This is one of the worst books/series I’ve ever read.
I’m sorry, but OMG! Did the author even think the story through or just write whatever came to mind and hoped it fit? The premise of the entire series about some witches that worship and pull their power from the moon and who also revere the Moon Goddess and her daughters, yet their sole plan here is to defy that moon goddess and resurrect someone she sent to hell…. 🤔 while still revering that Goddess and Star touched supernaturals. What? And this book is FAR from a finally, but I’ll get into that later.
It’s like the author didn’t see how she was contradicting that whole thing when she wrote this. Then we have the whole shifters are beneath witches and vampires are all evil and soulless thing that was brought up countless times and challenged a few times but never went anywhere. How did that even come into fruition? Because they currently have an alliance with the Uptown vampires, but they’re still vampires. There’s the mention of other packs and alphas, but where are they located. All we get is the Pine Valley pack and the Spring Creek one. Are any of the other packs allied with vampires? Do any other packs create guardians? There was mention of guardians all the way down in Miami Florida, but no packs are in the south. 🤔
As for the story details, no where in any of the three pervious books was it ever said that Connor told Jax that Ruby was his mate. No where. Yet in this book and once in the last, a conversation took place that implied that Jax was already aware that they were mates. Considering how he loathed Ruby, you would think that would be a reveal that readers would want to read about.
Then we have the reveal about who Ruby’s parents are. It was so unexpected. Not in the sense that you couldn’t figure it out given what was previously written, or come close to guessing, but in the sense that the books lead up to start making you believe she had mixed heritage… like maybe a fae and a shifter or shifter and vampire or something with the type of magic she wields and all this star touched business. Speaking of that, it never even really explains why she was chosen in the first place. Hazel spoke like there were other who had been Star touched in the past when she saw the mark and even Jax made a comment like he had heard of it with another type of supe but never a shifter but then that’s it. Nothing. So you’re left to wonder who these previously Star touched folk are and what happened to them. How were they chosen? What is the purpose of Star touched individuals. You won’t find out in this “finale”.
The whole fight with the mate bond between Ruby and Conner was poorly delivered. The way she tried to portray the pull versus the person’s free will, especially with Connor, made him seem bipolar and delusional instead of conflicted, which I now realize she was going for. The boy gave me whiplash.
And Ruby. Ruby was supposed to exhibit as a strong, stubborn female with determination, but the author made her as dumb as all get out. Someone could say something point blank and then she would ponder over it for a minute or so saying “the realization just hit me” and then say exactly what they just revealed as if she made a realization on her own. Really? And that’s just one example of how dumb she was. After hearing about what a blood bond was and seeing for herself with Lindsay and Jason, she still swore that she wasn’t under one and that she loved Tristan. And despite her realizing the necklace made her feel safe, warm and comforted AND living in a house with witches knowing they could spell things, she never thought twice about the necklace, even after saying it exuded a pulse of power a few times.
Her wolf, even after being suppressed a few times, never once warned her about what the necklace was doing. Clearly it didn’t affect her the same was it affected Ruby. So when she was free, you’d think she’d warn her or try to say something to that effect. Nope. But she could tell her other things though.
Then there was the whole Jax and Autumn thing that became slightly obvious at her and Connor’s engagement bonfire. I was torn between what it really was or was it the revenge Tristan had requested from Calliope when he agreed to go in the basement cell with Ruby. Since it was the former, guess what? We never find out what it was that Tristan wanted with Autumn. It couldn’t be the “turn over the alpha” thing because that was already agreed to the night she went to Calliope to make the deal. So what was it? We don’t find out in the “finale”.
So many things the “finale” left open. The epilogue is a time jump of a month later with Tristan’s POV. He’s getting with Willow. Prior to that, dark shadows were released from hell and headed towards the city when they used the Key of Hades. That wasn’t addressed. Ruby’s parents are now back in the picture but what happens with them? What happens with the whole guardians killing vampires thing?
Notes, highlights and commentary on Goodreads! Happy reading!