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The Last Trial
"The truth is a hard thing to set aside, even for appearance’s sake.”
The Heir of Avus, left to deal with the fallout of the Champions' success in the Trials, finds himself caught between an impending House war and a brewing rebellion. With a Patriarch intent on launching a brutal crusade, the lower rings on the verge of a riot, and ancestral madness returning to wreak havoc on the present, he has his hands full. As tensions only rise in a city bent on its own destruction, Milo starts to believe he’s the only man still trying to save it.
“Wanting something and having the courage to reach out and take it were two entirely different things."
Olympia was never very good at doing what she was told. With Dante and Adrian gone, she’s determined to discover what both the Vipers and the Bexleys were hiding. A Third Ringer couldn’t defeat all ten Trials without keeping a secret or two. But as Olympia uncovers the truth about the Champions’ lives in Sanctuary, she only finds herself with more questions and a set of unlikely allies. The city is falling apart and, somehow, Olympia might be the only one who can pull it back together again.
The Last Trial is a companion novel to The Second Sanctum and is intended to be read either after or in tandem with book two of The Sanctum Series. It covers events occurring within Sanctuary at the same time as the events in The Second Sanctum.
The Heir of Avus, left to deal with the fallout of the Champions' success in the Trials, finds himself caught between an impending House war and a brewing rebellion. With a Patriarch intent on launching a brutal crusade, the lower rings on the verge of a riot, and ancestral madness returning to wreak havoc on the present, he has his hands full. As tensions only rise in a city bent on its own destruction, Milo starts to believe he’s the only man still trying to save it.
“Wanting something and having the courage to reach out and take it were two entirely different things."
Olympia was never very good at doing what she was told. With Dante and Adrian gone, she’s determined to discover what both the Vipers and the Bexleys were hiding. A Third Ringer couldn’t defeat all ten Trials without keeping a secret or two. But as Olympia uncovers the truth about the Champions’ lives in Sanctuary, she only finds herself with more questions and a set of unlikely allies. The city is falling apart and, somehow, Olympia might be the only one who can pull it back together again.
The Last Trial is a companion novel to The Second Sanctum and is intended to be read either after or in tandem with book two of The Sanctum Series. It covers events occurring within Sanctuary at the same time as the events in The Second Sanctum.
- GenresFantasy
432 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 30, 2025
About the author
A.N. Horton
14 books157 followersA. N. Horton is a two-time award-winning author living in Nashville, TN with her husband, children, and moderately chunky Corgi. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, baking more cookies than her family can eat, and plotting crimes against her characters. Best known for crafting characters that steal her readers’ hearts as much as they shatter them, A. N. Horton is a cross-genre writer focused mainly on fantasy and romance with her upcoming urban fantasy series, The Third Ring, and her soon to be released historical romance novel, A Promise Kept.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 23, 2026
4.75⭐️ OK I LOVED THIS THE MOST SO FAR OUT OF THE WHOLE SERIES. This is REQUIRED reading for the series in my opinion. I am literally obsessed with Olympia & Harrison. I love Milo!!!! This was so intense I’m shook🤯
Doing the tandem read made me love this series 10x more!
Doing the tandem read made me love this series 10x more!
January 7, 2026
companion novel to the second sanctum and it was so nice to be back in this world. I loved the second sanctum so so much and this was truly a companion to it. It goes back to what's happening in sanctuary and we actually get Milo and Olympia's POVs through the whole thing. The author states that you don't need to read this before book 3 comes out, but I was happy to be back and see all the political maneuvering and more!
March 17, 2026
4.5 ⭐️
I’ve just finished tandem reading this and wow ok. I was sobbing! I loved seeing Olympia open up and her relationship with Harrison
But omg omg omg really?!! Did that have to happen like I was sobbing!! Poor milo
I’ve just finished tandem reading this and wow ok. I was sobbing! I loved seeing Olympia open up and her relationship with Harrison
But omg omg omg really?!! Did that have to happen like I was sobbing!! Poor milo
December 23, 2025
This is the companion novel to The Second Sanctum, and I loved getting to spend more time with these side characters and delve deeper into who they are. And see what was going on in Sanctuary! I really enjoyed seeing another side of both Milo and Olympia, and I’m hoping we’ll get more of them in book 3!
March 6, 2026
Informative, this book starts off back in sanctuary, where book 1 ends. However we are Milo and Olympias pov and are seeing what is happening as the events in book 2 are taking place outside of sanctuary.
I didn’t tandem read this and I’m actually glad I didn’t. I read book 2 fully, and by the end I was feral to read this one. I HAD TO KNOW THINGS THAT ONLY THIS BOOK WOULD REVEAL. And tbh I wouldn’t have really cared to have the pacing interrupted by switching between them.
While this book is informative, and we get to see a lot more of the inner workings of the first ring, as well find a new endearment to Olympia, it’s not a fast paced, so it really slows down the momentum of book 2. I also found it alot easier to keep up with the lore and new characters in book 2 better by not having to keep up with the lore and new characters in this book. (Not really new but characters we never got to interact act with or meet)
I will say tho, that I paid close attention to the chapter headers in book 2, which are little snippets of the diary that’s being talked about in this book. So you will miss that cool connection. But also why was Milo acting like he couldn’t understand the journals and what his grandmother wanted him to find.
Like it talks about the jewel ,the stone, the he, the end lol it’s like
… why would that not immediately hit your radar
I didn’t tandem read this and I’m actually glad I didn’t. I read book 2 fully, and by the end I was feral to read this one. I HAD TO KNOW THINGS THAT ONLY THIS BOOK WOULD REVEAL. And tbh I wouldn’t have really cared to have the pacing interrupted by switching between them.
While this book is informative, and we get to see a lot more of the inner workings of the first ring, as well find a new endearment to Olympia, it’s not a fast paced, so it really slows down the momentum of book 2. I also found it alot easier to keep up with the lore and new characters in book 2 better by not having to keep up with the lore and new characters in this book. (Not really new but characters we never got to interact act with or meet)
I will say tho, that I paid close attention to the chapter headers in book 2, which are little snippets of the diary that’s being talked about in this book. So you will miss that cool connection. But also why was Milo acting like he couldn’t understand the journals and what his grandmother wanted him to find.
Like it talks about the jewel ,the stone, the he, the end lol it’s like
… why would that not immediately hit your radar
April 26, 2026
The second half of this book ate. The political manoeuvring, the unraveling of false realities and the tension between agnostic belief and religion was so good.
I wouldn’t even call this a companion novel. It is a must read for the series.
I didn’t expect to like Olympia from the earlier books, but she really grew on me. Harrison also came into his own here. Milo and Isla’s slow burn was playful and tender. But that ending – my heart broke for milo.
I wouldn’t even call this a companion novel. It is a must read for the series.
I didn’t expect to like Olympia from the earlier books, but she really grew on me. Harrison also came into his own here. Milo and Isla’s slow burn was playful and tender. But that ending – my heart broke for milo.
March 27, 2026
⭐ 3.5/5 | 🌶 2/5
Favourite quotes:
“Your heart is your greatest strength..”
“Do something about it. Because the way you feel is eating you alive from the inside out”
“My heart. It twisted in my chest. An ugly, broken thing, I’d never believed anyone else would ever want again but here he was begging for it.”
This book is meant to be read in tandem with or after The Second Sanctum. I chose to read it after, since I’m not a fan of tandem reading.
It’s an absolute must-read if you want to fully understand what’s happening and why. It adds a lot of important detail to both the worldbuilding and the characters.
This is probably the most emotional and deepest book in the series so far. It mainly focuses on Milo and Olympia, with a timeline that overlaps the main story. Their POV completely surprised me - it pulled me in and wrapped me in a very different vibe. I didn’t expect their story to be this deep, engaging, and gripping…
We also get to understand them much better, while seeing more of the politics and history of this world up close.
For Milo, it feels like a journey of becoming stronger in every way.
And Olympia… she has a lot to face, to accept and to process, while continuing to fight for her mission.
The emotional depth was definitely my favourite part of this book.
What didn’t work for me was the length. In my opinion, it could have been at least half the size, some scenes felt too long, like stuck in the same thought. At times, though, it felt like “okay… can we move on now please?”
If it had been more condensed, this could have easily been my favourite in the series, because the story itself is truly interesting and a lot is happening.
In the end, I’m glad I read these two books separately because taking in all that information at once would have been overwhelming.
And with everything that’s been set up… big things are definitely coming in the next book 😈
Favourite quotes:
“Your heart is your greatest strength..”
“Do something about it. Because the way you feel is eating you alive from the inside out”
“My heart. It twisted in my chest. An ugly, broken thing, I’d never believed anyone else would ever want again but here he was begging for it.”
This book is meant to be read in tandem with or after The Second Sanctum. I chose to read it after, since I’m not a fan of tandem reading.
It’s an absolute must-read if you want to fully understand what’s happening and why. It adds a lot of important detail to both the worldbuilding and the characters.
This is probably the most emotional and deepest book in the series so far. It mainly focuses on Milo and Olympia, with a timeline that overlaps the main story. Their POV completely surprised me - it pulled me in and wrapped me in a very different vibe. I didn’t expect their story to be this deep, engaging, and gripping…
We also get to understand them much better, while seeing more of the politics and history of this world up close.
For Milo, it feels like a journey of becoming stronger in every way.
And Olympia… she has a lot to face, to accept and to process, while continuing to fight for her mission.
The emotional depth was definitely my favourite part of this book.
What didn’t work for me was the length. In my opinion, it could have been at least half the size, some scenes felt too long, like stuck in the same thought. At times, though, it felt like “okay… can we move on now please?”
If it had been more condensed, this could have easily been my favourite in the series, because the story itself is truly interesting and a lot is happening.
In the end, I’m glad I read these two books separately because taking in all that information at once would have been overwhelming.
And with everything that’s been set up… big things are definitely coming in the next book 😈
January 19, 2026
So I read this book on a tandem reading with The Second Sanctum and I'm not going to lie it was the best way to read this book. Because you get to see the action of both of the books happening at the same time. So this one is more about what's happening in sanctuary with Milo and Olivia. And I'm not going to lie I actually feel more in love with Olivia after this. I literally could not stand her in the first book in this one she gives herself a great redemption. Milo is Milo, all about the books all about learning and education and still doesn't believe in the gods, but you learn so much about him and fall in love with his character.
This storyline was crazy because you start to see how Cosmo starts to go more crazy into his god of complex. And what Milo and Olivia have to do to try to save sanctuary. But the deeper this book got with the second sanctum, the worst it got! After what happened at the end. I'm pissed! I'm so mad, pissed, crying and I just want to throw my book halfway across the room!!!! NOOOOO!!!!!! MY G NO!!!!!! That's all I'll say I need therapy after this. Read them as a tandem read. It's so much better!!!!!
This storyline was crazy because you start to see how Cosmo starts to go more crazy into his god of complex. And what Milo and Olivia have to do to try to save sanctuary. But the deeper this book got with the second sanctum, the worst it got! After what happened at the end. I'm pissed! I'm so mad, pissed, crying and I just want to throw my book halfway across the room!!!! NOOOOO!!!!!! MY G NO!!!!!! That's all I'll say I need therapy after this. Read them as a tandem read. It's so much better!!!!!
May 4, 2026
4.5 stars. This was absolutely amazing and could not put it down! I’m so in love with the character development and storyline! I can’t believe more people haven’t read this series yet.
