Lies

The Thorn Chronicles #4

by Kimberly Loth

Grieving the loss of her power, Sunday feels like everything has been taken from her. Naomi promises that things will get better, but Sunday has a hard time believing especially once Wyatt goes missing. However, she gains the energy of a weak guardian. Now she must figure out how to become stronger so she can rescue Wyatt and destroy those who took everything from her.

In an effort to keep Sunday occupied, Puck takes her on missions to root out rogue Guardian groups. The more they search the worse things get and Sunday discovers the Guardians may not be the good guys she thought they were.

Meanwhile, Sunday is doing her best to keep Naomi and Puck from falling apart while Naomi starts her own secret group of female Shades. A group that Sunday isn’t convinced is the place for her.

Filled with betrayal, loss, and redemption, the final installation of The Thorn Chronicles will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Angels

192 pages, ebook

Published November 3, 2015

About the author

Kimberly Loth can’t decide where she wants to settle down. She’s lived in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Utah, California, Oregon, and South Carolina. She finally decided to make the leap and leave the U.S. behind for a few years. Currently, she lives in Cairo, Egypt with her husband and two kids.

She is a high school math teacher by day (please don’t hold that against her) and YA author by night. She loves romantic movies, chocolate, roses, and crazy adventures. Kissed is her first novel.

Reviews

[Kayla Silverss · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the ending incredibly rushed.

[T.K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good end to the series (mostly), but books 3 and 4 really ought to have been combined; neither is a complete story without the other. Also, Naomi and Sunday both become oddly wishy washy characters, which never seemed to be one of their traits in the past. It was the boldness of both as they overcame their abusive past that made them so appealing. And once again, there are so very many errors. However, the writing is wonderfully creative (as always) and Loth continues to enrich her world-building.

Content warning: Some profanity and the heroines spend a lot of time with boys in their beds, though it isn't really detailed what they're doing.

[Prashansa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. This is the last book of the Thorn Chronicles. I loved how this story ended, a little bittersweet. I hate how Wyatt died and My heart basically hurt for like 3 days straight but I'm fine now. Anyway, obviously, they're all pretty happy in the end and OMG THANK YOU FOR NOT MAKING PUCK AND NAOMI SPLIT UP. I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK WHEN NAOMI THREW HER RING BACK AT PUCK. They're literally so amazing together. THERE HAS TO BE A MOVIE PLEASEEE.

[Brandi Conico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, but I felt like it was rushed and unfinished. It's definitely the most fast paced of the books, but there's almost too much going on that nothing is being given it's due. I feel like this could've done with a lot of editing to fill in gaps. There's a lot of untapped potential here.

Additionally there are some inconsistencies here with things that were said in prior books. Without giving any spoilers away, there is something Kai says in Book 2 that appears to be ignored at the end of this book with no clarification as to why it would be an exception.

It also gets a bit ridiculous at times in that they act confused as to why a bunch of powerful older men aren't interested in obeying the leadership of a kid with crazy colored hair and eyeliner.

Overall, good book, good writing, good ideas- but rushed. I have no idea of the history of the book and when it was written, but it feels like the author was trying to ride a wave of past success and get this book out while people were still interested in the series or maybe the author was done with these characters before the story came full circle. But it's a missed opportunity because the last book could've been written to preserve plot quality and stretch the story into another book or two.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

We see Sunday continue to struggle with the loss of her powers but she doesn’t let it stop her and she continues to assist both Puck and Naomi. We discover that not all Guardians are the same and there are some that use their gifts in selfish ways. We continue to see Naomi keep secrets away from Puck but eventually those secrets are discovered. I’m very interested to see what Naomi does with the Shades. I feel like maybe down the road we get a spin-off series shedding light on Naomi’s work with the Shades. Several things get resolved and I’m happy with the ending.
Overall this is a great conclusion to The Thorn Chronicles series. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy. The audiobook is very intriguing and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys audiobooks. The narrator does a wonderful performance portraying both Sunday and Naomi.

[Kathryn Holden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with others that the third and fourth books should have been combined and/or expanded as the endings were rushed and abrupt. The editing of both of these was horrible as there were extra words and missing words. I also didn’t like flipping between character point of view. The first two books were stronger and I felt Naomi was a strong character. Sure her experiences would impact her, but it didn’t add up. Too many gaping holes here. Especially that the author started to go down a path to the origins of the mythology, but didn’t really get there.

[Kiranna Travellyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great wrap up for a very well written story, there was only one thing that Dissapointed me. The outcome of my favourite character, I'm not going to say more as it will spoil the story. I loved the rose and cacti references at the start of every chapter, but my favourite thing was switching between characters point of views. This series completely weaved it's way into my heart, by far my favourite series of kimberly loths. A perfect story with a bittersweet ending, something I will most definitely listen to over and over again.

[ACE · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked it until

She decided to pick the wrong guy I don't get it I don't understand the attraction. I believe they developed a pathetic relationship he took advantage of her insecurity and she fell for him. I don't like it or care for it no matter how many good reviews. This is my least fav. type of book.
That's just my opinion.

[Bookish Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. I tried to savor it to make it last longer but I finally couldn't take it anymore and finished it. It was a better ending than I was expecting. I wasn't sure how she was going to tie up all the loose ends, but she pulled it off wonderfully! I still want to know more about the Shades though 😏

[Dawn Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good series. I enjoyed the supernatural good viruses evil concept. You'll have to read it yourself to understand what I mean. It does have some grammatical errors if that kind if thing bothers you.

[Cassie Hollenbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the storyline and the characters. Some spots were slow for me though. The twists and turns were incredible! I am so glad that they were finally revealed. I hate that this series came to an end.

[shannonbookishlife · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this whole series. It showed the struggle of good and bad in all of us. I especially liked how roses were used in the book to show emotions and power.

[MoonChild · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like the series had a lot of potential but wasn't executed in the best way, it was good but... it's missing something that makes me really love it.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally! What a great ending.
Did I mention I love Sunday's character?
Warning---SPOILERS!
Already knee-deep in trouble, Sunday has had her power sucked away during her stay in Tombstone. A lot of horrible things happened...besides the fact that Wyatt and Morgan are probably being held hostage, she's trying to get used to the foreign powers that Naomi gave her. Especially since she is outright Guardian now, and not Shade. Puck knows it. He recruits her and Jordan to help him out. Not just rescuing Wyatt and Morgan, but infiltrating other groups of rogue Guardians and Destroyers.
What I liked:
Sunday's adventures! She gets to meet lots of people, including the first-ever Guardians and Destroyers. It's all kinds of crazy. I like Puck in this one too, and while I don't like what Naomi does in the beginning, I get it. And I get why. I like that while the story is ending, not everything gets resolved. That's not the point of a good story. You finally finish, and then your brain is still working overtime trying to figure everything out.
What I didn't like:
That dating two guys at once thing. Ugh. But it happens in real life, so why not? I don't know how people can tolerate it though.
Also, rushed again. The last chapter was a lot of talking in order to wrap some things up. "This is why this, and that is why that..." But at least it did explain some things.
Would I recommend? Oh yeah! Warning though; you will procrastinate on some probably important things since you will get so wrapped up in finishing this.
Enjoy!

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lies is an adventurous conclusion to The Thorn Chronicles. It wraps up all the different characters very nicely giving the reader some closure when it comes to Naomi and her abilities.
While I think the author could have further developed the Originals' backstory, it was a nice reference to a Romeo & Juliet love story. I did not particularly enjoy this part of the book as I felt it was random but I see how it played a role in depicting Sunday's ability to draw power from others even without touching them.
I liked the fact that Sunday does not have to break Wyatt's heart but let's just say that what happened to Wyatt was also kind of extreme. Also, the whole Shades story could become its own chronicle but maybe that's something for the author to consider.
All in all I was very happy to see Naomi have some sort of closure to her personal and professional Shade life. While Puck is the "hero" Kai will always have my heart because who doesn't love an underdog!
Thank you Kimberly Loth for a fantastic story and for making women a force to be reckon with.

[Chelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This whole series was a waste of my time. I tried so hard to like it, but I just had a hard time caring about the characters of this book. Even when major characters died, I wasn’t affected by it.

Naomi and Sunday drove me crazy. I could not stand the references of the roses and cactus at the beginning of each chapter. I don’t see how it was supposed to fit into the story. The smells and taste of certain things was just weird. I don’t see how people like this book.

The one thing that I liked about this book is that the boys in the book were not described as “hot.” They were usually admired by their beautiful eyes. It was very clean for a YA novel. The most the couples did was kiss and there was not a lot of strong language.

[Laurie Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved how the story progressed in this book. Kim made sure to show how things could go from good to bad and then from bad to worse but then back to good again. I was glad to see Naomi and Puck get things figured out and Kai to get his power back. I also loved watching Sunday progress through different challenges.

[Teya Teya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really nervous on where this one was headed. However, she wrote this one so well it pull in the right direction. Intense and ended so sweet. It finished all loose ends and a great ending to the series.

[Terri West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story throughout these books and we get to understand more about the guardian and destroyer history.
My only criticism of this book is that the final chapter brought everything to an end very abruptly.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book you get the questions you still had answered and everything wrapped up in a pretty bow. I have enjoyed listening to this series and am very happy with the way things ended. Definitely a series worth listening to.

[Calia]

This last book I think was the best! It sort of put me off seeing all the characters change throughout.

[Taria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like everything was just rushed. The build up took so long and concluded in 2 chapters. It took me forever to read because I just didn't care anymore.

[Lisa Rector · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm pleased with the way the author ended the series. Most of the novel was full of one trouble after another. A few whiny characters, but I liked all the characters regardless.

[Kayty · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Laurie Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many things happen in this story. It definitely keeps you wanting to know how things end. This is a great series and I have enjoyed every minute of it.