Book Review: The Last Days of Us by Beck Nicholas

The Last Days of Us by Beck Nicholas

Pages: 260
Publish date: January 1st 2018
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 9781489220493
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

Five teens, one derelict Kombi and an unforgettable road trip…

Six months ago, Zoey’s life went off the rails. After the tragic loss of her brother, she partied her way to oblivion, estranged her best friend, Cass, and pushed away her now ex, Finn. But when her destructive behaviour reaches dangerous heights, Zoey realises she needs to pull herself together and get her old life back, including her ex. There’s just one complication: Finn is now dating Cass.

Now, it’s the last week of summer and Zoey, Cass and Finn are setting out on the road trip of a lifetime to see their favourite musician, Gray, perform live, joined by Finn’s infuriatingly attractive bad-boy cousin Luc and his vibrant younger sister Jolie. Zoey thinks this is her chance to put things to rights and convince Finn they should get back together. But she wasn’t counting on her friends’ lingering resentment, Luc’s disarming sincerity, and Jolie’s infectious love for life to turn her plans upside down.

This emotional coming-of-age story will resonate with anyone who’s ever messed up, fallen in love, or taken off on an adventure.

The Last Days of Us:

I received an arc The Last Days of Us by Beck Nicholas from Harlequin Teen Australia for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

When I picked The Last Days of Us up I was expecting it to be a fun summer read. What I wasn’t expecting was to be pulled on an adventure, have my heart torn to threads and really enjoy this #LoveOzYA.

Six months before the book started, Zoey’s life was turned upside down. With the sudden death of her brother, she pulled away from her friend Cass, and now ex Finn. Zoey let alcohol and parties take over her life. But when she finally hits the point of no going back – Zoey knows she needs to stop. She needs to pull herself and her life together.

But now Cass and Finn are dating and all three are about to go on a road trip of a lifetime. Along with Finn’s cousin Luc and Jolie, well it’s about to get interesting.

Overall, I enjoyed Zoey as a protagonist in The Last Days of Us. She has been through a lot and I understood why she let alcohol and parties take over. She just lost her brother and hell that would hurt. But, I also liked how she is now trying to fix her mistakes. But sometimes that can’t happen.

Seeing Zoey try so hard to fix things and it just not work out really did break my heart. However, I didn’t like Zoey’s attitude towards a lot of this. I felt that she thought she was entitled to be forgiven and that just didn’t sit right with me. Also at times, Zoey’s voice felt much younger than she was and again that made her sound winey and like she was complaining all the time.

Cass and Finn – were pretty crap friends. I know that Zoey pushed them away, but she had just lost her brother. And the fact that her best friend and boyfriend found comfort in one another instead of trying to help her as much as they could. It wasn’t just then though. Throughout the whole of The Last Days of Us, I felt that they just resented Zoey and put so much pressure on her.

While her friendship with Cass and Finn weren’t partially great. I loved the friendships that she does build between Luc and Jolie. While the book wasn’t set over a great amount of time – I really enjoyed seeing the bond between Jolie and Zoey. But then it was also heartbreaking.

While there were aspects of characters that I didn’t really like – the emotions that The Last Days of Us carries was wow. While the whole book was emotional, the last half or so really torn at me. It was heartbreaking, heartwrenching and made me cry like a baby. I loved the raw emotions that The Last Days of Us and Beck Nicholas brought to the table.

Although I really enjoyed the book as a whole. I felt that the ending was kind of rushed and wrapped up too quickly.

Overall, The Last Days of Us was a raw and emotional read. It tells a story of death and grief. What it’s like to lose someone at a young age and have your whole life change. It’s about friendship, family, and the good and bad. The Last Days of Us explores life at it’s best and worse.

Have you read The Last Days of Us by Beck Nicholas? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Have you read anything else by Beck Nicholas? Let’s Chat!