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The Last Witch #1
The Last Witch: Volume One
My whole life I've been a prisoner.
Starved. Beaten. Hated.
By my own family, nonetheless.
But most of all, I'm feared.
Because I'm the last Arcane witch and the most powerful woman alive.
Most of the world wants me dead.
Some want to own and control me.
My power.
My heart.
But to some I'm salvation. The key to winning a war that has raged for five-hundred years between those who can use magic, and Hunters who dedicate their entire lives to killing us all.
I'm released from my chains, and thrown into a world I'm supposed to save. A world that has made me suffer beyond words.
Magic must return.
But should it?
The Last Witch is a dark fantasy novel full of twists, turns, magic and mayhem.
And of course...forbidden love.
Starved. Beaten. Hated.
By my own family, nonetheless.
But most of all, I'm feared.
Because I'm the last Arcane witch and the most powerful woman alive.
Most of the world wants me dead.
Some want to own and control me.
My power.
My heart.
But to some I'm salvation. The key to winning a war that has raged for five-hundred years between those who can use magic, and Hunters who dedicate their entire lives to killing us all.
I'm released from my chains, and thrown into a world I'm supposed to save. A world that has made me suffer beyond words.
Magic must return.
But should it?
The Last Witch is a dark fantasy novel full of twists, turns, magic and mayhem.
And of course...forbidden love.
483 pages, Hardcover
Published November 27, 2021
2006 people are currently reading
5895 people want to read
About the author
M.J. Lawrie
18 books480 followersMJ Lawrie has always had a love for storytelling. Formerly a film student, she started writing her debut series, The Last Witch, shortly after the birth of her first baby. Driven mad by the boredom of nap times and avoiding housework at all costs, she decided to finally get to work on her lifelong dream of writing a book. A true lover of fantasy, dark romance and thriller fiction, she's combined the three and poured her unusual imagination into the creation of characters that you love to hate and hate to love.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 338 reviews
May 12, 2019
Ugh...an amazing book ruined by Up until 65% this book was going to be a 5 Star read. Then BAM...the hero Because of that I won't be bothering with the next book...However, if you have no issues with the above spoiler, then this was a fantastic book. The writing was great. The plot was original. The characters intriguing. Such a shame the author felt the need to add
December 31, 2019
Did I read the same book as the other 12 reviewers?
The plot to this book is not the best. I told myself I wouldn’t give up on it until I read at least 50% to give it an honest try in hopes it would get better before I completely gave up but I couldn’t make it. The heroines character development don’t make any sense. She’s all over the place; one minute she’s happily killing people that held her hostage the next crying hysterically because someone else is killing people that are trying to kill her? She “never wants to be an abused prisoner again” but then she stays with a guy that beats and basically imprisons her in a gilded cage under the pretense of protecting her. Then to top it off she finally decides to run, gets caught, abuser gets angry she ran and put other people in danger, kicks her out and she cry’s and begs to be allowed to stay? It gave me whiplash. Honest review: this book reads like a very over dramatic 13 year old girl wrote it and then published it without a proper editor or editorial process.
The plot to this book is not the best. I told myself I wouldn’t give up on it until I read at least 50% to give it an honest try in hopes it would get better before I completely gave up but I couldn’t make it. The heroines character development don’t make any sense. She’s all over the place; one minute she’s happily killing people that held her hostage the next crying hysterically because someone else is killing people that are trying to kill her? She “never wants to be an abused prisoner again” but then she stays with a guy that beats and basically imprisons her in a gilded cage under the pretense of protecting her. Then to top it off she finally decides to run, gets caught, abuser gets angry she ran and put other people in danger, kicks her out and she cry’s and begs to be allowed to stay? It gave me whiplash. Honest review: this book reads like a very over dramatic 13 year old girl wrote it and then published it without a proper editor or editorial process.
May 15, 2021
“The Last Witch” follows Lilly Hooper as she steps into a new world—out of her uncle’s basement and into a mansion with other witches. Told she is a monster all her life, beaten and abused in quite literally every way imaginable, Lilly is discovering that the magic in her veins is limitless, and she hasn’t even learned all the powers there are yet. But with great power come lots of men who want to use that power—and her—in order to further their own goals: one wants to return magic to the world while the other wants to eradicate it completely and destroy those who would have magic if it did return in force—and neither is the good guy. Caught between these opposing sides, Lilly also finds love and friendship, and even has her very first Christmas that she can remember. Which all sounds great, honestly! So, what was my problem with this book when the premise sounds so promising? The stereotypical shallowness of the characters, and the overly gratuitous nature of the violence, to be frank.
Lilly is painted to be the most tragic character ever, like honestly anything bad that can happen to this girl does. Her mom dies when she’s young, she’s abandoned by her father and then left in the clutches of a sadistic uncle who hates her and beats and starves her for the majority of her life. She is tortured emotionally and physically, and sexually abused multiple times by different men, which include rape. I also feel it’s important to mention, because it can be so triggering for people, that there’s a character that has a very violent (aided) miscarriage. I won’t go into details because of spoilers, but honestly, the themes of sexual violence come up all the time in this book across multiple character and it’s barely alluded to in the synopsis, so I feel it’s only fair to warn people. This book is beyond just a dark fantasy, it’s really not for the faint of heart at all, which I would have been fine with. I don’t mind violence or really dark fantasies (which sounds weird to say but go with me on this one) but there HAS to be a point to it beyond the very basic “tragic heroine back story” trope or the “sexist male dominance” trope. Which is why the sheer amount of abuse Lilly undergoes felt repetitive and gratuitous after a little while.
