Imprisoned in a cell, Franny, Court, and Mykal are trying to figure out how to escape before they die when a stranger comes to free them and says they're needed for a mission. There's a myth about a baby on Saltare-1, and the three of them will have to infiltrate the planet to find the baby, but secrets are being kept from them, and the empathic/sensory link between them is growing stronger and harder to hide.
When I was offered the chance to review The Last Hope and participate in the blog tour, I jumped at the chance because I really enjoyed the first book in this duology, The Raging Ones! And I have to say, this sequel lived up to my expectations and more. You can check out my review below, and be sure to follow Wednesday Books to see the rest of the stops on the tour!
About the Book
A stunning conclusion to the sci-fi romance duology by writing duo Krista & Becca Ritchie, The Last Hope is filled with twists and turns you'll never see coming.
Sacrifice all you have to survive.
Imprisoned for weeks on an enemy starcraft, Franny, Court, and Mykal have sat with an unfathomable revelation. But as they fight to stay alive, escaping prison means trusting a young mysterious stranger. He knows everything about their lost histories, and when answers aren’t given freely, the bonded trio are forced to join a mission. One that will determine the fate of humanity.
Legend says, a baby—the first of her species—has the power to cloak and teleport planets. Tasked with retrieving the infant, Court fears the baby is just a myth, and if they fail, they’ll never find the truth about their origins.
As Court and Mykal grow closer, their linked bond becomes harder to hide, and dynamics change when Franny begins to fall for someone new. Vulnerable and with no choice, the hunt for the baby sends the trio on a dangerous path to Saltare-1: a water world where their enemies can’t die and survival comes at a high cost.
More Info/Buy the Book
Wednesday Books
My Review
Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley. This has not influenced my review.*
This is a hard review to write because it’s one of those books that made me feel so much, and how do you accurately put that into words, especially without spoilers??? I don’t know, but I’m gonna keep this spoiler-free and do my best.
This book was even better than the first. I was already invested in the characters and their relationships, so I loved that the authors wasted no time and were able to jump right into things. And then with some new info and a new situation and a new character thrown into the mix, there was so much angst and tension and longing and confusion and pain but also moments of sweetness and comfort and joy.
I can’t go into detail, but I can say that I wasn’t expecting this book to make me so emotional. I actually shed a few tears—a rare thing for me—and kind of just felt like bursting into tears throughout the whole ending. Were they sad tears or happy tears, you ask? I guess you’ll have to read the book to find out! There was also just a lot of tension and emotion throughout the book.
There were so many great characters that made me feel for them and care about them. Court, so closed-off and constantly struggling with conflicting feelings of the coldness inside him vs his inability to stop caring. Mykal, with all his roughness and cheer and emotion, always whittling and sewing and doing things the Grenpale way. Franny, with her big heart and her feistiness. Kinden, pompous and arrogant but a good person. Stork, always an outsider, struggling with responsibility and grief and a drinking problem. Zimmer, with his laidback attitude, just wanting to have some adventures before his death day.
There were so many great relationship dynamics among them all too. So much angst and longing in Court and Mykal’s relationship, but also so much tenderness and sweetness that made me say awwwwww. Kinden’s fierce loyalty to Court. The brotherly care between Mykal and Stork. The tension and chemistry between Franny and Stork. The friendship between Franny and Zimmer, two Fast Trackers who understood each other. The protective and easy friendship between Franny and Mykal. The growing understanding and care between Franny and Court.
*Quote below is from an advance copy and may be different in the final book.*
“You have that cross face about you. Like you enjoy wringing happiness by the neck.”
“I don’t enjoy it,” I say curtly, and in all the gods-forsaken places I could rest my narrowed eyes, they fall to his mouth.
Mykal mumbles with his cigarette, “Ah, so you’re looking to be kissed then.”
Of course I also loved the emotional/sensory link between the three main characters again. It added so much emotion and gave the characters a unique dynamic since they couldn’t hide things from each other. Sometimes it was a blessing, sometimes a curse, but it was always interesting to read about.
I was also just gripped and read this a lot quicker than I planned to because I got sucked in.
