Welcome to Litsy!

Probably NOT the best book for Americans to read at the moment with 🍊 in office (it'll be divisive, depending on your politics), but I flew through this.

#52bookclub25 #readinabermonth

This book was interesting and definitely intriguing. The narration differed between chapters despite it all being portrayed as a written history of the events of the world by one author. It was a different take on the post apocalyptic world than I‘ve read before & I enjoyed this new take (for me). Makes me think more about what it would be like to be in a hotel when th world ended as we knew it. Overall entertaining read, but will not read again

Read for library book group (tomorrow: eeek!).
A post-nuclear apocalypse, coupled with an amateur investigation into a child's murder, this was an "interesting" choice for a festive read! ? The Shining-esque shenanigans were an unnecessary distraction but I read this like I was bingeing on fast carbs. (The unsatisfying conclusion only reinforced this impression.) I enjoyed it, is what I'm saying, but now I want something more nutritious.

Great holiday reading month! I read ALL my #bookspin and #doublespin in 2023. Did not do as well on the bingos. Better luck next year. #BookSpinBingo

Negatives first. Wtf is with this author over using the term ‘She spread her hands‘, ‘he spread his hands‘. It was so annoying, it appeared at least a dozen times throughout the book! Also I don‘t think it needed the side plot of the mystery.
Ok positives now. I love a good end of the world novel, and this was great. I just find these types of stories so compelling!

I managed to finish my #GuiltyPleasure book for #TitlesAndTunes before the month even started… 🤦🏻‍♀️

I guess it says a lot about the book, which was indeed unputdownable. After a nuclear war 20 people in an isolated Swiss hotel have survived and try to find a way to deal with a new reality and with the people they didn‘t knew before. Meanwhile strange things happen in the hotel.
Dystopia, thriller and a bit of horror: such indulgence 🩶

Ahh, this book was so close to being INCREDIBLE. I loved it all except for the first 10% and the last 10% which were just OK.

It's a post-apocalyptic story & a murder mystery & a thriller with a pinch of horror... and mostly sooooo good 🙃

I had to overlook a few implausible details and the ending was rushed and not quite there, but overall WHAT A RIDE! With a less scrappy start and better foreshadowing, this could have been phenomenal.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is SO good... but only a few chapters to wrap up and so many questions still unanswered... 😬😬😬😬

Don't disappoint me book. It's been a thrill ride!

This surprised me with how good it was.

Post apocalyptic nuclear war murder mystery vibes.

#firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl "Nadia once told me that she was kept awake at night by the idea that she would read about the end of the world on a phone alert."

A nuclear war. The end of the world. A group of strangers living in a swiss hotel. A body in a water tank. How to go on...?

3¾⭐
I would call this an Apocalyptic Thriller with a side of Mystery. An end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it from the vantage point of a creepy hotel in Switzerland. One that may or may not be haunted, and as if the apocalypse scenario wasn‘t enough there is a murdered child to investigate…you know, to pass the time. Overall, I found this to be quite depressing, and yet still kind of freakishly interesting, in an I-hope-this-never-happens kind-of-way.

Jon is at a remote hotel in Switzerland when the unthinkable occurs: nuclear war. The group that remains in place is trying to figure out the best way forward while also trying to learn who killed a young girl found on the premises. I enjoyed this, but it was really tough, as it felt really real. Also, if you need likable characters, you probably wouldn‘t enjoy this, as there aren‘t many!

What a weird book… 3.5/5 Read for the July #Buzzwordathon - Last

#TBRPile 📚 “Nadia once told me that she was kept awake at night by the idea she would read about the end of the world on a phone notification. For me, three days ago, it happened over a complimentary breakfast.”

This is one of those books that I enjoyed but I'm not sure I could say it was good. It wasn't bad but it was just having one hell of an identity crisis. "I'm apoc-fic! And also I'm a murder mystery! No, wait! I'm a psych thriller! And romance! Did I mention I'm distopian-endofworld-weirdy-feminist lit too?" In trying to be all the things it was, inevitably, not great at any of them. And then at 80% it takes a turn & becomes something else again!

Starting this one today. It's been compared to Station Eleven but I didn't really enjoy that one. My last read was a bit of a spud so I need this one to at least be entertaining if not a literary classic!

With thanks to #netgalley for this book 🙂📖👍

Next up on #TBRDeckOfCards this one fell a little flat for me... not enough character development and I felt like the murder mystery subplot was more of a distraction than being engaging. A shame as I love a good dystopian novel and the premise for this definitely had promise!

I have be honest I decided to read this based on listening to the currently reading podcast. Meredith said it was better than Station Eleven so I said I am game. Unfortunately that book has too high of a standard to meet. The book was fine, but with that comparison I felt let down.

#TBRPile 📚 A dystopian murder mystery which sounds like a cross between And Then There Were None and Station Eleven

I read the whole thing because I kept feeling like I was about to get the story I was promised but it never quite materialized. Our cast is at a resort in Switzerland when nuclear bombs (with no real explanation) fall all over the world. Are they the last people alive? If that's not enough for them to deal with the body of a child is discovered a couple weeks into their ordeal. Who is she? Was she murdered? If so is one of them a murderer? If ⬇️

I finished my third book for the #JoysOfJune readathon! This was sent to me as part of a #BookCrossing roundabout.

This is a fast-paced post-apocalyptic thriller. It's page-turning but not totally believable or satisfying.

@Andrew65

A super interesting premise, but really rushed and tidy ending. After nuclear war, a group of 20 people are stranded inside a Swiss hotel when they find the body of a child in one of the water tanks. Part dystopian novel, part locked room mystery, this book can‘t quite decide what it wants to be. #netgalley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Post apocalyptic reads for the win at the moment 😉
This is wrongly marketed as part murder mystery which might explain the mixed reviews. I enjoyed it and found it an engaging read. The ending felt slightly rushed (and I don't like drawn out endings) could have done with another 1-2k words to flesh it out more.

Feel this is very accurate to today's world 😞☣️

⭐⭐⭐

The Last is billed as a Dystopian Psychological Thriller but there wasn't anything particularly thrilling about it. Don't get me wrong I still enjoyed it, but this was definitely a more of a mild story about the end of the world than it was thriller. I was immediately drawn in by the authors writing style and choices but as it progressed it kind of stagnated. Maybe it's just me but I expect my apocalypse to have a little more action.

We're all having a bit of an End Of Time Feeling right now, don't we? Well, I still (or even more) enjoyed Jamesons books - it differs a little from other Surviving The Nuclear War books. Especially her main character, quite the unreliable narrator sometimes, is not your typical survivalist hero. Also, that the book sometimes is more of a crime novel fascinated me.

Wow what a great read. It hooks you in from the first page and kept me wondering what happen all the way through

Holy cow this one was such a wild ride! I don‘t really know what I was expecting but man this packed a punch. Jon Keller gets stuck in a creepy Swiss hotel after the world is ravaged by nuclear attacks and ends up trying to solve the mysterious death of a young girl found in one of the water tanks. Check out my review! https://amysbookreviews.com/2020/02/17/the-last-by-hanna-jameson-review/

A very good post-apocalypse book, but not quite the murder mystery thriller the cover and blurb make it out to be. I really enjoyed it, don't get me wrong, but it was definitely more like Station Eleven than the murder mystery I was told it would be. Still, because I am not a big fan of gruesome and sad post-apocalypse I really liked it. It has aromantic representation as well, and deals with the nuance of emotions quite well in my opinion.

I liked this one, although the ending seemed a bit rushed. Books like this, as I‘m sure they‘re supposed to, do make me think ‘what would you do?‘ And I know I‘m much too much of a wuss. I‘d like to think I could be a badass but really I‘m too scared of the dark to be able to survive this kind of end of the world scenario!! A fun spooky, who can you trust kind of read!

Just picked this up, read three pages and I‘m hooked. In for a great read I think!!

Dinner was salad, potato soup with salsa and the end of this book. I was a bit confused by the ending as others were whose reviews I read. I just don't understand why the author made the choices she did. Felt very abrupt and not were the book was leading at all. Oh well, I didn't enjoy the end of the world aspect and the way it happened felt very believable. Just wish there was a single focus to the book and the mystery was left out.

