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ember1999's review against another edition
5.0
I am baffled by the ending; I never saw it coming. Throughout the whole novel I was trying to decide if the main character was trustworthy or if they were losing their mind. Even the main character wasn’t sure if they were losing their mind or not until the very end.
The novel is well written and kept me on my toes the whole time. It was hard to put down.
The novel is well written and kept me on my toes the whole time. It was hard to put down.
withthebanned's review against another edition
3.0
The Last Harvest was a fast paced and exciting read. There were parts that I can tell will really appeal to some readers. It has the potential to have you on the edge of your seat, and I can see why some would find the book scary for sure. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't even uneasy reading, and I managed to figure out every single twist before it came. I had some personal issues with the novel as it fell a little too close to home in the small town, close minded and religious mindset of the characters. I think I went into this thinking it was going to fall along the same lines as Blood and Salt, and while the writing is similar, in that it's superb, I was disappointed.
I really only felt that there was any connection to our main character, but I also had a hard time with how absolutely stupid he is. I honestly found myself figuring things out faster than him to the point where I was confusing myself when reveals happened. I had to flip back to be like "did that not already happen..." which really jolts one out of the reading experience. I couldn't connect to Ali and was a little frustrated over their relationship as it wasn't sweet to me that in that "it's always been here" kind of way. It more made me want to be like "EXPERIENCE MORE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL! GET OUTTA THAT TOWN! GROW!" which again is my own issue as it was how I felt growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania. The whole Jess storyline fell short to me when it really shouldn't have, and which left me feeling sort of cheated out of what would have been an awesome ending.
Do I recommend The Last Harvest? Absolutely. It is beautifully written, exciting and shocking for those not as jaded as me. I am here for whatever Kim Liggett has coming next because she absolutely has a knack for writing horror. This felt like watching an old school horror film and though I remained detached, I was still drawn in enough to enjoy the ride.
I really only felt that there was any connection to our main character, but I also had a hard time with how absolutely stupid he is. I honestly found myself figuring things out faster than him to the point where I was confusing myself when reveals happened. I had to flip back to be like "did that not already happen..." which really jolts one out of the reading experience. I couldn't connect to Ali and was a little frustrated over their relationship as it wasn't sweet to me that in that "it's always been here" kind of way. It more made me want to be like "EXPERIENCE MORE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL! GET OUTTA THAT TOWN! GROW!" which again is my own issue as it was how I felt growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania. The whole Jess storyline fell short to me when it really shouldn't have, and
Spoiler
I absolutely saw the whole thing with Emma and Noodle coming from a mile away.Do I recommend The Last Harvest? Absolutely. It is beautifully written, exciting and shocking for those not as jaded as me. I am here for whatever Kim Liggett has coming next because she absolutely has a knack for writing horror. This felt like watching an old school horror film and though I remained detached, I was still drawn in enough to enjoy the ride.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
4.0
"It's too late. No matter what happens, no matter what you do...he's coming."
Wow, this was a gory, creepy and fun story! It's the perfect mix of mystery and horror to keep the pages flying.
Clay's father did a horrible thing to the town last year. Once he was gone, Clay is now the man of the house. Between his mom's depression, Jess's rebellion and Noodle's young age - Clay is trying to get the harvest done, keep food on the table and the bills paid with not a lot of help in the house. But that's not even the worst part.
Clay has almost completely stopped sleeping. When he does sleep, he's having horrible dreams - full of gore and blood and people he loves....getting hurt. He's starting to slip - wondering if something is real or dream - and those around him keep warning of someone coming (more signs of losing his mind?) and mysterious prophecy and "sixth generation" quotes. It's all Clay can do to get the Harvest done as he sorts his thoughts.
It was compelling and hard to put down. And I saw the twist coming but it was a great time getting there. I will definitely read more by this author.
Wow, this was a gory, creepy and fun story! It's the perfect mix of mystery and horror to keep the pages flying.
Clay's father did a horrible thing to the town last year. Once he was gone, Clay is now the man of the house. Between his mom's depression, Jess's rebellion and Noodle's young age - Clay is trying to get the harvest done, keep food on the table and the bills paid with not a lot of help in the house. But that's not even the worst part.
