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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
"The Last Word" is a fast-paced thriller that follows Emma Carpenter and her golden retriever, Laika, as Emma house sits for a woman named Jules in a beachfront property. With nothing else to do, Emma spends her days reading, and after she posts a negative review of a book, she feels like she is being stalked by the author. Can her and Laika make it through the night alive, or will she become just like the victims in the author's gruesome horror novels?
In true Taylor Adams fashion, this book is graphic, gruesome, and really made me uncomfortable at times. I was so anxious throughout my reading experience because I kept waiting for something to happen to Laika and I was distraught. My anxiety hindered my enjoyment of the novel because I CANNOT read about an animal dying, and I was so worried the whole time.
Emma is a complex character, and I enjoyed reading from her perspective most of the time. Some of her rationale felt a little too convenient to propel the story forward, but I really enjoyed uncovering why she was running away from her life. I also adored her love for Laika. She did everything to save her dog, and I loved seeing their interactions together.
The big twist of who Kane, the author turned stalker, was turned out kind of interesting, but I also felt like I saw it coming.
My favorite aspect of this novel is that Taylor Adams presented this timely discourse about whether an author should be on review platforms. On the one hand, an author could use reviews to help them better hone their craft and listen to what their readers want from them in the future. On the other hand, a review platform is supposed to be safe place for readers to share their thoughts. I really enjoyed seeing this idea manipulated into a story.
Taylor Adams is definitely talented at what he does, and I will continue to pick him up in the future!
Graphic: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Child death, Murder, Violence, Death, Mental illness, Torture, Stalking, Physical abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident
cyndi1966's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Self harm
Moderate: Stalking, Murder, Infertility, Car accident, Gun violence, and Alcoholism
Minor: Child death
pomoevareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Gun violence, and Confinement
Minor: Child death
kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, Child death, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Vomit, Death, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Car accident, Infertility, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Violence
greatestheights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
More spoilers from here on out, as I bravely dare to rate and review a thriller about a murderous writer going after the bored, grieving woman who roasted his book on Amazon. I too am bored and grieving, but this is Goodreads, and I promise not to be too mean.
Anyway.
I am once again absolutely begging thriller writers to please, for the love of God, stop writing villains with mental illness. It is not the fun plot device you think it is! I've known and cared for two people who have Howard's diagnosis, and it's not a goddamn punch line. People with mental illness are far more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators of it. Too, Howard's diagnosis was a red herring. It added nothing to his character except to perpetuate a bunch of gross stereotypes.
That aside, I enjoyed a lot of things about this book. It was entertaining, creepy, full of twists, and the aforementioned (alive!) dog should have been the narrator. I also spent a ton of time rolling my eyes, sending screenshots to my best friend demanding to know how there could be so many hours left in the audiobook by the fifth time I thought it surely had to be drawing to a close, and wondering how many more times Howard was going to bisect something.
This is just a PSA to all white ladies: If you smell synthetic butter around your remote rental house and think a shadowy figure is watching you sleep, do not pass go, do not collect whatever the fuck, do not CONTINUE BLITHELY LIVING IN THE HOUSE — just leave. Also, don't play Hangman with random old men who have telescopes. Also also, how did this genius astrophysicist warrior woman not know what Hangman was?!
A BIG TW BELOW:
tw tw tw tw infant loss!!!
Idk why I keep picking up books that have surprise infant loss plotlines, but lol, I keep finding them. The detail was particularly brutal, and even though I knew it was coming, I sobbed for the last hour of this book.
Lots of other stuff to say about the plot and characters and Emma's interesting range of choices, but I've truly gone on long enough and I'm still not sure how I want to rate it. Twoish stars because...*gestures broadly*
Taylor Adams, if you're reading this, please don't murder me with a katana.
Graphic: Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Kidnapping, Gore, Vomit, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Infertility
Moderate: Bullying and Alcoholism
mflynn8908's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I did guess what was going to happen about 50% into the story but the author had some twists towards the end that made me second guess if I was correct or not so it did keep me invested in reading the story.
This is the second book I’ve read from this author so far and I can say that I actually enjoyed this one much more than I enjoyed no exit.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Infertility, Stalking, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Child death and Car accident
Minor: Animal cruelty, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Vomit, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Body horror
ohhthehorrors's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Car accident, Death of parent, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Misogyny, Stalking, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Infertility, and Suicidal thoughts
emeraldsanto's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Blood, Medical content, Vomit, Alcohol, Car accident, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Child death, Alcoholism, Stalking, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts
mrsreads1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism and Child death
jamie_rich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Gore, Alcoholism, Infertility, Child death, Violence, Blood, Suicide, Death, Abandonment, Stalking, Torture, Car accident, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt