Hanna Jameson's "The Last"

Jon thought he had all the time in the world to respond to his wife’s text message: I miss you so much. I feel bad about how we left it. Love you. But as he’s waiting in the lobby of the L’Hotel Sixieme in Switzerland after an academic conference, still mulling over how to respond to his wife, he receives a string of horrifying push notifications. Washington, DC has been hit with a nuclear bomb, then New York, then London, and finally Berlin. That’s all he knows before news outlets and social media goes black—and before the clouds on the horizon turn orange.

Now, two months later, there are twenty survivors holed up at the hotel, a place already tainted by its strange history of suicides and murders. Those who can’t bear to stay commit suicide or wander off into the woods. Jon and the others try to maintain some semblance of civilization. But when the water pressure disappears, and Jon and a crew of survivors investigate the hotel’s water tanks, they are shocked to discover the body of a young girl.

As supplies dwindle and tensions rise, Jon becomes obsessed with investigating the death of the little girl as a way to cling to his own humanity. Yet the real question remains: can he afford to lose his mind in this hotel, or should he take his chances in the outside world? ~ taken from Goodreads

I fell in love with the cover of this book. After clicking, I read the blurb of what it was about and was intrigued. This is a post apocalyptic setting I had never even imagined. A huge, isolated hotel with guests. A murdered girl. Every guest has their own secret. Every guest wants to survive. No one knows what is even going on in the world outside the hotel property...

This was a really fun read. I was immediately sucked into the story.  I enjoyed reading about the day to day life after a nuclear explosion. It's told from the perspective of John, a historian, who decides to document everything that happens in case the world survives and their story can be one day told. 

Once the body of a young girl is found in one of the water tanks, John seems to become obsessed with learning about every single person in the hotel, as clearly someone there is a murderer. The cast of characters are diverse and interesting. The fact that the setting is a massive hotel in a very isolated area brought an eerie element to the story. 

The book did drag a bit in the middle. Day after day of diary entries seemed to get repetitive and boring. I needed a bit more action to keep me reading so I found myself skimming through pages to get to some excitement. 

It does pick up near the end, and some new plot twists and characters make their way into the guests lives. The ending was very unexpected, yet fulfilling. 

I give this a solid 4 stars. 

The Last by Hannah Jameson is being released April 9, 2019 here in the United States so pre-order it now! It was a very unique but realistic apocalyptic thriller than I highly enjoyed! 

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for allowing me an eARC to read and give my honest opinion! 

Happy Reading!