Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Garden of Thorns #3

Garden of Graves (Garden of Thorns #3)

Rate this book
The King has arrived in Boston. Lexington confessed to a crime he didn’t commit to save Elle’s life. Now she’s summoned the one and only person who can spare him, but it comes at a dangerous confessing every one of her secrets to the King. That she is the one who has been curing the Bitten, and who the true father of her unborn child is. Trying to do good comes with unforeseen consequences—a cured Bitten, one who should have just walked away and tried to forget, wants revenge. The cycle must stop, and the only way to do it is to expose all vampires to the world. The decree has been made, the fate of Charles Allaway is sealed; he will die. But first they have to find him. No more hiding, Elle is ready to take her fate, and that of her child, into her own hands…

248 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 27, 2017

116 people are currently reading
465 people want to read

About the author

Keary Taylor

82 books2,108 followers
Keary Taylor is the USA TODAY bestselling author of over twenty novels. She grew up along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where she started creating imaginary worlds and daring characters who always fell in love. She now splits her time between a tiny island in the Pacific Northwest and Utah, with her husband and their two children. She continues to have an overactive imagination that frequently keeps her up at night.

Please Note: Keary does not check Goodreads very often, so the best way to get in contact is directly through email: me@kearytaylor.com.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
325 (61%)
4 stars
155 (29%)
3 stars
45 (8%)
2 stars
7 (1%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
Profile Image for Courtney.
1,983 reviews210 followers
June 22, 2017
3.5 Stars

Garden of Graves may be the 8th book in this series, but it's Elle's 3rd and final book. The first 5 books are Alivia's, the next three are Elle's and I know that the next 3 or 4 books will be King Cyrus'. I highly recommend reading them all in order as the characters are introduced throughout Alivia's books, but it's not needed. Now onto the book.

If you've read my previous reviews, you will know that Elle's books have not been my favorite overall. It's hard to switch gears within a series if the books are not spin-offs. While others have enjoyed these, it was hard transition for me. Elle's books are not as action-packed or suspenseful as Alivia's but they are still good. I do have to say that this book was my favorite of Elle's books though.

Garden of Graves starts off right where Garden of Snakes ended. Elle has called upon King Cyrus for his help - in more than one way. Having the King return to the states always puts everyone on edge. The man is feared and he has no problem using that to his advantage. And the one thing he loathes most is when someone goes against his rules.

I enjoyed seeing how each situation in this book played out. Everyone is out looking for Charles, who is able to keep himself hidden from all - Boston is a big city. Then there is reformed bitten who is starting to cause a stir with the humans, and that just adds to King Cyrus' temperament. Everything progressed at the right speed and noting seem too far fetched. I loved Elle's plan and I am not surprised at all how they turned out.

Overall, Keary ended this portion of the series very well. I am excited to see what happens in King Cyrus' books. He's been quite the enigma most of the time, so I hope it's just as exciting as Alivia's books.
Profile Image for Steph.
2,160 reviews305 followers
July 21, 2019
This series, all of her Blood Descendants World, was entertaining and a very quick read. I grabbed Crown of Death as a freebie, enjoyed it, bought the remaining three in that quad and read them all in four days. I then realized I'd started at the end and started at the beginning to find out what I'd missed. While I don't necessarily recommend reading them in that order, it was interesting reading the King's books first, then learning more about those in his world/houses afterward. I found I didn't dislike him as much as I probably would have if I'd started reading from the very beginning. He's a well-written, complex character with a long history.

I've just spent half the month of July reading all of these books by Keary Taylor. I found that I enjoy her writing style, characters, vampire house structure and world-building, however she does have a tendency to reuse particular phrases throughout and several typos in each book, including an instance where the wrong character's name was used. These might not have been as obvious had I not read them all back-to-back. She kept the story flowing and wasn't one to give huge info dumps, but did well recapping the events of the previous installment. She is, however, a master at the cliffhanger ending, which is one of the reasons I jumped from one book to the next without pause.

If you enjoy stories about vampires, you'll enjoy this series. There are aspects that are unique, as well as those that run similar to all/most others.

Blood Descendants World Reading Order:
House of Royals (House of Royals, #1) by Keary Taylor House of Pawns (House of Royals #2) by Keary Taylor House of Kings (House of Royals #3) by Keary Taylor House of Judges (House of Royals #4) by Keary Taylor House of Ravens by Keary Taylor (Alivia Ryan's story)
Garden of Thorns (House of Royals #6) by Keary Taylor Garden of Snakes by Keary Taylor Garden of Graves (House of Royals #8) by Keary Taylor (Elle Ward's story)
Crown of Death (Crown of Death #1) by Keary Taylor Crown of Ruin (Crown of Death #3) by Keary Taylor Crown of Bones (Crown of Death, #4) by Keary Taylor Crown of Blood (Crown of Death #2) by Keary Taylor (King Cyrus' story)
Profile Image for Kimberly.
53 reviews
June 26, 2017
Wow!!! As always with Keary's writing. Once I began reading it, I couldn't put it down!
(I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. This is completely my personal opinions and review of this book)
I loved this book in this series so much!! I was weird at first switching from Alivia's POV to Elle's POV between book 5&6, but Keary made the adjustment easier than I anticipated. As previous reviews have stated, I've loved getting to know Elle more. Something I loved about this book was getting to know a different side of King Cyrus. As they go through struggles in this part of the story, searching for Charles Allaway, also searching for a now a cured bitten who's causing problems named Jonathon Harper, the characters have their hands full. Elle's plan to ask the King for help has them all somewhat on edge as he visits Boston. I love the plot, character develop throughout, and overall how everything plays out. Keary did a wonderful job and ending this part of the series. As always at the end I'm a bit sad and feeling nostalgic. However I look forward to the anticipated King Cyrus POV later on down the road! I'm excited to learn more about characters who are mysterious to me. There are two girls growing up I'd love to learn more about. I'd love to learn more about the King and Rose. I'd also love to hear follow ups on Lexington, Elle, and others.
Well done my hands are in the air to you again Keary!!!!
Profile Image for Khanique McDaniel.
1,199 reviews36 followers
July 6, 2018
I think we wrapped this story at the perfect time because Elle and Lexington were starting to get boring. Elle alone wasn't so bad but the romance became overly cheesy fast and the anticipation of King Cyrus's arrival was more hype than bite.

It felt too easy. Everything. From Cyrus's arrival, his game that was plain and not what we have come to expect from a man renowned for said games.

There weren't a shortage of issues in this novel between the repercussions of Elle curing the Bitten and Charles violating Elle to conceive his heir, yet some how we spent more time on the emotional side of everything and I think the previous novels instilled a clinical approach that was missing here.

The thing that separated Alivia & Ian's relationship from them was the build upon their romance. That went to shit pretty quickly. Lexington did an Ian and while I can understand strong women who are able to lead and take care of their shit, Elle is preggo and karate chopping while her immortal man is quite easily taken down and I won't even discuss the epilogue in length because his decision is not what I would have expected and it just further tied the bow on what I thought was a monotone novel.

Witches, hunters, an atrociously old King, Houses of vampires and a botanist. There are no shortage of events or characters but when a novel is told from a single POV, especially from one who is not a part of many fights, it left much to be desired. The big showdowns were recounts and who reading through all these pages to not even be there?

It didn't wrap beautifully and the Charles element could have used a little bit more drama and who exactly are Rose and 'em? Charmed knock offs? So many questions ... so many pages ... and still we ask them!

I figure we will get more intimate with the Crown when we get King Cyrus's book and I look forward to that. I got lost me in the mumbo jumbo of this novel and while Charles Allaway is devious, his elusiveness went on half a book too long and the only thing we had to fill the in between was cuddling. Yes, you guessed it .... still no live sex!

Elle rocks. Lexington is a good support system and it was good meeting all the new characters. It's a shame we had to lose some of the old but I am sure Henry is probably working on something for that. Who knows.
Profile Image for Penny.
3,140 reviews85 followers
June 22, 2017
I have been with this series since the beginning and have enjoyed every single book I’ve read. We are at book eight, and I have to say this was probably the best one yet. As I always find in a book by Ms. Taylor, this book was well-written, had an interesting plot, and the character development was excellent. I really didn’t want to put it down at any point in the book. Recently, Ms. Taylor posted that this part of the story arc was ending with this book, and I must admit I am very sad about that. I have grown to really, really like Elle, probably even more than I liked Alivia, and I didn’t think that was possible. That is the power of this author’s work. Next up, after a little bit of time, will be Rose and King Cyrus. I can’t wait and am looking forward to those as both characters intrigue me, especially Rose. We just don’t know much about her, but I think she’s going to be fascinating. Anyway, back to this book, if you are already a fan, you will love this book. It was, as I stated above, the best so far. If you haven’t read this series yet, I recommend starting with the first book. They are all great! Highly recommend! Thanks to the author for the e-copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
Profile Image for Kimberly.
Author 11 books920 followers
June 30, 2017
4.5 Satisfying Stars

Garden of Graves is the eighth book in the House of Royals series and the completion of Elle's story. I've read each book in this series and although I favor Alivia's stories over Elle's, this was easily the best of Elle's books. The story picks back up right where Garden of Snakes left off with Elle needing the help of King Cyrus. There's definitely a lot going on in this book what with Elle and Lexington, the king, cured bitten, and searching for Charles Allaway. This book was chock-full of awesomeness that kept the plot fast-paced and exciting.

While I enjoy seeing the continued growth and character development of Elle, I freakin' love King Cyrus. Every time he's in one of these books I'm wildly entertained. Awesome kings aside, Keary did a fantastic job of wrapping up Elle's story and setting things up for the next installment in this series. The ending was satisfying and I'm beyond reading for King Cyrus to take the spotlight!

The author graciously provided a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Profile Image for Kathy.
12 reviews3 followers
July 1, 2017
Love, love, love Keary Taylor. Her books flow seamlessly and her cliffhangers are enticing! Her latest book, Garden of Graves, finishes Elle’s story arc. She reunites with all her friends and foes from Garden of Snakes, and brings King Cyrus back to the United States. His reputation always proceeds him and the followers of the Houses are not happy he is here. His relationship with Elle Ward is a strange one. He is an ancient vampire king and she a mere human. Nothing good can come of that, or can it?

Reunited with friends and family, they help her along her journey as best they can. She has tough decisions to make, love to fall back into, a baby on the way, and ruthlessness around the corner. She has made friends with vampires, bitten, witches and even a few humans. Lexington, her fiancée has a choice to make at the end of the book. Which will he choose?

House of Royals [1], House of Pawns [2], House of Kings [3], House of Judges [4], House of Ravens [5], House of Thorns [6], Garden of Snakes [7], Garden of Graves [8]
Profile Image for Katherine.
11 reviews
June 27, 2017
This has been one of the very few books that made my list of "book i read in one sitting". Slow as I am, i savored it and read it for 7 hours straight the evening I got my free ARC. Garden of Graves is the Elle's 3rd and final book in her own series as part of the House of Royals series. Keary has once again done an amazing job with writing a book that has very interesting plots that keeps you turning page after page. It is very well written as always and though as any book that i may have some situation i raise an eyebrow on or question dearly, overall I loved the book and i think this is my favorite of Elle's three books. In this book, we not only see the resolution of Elle and Lexington's main problem, but we also see happy events and see a different side of King Cyrus which then makes me look forward as well to future books telling his story.
Profile Image for Lisa.
23 reviews
June 23, 2017
In this new installment of the series, we are following elle and Lexington.
The last book ended with Lexington being taken into custody by Cyrus's enforcer and elle calling for help from the king, and garden of graves picks right up at that point.
Everybody is in a spin trying to find Charles before elle gives birth and the curse wears off, but there's also the antivamp uprising to keep them on their toes.
We see elle in a new light, blossoming into a stronger woman and soon to be mother.
There's the usual twists and turns that keep you hooked throughout the story and it's a very enjoyable read.


Overall I enjoyed the book, and am looking forward to the next installment in the series.
21 reviews
June 29, 2017
I have enjoyed reading Elle’s story and this was no exception. As with the other books in the saga, ‘Garden of Graves’ was filled with twists and turns and intrigue. The novel was a fab end to Elle’s part of the story. As always, the characters were well written and added mystery and romance to the plot. Elle and Lexington’s romance was a joy to read throughout and Elle held her own beautifully in the world that Taylor has concocted for her.

I loved Elle’s character and this was a fitting end to her story. I wasn't sure how I would feel as we swapped from Alivia to Elle’s point of view but I loved her passion and heroism. Keary Taylor did a great job with these books. Looking forward to reading the next ones!

I received an ARC copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Profile Image for Gigi.
2,169 reviews38 followers
July 20, 2017
Wow. I received this ebook in return for a honest review. I was super excited when I got it. This book is so good. I absolutely love it from start to finish. There is so much to say, but I can’t spoil it.
This literally starts pretty much from where Garden of Snakes ended. I pretty much love most of all the characters in the book. I see King Cyrus differently for now. I love the Love that Lexington has for Elle and vice versa. I love the relationship that developed between Elle and Michael.
Due to I know that I will spoil it, I’m going to stop here. Overall this is an amazing book and if you started this series keep reading. If you haven’t then get started. I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed, so get it and start reading. Thank you Keary for another amazing book!!
Profile Image for Corey Beth.
354 reviews4 followers
January 1, 2022
Excellent Wrap-up

4½. This book was probably my favorite out of this whole series. First of all, I loved the innocence & genuinity of Lexington & Elle's love. I thought that Elle's feelings about the baby were explored very well & quite realistic. There were a lot of balls put into play in the last book & I feel like they were well dealt with in this book. I am also a big fan of King Cyrus from the first set of books, & I was excited to see him back. I love his relationship with Elle & how we see a bit of a different side of him in this story than we saw in the House of Royals quintet.
Profile Image for Claire Semonin.
90 reviews3 followers
June 24, 2017
I love this series, it's just as good as Alivia's story. Elle is consistently the backbone of the group, ironic as she is technically the most fragile of them all. The writing just made me want more and more.
Whilst reading this I did kind of guess where it was going, perhaps because that's how I wanted it to end BUT Keary slammed me with a twist right at the end that I truly did not see coming!!! I am so excited for the next book Keary writes and I look forward to reading Roses story and Cyrus's :D
Profile Image for JanaLee Longhurst.
Author 5 books3 followers
June 26, 2017
World building? Ms. Taylor has it mastered! Her House of Royals world is a sly undercurrent just beneath the fabric of regular society. It is believable. It is fantastical. It is a pleasure to read.

I loved the ending of this, the 8th book, and I’m really looking forward to any stand-alones or later additions to the series because her characters make me love them (even the bad guys) and her storylines suck me in. Every. Single. Time. I received a review copy, but the opinion and adoration for the story are entirely mine. Well done, Keary Taylor! Well done!

Profile Image for Sheena.
812 reviews13 followers
June 22, 2017
The last of Elle's story and what a story to end on. Everything I wanted and more. I loved having King Cyrus back, he always makes things more entertaining, and he was a nice addition to the story without taking away from what is essentially Elle and Lexington's story. While Elle's story is nicely wrapped up (and nice twist at the end leaving a huge untied plot which I can't wait to see unfurl in future) I am dying for Cyrus' story.

Great ending to Elle's story.
Profile Image for Kristine .
1,803 reviews12 followers
June 25, 2017
This is a great book! The story has a little of everything such as romance, action, and a whole lot of suspense. I was on the edge of my seat needing to know what was going to happen next, I couldn't put the book down. This series is best read in order so all the intricacies, relationships, and history can be obtained. The author has created a unique and intriguing world.

I received a copy of this book from the author, my review has been voluntarily submitted.
Profile Image for Rebecca Rakes.
210 reviews1 follower
July 29, 2017
I really liked this series. All too often a plot will start out juicy and complex and get tied up into a pink ribbon way too easily and unbelievably. I was terrified this was going to happen here but K Taylor did not disappoint. Elle's life is far from perfect and crazy, awful things were done and not twisted later so it wasn't what you thought... it was that awful but Elle make it work. I love how the plot was placed and the way things were laid out.
Profile Image for Toni Davis.
181 reviews11 followers
June 16, 2017
definetly my favorite of Elle's story arc and King Cyrus makes an appearance from first chapter so that alone always gets an extra star from me. I love that man. I'm still disappointed we haven't heard anything g about Alviva kid I know this series switched to Elle's story but I'm dying to know over here.
Profile Image for Gail.
63 reviews
December 8, 2017
Fascinating! Intriguing!

This series has captivated me from the beginning! I swore I would not pay for any more books, yet I found myself paying for each one greedily, anticipating the story to come. I cannot say enough about how excellent this story was weaved, through many years and characters.
Profile Image for Linda.
374 reviews
June 23, 2017
I was not disappointed in the results for Elle and Lexington. She called King Cyrus and everyone was still hunting for Charles. I like the way Elle was strong willed, fought for what she wants and held her own with Cyrus.
It will be interesting to see what happens with with King Cyrus.
12 reviews1 follower
July 12, 2017
💘 it!!!!!!!

Its five stars always. This book , this series is so enchanting and addicting that i get anxiety when im about to finish your book. Thank you for the awesome characters. Well played out. Thru and thru!!! Cant wait to read your next book!
Profile Image for cassi parker.
25 reviews1 follower
July 31, 2018
Amazing!!!

Lexington and Elle are so relatable, I couldn’t put it down! Finished the book in under a day. Keary continues to write amazing books in this series, each better than the last!
Profile Image for Michele Evans.
1,213 reviews8 followers
March 3, 2019
Loved this series!!!

Loved reading Elle’s story, from the viewpoint of one strong human immersed in the scary world of vampires. This series kept me glued from page one and I’m sad to see it end ., but super happy with the ending!!
Profile Image for Banu.
11 reviews13 followers
June 29, 2017
It was everything I hoped for and more! I devoured this Book!!!! I can not wait for more!!!!!
Profile Image for Cortney Leonard.
4 reviews
July 25, 2017
This was the perfect ending to Elle's story. I can not wait to read King Cyrus story.
Profile Image for Bobbie.
1,560 reviews
December 14, 2017
Intriguing storyline with lots of surprising plot twists. Interesting characters. Unexpected ending.
Profile Image for Heather.
133 reviews
January 24, 2018
Great

I wasn't sure how well I was going to like the Garden Of Throns part of the House Of Royals but I was sad to not have a 4th book to read! I really hope both series continues!
Profile Image for Book Geek Reviews.
Author 0 books19 followers
February 21, 2018
Great series! I had to read them all one after the other. They are fast reads and have some interesting takes on vampires.
Profile Image for Kristine Plum.
Author 4 books23 followers
March 25, 2018
This series is very compelling. I love getting to know more characters. I wasn’t a fan of this ending (just one part) but I’m totally hooked on these books!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.