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Mortal Gods #4
A Haven of Brimstone and Darkness
Weapons are not born, they’re made. And a weapon, I have become.
I am the scythe that will cleave the Gods’ traitorous heads from their not-so-Divine bodies.
Forced to the dangerous Ortus Island and the very first Mortal Gods Academy, I know that time is running out for both me and the Darkhavens.
If we can’t figure out what the Gods are planning and how to stop them, it’s no longer just our lives on the line. It’s the lives of every Mortal God in existence.
In the world of the Gods, there is only one truth.
Trust no one. Not even your blood.
I am the scythe that will cleave the Gods’ traitorous heads from their not-so-Divine bodies.
Forced to the dangerous Ortus Island and the very first Mortal Gods Academy, I know that time is running out for both me and the Darkhavens.
If we can’t figure out what the Gods are planning and how to stop them, it’s no longer just our lives on the line. It’s the lives of every Mortal God in existence.
In the world of the Gods, there is only one truth.
Trust no one. Not even your blood.
431 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 29, 2024
310 people are currently reading
939 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 137 reviews
July 14, 2025
I didn’t expect this series to be this good. I was hooked from the beginning. I do think it is very slow to start and a lot of the action doesn’t take place until books 3 and 4 but man is it worth it.
There are several things though that just didn’t get answered or said and that was odd but still I loved the books and Keira😭
There are several things though that just didn’t get answered or said and that was odd but still I loved the books and Keira😭
January 8, 2025
3 ⭐️
Well this was a whirlwind. I feel like I just got slapped around by a tornado of fantasy elements. 🌪️
*Spoilers if you haven't read the previous books in the series*
Firstly, I’d like to declare ARA as the REAL MVP of this whole damn series. 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I went into this expecting an epic conclusion, and while it delivered on action and speed, it felt more like a chaotic soup of fantasy elements than a cohesive story. Gods from other worlds? Sure!! Atlanteans and fae thrown into the mix? Why not!! Magic that pops up whenever the plot needs it? Of course!! It felt like the author couldn’t decide on one mythology, so we got a little bit of everything—and by the end, it was hard to keep track of what mattered.
Writing Quality: The pacing was fast, which kept me turning the pages, but the writing felt clunky and rushed in key places. Emotional moments that should’ve hit harder were glossed over, and big plot points came and went without enough buildup. I kept reading because I wanted to see how it all ended, but I never really got hooked.
Emotional Impact: This was one of the more frustrating parts for me. Kiera’s character arc just didn’t land. Earlier in the series, the identity of her parents / her lineage was a reocurring sticking point. She seemed open to the idea her mother might be alive, and the way Kiera talks about that idea has a sense of longing to it. But when she's actually reunited with her mother, she’s angry and resentful—like, why? Her mother was literally imprisoned and couldn’t get to her. Instead of an emotional reunion, we got a bratty outburst, which made it really hard for me to connect with Kiera. Moments like that kept pulling me out of the story, and by the time the big emotional payoffs came, I just wasn’t invested anymore.
I will give credit to the brothers—they actually grew as characters. Kalix, while still chaotic and dangerously unpredictable, showed moments of vulnerability. Theos, with all his charm and scheming, revealed cracks in his armor. Even Ruen, who made a mess of things in book 1, tried to redeem himself. But Kiera? She stayed emotionally stuck for most of the book. She avoided confronting her feelings until the very end, when she finally admitted she considered the brothers her family. That moment could’ve been powerful if it hadn’t come after an entire book of her refusing to deal with her emotions. Honestly, it felt like too little, too late.
The plot... where do I start? There were moments that worked, but the world-building felt overwhelming. I was fine with the idea of gods from other worlds, but then Atlanteans and fae got thrown in, and it became too much. It didn’t help that we never got clear answers about Kiera’s powers. She spends most of the series not knowing who she is or what she can do, then suddenly opens a rift in time and space with no explanation or training. I’m supposed to believe she just instinctively figured it out? And what was the point of training the mortal Gods at the academy if they were just being held as livestock to be harvested? It didn’t add up, and it left me with more questions than answers.
The spicy moments were aggressive. Animalistic. Primal. Still very, very hot, though
🌶️🔥🥵. It's clear that sex was used for all characters as a way to deal with trauma and emotions none of them are mature enough to work through on their own. That's fine. it's just...one dimensional...by book 4, it felt more like a box to check off than something that added depth. The tension was there, but it was mostly lust-driven, and after a while, it started to feel repetitive. The relationships didn’t evolve much beyond the brothers being obsessed and possessive of Kiera which made the romantic moments feel hollow. Kiera was Wendy and Kalix, Theo, and Ruen...well, they were her Lost Boys.
By the end, I wasn’t sure if I’d just read an epic fantasy finale or survived a fever dream of clashing tropes. There was action, there was spice, there was… a lot. If you’re already invested, go ahead and finish it—it’s like watching the final season of a show you’ve committed too much time to quit. Just don’t expect everything to make sense or leave you feeling satisfied.
✔️ Humans &....well not humans at this point
✔️ Magic
✔️ Why Choose
✔️ Found Family
✔️ Spicy Scenes 🌶️🌶️🌶️
✔️ ⚠️ Dark Fantasy elements...check the trigger warnings unless you wanna be surprised when people starting eating people!
✔️ World-saving FMC
✔️ Diabolically Obsessed & Possessive MMCs
****************************************
✨Preread
This has been a consistent 3 ⭐️ series for me. I know; there are some people on here who’ll riot at me saying that (please don’t hate me 😭)
Something is just…missing. I can’t find myself connecting all the way with these characters. The fantasy plot, while interesting, feels like a melting pot of a bunch of other fantasies that I’ve read before. I don’t mind, if done the right way, I could read the same plot elements across a sea of books and not care at all IF* the characters have me invested, the writing is immersive, and there’s some underlying creativity….(let’s be honest, it’s 2025, authors get inspired and recycle major themes all the time and that's ok with me).
I’m invested for sure, but when lined up against every other dark fantasy I’ve read….this one is just…kinda messy.
Honestly Kalix is a vibe though and I love ‘em. Our not-so-little serpentine savage. 🐍 😈
Well this was a whirlwind. I feel like I just got slapped around by a tornado of fantasy elements. 🌪️
*Spoilers if you haven't read the previous books in the series*
Firstly, I’d like to declare ARA as the REAL MVP of this whole damn series. 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I went into this expecting an epic conclusion, and while it delivered on action and speed, it felt more like a chaotic soup of fantasy elements than a cohesive story. Gods from other worlds? Sure!! Atlanteans and fae thrown into the mix? Why not!! Magic that pops up whenever the plot needs it? Of course!! It felt like the author couldn’t decide on one mythology, so we got a little bit of everything—and by the end, it was hard to keep track of what mattered.
Writing Quality: The pacing was fast, which kept me turning the pages, but the writing felt clunky and rushed in key places. Emotional moments that should’ve hit harder were glossed over, and big plot points came and went without enough buildup. I kept reading because I wanted to see how it all ended, but I never really got hooked.