This book was deducted points for two reason:
1) this book is suppose to be read in tandem with The Last Trial and I really didn’t enjoy flipping back and forth between my ebooks every 2 chapters or so. I can understand why the author broke this up in two books as they have parallel timelines but it was rather excessive. Especially since you very much need to read both books. If both books are important to read at the same time why not just put it all in one book with multiple POVs? However, I do need to note that my hate for the two book situation did lessen over the course of the story and admittedly it was almost like little cliffhangers when I had to switch books.
(WARNING: very small spoiler)
2) I felt the ending was incredibly rushed and the end battle scene they were building up to was hardly played out. Like I’m talking maybe two pages. The pacing in this book otherwise was incredible though. I just wished the ending wasn’t so rushed.
This book was deducted points for two reason:
1) this book is suppose to be read in tandem with The Last Trial and I really didn’t enjoy flipping back and forth between my ebooks every 2 chapters or so. I can understand why the author broke this up in two books as they have parallel timelines but it was rather excessive. Especially since you very much need to read both books. If both books are important to read at the same time why not just put it all in one book with multiple POVs? However, I do need to note that my hate for the two book situation did lessen over the course of the story and admittedly it was almost like little cliffhangers when I had to switch books.
(WARNING: very small spoiler)
2) I felt the ending was incredibly rushed and the end battle scene they were building up to was hardly played out. Like I’m talking maybe two pages. The pacing in this book otherwise was incredible though. I just wished the ending wasn’t so rushed.
January 6, 2026
my rating: ★★★★
aesthetic: 🔔⛪️💙💍🐍🩸🗡️📝📚🔥💀
The Last Trial is a high-intensity, politically driven companion novel that deepens the already complex world of Sanctuary. Told through the perspectives of much-loved side characters from The Third Ring and The Second Sanctum, this story offers a gripping behind-the-scenes look at the events that shaped everything we thought we knew.
What stood out most was the shift in perspective. Seeing Sanctuary through familiar but previously secondary voices added emotional weight and nuance to the overarching narrative. The political maneuvering, moral ambiguity, and quiet desperation threaded through each chapter made this feel less like a supplement and more like an essential piece of the puzzle.
The dystopian atmosphere is heavy and immersive, layered with symbolism, power struggles, and the cost of loyalty. While the pacing occasionally slowed under the weight of its political detail, the intensity of the subject matter kept me invested throughout.
Overall, The Last Trial is a compelling expansion of the Sanctum universe — one that rewards readers who crave depth, context, and moral complexity, and adds meaningful gravity to the events of the main series.
aesthetic: 🔔⛪️💙💍🐍🩸🗡️📝📚🔥💀
The Last Trial is a high-intensity, politically driven companion novel that deepens the already complex world of Sanctuary. Told through the perspectives of much-loved side characters from The Third Ring and The Second Sanctum, this story offers a gripping behind-the-scenes look at the events that shaped everything we thought we knew.
What stood out most was the shift in perspective. Seeing Sanctuary through familiar but previously secondary voices added emotional weight and nuance to the overarching narrative. The political maneuvering, moral ambiguity, and quiet desperation threaded through each chapter made this feel less like a supplement and more like an essential piece of the puzzle.
The dystopian atmosphere is heavy and immersive, layered with symbolism, power struggles, and the cost of loyalty. While the pacing occasionally slowed under the weight of its political detail, the intensity of the subject matter kept me invested throughout.
Overall, The Last Trial is a compelling expansion of the Sanctum universe — one that rewards readers who crave depth, context, and moral complexity, and adds meaningful gravity to the events of the main series.
March 28, 2026
3.5⭐️
I read Second Sanctum and Last Trial in tandem, and I’m honestly very conflicted.
The premise is incredibly intriguing—I was hooked on the mystery and kept wanting to uncover what secrets would be revealed. There’s a strong idea at the core here, and it definitely kept me turning the pages.
However, the writing style made it hard for me to fully enjoy the story. At times it felt repetitive, with some conflicting elements, and I struggled to connect with certain relationships because they lacked depth.
