The Last Hybrid: Bloodline of Angels
By Lee Wilson
ISBN# 9780984476664
Author’s Website: http://www.lee-wilson.net/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Vanessa
*Beware of possible spoilers*
Synopsis:
When Hannah Sawyer dropped out of college after losing her scholarship she spent five years weaning herself of alpha males and alcohol, but when she decides to return to finish her degree she finds those things rolled into one in the intoxicating blue eyes of fellow non-traditional student Daniel Keith. What she soon learns is that her newfound addiction to Daniel impairs her judgment beyond any mixed drink a frat boy could have handed her. She should have left when he cut his arm with a car key to show her his white blood. Or when he had a run-in with a dark angel on one of their dates. But Hannah stays, entranced by this man who remains a mystery to her. Who or what is Daniel? And why does the small town of Spring Hill, Tennessee seem to summon his enemies? As romance lures Hannah further into a shadowy world most people never see, she realizes she s gotten herself in deeper than she knew possible. And this time there s no option of dropping out.
Review:
I was hopeful when I first started this book. After reading the synopsis, the story seemed like an interesting concept, however my enthusiasm quickly waned as I got further and further in.
From the beginning, I had a difficult time liking Hannah, the main character. I just couldn’t connect with her. Although she was supposed to be a woman of twenty-six heading back to college to remedy her past, she instead came off as young, naive, sheepish and immature. We are supposed to believe that she is heading back to school with new insight, but instead we are left to assume she is repeating the same mistakes. (I say we are left to assume because her education, although supposedly very important, is barely mentioned.)
For me, the story was way too one dimensional and fell flat. More time would have been better spent developing the characters and plot instead of numerous scenes focusing on story lines or events that led nowhere. For example, Hannah’s blackouts. In the beginning of the story, Hannah experiences two blackouts. Both of which seem to be foreshadowing something that we will learn about her in the future. However, this never actually leads anywhere and we are left to come to our own conclusions as to why it is even mentioned.
Since the story is told in third person, we get to see what’s happening from every angle. This can be a good thing if done well, however the way it was done in this book thoroughly reduced my curiosity or anticipation. Practically every question we have is answered almost immediately. There weren’t any real hidden story lines that left me wanting more. The moment an unknown element presented itself in the story, it was immediately explained a few pages later (if that).
There were also several events that just didn’t make sense. I found myself getting frustrated with how trite the characters were being. One minute everyone is in danger and by the next page things are fine. Plus everyone hears these major life altering revelations and yet their reactions are pretty casual. The characters were more than willing to believe one crazy revelation but unwilling to believe another. It just didn’t make sense. There is also a “complication” that develops late into the story that seems like a total a gimmick more than a pertinent addition to the plot.
Lack of consistency is a recurring problem in this book. All of the characters are inconsistent. One minute Erika (Hanna’s friend) is saying how although she loves her boyfriend, she’s never felt as deeply as Hannah does for Daniel, even with Anthony (her current boyfriend). Then a few chapters later she is so desperate to be with him she is willing to sacrifice her life and become a vampire.
None of the characters are excluded from this consistency issue and Hannah is a repeat offender. At one point she is berating her friend Erika for a very serious choice she wants to make and then later Hannah herself is making the same choice. It just seemed ridiculous and illogical. Hannah knew the consequences of a particular choice and was vehemently against it in one chapter and then for it in the next. This could have worked with the right progression, however we are left to believe that Hannah just randomly makes this illogical choice without spending even an entire page on thinking it through.
And then there’s Natalie, Daniel’s oldest friend. One chapter she is good, but then she’s bad, but then she’s good, then bad again. It was like playing character ping pong and the continuous back and forth became exhausting.
My biggest problem overall with this book was the character relationships. There was no depth to them, especially between the lead characters Daniel and Hannah. I like instant attraction (when it’s done well) but the attraction felt forced between Hannah and Daniel. It was like trying to be not be obvious but failing miserably. We are supposed to believe they are “meant for each other” just because the author tells us so. I just didn’t feel the chemistry between Daniel and Hannah and the fact that they were already having such intense emotional feelings toward each other without actually knowing anything (and I mean anything) about each other, just made things so much less believable.
All of the relationships within the story resembled that of characters around age sixteen versus college aged (and older) adults. For as old at the characters are supposed to be (Daniel, the main hero is supposedly around twenty-seven) they all seemed much more juvenile.
The one redeeming quality of this story was that the lore was definitely intriguing and could have made for a really interesting story if the author would have further developed the plot and characters. If you don’t have the right combination, the story itself loses all its integrity. Writing an entire story from beginning to end is a difficult task and not something to be overlooked. I applaud Lee Wilson for committing so thoroughly to something that many strive to accomplish and never achieve. However, this book was not for me and I don’t think I will be reading the follow up books in this series.