Which unfortunately does lead into the characters… Every man in this book, save two, are awful people. And the two decent ones, one of them I just couldn’t buy as a love interest. The characters do a lot of pining for each other but there never seemed to be a depth to their feelings beyond physical. Even when they learn about each other’s terrible pasts, because they weren’t fully developed (which was odd given the length of this book), I always felt like I was kept at arm’s length from being swept up in their romance. Plus, Lilly tended to give me whiplash for 70% of the story; going from a type of terrified damsel to a force to be reckoned with that won’t take anything from anyone. It would have been fine if it had been a gradual change, going from the victim to the survivor, but Lilly goes back and forth too much to make it feel like true character growth. Not to mention that most of the characters tend to yell in all caps in dialogue. This may be a personal preference, but after a while, I couldn’t take the characters anger seriously, and I found the sheer number of caps to be distracting.
The premise of this book is genuinely interesting. A world where powerful witches have cut off the flow of magic to the world through a veil in order to protect their people from relentless Hunters, and the only one who can lower the veil is an Arcane witch, someone who can access all types of magic. There was so much potential and drama that could come with that plotline! But the book dragged, focusing too much on a chaotic love story and not enough on the bigger struggle. Lilly never really tried to learn her magic, she was just able to do more as she was abused more and more… That seemed to be the only point to the unyielding violence Lilly suffers, and at first, that made sense, but after a while the repetitiveness of it becomes desensitizing to where I was just getting bored. But, based on the sheer number of glowing reviews this book and series has, I am clearly in the minority with my feelings, so you may enjoy this more than I did! But because this story ended up dragging, the shallowness of the characters wrapped up in non-stop violence, and abuse of all kinds, but with sprinklings of an interesting underlining plotline, I’m giving this book 2 stars. Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy for an honest review!
Lilly is painted to be the most tragic character ever, like honestly anything bad that can happen to this girl does. Her mom dies when she’s young, she’s abandoned by her father and then left in the clutches of a sadistic uncle who hates her and beats and starves her for the majority of her life. She is tortured emotionally and physically, and sexually abused multiple times by different men, which include rape. I also feel it’s important to mention, because it can be so triggering for people, that there’s a character that has a very violent (aided) miscarriage. I won’t go into details because of spoilers, but honestly, the themes of sexual violence come up all the time in this book across multiple character and it’s barely alluded to in the synopsis, so I feel it’s only fair to warn people. This book is beyond just a dark fantasy, it’s really not for the faint of heart at all, which I would have been fine with. I don’t mind violence or really dark fantasies (which sounds weird to say but go with me on this one) but there HAS to be a point to it beyond the very basic “tragic heroine back story” trope or the “sexist male dominance” trope. Which is why the sheer amount of abuse Lilly undergoes felt repetitive and gratuitous after a little while.
Which unfortunately does lead into the characters… Every man in this book, save two, are awful people. And the two decent ones, one of them I just couldn’t buy as a love interest. The characters do a lot of pining for each other but there never seemed to be a depth to their feelings beyond physical. Even when they learn about each other’s terrible pasts, because they weren’t fully developed (which was odd given the length of this book), I always felt like I was kept at arm’s length from being swept up in their romance. Plus, Lilly tended to give me whiplash for 70% of the story; going from a type of terrified damsel to a force to be reckoned with that won’t take anything from anyone. It would have been fine if it had been a gradual change, going from the victim to the survivor, but Lilly goes back and forth too much to make it feel like true character growth. Not to mention that most of the characters tend to yell in all caps in dialogue. This may be a personal preference, but after a while, I couldn’t take the characters anger seriously, and I found the sheer number of caps to be distracting.
The premise of this book is genuinely interesting. A world where powerful witches have cut off the flow of magic to the world through a veil in order to protect their people from relentless Hunters, and the only one who can lower the veil is an Arcane witch, someone who can access all types of magic. There was so much potential and drama that could come with that plotline! But the book dragged, focusing too much on a chaotic love story and not enough on the bigger struggle. Lilly never really tried to learn her magic, she was just able to do more as she was abused more and more… That seemed to be the only point to the unyielding violence Lilly suffers, and at first, that made sense, but after a while the repetitiveness of it becomes desensitizing to where I was just getting bored. But, based on the sheer number of glowing reviews this book and series has, I am clearly in the minority with my feelings, so you may enjoy this more than I did! But because this story ended up dragging, the shallowness of the characters wrapped up in non-stop violence, and abuse of all kinds, but with sprinklings of an interesting underlining plotline, I’m giving this book 2 stars. Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy for an honest review!
March 15, 2019
This is a gloriously uncomfortable book for the most part made of razor blades and pinpricks but only in a way that most of the best books that are saturated in seemingly unapologetic darkness are.It drops you deep into an abyss of velvet pain and misery that is populated by alpha monsters with only a few exceptions of brighter beings.
The story spans centuries of manipulation by a trio of diabolical male immortal witches,brothers who would do practically anything to breed the ultimate arcane witch cable of bringing magic back into a world inhabited by ruthless witch hunters.This epic tale is ruthless in its intensity to keep one hostage as each page sings with inky black seduction,a charcoal melody that never ceases until the last drunk euphoric page has been turned.
It's not a safe book but than most safe books come with maps of well charted predictable landscapes and who needs directions when one seeks to be just lost in an absence of light for a little while.This book deserves seven stars to crown each point of the septagram depicted on the cover and further more for what lies within.I already yearn for the sequel.
The story spans centuries of manipulation by a trio of diabolical male immortal witches,brothers who would do practically anything to breed the ultimate arcane witch cable of bringing magic back into a world inhabited by ruthless witch hunters.This epic tale is ruthless in its intensity to keep one hostage as each page sings with inky black seduction,a charcoal melody that never ceases until the last drunk euphoric page has been turned.
It's not a safe book but than most safe books come with maps of well charted predictable landscapes and who needs directions when one seeks to be just lost in an absence of light for a little while.This book deserves seven stars to crown each point of the septagram depicted on the cover and further more for what lies within.I already yearn for the sequel.
September 3, 2021
1 Star DNF @43%
I received a recommendation to read this book and jumped in quite excited as I loved the premise. The story here is very interesting, but the writing and execution is not well done and could have been improved.
So, to start with what I liked. As I mentioned, the world is interesting. There are witches living with humans, but both species are at war with one another. Humans have essentially hunted and killed most of the witch population, so the remaining witches have to stay hidden. Lilly, our main character, was abused for years by her family. After her mother was killed she moved in with her aunt and uncle. Her aunt and uncle kept her confined to their house for almost 20 years, and then locked her in a basement room, tied up and not allowed basic necessities for 2 years. The story begins when a group of men break into the family home and begin torturing her aunt and uncle and ransacking the house. They find Lilly, a witch with actual powers/abilities (which is apparently rare) and sort of convince her to come with them. They then realize she is an Arcane witch, which means she has the ability to use all types of magic. This also means Lilly will be able to bring magic back into the world, by bringing down the "veil" between normal reality and what is essentially a realm of just magic. The last Arcane witch put the veil in place, so Lilly is the only one who can break it.
The first issue I noticed is the lack of world-building. Something that I think can apply to Lilly in multiple aspects is - I realize Lilly has been confined to her family home for basically her whole life. She's not going to have a great understanding of the world and won't make perfect decisions all the time. Since this is from her POV we should expect some knowledge gaps. My problem is that Lilly talks about how she read tons of books and although she hasn't seen the world she knows a lot. So the author took the time to tell us this, yet Lilly continually makes poor decisions and we don't get insight on how their world works. I have a lot of questions that I would have expected to be at least somewhat answered by now. How did humans even kill so many witches when witches have literal magic and humans do not? Is this a normal society (like present day England), but we are to imagine it with witches in hiding? Or is this a dystopian society? It's not described, so I have nothing to attach myself to in terms of this world. I feel like I'm flailing a bit trying to imagine how this society works.
As for the writing - it's extremely simple and almost childlike? It's very hard for me to describe, but the sentence structures are extremely simple. The dialogue is also simple, choppy and almost juvenile. A large number of explanation points are used in strange places, and whenever the characters yell ITS IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. All I can say is that it's bizarre. It makes the story very hard to read and get into because there is almost no natural flow of dialogue or the actual plot. To speak more on the dialogue between characters - the way they speak again is juvenile and... odd? That's the only way I can describe it, but it's like no one speaks in that manner. It makes the characters themselves come off as immature and kind of dumb. Especially Lilly.
Character wise the only person I liked was Amara, and she was a minor side character. She was the only one who seemed semi-intelligent and had any sense. Lilly was constantly making terrible decisions and her reactions to certain situations didn't make sense to me. I would almost call her unhinged because her behavior was so bizarre. Lot's off yelling at the wrong time, no control over her emotions, etc. Lilly is supposed to be incredibly powerful - the most powerful witch alive actually. But whenever she is in a situation where she could take charge and stop the madness she uses her powers in an absurd, unhelpful way or does nothing at all. One thing that frustrated me was that she continually went against Grayson, which is understandable since he seems to be a complete sociopath, but the reactions and things she did always made the situation worse for her and others. She could never get herself under control, and argued against any solution presented to her after she inevitably messed up. Basically, she could have just obeyed Grayson and built up her powers/whatever to leave in a productive way. But no instead she made everyone miserable, acted like a lunatic and then leaves to immediately get captured. It made me infuriated by her. All other characters, due to the dialogue/writing style, also seemed bizarre and all over the place.
Another reason why I decided to stop reading is the relationship between Lilly and Gabriel. It's clearly the relationship pairing of the series, but they have 0 chemistry. Gabriel likes Lilly because she's beautiful. Lilly likes Gabriel because he's hot. That's literally the extent of their connection. There is a little tension between the two because at one point Lilly is told Gabriel is a huge player. Which is like ok good to know, but we don't actually see it. Gabriel has another character, Ava, stay over 2 times. The first time was before he even met Lilly, the second time was in attempt to make her jealous. Which... why couldn't he just have shared his feeling with Lilly? It made no sense, but moving on... Lilly gets super jealous, as expected, and when the two are talking (fighting) about what happened she says Gabriel "broke her" by doing this...????? And then started saying things to him about how he constantly hooks up with women and discards them. Excuse me, what? He invited a girl over two times, once before he even knew Lilly. He hasn't "proven" to be a player to Lilly, or the reader, AT ALL. And he BROKE Lilly by doing that??? They've talked like a handful of times, haven't discussed their feelings towards one another, and Lilly has been at the estate for what - a matter of days? It makes no sense, their connection isn't believable, and the writing style just added an extra layer of "oddness" to it all.
Overall, I would not recommend this book. I think the author had a great idea here. Maybe with some extra writing practice will be able to write some beautiful stories.
I received a recommendation to read this book and jumped in quite excited as I loved the premise. The story here is very interesting, but the writing and execution is not well done and could have been improved.
So, to start with what I liked. As I mentioned, the world is interesting. There are witches living with humans, but both species are at war with one another. Humans have essentially hunted and killed most of the witch population, so the remaining witches have to stay hidden. Lilly, our main character, was abused for years by her family. After her mother was killed she moved in with her aunt and uncle. Her aunt and uncle kept her confined to their house for almost 20 years, and then locked her in a basement room, tied up and not allowed basic necessities for 2 years. The story begins when a group of men break into the family home and begin torturing her aunt and uncle and ransacking the house. They find Lilly, a witch with actual powers/abilities (which is apparently rare) and sort of convince her to come with them. They then realize she is an Arcane witch, which means she has the ability to use all types of magic. This also means Lilly will be able to bring magic back into the world, by bringing down the "veil" between normal reality and what is essentially a realm of just magic. The last Arcane witch put the veil in place, so Lilly is the only one who can break it.
The first issue I noticed is the lack of world-building. Something that I think can apply to Lilly in multiple aspects is - I realize Lilly has been confined to her family home for basically her whole life. She's not going to have a great understanding of the world and won't make perfect decisions all the time. Since this is from her POV we should expect some knowledge gaps. My problem is that Lilly talks about how she read tons of books and although she hasn't seen the world she knows a lot. So the author took the time to tell us this, yet Lilly continually makes poor decisions and we don't get insight on how their world works. I have a lot of questions that I would have expected to be at least somewhat answered by now. How did humans even kill so many witches when witches have literal magic and humans do not? Is this a normal society (like present day England), but we are to imagine it with witches in hiding? Or is this a dystopian society? It's not described, so I have nothing to attach myself to in terms of this world. I feel like I'm flailing a bit trying to imagine how this society works.
