Synopsis:
For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.
But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.
Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.
Review:
Well, this is not the review I was expecting to write for One Last Stop. I also wasn’t expecting to DNF it 38% through.
I’m not even sure where to begin with this review. I really tried to like this book. I was determined to keep going but when it began to feel like I’d been reading it for weeks and I wasn’t even 50% through yet, I knew it was time to put it down.
The pace was ridiculously slow. It felt like nothing happened during the 38% I read–other than finding out Jane is stuck on the subway, which is in the synopsis so it’s not even a surprise.
The characters, August and Jane included, were so one-sided. They each had one personality trait and that became their whole character. I also found it hard to believe that August didn’t turn up to her job or college for over a month and she still had a job and was passing her classes. I get that this is a book and it’s not rooted in reality but still.
Also, apparently the whole subway part of One Last Stop is completely wrong. I’m not from New York or have even visited but apparently, it’s nowhere near accurate. I’ve also seen that August and Jane ‘get it on’ on the subway which is all types of gross.
I adored Red, White & Royal Blue, so I was really hoping to enjoy One Last Stop but it was boring. Nothing, not even the mystery of how a woman from the 70s is stuck on a subway, was enough to make me want to continue reading. I felt no connection to the characters and I found I didn’t care to find out what happened.
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