Last Things

By: Jacqueline West

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Josh Bloomberg

"Everything I love in a book." (Victoria Schwab, author of number-one New York Times best seller This Savage Song)

“The kind of taut, atmospheric thriller that gets your heart racing and sets your imagination on fire. Sensational.” (Claire Legrand, New York Times best-selling author of Furyborn)

Finalist for the Minnesota Book Award

New York Times best-selling author Jacqueline West captivates listeners with a dark, hypnotic story about the cost of talent - and the evil that lurks just out of sight. Fans of Holly Black and Victoria Schwab will be mesmerized by this gorgeous, magnetic novel.

High school senior Anders Thorson is unusually gifted. His band, Last Things, is legendary in their Northern Minnesota hometown. With guitar skills that would amaze even if he weren’t only 18, Anders is the focus of head-turning admiration. And Thea Malcom, a newcomer to the insular town, is one of his admirers. Thea seems to turn up everywhere Anders goes: gigs at the local coffeehouse, guitar lessons, even in the woods near Anders’ home.

When strange things start happening to Anders, blame immediately falls on Thea. But is she trying to hurt him? Or save him? Can he trust a girl who doesn’t seem to know the difference between dreams and reality? And how much are they both willing to sacrifice to get what they want?

Told from Anders’ and Thea’s dual points of view, this exquisitely crafted novel is full of unexpected twists and is for fans of Holly Black’s The Darkest Part of the Forest and Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood.

©2019 Jacqueline West (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

4.5 STARS

LAST THINGS was a total surprise and I didn't expect it to love it as much as I did. It is told in dual POV and the author lets you get closer to the characters only in baby steps and it isn't clear until the last third of the story what we are dealing with here. The enemy and the main characters are kept in mystery which worked really well, I thought. I just wanted to KNOW.

Thea's actions is a little creepy, keeping us guessing almost until the big showdown whether she is on the good side or the bad. Her behavior is borderline stalkerish, she's the girl always standing at the edge of a room, observing. There are glimpses of her being infatuated with Anders but that's not what this is about. At the end of the book I found out how lonely and a little tragic, sad, her life must be. Although she is creepy AF sometimes I couldn't help but love her because I felt her heart was pure. Kudos to the author for making me feel that way about a very ambiguous character.

Anders is tragic in his own way. He wants to be a rock star like nothing else in the world and we know how evil always figures that out and uses those wishes to its advantage. Anders, unknowingly, made a deal with the devil years ago. Now, on the verge to stardom he has become a little cautious of offers that fall into his lap and, while he is flattered by the attention he receives, he doesn't want to do it without his band mates. I loved that Anders integrity never wavered in that regard. As much as he argued with his best friends, he never wanted to sacrifice them for his own gain.

If you read this story it will give you an idea how witch hunts in medival times started. How people spread rumors about an outsider who is "different", tell lies about them, gang up on them to bring them down. Listen closely, there is a message in this book too.

The storytelling is wonderful - the spooky vibe of fog rising and wobbeling above the ground, the atmosphere of it is thick in this story.
The narrators Lisa Flanagan and Josh Bloomberg are new to me, too and they did an AMAZING job to transfer the mood with their performance. They manage the feat to make your hairs stand up on your arms.

I admit I took a chance on LAST THINGS. It's not my usual genre, it's a new-to-me author who I've never heard of before. If that applies to you too and you are up for an adventure, that is captivating, truly unique and spooky, be sure to give this one a chance.