Land of Monsters

Savage Lands #8

by Stacey Marie Brown

I am the monster they fear. And I bow to no one.
​
The world is aware of Princess Raven Haley Scarlet Dragen—twin sister to her charismatic twin brother, Rook, the daughter of the Queen of the Unified Nations, and the offspring of a notorious dark dweller.
Or so they think they know her.
But she has been hiding a secret since she was born—the monsters within. She had to keep them locked away because one desires blood, and the other craves death. They are the reason the President of Russia seeks revenge and wants her dead.
Now the monsters are set free among a world of beasts and darkness.
Ash and Raven are locked in a political game for dominance, a fight that will strip them down, challenge their strength, and rip them apart.
Literally and figuratively.
In a world where magic and monsters lurk in the shadows, Ash and Raven are drawn into a storm of danger, desire, and earth-shattering revelations.
With gruesome creatures hunting them, they must become the most feared monsters out there to survive.

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Dark Romance, Fantasy Romance, Dystopia, Fae

414 pages, Unknown Binding

About the author

Stacey Marie Brown is a lover of hot fictional bad boys and sarcastic heroines who kick butt. She also enjoys books, travel, TV shows, hiking, writing, design, and archery. Stacey swears she is part gypsy, being lucky enough to live and travel all over the world.

Reviews

[Danielle Pulliam · Rating 5 out of 5]

**𝑹𝑬𝑽𝑰𝑬𝑾** 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒚 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 (𝑺𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 #8)

Release Date: October 28, 2024

4.5⭐️4🌶

This is the final installment in the Ash's story in this series, and it did not disappoint. Ash has found his reason for living again, and it may or may not be because of a certain Dark Dweller-High Druid Princess. Raven has been on the run from what she's done to the son of the King of the Russian Mafia, and Ash has decided to help her find a way to run from her problems.

Ash is still on his path for vengeance, but helping Raven has become his priority. Just when they think they can't run anymore, some familiar faces show up and bring the reinforcements, but just in time for them to break into the Evil Fae Queen's lair and break up all her evil doings.

This series has been action packed from start to finish. With twists and turns and betrayals. It doesn't lack for violence and gore, but it also brings aaaaalllll kinds of spicy content to balance out the violence. Just all around a very adult series, and I absolutely loved it! I do think we may see a few more installments in this series, but with other unresolved side characters.

Themes/Tropes:

🍁Urban Fantasy
🍁Revenge Plot
🍁Post Apocalyptic Setting
🍁Fae vs. Human War
🍁Shadow Daddy
🍁Fae Healer
🍁Hidden Powers
🍁One bed
🍁Grumpy-grumpy

TW:

✨PTSD
✨Drug and Alcohol Abuse
✨Physical violence
✨Grief
✨War
✨Prostitutions
✨Spicy content
✨Sexual assault

[ᥫ᭡. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Binged the whole series.
Loved it but ending was a bit of a let down.

[Nicala Rey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't get enough of this series! I know she said this is the end but I'm really hoping that's not true! She left it open for more so here's to dreaming 🤞🏼
Aside from my books wishes. It's a great end to Ash's story. Super spicy 🥵 and still a fantastic plot! If you
haven't read the Savage Lands series I highly recommend it!

[Leonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 stars

I loved the high stakes in this one, it had me on my seat the entire time. Also my baby made a cameo AHHH. I just love the way Stacey Marie Brown writes and I love the way this universe is so broad and deep now that you could basically write Novellas or spin offs for every of the side characters (erhm get me a book on Scorpion erhm). Everybody has a background story and all of the characters actually HAVE character. My only complain is that I wished the ending would have cleared up a little more things, because a few were left pretty "open", but I am hoping for maybe another book down the line

[Katherine Bichler · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
4.5/5 STARS

Genre: Dark Fantasy Romance/Dystopian/Urban

This is book 8 in the series. If you are new to these books… Books 1-6 are together and then 7-8 are spinoff books of side characters. You must start at the beginning. This is not a standalone.

This book ends the duet of Ash’s story. I’m not sure if there will be more spinoff books in this series or if it was the last one.
⭐️ What to expect in this book:
🛏️ One Bed
❤️‍🔥 Enemies to Lovers
🏡 Found Family
🫦 Angst
☠️ Touch her and d13
🚪 Forced Proximity
⚡️ Action Packed
🖤 Revenge

The first half of this book is very spicy with not too much plot and then the second half is the same type of storyline as the series followed… brothels, capture, fighting, injury etc. it does have some cameo appearances from Savage Lands 🤐
I really enjoy her writing style and love this world so much!