Emotional Impact: This was one of the more frustrating parts for me. Kiera’s character arc just didn’t land. Earlier in the series, the identity of her parents / her lineage was a reocurring sticking point. She seemed open to the idea her mother might be alive, and the way Kiera talks about that idea has a sense of longing to it. But when she's actually reunited with her mother, she’s angry and resentful—like, why? Her mother was literally imprisoned and couldn’t get to her. Instead of an emotional reunion, we got a bratty outburst, which made it really hard for me to connect with Kiera. Moments like that kept pulling me out of the story, and by the time the big emotional payoffs came, I just wasn’t invested anymore.
I will give credit to the brothers—they actually grew as characters. Kalix, while still chaotic and dangerously unpredictable, showed moments of vulnerability. Theos, with all his charm and scheming, revealed cracks in his armor. Even Ruen, who made a mess of things in book 1, tried to redeem himself. But Kiera? She stayed emotionally stuck for most of the book. She avoided confronting her feelings until the very end, when she finally admitted she considered the brothers her family. That moment could’ve been powerful if it hadn’t come after an entire book of her refusing to deal with her emotions. Honestly, it felt like too little, too late.
The plot... where do I start? There were moments that worked, but the world-building felt overwhelming. I was fine with the idea of gods from other worlds, but then Atlanteans and fae got thrown in, and it became too much. It didn’t help that we never got clear answers about Kiera’s powers. She spends most of the series not knowing who she is or what she can do, then suddenly opens a rift in time and space with no explanation or training. I’m supposed to believe she just instinctively figured it out? And what was the point of training the mortal Gods at the academy if they were just being held as livestock to be harvested? It didn’t add up, and it left me with more questions than answers.
The spicy moments were aggressive. Animalistic. Primal. Still very, very hot, though
🌶️🔥🥵. It's clear that sex was used for all characters as a way to deal with trauma and emotions none of them are mature enough to work through on their own. That's fine. it's just...one dimensional...by book 4, it felt more like a box to check off than something that added depth. The tension was there, but it was mostly lust-driven, and after a while, it started to feel repetitive. The relationships didn’t evolve much beyond the brothers being obsessed and possessive of Kiera which made the romantic moments feel hollow. Kiera was Wendy and Kalix, Theo, and Ruen...well, they were her Lost Boys.
By the end, I wasn’t sure if I’d just read an epic fantasy finale or survived a fever dream of clashing tropes. There was action, there was spice, there was… a lot. If you’re already invested, go ahead and finish it—it’s like watching the final season of a show you’ve committed too much time to quit. Just don’t expect everything to make sense or leave you feeling satisfied.
✔️ Humans &....well not humans at this point
✔️ Magic
✔️ Why Choose
✔️ Found Family
✔️ Spicy Scenes 🌶️🌶️🌶️
✔️ ⚠️ Dark Fantasy elements...check the trigger warnings unless you wanna be surprised when people starting eating people!
✔️ World-saving FMC
✔️ Diabolically Obsessed & Possessive MMCs
****************************************
✨Preread
This has been a consistent 3 ⭐️ series for me. I know; there are some people on here who’ll riot at me saying that (please don’t hate me 😭)
Something is just…missing. I can’t find myself connecting all the way with these characters. The fantasy plot, while interesting, feels like a melting pot of a bunch of other fantasies that I’ve read before. I don’t mind, if done the right way, I could read the same plot elements across a sea of books and not care at all IF* the characters have me invested, the writing is immersive, and there’s some underlying creativity….(let’s be honest, it’s 2025, authors get inspired and recycle major themes all the time and that's ok with me).
I’m invested for sure, but when lined up against every other dark fantasy I’ve read….this one is just…kinda messy.
Honestly Kalix is a vibe though and I love ‘em. Our not-so-little serpentine savage. 🐍 😈
April 8, 2025
So…. This series as a whole wasn’t bad, but found the ending severely lacking. Spoilers ahead. First, how unsatisfying to just…. Send all of them back???? All this ramp up about the horrible awful things that they’ve done and Ariadne says we need to rebuild in our own and “stop destroying and start repairing” like what does that even mean???? After killing countless numbers of their own children they’re just going to “rebuild” in their original world??? When they should all be dead bc they have been sucking the life out of their kids for hundreds of years??? Like them dying would have made wayyyy more sense since they’ve already lived longer than is natural and in a very evil way.
Also it was unclear to me if everyone else got their full powers back after the whole draining ceremony thing, like Kiera did bc of her whole void experience but is everyone else just permanently less powerful? I would have thought there’d be a spell or something to return their powers to them or reverse the drainings and the gods would all turn to dust or something. Just soooo crazy how we have no insight at all into what happened to them after they left the world. Also, felt suuuuper unrealistic that a world would lose everything about how it was governed and then a bunch of 20 year old kids would be able to hold everything together. The way the end was just like you know…. Just busy rebuilding society… like, how???? What type of government are you making?? How are you making sure mortal gods aren’t out enslaving humans bc I have a hard time believing none of them are. What does the new social hierarchy work? How is it not anarchy? Literally so many questions.
Beyond my obvious dissatisfaction with the ending, I was also just really annoyed with many parts of this book. Maeryn was soooooo annoying. Girl is just like “I want to stay out of it” and then literally never has a single redeemable moment. Like she never steps up or decides she wants to help she literally just gets turned into a rabbit and almost killed bc she doesn’t want to do anything and then it’s just like… well now I’m going to be scared and twitchy but for a real reason this time? And we never got any real info and her and Niall’s relationship bc as much as it might be nice for them to be together him still calling her “mistress” felt weirdddd. Also not a single “I love you” was exchanged by any of them which felt crazy to me, like Kalix was the closest to professing anything which felt insane. Not even Theo saying it to her??? What were these relationships even. Also SHE DIDNT EVEN KILL THE GOD KING which is what the whole prophecy was in the first place???? I also have opinions about how Kiera chose to handle meeting her obviously painfully incarcerated mother and in general her whole “must keep feelings inside” vibe which didn’t seem to ever get better. Overall really disappointing end to the series, it started with so much potential and just fell flat in the worst way to me in this last book.
⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️
1st person multi POV
Also it was unclear to me if everyone else got their full powers back after the whole draining ceremony thing, like Kiera did bc of her whole void experience but is everyone else just permanently less powerful? I would have thought there’d be a spell or something to return their powers to them or reverse the drainings and the gods would all turn to dust or something. Just soooo crazy how we have no insight at all into what happened to them after they left the world. Also, felt suuuuper unrealistic that a world would lose everything about how it was governed and then a bunch of 20 year old kids would be able to hold everything together. The way the end was just like you know…. Just busy rebuilding society… like, how???? What type of government are you making?? How are you making sure mortal gods aren’t out enslaving humans bc I have a hard time believing none of them are. What does the new social hierarchy work? How is it not anarchy? Literally so many questions.
Beyond my obvious dissatisfaction with the ending, I was also just really annoyed with many parts of this book. Maeryn was soooooo annoying. Girl is just like “I want to stay out of it” and then literally never has a single redeemable moment. Like she never steps up or decides she wants to help she literally just gets turned into a rabbit and almost killed bc she doesn’t want to do anything and then it’s just like… well now I’m going to be scared and twitchy but for a real reason this time? And we never got any real info and her and Niall’s relationship bc as much as it might be nice for them to be together him still calling her “mistress” felt weirdddd. Also not a single “I love you” was exchanged by any of them which felt crazy to me, like Kalix was the closest to professing anything which felt insane. Not even Theo saying it to her??? What were these relationships even. Also SHE DIDNT EVEN KILL THE GOD KING which is what the whole prophecy was in the first place???? I also have opinions about how Kiera chose to handle meeting her obviously painfully incarcerated mother and in general her whole “must keep feelings inside” vibe which didn’t seem to ever get better. Overall really disappointing end to the series, it started with so much potential and just fell flat in the worst way to me in this last book.
⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️
1st person multi POV
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2024
5 ⭐️
3.5 🌶️
One word I could use to describe this series - SLAY. I was absolutely blown away from the get go when I first picked up ‘A Sword of Shadow & Deceit’. It was if Lucinda Dark (my gal Lucy) reached through the book and grabbed me by the throat from beginning to end 😍
If you’re on the edge of your seat wondering how this storyline will wrap, it’s not going to disappoint! My questions I had about Kiera’s lineage were answered, character depth was still expanding (yes, it brought me to tears) and the conclusion was left in a very satisfying way!
Kiera will forever be a favorite FMC of mine! She’s sassy, head strong, and can’t help but be protective towards her core group! Her banter and clap backs always make me laugh 😂 I was thoroughly satisfied with her development from the beginning to end of this series. Our girl never wants to admit her flaws, but damn it Kiera- it’s okay to not be okay! When she finally let her walls fall, it was a tearful moment I couldn’t get enough of. I adore her scheming mind and the fact that she is confident in her own abilities! Gotta love a baddie that handles a blade!
But nothing is sexier than a man that knows his can handle her own! Yes, I’m mainly talking about Kalix 🤭 I love when he and Kiera are on the Same page and don’t even have to ask each other what their next move will be.
The balance of this why choose has been fantastic through each book. There is no always tension and the spice is not the main focus, but it is a delicious feature!
If you’re looking for a completed series that showcases:
🩸Feisty/ physically capable FMC
🩸Possessive MMCs
🩸Plot that keeps you on your toes
🩸Dark academy setting
🩸Gods & mortals
🩸Banter that makes your sides hurt
🩸Deception & action
🩸 Distinguishable multidimensional characters
🩸 Spice that makes you SWEAT
Lucy, thank you for the ARC as well as this fantastic series! It will forever haunt my dreams in the best ways!
3.5 🌶️
One word I could use to describe this series - SLAY. I was absolutely blown away from the get go when I first picked up ‘A Sword of Shadow & Deceit’. It was if Lucinda Dark (my gal Lucy) reached through the book and grabbed me by the throat from beginning to end 😍
If you’re on the edge of your seat wondering how this storyline will wrap, it’s not going to disappoint! My questions I had about Kiera’s lineage were answered, character depth was still expanding (yes, it brought me to tears) and the conclusion was left in a very satisfying way!
Kiera will forever be a favorite FMC of mine! She’s sassy, head strong, and can’t help but be protective towards her core group! Her banter and clap backs always make me laugh 😂 I was thoroughly satisfied with her development from the beginning to end of this series. Our girl never wants to admit her flaws, but damn it Kiera- it’s okay to not be okay! When she finally let her walls fall, it was a tearful moment I couldn’t get enough of. I adore her scheming mind and the fact that she is confident in her own abilities! Gotta love a baddie that handles a blade!
But nothing is sexier than a man that knows his can handle her own! Yes, I’m mainly talking about Kalix 🤭 I love when he and Kiera are on the Same page and don’t even have to ask each other what their next move will be.
The balance of this why choose has been fantastic through each book. There is no always tension and the spice is not the main focus, but it is a delicious feature!
If you’re looking for a completed series that showcases:
🩸Feisty/ physically capable FMC
🩸Possessive MMCs
🩸Plot that keeps you on your toes
🩸Dark academy setting
🩸Gods & mortals
🩸Banter that makes your sides hurt
🩸Deception & action
🩸 Distinguishable multidimensional characters
🩸 Spice that makes you SWEAT
Lucy, thank you for the ARC as well as this fantastic series! It will forever haunt my dreams in the best ways!
November 29, 2024
✨𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘✨
📖: A Haven of Brimstone and Darkness (Mortal Gods #4)
"𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘳, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴."
In the final installment of The Mortal Gods series, Kiera and the Darkhaven brothers journey to where it all began for the Mortal Gods. Are they prepared to face the devastating truths and their uncertain fates?
Tropes/themes:
👀 Multi POV
🖤 Dark Fantasy Romance
🗡️ Ass@ssin FMC
☠️ Anti-Hero
❤️️ Enemies-to-Lovers
🫂 Forced proximity
🧑🧑🧒🧒 Found family
🔥 Why Choose
🌶️: moderate - high
"𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘧*𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘢. 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦."
Kiera has come a long way from lost, lonely ass@ssin with a singular purpose of seeking freedom. After slowly building trust and understanding with the Darkhaven brothers, she finds so much more than she ever imagined- something worth fighting and dying for. The Darkhavens work through their own painful pasts and vulnerabilities. Each brother cares for Kiera the only way they know how, with their love taking different forms.
Lucinda never fails to deliver jaw-dropping reveals, wicked banter, and unh!nged spice. I appreciated that the conclusion felt realistic for each character while exploring different facets of love, sacrifice, redemption, and hope.
The Mortal Gods series is a perfect blend of a dark and gritty story wrapped up in a fantasy romance that’s thrilling, high-stakes, and blessedly satisfying. I am definitely going to miss these characters as this chapter closes on their story 😭
Huge thanks to the author, @literallyyourspr, and BookSprout for the ARC opportunity! This is my honest and voluntary review
📖: A Haven of Brimstone and Darkness (Mortal Gods #4)
"𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘳, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴."
In the final installment of The Mortal Gods series, Kiera and the Darkhaven brothers journey to where it all began for the Mortal Gods. Are they prepared to face the devastating truths and their uncertain fates?
Tropes/themes:
👀 Multi POV
🖤 Dark Fantasy Romance
🗡️ Ass@ssin FMC
☠️ Anti-Hero
❤️️ Enemies-to-Lovers
🫂 Forced proximity
🧑🧑🧒🧒 Found family
🔥 Why Choose
🌶️: moderate - high
"𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘧*𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘢. 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦."
Kiera has come a long way from lost, lonely ass@ssin with a singular purpose of seeking freedom. After slowly building trust and understanding with the Darkhaven brothers, she finds so much more than she ever imagined- something worth fighting and dying for. The Darkhavens work through their own painful pasts and vulnerabilities. Each brother cares for Kiera the only way they know how, with their love taking different forms.
Lucinda never fails to deliver jaw-dropping reveals, wicked banter, and unh!nged spice. I appreciated that the conclusion felt realistic for each character while exploring different facets of love, sacrifice, redemption, and hope.
