Review - The Last Princess

by Galaxy Craze
publisher: Poppy/Little, Brown BFYR
date of publication: May 1, 2012
format: hardcover
pages: 295
source: from the publisher for review
read it in: 2 days

From Goodreads:

Happily ever after is a thing of the past.

A series of natural disasters has decimated the earth. Cut off from the rest of the world, England is a dark place. The sun rarely shines, food is scarce, and groups of criminals roam the woods, searching for prey. The people are growing restless.

When a ruthless revolutionary sets out to overthrow the crown, he makes the royal family his first target. Blood is shed in Buckingham Palace, and only sixteen-year-old Princess Eliza manages to escape.

Determined to kill the man who destroyed her family, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. She has nothing left to live for but revenge, until she meets someone who helps her remember how to hope—and to love—once more. Now she must risk everything to ensure that she not become... The Last Princess.

In a post-apocalyptic England, the royal family has been set upon by tragedy after tragedy at the hands of a zealous would-be tyrant and as the result of a string of natural disasters.  Eliza, the youngest princess, finds herself alone after a night of blood shed and abduction.  It is up to her to find the man responsible and exact revenge on behalf of her shattered family.  As she fights to survive in an increasingly hostile world, Eliza finds love in an unexpected place and learns to keep hope alive.

Eliza was a pretty easy character to "get along" with.  Though she can be a bit flat at times, she is an intelligent, loyal girl who doesn't consider giving up easily.  While I wished to learn at least a little more about her, I did find myself enjoying the story as told from her point of view.  She was made for an easy to follow main character who didn't let anything stand in her way.  The villain in the story, Cornelius Hollister, is a truly despicable human being.  While he claims to be fighting for the greater good of what remains of society, it is apparent that he is nothing more than a power hungry monster.  He's one of those villains that you just love to hate, which definitely added to the intensity of the story.

I have seen this novel referred to as dystopian several times over, but please don't be mislead.  The Last Princess does not fall under that particular umbrella.  Instead, it falls more under the post-apocalyptic umbrella than anything thanks to its ravaged landscape, dwindling population, and chaotic atmosphere.  Society has broken down and there is no pretense that things are fine.  It all makes for a brutally riveting plot that almost fully arrested my attention and imagination.  The only things I really had pressing questions about was the Roamers, a group of cannibalistic people that aren't given as much explanation as other groups throughout the book.  Nonetheless, The Last Princess proved to be a well thought-out story with some wonderfully alarming aspects that I enjoyed very much.

The Last Princess has much to recommend it.  From its intense setting to its engaging characters, The Last Princess is a vastly entertaining read that you won't find easy to put down.  Though there are some aspects that could use a little fleshing out, I found that there was still a lot to learn about the world in which Eliza lives.  If you haven't read much post-apocalyptic fiction, The Last Princess could be a good starter for you.  It has earned a permanent home on my shelves thanks to its engrossing action sequences and frightening world.  It has made me more interested in the genre, which is a definite plus.

Buy The Last Princess at the Following Locations:

Amazon / IndieBound / B&N / The Book Depository

Obligatory legal statement: This finished copy was provided to me free of charge by the publisher.  No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.