My one real complaint is that, once again, there were a lot of things that pushed my suspension of disbelief. If not for this, I would’ve rated the book even higher. But I was able to rant in my head for moment, take a deep breath, and accept them. Because yes, some things made no sense, some things were forced in there for plot reasons, but the things I liked about this book outweighed that issue. Any book that can make me feel so much that I shed actual tears is a great book to me.
Overall, this was a great book with lovable characters I cared about, complex bonds and relationships between them, and all the feels, and it was a great ending to this YA sci-fi duology!
Recommended For:
Fans of Book 1 in Krista & Becca Ritchie's The Raging Ones series. Anyone who likes YA, empathic connections, lovable characters, and adorable relationships.
More Books in the Series:
Book Review: The Raging Ones (The Raging Ones Book 1) by Krista & Becca Ritchie
Blog Tour + Book Review: The Last Hope (The Raging Ones Book 2) by Krista & Becca Ritchie
About the Authors
Krista & Becca Ritchie are New York Times Bestselling Authors and identical twins, one a science nerd, the other a comic book geek. With their shared passion for writing, they combined their mental powers as kids and have never stopped telling stories. Graduates from the University of Georgia in Biology and English & Journalism, the twin writing duo now lives in Atlanta. The Raging Ones is their first young adult novel.
Connect with Krista & Becca Ritchie Online:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
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I don’t think I ever heard you say you CRIED while reading a book?! That’s something LOL.
This series sounds a little too romance-y for my tastes, but I’m sure it will appeal to plenty!
I mean it was like a single tear maybe? Lol but just the fact that my eyes were watering and I had to fight back tears was significant because yeah, I’m not usually a crier!
oh wow I don;t remember many times you have gotten emotional over a book! That must be something. And SciFi is usually not a genre that’s very emotional so I always admire when a SciFi author manages that! I’ll have to check this one out! THAT COVER!
I don’t get super emotional over books often, so it’s def a good sign!
Glad you loved this so much, second books can go either way! I’ll have to check out book 1 someday 😁
Thanks! It’s always great when the second book is better 🙂
I don’t remember you getting tearful over a book before? Emotions running high is a sign of great writing for me and I liked that you say the characters and relationships are strong for this duology 🙂
It doesn’t happen that often lol. It’s definitely a sign the authors did something right!
Sounds like the characters are phenomenal! And a book that hits the emotions like that is always good. Suspension of belief issues can be tough, but sometimes the payoff is worth just going with it lol. Glad this was an excellent conclusion!
They really were! Yeah, sometimes you just gotta go with it.
It’s great to hear that this was better than the last book! The emotional/sensory link sounds interesting. I can’t remember the last time I read a book where the characters have this ability. It sounds like the duology is one to check out!
It’s a really interesting ability and dynamic!
I haven’t read the first one, but I always like to hear that the second book in a series is better than the first! Plus, it’s a duology, so that’s nice. I don’t do well with longer series sometimes. haha
Lauren
Sometimes duologies are the perfect length!
I’m so glad to hear the second book lived up to your expectations. I know the first book had a lot of mixed reviews but I thought it was pretty good. I look forward to reading this one too.
It did have a lot of mixed reviews. I’m so glad I finished the duology though!
I rarely cry either but I just finished a book where I did TWICE and my review makes zero sense lol
I’m glad you enjoyed thi sone despite having to suspend your believablity a bit.
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
Lol yeah the books that make me emotional are the hardest to write reviews for cuz how do I express all the feelings???
Ooh, I definitely feel this. It can be so tricky to write about books we love because it can be SO HARD to convey all the feelings to someone who hasn’t experienced them and can’t understand what it means to us. I am so happy you loved this one so much and that it was even better than the first book! Improvement is always good. And the characters and dynamics sound absolutely fantastic DD:
Yes! Especially when you have to be careful of spoilers. These really were some great characters!
Awwww we love so many of the same things about this book Kristen! I love the characters and was amazed how bonded to them I was. I also had a lot of feels, loved their 3-way connection and all of the deep connections. ❤️ My suspension of disbelief wasn’t so stretched as yours was. I thought they kept it nice and tight on what you needed to know. However I felt the middle was a little thin on plot. Great review!!
Yay! They really were some great, lovable characters. Thanks!