As for the writing - it's extremely simple and almost childlike? It's very hard for me to describe, but the sentence structures are extremely simple. The dialogue is also simple, choppy and almost juvenile. A large number of explanation points are used in strange places, and whenever the characters yell ITS IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. All I can say is that it's bizarre. It makes the story very hard to read and get into because there is almost no natural flow of dialogue or the actual plot. To speak more on the dialogue between characters - the way they speak again is juvenile and... odd? That's the only way I can describe it, but it's like no one speaks in that manner. It makes the characters themselves come off as immature and kind of dumb. Especially Lilly.
Character wise the only person I liked was Amara, and she was a minor side character. She was the only one who seemed semi-intelligent and had any sense. Lilly was constantly making terrible decisions and her reactions to certain situations didn't make sense to me. I would almost call her unhinged because her behavior was so bizarre. Lot's off yelling at the wrong time, no control over her emotions, etc. Lilly is supposed to be incredibly powerful - the most powerful witch alive actually. But whenever she is in a situation where she could take charge and stop the madness she uses her powers in an absurd, unhelpful way or does nothing at all. One thing that frustrated me was that she continually went against Grayson, which is understandable since he seems to be a complete sociopath, but the reactions and things she did always made the situation worse for her and others. She could never get herself under control, and argued against any solution presented to her after she inevitably messed up. Basically, she could have just obeyed Grayson and built up her powers/whatever to leave in a productive way. But no instead she made everyone miserable, acted like a lunatic and then leaves to immediately get captured. It made me infuriated by her. All other characters, due to the dialogue/writing style, also seemed bizarre and all over the place.
Another reason why I decided to stop reading is the relationship between Lilly and Gabriel. It's clearly the relationship pairing of the series, but they have 0 chemistry. Gabriel likes Lilly because she's beautiful. Lilly likes Gabriel because he's hot. That's literally the extent of their connection. There is a little tension between the two because at one point Lilly is told Gabriel is a huge player. Which is like ok good to know, but we don't actually see it. Gabriel has another character, Ava, stay over 2 times. The first time was before he even met Lilly, the second time was in attempt to make her jealous. Which... why couldn't he just have shared his feeling with Lilly? It made no sense, but moving on... Lilly gets super jealous, as expected, and when the two are talking (fighting) about what happened she says Gabriel "broke her" by doing this...????? And then started saying things to him about how he constantly hooks up with women and discards them. Excuse me, what? He invited a girl over two times, once before he even knew Lilly. He hasn't "proven" to be a player to Lilly, or the reader, AT ALL. And he BROKE Lilly by doing that??? They've talked like a handful of times, haven't discussed their feelings towards one another, and Lilly has been at the estate for what - a matter of days? It makes no sense, their connection isn't believable, and the writing style just added an extra layer of "oddness" to it all.
Overall, I would not recommend this book. I think the author had a great idea here. Maybe with some extra writing practice will be able to write some beautiful stories.
October 3, 2024
Have you ever reached the last pages of a book and felt so stressed out by how bleak the ending was that you're not sure if you want to continue the series? But you do it anyway…
February 24, 2022
I don't understand why this has such rave reviews.
The main female character has been through a lot growing up, think of anything and everything tragic and it's happened to her, mum dying, abandoned by father, abusive uncle, torture, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, she has been through it all, and as much as I sympathized with her it became so repetitive you become desensitized to it.
Her thought patterns and actions gave me whiplash, for a big chuck of the book she wants to leave the place she's found sanctuary in, finally gets her wish and then cried about it. She makes stupid decisions like legit I kind of wanted her to die in the end, she was extremely annoying.
I disliked all the characters bar 2 and they were side characters. The main ones, there was no character development, like at all. All one dimensional characters with no depth. No world building, the relationships seem forced and not organic in any way. None of the characters are relatable. The frustrating thing is you want the FMC to grow and become this kickass lead with no sh*ts given but all she does is cry. Like all the time. I hate weak characters. I needed her to grow at least towards the end but she doesn't.
The writing is also a massive no, no. The author is constantly using caps. Like I Get it's intense, but it's kinda distracting. If the writing style flowed a bit better they probably wouldn't need to use caps. They also focused wayyy to much on the train wreck of a romance (if you could call it that)? Rather than the FMC practising her magic and getting stronger.
Just a waste of my time I'll never, ever get back. I'm just happy I got it on KU than actually spend my money on it. I'd have been so disappointed.
Overall, I disliked this book. Will not be continuing. I really wouldn't care if they all died at the end.
The main female character has been through a lot growing up, think of anything and everything tragic and it's happened to her, mum dying, abandoned by father, abusive uncle, torture, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, she has been through it all, and as much as I sympathized with her it became so repetitive you become desensitized to it.
Her thought patterns and actions gave me whiplash, for a big chuck of the book she wants to leave the place she's found sanctuary in, finally gets her wish and then cried about it. She makes stupid decisions like legit I kind of wanted her to die in the end, she was extremely annoying.
I disliked all the characters bar 2 and they were side characters. The main ones, there was no character development, like at all. All one dimensional characters with no depth. No world building, the relationships seem forced and not organic in any way. None of the characters are relatable. The frustrating thing is you want the FMC to grow and become this kickass lead with no sh*ts given but all she does is cry. Like all the time. I hate weak characters. I needed her to grow at least towards the end but she doesn't.
The writing is also a massive no, no. The author is constantly using caps. Like I Get it's intense, but it's kinda distracting. If the writing style flowed a bit better they probably wouldn't need to use caps. They also focused wayyy to much on the train wreck of a romance (if you could call it that)? Rather than the FMC practising her magic and getting stronger.
Just a waste of my time I'll never, ever get back. I'm just happy I got it on KU than actually spend my money on it. I'd have been so disappointed.
Overall, I disliked this book. Will not be continuing. I really wouldn't care if they all died at the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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February 25, 2021DNF at 50%
To be fair, 50% was 234 pages and I just couldn't do it anymore.
My fundamental issue with this book was that I didn't like any of the characters and found them increasingly annoying as the book progressed, rather than feeling like their layers were being peeled back.
Lily has suffered incredible cruelty and I did sympathise with what she's been through, but I found her intensely irritating as the book progressed. Greyson was one dimensional and intensely dislike able. I kept expecting some depth tj be added to his character, but at 50% I didn't see it. I am assuming Gabriel is the love interest, but I found him somewhat insipid and didn't like him much either.
I can't enjoy a book where I dislike all of the characters, so I decided to just call it a day.
It's got rave reviews, so it's probably me rather than the book, so leaving unrated, although after 234 pages of it, it would probably be a 2.5 star read for me personally.
To be fair, 50% was 234 pages and I just couldn't do it anymore.
My fundamental issue with this book was that I didn't like any of the characters and found them increasingly annoying as the book progressed, rather than feeling like their layers were being peeled back.
Lily has suffered incredible cruelty and I did sympathise with what she's been through, but I found her intensely irritating as the book progressed. Greyson was one dimensional and intensely dislike able. I kept expecting some depth tj be added to his character, but at 50% I didn't see it. I am assuming Gabriel is the love interest, but I found him somewhat insipid and didn't like him much either.
I can't enjoy a book where I dislike all of the characters, so I decided to just call it a day.
It's got rave reviews, so it's probably me rather than the book, so leaving unrated, although after 234 pages of it, it would probably be a 2.5 star read for me personally.
July 23, 2025
This is book one in a dark fantasy romance. It’s a hell of a lot more intricate and nuanced than I was expecting it to be. The romance portion was extremely messy and it did take me a tick to decide on who the love interest was going to be as for the dark fantasy element this was all excellently executed.
Lily Hooper is the last Arcane Witch her bloodline is the only one that can produce this powerful individual and everyone seems to want a piece of her. When she's found with her magic bound and imprisoned in her uncle's basement by Grayson Kendryk and his men he knows he’s struck gold assimilating Lily into his coven and under his control is now imperative.
Lily has a tragic backstory and a well of deep pain she's immediately drawn to Gabriel who is Grayson's brother. This is despite being fully aware of his womanising ways. To further complicate matters Grayson also wants Lily for himself. Then we have Toby her ex he’s a broken witch who abandoned Lily when she needed him most. He was an abusive POS but now wants Lily back. I told you this is a messy one.
This was far less romance and more plot than I expected and the story does get dark. The world immersion here was great and this was an easy page-turner. Most of the characters portrayed here are very morally ambiguous including Lily herself which I was there for as I do prefer my heroines to be on the stabby and vengeful side.
This is all set in a world of Witches and hunters where the witches all except a few are cut off from their magic due to the veil. This veil was placed many years prior by Rebecca Hooper an Arcane Witch and Lily’s ancestor. This was all in an attempt to hide witches from the hunters as they were currently losing the war. Lily is the only one now who can disable it finally handing back magic to the nomads and freeing them all from their chains.
This was an excellent start to the series some things did majorly irk me here though and I’m looking at you Gabriel with your lame-ass reasoning behind the whole Ava situation. I mean aren’t you the one with mental magic? Surely there was another way than how this all went down. That aside this was still imaginative and immersive and I’m going to be picking up book two but if it wasn’t for Gabriel's dumb actions I probably would have rated this slightly higher. Anyway despite that I still enjoyed this and am now looking forward to diving straight into the next one.
Lily Hooper is the last Arcane Witch her bloodline is the only one that can produce this powerful individual and everyone seems to want a piece of her. When she's found with her magic bound and imprisoned in her uncle's basement by Grayson Kendryk and his men he knows he’s struck gold assimilating Lily into his coven and under his control is now imperative.
Lily has a tragic backstory and a well of deep pain she's immediately drawn to Gabriel who is Grayson's brother. This is despite being fully aware of his womanising ways. To further complicate matters Grayson also wants Lily for himself. Then we have Toby her ex he’s a broken witch who abandoned Lily when she needed him most. He was an abusive POS but now wants Lily back. I told you this is a messy one.
This was far less romance and more plot than I expected and the story does get dark. The world immersion here was great and this was an easy page-turner. Most of the characters portrayed here are very morally ambiguous including Lily herself which I was there for as I do prefer my heroines to be on the stabby and vengeful side.
This is all set in a world of Witches and hunters where the witches all except a few are cut off from their magic due to the veil. This veil was placed many years prior by Rebecca Hooper an Arcane Witch and Lily’s ancestor. This was all in an attempt to hide witches from the hunters as they were currently losing the war. Lily is the only one now who can disable it finally handing back magic to the nomads and freeing them all from their chains.
This was an excellent start to the series some things did majorly irk me here though and I’m looking at you Gabriel with your lame-ass reasoning behind the whole Ava situation. I mean aren’t you the one with mental magic? Surely there was another way than how this all went down. That aside this was still imaginative and immersive and I’m going to be picking up book two but if it wasn’t for Gabriel's dumb actions I probably would have rated this slightly higher. Anyway despite that I still enjoyed this and am now looking forward to diving straight into the next one.
November 10, 2025
Perfection❤️
January 6, 2020
Epic. Incredible. Heartbreaking. Intensity
This is one of the best books I have read in years. Its such a dark, heartbreaking, thrilling story. I couldn't put it down, always wanting to know what was going to happen next.
It's so good to read an original throughout book that isn't the same as everything else. What a talented author. Lilly's journey was incredible.
Volume 2 here I come.
Like I said EPIC.
This is one of the best books I have read in years. Its such a dark, heartbreaking, thrilling story. I couldn't put it down, always wanting to know what was going to happen next.
It's so good to read an original throughout book that isn't the same as everything else. What a talented author. Lilly's journey was incredible.
Volume 2 here I come.
Like I said EPIC.
Want to read
March 3, 2020🎁 FREE on Amazon today (3/3/2020)! 🎁
August 4, 2025
This is a DNF @ 68% I was really trying to get through this. The first chapter was great and intense, kept my interest. Then after that is was immature children stuck in adult bodies. The FMC (Lilly) good lord, just say she gave me whiplash with all the indecisiveness and also very immature. The MMC’s were just as worse. They are 500 years old but agin act like immature boys. 🙄 I will say that Gabriel was probably the most likable. Grayson the older brother and leader of the Coven, was a man child, total turn off. Then there is Toby the ex boyfriend who is a psychopath but I didn’t really get to know him except through Lillys past. I really tried but this was not for me.
February 11, 2024
I want to throttle all the characters!
The fmc was traumatized basically her entire life and these people “rescue” her but not really as they want her for their own purposes. Fmc is weak, mentally and honestly I am not a fan, it tracks with the brutality she has suffered but it infuriates me. I want her to slap everyone around, stand up for herself and demand humane treatment. Hell, I struggle to read her parts especially when she caves to that asshole Grayson or really any of them because no one cares about her best interests for helping her recover from her traumatic and chaotic life.
Immediately on the cusp of offering her freedom, the quote unquote leader of the coven is kissing her, being an absolute prick and further traumatizing her. This is a man who wants to possess her for her power to use for his agenda that he won’t educate or include her in or allow her to see or meet the ppl he claims it’s to help. This man belittles her and tries to control her like her abusers and honestly it’s a no from me. He isn’t morally grey or even a dark protector he is just a trash character being romanized for battering women— yes he raises his hands to her and nearly breaks her wrist, as well as uses emotional manipulation to control her.
I want to like this, I like dark reads but if you batter a character this much you need the psychological side for everyone involved. Doesn’t matter if it’s fantasy or not there’s certain things that are just universal and this author just made all these characters sociopaths and narcissists.
Prepare for extreme anger while reading this if you do. Which I guess kudos to the author you did make me feel something but extreme anger and loathing isn’t the best.
I honestly will not read the rest of this series I just can’t stand the characters.
The fmc was traumatized basically her entire life and these people “rescue” her but not really as they want her for their own purposes. Fmc is weak, mentally and honestly I am not a fan, it tracks with the brutality she has suffered but it infuriates me. I want her to slap everyone around, stand up for herself and demand humane treatment. Hell, I struggle to read her parts especially when she caves to that asshole Grayson or really any of them because no one cares about her best interests for helping her recover from her traumatic and chaotic life.
Immediately on the cusp of offering her freedom, the quote unquote leader of the coven is kissing her, being an absolute prick and further traumatizing her. This is a man who wants to possess her for her power to use for his agenda that he won’t educate or include her in or allow her to see or meet the ppl he claims it’s to help. This man belittles her and tries to control her like her abusers and honestly it’s a no from me. He isn’t morally grey or even a dark protector he is just a trash character being romanized for battering women— yes he raises his hands to her and nearly breaks her wrist, as well as uses emotional manipulation to control her.
I want to like this, I like dark reads but if you batter a character this much you need the psychological side for everyone involved. Doesn’t matter if it’s fantasy or not there’s certain things that are just universal and this author just made all these characters sociopaths and narcissists.
Prepare for extreme anger while reading this if you do. Which I guess kudos to the author you did make me feel something but extreme anger and loathing isn’t the best.
I honestly will not read the rest of this series I just can’t stand the characters.
January 5, 2021
Author clearly likes her main characters to suffer.
I've never read a book where the main character spends the entire book miserable. In the first chapter she's found in chains in a basement and when she's rescued it seems like there may be hope but then for the rest of the book she's used and abused and controlled by everyone she meets. There seem to be numerous opportunities for her to improve her situation and every time she does the exact opposite. Every man in her life is evil and all of her choices just dig her further into the misery. The character is downtrodden and childlike. There are literally no rays of hope in this book. Its a 3 book series but I'm not sure I could make it through 2 more books of the same. I read the blurb on number 2 and from just the description I can tell things aren't going to improve. It's a shame because the story itself is quite interesting but the best narratives have highs and lows whereas this book is low, low, lower, even lower, dank dark hole of despair.
I've never read a book where the main character spends the entire book miserable. In the first chapter she's found in chains in a basement and when she's rescued it seems like there may be hope but then for the rest of the book she's used and abused and controlled by everyone she meets. There seem to be numerous opportunities for her to improve her situation and every time she does the exact opposite. Every man in her life is evil and all of her choices just dig her further into the misery. The character is downtrodden and childlike. There are literally no rays of hope in this book. Its a 3 book series but I'm not sure I could make it through 2 more books of the same. I read the blurb on number 2 and from just the description I can tell things aren't going to improve. It's a shame because the story itself is quite interesting but the best narratives have highs and lows whereas this book is low, low, lower, even lower, dank dark hole of despair.
April 24, 2019
What can I say.....well this is the first book in the series and a debut novel for M.J Lawrie and it’s brilliant!!!!! This book drew me in from the very first page to the very last page.
Lilly has been a prisoner for most of her life until the day that she is rescued. She is taken to a new home and learns that she is actually an Arcane witch. She is the most powerful witch alive and the only witch who can bring down the veil allowing others to final access their powers. but Lilly has only ever known anger, fear, pain and heartbreak so can she trust others and herself to do what needs to be done.
This is a dark novel and pulls you into Lilly’s world of fear and pain and it takes Lilly to the very edge. This book contains so many emotions that I even found myself with tears in my eyes at one point. It is definitely worth the 5 stars I have given it and it will definitely be a book that I recommend. The ending has left me wanting more and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Lilly has been a prisoner for most of her life until the day that she is rescued. She is taken to a new home and learns that she is actually an Arcane witch. She is the most powerful witch alive and the only witch who can bring down the veil allowing others to final access their powers. but Lilly has only ever known anger, fear, pain and heartbreak so can she trust others and herself to do what needs to be done.
