I had such a fun time reading this. When I finished it I just wanted to go back and do an immediate reread – which honestly doesn’t happen often for me! I so much enjoyed this and I loved basically everything about it. There was no part where I was bored. I wanted to devour it but at the same time I wanted to savour it so I didn’t finish it quickly. So I took like 16 days to finish it when I could’ve very easily read it in a weekend 😅.

Ex, our main character, is a Phi Hunter – warriors, monster hunters – the last one, you might’ve gathered from the title. I liked that he had an ultimate goal and that the book was about us following him to see if he achieves that goal. I think I liked Ex almost immediately. he was witty and I liked how he saw the world – and obviously we got more lore and world-building through his eyes, so that was a bonus for me. He’s a strong character and carried the book well. Another character that added to the book was Arinya, a heavily pregnant woman who up and leaves with Ex (who is not the father of the baby). I liked seeing their relationship grow and even though we ended pretty solidly, I’d still like a trilogy or so in this world – even if Ex and Arinya only make a small appearance. I loved their banter, how they spoke and treated the other. I appreciated that Ex didn’t just think “pregnant=can’t do anything” and treated her like a full person.

I’ll speak about the action and the narration together as, in my mind, they absolutely go together. David Lee Huynh did an absolutely wonderful job and I’ll definitely be seeking out the other books he’s narrated. He drew me into the story and world from the get-go. He explained the world-building and world’s lore even better than had I just read it with my eyes. David had such a rich voice and it really fit this story. The action was definitely well-written and it fit the narrator’s voice very well. It was so rich I couldn’t believe that it was a debut. The action definitely spurred the pace on, which I like as I read mostly medium-paced books. I liked that there was basically a deadline because it meant the paced had to pick up and the action race more – both which worked out pretty well.

I meant it when I said I wanted more of this world, these characters. Either in prequels or novellas exploring the other creatures and Phi Hunters. But I did see Goldenberg has a book coming out… soon so I’m definitely there with bells on even though I know nothing about the book. Editing!DB here to say it’s a FOLLOW UP (to this book), so absolutely yes, please. If you’re a reader who craves action, good world-building, interesting characters, and a cool magic system, I can’t recommend The Last Phi Hunter enough.