Did I think it needed two spinoff books about Ash? No. But did I devour both books. Yes!
This is perfect for fans of the series that want to dive back into the world & hold onto it for a little longer.

Thank you Stacey for the ARC! 🖤🖤

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

23 books later and my god!! What a f**king journey!! After finishing savage lands and reading that Ash‘S books would be better if you read the whole series, I delved into the rabbit hole and damn, I’m glad I did.

Reading the whole universe made thee d to these books a million times better with characters coming back from all the series…

Surely there has to be something on the Primul’s and Hanna’s mark… but damn. If you like distopian romantasy, I highly, highly recommend the whole universe

[Augusta Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started out loving the series and now I’m just ready for it to end! Hopefully this is the last book.. while I did enjoy it, I just feel like this series as a whole has ran its course. I feel like it was very repetitive and the same thing that happened in the first couple books is now happening again just with different characters. I think after eight books its just too much but maybe that’s just me.

[Eline · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,75* - wauw wauw wauw! Loved this book, the story, the charachters! I mostly loved how all the characters from the previous books all came together as a family to help Ash! There is power in numbers and love!! What did kind of disturb me were the Primul, their entire plotline being breeding to form a superior species kind of creeped me out and disgusted me… Not to mention they’ll probably be the hot topic of a potential future book seeing as those monsters managed to escape 🙄 I did however love the fact that the fucking Queen and her disturbing ass son finally got what they deserved (I might have done a little happy dance)! Raven and Ash’s relationship evolution was swoon worthy, I loved the constant build up between the two and them finally acknowledging what they are to each other 🫶🏼

Absolutely recommend this series if you’re not afraid of some very spicy DARK romantasy 🥳

[Shanicereadss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m in mourning. (I’m going to miss these characters with my whole heart) They have genuinely become family to me. No I’m not exaggerating.

I really don’t want to say bye to this world. It was open ended in some ways so now I will not so patiently wait for a book 9 announcement😭🤞🏼

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

DAMN. that was intense. loved every second of it. The anxiety i felt reading the last 50 pages tho is not cool. This whole serie just changed my brain chemistry, i wont ever be the same

[Eve 🐦‍⬛ 🗡️💘 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one wraps up the series with some nice full-circle moments, and I loved seeing familiar faces pop back in. The dark dweller and Druid lore is, as always, top-tier, and some of the prose was so beautifully written it stopped me in my tracks. SMB knows how to write an action scene, and the ending had me white-knuckle gripping my Kindle like my life depended on it.

BUT… This book felt way too much like a remix of earlier ones in the series. Our FMC gets captured, escapes, gets captured again, escapes again. Even the random explosions make a comeback. We’ve been here before. It started to feel less like storytelling and more like a formula. And while the spice was handled well, it was a lot. After a while, it started to feel repetitive and unnecessary, like it was padding the story instead of driving it.

This book was much darker than its predecessors. Really dark. Some of it felt gratuitous, especially the SA elements. It made me uncomfortable, but not in a way that added depth or value to the story.

All in all, this felt like a predictable end to the series. While there were definitely moments I enjoyed, I couldn’t shake the sense that I was reading a rehash of earlier books. I’m giving it 3 stars, mostly because I’ve stuck with this series for so long, and it feels wrong to go any lower. Big sad.

[Tay · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝐸𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓅𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓂𝒶𝑔𝒾𝒸, 𝐼 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝒸𝑒. 𝐻𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓊𝓇𝒶. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝓈 𝐼 𝒻𝑒𝓁𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝒶𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝓂𝑒. 𝒲𝒾𝓁𝒹𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓊𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇 𝒶 𝓇𝑜𝓎𝒶𝓁 𝓂𝒶𝓈𝓀. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝒽𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃.”

✨⭐️✨

We continue following Ash on his journey towards revenge, but it takes a slight detour due to a certain monster.
It has duel POV, mafia, quests, political struggles, dark tones, scientific mutations, rescue missions, revenge, family, and monsters.

Ash learns what it means to be a one woman kind of fairie— as he uncharacteristically becomes more jealous, possessive and in love. But does that love overshadow his need for revenge?
Raven is like a dark Elsa— raised to conceal who she is but with finding the man who helps her find control, lets it go.
Their romance heats up dramatically— with mating, knotting, exhibitionism, and proclamations of love. It’s super hot, kinky and delicious.

The ending is action packed and filled with old friends— some being from the prequel series to Savage Lands (that I didn’t read) so I was a little lost— but still enjoyed it!

“𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒾𝓂𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉. 𝐼𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝓁𝑒𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈, 𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒶𝓀.”

[user_friendly_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love ash but he was blinded by his love. Both he and Raven massively overvalued her abilities. He would comment on how powerful she is only for her to be overpowered at every turn. The only times she managed to be even remotely strong was when she was draining his magic. I liked their relationship but their individual characters were underwhelming. As much as I enjoyed the slow burn and angst, it would have been nice to follow the storyline of badass characters. Instead we sort of just watched love blossom between two weak characters on the run.

[Audrey Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love the merging of all major characters/inner circles from every one of her series. The interconnected ess of each storyline is so interesting and provides alot of fun depth. The ending of this one was epic and the perfect finale to the Savage Lands series (although there are some loose ends and unfinished business…)

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading 24 interconnecting books I’ve got to say, Stacey Marie Brown knows how to tell a story and she ended this journey with a bang 😏 I screamed, I gasped, I cried.. and I might cry again later because I am not ready to move on from the world and the characters that’s she created. What a thrilling adventure!!

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I obsess over the Savage Lands series, this book was just not good. It felt forced, like there was no real story but it was just a required book to write. Literally nothing happened until the last 50 pages. It was boring & still didn't wrap up the issues.

[Ashley Hazelwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried… got mad … grossed out by the worst kind of evil.. and enjoyed every second of this adventure! Love Ash … spice is high lol

[Gigi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t believe this is the last book of this series. I feel like there should be more. Love the book, absolutely enjoyed reading this series. Great ending!!!

[Nika · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,25*

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love this book is so fast paced, action,spicy with the best side characters that have you laughing and holding your breath

[HEY, GOOD BOOKIN! · Rating 1 out of 5]

Déjà Vu Lands?

Welcome back to The Savage Lands where every chapter is served with the same generous helping of capture, escape, and—naturally—the nearest brothel for a quick refresh! Somehow, Stacey Marie Brown manages to fill pages with irrelevant side characters and oddly detailed fashion tips (why do we need to know this much about creature couture?). Oh, and don’t worry—there’s always a well-timed Warwick “BOOM!” right on cue. If you’re in the mood for bookish déjà vu, pull up a seat. But save yourself the time; Ash isn’t enough to keep this series from feeling like a one-trick, same eight-book marathon.

[Sofie · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5⭐️
I honestly don’t even know where to start with this one. The first book in this series was okay — not great, not terrible, just fine. But this one? Absolute garbage. I don’t say that lightly, but I can’t describe it any other way.

The story (if you can call it that) is basically 90% smut. Normally, I don’t mind spice when it fits the plot, but there was no plot. It was just one absurd, graphic scene after another. The writing somehow managed to get worse the further I read.

The first time I knew I was in trouble was when I hit this line:

“Licking me through my pussy to my soul, reaching so deep.”
I’m sorry, but what? That’s not passion — that’s anatomy and physics giving up on life.

And then came the real gem:

“Fucking me saved your life.”
Context: she’s bleeding out from multiple bullet wounds, and his solution is… to have sex with her. In the forest. Because apparently that’s how you treat gunshot trauma now?

I genuinely don’t understand how this book has the ratings it does. I don’t even know how to describe this book other than painfully bad.

I only gave it a half-star more because I liked seeing Brexky and Warwick again — that was literally the only highlight.

Everything else? A mess.

Let’s continue with the fact that Raven gets kidnapped at least five times. These books aren’t long, so at some point you’d think the kidnappers would learn or she’d stop walking into danger, but nope. Rinse and repeat. It’s not dramatic anymore — it’s ridiculous.

Then, her brother gets kidnapped, and instead of calling her murderous, overpowered family who would’ve handled it in two seconds, she decides to go with her boyfriend’s random found family, that she just met, to save him. Totally logical, right?

And when the big “final” battle finally happens — surprise! The family shows up anyway. Too many people, too many names, too much chaos. And for what? Nothing was resolved. One villain dies, the others are still around, and apparently this is just the end of Ash’s story, not the actual series. Great.

The spice? Like I said, Weird. Unnecessary. WIRED again, in capital letters, because saying it one time isn’t enough.
The repetition was unbearable, the story made less and less sense, and the ending gave zero closure. By the last page, I wasn’t even mad anymore — just exhausted.

I don’t hate it. I just wish I could get my time back. This was beyond saving. I’m done with this world. And honestly, I’d like to unread a few quotes.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this one is everything that book 1 needed to be but this wouldn't be as good without the foundation of book 1. This book is non stop action, fighting, and f*cking. These characters cannot catch a break and seem to lose over and over again until it seems all hope is lost. Like truly lost. I had no idea how Stacey planned to pull off a HEA there at the end.

The characters are my favorite part of the entire Savage Lands series as a whole. The plot was consistently too much for me. There are not a lot of things I like less than politics and this series is so political (in terms of fake wars with fae and monsters - not our current US/world politics, to be clear). The found family vibes of this series sits at the top as one of the best. These characters have suffered and fought so hard.

This book brings a lot of cameos that fans of the OG series will love! When I started recognizing names, I was just kicking my feet in excitement. Its been years, and I still remember many of these characters like I just finished the OG series.

This duet really wrapped up Ash's storyline very well and he deserved it. It involved a lot of pain to get him to his HEA though. In typical fashion, there were a few threads left untied at the end that could be left for spin off. Otherwise, everything felt very finished and happy.

Unfortunately, I was not in the mood to start this at all when it showed up on my kindle (ARC copy). As a mood reader, I don't know why I sign up for ARCs. I basically forced myself to read each night and this took me 10 days to get through. The ARC didn't have page numbers so I was sure this was a chucky 600 pager but I found out its only 400 and I am shocked. It felt so much longer. A lot of the same things happen over and over in the book with mild changes. Off to another brothel, oh no we are being attacked, monster mode activated, bleeding out and dying, oh wow I'm healed, run from the enemy, copious sex, oh look we're at another brothel. Over and over and over. It felt endless. I think I would have liked this book much better if I waited until I was in the mood for this type of trope/genre.

Overall, I liked the duet and feel satisfied with the ending! Stacey really is a great writer and paints a vivid picture with her words. I'll be reading more in the future for sure!!

[Chaos & Courtships~ Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review~ LAND OF MONSTERS (SAVAGE LANDS 8)

🍄Well, Stacey has done it again. This was bittersweet for me, as it not only wraps up Ash's story, but also brings the Savage Lands Series to a conclusion. This ending truly honored the incredible story that started so long ago, and has been one of my favorite worlds to get lost in.
🍄This picks up right where the last book left off, and wastes no time diving right into the story. Ash & Raven are thrown into some immediate fokery, and the angst & action hit hard and fast. They find themselves in one impossible situation after another, while Raven battles her inner demons (quite literally), and Ash is still desperately trying to navigate his grief and anger. The two grow closer as the story progresses, and their chemistry is absolutely off the charts.
So many of my favorite characters from Savage Lands, and the other interconnected series, showed up and played a part in this grand finale. I loved seeing them again for one last time. And of course, the side characters stole the show, as always. It's not a Stacey book without some spectacular comic relief, just when you need it the most.
🍄As with the rest of the series, there are some truly delectable spicy scenes, and the sExual tension is GLORIOUS. I absolutely loved watching the relationship grow and blossom between Raven & Ash, as they learned to trust each other, and began to truly care for one another. I was thrilled with the way the story ended for these two- l've always rooted for Ash, and seeing him find some happiness got me all choked up.
🍄If you haven't read Savage Lands yet, this is the perfect time to dive in, as you can now binge the entire series. Or start with the interconnected series, and get lost in this incredible world. Check out the recommended reading order on her website: https:// www.staceymariebrown.com/

[Regina Blume · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ 3

I have so much love for this series and really enjoyed the ride it’s just a shame this book wasn’t a total hit for me.

The story throughout felt really repetitive, whether from the previous book or from earlier in the series that just left it feeling a little formulaic.

It was great to see so many of the early characters and we really got some full circle moments and some satisfying tie-ins.
Not Opie and Bitzy! Those two have really come to frustrate me with the same dialogue and same crude beats. They were a fun, high-hearted reprieve from the dark elements in the first books but I can’t stand them now.

This series has always had a lot of dark elements but I feel like it went up another level here. Major trigger warnings for SA, not on page but it really took me off guard when and how it came up.

The battle scenes were great as they usually are and I was really on the edge of my seat trying to rush through and find out what would happen while also trying to take it all in.

Overall I loved that Ash got what he needed to be able to move on in his life and reconcile the events of earlier books in a way he could live with them. I didn’t love the slight open ending on some side characters when this is supposed to be the end of the series, who knows maybe it will spin off to another series as I can see this author has a big interconnected world with past series into this one.

[Ginger & Inked · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again Stacey did not disappoint!!

I’ve been following Stacey since she released the Darkness series (and have read every book in this universe - Darkness Series, Lightness Saga, Collector Series, Savage Lands, Devil in the Deep Blue Sea, and Ash’s story with Land of Ashes and Land of Monsters) and I cannot get enough!

Every new series, every new book makes me fall in love with the characters and story all over again. I love all the cameos that crossed over from all the series and seeing all the characters I love from them all in a Land of Monsters is so bittersweet.

It’s been such a journey over the years! And damn I’m going to have to reread all the books in this universe again! I love the friendships, the love, the growth and just everything that Stacey sprinkles her stories with!

And the moments that make me laugh!

Not sure if this is the final book in the universe as I feel like it has been left open for a new series to start but Stacey tied everything up nicely and wrapped it in a pretty gory, spice filled bow.

I’m so happy with Ash’s story (especially after Stacey broke my tree fairy - I still can’t get over that!) and Land of Monsters ties everything up with Ash and Raven.

Love all the couples and their journeys in all of the series and this universe
And
Love all of Stacey’s work and cannot wait to see what she has next!

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

And on a fundamental level, I understood I couldn’t walk away from her. Ever. Even if we lived apart, there’d be no one else.”

When Raven gets abducted, Ash has to work with an old enemy to break into an impenetrable place to both rescue her and figure out what is going on with the magic there that seems to be malfunctioning. On top of that, Ash is struggling with grief and an addiction to fairy dust while also struggling with a growing and seemingly inexplicable connection to Raven. At least, at this point, they know each other’s real identities.

This was enjoyable, but I could have done with less spice and, in particular, less talk about Ash’s “mushroom.” Seriously, it came up a stupid amount and not even in spicy scenes.

This book brings in a LOT of old friends. Aside from having read the rest of the Savage Lands series, I would highly recommend reading the Darkness, Collectors, and Lightness (and maybe others?) series before getting into this. It’s possible to read without those, but you will feel like you are missing something, which I can say for certain because I only read Darkness before this.

If you like spicy fantasy set in a dystopian/post-apocalyptic environment, this is definitely a series for you.

[Aaliyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Land of Monsters really came at the worst possible time for me—I was deep in a book slump—but I finally pushed through and I’m so glad I did. Finishing it left me so sad that the series is over. The ending felt bittersweet, and while it wrapped things up, the plot was definitely left a little open. I still have so many questions about what could happen next, which makes me desperately hope Stacey Marie Brown continues the series someday. I’m not ready to say goodbye to these characters yet.🥲🥲
I also loved that the characters from the earlier books in the series were mentioned again. It made me miss them even more😩😩

As for Ash and Raven—I did enjoy their story, but I wasn’t as emotionally invested in their relationship as I expected to be. They just didn’t give me the same feeling i felt while reading about Brexley and Warwick. I found myself more drawn to the plot and the war. Also parts of the plot felt repetitive, almost like déjà vu from the previous books: the cycle of her getting kidnapped, rescued, kidnapped again… after a while it got a bit boring and predictable tbh.

It wasn’t the strongest ending, but it was still a good one.
This series has defenitely become one of my favorite urban fantasy series🫶🥰

[Jacklyn B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 8 in the Savage Lands series is here!! I discovered this series earlier this year and have been hooked on it ever since! This series is an epic dark fantasy that is full of twists and turns oh so steamy scenes!

Ok look, I can’t tell you anything specific about the plot, you need to read this from the start and go in blind. Prepare to have your heart ripped apart and then put back together…well several times. I cannot say enough good things about this series!

As for Land of Monsters - wow, what an ending to an epic ride!! I stayed up way too late finishing this book and I was blown away and I thought the ending was perfect. This story is fast paced (seriously - it is non stop go go go) and full of action and laughter and emotion and plenty of spice! 🔥🔥

Stacey Marie Brown has quickly become one of my favorite authors this year. I love her writing style and how she creates these amazingly complex badass characters. The side characters are amazing and endearing too.

What to Expect:
🗡️ Dark Fantasy Romance
🖤 Urban Dystopian Setting
🛏️ One Bed
❤️‍🔥 Enemies to Lovers
🏡 Found Family
🫦 Angst
☠️ Touch Her & 💀
🚪 Forced Proximity
⚡️ Action Packed
🖤 Revenge

[Athena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man am I glad I went back and read the back catalog on these interconnected series before I finished out this one. There's a lot more emotional impact when you're invested in all the characters that show up and knowing Raven's back story. Although, I would have immediately known who she really was reading Land of Ashes if I had read everything else first and it was kind of nice being surprised.

SMB does a great battle scene and as always the big final showdown is full of past favorites and devastating character deaths. Her final battles always give me the most horrifying anxiety because it's almost guaranteed we'll lose someone we love, but I'm here for the emotional damage.

I wouldn't call any of her books tame but the heat level on this one is off the charts, btw. Ash and Raven get real...knotty lol. Wasn't expecting that but am not mad about it either.

This did wrap most things up quite nicely while also leaving some very interesting ends untied, so here's to hoping we get more little spinoffs in the future.