BEA'S BOOK NOOK "I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once." C. S. Lewis “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” ― Oscar Wilde

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

ARC Review of The Last Town by Blake Crouch

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Wayward Pines #3
Format Read: Kindle book
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: July 15, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Welcome to Wayward Pines, the last town.

Secret Service agent Ethan Burke arrived in Wayward Pines, Idaho, three weeks ago. In this town, people are told who to marry, where to live, where to work. Their children are taught that David Pilcher, the town's creator, is god. No one is allowed to leave; even asking questions can get you killed.

But Ethan has discovered the astonishing secret of what lies beyond the electrified fence that surrounds Wayward Pines and protects it from the terrifying world beyond. It is a secret that has the entire population completely under the control of a madman and his army of followers, a secret that is about to come storming through the fence to wipe out this last, fragile remnant of humanity.

Blake Crouch's electrifying conclusion to the Wayward Pines Series?now a Major Television Event Series debuting Summer 2014 on FOX? will have you glued to the page right down to the very last word.

Bea's Thoughts:

When I was sent the synopsis for this book, the publicist mentioned that I could probably read these without having read the first two. She also offered to include the first two, and I'm glad she did. This book could be read as a stand-alone but I don't recommend it. You'll have a much better appreciation and understanding if you've read the previous books.

Now, for this book. Oh. My. Goodness. The ending was NOT what I expected; I sat there going, "What. The. Eff?" I honestly thought he'd go a different direction. At first, I had trouble with the ending, not sure I believed it. But I thought about it some more and decided it did make sense, though it wasn't what I'd have chosen.

I should back up. I read the first book and didn't love it. It was slow, Ethan acted like an entitled jerk, and there were too many unanswered questions and some plot holes. I read the second book and enjoyed it much more; the pace was faster, I was invested in the story, and most of my questions and the plot holes were dealt with. But it ended on a cliffhanger. Gah! Luckily, I had book three waiting on my Kindle. *pats the precious*

"The Last Town" lives up to its name and seeing people's reactions to what was happening was emotional. I tried to put myself in their place and I think I would be one of those citizens who doesn't survive. The story has some slow moments, but I was invested in the story and teared up when certain characters died. Whereas, I was glad to see certain people get their punishments. At times, the story reminded of a western book or movies. We have a sheriff, a settlement far from help or civilization, invaders, and guys wearing white hats and black hats. Yet, very little in the story is black and white; there are many gray areas in the behavior and choices of the characters. Crouch gives us love, romance, betrayal, action, and a philosophical examination of faith, destiny, and fealty. Actually, those latter are explored in all three books but especially this one and the second one.

If you're willing to be patient, and enjoy a thriller with a sci f bent, give this series a try. It has some weak spots, and a few stereotypes, but overall I enjoyed this book, and the series. But damn, that ending. Yikes.

My reviews of book one, Pines, and book two, Wayward.

5 comments:

  1. This sounds like it has potential! Though I think if I read it I'll make sure I have all 3 so I can read them all at once. I'll have to look for this on TV as well. I could see how this would work well in that form.

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    1. I'll definitely check out the series when it comes to TV. I enjoyed the trilogy overall but I'm glad I had all 3 books and didn't have to wait.

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  2. Sounds very interesting but maybe a bit too dark for me? I'll think about it. Good review, and thanks for letting us know that it's best to read the whole trilogy.

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    1. Yeah, I think it might be too dark for you. It is good though.

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  3. Hmm I'm not sure I would have had the patience to push through the first book and get left on a cliff with the second one like you did. But I'm glad it was worth it :) Great review!

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