The Last Petal

by Janera Moon

Two immortal warlocks. One human. A flower that can change the fates.



A new PhD student studying botany at Masoncrest University, Amara Jenkins chose the small college because of the abnormal biodiversity in the town. She’s sure it’ll get her closer to discovering the secrets of a flower that everyone except her believes to be mythical.

Mateo Vazquez and Liam Taylor are immortals from powerful warlock families, fated to the same mortal woman. At first, it seemed like a cruel fate, but when they finally meet her, it turns out to be everything but that.

The closer the men get to Amara, more questions appear than answers. Learning more about the woman, her past, and with a look into her future, the men realize her origins just may surpass their own.

452 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 14, 2024

About the author

Janera Moon is a chronic daydreamer who sometimes puts the ideas she comes up with on paper and then shares them with the world. She loves writing character-driven stories with dynamics that shape intriguing plots.

Outside of reading and writing, Janera’s interests include travel, video games, and anime. Her go-to cafe order when she camps out at one to write is a latte and almond croissant.

Reviews

[Jasmine Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually don’t go for third-person POV books but I wanted to give this a try based on the premise and I’m glad I did. I’d describe The Last Petal as a paranormal romcom even with its darker elements. It starts out with romcom vibes. I saw another review say the MC gives “awkward black girl” and I totally get it. It made the interactions so cute! I was giggling and kicking my feet reading the first half. And then for the second half, there were reveals to the hints that we got in the first half. The story goes from lighthearted and fun to a bit darker towards the end.

I really like how creative this book felt. From the characters’ personalities to the concept of a “palisyfum”. I also feel like I rarely see warlock leads.

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW

Creativity: So, it turns out that Amara is actually this “palisyfum” flower she’s been looking for all along (I figured she had some personal attachment to it). Except it’s not a flower and never was! Also, I googled the word just to see what it’s connected to and it’s completely made up. The author introduced this different “being” called a “palisyfum”. It’s described in more detail in the book but I’d say it’s a mix of a bunch of magical creatures to make like a magic superbeing??? That made for a fascinating part of the plot.

Storytelling: I loved how interconnected everything was. Once I hit around 70% of the book, I realized that everything had a specific purpose, even exchanges or hints that seemed more minor. The element of surprise was still there but nothing felt like it came out of nowhere. For example, Amara’s nightmares were actually memories (I predicted this) of when a guy abducted her family and tortured them all. It turned out that Petra was actually the one who hired him (even though she didn’t seem to know who Amara was at the time other than being a “palisyfum”). When that gets revealed alongside other things, it all makes sense but I never would’ve predicted that Petra would’ve been behind it at the start, even if she is the main villain.

Romance: The romantic plot was adorable but once I got into the main plot I didn’t care as much for the romance. It also wasn’t really a spicy read despite the bit in the first chapter. Like it was… there. The larger plot really overshadowed it but that was fine with me!

Flow: There were some spots where the flow was off, like with the hints at the beginning, maybe there could’ve been more reveals sooner. Also, there were a couple of chapters focused on side characters. They gave important information but maybe it was off to me because I prefer first person POV.

Excited for the second book to come out!!

[yesiamreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ate this book up. 4.5 rounded to a 5.

Starting w the FMC… I related to her so hard. V much awkward Black girl vibes. I didn’t know how much I needed that. Every time Liam read her mind I was embarrassed for her and giggling at the same time bc that’d be me fr

Liam and Mateo were different from MMCs I normally read. They were both sensitive and sweet to Amara… but also in their own ways? Both really complementary to her but still different guys. I enjoyed how cute/wholesome/clumsy their interactions were.

I loved how the reveals/twists had me gagged but still made sense. One of the big reveals was predictable BUT it was still satisfying to see how it went and the story behind it was not predicable.

The smut was okay, it could’ve been hotter especially with TWO WARLOCKS. I ended up skipping over it for the story.

I won’t spoil the end… imma just say that I can’t wait for book 2!

[Nikole · Rating 1 out of 5]

I ... can't.
I tried so hard to finish it, but I couldn't enjoy the story.

First of all, who the hell is Petra and what does she have to do with anything? I made it 49% in and that still hadn't been explained. Maybe it would've came up later on, but I felt like I was missing some info there. Said they had some kind of bond with her.

This was so cheesy. I was cringing more times than I would've liked. Like there were so many times where I had to stop reading and stare up at the ceiling asking myself if I was really reading this.

I couldn't get into the story. The idea of the story was really good ... it just wasn't executed that well. I hate reading stories told from a narrator's point of view. It's annoying. Sometimes it's okay if there is still a split p.o.v. like being told in third but each chapter is a different character, I can usually deal with it like that. But when the whole story is a mix of characters and you are getting each character's thoughts, feelings, etc as each character comes into the scene, it becomes too much. Too hard for me to connect with the story and characters.

I tried to finish it because I really wanted to know what was going to happen, and to be honest, I HATE not finishing a book, but I felt like it was too cringy for me to continue.


spice .5/5
humor 0/5
emotional 0/5
world building 1/5
overall 1/5