The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes

The Expanse meets Game of Thrones in J. S. Dewes's fast-paced, sci-fi adventure The Last Watch, where a handful of soldiers stand between humanity and annihilation. The Divide. It’s the edge of the universe. Now it’s collapsing—and taking everyone and everything with it. The only ones who can stop it are the Sentinels—the recruits, exiles, and court-martialed dregs of the military. At the Divide, Adequin Rake commands the Argus. She has no resources, no comms—nothing, except for the soldiers that no one wanted. Her ace in the hole could be Cavalon Mercer--genius, asshole, and exiled prince who nuked his grandfather's genetic facility for “reasons.” She knows they’re humanity's last chance.

Great story, well written. Great characters and world building, and a unique plot. Bring on the next installment.

Very similar to a book I just finished, the author focuses on the interactions of the characters with the mystery in the background. There's alot more science in this book and there are a couple times when the plot is side-railed for longer than necessary, to geek out on a particular science or two.

Much better than I expected. Looking forward to the next in the series.

First, thank you to the author for the copy of the book.

I really wanted to love it. The premise sounded so magical and interesting that I couldn't wait to dig in. However, I kept finding myself so confused over what was happening and wasn't sure if it was me or if the story was just making me feel so lost. After chapter 8, I realized that I was lost. I was catching a lot of what was going on, but there is so much fluff in between that it wasn't flowing very well. Conversation between characters was stunted because there was so much inner monologue from Emma that I just didn't like. Also, some information would just pop out of nowhere and I would try to fit it in and just couldn't.

I wanted to love this book. I think with a solid edit that it would benefit greatly and I'd give it a go again if that occurs because the premise sounds so beautiful.