Review: THE LAST GIRL by Kitty Thomas

The Last Girl
by Kitty Thomas
Publisher: Burlesque Press
Release Date: February 12, 2012
Source: Review copy from Author

Six years ago strangers broke into Juliette’s house; she was home alone and only thirteen. She kept her eyes closed, praying that if she didn’t see anything, she wouldn’t be killed. No one harmed her. In fact, one of the thieves protected her. Now Juliette’s dreams are haunted by him.

Christian has waited to take her, resisting the urge each night. It always ends badly with human pets. They’re too fragile. The longer he can wait, the better, because the moment he takes her, the clock on her life starts ticking down.

Then she’ll be gone forever.

Warning: This book is meant for a mature audience and contains master/slave, group sexual activity, sadomasochism, girl-on-girl, oral and anal play, exhibitionism, blood play, edge play, as well as one other thing I’m not warning you about because it would be a spoiler... but it’s not a big taboo.

I was eagerly awaiting the release of The Last Girl knowing that it would be another incredible read from a favorite author. I was not disappointed as this novel combines my love of vampires and dark erotica marvelously. The Last Girl was the paranormal version of Kitty Thomas’ debut novel, Comfort Food. Both novels contained pre-meditated kidnappings and themes of dubious consent. And both novels had a flawed hero who was evil yet somehow likable at the same time. Christian, like Master from Comfort Food, was definitely swoon-worthy in a dark twisted way.

The beginning of this novel introduces us to Christian, an almost 800 year old vampire. He hasn’t had a human pet for many decades but after meeting Juliette he finds the temptation to take another one too hard to fight. After six years of waiting and plotting, he plucks Juliette from her life of teenage innocence and forces her into an existence of servitude as both his food source and sexual slave.

The Last Girl is written in the present tense from Juliette’s point of view. This style allowed the reader to be present in Juliette’s mind and really feel like they were in the moment and experience all that the heroine was feeling and doing. I felt like the proverbial “fly on the wall” as I got to see their relationship unfold in real time. Juliette was a sensitive but strong character. I really connected with her and wanted so badly for her to survive and things to work out. She may be one of my favorites of Ms. Thomas’ heroines.

Christian is an evil sadist and very unapologetic about it. He’s both honest and blunt about the fact that his blood lust will become so overwhelming that he will eventually kill Juliette. Juliette’s first few weeks with Christian are extremely dark and harrowing. He shows her his wicked vampire side very early on and it is pure evil. He is a cruel master and her fear is like a drug to him. He even tells Juliette that he’s not some fairy tale vampire.

“There is no such thing as a noble or good vampire. I am a predator. You are my prey. When I am finished playing with you, I will kill you. But it will probably be years; it usually is. You have nothing to fear for the foreseeable future. Except pain.” ~ Christian

I was on an emotional roller coaster throughout the story. There were actually some lighter humorous moments in the beginning between the two characters that made me laugh. Then there were horror filled, cringe worthy, “Oh my God, he’s going to kill her” moments. But some readers might also shed some tears as we experience Juliette’s feelings of terror, surrender, acceptance, love, and eventually the overwhelming despair that consumes her. And of course, there were the erotic scenes that got me hot and bothered too. I loved the decadent vampire BDSM club that features hypnotic music and very kinky, sensual scenes between Christian & Juliette and others. It was extremely hot! 

The Last Girl is a brilliant addition to the world of dark erotica. This story is really dark and violent. Read the disclaimer & warning and if you’re still on board then I highly recommend you delve into this incredible novel.