This is a dark novel and pulls you into Lilly’s world of fear and pain and it takes Lilly to the very edge. This book contains so many emotions that I even found myself with tears in my eyes at one point. It is definitely worth the 5 stars I have given it and it will definitely be a book that I recommend. The ending has left me wanting more and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
April 6, 2019
Not for the faint-hearted. The story refreshingly doesn't shy away from dark topics. It takes you by the scruff of the neck and makes you experience what the character's feel.. and this all ladders up to a truly powerful story. The characters are rich and complex as human beings should be. The pace is exciting and has more twists and turns than a rabbit's warren.
The way you have unbridled access to the thoughts and feelings of Lilly the main character keeps you gripped and you can't help but feel a personal connection to her as so many of her thoughts and feelings are a reflection of your own. We've all suffered injustice and heartache.
I need book two. I feel like I am away from a friend when I'm not reading about Lilly.
The way you have unbridled access to the thoughts and feelings of Lilly the main character keeps you gripped and you can't help but feel a personal connection to her as so many of her thoughts and feelings are a reflection of your own. We've all suffered injustice and heartache.
I need book two. I feel like I am away from a friend when I'm not reading about Lilly.
April 17, 2020
I got through it. It wasnt all bad.
But its relentless violence with almost no point. I get it she tortured and evils guys twisted. But damn at least write different lines for them to say, at aome point i read two characters saying the same thing within the same chapter.
....
But its relentless violence with almost no point. I get it she tortured and evils guys twisted. But damn at least write different lines for them to say, at aome point i read two characters saying the same thing within the same chapter.
....
February 25, 2020
Magic must return to the world and she is the last witch who can do it. She has been held and mistreated by her own family. She is powerful and feared by some while others need her help and others want to use her powers for their own use. What will.She do? Will she bring magic back? Should she even do it? See how she gets on
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
April 21, 2025
4.25 ⭐️
April 15, 2021
Amazing
Amazing. No other words. Just amazing. Just read it. I can't describe how amazing it is. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Read it
Amazing. No other words. Just amazing. Just read it. I can't describe how amazing it is. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Read it
November 30, 2020
The last Witch is an adult , dark fantasy, romance novel, full of secrets, love, revenge and magic.
Lilly has been wasting away in a cellar, she has been a prisoner her whole life by her own family. Till one day she is rescued when she is discovered chained up in the dark. She is finally rescued but she soon finds out that her rescuers have another use for her. She is after all The last witch.
Can they save her from not only those who want to hurt her, kill her but from her own nightmares.
Lilly’s powers have been sealed away and 6 weeks of her memory is missing, can it be that these people can help her remember what happened.
This is by far the darkest fantasy story I have read. It doesn’t hold back, we are introduced to Lilly straight away. She has so many emotions that it is almost palpable. The pages are full of intense none stop action with heart stopping romance. I don’t want to give away any spoilers. But I was completely hooked. I only let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding when I finished the book.
This is not for the faint hearted but, if you like the enemies to lovers troupe and you like your fantasy dark and gritty, full of emotions and revenge, then this is definitely one to read. Lilly is bad ass and takes no shit. But she needs to learn to rescue herself from herself.
Lilly has been wasting away in a cellar, she has been a prisoner her whole life by her own family. Till one day she is rescued when she is discovered chained up in the dark. She is finally rescued but she soon finds out that her rescuers have another use for her. She is after all The last witch.
Can they save her from not only those who want to hurt her, kill her but from her own nightmares.
Lilly’s powers have been sealed away and 6 weeks of her memory is missing, can it be that these people can help her remember what happened.
This is by far the darkest fantasy story I have read. It doesn’t hold back, we are introduced to Lilly straight away. She has so many emotions that it is almost palpable. The pages are full of intense none stop action with heart stopping romance. I don’t want to give away any spoilers. But I was completely hooked. I only let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding when I finished the book.
This is not for the faint hearted but, if you like the enemies to lovers troupe and you like your fantasy dark and gritty, full of emotions and revenge, then this is definitely one to read. Lilly is bad ass and takes no shit. But she needs to learn to rescue herself from herself.
March 7, 2023
Fuck! This was insane. And dark. And uncomfortable. Fuck! The way we start vs the way we end…. I’m only certain about ONE thing. And that being I absolutely hate someone. I saw a lot of comments complaining about Lilly being too much of a victim, most of those comments were also DNF. Let me assure you that if you keep reading you will NOT think that about her anymore. Yes, she is mentally unstable and contradictory often, hello? Did you hear the UNSTABLE PART. And yes, every possible bad thing happens to this girl, but you know what, that’s how the author decided to write her. That annoying detail didn’t keep me from her STORY, the world building, characters, and mystery because it’s so worth the read. Fuck! Seriously, not where I thought this book was going. Even the writing style changed throughout. Be prepared when reading this series for constant confusion about who really loves who. Well! Onto the next!
April 30, 2024
0 stars if I could give it strictly for the lie of the book description AND the hate boner this author has for women.
Is this some sort of hate women rape fantasy porn? The absolute horror the author wrote the FC going thru was honestly way too much. And that book description? The author should be banned from writing that for THIS book. I have never been more disgusted and pissed. Nothing in the description is about this actual book. You’d think you’re getting a bad ass witch but then you just get Lilly. Lilly who was beaten, starved, raped, and everything that you can think of bad has happened and she’s meek, stupid, and only acts like an abuse victim whenever the author wants to remind you of it. It made NO SENSE. I would truly hate to be inside this authors mind. They truly have a hate boner for women. Life is already miserable. I don’t want to be spending my FREE TIME reading about how someone finds abuse on women sexually appealing.
