dbguide2's Reviews (863)

I didn’t pick up that this would be a series but I’m totally fine with that. I think my favourite part is when Rae made them believe AF stood for As Foretold. Think about it! If you were in a fantasy book and the villain who claims and then proves herself to be a seer tells you a certain phrase means something – you’d believe it! There’s no Google to back it up. Which is why I think Rae was able to be successful here, why this bizzare plan worked. While there are obviously modern elements in the book, it’s largely set in a world where there are things as seers and prophecies. So if she said something weird, she can just chalk it up to a prophecy! Normally I’d side-eye it and say “No, that absolutely cannot work” but Sarah Rees Brennan made it work in a way I really enjoyed.

I liked how we had a modern insight and character experience a fantasy heavy world. It was almost like we were speaking through her because I could see myself react like that in those situations. While I found myself not liking Rae in every scene, I grew to like her, her personality, personal growth throughout the book. She realized that the characters in the book were people instead of just fictional characters. She found strength in her that she likely didn’t even know she had. I can’t wait to see her journey in the next book, what Brennan has planned for her.

The secondary characters were so fun to read and get to know. I think my favourite would probably be Key – he was funny and even though he did annoy me for a good half of the book – he certainly made up for it by creeping into my heart and stabbing anyone who wanted to come close. Seeing the other secondary characters encounter and communicate with Rae was also quite fun. They either had no idea what to do with her or just did whatever she demanded them to do. Which Rae definitely enjoyed and utilised to her heart’s content. I think next book she’d probably ask for more/make them do more because she has the experience now and knows they’ll do what she says. I think I might be rooting for a villain arc for Rae here 😅.

I found myself just really letting go and enjoying myself. Don’t worry about how it doesn’t matter work, how it’s a slightly (largely) wacky concept; just fun! And fun I had indeed. Even though there’s tons of fun, Brennan manages to create an interesting plot and kept me eager to turn the pages (well tap the screen). It’s character- and plot rich but both are well balanced. 

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. 

 Listen the AMOUNT of times I keep saying this as Frank and Twyla. Even NOW I typed the title the other way around. I’ve only ever heard the name Twyla from Schitt’s Creek so I don’t know how common it is. I had hoped I would enjoy this as much as the first book so I’m glad to say that I totally did! It introduces new-to-us characters in a familiar world and brings new life to the world-building.

This, unlike its predecessor, isn’t so heavy on the world-building. Which is a feat considering there’s literally dragons. I don’t know about you but when I see there’s dragons in a book I automatically think heavy world-building. Guessing Bannen thought we got enough of that in book 1 and dialed it back. It’s not even that this focuses more on the romance; it’s more character-driven than anything else. Twyla learns how to be more herself, put her first, what her dreams are in life. Plus she delves into new love – but clearly her journey and character growth is set ahead of romance.

I so loved Twyla and Frank as main characters! They show up for a scene in Hart and Mercy (which I didn’t even realise). Bannen does such a great job in letting you get to know them and their personalities before you’re even halfway through the book. Twyla shone in this book. Not to say that Frank didn’t have a great story, but the focus was more on her. Her journey, her story, dreams, wants, all that. I liked that what she wanted to be her own person, be more than a mom, grandmother, friend, Marshall. I loved watching her realise that she could do things for herself. 

Frank is an absolute darling and he fit Twyla so well. Not only as a romantic interest (look it’s not a spoiler, it says so in the synopsis), but as a main character. Even though his journey isn’t as big or prominent as Twyla’s, he still develops quite a bit over the course of the book. Just like Twyla, he realises what he wants and tries to go for it. I’d definitely love to have Frank as a best friend/romantic partner. 

I originally had the e-arc and I think I must’ve deleted this off my Kindle whilst going through my arcs. Since it’s a 2022 arc (yes, I know, quite late but this is what we do), the e-arc was archived. Only the audiobook was available for me from the library. Unfortunately I think that might’ve added to my reason to dnf? I didn’t like the narrators. 

Furthermore I didn’t feel like the characters were interesting, at all. I think I maybe was more interested in the past characters but only because I wanted to see what would happen to them, not their personalities. I didn’t really care much for the characters in the present. I think the writing wasn’t really capturing my attention so all of together just had me click the dnf button 

I started out liking it, which is good, but started to see issues early on. I tried to just push through and stopped when I found myself just tapping to the next page. I know when I do that then it’s time to stop reading. I did really want to like it but there were glaring issues and I couldn’t close my eyes to them.

Most of the time I love it when a book reads like fanfiction, all right? It’s great, it reads easy for me, I want to keep reading and I’d love for there to be fanfiction of that book. This book, however, reads like fanfiction in the bad way. There’s no real characterisation or development because the author assumes we already know the characters from the media (whatever the format) and therefore chooses not to change their personalities. Although in here they just didn’t really have any personalities. So rather stop reading than try to carry on. 

I suppose I’m half to blame as I know I don’t like sci-fi books (prefer the movies) and easily dnf books if it’s just too confusing or doesn’t keep my attention. I thought I was safe because it’s set in a Post-Apocalyptic world and I like those. I could feel myself drifting off and reaching for the dnf button very early on. I knew then I wouldn’t like much of anything – It was an interesting concept, sure, but I think maybe if I had read this in audio I would’ve kept at it. I did want to like and read this as I don’t really read much sci-fi.