Title: The Last Princess (The Last Princess #1)
Author: Galaxy Craze
Release Date: May 1, 2012 (hardcover)
Publisher: Poppy
Pages: 304
Source: ARC provided by publisher

Overall: 2.5 Stars

Summary:

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 love-once more.

Now she must risk everything to ensure that she does not become . . .

The Last Princess.  

My Thoughts:
When I first read the plot description for The Last Princess, I was immediately captivated by the dark future Galaxy Craze had envisioned for Great Britain. Unfortunately, I don't think the novel lived up to the expectations I had set for it. I mean, the premise was definitely intriguing and left me eager to learn more about the uncertainty of Eliza's future, but the execution of the storyline was less than impressive.

The pacing for The Last Princess was so fast that it didn't allow for enough world-building and character development. I did like Eliza's bravery and determination in the aftermath of her father's sudden assassination in her family's own home. She does all that she can to fight back against her enemies, even pretending to join the ranks of the rebel Tudor forces so she can learn where her older sister and younger brother were being held captive. 

However, because of the rushed feeling of the pacing, there wasn't enough details to really flesh out the story and make it seem plausible. I would've loved reading details about the events which led to England being cut-off and its people so desperate, but we were only given rather vague descriptions that were quickly glossed over. And I'm usually not one to complain about romance, but I felt like The Last Princess didn't really need it, or at the very least, should have been much more developed because I just couldn't find the connection between Eliza and Wesley believable.

With so many post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels on the YA market right now, it's easy to see why The Last Princess seems to have rather slipped under the radar. I may have liked escaping away to another world for a few hours while I read the novel, but I don't think anything about it particularly stood out in the end. Despite finding faults with The Last Princess, I'm still curious to see how Eliza's story will continue in the sequel...

Thanks so much to Hachette Book Group Canada for providing this review copy! You can learn more about Galaxy Craze's The Last Princess on Hachette's website, and if you're not already doing so, don't forget to follow HBG Canada on Twitter and "like" their Facebook page!