The Queen of Quintessence: Special Edition

Royals of Kingwood Academy #3

by Tessa Hale

My list of enemies is growing by the day. People I expect and those I never saw coming. But the one thing I know is that I’ll fight with everything I have to make it back to my mates.

My charmer.
My gentle giant.
My psychopath.
And my cruel prince.
Our powers are growing as our bond deepens.

And when they figure out who’s taken me? They’ll burn the world down around them…

*Book three in a new paranormal reverse harem romance trilogy. Fated Mates, powerful elementals, and an evil that will stop at nothing to take them all down...

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Why Choose, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Romantasy

282 pages, Paperback

First published December 14, 2022

About the author

Author of love stories with magic, usually with more than one love interest. Constant daydreamer.

What a FREE novella from me? You can download one via BookFunnel: https://BookHip.com/NWRWMZA

Reviews

[Millie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm disappointed by this series. I liked the beginning of the first book even if the story is really predictable and the author puts all the clues down the reader's throat.

But Aura is not a strong heroine (no matter what her guys or the professors tell her), she blacks out A LOT, she doesn't try to learn more about her powers or even trains. She's passive. The mean girls (as ridiculous and cliché they're written) step on her all the time and she never fights back. She's the most powerful being in the world but she is so used to be mediocre that she just take the bullying.
I didn't particularly feel the connection between her and her mates. I wish I knew more about their background and their childhood. It's funny because in the first book, there's this scene between Riven and Phoenix and I thought 'they have a powerful friendship' but they don't.
She's also a shitty friend, as soon as she goes to the academy she forgets about Lainey (she knows she can contacts her but she doesn't)

I hated Kerry - crazy how Aura forgets about her in book three, then remembers her around the half of the book to forget her AGAIN and then near the end she's like "I want to see Kerry", bitch seriously? - and Xena becoming her BFF in the end was the shittiest thing ever.
Drew's death was such a detail in the story and sine the beginning we've been told she's manipulative, she's strong, she's this and this but LOL. How does she know Atlas' father and how does she leave the academy to see him?! Why is nothing never explained!!!
I don't even care about Aiden, he was just there I guess. I don't understand why we don't see Phoenix's parents?

The books lacked confrontations. Specially with Riven's father.

I don't really enjoy PRN books where the heroine is supposed to stay years at the academy but the books only cover - barely - the first 6 months. You can't witness growth if you only read about the struggles. The characters talk about living at their dream house (gets destroyed), they talk about having babies, but the epilogue only show 10 minutes, 3 years and a half later.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

*sigh* so much repetition.

[Tessa Hale]

⭐ THE QUEEN OF QUINTESSENCE IS LIVE & FREE WITH KINDLE UNLIMITED ⭐

My list of enemies is growing by the day. People I expect and those I never saw coming. But the one thing I know is that I’ll fight with everything I have to make it back to my mates.
My charmer.
My gentle giant.
My psychopath.
And my cruel prince.
Our powers are growing as our bond deepens.
And when they figure out who’s taken me? They’ll burn the world down around them…



Read Free with Kindle Unlimited ➝ https://geni.us/QueenofQntssncFbSP
Start with the 1st in Series ➝ https://geni.us/LostElmntlAmzn

[Christi (christireadsalot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series was a lot of fun to binge! Especially the audiobooks (available through the library on hoopla too). A why choose, fated mates romance series with elemental powers, broody protective heroes, and a bond!

Just know that each book in the trilogy ends on a cliffhanger so it’ll have you wanting to jump into the next book immediately to see where the story goes! lol I love the way this author writes why choose, each hero feels so unique and the royals aspect of this world was fun to see play out and added another level to the relationships!

[Lynnzie (lynnziebooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y’all are not ready because this book is nonstop. There’s a lot of ground to cover to get to the end but don’t worry, it’s all completely worth it and no question is left unanswered.

Aura and the guys have gone through it this series and this book continues the trend. They are all fighting for that perfect happiness and peace within the kingdom but you’ll have to read it to find out if they succeed.

This book was cute and stressful and keeps you guessing. I loved the ending we got and the epilogue was adorable. I’m going to miss this group but I’m excited for Tessa’s next series!

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There may be some spoilers by accident but you should be ok...








First off, A minor pet peeve.

The first.book, where contraception came up, Aura states she is on "the pill"...
And then, several times.she was knocked out " for several days" or locked.up or something that.kept her away from home.or without a purse...
Now,.I don't know how much you know.about "the pill" but, it has to be taken every day at about the same time each day for it to be 99% effective...

If you are going to state a specific birth control method in a story, then you should follow through with it.

The author could have just said, "I'm on birth control" and things would have just been assumed that there was.a.shot involved or something like an implant.but, the author was very specific about the type.

So here I was, expecting an accidental pregnancy through the series, with the amount they were getting freaky but, nope.
It would have.really made the story pop... Adding in, having to protect the future heir... And none of us, that actually pay attention to the small details.of a.book would have been surprised.

Okay, I lied. This is a MAJOR pet peeve.of mine...

Stories are.only as powerful.as.the details that are offered and then followed through on... And being specific about the form of birth control is leading us to a.path in the story and then to have that path obliterated feels like a let down...

Okay, maybe I can see.why my friends think I become hyper focus/fixated on details but blame it on Tessa in this case.
She is the one that had to name the contraception...


Moving on.... I guess.....

I wish Riven also had the gift to give back the.memories he had stolen.
Like a.veil being lifted and allowing her to remember ALL her memories that she lost.
I think that would have been an amazing gift to give to her...


Next....

I wish her mom had survived. I don't see this as a.spoiler, this.was already covered in the first.book, and if you're reading this you likely already know...


And now... Again, something was missing...
Maybe it was the idea of a surprise pregnancy due.to failed birth.control...

Idk..but, it was a.good series....

Oh and.Drue?

Dude, I would have.just.let her.burn. she.dug her own grave! Some ppl, just can't be helped. I help ppl who have.earned and deserve.my respect. Others that have wronged me over and over.. That I have given many chances too, can rot in hell.


ps... Please forgive my "." Errors.... Take most of them as spaces. I'm leaving reviews on my tablets and I have very small hands... I can't reach the spacebar button and constantly hit the "." instead lol... It's called being so passionate about my reviews, I try to speed type lmao....

[Addison Franke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I swear this girl was knocked out every other chapter and it drove me bonkers I thought she was supposed to be an all powerful aether 🤨

[Bookish Equestrian {hiatus} · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come!

[Thay · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I'm the one who gets to decide who's worthy of me. And I choose you every time."

The Queen of Quintessence was a book that was supposed to redeem the previous one for me, which I thought was basically a filler, but I don't think it improved that much. I feel like this series didn't captivate me in the same way as the others I've read by Tessa, unfortunately. That being said, I'll list some things that bothered me.

The attacks the characters suffer end up being repetitive and they constantly end in the same way: with Aura falling unconscious. Soon after that, she wakes up and the boys have to give an account of how the conflict was resolved. I'd have much rather seen this resolution happening on page. I was also much more interested in the boys' arcs than Aura's, I think having their point of view would have benefited the book a lot so that we wouldn't get tired of the same old thing that was always happening with Aura.

This time, in addition to King Zephyr, we have King Terra's involvement, but the others remain very much on the sidelines. I'd believe that they would be more involved, especially when it comes to protecting the future queen who's destined to unite the kingdoms.

I'll talk about a spoiler, but it happens in the first chapter, so I think it's okay. The plot twist of Kerry, Aura's first friend in her "new life", betraying her was predictable but at the same time unexpected. My reason for thinking so is that the same thing happened in the Supernaturals of Castle Academy series (Connor) and although it was released later, I didn't want this plot detail to happen again in series so close to each other in regards to published dates. I can imagine that the disappointment I had with this book, people who read Supernaturals of Castle Academy after it was released must have felt.

Besides that all, one detail that I find really funny is that all the tokens that Aura earns she puts on a necklace around her neck. She ends the book with about 6 and I just don't understand how she doesn't mind having all those things stuck under her clothes, especially when one of them is a knife. When she received the last two all I could think was: "coitada dessa menina cheia de penduricalho no pescoço" (in my native language, because yes, lol).

Furthermore, I felt that the story didn't really grab me that much and I wasn't that intrigued by the development of the plot, which ended up making the book's pacing slow, so much so that in the end I was just listening to the audiobook while doing other things and not reading the ebook at the same time, as I usually do when I'm completely hooked on the story. It's a shame because I love Tessa's most recent works but I found this one to be much inferior in terms of story.

I know that Tessa usually follows her story pattern in all her series, as I mentioned in my review of The Lost Elemental, but the way she did it with her most recent series pleased me much more. I thought there were many similar details in both, but there were different things that made, especially the Dragons of Ember Hollow, better in my opinion.

In the end, I liked all the books enough to continue reading and finish the series but it didn't win me over as much, which will make it a forgettable story for me. I'm very happy to know how much Tessa's writing has improved in her recent works, which made this series disappointing because I felt that the quality had declined, but even so, because I like Tessa and want to read everything she has written, I will read the Shifting Fate series, her first work, soon.

✨ RATING
- C (characters): 6/10
- A (atmosphere): 6/10
- W (writing): 7/10
- P (plot): 5/10
- I (intrigue): 6/10
- L (logic): 6/10
- E (enjoyment): 7/10
↬ TOTAL: 6.29 = ⭐⭐⭐+0,5

💦 SPICE: 🌶️🌶️

🔖 TROPES:
- Why Choose/Reverse Harem
- Fantasy romance
- Fated mates
- Elemental powers
- Royals
- Hate to Love (one character)
- Touch her and die
- Academy romance

⚠️ Trigger Warnings: ptsd, trauma, panic attacks, bullying, abusive parent, assassination attempts

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

That wasn’t a good ending. I was confused about 60% way through because there seemed to be so much left to accomplish and I was thinking how everything would wrap up in such little left of the book. It’s because everything was so rushed and very little was explained. This would have been better if there was more world building and more detail on events. The raw material was there for the series but not enough to make it great. Also, Aura blacked out way too much.

[nymeria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf @ 40%

I just stopped caring

[Kimberly Garner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great end to this trilogy. I loved this book, and how the story unfolded. It was intense in some chapters, others were a little lighter. The characters were developing as the story developed, new secrets were uncovered, and it was written wonderfully. The story was one of discovery and love, hate, and jelousy, greed and madness. The author handled it all with no problem, and made it so there was no question left unanswered.

[alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

✩‧₊˚ 𝟐.𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

★¸.•☆•.¸★ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 ★⡀.•☆•.★

𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐚 (h) has enemies coming for her, and the Kingwood Academy is dividing, some to defend the Kings and some on her side as the last aether. All she knows is that 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱, 𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐬, 𝐊𝐚𝐢 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 (H) are on her side and there to ensure nothing happens to her.

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐
☪⋆◦•●♡ 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 ♡●•◦☪⋆

𝐊𝐚𝐢 + 𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐚: “𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦, 𝘒𝘢𝘪 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. “𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶”

He might be the group's comedian, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he would do anything for Aura. Kai is always acting like a menace to the point where you can't take him seriously, but he adds all the lighthearted moments to the group when needed. He brought the banter and made me laugh throughout the book, which made it enjoyable. He is a ray of sunshine who wants to love Aura, eat his food, and wear his muumuu. Kai didn't see Aura for ONE class period, which was his last straw; he just wanted to be around her. I thought the funniest scene was where Riven and Aura were having a moment, and he took his phone out to take a picture of them having a moment…literally, only Kai would do that.

𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐬 + 𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐚: 𝘈𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘴’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

HE KILLED HIS FATHER FOR HER. Granted, his father was terrible, but he did it without hesitation to keep her safe. His love language is acts of service, considering he always wants to ensure she is well-fed and protected. He loves the idea of family dinners and making her feel at home, which is sweet. I think the cutest thing about him as that he blushes over everything and he’s just really shy. I love soft spoken MMCs who can’t handle compliments because they turn red.

𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱 + 𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐚: “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯.”

He loved her too much that he kept pushing her away because he didn’t think she deserved someone like him. From the start, Phee has never been good at dealing with his emotions and tends to shut people out, which is exactly what he did most of this book. Despite Aura telling him that she loved him and to give them a chance to be happy, he couldn’t tolerate the idea of her touching him after he believed he “failed” to protect her. He was honestly too harsh on himself and needed to cut himself slack. I’m glad he stopped being stubborn and stopped putting so much pressure on himself to be perfect when all he was ever doing was trying.

𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 + 𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐚: “𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦.”

Riv had his reasons for doing everything in the first few books, and it doesn’t excuse his behavior, but it does prove that he was willing to do anything to make sure she was safe. He knew that pushing her away was the safest option, even if he couldn’t have her. Even now, he was paying for all his harsh words and felt like he didn’t deserve to be loved by Aura. He had a good redemption arc and proved himself repeatedly when he was willing to die for her. I didn’t doubt that he was in love with her and would do anything to make sure she was okay.

*•.¸♡ 𝐎͢𝐕͢𝐄͢𝐑͢𝐀͢𝐋͢𝐋͢ ♡¸.•*

I can’t be too upset about how rushed the ending felt, considering the book is less than three hundred pages, but I felt there wasn’t enough time to get full closure or battle scenes because everything was resolved in three pages. I wanted more to their story and worried about how it would end when I was 90% into the book, but she defeated everyone quickly. It felt like the family and friends she cared about initially were also forgotten, so Kerry made a few valid points (once the Royals came along, Aura forgot about everyone else). At least we know they got their HEA.

[Celeste · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lazy

FMC spends most of her time unconscious, getting her feelings hurt and inner monologing. There is very little interaction with the story setting, other characters and with her harem.

I was annoyed, bored and frustrated by the end of it.

Needs a good dose of editing for grammatical errors.

[Kaity · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audio:
5 stars for Aletha George
Audio can be found on Everand

Book: 2.5-3 stars for the series

Whole series review.

Ehh, had high hopes after finishing book 1, but it just kinda went downhill from book 2 on. I was getting annoyed with Aura (aka Pip… stupid nickname). She was supposed to have amazing power but she would use them then pass out.. like girl how can you save the world if you keep dying or passing out! 🤦🏽‍♀️

I gave Tessa Hale’s books another chance but they just don’t work for me like I always hope they would.

[Stacy Koster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the series over all, but this book needed more plot.

[Bianca Souza · Rating 2 out of 5]

It could've been so much more, the plot was great but the book was really predictable.

[Brooke · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 17%.

This is nearly unreadable. It is far too much like this authors other series, but much worse. I absolutely cannot stand how pathetic the FMC is.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s repetitive but at least it ends with a happy ever after

[Bel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3rd and final book

❗❗❗Potential Spoilers for previous books❗❗❗




Aura and the guys are in a world of chaos, full of enemies.

As the quintessence Aether, a being so powerful that a lot of people prefer to eliminate.

Assassins, kings, family, friends, colleagues and even their own inner demons. These are just the first of their enemies. And learning how to work her powers and the way their bond works is not something that can be pushed aside.


✔️ RH romance
🆗 Bond
⬇️ Special one
⬇️ Introduced to new world / Discovery of powers
✔️ Cute, overprotective alpha males
⬇️ Academy
⬇️ Fighting
HEA
No cheating

❗ Trigger warnings: assassination attempts, fighting, beating, killing family members (justified), being stuck in a fire and burned




❗❗❗ Spoiler Alert ❗❗❗




Notes:

The whole story is a bit repetitive:

- Inner demons, guilt and "I don't deserve her":
One of the guys pushes her away for her own good. She is hurt. She pushes. They run away. They work on it. Then the same happens with one of the other guys.

- "S*x after traumatic events":
Always and basically the only time they have s*x is just after one of them being hurt, physically or mentally, and just woke up or are laying down to recover from the injuries. Which doesn't strike me as the best moment for, at least not the most pain free moment for s*x. It is not that it couldn't happen. But basically every single time?? It seems the author wanted to create intimacy to let them bond and deal with traumatic events but s*x is not the only way to do it.

- Non stop, repetitive ambushes:
Time and time again Aura is ambushed, victim of assassination attempts or someone who wants to scare her.


For someone who never knew she was elemental and is always skipping classes because of the ambushes, Aura seems to have learnt how to grasp her powers quite well. And she hasn't even finished her first year at the academy. The special one vibe is strong here. Her power and bond do tend to work or save the day at just the right time.


Even if she trains with the rest of the students, Aura never trains her Aether powers. Just uses them during those times of need and obtains good results. It is strange that even after Aura and the guys see some amazing displays of her power, that could be quite helpful to use against their enemies, they never train Aura to use it.




Overall a nice read but a bit disappointing.


But as always, my respect to the author.
No hate nor hurt intended with this review.

[Nadine Bookaholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE QUEEN OF QUINTESSENCE is the third book in the ROYALS OF KINGWOOD ACADEMY trilogy and must be read in the order it has been released as each of the prior books end on a cliffhanger which leads into the next book for a cohesive story flow.

I am going to be very vague in my review and it's because while there was so much going on it's also very easy to slip up and spoil it for readers and I refuse to do that. Just know that Tessa Hale has penned a world that I absolutely loved getting lost in. Aura, and her four fated mates who are all Elemental Royals, Atlas, Riven, Kai, and Phoenix, have their hands full in this installment of the trilogy. There is a HUGE shocker on who betrays Aura, I can totally understand why it happened and was thrilled when they had the chance to redeem themselves. There is trouble coming at them from all different ways and there are some that would surprise you that stand along side them and fight.

HEY PASSIONFLIX! Are you reading this??? You need to check out this trilogy and add it to your list of books that need to be made into a movie. I would love to see this world come to life, Tessa did a wonderful job with painting the scenes so you can picture it all in your mind but oh how I would love to see it on the screen.

If you enjoy STEAMY Paranormal New Adult Romances, Why Choose Romances, or Fated Mate Romances, I highly recommend this trilogy to you.

Happy Reading!!!

Read an #Excerpt here ➡ https://bit.ly/NBReviewTQoQ



**I have voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Readers Copy of this book for my Blog, Nadine's Obsessed with Books
You can find me here:  https://linktr.ee/NadineBookaholic

[Laura (lady_h_reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5
I thoroughly enjoyed this entire trilogy. The Queen of Quintessence did a great job tying up all the loose threads and giving Aura her well-deserved HEA. That poor girl goes through the wringer in this one!

Phoenix is taking on the blame for his brother’s actions and pulling away, King Zephyr is only becoming more obsessed with possessing her, and she and her bonded are being attacked from every direction. Big secrets are revealed about her past, and someone close betrays her. But with every challenge thrown her way, she learns more about her powers, and her bonds with the princes grow.

The spice level was significantly higher in this final book. S3xual connection is a great way to relieve stress and offer distraction when things get too overwhelming, and they take advantage of it, often. Aura gets worshiped like the queen she is – no sword crossing, though many group scenes.

There is so much edge-of-your-seat action in this final book that you will find it hard to put down. I was so satisfied to get to her HEA, though I did feel like the end of the culminating event was a bit rushed.

I highly recommend this series to those who like the lighter side of fantasy/PNR academy RH.

[Dani (books and blankets) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't want it to end. 🖤

I'm so sad to end this series. I'm going to miss the characters and story. Honestly, I haven't enjoyed a series this much in a long time. I'm glad I finally decided to read it. The world-building was perfect, the characters instantly lovable, and the story was well-written. I wish I could give it ten stars. The author was new to me, but now I can say I'm definitely a fan.

[vikaఌ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book.
The further we get into it, the more I hated the characters, plot, and the book in general. How many more times can a girl faint without having permanent damage😃 Honestly towards the second half I started to skip parts (especially the smut, it felt like a kids book with themes it shouldn’t have). The characters were basically the same.
At least the betrayal got me shocked. I did not expect that 👀
Further you cannot tell me she treated everyone like her mate expect Kai. It felt off and I honestly felt bad for him at times.

[Kortney · Rating 5 out of 5]

First let me say a big thank you for allowing me to be part of this ARC adventure. The final book in this trilogy did not disappoint. You see so much development and growth with all of the characters, especially within the bond and that includes physical manifestations that keeps you wanting to know more. Something I love about this book is that it keeps surprising you around every corner, Tessa did an amazing job of blindsiding you at every turn. That being said, this book wraps up beautifully in ways you would never be able to foresee. This trilogy is a must.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a very easy read made up of some pretty bad storytelling.

It is safe to say I got really tired of one of them “dying” in what felt like every third chapter. Either kill them off or don’t; and if you don’t, only use this trope ONCE! There were zero stakes if any of them got injured because I knew in the next chapter there would be some lazy discussion on how the magic saved them just in time.

The fight scenes were also a massive disappointment. The lack of description of what was happening was stark. So many times it felt like the author got tired of writing these scenes that she reverted to the old fade to black trick. Instead of writing an epic fight, it felt like we get an into to a fight, the main character got mildly injured, passed out and somehow her magic still saved them? But we never hear about what she or her magic did in detail.


Sometimes the dialogue felt like it was physically hurting from how cringe it felt. The way the male characters talked to each other seemed completely unrealistic to the point it removed me from the story. And at many points there would be dialogue about something before we learnt what was happening! Idk it seemed messy

Ultimately i found it really sloppy and a bit lacklustre for a final book in a series.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally I'm terrible at picking up last books in a series. I guess it's mostly because having to say goodbye to characters and worlds is not my strongest suit. I like the promise that when I miss characters or worlds too badly there is always one more book waiting for me. But in this case I was mostly curious how the series would end and the books are very easy reads so this was the first book I picked up when returning from my short holiday.

I have to admit that I had expected a little bit more from this last book. The first book in the series was amazing, the second book a typical middle book and I was therefore hoping for a spectacular finale. And although there was certainly a lot of action in this book I mostly thought that this book would have benefitted from a little more detail and a little more slowing down and taking its time to tell and show us everything.

The book is only a 270 pages and there is so much happening within those 270 pages! There are temporary break-ups and make-ups. There is a lot of fighting against a lot of different people, armies and kings. There is betrayal. There are moments our characters have to face their fears and traumas and our heroine has to change the minds of countless people. The book is never boring, but I'm sure the emotional impact could have been bigger with a slower pace.

However, I did like the growth of these characters throughout the series and how they eventually all got the chance to face their demons in a very fitting way. I of course don't want to give away too much, but it's clear that the author really thought about everything our heroes had to do to deal with the demons of their pasts and gave them the chance to do it. So, even though the pacing was a little fast the ending was very very satisfying.

[Artemissia G · Rating 3 out of 5]

La suite et fin de cette trilogie est enfin sortie et je l’ai lu dès que je l’ai reçue ! On a affaire à une jolie romance fantastique de type harem inversé. C’est très sucré/acidulé ; une friandise que j’ai su apprécier comme il faut !

Nous retrouvons donc nos personnages dans une position inextricable ! Aura doit se protéger du méchant père de Riven qui est prêt à faire tout et n’importe quoi pour la capturer. Et il n’est pas le seul danger au menu, car le frère de Phoenix est lui aussi dans les rangs des ennemis jurés d’Aura.

C’est une suite qui va à cent à l’heure et qui est pleine de rebondissements en tout genre. C’est aussi très violent et Aura est loin d’être épargnée, la pauvre. C’est également très chaud bouillant entre ses partenaires et elle. Par moment, j’ai trouvé certaines scènes assez alambiquées et tirées par les cheveux, mais ça reste un excellent divertissement pour qui aime les harems inversés et les héroïnes de type « Mary Sue ». Dans mon cas, les invraisemblances et les incroyables pouvoirs de l’héroïne ne m’ont pas dérangé, j’ai trouvé ça marrant même.

Le style d’écriture reste simple et agréable. On sent que l’autrice a voulu se faire plaisir à inventer une histoire qui saurait plaire en utilisant pléthore de clichés et de situations dantesques. Ça se lit vite et avec plaisir. Enfin, pour moi, ce fut un très bon moment de lecture. Une histoire à ne pas prendre au sérieux et à dévorer sans se poser de questions.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It was much better than the first two, time was taken, and for once our heroine wasn’t helpless.

Pros:
- I loved the moments with each guy. It was very well balanced and each has a distinct personality.
- The action wasn’t hurried, it was well described and it was very easy and fun to visualize.
- Her powers are badass

Cons:
- I knew it was Kerry, it was a little too predictable.
- I still hate that all three books encompass half a year and then the epilogue was a 3.5 year jump. (I called it and I don’t like it) I feel like everything that happened should have been spread out of 2-3 years and not pushed into 6 months.
- I wish the special gift Aura has to bestow powers was used more and not as an afterthought.
- Everyone having all 4 powers at the end. Was it permanently done or temporary? It’s not said!

All of that being said this book was much more balanced than the other two and it had me smiling through most of it.

[ROMEOISNOTFUNNY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finial book, and it's not a quiet skip in the fields to HEA. Nope, it's more attempts to kill, capture, and harm the FMC. The relationships between the FMC and 4 MMC mates are growing, but it's not easy. They still have to learn to be them or accept things about them to be together.

I like the characters, and some grow on you more as you read the series. I enjoyed the smut. It was hot. I enjoyed the action that was fast and a little thrilling. I basically enjoyed the series. It was good, not 5 stars great, but a good read that flows well and hits the spot needed in an academy RH paranormal series.

4.2 stars