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Our Last Hope
Eloise's dreams of soccer stardom are shattered when her body betrays her. Determined and passionate, she finds herself grappling with multiple chronic illnesses that force her to give up the sport she loves. But amidst the darkness, a flicker of hope emerges. When Eloise crosses paths with Archie, a loner and self-proclaimed geek, their lives intertwine in unexpected ways. As their friendship deepens, Archie's admiration for Eloise blossoms into something more. Yet, he faces a difficult challenge - how to support Eloise without compromising his own happiness. As Eloise battles her physical limitations, Archie becomes her unwavering ally, helping her discover new passions and outlets for her indomitable spirit. Together, they navigate the complexities of teenage life, love, and the pursuit of dreams. Eloise must come to terms with her new reality, finding strength and resilience within herself. And Archie must find the delicate balance between respecting Eloise's wishes and finding his own fulfillment.
116 pages, Paperback
Published August 5, 2023
1 person is currently reading
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 5, 2024
This is a young adult story and I feel like the author has done a great job at portraying a young character accurately, but the writing feels a bit juvenile as well, with a bit of a choppy timeline, and I think that took away from the story.
I appreciated the disability rep a lot, especially since there aren’t many books with it to begin with, but the story needed a bit more space for more characterization and more plot structure to be really perfect.
I appreciated the disability rep a lot, especially since there aren’t many books with it to begin with, but the story needed a bit more space for more characterization and more plot structure to be really perfect.
July 24, 2023
Can I just say how happy this story made me? And the chronic illness representation? Just.. I will ALWAYS read anything by this author!
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts/opinions above are completely my own!
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts/opinions above are completely my own!
August 6, 2023
I was so excited when I read the synopsis for this short story. I don’t see a lot of books that represent chronic illness so I was interested to read about it. I personally don’t have any physical illnesses that hold me back, so I did not connect with the character in that way. It isn’t a bad story but it just wasn’t for me. The writing style was one I struggled with and the way the characters ‘spoke’ seemed overly mature for their age.
What I liked about the book is that Wheeler wrote a high school aged girl really well. She was self absorbed and completely focused on being one of the best soccer players in country. Nothing else seemed to matter to her before she started getting sick. Once she was told she had limitations, she acted like her life was completely over. I remember what it was like to be in high school, how even the slightest inconvenience felt like the end of the world so I understand why El reacted the way she did. The ‘everyone hates me/if I feel terrible so should everyone else’ line of thought is one I’ve dealt with when it comes to depression. I feel her on that too. I’m glad she realized what she was doing and was able to apologize to and reconnect with her friends because realizing you’re taking your anger for yourself out on other is huge. It takes a lot of maturity to see beyond your own suffering to realize your punishing the people who love you too. So seeing her progression from being singularly focused on a sport to paying more attention to her academics and deciding to pursue PT to help others like her was awesome. I also think the progression of her and Archie’s relationship was fine. Teenagers fall hard and fast.
I think in part, this story suffers because of its length. The writing seemed more like bullet points than a smoothly written novel. In several parts it was so choppy it was hard to read. I also sat back a few times and groaned because the way things were worded or said just seemed so over the top for their age. So the docked stars and purely for writing style, which is why I said this one wasn’t for me. The reviews it already has are great and this story absolutely deserves the love it will get from readers like El, who can connect to the story in a way I couldn’t.
Thank you to Allison Van Wheeler, as well as BookSirens, for providing this eARC for a completely free and honest review.
What I liked about the book is that Wheeler wrote a high school aged girl really well. She was self absorbed and completely focused on being one of the best soccer players in country. Nothing else seemed to matter to her before she started getting sick. Once she was told she had limitations, she acted like her life was completely over. I remember what it was like to be in high school, how even the slightest inconvenience felt like the end of the world so I understand why El reacted the way she did. The ‘everyone hates me/if I feel terrible so should everyone else’ line of thought is one I’ve dealt with when it comes to depression. I feel her on that too. I’m glad she realized what she was doing and was able to apologize to and reconnect with her friends because realizing you’re taking your anger for yourself out on other is huge. It takes a lot of maturity to see beyond your own suffering to realize your punishing the people who love you too. So seeing her progression from being singularly focused on a sport to paying more attention to her academics and deciding to pursue PT to help others like her was awesome. I also think the progression of her and Archie’s relationship was fine. Teenagers fall hard and fast.