That said, around the 70% mark in both books, everything clicked. The story became gripping, the pacing improved, and I found myself willing to overlook the earlier issues. There were some genuinely unexpected twists that pulled me back in.
And that ending?! 👀 Plus… the hint of a new broody, badass MMC has definitely caught my attention.
So yes—I’m conflicted, but also invested enough that I’ll be picking up the next book.
I read Second Sanctum and Last Trial in tandem, and I’m honestly very conflicted.
The premise is incredibly intriguing—I was hooked on the mystery and kept wanting to uncover what secrets would be revealed. There’s a strong idea at the core here, and it definitely kept me turning the pages.
However, the writing style made it hard for me to fully enjoy the story. At times it felt repetitive, with some conflicting elements, and I struggled to connect with certain relationships because they lacked depth.
That said, around the 70% mark in both books, everything clicked. The story became gripping, the pacing improved, and I found myself willing to overlook the earlier issues. There were some genuinely unexpected twists that pulled me back in.
And that ending?! 👀 Plus… the hint of a new broody, badass MMC has definitely caught my attention.
So yes—I’m conflicted, but also invested enough that I’ll be picking up the next book.
February 16, 2026
WOW!!! My mind is absolutely blown. The Last Trial can be read in tandem with Book 2 of the Sanctum series and I honestly wish I had done that.... but regardless I ate this book up.
We get Milo and Olympia's POVs and I loved getting into their minds + their first ring world. There are a lot of intricate politics and delicate situations they both need to navigate, along with some very emotional and devastating moments.
The last few chapters were really wild and it makes me even more excited for Book 3.
We get Milo and Olympia's POVs and I loved getting into their minds + their first ring world. There are a lot of intricate politics and delicate situations they both need to navigate, along with some very emotional and devastating moments.
The last few chapters were really wild and it makes me even more excited for Book 3.
March 5, 2026
The author decided to write two book 2 that you are supposed to read simultaneously. It's a weird choice. I read on my kindle so it's not like that not overly complicated or anything. Instead, she should have mixed both together and then split that puppy in two because personally this book was kinda slow and a tad boring. But I did it, I'm done and waiting for the real book 3.
P.s. only the last 5% was riveting. The author has a thing for betrayal. It was heartbreaking.
P.s. only the last 5% was riveting. The author has a thing for betrayal. It was heartbreaking.
February 6, 2026
Holy moly this book was good! It's recommended to be read as a tandem read and unfortunately I didn't listen to that recommendation, I know it would have had a better impact, but it was still an incredible story. I can't wait until the next book in this series!
April 10, 2026
Great companion novel but it was too long for my liking, and I didn’t really care for so much of Olympia, but the Milo chapters made up for it
April 29, 2026
UGH sooooo good. Im obsessed with this series, I cant stop thinking about all the events that have taken place. Alright...onto the third book now 🤗
January 13, 2026
4.5 stars
This is a companion novel to The Second Sanctum, but honestly i feel like it should be part of the main series. This book focuses on what is happening to everyone in the Sanctuary at the same time as everything that is taking place in The Second Sanctum. The two books can be read in tandem and i wish i had realised because i would have done that for sure.
I really enjoyed reading from Milo's and Olympia's points of view and i found Olympia in particular to be a great character and i enjoyed getting to know her more.
This was a great addition to the series and i can't wait to continue.
This is a companion novel to The Second Sanctum, but honestly i feel like it should be part of the main series. This book focuses on what is happening to everyone in the Sanctuary at the same time as everything that is taking place in The Second Sanctum. The two books can be read in tandem and i wish i had realised because i would have done that for sure.
I really enjoyed reading from Milo's and Olympia's points of view and i found Olympia in particular to be a great character and i enjoyed getting to know her more.
This was a great addition to the series and i can't wait to continue.
April 19, 2026
Milo’s POV may have been my most favorite yet
March 10, 2026
Loved having this side of the book. Would’ve been a great tandem read - almost wish I would’ve done it !
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews