I was drawn in by the blurb and felt vibes of I Am Legend in it, which I had also enjoyed. A great premise for the story and a strong lead character. I’d read this again.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Interesting and thought provoking. Written well despite the protagonist being irritating at times. I enjoyed the book.

This was such a thought provoking read which dealt with some pretty heavy topics and emotion while also having the addition of humour. A very well plotted read with loveable characters

This is such an interesting novel. It’s such a good idea to have the protagonist in a situation like this be someone relatively normal who has absolutely no survival skills at all – it makes the everything so relatable. Most people’s reaction, mine at least, to being the last person on Earth would be to get very drunk!

There’s a great deal of very dark humour here, as well as a good dose of what the reality would probably be like – I mean, what would happen to all those bodies if everyone died? The author doesn’t shy away from describing what that would be like. And the narrator’s unflinching honesty as she looks back on her life before the virus is done beautifully. I loved her and related to her and so wanted her to succeed. The addition of a faithful dog just made the novel even better.

That this is a debut is really impressive.

Compelling, funny, sad, honest and skillfully crafted.

Highly recommended.

Firstly, I don’t really do dystopian novels and I have an issue reading about COVID and other pandemics, but I decided to put my big-girl knickers on, cast my preconceptions aside and start Bethany Clift’s debut novel Last One At The Party.

Set in the not-too-distant future the world has just recoved from Covid-19 when a new deadly virus arrives, but there is NO cure and once contracted you will die within 6 days. It’s only a matter of time before you catch 6DM and no-one is immune. Except one woman and this is her story of survival against all the odds.

So far it’s doesn’t exactly sound particularly enjoyable but let me stop you right now. This book is absolutely brilliant, it’s hysterical and hopeful, funny and emotional, scary and moving, thought-provoking and mind-blowing and I literally did not put it down. I can’t even begin to put into words how much I adored this story, the writing, the characters, the original plotline, the humour… in fact the only thing I didn’t like about this book was the ending… not because of the ending, but because I didn’t want it to end… I wanted to keep reading.

I don’t normally gush about many writers skills, but Bethany Clift’s writing is superb. I was captured and captivated by the opening chapter and urge everyone to read this book.

5 huge stars and this goes into my Top Ten books of the year

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I love dystopian fiction and enjoyed how the author made light of what is dark and harrowing. I wizzed through the short and fast paced book and would recommend!

This is a pandemic/post apocalyptic novel that’s not really about a pandemic. I found it compulsively readable, despite being irritated by the protagonist at times, as she’s selfish, hedonistic and doesn’t always treat those around her (in the post-pandemic world and in flashbacks of her earlier life) well. The flashbacks were my least favourite part of the novel, they helped to establish the character, but they made me dislike her more, and some of the characters (like Xav, the wealthy gay best friend) were equally annoying.

Having said that, I did really enjoy reading it and would love to read a sequel.

Uncomfortable and disturbing in the best possible way! Could not stop thinking about this book long after I finished it.

‘I am writing this because there are things I think should be recorded somewhere, and I am, or was, a writer and journalist, so it feels like it is my duty to do it. Plus, I am the only person here who can. Because I am the only person here. In this country. Potentially, in the world. I need to go back to the beginning.’

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Last One at the Party’ by Bethany Clift in exchange for an honest review. My apologies for the late feedback. I did purchase my own copy.

I will admit with a blush that before reading and based solely on the title, I thought this was going to be a romantic comedy. Well, it was pretty clear from the first pages that I was wrong, though there was a great deal of gallows humour.

In late 2023 a deadly new virus sweeps the planet. It is nicknamed 6DM ('Six Days Maximum' - the longest you've got before your body destroys itself). Yet in London one woman remains alive.

A nameless woman tells her story through the pages of a journal. She is not only alone but completely unprepared to survive. She makes many mistakes and is not even savvy about basic camping. As she travels North in an attempt to discover if she is the last person on Earth, her only companion is Lucky, a golden retriever. There are also flashbacks to earlier parts of the woman’s life that provides context for her behaviour and personality.

A lone woman and a dog had a few echoes for me of the classic post-apocalyptic horror novel, ‘I Am Legend’, especially in terms of the isolation and loneliness experienced.

Bethany Clift has written an extremely graphic account, especially in terms of the details of the gristly aftermath of the plague. It’s not an easy read in this respect and the woman was at times maddening.

The ending provides some resolution as well as leaves open the possibility for a sequel.

Overall, despite a flawed protagonist and some bumps along the way that strained credibility, I found ‘Last One at the Party’ a compelling read landing somewhere between post-apocalyptic horror and black comedy. Not a rom com in any sense. 😹

This book had an interesting concept, and had high potential for being a great dystopian novel, the timing was just slightly unfortunate. This book had me hooked, but I did find the characters a little unlikeable. I really liked the idea of a dystopian end of the world novel, where the people weren't the problem you were worried about. There were some really gross animal-related horror that succeeded in creeping me out and the emptiness of the world and cities was rather eerie.

This was the biggest issue in the book for me, I really disliked the protagonist and found her entirely unbearable and completely useless. She did improve and there was a good redemption arc, but for the first 20% of the book, I was tempted to put it down because I found her so infuriating.

In all honesty, this was my least favourite part of the book. The last few chapters amped up amazingly, but then the ending just felt like a complete cop-out. Tying the whole story up in that way was incredibly unsatisfactory, I just wanted a little more. I'd smashed through the story and ended up wanting to throw my kindle in the bin.

All in all, I think this was a great dystopian novel, but just felt that the ending left a lot to be desired. Otherwise, I would highly recommend it, but I would warn people that are struggling with their mental health during COVID and potentially suggest that they park it until they feel a little more settled.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC of The Last One at the Party, in exchange for an honest review

This book made me laugh from the first sentence. After the last year and a half this book lightened my days and put into perspective how bad things could have been! Covid is a walk in the park in comparison. What is very interesting is that the author thought of the idea of this book before Covid was around. I spent the whole book wondering how it could end and was pleasantly surprised by the ending. I won't say no more

I found the beginning of this book grim and horrifying....and I absolutely loved it. This is definitely up there with the great dystopian novels. But I have to admit there was a bit too many descriptions of bodily fluids/bodily functions for my liking. I get it, in the context of the book, it has to be done, but after another description of a dead body it was a bit stomach churning. That's my only reason it's 4 and not 5 stars for me. Because everything else, I loved.

Before 6DM, our protagonist is trying to be happy and live her best life, but it's just not happening. She's unfulfilled at work, is drifting away from her only real friends, is prone to depression and panic attacks and feels in a rut with her husband. She's grown up her whole life thinking that a job, a partner and a baby mean the perfect life. It's what she's been aiming for. But when 6DM hits and she finds herself the only person in London, she has to think fast and re-evaluate everything she has known.

What would you do if you were the last person on earth? I loved the scenes in the hotels and the tourist attractions. And London Zoo was just downright creepy!

You might think this would be a depressing read, but actually there was a lot to be hopeful and grateful for. And the bond between human and animal was a lovely storyline, Lucky was a great character.

I think I loved and hated the ending in equal measure 😂 You can't just give us that information and stop it there, I need to know more!!!

When I started this, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. I was wrong, it was brilliant!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

I would like to extend my gratitude to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending this advanced reader's copy in return for a fair and honest review.

I did not enjoy this book at all. It felt like another author writing about the pandemic. I didn’t enjoy the dystopian nature of the book. I read it, finished it but did not like it at all. It felt under-developed in its entirety. Sadly, the version of “what would you do if the world ended” fell flat for me.

I really enjoyed this novel. Last One at the Party is a breath of fresh air in the end-of-the-world, last-person-on-Earth category - I have often wondered how I, a co-dependent and frankly useless adult, would cope if the world were to end tomorrow. Thankfully, Bethany Clift has written exactly that scenario. Not for this book is our hero a scientist posed to save mankind from extinction, or an ex-army action superstar, or a group of highly motivated individuals with a strong desire to survive and procreate... Oh, no. Our nameless anti-hero is a woman who, when a virulent and deathly killer disease takes her husband's life and swiftly wipes out most of humanity, her first instinct is to go to her best friend's party mansion and dance in their disco while taking a load of drugs. (This is where my similarity to the hapless hero ended!)

I would have loved to see some richer prose to build a stronger vision of this post-apocalyptic world, and there were some unexplained world-building elements in how, for example, the power would stay on for so long with nobody to man the power stations... and some of the humour was jaunty at inexplicably serious moments... but put all that out of your head and just go with it. This is one for you if you have similarly thought, 'where would I go if the world was ending?' and the answer, like our hero, is 'Soho Farmhouse'.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have purchased a copy as i know I will reread this again.
I love the post apocalyptic thriller vibe but also the dystopian side of it.
I didn’t think I would want to read a book like this during the covid-19 pandemic but it was so good. So very different to the current word situation.
This debut novel is one of the best, highly recommend this.

I found this book quite intriguing and for a debut book by a new author it was an excellent first attempt and I would read more books by this author in future.
Last One At The Party by Bethany Clift is a very clever book, about a young woman who survives a deadly pandemic that has killed everyone she knew.
She has to grow up and take responsibility for her own life and found out to live on her own for the rest of her life. It is a story that resonates at the time of Covid but the book is about surviving a deadly disease that kills everyone in the whole world and how to survive. The ending is very intriguing.
Highly recommended

After the pandemic of 2023, one un named woman narrates the fate of the world.
Maybe not the best subject to be reading about during Covid lockdown, but a very interesting scenario and a well written and constructed work of fiction.
The life story of the survivor is told in flashbacks which although gave the woman more character and went in part to explain her character, sometimes interrupted the flow of the survival story.
This dystopian novel is not for the faint hearted but it certainly holds your attention

Bethany Clift’s debut is a vision of the post-apocalyptic world that emerges in the wake of the 6DM (Six Days Maximum) virus that, by the end of November 2023, appears to have wiped out the entire population of the UK with the exception of our unnamed thirty-six-year-old narrator. Written in the format of a diary, the story that follows is not about a pandemic but one of survival in the world that is left behind. Whilst I felt the book got off to a strong start with its punchy and whip-smart account of 6DM’s arrival I quickly grew bored of the exploits of our narrator (which all ended in drugs or booze) and found her crass and flippant narrative rather juvenile. It wasn’t too close to home as regards Covid-19, it was just too puerile to hold my interest for the most part.

At regular intervals throughout the narrative there are flashbacks to the narrator’s pre-pandemic life, all of which reveal a great deal more about the kind of woman she was prior to the collapse of society. Whilst I didn’t warm to her or appreciate the tone of the narrative I could fully empathise with how she had spent her life to date trying to shape herself into the person that others wanted or expected her to be and lived in fear of their judgement. Whilst her mental health history and neuroses were laid bare in these flashbacks they also reveal that she had a far less enviable life that it appeared from the outside, not that she herself was a terrific wife or friend. After the end of the world as she knows it, and her ensuing search across the country to find other human life, our narrator starts to realise that with no one else left alive to judge or care it might just be the opportunity she has been waiting for. Whilst I grew less antagonistic towards our narrator and I suspect the introduction of the dog was specifically designed to make her more palatable, I felt her character arc throughout the novel was unbelievably simplistic and the transition from an adult child to someone with a coping mentality and the necessary survival skills to face a future alone was unconvincing. Whilst I don’t regularly read this genre of fiction even I spotted the obvious flaws in the world building and it should be noted that Last One at the Party is far less a survival story than one of self-discovery.