savage_book_review's reviews
263 reviews

Another gorgeous, well built Fae male with bat wings to add to the collection! After seven years of silence, Callie returns home one evening to find the Bargainer waiting for her. Dealing in secrets and lies, he'll use his magic to get you anything you want... for a price. And Callie's in deep. Each bead on her bracelet is an IOU, and it's time to start paying back the debt she started accruing just before her sixteenth birthday.

My initial reaction after just finishing this books is that it's a great set up for the ongoing series, but essentially the whole book is just one long introduction. There is an overarching story arc for the series which gets set up, a great and in-depth introduction to our main characters and enough development to get you emotionally invested in their story, but while there is a plot for this book alone, it's a secondary consideration. To me, it's basically only there to introduce you to the dynamics of the relationship between Callie and the Bargainer, and feels pretty weak. There is an attempt to build some tension with Callie's worries about what she is going to be forced to do to pay off her debts, but this very quickly falls by the wayside when it quickly becomes apparent just where the Bargainer's interests really lie. 

The Bargainer does have a dark edge to his character (as you would hope for someone who initially sounds like he's some sort of supernatural mob boss), but this is quite quickly undermined. So, while he is morally grey, it's a fairly silvery shade. While this doesn't detract from his appeal, seeing him through Callie's starry-eyed gaze means my reaction to him isn't quite as strong as it would perhaps otherwise be. Plus, I'm still struggling over his title... it feels like all the good names were taken - "The Bargainer" just doesn't have quite the right menacing ring to it!

For the most part, each chapter is split between two time periods; the time where Callie accrued her debt, and the present where she's 'paying it off'. I'd recommend keeping the mantra "if he's Fae, it's OK" running through your mind throughout this read, as a lot of the former time involves a fully grown male (whose age isn't specified but, given that he's Fae, I'm assuming at least a couple of centuries!) hanging around in a teenager's dorm room at boarding school, encouraging a teen crush. When it becomes clear that she never grew out of said crush, it all just feels a leetle bit ick. Honestly, if the relationship and character development had taken place anywhere else, I probably wouldn't have batted an eyelid, but the school setting just doesn't sit quite right and even when she's an adult it does have a slight 'stockholm syndrome' feel. BUT, that aside, their relationship is compelling if predictable. 

The secondary characters do feel criminally underused - Temper, Callie's best friend, feels like she deserves some major page time to flesh her out, and Ely, while definitely an alphahole, feels like he has great potential. The fact that they only really appear as catalysts for an event is a real shame, and I hope they have more to do in the rest of the series. I also want to see more if the various characters' 'internal' beings - Callie's siren half is essentially always horny, and I can imagine this leading to some quite funny moments, especially given how she likes to flirt with the Bargainer. Likewise, Ely's alpha and Temper's witch are intriguing. 

The narrator does do a great job; her voices for each character, male and female, are nuanced and different enough that it's an enjoyable listen, and none of them are too OTT. There are some moments where she is narrating and then speaking lines for Callie that flow into one another just a bit too much; this makes it difficult in spots to tell whether what's being said is extremal dialogue or internal monologue, especially when she's having a conversation with someone else, but this is a relatively minor niggle in an otherwise very good performance.

I will come back to read the rest of the series I think, but I'm not so sold on it that it's going to immediately jump to the top of my TBR pile - I have too many other pressing reads for that! And although this was on my TBR pile anyway, the only reason I'm reading now is that it's being removed from the Audible Plus catalogue at the end of the year, so I wanted to catch it as part of my subscription before it disappeared.

Apart from taking a moment to change into my pyjamas, I read this in a single sitting. It really is that easy to read.

Essentially, the plot to this book is an Agatha Christie style whodunit (complete with classic party games), with added spice and a fake-dating trope. It really shouldn't work, but somehow the sheer randomness of it just does! The plot does make sense, and it flows nicely from the last book even with the introduction of new characters, but it's perhaps just a bit too 'twee' for the world the author is trying to build. There's also a few loose threads, which I'm hoping get tidied up in the next books.

That being said, the character of Apollo is also very different from the other members of the Thirteen we've met, in that he's actually a nice guy! And I'm not entirely convinced that throwing him into one of the darker scenarios would have worked. His working relationship with Cassandra is a great foundation, and his almost constant respect for her, her position and her past is a really lovely contrast to many of the other characters. Even when he takes on a dominant role in the bedroom, he's still somehow soft and gentle, which again works even though it probably shouldn't. However, it does mean his character doesn't come across quite as strongly as others - the author writes the wicked streak so well that, when it's missing, it just doesn't quite feel right.

I do feel a little sorry for Cassandra's character, mainly because she comes across as a cheap imitation of Psyche from book two, just with a bit more attitude. I feel like a little more thought could gave gone into the descriptions of her character to make her stand out more or give her more in the way of personality and individuality. 

I did enjoy how the author managed to subtly weave in elements of the mythical characters to her Dark Olympus counterparts. In particular, the fact that Cassandra is not believed by the majority, and the little hints at Apollo's musical interests. But equally, the original lore the author has created for the Olympians is really starting to come together, and the twists and turns serve ad a really good hook into the next book. 

I guess that's how I'd categorise this book at the moment; the bridging book between the set up and the meat of the action; it's getting all of the people in the right places at the right times so that the next section of the story can go off. Stuff of importance for the series does happen, but the majority of the book serves as something of a romantic interlude, leading to the third act action.  

Very enjoyable, even if it isn't my favourite of the series.

The Physician is dead. The Crown Prince is hanging by a thread, and no matter what will likely never be the same again. And Elspeth Spindle's Nightmare has taken over. All that is left for Ravyn is to fulfil what has been foretold and unite the Deck in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the world can be set right.

It does take a moment for you to settle into reading this one, as the POV you've gotten used to in book one changes a bit. Two consciousnesses sharing one body makes for a bit of a brain workout, but somehow it still works really well. The writing within these chapters flows seamlessly between Elspeth and Nightmare, and does an amazing job at painting the picture of their being separate and yet one. The style matches that of the first book, and yet feels more developed and confident, like the author is really telling the story the way they see it in their mind's eye. The relationship between these two characters is further fleshed out and, as you learn more about Nightmare, you really begin to understand him and see more than just the dark spectre; it's beautifully done!

That being said, there is a lot of backstory and exposition in this one. Again, it's woven really well into the main narrative and it doesn't feel like an afterthought or a chore to read at all, but I do wonder if it might have helped a bit more being in the first book? As this is only a duology, some of the explanation seems to come pretty late in the day. However, some elements of it really build up the emotional tie to the characters and the plot, so by the time of the climax you are properly invested. 

As before, Ravyn is my favourite character (although Elm does a lot of heavy lifting in this one to bring him right up in my estimations!) and I cared most about what happens to him. His relationship with Elspeth and Nightmare works fantastically well in this book, and yet at the same time when his actions bring him centre stage I didn't quite get that 'OMG what happens next?!' moment. He should be an epic book boyfriend, but there just isn't quite that connection, and I can't explain why.

I'm a bit stuck about how to describe the pacing and development though. It's neither fast nor slow, and yet some elements of character or relationship development happen incredibly quickly with very little in the way of depth. There is nothing in here that feels forced in terms of that development, but equally I can't say I felt there was a lot of justification for it - it just seems to happen. The worldbuilding continues to be interesting and different, but somehow less vivid despite the uniqueness of the scenario. I suspect this is something to do with the fact that world feels more contained than in other fantasy/romantasy series, so it doesn't have that same 'epic' feel that you might have expected going in.

Overall though, this is a beautifully written duology, standing out from the crowd and doing a damned good job of it!

A different take on the fantasy/romantasy genre, this book is comfortingly familiar and yet refreshingly original. Elspeth was infected with old magic as a child; something which, if caught by the King's Physicians, will likely result in her death. She has kept her ability secret from everyone, but the voice in her head is getting stronger. And when she's ambushed in the woods by highwaymen on the search for Providence Cards, the acceptable source of magic, it starts her on a path towards love, treason, and perhaps even death...

My first impression is that this is a book that should be devoured in one sitting. I got off to a bit of a slow start (busy week!), and read the first dozen chapters in fits and starts. This feels like it detracted from my enjoyment of the book, as it disrupted the flow and meant I didn't settle into the story until much later than I otherwise would have. The writing style is such that you are dropped into the middle of the world and left to discover things as you go, so I was really only able to immerse myself on my longer reading run.

The worldbuilding is something of a game of two halves; the magic system is an incredible piece of imagination and is really well layered into the book. The Providence Cards do take a moment to digest, and there are moments of exposition which possibly could have been smoothed out slightly better to explain them, but ultimately the plot hinges on them and it really, really works. I was actually really surprised by this, as I couldn't quite imagine it going in. The background of the mist and 'old' magic is beautifully woven and the effect this has in Elspeth is fantastically drawn out! However, I was less certain about the actual physical worldbuilding of place and time. It all makes sense and it visible in my minds eye, but it didn't feel as tangible or well developed. 

The story does give me something of a twisted Cinderella vibe throughout, with Elspeth being the cast-out child of the deceased first wife, looked down upon by the wicked stepmother and two (not ugly) stepsisters. But it's when she meets her handsome Captain (the Prince is otherwise engaged, and something of a brute... and not in a good way) that things really start to pick up. Again, the relationship development isn't entirely smooth - after an initial show of reluctance, there's very little resistance before they are happily getting cosy. Ryven is definitely my favourite character in the book, but the whole of the Yew family are wonderful; the author has really captured the essence of a naturally happy family, comfortable in each other's company and pulling together towards a common goal. I love Jes' attitude in particular! Conversely, Hauth is a great person to love to hate; everything he does makes him more and more unlikeable. 

But the best thing in this book is The Nightmare. I could hear his voice immediately (in my head he's played by James Earl Jones), and the cleverly layered conversations he has with Elspeth give him that dark lord energy, but with just a hint of a sense of humour and heart that make him feel just as 'real' as the rest of the characters. 

Overall, I found this a really interesting read and I'm incredibly glad that book two of the duology is already available!

This has been on my reading list since I listened to several podcasts from different providers who all visited the National Archives' exhibition on treason and completely sold it to me. I never had the opportunity to visit, but I hoped that the accompanying book might give me a glimpse into their work. Especially since I can read about gruesome executions and torture until the cows come home, but show me pictures, or even worse dramatised versions from TV and film, and I'll have nightmares for weeks!

I'm not going to say this book was without merit or interest, but it wasn't really what I was expecting. I had imagined it to be almost a written walk through of the exhibition, with the curators explaining why they had chosen particular artifacts or stories to report, before going into detail about those stories, how they shaped the overall development of treason laws and their impact. On some level, I assume this is exactly what the book does do, but it comes through as a straight recounting of facts, names and dates, rather than a labour of love by those involved. It does chart the development of the law, but in quite an uneven way; while there is a chronological order to it, there are some periods which feel like they've been sacrificed unnecessarily, and others where there is almost too-much-but-not-enough detail. For example, after the punishment for treason has been explained initially (hung drawn and quartered), the description very quickly just tapers off into 'and he was hanged'. As stated above, I'm not a huge fan of the bloody endings, but it's clear that things change through time and the drawing and quartering part (if not the beheading part) falls by the wayside at some point. Here is a clear case of where a bit of social commentary and wider context would come in handy, to educate the reader on the changing attitudes of society and lawmakers which led to the punishment being changed. 

I suspect some of the lack of feeling is due to the narrator. Right from the off, his voice reminded me alternately of a) a 1990's newsreader and b) someone who reads the football results. Basically, good intonation and someone you can listen to for a short period, but who is determinedly divorced from emotional involvement in the story he's telling. This made the whole thing come across a very dry and clinical, when at the heart of it are human beings who, whether legitimately or not, are deemed traitors to the state. As a result, it became too easy to zone out of listening, especially when the subject being covered wasn't a time period or case that particularly drew my focus. There are also moments where you can clearly hear in his pauses his panic of 'OK, there's a name I haven't come across before and have no idea how to say it, so here goes nothing...', followed by an inevitability odd pronunciation. I appreciate that it's not a novel and so does require a different sort of narration, but I thought we had moved on a bit from the stuffy professor style...

There is also a lot of repetitive energy going on in here. I'm unclear if this is down to their being multiple authors covering overlapping periods or some other reason, but I found it a bit frustrating. However, it did help a little in the moment given the ease with which my mind wandered.  But unfortunately it didn't help me retain the information any better. All this is not to say it isn't a fascinating insight into the law and the cases that resulted; some of the episodes that are covered are foundational moments of British history (the Gunpowder plot, the American Revolution, the Easter Rising etc), and other are more personal or obscure (at least to me!). 

Overall, I suspect I would have gotten more from a physical read of this book. A passing knowledge and enjoyment of history isn't quite enough to get you solidly through the audio version. However, it wouldn't put me off going to see the exhibition!

The last one of this round of my Russian history era... I only wish I'd known how chunky it was before I'd ordered it from the library! While Grigory Rasputin is a fascinating historical character, I can safely say this was the wrong book for me. It's clearly very well researched and impressively detailed, but it's certainly more of a scholarly tome than something for a more general audience. I have a working knowledge of this era (yay A Level history!), but I just couldn't keep up. 

My main impression is that this is not a biography per say. Rasputin is at the heart of the book, ans it follows his life from birth to death, yes, but more often than not the author is viewing Rasputin through the lens of other peoples' reactions to him, be it direct or indirect. It came across to me that you learned far more about his rivals and enemies' motivations for disliking him or wanting to remove him than you ever did about the man himself. The trouble is, where that's a long list of people, all of whom have fairly long Russian names that I wasn't always familiar with, it's very easy to lose track and lose interest. It's definitely a good and different way of approaching a biography, but it does make it a much harder read. For example, there are a few people who run parallel to Rasputin and appear throughout, to whom it seems like this book could also serve as biography - Iliodor is one such person, but despite just having finished the book, I can remember his name and that's about it. There is lots of information in there about this guy, but I almost immediately lost the thread of who he was and how he relates to Rasputin. I think friend-turned-enemy?!

There were some things I picked up on that made me think though! The book quotes a number of letters written by Tsarina Alexandra, which are imploring Tsar Nicholas to take Rasputin's advice on everything from troop movements to ministerial appointments. By doing so, it absolutely reinforces the historical narrative that Alix leaned on 'the mad monk' heavily and almost worshipped him. However, it also gives nuance to the argument that Nicholas was weak-willed and ruled by his wife (who was ruled by Rasputin). The books successfully illustrates that, on the majority of occasions, Nicholas either ignored or rejected the proffered advice, and Rasputin would then change his stance accordingly. There is no denying that Nicholas made some poor choices, but this books makes a good case for not laying all of those mistakes at Rasputin's door. 

The book does try to act as something of a 'myth-buster', working through various episodes to try and get to the truth of the matter. The issue I had here is that, a lot of the time, it felt like the discussions surrounding the event often overshadowed the event itself - even with the big one, his unaliving, it doesn't feel like that much time or effort is actually dedicated to the event. Instead, it's all about the investigation afterwards and the theories surrounding the mysteries of that night. And unfortunately a lot of the events he chooses to examine were essentially misreported or made up at the time, so more often than not the conclusion of the author is 'sorry, another falsehood'. Which, while factual and appreciated, does tend to detract from the engagement level!

I will say I do like that this book has very short chapters, meaning you can take the information in in very easy bite-sized chunks, and there are plenty of good stopping off points. 

Overall, I don't think I absorbed any more than about 10% of this book. If you are a university student or academic studying this period, I suspect you will find this a fascinating read. But for Joe public, it's probably just a bit far out of reach. I probably should have DNFed by about page 200, but I was committed!

A freebie from the Audible Plus catalogue, I picked this one up because it was relatively short and I just needed some background noise while I was ironing. It did the job, but unfortunately not much more than that for me. 

At first glance, the premise looks promising; a half-Fae half-Were barista with the usual tragic romantasy backstory quits her job in a fit of pique after zoning out of reality and into one of her loopy aunt's dreams. She's also distracted by the guy she had a childhood crush on (and who left her inside a burning building) walking into the cafe despite hiding from him and his pack for the past decade. There's a semi-sentient amulet sidekick, a mystery to solve and an alpha male to keep things interesting. But the writing just doesn't live up to expectations. It feels incredibly disjointed, with scenes either full of exposition or that seem completely divorced from the main plot. There are moments that, if they stood alone, could come across quite well, but it all just gets a bit lost. The twists and shocks are relatively predictable, and overall the narrative didn't feel that well executed. 

The same issue arises with the characters and their relationships. It's billed as enemies to lovers, which it is, but there's no real development; in a very quick moment, Hedi goes from hating Bridge's  guts to calling him hers, but there's no sense of relief or joy at it for the reader. It just appears from no-where, with none of the emotional attachments that make it feel plausible, let alone realistic. Hedi's decisions and logic made no real sense to me throughout, and even during the denouement I hadn't been drawn into the characters enough to care about them. Bridge is the best drawn character in the book by a long way, but sadly that isn't saying much. The only time I got any sort of flickers of interest was in the moments where they were about to head to the bedroom and the afterglow. The book is closed door, so no actual smut to see here. These scenes were the closest we get to actual feelings and bonding between the two main characters, and honestly I put this down more to the performers of the audio than the writing. 

It does feel like a great base on which to build a world and a series; with some work, I can imagine this offering laughs, tears, gut punches and amazements aplenty. But there is just too much for the reader to do to get there at the moment. 

The audio itself was good - Colleen Delaney puts in another great performance and I was happy to listen to her narrate the story, and it's always fun to play 'spot the ACOTAR voice artist' when listening to the works produced by this company. However, there are moments where the background music/sound effects completely overwhelm the narration, which was really frustrating. This also feels like it relies quite heavily on the background music - I don't remember many times where there wasn't sound there. 

There are three more parts to this series. While I am a little intrigued as to how the story plays out, I really can't find any argument that it's worth me spending my Audible credits on as only this part is free. But I can live with not knowing.

Disclaimer: I listened to the audio version of this, so if I spell any of the character/place names incorrectly in my review, it's because I haven't seen them written down.

We all know how this story goes. A spunky young human woman with a tragic backstory and a family to support because she's the only one who can finds herself in some kind of trouble, only for a talk, dark, handsome mysterious male warrior to arrive at an opportune moment and whisk her away to the land of the Fae. Somehow, this random human holds the key to saving all of Fae-kind, and the grumpy shadow daddy that is a bit of an ass to her at the outset slowly starts to reveal his soft centre and his hard anatomy 😉, before they overcome their differences and fight the good fight side by side. But while the story and the tropes might be easily recognisable, when the writing and the particulars of the author's tale are this good, it doesn't matter one little bit. Basically, I now have a new favourite book of the year. 

One of the biggest things that caught my attention about the writing was the consistency with which the author addresses the differences between the human and Fae worlds. Our main character, Saeris, lives on a world with twin suns that never set. Water is scarce, food is hard to come by and the royal Guardians are a constant threat. So when she winds up in Yvelia, where the ground is covered with snow, the world goes dark at night and the first thing she is greeted with is a whole pitcher of water just for her, followed by a bath, you can feel her wariness, awe and disbelief through the pages. But, where most authors would probably forget about these things as inconsequential details or seemingly have the character assimilate quickly, Callie Hart manages to keep weaving in these little mentions throughout the story that serve to keep Saeris, and by extension the reader, feeling out this strange new world and longing for home. It's really well done, and gives the worldbuilding an edge which really works. 

That being said, this book lays the groundwork for an epic spanning several territories and worlds, but there isn't always as much clarity or detail as I would like to allow me to picture everything or plot out the worlds in my mind. I suspect having the physical book (hopefully with maps!) in front of me might help with this, but for the time being I will admit to there being a couple of moments where I found myself a bit lost in the ether when it came to where the characters were. 

I have seen comments that the indy version of this book isn't brilliantly edited, it's littered with spelling mistakes etc. Obviously I can't comment on that as I was listening rather than reading, but I can say that you can feel the heart and soul that has been poured into this story by the author, so if there are problems with the indy book, do try and push past them if you can because it is absolutely worth it. And I'll definitely be buying the reissued version when it's traditionally published in paperback (only because that's all that will fit on my shelves now!). 

For the most part, the characters are all brilliantly drawn. I'd argue that the more you're meant to care about the character, the better written they are, meaning that the villains of the piece don't feel quite as fully formed, but when your cast of 'found family' each has their own way of pulling at your emotions, their reactions to the villains basically makes up for it. Kingfisher has disrupted the business end of my book boyfriend list; his bad attitude, shadow-wielding power and sexy smirk make for a pretty much perfect romantasy leading man, and he has his own cadre of warrior brothers whose contrasting personalities sing. Saeris might fulfil a lot of stereotypes for the FMC of a romantasy book; annoying human who thinks she knows best, suspiciously good with a blade despite limited training and stubbornly independent to the point of stupidity, but the author has managed to give her more depth and agency than that; she gives as good as she gets. But the star of the show is Carion Swift. He might be a secondary character, but his personality is writ large across every single page he appears on. He's the comic relief and the butt of jokes, yes, but he's also a genuine supporting character with his own development, history and motives. I adored him. 

At this point, I have to give credit to the narrators. IMO, if you're going to do a 'straight' audiobook (as opposed to a graphic audio), this is how it should be done; a male and a female narrator, each voicing the characters of the appropriate gender. It just immerses the listener so much more into the story, and brings the charactera to life so much more! I was already a huge fan of Anthony Palmini because of ACOTAR, but oh. My. Goodness! This is a whole other level. There is one slightly dodgy accent (I can't quite tell if Renthis is meant to be Scottish or a Viking), but for the most part his range of voices is incredible. And yes, his Kingfisher low, growly rumble is everything you hope for and more besides 🥵🥵🥵. I haven't listened to anything by Stella Bloom before, but I will certainly listen to her work in future! She had the lion's share of the work here, with the book being told from Saeris' POV, but she made it sound easy.  The way she conveyed emotions ranging from exasperation to desire to hurt to fear through her voice was amazing, and there wasn't a single moment where I was bored or disengaged from listening to her. As much as I'm sure I would enjoy reading the book in the traditional sense, I am immensely glad that I didn't miss out on this audio version and would thoroughly recommend it to everyone! 

Is this book perfect? No. But does it tick all my boxes and a few more besides? Absolutely yes. I'm half tempted to just start listening from the beginning again! I just wish I didn't have to wait for the next one!!!

It's time for 'The Little Mermaid' to get the Emily McIntire treatment! Enzo comes to Atlantic Cove engaged to the beautiful but vapid Aria, daughter to the boss of the state's organised crime ring. He's the son of a New York mafia Don, and is content to do his duty. But when he meets Vanesa, Aria's witch of a cousin, sparks begin to fly as their dark deeds come to light.

Immediately, I can say that this takes the crown as my favourite of the Never After series. The story has the best feel and flow, the relationship is really engaging and keeps you invested, and the characters all evoke strong emotions from the reader. Considering the personal difficulties experienced by the author during the writing of this book, I actually think this may be the best writing of the series too. 

I love the fact that the attraction and UST between Enzo and Vanesa is sizzling from literally the moment they officially meet for the first time. We were warned that this was going to be a slow burn and it absolutely is, but it's not a frustrating wait; it feels naturally inevitable and reading about their attraction and back-and-forth just makes you want a relationship like theirs! Both characters have wonderful appeal individually too - Enzo appears incredibly well put together, sexy and confident, with a hint of that vulnerability which makes women melt and a violent dark streak, ultimately making him an almost perfect morally grey man! 

Vanesa, although seeking validation from her Uncle, is an incredibly strong woman, determined to only be reliant upon herself until she meets the one person who can match and compliment her without smothering her. What I really love about her though is that she encompasses a lot of diversity within one character; an out and proud bisexual, even in the face of people who don't support or accept that aspect of her; a curvy girl who is still portrayed as gorgeous and sexy; and a woman who wants to remain childless by choice who isn't made to feel guilty about it! And the way it's written, nothing comes across as controversial, but rather it's readily accepted.

The secondary characters are great too. Aria REALLY annoys me; she's a horrible character, a spoiled brat and an almost stereotypical mean girl... but that is precisely why she works! Both Enzo and Vanesa's underlings have great personalities, and are a riot when they come together, and the two family heads are just utter b*****ds. There isn't a single character that feels like filler or a placeholder; they've all been well developed and have a clear purpose. And there are moments throughout where you do question some of their motives, which adds an extra edge to the narrative. 

I did manage to pre-empt the majority of the twists, but nevertheless I enjoyed watching the story unfold and reward me for my correct guessing. There are a couple of small moments in the narrative which feel underdeveloped, but what I feel is missing from those moments is more character development / backstory / motivation, rather than a lack of driving the plot forward. Overall though, the pace feels pretty much spot on. 

It wouldn't be a Never After novel without a few good spicy scenes. Again, the magnetic draw between the two characters is electric, so when they do get down to business, it really is a release of tension! And I love the fact that they don't shy away from PDA - the fact that their underlings keep having to leave the apartment because they can't keep their hands off of eachother just gives me the warm fuzzies!

I know this is meant to be the last of the series, but I really hope it isn't - I will continue to buy books by this author as long as they keep being released!

The leader of Olympus' security forces is dead, and so a new Ares must be crowned in a spectacular contest. Zeus also adds a sweetener to the deal; whoever wins the title also wins the hand of his sister, the beautiful Helen. Achilles has been training his whole life for this opportunity, and his lover Patroclus is determined  to help him achieve it. But when Helen submits herself as a contender, the game changes and it's not just a title they're fighting for...

While I did still enjoy this one immensely (I'm almost as big a sap for Achilles and Patroclus as I am for Hades and Persephone), I found myself thinking throughout that this story is essentially the Triwizard Tournament plus elements of the Hunger Games, only with less death and more sex! Three tasks, whittling down the candidates until a winner is crowned.

And they essentially boil down to Ninja Warrior (with added actual ninjas), the Triwizard maze (where your fellow competitors might just attack you at any moment), and the obligatory gladiatorial battle (but where your main characters choose nightsticks as their weapons rather than swords, knives or anything else pointy and sharp).

It just doesn't quite flow as well as a story; it reads more like a series of one off scenes that have been stitched together, with the bridge between each being the characters enjoying eachother. Still a fun read, but just not quite as emotionally engaging as the previous books. 

I did very much like the balance of personalities between Helen, Achilles and Patroclus though. The triad really works, each contributing something to their relationship to make them a strong and believable unit. Equally, each of them are strong characters in their own right, and it was very easy to fall into each of their POVs and understand their perspectives. In particular, I strangely liked the slightly hypocritical stance Achilles takes whereby he's sure that Helen will forgive him when he wins the tournament, without ever giving thought to what he would do if she wins. When you're in his head, the thought process makes absolute sense, even if objectively it's a bit ridiculous! The writing really brings to life these character foibles for each of them.

However, I wasn't always convinced by the development of the relationship; there are a couple of places where things just feel too 'easy', or are glossed over to get them to where they need to be which does detract from their story. Likewise, there are some moments where the reasons for a character doing/not doing something feel very weak... there are some convenient excuses used that just feel a wee bit lazy. I almost feel like this book could have been a lot more of an emotional rollercoaster and given the reader a whole lot more depth if the pace had been slowed a little, or if the book had been twice the length! 

This book also introduces a thread of what I assume will be an ongoing story arc throughout the rest of the series. It's cleverly done by introducing 'outsiders' into Olympus, but those outsiders are still familiar to the reader as characters from Greek myth. It does raise the stakes a little, and I'm interested to see how it might play out. I'm fully invested and can't wait to keep reading!