The Mortal Gods series is a perfect blend of a dark and gritty story wrapped up in a fantasy romance that’s thrilling, high-stakes, and blessedly satisfying. I am definitely going to miss these characters as this chapter closes on their story 😭
Huge thanks to the author, @literallyyourspr, and BookSprout for the ARC opportunity! This is my honest and voluntary review
December 3, 2024
So many parts were confusing and a little anticlimactic at the end. Not really feeling this one.
December 4, 2024
A satisfying conclusion to a super fun and addictive dark romantasy series! I devoured these books and I’m so sad their story is over. I will definitely be checking out Lucinda Dark’s backlog as well as following her for future releases!
April 1, 2025
It's a good last book for the series... I just felt a little short-changed at the end. I don't know what I was expecting, but I didn't feel like everything fell into place enough for my understanding and to lead up to what happened. Just felt like a few chapters here and there in the last 30% of the book was missing, making it kind of jumpy and a little harder to keep up with all the big twists and not so big fights...
Okay, besides that. I enjoyed our little family of damaged people. The foursome was...well, it's greyish due to the...yeah you will see if you read the book. There are other moments of spice, banter, passion, and smutty smex that's so hot I needed a milkshake to cool down.
I did kinda hope for more mythical creatures, wanted a new power that did something or tamed something new. But! I still love Ara! Don't get me wrong, that spider is sass and cute, and somehow, I grew to enjoy her moments, too. RL, still afraid of them, but will now yearn for spiders to be so scary and be like a Ara...such a brave Spider Queen.
I've read this authors book in the Barbie series, and I have to wonder if they are the same author. She levelled up in this series. The fantasy, the darkness, the morally grey characters, and the world build, all pretty great! The plot was filled with twists and emotions, and the look into their mental health as they reacted to it all was uncomfortable as it should be because it was so real for what was and has happened....
Even with the closing chapters being so choppy to me. Overall, it's worth a read!
4.5 stars
Okay, besides that. I enjoyed our little family of damaged people. The foursome was...well, it's greyish due to the...yeah you will see if you read the book. There are other moments of spice, banter, passion, and smutty smex that's so hot I needed a milkshake to cool down.
I did kinda hope for more mythical creatures, wanted a new power that did something or tamed something new. But! I still love Ara! Don't get me wrong, that spider is sass and cute, and somehow, I grew to enjoy her moments, too. RL, still afraid of them, but will now yearn for spiders to be so scary and be like a Ara...such a brave Spider Queen.
I've read this authors book in the Barbie series, and I have to wonder if they are the same author. She levelled up in this series. The fantasy, the darkness, the morally grey characters, and the world build, all pretty great! The plot was filled with twists and emotions, and the look into their mental health as they reacted to it all was uncomfortable as it should be because it was so real for what was and has happened....
Even with the closing chapters being so choppy to me. Overall, it's worth a read!
4.5 stars
March 4, 2025
4 ⭐
I loved this series, I just wish we saw more of the after-everything-that-happened
One of the most interesting world building I have ever read and the characters got a great development throughout the entire series.
I loved this series, I just wish we saw more of the after-everything-that-happened
One of the most interesting world building I have ever read and the characters got a great development throughout the entire series.
April 22, 2025
This book was completely anticlimactic and relatively boring. It took me weeks to force myself to finish it. I really enjoyed the 1st book and absolutely hated the last. I felt like there was this build up to an epic battle for the last book, but then nothing happened. It was over 400 pages of nothingness!
Kiera started out a fierce, strong, independent badass and ended up being a whiny, spoiled brat in the end. What was the point of making her an assassin that trained for 10 yrs and having 3 mmc that were trained warriors for them to sit around and do absolutely nothing in the last book? Kiera just throws temper tantrums when people don't give her what she wants and she sits around staring at a book expecting it to tell her everything. She's an assassin and powerful mortal god, with 3 devoted warriors!!! I wanted her to get off her butt and do something, anything!! To be proactive and not reactive.
After the brimstone was removed, I expected an explosion of powers. I expected her and the 3 mmc to go on the offensive and fight the gods, but no, they just sat around and let the gods do whatever and basically accepted it.
I found myself constantly asking why. These are just a few of the MANY why questions I had:
● Why is Kiera an assassin when these skills aren't really useful to the plot and completely unnecessary for defeating the gods?
● Why do the academies train the mortal gods to be warriors if their life purpose is to be harvested for power?
● Why are the 3 mmc so obsessed and devoted to the fmc? She's pretty annoying and often rude to them.
● Why have underworld connections and alude to a mortal army if they serve no purpose in the story?
● Why does Kiera want her mother to be alive, but then throws a fit when she is found alive? I expected more logic from a trained assassin, but instead got strictly drama.
● Why are the mortal gods not upset after the 1st ceremony when a portion of their powers are drained and their memories lost?
● Why was the god king so powerful and undefeatable by basically everyone, if he could easily be defeated with an unknown, untrained power while Kiera was having a conversation with her mother?
● Why does it seem like Maeryn is a friend, but then nothing is done when she's discovered missing?
● Why is the epilogue about getting rid of Caedmon's book? Who cares? I would have preferred a chapter about how life changed after the gods or no epilogue.
In addition to all the why questions, I found these aspects annoying as well:
● The use of the word belly. This is a grown assassin with 3 friends with benefits and yet a child's word is used? WHY?? Couldn't have used stomach, abdomen, torso?
● All the inconsistencies. It felt like the book wasn't proofread by a single person. I submitted several errors to Kindle and it wasn't even all I noticed. For example, when Theos killed Nubo, it said he slit his throat with a dagger, then 3 paragraphs later it states Theos put the bloody sword down. What happened to the dagger? Where did the bloody sword come from?
In conclusion, I was pretty disappointed the gods didn't win.
Kiera started out a fierce, strong, independent badass and ended up being a whiny, spoiled brat in the end. What was the point of making her an assassin that trained for 10 yrs and having 3 mmc that were trained warriors for them to sit around and do absolutely nothing in the last book? Kiera just throws temper tantrums when people don't give her what she wants and she sits around staring at a book expecting it to tell her everything. She's an assassin and powerful mortal god, with 3 devoted warriors!!! I wanted her to get off her butt and do something, anything!! To be proactive and not reactive.
After the brimstone was removed, I expected an explosion of powers. I expected her and the 3 mmc to go on the offensive and fight the gods, but no, they just sat around and let the gods do whatever and basically accepted it.
I found myself constantly asking why. These are just a few of the MANY why questions I had:
● Why is Kiera an assassin when these skills aren't really useful to the plot and completely unnecessary for defeating the gods?
● Why do the academies train the mortal gods to be warriors if their life purpose is to be harvested for power?
● Why are the 3 mmc so obsessed and devoted to the fmc? She's pretty annoying and often rude to them.
● Why have underworld connections and alude to a mortal army if they serve no purpose in the story?
● Why does Kiera want her mother to be alive, but then throws a fit when she is found alive? I expected more logic from a trained assassin, but instead got strictly drama.
● Why are the mortal gods not upset after the 1st ceremony when a portion of their powers are drained and their memories lost?
● Why was the god king so powerful and undefeatable by basically everyone, if he could easily be defeated with an unknown, untrained power while Kiera was having a conversation with her mother?
● Why does it seem like Maeryn is a friend, but then nothing is done when she's discovered missing?
● Why is the epilogue about getting rid of Caedmon's book? Who cares? I would have preferred a chapter about how life changed after the gods or no epilogue.
In addition to all the why questions, I found these aspects annoying as well:
● The use of the word belly. This is a grown assassin with 3 friends with benefits and yet a child's word is used? WHY?? Couldn't have used stomach, abdomen, torso?
● All the inconsistencies. It felt like the book wasn't proofread by a single person. I submitted several errors to Kindle and it wasn't even all I noticed. For example, when Theos killed Nubo, it said he slit his throat with a dagger, then 3 paragraphs later it states Theos put the bloody sword down. What happened to the dagger? Where did the bloody sword come from?
In conclusion, I was pretty disappointed the gods didn't win.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2025
I binged the first three books in the Mortal Gods series, and then had to wait for the final book's release at the end of November. Unfortunately I got caught up in a Christmas romcom binge then, so luckily I left myself a quick plot synopsis and romance roundup after reading book three.
It's really nice to finish up a series! A Haven of Brimstone and Darkness was a solid ending to the series, and despite a slightly slow start, it ended up having a good mix of action, plot and romance/spice. Actually, the spice was less frequent than I expected for the final book, but it felt like the right amount - two individual scenes and one extended group scene. Any more would have detracted from the plot I think. It would have been nice to have a bit more detail in the epilogue though, to see how Kiera and the Darkhavens operate together as a unit. But it was a solid ending and wrapped up the story nicely.
It's really nice to finish up a series! A Haven of Brimstone and Darkness was a solid ending to the series, and despite a slightly slow start, it ended up having a good mix of action, plot and romance/spice. Actually, the spice was less frequent than I expected for the final book, but it felt like the right amount - two individual scenes and one extended group scene. Any more would have detracted from the plot I think. It would have been nice to have a bit more detail in the epilogue though, to see how Kiera and the Darkhavens operate together as a unit. But it was a solid ending and wrapped up the story nicely.
June 25, 2025
It was…okay. Admittedly, I got through halfway and then just skipped to the end & Epilogue. Book 3 took me ages to get through and by book 4, I just felt like I needed the story to end. There was plenty of potential for the series overall, but it just never reached that point. My biggest qualm with book 4 was the fact that the author wrote these great, emotional, vulnerable scenes and then ended those scenes with spice. It was unnecessary. It just felt like it did a great disservice to the characters by only allowing them to process their emotions through bedtime activities.
I get that spice in books is a big trend nowadays, but I think knowing when to add that in there is better than throwing it in just because.
I get that spice in books is a big trend nowadays, but I think knowing when to add that in there is better than throwing it in just because.
February 17, 2025
I had to DNF- I had made it a huge chunk and they still hadn't created any plan, she still isnt testing her powers. She just continuously repeats the situation they are in. The last straw was when she meets her mother. I get being upset, but she was just meeaannn (like clearly your mom has been in prison and couldn't get to you 🙄
This series really should have just been a duology. There are so many weak plot points (like why would the god council create an academy for them to learn things and for them to kill each other ... when the goal is just for killing/using them!?) yet she over explains things that have already been established (the gods using them).
This series really should have just been a duology. There are so many weak plot points (like why would the god council create an academy for them to learn things and for them to kill each other ... when the goal is just for killing/using them!?) yet she over explains things that have already been established (the gods using them).
November 29, 2024
~𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔, 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍… 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆… 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓.
“𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌.”🕷🗡
~"𝑵𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒂𝒓, 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕, 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒔."🖤
~“𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔. “𝑩𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒎, 𝑲𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝑵𝒆𝒛𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔.”⚡
~“𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙞𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙚.”🐍
𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔:
------
Dark Fantasy Academia
Assassine FMC/Shadow Mommy
Morally Grey-Black MMCs
WHY CHOOSE
Bondage by Snakes
🕸🕸🕸🕸🕸🕸🕸
I can't believe it's over.. This series was was definitely in my top 5 for the year & I say top 5 Only because they're all tied for my #1 ~ I'm Why Choose through & through😆
Kiera & the Darkhaven Brothers came so far from where they started & I was 💯% engrossed in every Delicious second of their journey🔥🔥🔥
Kiera is one of my favorite FMCs..she is such a Bad Bitch & the Brothers are everything you could want - Morally Grey, Unhinged, & Hot
*Fűçķ with their girl & they're coming for you
(And you better hope Kalix doesn't get there 1st)
Let the final Battle Begin
~𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱𝘀.~
The twists & turns / banter & spice are absolutely top notch. The First Rite scene was EVERYTHING
OMGAWWWD!!🥵 Yall ain't readyyy!!!!!
If you haven't started this series yet..Buckle Up & get ready for a new Obsession!!
🍆🕷🩸⚡🗡🐍
“𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌.”🕷🗡
~"𝑵𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒂𝒓, 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕, 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒔."🖤
~“𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔. “𝑩𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒎, 𝑲𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝑵𝒆𝒛𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔.”⚡
~“𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙞𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙚.”🐍
𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔:
------
Dark Fantasy Academia
Assassine FMC/Shadow Mommy
Morally Grey-Black MMCs
WHY CHOOSE
Bondage by Snakes
🕸🕸🕸🕸🕸🕸🕸
I can't believe it's over.. This series was was definitely in my top 5 for the year & I say top 5 Only because they're all tied for my #1 ~ I'm Why Choose through & through😆
Kiera & the Darkhaven Brothers came so far from where they started & I was 💯% engrossed in every Delicious second of their journey🔥🔥🔥
Kiera is one of my favorite FMCs..she is such a Bad Bitch & the Brothers are everything you could want - Morally Grey, Unhinged, & Hot
*Fűçķ with their girl & they're coming for you
(And you better hope Kalix doesn't get there 1st)
Let the final Battle Begin
~𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱𝘀.~
The twists & turns / banter & spice are absolutely top notch. The First Rite scene was EVERYTHING
OMGAWWWD!!🥵 Yall ain't readyyy!!!!!
If you haven't started this series yet..Buckle Up & get ready for a new Obsession!!
🍆🕷🩸⚡🗡🐍
August 3, 2025
Ok so for me, the first two books of this series were much better than the last two.
First two books - action-packed, plot and world building coming together, super spicy tension and slow burn. It created such a nice set up for these 4 characters to connect.
Second two books - A whole lot of filler with new random low-payoff characters, and it was trying to sum up the book that ended almost abruptly. We didn’t really get the connection to the three brothers emotionally that the first two set up for. Her relationship with Niall is completely glossed over while the connection to Maeryn felt forced.
Overall, I think that I liked the series, but I could have been screaming from the rooftops if the last two books were re-written.
We just don’t get the conclusion to the emotional connection for Kiera and the three Darkhaven men that I was craving. Their relationship is left on almost a cliffhanger of sorts and I wasn’t super happy about it.
First two books - action-packed, plot and world building coming together, super spicy tension and slow burn. It created such a nice set up for these 4 characters to connect.
Second two books - A whole lot of filler with new random low-payoff characters, and it was trying to sum up the book that ended almost abruptly. We didn’t really get the connection to the three brothers emotionally that the first two set up for. Her relationship with Niall is completely glossed over while the connection to Maeryn felt forced.
