The World Undone

The Protector Guild #8

by Gray Holborn

I'd spent months convincing each of my bond-mates that hurting them was the last thing I'd ever do. And, as a twisted and cruel fate would have it, it would be.
Lucifer's plan for saving the world requires three key components: my power, the nexus, and the stone. We only have the first… and absolutely no idea where the other two might be hiding. It's up to me and the rest of Team Six to hunt them down, all while integrating into the powerful, new community housed at The Lodge. But with the fabric of our reality literally crumbling around us, it's looking less and less likely that we'll stand a chance against this impending apocalypse.

The problem (as if we didn't already have enough)? The deeper our connection grows, the more difficult it becomes to do the thing I know I must. The thing they will all hate me for…

Don't miss this epic conclusion to Max and her team's story.

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

532 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 23, 2024

About the author

Hi! I'm Gray. I'm best known for my series, The Protector Guild - an 8-book completed series filled with all things angst and chaotic hijinks. I'm currently working on my second series, Order of Reapers, which is the follow up to The Protector Guild. At the moment, there are 10 books published in what I'm calling 'The Gray-verse.' Sounds ominous, right?

What can you expect from my stories?

First, you have to love a slow burn, angsty romance. I tend to get quite bored when my characters are happy and together, which is why I keep them in various stages of misery and yearning for as long as I can *que evil laugh.* Yes, my books are spicy, but they are far more focused on the plot of the story and character development (MUST LOVE INTERNAL CHARACTER MONOLOGUES OR I PROMISE YOU WILL HATE MY WRITING STYLE). Finally, both of my series focus on themes of and around the following: trauma, mental health, grief, community, found family, moral complexity, and dismantling oppressive systems (yes, yes, amongst the chaotic fun of a fantastical world and characters unabashedly pining for each other).

Sound like your jam? Great! Dive right in :D

As for me, when I'm not writing or reading or funneling entire seasons of TV into my brain in one night, I can be found hanging out with my cartoonish dog, staring at a wall for hours on end while I think through some tricky bit of character or plot arc, paddleboarding/kayaking alongside the local seals and sea lions (don't worry, I keep a respectful distance!), or pretending to enjoy camping. One day it will click for me. I hope.

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's finally done - thank god. I loved this series at the beginning, but I really didn't enjoy this book or ending. It dragged, and I wanted it to be over around the 50% mark, but alas, I persevered. It was just so boring. This was all action and plot. There was no romance. I feel like the romance went from the slowest burn of all time to just like, oh we're together now and obsessed with each other. It felt like it skipped ahead and they never really acknowledged a lot of the questions that I had in the earlier books.

I'm glad this series is done because I would not have read the next book. I wanted so much more from this ending than we got. There were also too many side characters and I couldn't keep track of who anyone was. Lots of characters did total 180s in their personality or didn't really have that much page-time before they died. Some of the action sequences felt very rushed. I honestly couldn't even follow what they were doing at the end. There was so much info-dumping at the 11th hour with her uncle and Lucifer. I was bored out of my mind.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last book in the series!? It felt rushed and left a lot of storylines open. I think there is supposed to be future books in the universe. The main characters' story kinda wrapped up.
It was so quick, I didn't feel like it was satisfying given everything still left unanswered.
The build up was fun, the premise was great but it didn't land. The main relationship got you invested in six characters but ends abruptly.

They save the world (maybe) and then its just Wade watching her sleep for 19 pages! She wakes up its her POV for a 2 page ch and 7 page epilogue! There are 6 people in the relationship and nothing from 4 of the 6. It's cute that they rebuild the cabin for her. But more time was spent on Wade building a dream room than the real life cabin.
So many questions about our main characters!
Is Darius' shadow issue cured?
Is Atlas' waking nightmares still a thing or did his wolf come back?
Did Dec save Sarah? What happened to Sarah? What was the point of some much time saving her. What about her bond with Atlas and Wade? Clearly it's over, but does she know that?
Where is Wade's aunt? He didn't dream walk to her to make sure she was okay?
Eli finally makes progress with his brother only for that to go no where.
What about Max's dad and uncle? What happened to the rest of the hellhounds?
Did they actually save the world? What happened to the realms?

[Margaret Samora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have written and rewritten this post dang near 40 times in the last week.

I can't believe the journey is coming to an end. The Protector Guild series by Gray Holborn has been a literal life-changing experience for me. From the moment I picked up the first book, I was hooked, and now, with the 8th and final installment about to be released, I'm feeling all the bittersweet emotions.

Book 8, The World Undone was such a perfect book to end the series with. TEAM SIX HAS MY HEART 😭😭😭

Max has grown into such a powerful and fierce woman. It feels like watching my favorite person grow up right in front of my eyes.

This series has not only been flawless from start to finish but also saved me in ways I can't fully express. Each character, each twist, and each moment of suspense, reveals, and just the entire world building have provided an escape and a source of comfort. It's been a masterpiece that I could completely lose myself in, and for that, I'm eternally grateful.

A huge thank you to Gray Holborn for writing such an incredible world and characters that have my whole heart. Your writing has been a beacon of light and an anchor for me. 💖

To anyone who hasn't yet discovered this series, I highly recommend diving in. Trust me, you won't regret it!!!

I’m seriously crying writing this post 🤣😭🙈

Thank you, Gray Holborn, from the bottom of my heart for writing The Protector Guild. I was in such a dark place when I picked up Academy of Protectors, and your series helped me find my light again. I’ll always be forever grateful to you. 🫶🏽

Tropes:
- paranormal why choose
- fated mates
- monster slayers
- vamps, wolves, & demons
- insane world building
- complex characters
- slow burn then spicy af
- sapphic romance in the harem
- academy/college setting

[Tiphaine Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first few books in this series started strong, capturing my interest with a great balance of action, character development, and intriguing plotlines. However, by books 4 and 5, I found myself skipping through sections that felt excessive. There was too much inner dialogue and repetitive self-reflection that didn’t seem essential to the story.

By books 7 and 8, the narrative took a turn I didn’t enjoy. While I appreciate a good level of romance and “spice” in a story, there’s a fine line between well-placed intimacy and overindulgence, and here, it crossed that line. The scenes became so frequent and intense that I ended up skimming over them.

Then came the ending—which was perhaps the most disappointing part. After so much buildup, it felt rushed and left too many unanswered questions: What are Samael and Levi? What happened to Sam and Lucifer? What’s the full story with Max’s mom? And is the Hell realm truly sealed? Instead of addressing these, the conclusion felt hastily wrapped up, with missed opportunities for a satisfying resolution.

Overall, my feelings toward this series waned over time. While I loved the beginning, the author’s choices later in the series ultimately lost me.

[Cate Boulter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars because I know her adopted father died so that he never had to live with her having near constant sex with 5 people at a time and yet not one scene was written where I got to experience the vampire and werewolf intimately together. I’ve been chasing an Edward/bella/jacob threesome since 2011

[Kimberli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loose Ends

Once again, this book has so much repetitiveness. The same story is told by multiple characters. For example, the story of Eli's mom abandoning him was told by several characters. The same with Atlas and Wade's story. This happens throughout the series, so it's annoying. It's like the author thinks that if you don't hear things several times, you're going to forget. I found myself skimming because the monologues got tedious.

While the conclusion is fine, it was so quick that it felt anticlimactic. The big bad is taken care of so quickly that you have to wonder why they didn't do it before. We get to the ritual, and that was interesting. The "coma" afterwards keeps you in suspense wondering what will happen. What's frustrating about the ending is that there are so many loose ends. Why did Levi disappear after his mother's death and we never hear from him again? No one even seems to care to try to find him. When Max performs the ritual, we believe the worlds are fixed. But, why are things weird in the human world? Most cars don't work? Power and gas limited? Why? What happened to hell? Was it saved? What happened to Lucifer and Samael? Did they survive? Did the missing demons get found? Did any of the protectors keep their power? Was a new "supernatural" council or guild going to be formed to bring demons and protectors together? Did the bad demons just disappear when the rifts were fixed or will they need to be hunted down? Was there an explanation given to the humans so the supernatural world would stay hidden? Our characters get their happily ever after, but what happens with everyone else?

So many unanswered questions and the epilogue doesn't answer any of them. I'm disappointed in the ending. It was rushed and not well thought out. Probably really only deserves 2 stars, but since I liked some of the action and the final ritual scene, I thought I'd be generous and give it a 3.

[Ashy C · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t write reviews often but this book left me gobsmacked.

Honestly it was a struggle to get through the series from about book 4/5. We could have done away with books 6&7 and the actually finished up answering the 90 million questions everyone was left with after a 100 page resolution at the end of book 8.

No insight from anyone but wade after the fact and mentioning Sam and lucifer before passing out only to never mention them again. It was just rushed and awful to wrap up so much time invested.

I can see another series has already started as a spin off with a new FMC but I just can’t commit to it knowing this is how his books will end

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have used a bit more editing and more...and less

[Jordin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing and Gray absolutely outdid herself for this final book of the series.

The entire 6 team and fam was just amazing, and I’m so glad that we got to finally meet Max’s uncle and understand a little bit more about her bloodline. I am so, so glad we got a happy ending, and that everything tied up at the end.

My only question left is what happened to Sarah after they had the breakthrough. I would have liked to see her reintroduction to the world!

I received an ARC copy of this book, and am leaving an honest review.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I have absolutely loved this series this final book has just felt rushed and left sooo many questions unanswered.
- what happened to Levi/what is he and who was his father?
- Did Darius ever tell his brother the truth?
- What happened with Sarah
- What did Max feel right before she passed out at the end for months
- What did Sam go looking for?
- How have the worlds combined?
- Is Charlie’s baby going to have something unique about it?
- Where is Lucifer?
- What happened to everyone that was still a part of the the guild?
- Where did Izzys brother end up?
- What actually happened to Max’s mom
- What happened to Michael
- Darius’s full story
While the authors note made it sound like there will be more stories in this universe I believe this was the final of Max and her people. So, to end with still so many questions and loose ends is a little disappointing. For there to be seven books leading up to this big event and for that actually event to come and go within about 25-30 pages was a let down. I wish we got to know Ro and Izzy better and it would have been nice to know more about our main characters. We know so little about Darius’ history. Overall though I loved these characters and I enjoyed the writing style and flow of the story. I hope to see more in this universe and hopefully answers to a lot of our questions.

[Kaylie Buziecki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely hate that I feel this way but this ending fell a little flat for me. I adored the way this series unfolded and plowed through the first seven books, starving for more. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed this one too and I’ll always simp for Darius and Atlas but I still have unanswered questions. Maybe I just had too high of expectations for the finale? But is this even the finale?? I’m on my knees praying that Holborn is extending this series because it feels unfinished. “As you have probably guessed… there is so much more to come in this world” from the Authors Note makes it clear that there will be more but I NEED it to follow the same MC’s, not just the world.

If there truly are more to come in this series I’ll definitely be reconsidering my rating, possibly up to 5⭐️’s. The wave of emotions and tears streaming down my face during the ritual scene had me frozen in time, afraid to read on. I just wish I could’ve ridden that wave for longer but the confusion in my gut with how rushed the last 2-3 chapters felt of what I thought was the end, killed the vibe for me a bit.

[Rebecca Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't understand, and i have far too many questions... there was so much that could have been cut out if their stories weren't going to get closure.

She finally starts a small budding relationship with Lucifur but never goes any farther than "I'm actually really sorry, I tried to find a way for you to not die. And i kind of have a semblance of fondness for you, but oh well."
And Sam, he has disappeared, but never found out where or why, only for a glimpse through a new portal, then it's all cut off.
Broke Sara out of her trance, but did she actually get any better?
Where did Levi actually go after that one semi-successful mission? He's just never heard from again?
And Nikka and Nash. Where did they end up, did they have to go back? Did she fully recover?
Did they close the barrier completely, can Darius or Claude feel/open portals still?
What is the point of an extremely slow burn series if the stories and characters built have no closure by the end?

[Candyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max hasn't told the group that she has to die for them to save the world. Eli tells her that somehow he summoned her hellfire and now Max can hear their thoughts and they can hear Max's. Because of the bond thing. They also all have bond marks now.
Seamus is feral and his memory is spotty. Max see's black in his veins and thinks maybe he's infected with shadow magic.
Eli's brother Levi is part demon but we don't know what kind. He's a little taken with Max as well. (Are we adding another to our harem??) Eli's mom is there too now.
Well they do some training and the whole group can now access Max’s power. They decide to split into teams and try and kill the remaining council members and get the stone for the ritual.
Dec, Eli, Levi, and their mom Evelyn go together. One council member is basically a Windigo and the other one rips out Evelyn’s heart and then teleports away.
Atlas, Wade, Bishop go for another one and they successfully killed the council member, but Bishop gets killed in the process.
Max, Darius, and Ro go to another one. They find a council member and they talk about how the council member wants to take Max‘s power and do the ritual for her so she doesn’t have to die. That’s when Darius finds out that she will die and loses his shit and basically is overcome with the darkness inside him and burns down that guild as well.
They are back at the lodge, and Darius tells everyone that Max is going to sacrifice herself. Behind her back, they plan on doing the ritual for her to spread the power out between them so it doesn’t kill her.
They end up getting the rock and killing the last remaining council member. Max is ready to do the ritual and she’s not going to tell any of her men or her brother.
She starts the ritual in the middle of the lake. When it is almost done, and she is too weak to fight back, the rest of her team join her. Then more members of the community lend her strength. Then as the portal opens Lucifer and Sam and Serae Also lend her their strength.
The ritual completes and they are all basically put to sleep. The team wakes up in about a week, but Max is still under. They can’t feel the tether to her or access any of our powers and they are pretty weak. Wade visits her in her dreams, but she’s still asleep there too. This goes on for over three months, and then in one of their dream walks, she wakes up.
She then wakes up in the real world, and everyone is overjoyed. Then a few days later, the team takes her back to the cabin that her, Ro,and Cyrus used to live in that got burned to the ground. While she was out, they built her a house where they could all live together.
The ritual worked. We don’t hear about Lucifer or Levi. But the team finally gets their happily ever after.

[Kira · Rating 3 out of 5]

What! After eight books I feel like the ending was anti-climatic. I have so many questions and the story is just over. I am glad the series is finally over. I do feel like it was drawn out for a while there but what happened to help? What happened to Lucifer? What happened to Sam? Is Darius still haunted by shadow Magic. What about the portal guardians? So many ends were left. Unresolved Lucifer was a huge portion of the middle part of the series and his plot line just died out in this book. He almost became completely unimportant. Michael was mentioned and never became any significant person or action or theme whatsoever. What happened to Levi? Who was his dad? Is Ariel Levi’s dad because that’s what I thought we were going for there or maybe Michael and that’s why Levi was obsessed with Max because he knew that they were related. All of these are theories, of course, and I would’ve loved to see what the outcomes of these plot lines were, but they were just completely left unanswered and I feel as though after eight books it really is a letdown to have such a lacking conclusion to this series, this book could’ve been absolutely phenomenal, but I feel like it just fell flat. It’s so sad to say because Atlas and Darius‘s story was amazing. I loved Eli Wade was almost forgotten until the last chapter where we finally got a point of view from him, and it was mostly just Max in a coma. Max was in a coma longer than the final battle and the spell. Can someone please let me know if I’m just missing everything and I somehow wrong and I just didn’t read portions of this correctly and all of my questions or answered. I don’t want to ever critique badly if it’s my fault because that’s just wrong. Ultimately the series was good but I feel like book 8 could’ve just been skipped and maybe live with book 7 and just make up your own ending final question. Does anyone know if there’s a series that’s gonna follow this story and we get the answers and I didn’t see the post on social media or an update from the author regarding this because I know the Novela is about Darius and before he met Max sorry this is a long chunk of writing. This was mostly me venting and I would love to have these questions answer.

[Jewell Urbano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

Okay so it took me a while to figure how I wanted to talk about this series. I must admit it is now firmly in my 2nd place favorite series I’ve ever read. Gary Holborn you truly manifested and articulated a wonderful story. This series had me in tears as well as laughing my butt off. This series was quite remarkably so entertaining & thrilling I had to put it down a few times to exist in the real world to function as an adult lol. I was truly & utterly entranced the whole time. Max was truly an amazing FMC she cared with her whole being & became the fiercest when it came to protecting her family. Her MMCs were all around pretty awesome as well. I loved how in depth you were with each of their stories & how they came to be who they were. This series literally had me glued to it through the whole thing. There was suspense, love, hate, and so much going on it was easy to lose myself in it. Every trial and fight they went through together was magnificent & I loved that they didn’t always win or escape unscathed, you can’t truly know a win until you have suffered some losses. I hated how you killed off certain characters irreparably destroying my being, but you did it in a way that made sure they were missed & contributed to the growth of the characters. This was truly a masterpiece & utterly wonderful. I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t get to know what happened to Lucifer & Sam but I get it sorta. Thank you so much for writing such an incredible series & for welcoming us into a world you carefully crafted for us to enjoy. I truly appreciate how much work you dedicated to make sure this series was unfolded in such an incredible way. Thank you.

[Ines · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t imagine three years have passed since I read the first book in this series, and it’s truly bittersweet to reach the end of the road for these characters… Don’t worry, it’s not a bad ending, that’s the sweet part. The bitter part is just that with a series this long, two things can happen: I can either lose interest, or the characters manage to carve out a tiny piece in my heart, and these characters definitely did the second.

I could probably write an entire thesis about Darius and why he is the perfect book boyfriend, but I’ll save you all from that. Still, he’s not the only wonderful character in this series. Some of Max’ partners started off bad and made plenty of mistakes along the way, but the author created some awesome character building throughout this series and truly managed to let them redeem themselves. Max herself has grown tremendously, and there are so many side characters I hope to see again in the future.

And then that ending, where the author started to build further upon the world in this series, creating a scenario I can’t wait to find out more about. Yeah, this author got me hooked on her stories, and I’m definitely checking out whatever will come next. But first, for those who wanted to wait until this series was complete; please dive in. Give the slow burn a shot, and you won’t be disappointed.

[Katherine McDermott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful immersive universe!!!


Spoilers: we have so many opportunities for growth in this universe and the community.
-Can they all transverse Hell/Earth?
- Where’s Satey? Did Lucifer find her?
- Where’s Sam, who is his family, why was he bound to hell?
- will we find Michael and Azreal?
- previously in the series Seamus couldn’t get into a third safe in Cyrus’ cabin at HQ. Thought for sure there would be hints we’d unearth there, yet to be explored.
- where’s Levi

Theory, I think Shadow the cat may or may not be Satey. She got close to Ralph right away and has lived near the lake for however long. Ralph recognized Sief right away. In Lucifer’s convo about her he notes how he “just knew” when she was gone, hinting to a bond.

Theory 2: Levi is of a line of memory daemons. Lucifer describes remembering very little of the ritual to create the barrier with Michael, “muddled”. When Satey visited sief to speak to her one last time, she was accompanied by a guy who could warp memories. Is this Levi’s father? Why Evelyn felt like she had to leave with him to protect him, as an equal/opposite lineage of Michael?

[Ali Alley EscapeThroughABook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this one. It wasnt what I expected it to be based on the previous books, but it still is good. It does seem to have less action, and more story building. I do think that was needed to wrap the book up neatly though. I just was use to action packed books. Dont get me wrong, this one has action just not as much compared to previous books. It still is a great book, with a great ending.

This is book 8 in the Protector Guild Series. This is the final book in the series. The romance in this book is solid with all the pre established why choose relationships strong, and growing stronger. The book remains spicy like the previous books, with multiple partners in one spicy scene. The book moves at a steady pace as Max and her mates work together to try, and stop the apocalypse from happening. Along the way they make some discoveries that can help them defeat the Guild as well. This book is full of story building so that when the book finishes you are left feeling satisfied with a wonderfully completed series that was full of action, romance, spice, and excitement.

[Janaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to describe the feelings I had completing book 8. It's that bittersweet feeling of having finally completed the series and finding out how it ends, and also not being ready for the journey to be over. I really enjoyed this whole series, there were a few of the books in the middle that I felt dragged a little. But not enough that I put them down and stopped reading! I finished books 1-7 in 9 days earlier this year! The world undone was the perfect conclusion to this series in my opinion. The pacing was just right, the story kept me so engaged! Seeing the community that Max found and her bonds strengthening throughout the book made me feel such a connection to all the characters. There were heartbreaking moments that had me in tears, as well as moments I laughed out loud. I cannot wait to see where things in this world go in future series! Thanks so much Gray Holborn for giving me the opportunity to read this as an ARC.

[Danni Tilstone · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm going to keep this short because it's late. The specific story in this world is actually great BUT this is easily a 3 book series, sooooo much repetition with the inner dialog of every character and quite frankly the relationships between them I mean it just went around and around and around! Nothing spicey happened for 4 BOOKS! And even after that it was a little bit hear and there and then your right back to the merry go round i mean $hit i basically skipped book 6, half of 7 and most of 8. I've never DNF because I just have to know how it ends but my God I'm in pain after all that.
To recap
- The slowest burn(barely even a burn) ever to exist
- Barely any character development it they just go back to square 1
- Minimal spice until 4/5, Minimal spice in 6, 7 has some okay bits and i skipped 8.
Its such a shame because the story itself if you ignore the characters is good. Gutted

[Chantel Erickson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needs a new ending, not as rushed.

Loved the series. However, hated the ending. It felt extremely rushed and left more questions than answers. There should have been another book after this one to make the ending more than it was.
I over all enjoyed the series, but that ending well put me off recommending this series to friends, etc. The series played out so long just to have what felt like a 2-second ritual. There could have been so much more to this series and had such potential. I strongly feel that the ending needs to be rewritten or, at the very least, have one more book to the series devoted strictly to the ending.
Also, the epilog was very meh, and I could have been in the middle of the book instead.
Great series, but it's very disappointing. The rest of the books all got 5 stars. This one gets 2 for the lead up but less than 5 because that horrible ending...

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so disappointed with the ending. What happened to everyone?? I assume the author left so many unanswered questions so they could write more series but they shouldn’t have left so much unanswered. What happened with Lucifer and Sam? Levi? Sarah? She became coherent but then what. Seamus? He drank some blood and didn’t have to be chained up anymore but when they left the community to build the cabin for Max I was confused about why they would just leave him, especially Eli, but when they do back he’s ‘normal’ again? Also what happened to the other protectors after they killed all the council members?

I read the bonus chapter hoping to get more answers but it was just a spicy scene with Darius 🙄 it’s fine just not what I wanted as a bonus chapter for this series when so much was left up in the air.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprised

Overall the series was really good, and have given 4* but unfortunately not this one the end so many questions unanswered and it felt a little rushed, with everything happening in the last chapter which felt anti climactic. What was the point of keeping her asleep sooo long did nothing for the story with, no real information about what everyone else was doing in this time, a project here and there and what about powers besides a hint of them, bonds did she sever them completely as they all seemed a little lack lustre at when she awoke eventually even Darius, what about Lucifer,Samuel and several others suddenly missing with no closure and why even mention Azrael throughout the series if nothing ever coming from it. Sorry but with big build ups from the series it was not a great end.

[Readernerd57_book_reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75⭐ 3🌶️ 5❤️
I loved this book and I loved how this series ended! It was an ending that I wanted and it was something I was not entirely expecting. If you have loved this series then I feel you would like the ending.

I loved the writing in this book. It was so emotional and the stakes were so high that I could truly feel the characters desperation. There is such an amazing found family aspect in this series and I love it!

I did however, want more in the epilogue. I know that is such a nitpicky thing, but I have suffered along with these characters I wanted to see more of a HEA for them. I wanted to see more into their lives after. I wanted to see them truly settle into their bonds and family. To have that HEA moment of them finally able to just be with no doom and apocalyptic danger looming over them.

All in all I highly recommend this series, its a good one.

[FANCHON · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series was very dragged out with no plot or information for a long time, only to get to the end and have a huge information dump and frankly unsatisfying ending. The information dump left me on overload and honestly I still can’t explain it at all. Why was it all dumped at the very end? Could she not have found some hints throughout any of the many other books? Then they somehow “win” and it’s just a bunch of Wade watching her sleep. Nothing from anyone else in the relationship? She wakes up and of course her first words are “I’m so horny. I need you now!” 🙄🙄 Because that’s always the first thing someone thinks when coming out of a long coma. “Don’t go sleepy on me now, Wade. That was just round one”. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Then it’s just over. So many unanswered questions. If a series is a billion books long, I expect to have had everything wrapped up. It’s not like there wasn’t time 🙄

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I could sleep for months and wake up refreshed, but I can't :(

Overall, this was a good ending to the series. It was drawn out a little, and there were parts that made me tear up a bit, but overall, it was good! Some parts were a little anticlimactic, which was disappointing to me cause I think I hyped it up in my head a lot more.

I wish we got to see a little more of what happened after she woke up, though rather than just the epilogue and the bonus epilogue. I do have some remaining questions like what happened to Levi and Sarah? Also, what is Levi actually? I'm not sure if they'll pop up in her next series that's mentioned at the end of this book, but I just want the answers right now 😅

[Megan Ryman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d spent months convincing each of my bond-mates that hurting them was the last thing I’d ever do. And, as a twisted and cruel fate would have it, it would be.

Lucifer's plan for saving the world requires three key components: my power, the nexus, and the stone. We only have the first...and absolutely no idea where the other two might be hiding. It's up to me and the rest of Team Six to hunt them down, all while integrating into the powerful, new community housed at The Lodge. But with the fabric of our reality literally crumbling around us, it's looking less and less likely that we'll stand a chance against this impending apocalypse.

The problem (as if we didn't already have enough)? The deeper our connection grows, the more difficult it becomes to do the thing I know I must. The thing they will all hate me for...

Don't miss this epic conclusion to Max and her team's story.

[Kenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this series was REALLY good. But book 8 SUCKED!!!!!! I was so disappointed that the build up of all 7 books lead to some glossed over finale. It’s almost like she couldn’t figure out how to end it? There literally could’ve been another book with all that was left unfinished. What happened with the rest of the Guild? Hell? Lucifer, Sam, Nash, Nika, Claude, Levi, ETC!!! You cannot have so much detail about so many characters and then just NOTHING about them in the end?? So frustrating and sad when you grow so attached to each character and their stories. Would still definitely recommend but wish the ending was better.

[Amanda DeLorenzo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, what a terrible ending to the end of 7 painfully slow books, absolutely no pay off. So much repetition I found myself skimming pretty frequently. Then the final “villain” is dispatched in about three pages and the looming ritual is barely even explained. So many loose ends. Wheres Levi? What about the guy Lucifer is missing looking for who “runs” the River Styxx? Sam? Is Sarah just fine? What about her bonds to Wade and Atlas? Khali, just never appears again, although plot kept alluding she was more. Wake up from a coma and straight into sex? Ro barely mattered as a character. Really disappointed.

[GudeRH · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series is a 4 stars for me, but that ending though, it fell flat - maybe a 1 star. I feel like this could have easily been a 5 book series instead of the 8 and the author could've focused more on better ending? I think I skimmed heavily on books 4 and 5. I loved the characters and the world building but there's definitely quite a bit of unanswered questions. Idk what happened to Lucifer, Samael? It seems like there might be another book about them? Idk. Also, there's not explanation as to why the FMC was in a coma (more or less) for 3 months. Idk, the ending really felt flat and rushed. Overall, I liked the books and I did finish it. Take note though, this is definitely SLOW BURN.