Read an excerpt from Rachel Howzell Hall’s book The Last One

Rachel Housell Hall knows a thing or two about keeping us on our toes. This is how she became a popular and beloved mystery and thriller author that we can’t get enough of. But now she’s diving into something a little different with her new and official romantic debut. Lastit will definitely grab you just as much as her previous books, starting from the first chapter.

Cosmopolitan has an exclusive look at Rachel Howzell Hall’s upcoming book. Lastwhich will be released on December 3, 2024. The main character, Kai, finds her mysteriously lost and confused, with only one thing on her mind: finding the Sea of Devouring. But with no memory and at her worst, she must turn to an unexpected new ally to help her reach her goal, hoping it will be the answer she needs. Here’s some more information from our friends at Red Tower Books:

“Masterful storytelling with a female protagonist worth rooting for.” — #1 New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

“Romantasy readers won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough.” — Publishing Weekly

An explosive and gripping romantic debut from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Howzell Hall…

Thrown into a desolate land of disease and unnatural beasts, Kai awakens in a forest with no idea who she is or how she got here. All she knows is that if she fails to reach the Sea of Devouring, even this hell will become even worse. But when she sees the village blacksmith fighting the invaders with incredible skill, she decides to accept his offer of help.

It was a pity that he was just as good at irritating her as he was at fighting.

Kai’s search for answers only finds more questions, especially regarding the blacksmith, who can ignite her body like a flame and then bathe it in ice with her next breath.

And no one is what or who they appear to be in the kingdom of Winewrydt, including a man whose secrets may be as deadly as the land itself.

Luckily for you, we don’t send you on this journey without more information. You can watch an exclusive clip below! Just don’t forget to pre-order Last and check out Rachel’s other works!

Excerpt from Last
Rachel Housell Hall

Except for the first chapter

I open my eyes and choose violence.

Because I’m lying on my back and the woman is on top. Her pale arm wrapped around my neck. It smells sickeningly sweet, it smells weird, and it smells disgusting. The whites of her large blue eyes are yellow as straw. With such smooth skin, she looks nineteen or twenty years old. Is she a thief? Is she a killer?

Either way, she needs to get rid of me. So I slap her ear with one hand and grab her fingers with the other.

“Oh!” Her eyes widen and she successfully dodges my strike. She tries to break free, but instead falls on top of me. She gasps and her rancid breath hits my nose.

I’m choking…ugh!– then squeeze her hand.

She doesn’t flinch even when I break the bone of her little finger. No. With her free hand she moves down to my neck. “Ha,” she says with a grin.

– I still understand.

I want to ask You still have what? but my tongue hangs in my mouth like a fading lily. I can’t get one word out, and certainly not four.

The thief is holding a thick gold chain that sparkles in the light. From this chain hangs a gold butterfly with ruby-encrusted wings. The stone on the moth’s chest is the size of a robin’s egg and dark as the darkest night.

The pendant’s clasp is broken just like me, and my chest is cold without that jeweled moth, strangely empty, as if it had taken more than just an amulet from me.

The thief breaks free of my grip and this time successfully escapes.

She tries to laugh, but there are tears in her eyes, she winces and flexes her injured arm. “You don’t have to break every bone. One would be enough.

I open my mouth to answer…I know you don’t talk to me like that— but the back of my head is throbbing, and my tongue is still stuck.

“But I’ll accept this necklace as an apology,” the bandit says, jumping to his feet. “Thank you.” She winces again, trying to bend her delicate arm, then hangs her backpack over her shoulder and winks at me. “Ta.”

And just like that, she disappeared, a flash in the grove of trees.

Did she just…?Yes she did. AND…”Tah?

With fire simmering in my belly, I rise from the bed of branches, yellowed leaves and gray bark to follow her, but my legs give way beneath me and I fall back into the dry rubbish.

What’s happening? Why can’t I stand?

My mind is spinning with dizziness and confusion. Just a few minutes ago my legs were working fine. I think. Because what was I doing moments ago before I woke up with a thief on top of me? Uh… I don’t remember.

A quick throb in my stomach makes me look down to see my heaving chest, protected by my favorite scarlet bandage, and…

Wait. Why the hell am I looking at my favorite bandeau?

My gaze darts to the patch of mahogany skin on his stomach, and then further down. The soil covering my toes and ankles looks a sickly gray, so stark against my tanned legs, a speck of starlight against the velvet night sky.

I shouldn’t have seen the gray dirt. I shouldn’t be able to see my toes. Where are my shoes? Why am I so cold? Where’s my coat?

I squeeze the bridge of my aching nose.

Why do I see bare hands? Where are my gloves?

Shit.

This thief was wearing a blood red leather vest, a blood red hooded cloak, black leather gloves and black suede boots. It all hung off her like dead skin.

Why? Because it was my blood red leather vest, that’s why. And it was my a blood red cloak with a hood, and these were my black leather gloves and these were my suede boots in which I finally…finally– broke in.

What thief stole my clothes. I was wearing nothing but a bandeau and black leather breeches.

I need my things, especially my amulet, and the longer I sit here, the less my gut irritates. It looks like something…my pendant– pulls me to follow this bandit.

I try to shout: “Stop, thief!” but I don’t see her anymore – she ran ahead into that grove of gray birches. Words still don’t come out of my mouth, and trying to speak makes me dizzy. But I don’t need lips or words to catch a thief. Just my legs.

Still a little unsteady, I push myself away from my grass nest again, this time successfully. I take a step… and then another step… and another.

Where did she go? I may not see her, but I can still smell her. This distinct and unforgettable sugary sweetness means…

She’s dying.

Yes, death stinks. She had no obvious injuries other than the one I gave her, but something was wrong with her. She looked like she hadn’t eaten in days. And her rancid breath. Some disease is eating away at her insides.

That’s when I notice it: a golden-amber path winding through ghostly trees, swirling over pink granite boulders and fogging the air. A golden amber trail following the thief’s route through this forest.

I blink – do I see this stream of light because it really exists, or do I see this stream of light because I hurt my head?

I close my eyes, take a few deep breaths, and open my eyes again.

Nothing glows anymore, not the trees, not the fallen leaves, not the dirt. But that golden light remains, floating, beckoning me to follow it.

Amber must be the color of death here.

But where is “here”?

I press my fingers to my temples, as if I can remember another memory…any memory– it occurred to me. But nothing pops up. There are no memories left.

I don’t remember wandering through this forest. I do not remember the events that left me in such an unconscious state that the bandit felt comfortable enough to steal almost all the clothing from my body.

I’ll think about these gaps in my memory later, hopefully with a couple of cakes and a keg of rum. I think some things, the rum and the cakes, are more memorable than others. My mind drifts away from the treats because I have a bigger problem right now: the cold, strangely empty feeling I felt when I woke up a few minutes ago is now spreading across my chest and down to my stomach.

“Cold” and “empty” are never good. “Cold” and “empty” mean danger. Even the simplest creature senses danger.

I may be almost naked, but I am far from simple.

Last, Rachel Housell Hallwill be released December 3, 2024. To pre-order the book, select your retailer of choice:

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