Overall, I think that I liked the series, but I could have been screaming from the rooftops if the last two books were re-written.
We just don’t get the conclusion to the emotional connection for Kiera and the three Darkhaven men that I was craving. Their relationship is left on almost a cliffhanger of sorts and I wasn’t super happy about it.
November 29, 2024
This book was a beautiful conclusion to a series that captivated me from the very start. It was everything it needed to be and gave these characters such a fitting and realistic ending.
Kiera and the Darkhaven’s continue to fight for what they believe in. Something they have spent the whole series working towards- freedom, choice, a future. Yet, the twists, turns, secrets, and betrayals are far from over.
I love the possessiveness and protectiveness that embodies these Darkhaven brothers. Ruen will always be my favorite Darkhaven, with Kalix not far behind, as they both show a more vulnerable, yet still delightfully unhinged, side in this one. They all view Kiera as theirs and will do everything in their power to ensure she stays safe and can fulfill her destiny. Each giving her what she needs, whether she wants to admit it or not.
It’s a damn good thing Kiera is equally as protective of them as they are of her! Her strength is unparalleled and her journey is full of such devastating loss. Yet she never let that hold her back from discovering what she truly stood to gain and the weapon she needs to become in the process!
I already miss this fierce foursome, and just like that cleansing scene, they will forever live rent free in my head!!!
Thank you Lucinda and Literally Yours PR for the advanced copy. My thoughts are honest and voluntary.
Kiera and the Darkhaven’s continue to fight for what they believe in. Something they have spent the whole series working towards- freedom, choice, a future. Yet, the twists, turns, secrets, and betrayals are far from over.
I love the possessiveness and protectiveness that embodies these Darkhaven brothers. Ruen will always be my favorite Darkhaven, with Kalix not far behind, as they both show a more vulnerable, yet still delightfully unhinged, side in this one. They all view Kiera as theirs and will do everything in their power to ensure she stays safe and can fulfill her destiny. Each giving her what she needs, whether she wants to admit it or not.
It’s a damn good thing Kiera is equally as protective of them as they are of her! Her strength is unparalleled and her journey is full of such devastating loss. Yet she never let that hold her back from discovering what she truly stood to gain and the weapon she needs to become in the process!
I already miss this fierce foursome, and just like that cleansing scene, they will forever live rent free in my head!!!
Thank you Lucinda and Literally Yours PR for the advanced copy. My thoughts are honest and voluntary.
November 23, 2024
What a great conclusion to an epic dark romantasy series! This book picked right up where the last one ended. Tensions are high as Kiera and the brothers prepare to face off against the Gods. The spicy scenes were on point as usual, with one scene absolutely jaw dropping 🤭 I honestly was not able to predict how this story was going to go and it kept me on my toes the whole time. Such a wild ride and I enjoyed every minute of it.
I love this series so much - I need a full series special edition immediately!
Thank you so much to Lucy for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!
I love this series so much - I need a full series special edition immediately!
Thank you so much to Lucy for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2024
What a conclusion for the series! I love how far Kiera has come from her assassin days and into the relationships she has with each of the Darkhaven brothers. Their relationships are pretty cemented at this point, and each one has a certain way they love her. This book focused more on resolving the world issue at hand, as well as diving into further details on Kiera’s parentage; this is important after past revelations.
I would say this one was more plot heavy than romance, but that does NOT mean there was no spice; there definitely was and it was sizzling. I found the ending to be realistic and a nice conclusion to this series; I will surely miss these characters!
Thank you Literally Yours PR and the author for the copy for review.
I would say this one was more plot heavy than romance, but that does NOT mean there was no spice; there definitely was and it was sizzling. I found the ending to be realistic and a nice conclusion to this series; I will surely miss these characters!
Thank you Literally Yours PR and the author for the copy for review.
February 14, 2025
I loved this series, I'm sad its done. I really got attached to the Darkhavens and Kiera. Good ending though, I had the feeling that one of the Darhavens were going to die and like Keira I loved all 3, I couldn't pick if I wanted to. I would have loved to see all the mortal gods from the academies with their different powers fighting the dead army that Carcel was commanding, maybe Dolos and some of the other gods should have had an appearance on this book too but overall I will re read this series again in the future.
September 22, 2025
⭐ 1 star
I just finished this and … wow. It was every bit as horrible as I feared. 😑
The first book started off fine decent premise, a world I thought might go somewhere. But then:
• Book 2 = zero. 🚫
• Book 3 = boring as hell. 😴
• Book 4 = I wanted to chuck it at a wall. 🤦♀️
I should’ve known better, because I’d already read The Awakening Fates by this author, which was ridiculous and ludicrous in every possible way. I don’t know why I expected improvement here probably because I had just finished The Cursed Legacies by Morgan B. Lee (one of the best RH romances I’ve ever read 💜) and I was chasing that high. Big mistake.
For something marketed as a dark RH bully romance, this was laughably bad. No real action. Barely any bullying. Nothing dark. Just endless filler. The whole “plot” can be summarized in a few sentences: mortal gods (half-human, half-god) are shoved into academies so the upper gods can pick the strongest, kill them, and steal their power. The heroine is “the chosen one” who can kill the God King. But even that doesn’t happen as in the end she just sends these Upper gods back to the “realm” they came from?!?!? Like wtf😳 Four books wasted. 🗑️
The FMC? Supposedly a trained assassin yet spends 80% of the series crying, fainting, running around doing theatrics, or refusing to communicate basic information. 😒 She discovers something, the heroes ask her what’s wrong, and every single time: “Not now.” Repeat this stupidity a million times. Add three utterly useless love interests, and you’ve got a recipe for pure irritation.
Absolutely awful. I wasted so many days slogging through this mess. One star
I just finished this and … wow. It was every bit as horrible as I feared. 😑
The first book started off fine decent premise, a world I thought might go somewhere. But then:
• Book 2 = zero. 🚫
• Book 3 = boring as hell. 😴
• Book 4 = I wanted to chuck it at a wall. 🤦♀️
I should’ve known better, because I’d already read The Awakening Fates by this author, which was ridiculous and ludicrous in every possible way. I don’t know why I expected improvement here probably because I had just finished The Cursed Legacies by Morgan B. Lee (one of the best RH romances I’ve ever read 💜) and I was chasing that high. Big mistake.
For something marketed as a dark RH bully romance, this was laughably bad. No real action. Barely any bullying. Nothing dark. Just endless filler. The whole “plot” can be summarized in a few sentences: mortal gods (half-human, half-god) are shoved into academies so the upper gods can pick the strongest, kill them, and steal their power. The heroine is “the chosen one” who can kill the God King. But even that doesn’t happen as in the end she just sends these Upper gods back to the “realm” they came from?!?!? Like wtf😳 Four books wasted. 🗑️
The FMC? Supposedly a trained assassin yet spends 80% of the series crying, fainting, running around doing theatrics, or refusing to communicate basic information. 😒 She discovers something, the heroes ask her what’s wrong, and every single time: “Not now.” Repeat this stupidity a million times. Add three utterly useless love interests, and you’ve got a recipe for pure irritation.
Absolutely awful. I wasted so many days slogging through this mess. One star
November 28, 2024
What an ending to this series!! Lucinda really pulled out all the stops in A Haven of Brimstone and Darkness, the 4th and final book of the Mortal God series.
Everything has been leading to these moments and Kiera is challenged even more. You feel the protectiveness of Ruen, Theos and Kalix and Kiera’s desire to stop the Gods once and for all.
But there are challenges along the way and she must find her way through the illusions at play. Secrets will be revealed, sacrifices will be made and so much more!
I love how everything throughout the series has been leading to this point and all the answers are found. You still get plenty of spice between them all and that first rite scene (IYKYK 😮💨) was something I know I have been waiting for the whole series 🤭 But there is so much more to Kiera and her relationships with the Darkhaven brothers, they are hers and she is theirs and they will stop at nothing to protect each other.
I have been a Kalix girl through and through in this series because who doesn’t love an ultra possessive MMC but Ruen has grown on me the past two books and our golden retriever Theos.
Just when you think you see how it’s going to end, there goes a twist getting thrown in. I have devoured this series this year and it is easily one of my favorite reads of the year. Don’t mind me I am just going to go stare off into the abyss and contempt what to read now that this series is done 😭
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Everything has been leading to these moments and Kiera is challenged even more. You feel the protectiveness of Ruen, Theos and Kalix and Kiera’s desire to stop the Gods once and for all.
But there are challenges along the way and she must find her way through the illusions at play. Secrets will be revealed, sacrifices will be made and so much more!
I love how everything throughout the series has been leading to this point and all the answers are found. You still get plenty of spice between them all and that first rite scene (IYKYK 😮💨) was something I know I have been waiting for the whole series 🤭 But there is so much more to Kiera and her relationships with the Darkhaven brothers, they are hers and she is theirs and they will stop at nothing to protect each other.
I have been a Kalix girl through and through in this series because who doesn’t love an ultra possessive MMC but Ruen has grown on me the past two books and our golden retriever Theos.
Just when you think you see how it’s going to end, there goes a twist getting thrown in. I have devoured this series this year and it is easily one of my favorite reads of the year. Don’t mind me I am just going to go stare off into the abyss and contempt what to read now that this series is done 😭
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 11, 2025
amazing ending to…
An amazing ending to a fabulously written series. Great character development and amazing intriguing plots and sub plots.
I would have loved another epilogue from a few years on to see where the 4 lead characters end up and maybe a bonus to know what happened to the other characters but the ending is well written and not long and drawn out otherwise
An amazing ending to a fabulously written series. Great character development and amazing intriguing plots and sub plots.
I would have loved another epilogue from a few years on to see where the 4 lead characters end up and maybe a bonus to know what happened to the other characters but the ending is well written and not long and drawn out otherwise
June 17, 2025
This had me more intrigued than the last book and wrapped everything together in the end. It felt a bit rushed and I would have loved some parts to be more flushed out, but still enjoyed it. Some parts were still a bit less intriguing and also some a bit too intense or off for me.
Thank you for the eARC!
Thank you for the eARC!
June 22, 2025
3.5 💎
2.5 🌶️
📙A lot to uncover in this last book, not sure if it felt a bit chaotic
📙Revelations on who Kiera’s mother and father are and the reasons she is the only one that can end the gods
📙Some good spicy scenes throughout
📙Would have liked to see the gods suffer more as they were horrible
📙It was interesting how they ended up connected to each other without the traditional lovey dovey stuff.
📙The relationships were intense, but they just got each other. Still felt like they were a bit unfinished.
🍷"I. Will. Always. Come. To. Save. You."
🍷"No matter how far, no matter how lost, I would sink myself into the sea and challenge death for one more night in your arms."
🍷I think they might be everything I didn’t even know I was searching for.
2.5 🌶️
📙A lot to uncover in this last book, not sure if it felt a bit chaotic
📙Revelations on who Kiera’s mother and father are and the reasons she is the only one that can end the gods
📙Some good spicy scenes throughout
📙Would have liked to see the gods suffer more as they were horrible
📙It was interesting how they ended up connected to each other without the traditional lovey dovey stuff.
📙The relationships were intense, but they just got each other. Still felt like they were a bit unfinished.
🍷"I. Will. Always. Come. To. Save. You."
🍷"No matter how far, no matter how lost, I would sink myself into the sea and challenge death for one more night in your arms."
🍷I think they might be everything I didn’t even know I was searching for.
January 25, 2025
Great final book to the series, however I kinda struggled at times to pay attention to this book, but overall I really liked it. I loved Kieras' character throughout the series and the Darkhaven brothers were not a disappointment either.
My favorite books in the series were the two first ones.
My favorite books in the series were the two first ones.
January 5, 2025
I was so incredibly disappointed with this book. It felt so different from the first 3. The characters relationships were as predictable and sloppy as the climax. I was so looking forward to the complexities of the MFC's relationship with the brothers as well as a satisfying ending and it was so anticlimactic it was difficult to finish. So sad! Wish it held up better.
April 25, 2025
This review is for the full series and has spoilers.
In the first book, it started ok but by the time I was hitting the 3rd book I knew I would finish the series to see what the outcome is, but it was going to be a hate read. Reasons listed below, but first and foremost, this is a why-choose with a single chili rating for me, and that's super sad because I think a why-choose should be so much smuttier.
Kiera is a Mortal God, which means one of her parents was a god and one of her parents was a mortal so she should have powers. She does but because she's hiding her divinity by having a piece of brimstone sewn under her skin, her powers are muted and she can pass as a human, which means she won't be sent to an academy that all mortal gods are sent to by law, without exception.
Our young hero's father was murdered when she was 10 and then she was sold into the Underworld and trained to be a spy. This training was full of pain and torture and you're going to know that because she will constantly bring up the fact that even though her previous 10 years had been filled with so much pain and torture, she is over-whelmed with feelings and emotions which she shouldn't be, because all the pain and torture had made her stronger than that.
It didn't.
She also spends quit a bit of time having people sneak up on her which, again, shouldn't happen because all her training, but it happens a lot anyway. Clearly, this girl is a shit assassin.
Kiera goes undercover in a school where she meets the Darkhaven brothers and right off the bat we know they will all end up together but first she has to complete the job she was hired to do. And that's going to be hard because she doesn't actually know who her target is. She does pretty quickly realize that the boys who she should hate, she actually doesn't, because she understands their captivity by the people who put them in the "school" and forced them into an existence where they have literal fights to the death in order to survive. The people being their godly parents.
I really feel like this author just straight up wanted this series so be something sweeping and epic and full of twists, but it was not. It was over-written and none of the characters were nearly as smart as they thought they were. More than that, the author would write a detail in 1 chapter, and say the complete opposite in another. There was a moment where Kiera is waking up and she smells spice and rum, so she knows whose bed she's in. That same sentence names a different brother that she wakes up next to, and I know the differences between the dudes' smells because she talks AT LENGTH about each one.
Book 4 was the absolute worst for this type of stupid error. Towards the end, the brother Kalix grabs the dagger off a bad guy and then next few paragraphs it has turned into a sword. Once the fight is over he does put the dagger away so I guess it changed back to it's original form. Did not 1 copy editor give this thing an once-over?
The author could probably have cut this down to 3 books if she'd just stop over-writing sentences and attempting to make her writing more like prose. It wasn't. Just because you use 2 synonyms in the same sentence to describe a thing, doesn't make that sentence better, or make you sound smarter.
When we get to one of the big reveals - that the "Gods" aren't really divine beings but people from another dimension who came into this world by accident I wasn't too surprised. I was extremely disappointed that they came from Atlantis and so called themselves Atlanteans, who, in their own world, were just a specific kind of Fae. When they came to this world and none of the people had magic, they claimed they were gods and took shit over.
So now we've dragged both the "lost city of Atlantis" and Fae mythologies into this, but that's ultimately ok because you're never going to really know any more of these characters than that, so don't worry about it.
When Kiera uses her powers to open a new rift and send these folks back where they came from, I guess it was supposed to be emotional because her mom had to go, but I was just glad the book was ending.
We do get an epilogue but it continues to be the worst because it's just the brothers saying that Keira has to let her book of prophecies go and then they do. Not one hint of smut.
I will never read another book by this author.
In the first book, it started ok but by the time I was hitting the 3rd book I knew I would finish the series to see what the outcome is, but it was going to be a hate read. Reasons listed below, but first and foremost, this is a why-choose with a single chili rating for me, and that's super sad because I think a why-choose should be so much smuttier.
Kiera is a Mortal God, which means one of her parents was a god and one of her parents was a mortal so she should have powers. She does but because she's hiding her divinity by having a piece of brimstone sewn under her skin, her powers are muted and she can pass as a human, which means she won't be sent to an academy that all mortal gods are sent to by law, without exception.
Our young hero's father was murdered when she was 10 and then she was sold into the Underworld and trained to be a spy. This training was full of pain and torture and you're going to know that because she will constantly bring up the fact that even though her previous 10 years had been filled with so much pain and torture, she is over-whelmed with feelings and emotions which she shouldn't be, because all the pain and torture had made her stronger than that.
It didn't.
She also spends quit a bit of time having people sneak up on her which, again, shouldn't happen because all her training, but it happens a lot anyway. Clearly, this girl is a shit assassin.
Kiera goes undercover in a school where she meets the Darkhaven brothers and right off the bat we know they will all end up together but first she has to complete the job she was hired to do. And that's going to be hard because she doesn't actually know who her target is. She does pretty quickly realize that the boys who she should hate, she actually doesn't, because she understands their captivity by the people who put them in the "school" and forced them into an existence where they have literal fights to the death in order to survive. The people being their godly parents.
I really feel like this author just straight up wanted this series so be something sweeping and epic and full of twists, but it was not. It was over-written and none of the characters were nearly as smart as they thought they were. More than that, the author would write a detail in 1 chapter, and say the complete opposite in another. There was a moment where Kiera is waking up and she smells spice and rum, so she knows whose bed she's in. That same sentence names a different brother that she wakes up next to, and I know the differences between the dudes' smells because she talks AT LENGTH about each one.
Book 4 was the absolute worst for this type of stupid error. Towards the end, the brother Kalix grabs the dagger off a bad guy and then next few paragraphs it has turned into a sword. Once the fight is over he does put the dagger away so I guess it changed back to it's original form. Did not 1 copy editor give this thing an once-over?
The author could probably have cut this down to 3 books if she'd just stop over-writing sentences and attempting to make her writing more like prose. It wasn't. Just because you use 2 synonyms in the same sentence to describe a thing, doesn't make that sentence better, or make you sound smarter.
When we get to one of the big reveals - that the "Gods" aren't really divine beings but people from another dimension who came into this world by accident I wasn't too surprised. I was extremely disappointed that they came from Atlantis and so called themselves Atlanteans, who, in their own world, were just a specific kind of Fae. When they came to this world and none of the people had magic, they claimed they were gods and took shit over.
So now we've dragged both the "lost city of Atlantis" and Fae mythologies into this, but that's ultimately ok because you're never going to really know any more of these characters than that, so don't worry about it.
When Kiera uses her powers to open a new rift and send these folks back where they came from, I guess it was supposed to be emotional because her mom had to go, but I was just glad the book was ending.
We do get an epilogue but it continues to be the worst because it's just the brothers saying that Keira has to let her book of prophecies go and then they do. Not one hint of smut.
I will never read another book by this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2025
2/5 ⭐️
I enjoyed the series but didn't love it.
It didn't need to be as long as it was, a duology would've sufficed.
I enjoyed the series but didn't love it.
It didn't need to be as long as it was, a duology would've sufficed.
December 3, 2024
I'm disappointed with this one unfortunately. I like the characters in this series but felt that there wasn't enough tension and ah ha moment of her actually telling the men she loves them. I think that for Keira her telling them would have been a big moment. I really wanted Kalix to tell Keira that he loved her in the rain. For her to be the only person he would ever say that to. It would have been a massive moment for him and could have been a big Keira realisation moment without Ruen needing to be hurt for her to silently make her claim. We could have seen her learn to communicate with the men better. We didn't see any aftermath / reunion scenes with big emotions immediately after she sent the gods back. No reflection on Ruen being hurt or Kalix and Theos seeing Keira literally stabbed in the chest and thinking she was about to die. I like the concept, their powers, and the personalities that the author has created but I think she missed the mark on these last two books. There was a lot of potential for it to have me right on the edge of my seat. I felt like I knew everything that was likely going to happen and Keira needed to catch up. She's supposed to be an assassin yet did we even see her kill a single person in this other than the poison she and Kalix used on the mortal god at the end of this book? I wanted to see more of her unhinged side that Kalix is so attracted to, the badass female who could take anyone out and everyone knows it because she's so crazy but cool. I wanted to see the smart as a whip side that clearly attracts both Kalix and Ruen and I really desperately wanted to see the soft side reserved only for the men that Theos brings out in her in that one sex scene when they first arrive at the new academy. Overall I am glad I read through to the end but disappointed in the lack of relationship development and the drawn out story line that continued to be spoilt yet was supposed to be a surprise to the reader?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2025
This author does a really good job with character development, and I really liked her characters. They really didn't do anything stupid. They weren't frustrating. The only thing about the FMC that didn't seem right was that she was supposed to be this badass assassin for the last 10 years, but she always reacted like a scared child when it came to the things going on around her.
The problems with this series I believe have to do with the plot and progression of the story. Four books are a lot to read for the most important parts of the plot to only occur in the beginning and end of the series. After the 3rd book, I skimmed the last book until I went through 80% and then read to the end. I was so ready for it to be over. Overall, I think this could have been a Duet with the 1st and 2nd books. It moved really slowly.
The problems with this series I believe have to do with the plot and progression of the story. Four books are a lot to read for the most important parts of the plot to only occur in the beginning and end of the series. After the 3rd book, I skimmed the last book until I went through 80% and then read to the end. I was so ready for it to be over. Overall, I think this could have been a Duet with the 1st and 2nd books. It moved really slowly.
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