I think in part, this story suffers because of its length. The writing seemed more like bullet points than a smoothly written novel. In several parts it was so choppy it was hard to read. I also sat back a few times and groaned because the way things were worded or said just seemed so over the top for their age. So the docked stars and purely for writing style, which is why I said this one wasn’t for me. The reviews it already has are great and this story absolutely deserves the love it will get from readers like El, who can connect to the story in a way I couldn’t.
Thank you to Allison Van Wheeler, as well as BookSirens, for providing this eARC for a completely free and honest review.
August 1, 2023
Thank you to BookSirens for the free ARC copy! All opinions are my own.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Rep: POTS, fibromyalgia, lupus
Overall, I enjoyed this book! I decided to pick this up after seeing that it was a YA friends to lovers with chronic illness rep, and I was pleasantly surprised, especially to find out that the MC had POTS just like me! As a former dancer who had to quit due to my health, I really related and emphasized with El’s journey and her having to quit soccer. I thought this book did a great job overall of capturing the highs and lows of being a chronically ill high school athlete. This is a romance, and overall I thought it was sweet. Archie was incredibly supportive of El and this was beautiful to see. The only downside to this book was that I felt it was very insta-lovey-it felt as though the character’s’ relationship progressed very quickly. However, this is a pretty short book, so I’m sure this could have improved if it had been longer. Overall, this was a sweet YA read with great rep, and I’m glad I picked this up!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Rep: POTS, fibromyalgia, lupus
Overall, I enjoyed this book! I decided to pick this up after seeing that it was a YA friends to lovers with chronic illness rep, and I was pleasantly surprised, especially to find out that the MC had POTS just like me! As a former dancer who had to quit due to my health, I really related and emphasized with El’s journey and her having to quit soccer. I thought this book did a great job overall of capturing the highs and lows of being a chronically ill high school athlete. This is a romance, and overall I thought it was sweet. Archie was incredibly supportive of El and this was beautiful to see. The only downside to this book was that I felt it was very insta-lovey-it felt as though the character’s’ relationship progressed very quickly. However, this is a pretty short book, so I’m sure this could have improved if it had been longer. Overall, this was a sweet YA read with great rep, and I’m glad I picked this up!
July 31, 2023
✨arc review ✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
El loves soccer, but her body fights her. this book explores chronic illness, coming of age, first love and navigating life when your body wants to fight you.
it is so encouraging to have book characters to relate with. having chronic illnesses is exhausting and infuriating. the chronic illness rep in this book is PHENOMENAL and so real.
i loved this journey with El and Arch. It was such a sweet, gentle read and it was something i didn’t know i desperately needed.
it was such a meaningful and hopeful read.
thank you thank you thank you,
i got myself a new auto-read author 🖤
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
El loves soccer, but her body fights her. this book explores chronic illness, coming of age, first love and navigating life when your body wants to fight you.
it is so encouraging to have book characters to relate with. having chronic illnesses is exhausting and infuriating. the chronic illness rep in this book is PHENOMENAL and so real.
i loved this journey with El and Arch. It was such a sweet, gentle read and it was something i didn’t know i desperately needed.
it was such a meaningful and hopeful read.
thank you thank you thank you,
i got myself a new auto-read author 🖤
August 15, 2023
3.5 stars. Cute and quick little read that represents those with chronic illnesses. The FMC was likeable and her emotions/reactions felt genuine. The main things that kept this from being rated higher was that the ending felt a bit rushed/not conclusive enough and at times the story lacked depth which led to a lack of connection to the characters. An enjoyable read nonetheless.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to the author and BookSirens for the opportunity to read this.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to the author and BookSirens for the opportunity to read this.
January 21, 2026
A lovely romantic story, I enjoyed it from page 1 to the end.
It really envelops what it feels like to have a chronic illness: you see the physical pain on one side, but also how it "breaks" your hope and positivity, but everything can change with the right person by your side :)
It really envelops what it feels like to have a chronic illness: you see the physical pain on one side, but also how it "breaks" your hope and positivity, but everything can change with the right person by your side :)
August 4, 2023
Thoughts:
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I loved this book. First off I felt really represented for the first time in a long time, between chronic pain and fatigue to constant doctors visits, I’ve never seen my life/sickness represented this accurately before. This book can also show me the other side with Archie’s support and how he handles supporting Eloise. Their love story felt natural in a young love slow burn sort of way which perfected the story for me.
Favourite Quote:
"It feels like I’m constantly drowning in my own body, Archie. Every breath is a struggle, every movement feels like a battle. Sometimes, it feels like there’s no escape. Like I’m trapped in this fragile vessel that’s slowly falling apart."
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I loved this book. First off I felt really represented for the first time in a long time, between chronic pain and fatigue to constant doctors visits, I’ve never seen my life/sickness represented this accurately before. This book can also show me the other side with Archie’s support and how he handles supporting Eloise. Their love story felt natural in a young love slow burn sort of way which perfected the story for me.
Favourite Quote:
"It feels like I’m constantly drowning in my own body, Archie. Every breath is a struggle, every movement feels like a battle. Sometimes, it feels like there’s no escape. Like I’m trapped in this fragile vessel that’s slowly falling apart."
August 29, 2023
Our Last Hope was an easy read, real life problems and a friends-to-lovers trope was the reason I originally picked it up. Not having any health issues myself I couldn't really relate to El, however, I found it easy to relate to Archie as he navigated being a good friend to El. I think that chronic health aspect was well written. I found the book itself to be hard to follow at times, not knowing if something was in the past or not... the timeline is a bit screwy. Also, I think that when Archie talks about his feelings it was really redundant and unrealistic. El's character development was really great and her and her moms relationship development was spot on in my opinion. That being said 3 stars was all I could give due to the confusing timeline.
September 1, 2023
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I was initially pulled into the story through Eloise’s voice and story. I liked the backstory about her family, especially her dad. I thought that the dual point of view would be interesting, but instead I felt like I missed out on half of Ellie’s story. It seemed too simplistic and I would have liked more depth to what she was going through - both when things were going well and when they weren’t. And the book seems to end very suddenly. I kept looking to see if I could turn any more pages.
This book has promise, but I would like it to be a lot longer and more fleshed out.
I was initially pulled into the story through Eloise’s voice and story. I liked the backstory about her family, especially her dad. I thought that the dual point of view would be interesting, but instead I felt like I missed out on half of Ellie’s story. It seemed too simplistic and I would have liked more depth to what she was going through - both when things were going well and when they weren’t. And the book seems to end very suddenly. I kept looking to see if I could turn any more pages.
This book has promise, but I would like it to be a lot longer and more fleshed out.
September 13, 2023
I really enjoyed the topic of chronic illness as it is not covered by many authors. There was great coverage of the unknowing, diagnosis and how your life changes. I would have liked more emphasis on her pain, changing friendships and more depth for her boyfriend as it seemed too surface-level. I would have liked a longer editing as it was a bit short for me. Some more detail on college choices and tours would have made me feel more invested making me feel like the story ended. I felt like the story ended short and abruptly.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
December 6, 2023
(I received this as an ARC, and I am forever grateful🫶)
I stayed up 2 hours reading this book. Midnight to 2am. When I first started reading it, I did not like th3 FMC, but I grew into understanding why she is the way she is, and I learned to like her. The MMC is instantly captivating. I loved this book, and as I was reading it, it reminded me of my friend who had passed this year, and it just made me wonder if she experienced what had happened in the book. This book isn't like any other book I've read. It's different, and I love that about it. Not too much detail, but just enough that somehow your heart sores by the end of it. I think this is definitely worth reading.
I stayed up 2 hours reading this book. Midnight to 2am. When I first started reading it, I did not like th3 FMC, but I grew into understanding why she is the way she is, and I learned to like her. The MMC is instantly captivating. I loved this book, and as I was reading it, it reminded me of my friend who had passed this year, and it just made me wonder if she experienced what had happened in the book. This book isn't like any other book I've read. It's different, and I love that about it. Not too much detail, but just enough that somehow your heart sores by the end of it. I think this is definitely worth reading.
August 20, 2023
Our Last Hope was an beautiful story written about Ellie, a soccer superstar who loses her dream when she becomes too ill to play. This story seems very realistic in regards to how alone you feel when your world suddenly steers you to a completely different path.
The only reason I didn’t give the story a 5 star review is because the ending seems abrupt. I wish there was an epilogue to see how life is one year later… but it’s still amazing
*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*
The only reason I didn’t give the story a 5 star review is because the ending seems abrupt. I wish there was an epilogue to see how life is one year later… but it’s still amazing
*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*
September 4, 2023
Quick, easy read! Definitely a page turner. I wish it was longer... I want to know more about Ellie & her journey. I realize it's not a novel although the story could be.
Being a teenager is already hard enough & then dealing with lose & illness & navigating friendships is heartbreaking. The author told a wonderful story & I felt all the emotions. Great job of putting it all together. I'm 46 but could still relate to the internal torment Ellie was feeling.
It could have been a five star for me if it had more.
I received an ARC this story for free. My review is voluntary.
Being a teenager is already hard enough & then dealing with lose & illness & navigating friendships is heartbreaking. The author told a wonderful story & I felt all the emotions. Great job of putting it all together. I'm 46 but could still relate to the internal torment Ellie was feeling.
It could have been a five star for me if it had more.
I received an ARC this story for free. My review is voluntary.
August 30, 2023
This book was FANTASTIC! I could NOT put it down! Read it in ONE SITTING ! LOVED the chronic illness representation, especially POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) (which I have!) . Everyone with chronic illness should have a boyfriend/girlfriend that is like Archie! Loved the change in perspective to Archies approximately midway through the book! I got an advanced review copy from book sirens, but my review is unbiased
August 19, 2023
Finished today. Only 80 pages so an easy read 😊
Fantastic representation of chronic illness and struggles of those who have them. Allison did a really great job with writing in a more juvenile sense to drive home we are reading about a 15 year old.
A cute fluff, friends to lovers romance.
Thank you for the arc opportunity for a free and honest review 😊
Fantastic representation of chronic illness and struggles of those who have them. Allison did a really great job with writing in a more juvenile sense to drive home we are reading about a 15 year old.
A cute fluff, friends to lovers romance.
Thank you for the arc opportunity for a free and honest review 😊
August 21, 2023
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I enjoyed reading this book. I wish it went a little deeper into the actual disease El had and its treatment. Glad it ended well.
June 18, 2024
The novella beautifully illustrates how one's life can be turned upside down by a chronic illness and the reactions of those around them. It's a story of survival, growth, and the power of love and companionship. El's journey teaches us an important lesson: no matter how tough life gets, we should never give up on ourselves. There's always a bigger plan in store for us, and true allies who'll stand by us through thick and thin.
The writing effortlessly captures the emotions and struggles of the characters, drawing readers in with its engaging and heartfelt narrative. I received an e-arc of this book through Booksirens, and I'm so glad I did. While reading, I was moved by the message it delivers – one of hope, determination, and the unbreakable bonds we can form even in the face of adversity.
Absolutely, I could have given it 5 stars, it is because I would have preferred a more detailed exploration of the story. Sometimes, a more in-depth narrative can enhance our connection to the characters and their journey. However, the book's message of resilience truly resonated with me, reminding us to keep pushing forward despite challenges. Despite the narrative feeling a bit rushed, the core theme's power shines through, making it a meaningful read that left me inspired. It's clear that the story had a positive impact on me, and that's what truly matters.
For all these reasons, I'd gladly rate 'Our Last Hope' 3.5 stars. The story resonated with me deeply, and I believe it holds a special place for anyone seeking a story of courage, love, and the strength of the human spirit. Thank you, Booksirens, for giving me the chance to experience this touching tale.
The writing effortlessly captures the emotions and struggles of the characters, drawing readers in with its engaging and heartfelt narrative. I received an e-arc of this book through Booksirens, and I'm so glad I did. While reading, I was moved by the message it delivers – one of hope, determination, and the unbreakable bonds we can form even in the face of adversity.
Absolutely, I could have given it 5 stars, it is because I would have preferred a more detailed exploration of the story. Sometimes, a more in-depth narrative can enhance our connection to the characters and their journey. However, the book's message of resilience truly resonated with me, reminding us to keep pushing forward despite challenges. Despite the narrative feeling a bit rushed, the core theme's power shines through, making it a meaningful read that left me inspired. It's clear that the story had a positive impact on me, and that's what truly matters.
For all these reasons, I'd gladly rate 'Our Last Hope' 3.5 stars. The story resonated with me deeply, and I believe it holds a special place for anyone seeking a story of courage, love, and the strength of the human spirit. Thank you, Booksirens, for giving me the chance to experience this touching tale.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews