Instalove is an immediate turn off for me and whilst there isn’t a HEA, it is a duology after all the instance love was a little too much.
The world in which this is set is a little conflicting, it feels dystopian, Middle Ages based in some scenarios but then modern technology and conveniences in some scenes. Vampires having a human heir is different but why would they, there needed to be a reason why there couldn’t be another heir for them.
Emilia is whiny, naive and childish, whilst this is the character and needs to be that to some extent it does not make for a FMC to root for and enjoy.
Overall I did like the book and enjoyed the narration, I’ll most likely read book two, with hopes some of this may get answered / improved upon.

It’s a 3.5star rating really.

I received this audiobook as an ARC and provide and honest review

This is a difficult review because the premise had such potential and there were moments I really enjoyed, but the execution was a mess.

Firstly, the world building (what there was of it) didn't make any sense under any scrutiny. The FMC's parents were centuries-old vampires who had one human child (only 17yo) who is prepped to be their heir, but she'd most likely die before them. Plus, the writing made it feel medieval in time but they had modern technology? If they had laptops, then why didn't they have surveillance in the castle or any advanced measures to protect them from anyone just flipping open window shutters? Not much thought went into anything outside of the romance. Which leads me to my next disappointment...

This was not enemies to lovers but insta love. And, after what happened at the end, the whole book felt completely pointless and redundant. Even though the red flags and clues to the twist were there from the beginning, so I was expecting it. But it all unfolded so quickly that it wasn't satisfying. All the characters actions and motives were nonsensical the whole way through. And adding Michael in at random points, (he barely talks) setting him up as the next love interest, just felt a bit awkward and just wasn't interested in him. Their whole conversation at the end negated all her character growth from the betrayal. Like why are you trusting another man straight away? It was just too soon for anything with him in my opinion.

There was parts I liked - the politics was interesting and the relations between humans and vampires kept me reading.

I'm not sure I'll read the next book, but I hope the sequel opens the world and explores/explains everything better because there's potential, if the author can take more time crafting and developing past the plot holes.

This is my first read from the author's work and I absolutely love it. The world building was done brilliantly, the details penned by the author were on point and it felt like I was a part of the book while I was reading it.
The world of human and vampire and the royal court scenarios was an amazing idea plus both the protagonists were mesmerizing in their own way. They kept me hooked up from the very first chapter to the last one.
I had a great fun reading this 🤌

2.5 star review rounded up

The Last Raven follows Emelia, a human born to vampire parents, who is set to take the throne in a few years. The premise is intriguing and sets up an interesting blend of politics and fantasy.

Although marketed as New Adult, it felt more like Young Adult, which isn’t a huge issue, but the line between the genres is noticeable. The storyline itself is good but moves at a slow pace, and the narration matches that with its sluggish delivery.

I enjoyed the plot and found myself invested, but as the story unfolded, the characters’ youth and inexperience were quite evident. On the bright side, the love story was engaging, and I’m curious to see where future installments might lead.

The narrator did such a terrific job! I love her voice and how soothing it sounds to me. The vampires and lore are interesting and the concept was so unique. It was a bit predictable but I didn’t mind. The only reasons I didn’t give this a higher rating was because I found the character to be naive and repetitive. I understand she’s supposed to be like that as a teen but the fact that her best idea, as a human, was to go to the human camps and live there when she is the next heir and could change things for humans was ridiculous. She kept repeating the same things about her situation to the point it was annoying and would bore me. I also found the parents, particularly the mom, to be so naive especially when it was so obvious who was behind the attacks. The plot twist at the end was predictable but also shocking, I just wish the boy at the end had shown a bit more chemistry with the FMC when they first met.

I’m not sure if I would recommend this book but I do invite people to read it if they think they might like it.

Thank you to the author, HarperCollins UK, and NetGalley for this e-ARC and audiobook

2.75 ✨

I was really excited about this book but there was so many issues wrong with this.

1. The main character Amelia was just annoying. I can sympathise with her for being sheltered and all but she cried so often and we get it, you’re weak. Prove people you’re not weak

2. The main guys name is Kyle 💀 I’m glad he died because I wanted to dnf the second he was introduced and he just seemed to icky and like a teenager who was horny all the time.. like you’re meant to be a rebel.. unless you have truly fallen for her, I feel like you just cheated on your girlfriend so often for no reason. Like I get it, you’re meant to convincing her you’re in love with her but I dude you didn’t need to sleep with her so often

3. The world building was so off balance I kept forgetting it was meant to be modern book with fantasy twist. Why are they wearing skinny jeans and have a tv but yet the background seems like it’s in ancient times… it just knocked me off so often.

4. The rushed ending. I feel like it could have set up for another book when they kidnapped her but then all of a sudden he was dying and the main villain was also being killed… it seemed so rushed but I feel like there could have been a second book and worked on how she could escape and how she grows as a human and finds her identity then maybe found her true love with the Michael guy. Be wise I don’t understand how she’s human but she has extra fast healing powers which weren’t mentioned?? Like sorry no.

I felt really bad for the parents and she just seemed like a stuck up brat who wasn’t getting her way. Like dude chill…

Overall I didn’t enjoy this as much as I had hoped. The protential was there but it was rushed and was a little cliche.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this arc in exchange of a honest review

I would consider this a NA romantasy with some mentions of spice. The concept was interesting and the journey the main character went on throughout is great. The emotions were well described. I feel like it's missing some depth and world building, and the story was quite predictable. I enjoyed it and was a good quick read but if I compare to a similar concept book (from blood & ash) it's not at the same level.

#TheLastRaven by Helen Glynn Jones is a 4⭐️ read, for lovers of Vampire Romance books!

Imagine being born to two vampire parents, and you are human! Add to the mix that you are the heir of the Raven Crown! You have so many choices to make. Testing your willpower, and willingness to take the role the world expects of you! And then there is betrayal!

Emelia has her work cut out for her, will she set her own rules?

Thank you NetGalley for this audio ARC!

Overall:
I thought the audio was really well done! This book was suggested for those who are fans of Twilight and I think the only thing it had in common with Twilight was that it was also about vampires.
I do think this book would have made a fantastic YA vampire read except for the excessive swearing and the open-door spice within the first 10 chapters.
The plot and the characters felt very immature for the New Adult age range the book is listed as going for. At 80% some of the things that happened in the beginning made a little more sense, but overall the pacing was a little off, the characters needed some more growth and development and even though it was a pleasant story I am conflicted on whether or not I enjoyed it.

Characters: Our MFC Amelia was really sheltered, like never even felt the sun, until around 18 years old? and never once questioned anything. It didn’t make a lot of sense as to why she started questioning everything when she did. She has a little bit of a growth arc when she’s enlightened to what the world is really like, but it’s a see-saw of her going back and forth between her old life and a new chance with no real growth until the last chapter.
Kyle our MMC is kept very vague (on purpose but very dragged out). He is rushed into the story and is really just hanging around and proximity is why Amelia falls for him. He promotes some of her questions and gives her new experiences but it still all felt very surface level.
No characters were really well developed to me.

World Building: This was a little confusing. The beginning setting was described as a castle where royalty vampires lived but then only the main character talked about accessing her phone and computer to Google things. One other time there is a car mentioned but it mostly gave off medieval vibes and the lack of description throughout made the combination of castles and computers hard to picture.

Writing: The writing was easy to follow. The dialogue felt a little immature and repetitive for how old the characters and the audience were intended to be.

Romance: The romance was very fast and front heavy. Some things were clearer and made a little more sense around 85% but was still not satisfying. Especially since the romance felt like the main focus of the story I need it to be stronger.

Ending: The ending felt rushed to me and it’s unclear if this is a standalone or not. It did feel wrapped up but there’s a glimpse of maybe how there could be more.

As someone who is a massive fan of vampires, this book should have really worked for me but it really, really didn’t.

The Last Raven follows Emelia, the sole heir of the ruling vampire family, The Ravens. On her 18th birthday, she is expected to take her place as the next Raven however she is a blood-born human, unable to ever become a vampire and most of her peers only able to see her as food. She has been hidden away from vampire society for most of her life but with her upcoming coronation, Emelia’s family decide that it is time for her to be more visible. To make sure no harm comes to her, she is assigned a personal guard, Kyle.

I had so many issues with this book but I will start by saying that this book reads very much like a tropey YA novel and I just don’t think I am really the intended audience for this book. I can imagine this book to be pretty popular and well-enjoyed by readers either in or closer to the YA target age range.

This book definitely fits squarely within the romantasy genre with the romance between Emelia and Kyle very much at the forefront of the story in an urban fantasy setting (more on that in a bit) . Unfortunately for this book, because the romance is the primary plot, as a reader you need to really get behind it but I felt as though the story kinda skipped a step as these characters went from not liking one another - but maybe being mildly attracted - to just absolutely obsessed. This instalove / instalust situation meant that I didn’t find the romance believable and Kyle’s ultimate betrayal was something that I felt like I was just waiting to happen.

A little on the setting of this book… Something felt a bit off about the world that this book was set in. I think this book is set in contemporary England as there are phones and internet but the story was also vague enough that I couldn’t really place the where or the when. It felt distracting trying to work out where this story was taking place and the tone of the story felt as though it wanted to take place in a time pre-technology but then how would Emelia conveniently Google for the answers to all of her questions?

Emelia was a really challenging character for me to follow. She is 17-years-old and incredibly spoiled, sheltered, and privileged. Whilst I can understand that being a human in a world of vampires would make Emelia feel as though she didn’t belong, it was really hard to read about this character that has the world handed to her on a platter and she just didn’t want any of it. Her perspective was additionally challenging because it was apparent almost immediately that humans are treated like livestock and yet she just doesn’t see it and wants to cosplay as being just another human. She was so unselfaware and whining that I really hated being in her head.

There were a lot of moments that was pretty heavily telegraphed and I hated how unsubtle it was like the fact that Michael was the bad guy’s son (I had guessed that he was a vampire because he is never mentioned without it being pointed-out that he smells of violets) and that Kyle was going to betray Emelia. And yet, when Emelia kills Kyle towards the end of the story, it kinda feels like it comes out of nowhere. In the scene, there is a logic to what she does but also Emelia killing someone feels like a 0 to 100 sort of event as well as the fact that she was supposedly madly in love with him just a day or two before… Oh, also, can we please retire the trope of girl has sex for the first time and then the guy she has sex with turns out to be the villain, it is so problematic and gross.

I am sure there were other issues that I had with this book but ultimately it didn’t hit in the way that I had hoped and I felt as though the story didn’t really go anywhere interesting. Unfortunately, I can’t see myself continuing this series. For all of my grievances, I do think that there is a readership out there for this book but I am very definitely am not that reader.

DNF at 44%. I started this in eBook and moved into audiobook and as much as I tried to get into it, I just couldn't gel with Emelia, the main character, who's narrative voice gave the impression of a youngish teenager, and whilst I understand she's sheltered, it was the immaturity of her character's voice and the lack of connection to her, with her personality feeling underdeveloped. The relationship she rushes into felt uncomfortable and unnatural, without any clear progression I'd want to see - they don't have enough interactions, and no spark at all, for me to believe in this romance. I also found myself disinterested in the plot and the outcome of the story. Being so far along, I'd expect to be drawn in by now, intrigued by what will happen, but I'm feeling none of it. That all being said, the audio narrator worked for the story.

Thank you for the opportunity to review and I'm sorry this book was not a good fit for me.