Mini book haul while out with my boys this afternoon 👍📙📙📙❤️❤️
#tbr #mountTBR

There is a nuclear holocaust on earth. Jon is in a hotel in Switzerland when it begins, his wife and two kids are at home in America. The internet stops working. He and his fellow inmates of the hotel seem to be the only survivors..a child has been murdered. Trust and reassurance and friendship are major themes in the book. However the plot is ragged. The characters two dimensional and the ending is meh.

This wasn‘t quite what I expected but it gripped me nonetheless. I found the emotional journey of the characters really helped me invest in them even when I didn‘t particularly like them at the start. The only thing I couldn‘t make my mind up about was the ending. I think it maybe tried to tie up things too neatly? But overall I enjoyed it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is an interesting yet frustrating book. It's an apocalyptic locked-room mystery, but the mystery is the least compelling aspect. The most chilling & compelling thing is what's commonplace & human: how to live together after the worst has happened. The trauma, fear, paranoia, & stress were vivid & easily imaginable, seeing where our world is headed. I found the book thoughtful & atmospheric & as expected, filled with persistent dread. ⬇️

#7covers7days #covercrush Day 4

What happens when the unthinkable occur and nuclear war strikes. It‘s the after, where John Keller is at a conference at a remote Swiss hotel with 20 survivors. The story is told from John Keller‘s accounting of events at the hotel over approximately three months. There are few twists and turns, but for the most part everything remains averagely realistic…oh except for a weird turn with the dead girl in the water tower.

This was a pretty good story. While Jon is attending a conference at a hotel in Switzerland, nuclear attacks destroy many of the world‘s cities. Guests of the hotel struggle to survive while also investigating the death of a young girl who is found dead in one of the hotel‘s water storage tanks.

I‘m going with a pick for this one, it sucked me in, day by day after a nuclear war. I‘m not sure I loved the ending, but I enjoyed the rest of the book enough that I‘m still going with a pick.

The back blurb gives the impression this book will be a thriller to rival The Shining but NO! It is a dull, confusing read. The story weaves itself to an odd conclusion that has left me thinking why did I bother reading this? The characters are blah & the plot is boring with little suspense when there is so much potential for the concept. It's been a long time since I've poopooed a book but I have to with this one, so disappointing.

#Disappointed

I love a good dystopian novel that's not also YA. The Last does not disappoint. Set in a charming but creepy old Swiss hotel as the world comes to an end, the story is character heavy and mysterious enough to keep you guessing. Definitely interested in more like this, and I'm looking forward to picking up more of Ms. Jameson's work in the future.

Looking forward to reading this! I‘ve realised that my favourite genre is definitely dystopian, futuristic and thrilling! This on sounds perfect!

Good morning Littens

Back to the commute this morning so picked up this thriller to start the day. Heard good reviews and a few mixed about this book. I do like thriller and a bit of apocalyptic survivor stories.

Have a good day everyone x

#ReadABook #ReadingCommuter #BookNerd #Bookaholic #Thriller #read #Books #Survival #MurderMystery

This was a Waterstones book of the month, cast as a thriller... I did enjoy it, but I felt that I was slightly mis-sold the story. It was being pitched as "Agatha Christie at the end of the world", but turned into "walking dead style survival story, character driven but without the zombies".
So yeah, a good read, but slightly deceptive!
#botm #waterstones #thriller #finished

This was an interesting book, it tries to sell itself as a crime novel but the murder is not the main aspect of the story. It reminded me of the tv series Walking Dead but without zombies! #bookcover

I am quite enjoying this novel. Set in Switzerland, the world has ended in nuclear war. But in the hotel a murder has been committed and the murderer is one of the survivors. #currentread

I‘m home taking care of my son after having his wisdom teeth removed so I‘m going to try #24b4Monday! I want to finish Evelyn Hugo & maybe get into the the tagged book & Three Women with a little of the cancer books in between. We‘ll see if I‘m being to ambitious! 😳