Now Until Forever

Brand of Justice #16

by Lisa Phillips

**The Epic Stand-alone Finale**
Born into a legacy, Eliana must find her own brand of justice.

After moving to Chicago to work at the mysterious Shrine museum, Eliana is determined to uncover the family secrets she’s never been told. When she stumbles upon her first ever dead body, everyone around her believes she should try and solve the murder. But taking cases isn’t what she came here for. Despite her plans, things are about to turn far more sinister, and the path she’s on seems determined to drag her back into a nightmare.

Chicago PD Officer Carlos Ryson was born into a legacy of his own. He’s here to look for his missing sister, Luci, and wants to enlist Eliana’s help. This is a family problem, and only family working together can solve it. But Eliana has never forgotten the way Carlos shredded her heart. If he wants them to team up, he’ll have to confront the damage he did and find a way to repair it.

While the city around them descends into a chaos that resembles the end times, someone has seized the opportunity to get what they want from the Shrine. Only Eliana stands in their way, but if she’s going to figure this out she’ll need to trust that the people around her have her back.

Before it’s too late.

Now Until Forever is the stand-alone finale to the Brand of Justice series, and is set in the near-future. It features a happily ever after romance mixed with high-stakes suspense in this gripping crime fiction story.

371 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 6, 2026

About the author

Lisa Phillips is a USA Today and top ten Publishers Weekly bestselling author of over 80 books that span Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense line, independently published series romantic suspense, and thriller novels. She’s discovered a penchant for high-stakes stories of mayhem and disaster where you can find made-for-each-other love that always ends in happily ever after.

Lisa is a British ex-pat who grew up an hour outside of London and attended Calvary Chapel Bible College, where she met her husband. He’s from California, but nobody’s perfect. It wasn’t until her Bible College graduation that she figured out she was a writer (someone told her). Lisa is a worship leader, tea aficionado, and dog lover of two crazy Airedales.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in January, this author came out with the 15th and last novel in this series. Then she announced there was going to be one more book. This one is different from the other fifteen. At the end of the last book, Kenna and Jax (Oliver Jaxton) had just given birth to a daughter, Eliana. This book is 20 some years later and features Eliana and Carlos Ryson, child hood friend and who was also a little baby at the end of the last book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. There were little updates occasionally about Kenn and Jax, plus they made an appearance later in the book, but it was mostly Eliana and Carlos that were the focus of the story. I liked both characters, and was cheering on their possible relationship. It was different reading a book in this series where Jax and Kenna were not the main characters, but it was a great way to end the series.

As with the rest of the series, there was a lot of suspense and plenty of bad guys - and you weren't always able to tell which was which - such as Tony....who once his nickname was revealed, I realized who he was. (Not giving that away) :)

I have been looking forward to this book ever since Phillips announced it was going to happen, and it definitely did not disappoint. This series has been a wild and suspenseful ride that started in August 2022, and has finished almost four years later with this book about the daughter of Jax and Brenna. Awesome conclusion.

Special thanks to the author for an advance e-book copy of this novel. I was under no obligation to provide a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.

[Appalachianbooknook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now until forever brand of justice book 16
Y'all won't want to miss this one!

We had what was "the end" of brand of justice in the traditional sense in book 15, this book jumps ahead and we get to see Eliana and Carlos all grown up. Challenges abound as Eliana Hope Banbury Jaxton works to find out "who she is" in a world where her parents tried to let her do just that, often shielding her from the dangers they faced until she finds herself in danger of her own as the suspense builds and the "twists and turns" abound we also get to revisit many of the characters before. Just wait till you figure out who "Tony" is! I realized immediately but, it may not be as obvious to some.
I really enjoyed this book and especially the entire series! I was introduced to Lisa Phillips with the witsec town series and through many other wonderful series, witsec town stayed my favorite until brand of justice came along, in the beginning I was dubious anything would knock witsec off the top for me but brand of justice definitely stole that top title! I hope to see a good many spin off books from this series 🤞
Long story short, you won't want to miss this finale installment of brand of justice! You can grab your copy today :)
Lisa Phillips, thanks for a wonderful series! Looking forward to what is next!

[Tina Lowery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Phillips opened Now Until Forever with instant intrigue and an unexpected twist. Twenty-five year old Eliana Hope Banbury Jaxton was at a point in her life where she wanted a life of her own. She was trying to escape the notoriety that her parents left behind -- because it followed her everywhere she went. Throughout this story, Eliana tries her best to create a life that is good and just hers alone. As problems and corruption evolve within the new world she's created, she questions if she should've relied on lessons learned. I loved how people from her parents past popped into her everyday life, just under the guise of just checking in -- all throughout the chaos she's finding. I'm giving Now Until Forever 5 stars - from beginning to end. As Eliana's story wrapped up through the pages, the lessons learned should last her a lifetime.

[Lyn Herbohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly written!

This author has a knack for coming up with terrifying yet plausible scenarios. There was a thrilling and non-stop plot, characters who could be friends or foe and people with their own agendas. We found out what happened to familiar faces since the last book. I read it in one sitting because I couldn’t stop, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Hopefully there will be stories featuring some of the secondary characters because I don’t want to say goodbye!

[Mary E. Sears · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frankly, I was disappointed with this book. It was not up to par with the 15 preceding ones which I greatly enjoyed. I know it's hard to write a sort of sequel that's set 25 years after the last book, but this book was all over the place. It was hard to follow unless you have one of those minds that remembers everything in the previous part of the story. The subplot about Kenna and Oliver and what they were up to was almost totally irrelevant. If there were more books in this series, I don't think I would read them. If I never read about Dominatus again, I'll be a happy person.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book #16 in the Brand of Justice series but can be read as a standalone book.

This takes place 25 years after book #15 and it catches you up with characters from the series and introduces you to Kenna & Jax's daughter Eliana who was just being born at the end of book #15.

Lots of suspense and plenty of bad guys to make it an action packed book.

I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. The review expressed here is my honest opinion.

[Jesus Beach Girl Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a seriously amazing finale to the Brand of Justice series. Eliana tried so hard not to be like her parents, but I’m glad she finally realized that she really was like them, but still could be her own person. It was nice to see what “the family” dynamic looks like years later. I definitely liked seeing what happened to Maizie and that yes, Jax was still looking good.

I received an advanced reader’s copy from the author. All opinions are my own.

[Allyson Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fast-paced, action-packed story Now Until Forever is. Eliana and Carlos's story takes place 25 years later, and it was great catching up with the characters from the BOJ series. Eliana and Carlos have a history that includes heartache and rejection. Interspersed with Eliana's quest to learn more about Dominatus, she and Carlos also are searching for his missing sister Luci. Now Until Forever is a page-turner with twists and turns that will hold your attention from start to finish.

[Heather Runions · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was incredible!!!! What an amazing job tying everything back together!!!!!!!

[Debra Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the entire series until Dominatus. For me, that was too out there. I mostly liked this book, but I was disappointed at how it ended up. Do we know what really happened to Lydia?

[Carolyn Nichols · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did NOT like this book!

I felt this was some science fiction book that I had accidentally picked up by mistake. Not anything like Kenna and Jax's storyline.