a little disjointed. . Then just when the random thought entered my mind to maybe skim it a little, it picked up. Then I got totally sucked in and couldn't stop reading.
At one point I knew who did it. Then I didn't. Then I did. It was a roller coasting of guessing and anticipation.
4 solid stars. Why not 5? Those of you who have read my reviews before know I save the 5 for those rare books that give me that WOW and that book hangover.. But this was a solid, fun, enjoyable read.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and to #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review -
Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Available May 9, 2023.
3 stars
The Last One to Fall is a fast paced, YA thriller that really does keep you guessing. I enjoyed the fact that the victim isn’t revealed until later in the book, it was done well, and I didn’t figure out who it was going to be.
Savana gets a text from her friend Jesse to meet at the abandoned warehouse but when she gets there, she finds someone dead and there are 5 people who could have done it. Everyone is suspicious of each other, and everyone has their reasons to want this person dead.
To me, the characters motivations and actions seemed a little silly at times and there was a lot of “ride or die” mentality that kind of took me out of the mystery. There were elements of darker subject matter like addiction, familial pressures and abuse but those issues sometimes felt shoehorned in to make the teenagers lives more complicated for the sake of the story. There was a lot of jumps in logic to connect the plot and I found the MCs reasoning half brained sometimes.
This was an OK read, it was a very quick but ultimately had a lot of flaws for me to really enjoy it. -
3.5
I really enjoyed reading this! It helped me get out of my slump and it was such an enjoyable, easy read. I loved the switch of POV in chapters and the extra text pages, interviews etc! It made it a lot more fun and excited to read on. I didn’t want to put it down and could’ve easily read it in one sitting! Highly recommend to those who enjoyed books like One Of Us Is Lying. -
Uhm WHY is this shelved as queer?!
Just to be clear to anyone who is considering picking this up: THIS IS NOT A QUEER BOOK.
I was misled. Don't make my mistake.
This was... uhm... bad. It started as average, your typical summertime ya novel where a snob clique of high school kids makes trouble for everyone, one of them dies and the "different" asocial teen will try to figure out what happened.
The very first chapter shows the kid dying, then you go back a few months till that moment and the last part is what follows the kid's death.
I wasn't really looking for anything special, you know? I am moving again to another house, needed to pack, needed to listen to something that wasn't too long and wouldn't require too many brain cells to follow and the voice narrators (Caitlin Kelly and Gary Tiedemann) were great at their job, so I didn't mind.
But as we got closer and closer to the end... oh man. It got so bad. There is no way whatsoever the MC could have figured it out. The way she comes to the conclusion is so random and out of the blue and wholly unrealistic, it was laughably bad.
She gets a text that literally says "Just come" and then someone says that to her and it's a clue.
I'm sorry, HOW is that a cue? There's nothing specific or peculiar about those two words, literally *everyone* says them!
And right at the end of the book, like literally 30 minutes to go out of the 8+ hours of the audiobook, since we were going nowhere with these childish investigations, she suddenly remembers (I don't even know why) about a court case of some time before that sparks her brain back to life and somehow leads her to figuring out who the killer was?!
HOW DOES THAT EVEN MAKE SENSE.
It just felt like the author had reached the number of pages she was supposed to write for her contract or something and she randomly picked a note out of a basket to wrap it up as quickly as she could, logic be damned.
Gosh it was so bad. Don't make my mistake.
Ps. Also, what was up with all those body descriptions? Every time a character was mentioned, it was "her blond hair", "his white face", "her bronze shoulders"... wtf? If you've done your job as an author right, after the first time, you don't have to keep repeating these things in the same way over and over again. It was so annoying. -
This is a twisted mystery that is suited for young adults as well as adult readers. The story of Savana caught in the middle of a murder and investigating on her own was a bit unbelievable since I just wanted her to go to the police and let them investigate, but she is invested since her friends are involved. Called to an old warehouse in the middle of the night, Savana sees someone push another person out of the top floor window. One friend is dead and another is responsible and Savana puts her life on the line to try to find out the culprit. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and how unlikely a heroine Savana was. The style of switching POVs and timelines threw me for a few chapters until I got used to it and knew to make sure I noticed which character was penning the chapter and whether the time was past or present. Once I got that down, I could follow the story more easily although it still did not always flow well for me. I got stuck in some of the details and had to go back to figure out who was who and what was their role in the drama. The characters were mostly realistic but I did think that Raf’s arrogance was a bit over the top. My favorite character was Jesse, a boy who was easy to like and the unassuming leader of the bunch. I enjoyed the book and trying to solve the mystery along with Savana but there were not a lot of clues given until near the end. There were some red herrings along the way that led to a convoluted tale at times. Fans of whodunits with a teen heroine will enjoy this book and its intriguing storyline that is realistic and moderately well paced.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Inkyard Press via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission;s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.” -
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
★★★★★ 4.5/5
November 4th, the night someone murdered another. Six people were at the warehouse, but only five left, and for Savana Caruso, she witnessed the victim fall to their death. Now, the five of them, including Savana and her next door neighbour Jesse, are all suspects. All have motive, and all are keeping secrets. With each of them pointing the finger at each other, and their stories not adding up, there’s a whole host of secrets and lies to uncover, as well as who is the murderer amongst them.
Told from alternating POV’s from Savana and Jesse, we start at the night of the murder and get a brief look at the aftermath to follow. Then, the book really starts to get going, beginning in July and leading up to and past the fateful night in November.
At first, it seems no surprise as to who was murdered, there’s so many reasons why one of them would want to, but who the murderer is and the actual reason was not what I was expecting at all. I thought I knew who it was, and their reason, but Lepore has really maximised their talent of misdirection perfectly, constantly leaving me guessing throughout the book. It’s not often I’m surprised at a whodunnit reveal, they can be hit and miss and done half-heartedly, but this one is not like that. This had me putting the book down to actually pause and take a second to let it sink in how wrong I was, and I loved it.
I also loved the characters. How quickly they turned on each other, twisting and creating lies, giving half-truths in an attempt to shift the accusations from themselves and onto another. How easily they were to throw each other under the bus, revealing their true selves and further motives for the murder.
Another thing I loved was the setting. Whilst it wasn’t a main focus of the book, I loved how Savana and Jesse’s houses were near the beach. It was such a nice little touch with the occasional mentions of the sea and surrounding areas.
Also, this book has short chapters, which as you can probably guess was yet another thing I loved. Short chapters are my absolute favourite, they make me feel like I’m making progress with a book a lot quicker, and due to this and my enjoyment of the book, I finished it in one sitting. It was well paced and hooked me in straight away, and I cannot wait for this to be released so everyone can read it.
Did I like the book? Yes!
Did I love it? Yes! I could literally write page after page on why I loved it.
Would I recommend it? 100%. If you liked One of Us is Lying, or A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, or are looking for a YA whodunnit murder mystery that’s a quick and easy read, there’s no doubt you’ll like this.
This review can also be found at
Finally Got Around to It -
3 to 3.5 Stars
Gabrielle Lepore does an excellent job of creating a cold and creepy atmosphere right off the bat. It sets the whole narrative off-kilter in a good way, and that unsettled feeling never dies down. There are a lot of suspects, a lot of red herrings, and lots of shifting of blame. But also... if you read enough YA thrillers, you start to recognize patterns, and though the atmosphere here is really well done, the book overall is nothing special. Because it is a carbon copy of a lot that has come before. If you don't read a lot of YA thrillers, you'll likely be impressed, but I found it (unfortunately) run-of-the-mill.
There is good and bad here, to be sure. My full review will be available June 2, 2023 at
Gateway Reviews.
Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own. -
What a pleasant surprise! I went into this hoping for a quick, easy read, but I definitely didn't expect it to grip me the way it did. The short chapters, changes in POV, plot twists and the mixed media parts meant that I sped through this in two days. Every time I thought I had figured out what was going on, I was proven wrong. That could be down to the fact that I'm not a seasoned thriller/mystery reader, but I loved it anyway!
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4.5 stars
starting this I was a bit skeptical but i ended up loving this so much! it was very quick paced, had dual POV & timelines which I loved and it indeed had MANY twists! the killer is not revealed until the very last pages & i didn’t see it coming at all😭 if you need a YA murder mystery read this!!! -
I can't remember the last time I read a book in one day. This book definitely did keep me guessing throughout and I will put my hands up and say I was wrong with all of my guesses as to who committed the murder. I liked the dual points of view, I do think it really helps a story to see it from different perspectives.
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This is an addictive YA mystery with a multi-layered plot, captivating characters and an enjoyable writing style that draws us in completely. The pages are dripping with lies and secrets and the story shows how one moment can change everything forever. We follow our characters as trust is put to the test and the devastating consequences of jealousy and toxicity play out.
I loved that the story is in two parts, before and after the incident – I was gripped by both! We learn straightaway that someone has died but are kept guessing as to the who and on who the murderer is – everyone’s a suspect! The mixed media makes it all feel so real as we see interview transcripts, text messages, police emails – these together with the multiple perspectives really bring the story to life bringing us closer to the characters.
The story offers a deep dive into social status and cliques, dysfunctional families and friendship groups, and perfectly captures the angst-filled high school experience and the heightened emotions that trigger actions. We see how easily things can spiral out of control and fall apart in the blink of an eye!
I adored Jesse and Savanna. Jesse is part of the elite crew (one of the five) and is on the varsity track. He has a lot resting on his shoulders – he’s trying to keep his collapsing family together whilst meeting their crushing expectations. Savanna has a passion for journalism and is working on a secret project. She’s dealing with her parents separation and is dipping her toe in to the elite social scene. As they flip the script on the group dynamics and with allegiances changing, they gravitate towards each other and their connection is tangible. They bring out the realness in each other and support one another when they need it the most. I didn’t want to stop following these characters!
Lepore has skilfully crafted a character-focused mystery that’s intriguing, hugely entertaining and keeps us in suspense throughout. If you are looking for a tension-filled, twisty read that will keep you guessing then look no further!
Perfect for fans of Karen M. McManus and Holly Jackson.
With thanks to @harper360YA, @InkyardPress and @GabriellaBooks for my proof copy. -
That was not an ending I suspected at all!!! What a fantastic YA mystery thriller that keeps you on your toes throughout!.
The Last One To Fall is a 1st person dual narrative POV with Jesse and Savana as your MC's. The book is written in two parts (before the crime, and after the crime) with police reports at the end of each chapter.
Set for release in early June this is a book you need to read. -
RTC
Thank you to the publisher for my earc link to Netgalley. -
Rating: 2.5
This is an average teenage drama thriller. The writing was ok and I liked the mixed-media elements. -
Thank you so much to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader’s copy of this book!
I thought I was a Gabriella Lepore fan before I read The Last One to Fall, and now that I’ve finished the book, she has been cemented as one of my favorite YA mystery authors.
I truly believe that everyone who likes YA mystery novels should read Gabriella Lepore’s books. The YA mystery genre as a whole is rife with repetitive, predictable twists and flat, static characters, but Gabriella Lepore is a refreshing voice in the YA mystery genre. She subverts tropes and writes captivating, character-centric mysteries where all the character relationships and motivations are believable.
The plot of this book is excellent. The Last One to Fall begins by showing that a murder has happened, and then the story goes back to before the murder occurs, telling the story in chronological order. Because the murder occurs well into the book, and the only flash-forwards we get are cryptic documents that the police are sending each other, I had no idea what was going to happen while I was reading.
In mystery books, murders are usually the inciting incident of the novel, and the plot is fairly formulaic and straightforward from there. Not in The Last One to Fall, though! Secrets are revealed, and mysteries not related to the murder (or are they?) arise every 40 pages. I got so wrapped up in all of the characters’ tension-filled interactions that I forgot that the murder was coming up. Only Gabriella Lepore could make the set-up to a murder just as interesting as the aftermath of it.
And the aftermath? Woah. Because there are only five or six characters suspected of the murder, you would think that that would make it easy to guess who did it. Wrong. Gabriella Lepore did such a good job at building the characters that she got me to believe some of the things they were saying after they were suspected of murder. I actually wanted to believe everyone rather than suspect everyone. This made it so difficult for me to tell who had committed the murder, especially because Lepore did a great job at having not only the person who killed the victim be a mystery, but keeping their motivations in the dark as well, while simultaneously foreshadowing them perfectly.
I was absolutely shocked at the reveal in this book, and then I was shocked by how everything goes down after the killer is unmasked.
I won’t go into detail about the themes in this book, but let’s just say I think they’re really important for young people to learn.
The romance in this book was actually cute and well-placed. Usually, I hate romances in YA mystery books because they feel forced and unnecessary, but Gabriella Lepore totally sold me on this one.
If you are looking for a YA mystery novel that will keep you guessing and keep you entertained, you should definitely pick up The Last One to Fall. -
Gabriella sent me a copy of this to review and I’m so grateful!
This is a tense and fast paced murder mystery where a group of 5 friends are tested when one of them is pushed out of the window & murdered. This story goes back and forth between 2 POVs as well as police interviews of the suspects.
For our two main characters are Savana & Jesse. Two neighbors who spend a lot of time together and secretly are crushing on each other. Jesse is best friends with Raf, a bully who almost everyone gets creeped out by. The three other members of their friend group are Tara who is dating Raf, Freddie, & Owen. They are an unbreakable group. But when lies, deceit, & family issues came to bite them in the ass they are tested as friends. Savana is thrown into the mix by being close to Jesse and having a lot of contact with Raf.
The back and forth between the characters was so anxiety inducing I kept thinking someone was lying or someone was the killer and then was thrown off at the end. There’s little clues that try to trick you and I was actually pleasantly surprised. I want to read more of Gabriella’s books in the future & look forward to it! -
Gabriella Lepore writes a classic whodunit mystery filled with familial drama, lies, and mistrust. Instead of following our main protagonist solving a crime, we follow Savana and Jesse before the murder. We have no idea who died. We have no idea who committed the crime. All we know was that someone was pushed at an abandoned warehouse.
The Good Things:
I loved this story mostly because of Jesse, one of our main characters. When we got to know more about his family problems I began to understand why he was such good friends with Raf, the controlling leader of the group. Both of them became friends, brother's even, because both tried to distract themselves from their home life as much as possible. Both had parents with a rocky relationship and both felt like they were untouchable as long as they had each other. But their friendship becomes tested when Jesse realizes that just maybe Raf doesn't have his best interests at heart. Whenever Jesse and Raf were in the room together you couldn't help but pay extra close attention.
I also understood Jesse's desire for structure. He needed someone to encourage him, to believe in him. He felt like he had to be better than his father and earn his parent's affection. He also felt like he needed to protect his younger brother Cody from the world because his parents were so irresponsible. Honestly his parents made me mad. A lot of Jesse's problems would have been solved if his parents tried harder to get their crap together. But I digress, Jesse reacts to all of this by trying to be the person his dad wasn't. Someone responsible, who had it all together. Often times when he lies and pretends everything is great, he messes up again. And I loved that about his character it really shows how we all need to be honest with one another, say what we really feel. We can't expect things to get better until we point out the problem. We also need to be honest that we cannot do it all, and that's okay. We are human, imperfect beings who (I believe) needs a God to come along side of us.
Raf was also an amazing character. He truly had this way of making everyone in the story have a strong reaction. The characters either praised him or hated him. He brought the absolute worst out of all the characters in the group. And I knew that he would be at the center of the murder. I absolutely loved to hate him.
Another major part of the story that I loved was the structure of the mystery. The story demanded my attention because I had to know who died in the group. A lot of mystery novels begins with right after the death of one of the characters. We usually know who died and then start our own suspect list. It becomes a lot harder to make a suspect list when we don't know who got murdered. And Jesse had to be okay because he was officially designated as my favorite character. So I breezed by the first part of the book because the tension leading up to the murder was so exciting, if not more exciting then discovering who did it.
Improvements:
Savana felt far to typical for me. When we started in her perspective I honestly thought I wouldn't like this book. She feels like all of the other ya protagonists that I have read in the past. A nerd who doesn't exactly fit in with the popular crowd starts hanging around the popular crowd. I only cared about what was going on in her chapters because it always focused on the group dynamic of Tara, Owen, Freddie, Raf, and Jesse. We hardly got Savana's personal life or her backstory. I almost felt like that was okay because I didn't want more of her backstory. Or maybe it was the problem because I didn't care about her much.
Savana's and Jesse's relationship reflects a lot of other relationships I typically see in YA. It almost felt to a certain extent that they were saving each other. Jesse always talks about her seeing him when no one else does. He constantly shows up at her house because it felt peaceful to be at her there. I wanted to scream at him that it feels that way because she encourages honesty. And there were times he avoided telling her the truth creating conflict in their relationship. I thought there was going to be a moment where he breaks down, cries, and tells her absolutely everything. Not that she would save him from his problems or anything, but I felt like it would help him realize that in order to start feeling better he has to talk about it. And this never happens! The other part of me also hates how authors constantly places romantic relationships on this pedestal on how your romantic partner knows the real you and they will help you out of your problems. And it's like no that's not it. My husband, for example, is a huge help to me and it helps to talk about things with him. But he doesn't have all the answers either. What I wanted is for Jesse to be completely honest with Savana and through the conversations he has with her to realize if he took this honesty to all the people he knows he will feel more free. But at the end he never really has this honesty with anyone. How do you expect people to see the real you if you do not let them see it?
The last thing that really needed improvement was Lepore's ending. The person who committed the murder didn't feel right. And the real reason why the murder went down didn't feel right either. It felt like the story built itself around one thing and the natural byproduct of all of the conflicts didn't reach the proper conclusion. I feel like Lepore wanted to surprise her readers so she didn't properly set up the real reason for the murder and who did it. Whenever I thought about the murderer committing the crime I always nixed the idea because the character hardly feels present for a majority of the novel. In a mystery I don't think the shock factor is what most readers are looking for. A twist only works when the revelation was hidden in plain sight. Like when you realize who did it you feel like an idiot because you should have figured it out from what the reader had previously given you. We didn't get a proper conclusion to Jesse and Rafs relationship. Our main characters hardly felt like they learned something or that they have fulfilled the major problems in their life. The familial troubles are kind of written off that we spent the entirety of the first half of the book getting to know. I almost feel like we need another full book for our main characters to heal because I worry about all of them. -
I loved this book from page one! It’s a face paced book and definitely keeps you guessing until the last page. I loved all the different characters.
From the back of the book:
Savana Caruso and Jesse Melo have known each other since they were kids, so when Jesse texts Savana in the middle of the night and asks her to meet him at Cray’s Warehouse, she doesn’t hesitate. But before Savana can find Jesse, she bears witness to a horrifying murder, standing helpless on the ground as a mysterious figure is pushed out of the fourth floor of the warehouse.
Six teens were there that night, and five of them are now potential suspects. With the police circling, Savana knows what will happen if the wrong person is charged, particularly once she starts getting threatening anonymous text messages.
As she attempts to uncover the truth, Savana learns that everyone is keeping secrets—and someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep those secrets from coming to light.
I can’t wait to see what Gabriella comes out with next! -
I received this book as part of a Goodreads Giveaway.
This was a fun read! I enjoyed the POV switches between Savana and Jesse. I totally didn’t figure out the twist at the end, but I’ll be honest: the twist was a little out of left field. If more hints had been dropped earlier in the book, I might have felt more satisfied with the ending. Maybe on a reread, I’ll see a little more and it will reward me even more.
I still enjoyed the read (and I totally think Raf deserved it… oops). It reads like a great crime tv show, and moves fast enough to make me devour it in two days. Savour every moment of The Last One to Fall and maybe you’ll figure out the twist before I did!
