#BlogTour: The Last Left Alive by Sarah Davis-Goff @SarahDavisGoff @TinderPress @annecater #LastOnesLeftAlived

Book Synopsis:

Raised by her mother and Maeve on Slanbeg, an island off the west coast of Ireland, Orpen has a childhood of love and stories by the fireside. But the stories grow darker, and the training begins. Ireland has been devoured by a ravening menace known as the skrake, and though Slanbeg is safe for now, the women must always be ready to run, or to fight.

When Maeve is bitten, Orpen is faced with a dilemma: kill Maeve before her transformation is complete, or try to get help. So Orpen sets off, with Maeve in a wheelbarrow and her dog at her side, in the hope of finding other survivors, and a cure. It is a journey that will test Orpen to her limits, on which she will learn who she really is, who she really loves, and how to imagine a future in a world that ended before she was born.

The Last Left Alive is available now in ebook and hardback. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

The Last Left Alive is a fantastically dark and gripping piece of dystopian fiction which I thoroughly recommend.

The thing I most liked about this book is how realistic it seems. So often in dystopian fiction everything seems quite rosy with some degree of the world we live in still existing and everyone miraculously having what they want. This isn’t the case in this story with the author painting quite a bleak picture of the world that exists and the groups of survivors that exist, stripped back to their most basic needs which I found fascinating to read about. I found I enjoyed exploring this world the author has created.

Orpen is a very intriguing main character who I immediately warmed to and who I enjoyed following as she navigates her way through this new world. She is very brave and feisty, though a little niave at times which made me want to just give her a hug, not that I think she’d want one! Her current predicament is interspersed with flashbacks from her childhood and it was quite heartbreaking to see the contrast between the two. Yes it was quite a basic life that she led but she was obviously loved and cared for which, compared to the present, was quite emotional to read about.

The story is quite fast paced and gripped me from the start with the vivid descriptions of the precarious position Orpen finds herself in. There is always a sense that there is danger lurking just out of sight waiting which keeps the reader on their toes as you are never sure where the danger is going to come from. It was very interesting to go on a journey through this world and to watch Orpen find her place in it.

This unbelievably is the author’s debut novel and I can’t wait to read more from her in the future. If you like dark, atmospheric and tense dystopian fiction then you’ll love this book. If you’ve never read any dystopian fiction then I urge you to start with this one!

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Tinder Press for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review.

About The Author:

Sarah Davis-Goff was born and raised in Ireland. After going to college in the US and UK, she eventually returned, and now lives in Dublin. ‘Last Ones Left Alive’ is her debut novel.