Is this some sort of hate women rape fantasy porn? The absolute horror the author wrote the FC going thru was honestly way too much. And that book description? The author should be banned from writing that for THIS book. I have never been more disgusted and pissed. Nothing in the description is about this actual book. You’d think you’re getting a bad ass witch but then you just get Lilly. Lilly who was beaten, starved, raped, and everything that you can think of bad has happened and she’s meek, stupid, and only acts like an abuse victim whenever the author wants to remind you of it. It made NO SENSE. I would truly hate to be inside this authors mind. They truly have a hate boner for women. Life is already miserable. I don’t want to be spending my FREE TIME reading about how someone finds abuse on women sexually appealing.
November 11, 2019
Well this was not what I was expecting. But that is what made it so good to read. It starts off slow and builds.
So we meet Lilly who has been locked away? That is an insane reason but one is she is a very powerful witch. Lilly is teetering on the edge and can be easily set off with her magic getting out of control. She needs help but who will help her. This book is very emotional and dark and some of the scenes are intense. There is betrayal, love, twists and turns. A lot of things that I did not see coming. But once I was in the book I was fully invested. I had to know what will happen!
Get ready for a dark, wild, intense ride. Lilly's journey is not over. She wants to get her revenge. Will she succeed. I can't wait to see what will happen.
So we meet Lilly who has been locked away? That is an insane reason but one is she is a very powerful witch. Lilly is teetering on the edge and can be easily set off with her magic getting out of control. She needs help but who will help her. This book is very emotional and dark and some of the scenes are intense. There is betrayal, love, twists and turns. A lot of things that I did not see coming. But once I was in the book I was fully invested. I had to know what will happen!
Get ready for a dark, wild, intense ride. Lilly's journey is not over. She wants to get her revenge. Will she succeed. I can't wait to see what will happen.
April 28, 2019
I cannot believe this is a debut novel. This story is full of secrets, lies, betrayal, forbidden love, obsession and plot twists that keep you on the edge of your seat. Witches are hunted, magic is locked away and Lilly's own past is lost to her mind. Kept locked away, hidden from the world, she is pushed into discovering her own secrets and how she can change everyone's future. There is so much going on in the story that sharing much more than this without spoiling the reveals at the end of book one. I loved this book. I was kept on edge, confused, angry, sad and completely engulfed with the story. I truly look forward to seeing what happens next in this tale.
September 17, 2023
I absolutely love M J Lawrie, it's well known, her books are just phenomenally dark and utterly engrossing, and you barely have time to take a breath before you're thrown into some new chaos.
The Last Witch is one of my favourite series, I've read it multiple times and the fact it's now coming to audio too just makes my little black heart swell with joy!! Amy Putt did a fantastic job of bringing some of my fave (and least fave) characters to life and I cannot WAIT for the rest of the series to blast directly into my ears.
If you like dark romance, the paranormal, forbidden love, trauma, trauma and more trauma, I FULLY recommend this series (and everything M J writes honestly!)
The Last Witch is one of my favourite series, I've read it multiple times and the fact it's now coming to audio too just makes my little black heart swell with joy!! Amy Putt did a fantastic job of bringing some of my fave (and least fave) characters to life and I cannot WAIT for the rest of the series to blast directly into my ears.
If you like dark romance, the paranormal, forbidden love, trauma, trauma and more trauma, I FULLY recommend this series (and everything M J writes honestly!)
November 25, 2019
WOW - Intense!!
This is one fascinating, thrilling and intense story that is definitely not for the faint of heart. It's dark, gritty and twisted. It will take you an one intense and entertaining rollercoaster ride!
The characters are well written and very complex!! The storyline is highly entertaining and utterly captivating. I can't wait for book 2!!
This is one fascinating, thrilling and intense story that is definitely not for the faint of heart. It's dark, gritty and twisted. It will take you an one intense and entertaining rollercoaster ride!
The characters are well written and very complex!! The storyline is highly entertaining and utterly captivating. I can't wait for book 2!!
April 30, 2019
This book starts and just keeps going. I couldn't put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next. Lilly starts out as a very abused victim and learns to stand on her on. I really like the way the author builds up her character to a very self reliant person. I can't wait for the next book.
August 23, 2024
WHAT DID I JUST READ? ….. what is this sorcery?!?! 😫
From the first page, you are instantly sucked into the plot. The mystery, the revelations, … I could go on. Every page was exciting, and I just could not for the life of me put it down.
Also, can you relate when you find that most books are predictable when it comes to the plot or who you assume is going to be the love interest? Through half of this book, I had to question myself on a lot of things
‘ why is this happening?’ ….
‘Who could it be?’
‘Can I trust him/her’
My mind was on overdrive and found it pointless to predict anything as it didn’t EVER go the way I thought it would. I gave up, and went along with Lilly having an open mind, experiencing everything alongside her. My emotions were going crazy!
It was brilliant!
If I was to nitpick on something, it would be to have more spice. It lacked descriptive detail, and I LOVE DETAILS! 🤣 but it’s not something that would make me DNF the book. The plot and suspense was incredible so it made up for it.
I can see myself reading many more of this authors books just because her writing is EXACTLY what I love.
Highly recommend.
From the first page, you are instantly sucked into the plot. The mystery, the revelations, … I could go on. Every page was exciting, and I just could not for the life of me put it down.
Also, can you relate when you find that most books are predictable when it comes to the plot or who you assume is going to be the love interest? Through half of this book, I had to question myself on a lot of things
‘ why is this happening?’ ….
‘Who could it be?’
‘Can I trust him/her’
My mind was on overdrive and found it pointless to predict anything as it didn’t EVER go the way I thought it would. I gave up, and went along with Lilly having an open mind, experiencing everything alongside her. My emotions were going crazy!
It was brilliant!
If I was to nitpick on something, it would be to have more spice. It lacked descriptive detail, and I LOVE DETAILS! 🤣 but it’s not something that would make me DNF the book. The plot and suspense was incredible so it made up for it.
I can see myself reading many more of this authors books just because her writing is EXACTLY what I love.
Highly recommend.
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