Review Detail

I honestly don’t know where to begin! The Last Hope by Krista & Becca Ritchie picks up thirty days after the end of The Raging Ones. Franny, Court, and Mykal are in a cell on board the Saltare-1 ship Romulus. Their friends – Kinden, the Soarcastle sisters, and Zimmer – are not with them, and they fear the worst. Revelations at the end of book one have left the trio’s minds in chaos. They aren’t Saltarians, they are humans. When an unknown saves them from the Romulus, Franny, Court, and Mykal have one goal: to survive.

Being Human
Court was seriously injured at the end of the first book, and now believes he is dying. His only recourse to be sure that Mykal and Franny survive. But this link between them has him concerned. If he dies, what happens to them? Court was (and is) my favorite character. He finally has opened up to a relationship with Mykal, and this tempers his cool exterior. Court cares too much, and it becomes an issue now that he is linked.

Mykal takes being human in stride. It honestly doesn’t seem to affect him that much. He was raised as a Grenpalish and that is who he is. He worships their gods and remembers the only parent he had. Then he meets Stork(more on him in a minute), the unknown that saves them from Romulus, and well let’s just say, he’s got a new family member ?

Franny takes the news the hardest. She has struggled since surviving her deathday with the fear of the unknown. She wants to know when she will die. There is security in that for her, except she can’t know. She will never know as a human when she will die. Then there’s her nosebleeds. Every time they happen she fears for her life. And now she’s human, fragile. She doesn’t really know how to handle that.

The Saltarian Conflict
The plot of this book focuses on why the Saltarians hate humans. It also dives deeper into the whys surrounding Franny, Court, and Mykal. I found myself fascinated with the world-building here. The history the authors give Earth and the conflict with the Saltarians is interesting to say the least. But it’s the new character that is introduced early in the story that caught my attention.

Stork is a bludrader, Saltarian blood traitor. Like Franny, Court, and Mykal, he was stolen away at birth and raised on another planet. He was taken from his parents and Mykal was left in his place. Stork is a Saltarian raised by humans. He shows everyone that just because he is Saltarian doesn’t mean he can’t love humans. He carries the world on his shoulders, and my heart breaks for him instantly. There is so much he isn’t allowed to share with the trio and so much he wants too.

Stork with the help of Franny, Court, and Mykal have one mission: return to Saltare-1 and retrieve a baby, a new species that could save Earth from Saltare.

Final Thoughts
Overall I really enjoyed The Last Hope. There are plenty of answers to the questions burdening the trio, and I was happy with those. If the authors wrote more from this world, I'd read it! I want to know more about it and see more of Franny, Court, and Mykal. If you enjoy YA sci-fi, I highly recommend it.