Clay has almost completely stopped sleeping. When he does sleep, he's having horrible dreams - full of gore and blood and people he loves....getting hurt. He's starting to slip - wondering if something is real or dream - and those around him keep warning of someone coming (more signs of losing his mind?) and mysterious prophecy and "sixth generation" quotes. It's all Clay can do to get the Harvest done as he sorts his thoughts.
It was compelling and hard to put down. And I saw the twist coming but it was a great time getting there. I will definitely read more by this author.
erinarkin20's review against another edition
4.0
The Last Harvest by Kim Liggett is described as Friday Night Lights meets Rosemary’s Baby and because of that, I was immediately intrigued. After reading, I have to say it leans more toward Rosemary’s Baby and the only tie to Friday Night Lights I could see was that the main character was at one time the popular quarterback. Even with that in mind the story that Liggett created was an interesting one.
Clay is the main character and he has been dealing with a lot since his father died a year ago. He is the oldest and that means he is the one who has taken on the responsibility of keeping things going since his mom hasn’t been the same ever since. Clay has two younger sisters, Jess and Noodle, and he is doing everything he can to keep his family together (including harvesting the wheat before the first freeze) and providing them with the things they need but with the anniversary of his father’s death, things are getting weird and he doesn’t know who to trust.
Clay’s family was one of the founding families of Midland, Oklahoma and along with 5 other families in town, they make up a group called the Preservation Society. The group is most recently led by a group of people that Clay goes to school with, including Ali, the girl he has had feelings for. Clay has done his best to avoid the group and the founding families but something happens one day while he is out on the combine that he can’t explain and he ends up drawn to the Neely farm where he sees something even more disturbing.
Liggett does a fantastic job of setting up this story and the setting is perfect. First, the small town setting is perfect for this story because it creates a weird vibe. Not only is Clay going through a major life event over the last year but he saw something with his dad that day that he doesn’t really understand. As the story moves forward, pieces are revealed that start to tie what happened with his dad to the things that Clay is facing today. There were some parts that were especially creepy and I appreciated how Liggett was able to set them up.
The characters in this story were quite interesting and definitely creepy. Of course, there is Clay and at times he seems completely clueless but I sympathize as it was really hard to figure out who to trust in this book. Just when he started to think someone would be able to help him out, something would happen that had me wondering whose side they were really on. I loved how much he cared about his family though and how willing he was to do whatever he could for them.
The characters that make up the society and go to school with Clay were mostly there to tie Clay to the group and the rest of the story. Ali and Tyler were the most prominent of the group. Tyler was Clay’s rival and when Clay stepped back from football and the group, he is the one who stepped in to fill the void…which included Ali. Clearly they didn’t get along.
Ali was interesting because she definitely had feelings for Clay but because of the society, she wasn’t allowed to talk to him or be around him as long as he kept his distance. When things turn around for them, they both admit their feelings and this eventually leads to the rest of the story. I have to admit, I didn’t fully see what was going to happen so kudos to Liggett for the successful twist.
Overall I enjoyed this book. Liggett does a fantastic job of setting up the reader to try to figure things out right alongside Clay from the very first page and I appreciated that what was really going on wasn’t completely transparent. If you are looking for something that has that creepy horror movie vibe and will keep you guessing on what will really happen, consider checking this one out. I will definitely be looking forward to whatever Liggett decides to share with us next.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.
Clay is the main character and he has been dealing with a lot since his father died a year ago. He is the oldest and that means he is the one who has taken on the responsibility of keeping things going since his mom hasn’t been the same ever since. Clay has two younger sisters, Jess and Noodle, and he is doing everything he can to keep his family together (including harvesting the wheat before the first freeze) and providing them with the things they need but with the anniversary of his father’s death, things are getting weird and he doesn’t know who to trust.
Clay’s family was one of the founding families of Midland, Oklahoma and along with 5 other families in town, they make up a group called the Preservation Society. The group is most recently led by a group of people that Clay goes to school with, including Ali, the girl he has had feelings for. Clay has done his best to avoid the group and the founding families but something happens one day while he is out on the combine that he can’t explain and he ends up drawn to the Neely farm where he sees something even more disturbing.
Liggett does a fantastic job of setting up this story and the setting is perfect. First, the small town setting is perfect for this story because it creates a weird vibe. Not only is Clay going through a major life event over the last year but he saw something with his dad that day that he doesn’t really understand. As the story moves forward, pieces are revealed that start to tie what happened with his dad to the things that Clay is facing today. There were some parts that were especially creepy and I appreciated how Liggett was able to set them up.
The characters in this story were quite interesting and definitely creepy. Of course, there is Clay and at times he seems completely clueless but I sympathize as it was really hard to figure out who to trust in this book. Just when he started to think someone would be able to help him out, something would happen that had me wondering whose side they were really on. I loved how much he cared about his family though and how willing he was to do whatever he could for them.
The characters that make up the society and go to school with Clay were mostly there to tie Clay to the group and the rest of the story. Ali and Tyler were the most prominent of the group. Tyler was Clay’s rival and when Clay stepped back from football and the group, he is the one who stepped in to fill the void…which included Ali. Clearly they didn’t get along.
Ali was interesting because she definitely had feelings for Clay but because of the society, she wasn’t allowed to talk to him or be around him as long as he kept his distance. When things turn around for them, they both admit their feelings and this eventually leads to the rest of the story. I have to admit, I didn’t fully see what was going to happen so kudos to Liggett for the successful twist.
Overall I enjoyed this book. Liggett does a fantastic job of setting up the reader to try to figure things out right alongside Clay from the very first page and I appreciated that what was really going on wasn’t completely transparent. If you are looking for something that has that creepy horror movie vibe and will keep you guessing on what will really happen, consider checking this one out. I will definitely be looking forward to whatever Liggett decides to share with us next.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.
alyram4's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5 stars
I thought this was a really great book! This is definitely a slow burner for nearly half of it, but afterwards it picks up and just keep going. I found that at the end, everything came full-circle. The plot surrounding the Devil and this small town was really interesting, and it turned out to be much better than I anticipated. I had my doubts about this, but after finally taking the time to read it, I really like it! I felt like stopping a few times every other chapter or so for the first 6 chapters, but by chapter 9 it picks up a bit more. Once you get to the 40% mark things really get going, with the characters and plot become more complex as the story goes on. By the last 15 chapters, i felt like everything was just building and building, with an ending I definitely wasn't anticipating at all! Overall, I really liked it, but it's definitely very slow for the first half. If you don't mind slow burn thriller/horror novels, then I think this is definitely worth a shot.
I thought this was a really great book! This is definitely a slow burner for nearly half of it, but afterwards it picks up and just keep going. I found that at the end, everything came full-circle. The plot surrounding the Devil and this small town was really interesting, and it turned out to be much better than I anticipated. I had my doubts about this, but after finally taking the time to read it, I really like it! I felt like stopping a few times every other chapter or so for the first 6 chapters, but by chapter 9 it picks up a bit more. Once you get to the 40% mark things really get going, with the characters and plot become more complex as the story goes on. By the last 15 chapters, i felt like everything was just building and building, with an ending I definitely wasn't anticipating at all! Overall, I really liked it, but it's definitely very slow for the first half. If you don't mind slow burn thriller/horror novels, then I think this is definitely worth a shot.
litwrite's review
4.0
This was the written equivalent of a B-horror movie, which is NOT an insult in any way, shape or form because I f***ing love B-horror movies. Liggett doesn't really forge any new paths but the she does do a pretty good job with the formula material - a compulsive read that kept me up way past my bedtime and also kept me guessing as to how it was going to end. She does a great job with the protagonist and conveying the dread and paranoia he must have felt throughout this situation. A couple of plot holes that don't really get plugged up but easily overlooked. Would definitely recommend.
andreacaro's review
4.0
Heck yes, I love a demon story and this one was excellent and gave me those small town vibes that remind me of home.
ajsterkel's review against another edition
3.0
Likes: Well, that was severely messed up. I did not expect that ending. This is for sure a horror story. The plot is wild, and there’s all the blood and guts you could ever want. I would have adored this book as a teen.
Seventeen-year-old Clay is not having a fun time in life. After the death of his father, weird stuff starts happening in Clay’s town. Either Clay is going insane, or his classmates are possessed by demons. (Personally, I vote for the demons. Have you ever met a teenager?) Clay is a deeply flawed person, but I care about him. He has a sense of humor and tries to do what’s right. He wants to take care of his family and figure out what’s happening to his friends, but he’s battling against a force that is more powerful than him. Still, he keeps fighting when everything seems hopeless.
The atmosphere is spot-on. I love the creepy farm town setting. If you enjoy those movies where spooky stuff happens in the crops, you need to read this book. The story begins when Clay runs over a calf with his combine. You know from the first chapter that this is going to be bizarre and intense. None of the characters (including Clay) can be trusted. Nobody is safe. I understand why some Goodreads reviewers question if this book should be called YA. It’s definitely the most gory YA horror book I’ve read. That’s not a complaint. I would have been thrilled to read this novel as a teen.
Dislikes: The plot moves fast. Occasionally, it moves faster than my brain could process it. The author withholds information to keep the reader guessing, but some events are too mysterious for me. I didn’t always understand Clay’s motivation. Actually, this is one of those books where a lot of weird stuff happens, and the only explanation is “Demons.” I prefer to have more reasoning behind the weirdness in books.
I also wondered why Clay doesn’t show more reaction when his friends are brutally murdered. I know that this is horror, and someone dies every few chapters, but Clay is like, “Meh, he’s dead now. Let’s go back to solving mysteries and hitting on my girlfriend.” Usually, murders would cause more angst. Clay is annoyingly overprotective of his sisters, so he overreacts when they hang out with boys, but he’s not too bothered when his classmates get disemboweled. It’s odd.
The Bottom Line: Not perfect, but an entertaining horror novel. I will definitely check out the author’s other books.
Do you like opinions, giveaways, and bookish nonsense? I have a blog for that.
Seventeen-year-old Clay is not having a fun time in life. After the death of his father, weird stuff starts happening in Clay’s town. Either Clay is going insane, or his classmates are possessed by demons. (Personally, I vote for the demons. Have you ever met a teenager?) Clay is a deeply flawed person, but I care about him. He has a sense of humor and tries to do what’s right. He wants to take care of his family and figure out what’s happening to his friends, but he’s battling against a force that is more powerful than him. Still, he keeps fighting when everything seems hopeless.
The atmosphere is spot-on. I love the creepy farm town setting. If you enjoy those movies where spooky stuff happens in the crops, you need to read this book. The story begins when Clay runs over a calf with his combine. You know from the first chapter that this is going to be bizarre and intense. None of the characters (including Clay) can be trusted. Nobody is safe. I understand why some Goodreads reviewers question if this book should be called YA. It’s definitely the most gory YA horror book I’ve read. That’s not a complaint. I would have been thrilled to read this novel as a teen.
Dislikes: The plot moves fast. Occasionally, it moves faster than my brain could process it. The author withholds information to keep the reader guessing, but some events are too mysterious for me. I didn’t always understand Clay’s motivation. Actually, this is one of those books where a lot of weird stuff happens, and the only explanation is “Demons.” I prefer to have more reasoning behind the weirdness in books.
I also wondered why Clay doesn’t show more reaction when his friends are brutally murdered. I know that this is horror, and someone dies every few chapters, but Clay is like, “Meh, he’s dead now. Let’s go back to solving mysteries and hitting on my girlfriend.” Usually, murders would cause more angst. Clay is annoyingly overprotective of his sisters, so he overreacts when they hang out with boys, but he’s not too bothered when his classmates get disemboweled. It’s odd.
The Bottom Line: Not perfect, but an entertaining horror novel. I will definitely check out the author’s other books.
Do you like opinions, giveaways, and bookish nonsense? I have a blog for that.
idogrocker's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.5
daria_morgendorffer's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25