Finch Merlin and the Locked Gateway

Harley Merlin #13

by Bella Forrest

Few have found this fabled city.

One final ingredient. With a mapped location and vials of Sanguine blood, Finch needs one last component to unlock the gateway to the lost city.

If only that didn’t mean returning to the place he despises most—Eris Island.

After learning his chances of escaping servitude are next to nil, Finch vows to find another out. And his only shot means chasing after his greatest enemy. Plus, a certain Goddess of Light won’t stop sticking her nose into his business…

Ryann realizes that Erebus sees her as collateral for coercing Finch—but, oh, how he underestimates her. She’s helped Finch before, and she’ll do everything in her human power to make sure he survives this mission. At the same time, she can’t continue keeping secrets from Adam. He’s the perfect boyfriend, but Finch… he’s the one who makes her feel most alive.

Pre-order now.

*Beware of spoilers in the reviews below that are without spoiler alerts.*

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Audiobook, Young Adult, Magic, Fiction, Romance

404 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 7, 2019

About the author

UPDATE MARCH 11, 2024:

BELLA IS BACK!

*** New, updated online store at https://BellaForrest.com

*** New books coming soon

*** Possible Film/TV series coming soon

*** Stay up to date by joining our e-mail list at https://BellaForrest.com/join

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Bella Forrest is a lover of fantasy, romance, action, and mystery infused stories with twists you don’t see coming. She has sold over fifteen million books since her first novel was published in 2012.

Check out her website for a full list of her books: https://BellaForrest.com

Official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BellaForrest...

Here's a list of some of Bella's books:

DARKLIGHT

Darklight (Book 1)
Darkthirst (Book 2)
Darkworld (Book 3)
Darkblood (Book 4)
Darktide (Book 5)
Darkbirth (Book 6)
Darkfall (Book 7)
Darkwilds (Book 8)
Darkhunt (Book 9)

A LOVE THAT ENDURES (Trilogy)
A Love that Endures 1
A Love that Endures 2
A Love that Endures 3

HARLEY MERLIN AND THE SECRET COVEN

Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven (Book 1)
Harley Merlin and the Mystery Twins (Book 2)
Harley Merlin and the Stolen Magicals (Book 3)
Harley Merlin and the First Ritual (Book 4)
Harley Merlin and the Broken Spell (Book 5)
Harley Merlin and the Cult of Eris (Book 6)
Harley Merlin and the Detector Fix (Book 7)
Harley Merlin and the Challenge of Chaos (Book 8)
Harley Merlin and the Mortal Pact (Book 9)
Finch Merlin and the Fount of Youth (Book 10)
Finch Merlin and the Lost Map (Book 11)
Finch Merlin and the Djinn's Curse (Book 12)
Finch Merlin and the Locked Gateway (Book 13)
Finch Merlin and the Forgotten Kingdom (Book 14)
Finch Merlin and the Everlasting Vow (Book 15)
Finch Merlin and the Blood Tie (Book 16)
Finch Merlin and the Legend of the Luminary
Persie Merlin and Leviathan's Gift (Book 18)
Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere (Book 19)
Persie Merlin and the Witch Hunters (Book 20)
Persie Merlin and the Dying Song (Book 21)

THE CHILD THIEF

The Child Thief (Book 1)
Deep Shadows (Book 2)
Thin Lines (Book 3)
Little Lies (Book 4)
Ghost Towns (Book 5)
Zero Hour (Book 6)

HOTBLOODS

Hotbloods (Book 1)
Hotbloods (Book 2): Coldbloods
Hotbloods (Book 3): Renegades
Hotbloods (Book 4): Venturers
Hotbloods (Book 5): Traitors
Hotbloods (Book 6): Allies
Hotbloods (Book 7): Invaders
Hotbloods (Book 8): Stargazers

THE GENDER GAME

The Gender Game (Book 1)
The Gender Secret (Book 2)
The Gender Lie (Book 3)
The Gender War (Book 4)
The Gender Fall (Book 5)
The Gender Plan (Book 6)
The Gender End (Book 7)

THE GIRL WHO DARED TO THINK

The Girl Who Dared to Think (Book 1)
The Girl Who Dared to Stand (Book 2)
The Girl Who Dared to Descend (Book 3)
The Girl Who Dared to Rise (Book 4)
The Girl Who Dared to Lead (Book 5)
The Girl Who Dared to Endure (Book 6
The Girl Who Dared to Fight (Book 7)

A SHADE OF VAMPIRE

Season 1: Derek & Sofia’s story

Books 1 to 7

Season 2: Rose & Caleb’s story

Books 8 to 16

Season 3: The Shade continues with a new hero...

Books 17 to 24

Season 4: A Clan of Novaks

Books 25 to 32

Season 5: A Dawn of Guardians

Books 33 to 41

Season 6: A Gift of Three

Books 42 to 50

Season 7: A Call of Vampires

Books 51 to 59

Season 8: A Voyage of Founders

Books 60 to 68

Season 9: A Birth of Fire

Books 69 to 77

Season 10: An Origin of Vampires
An Origin of Vampires (Book 78)
A Game of Death (Book 79)
A Veil of Dark (Book 80)
A Bringer of Night (Book 81)
A Circle of Nine (Book 82)
A Bender of Spirit (Book 83)
A Memory of Time (Book 84)
A Shard of Soul (Book 85)
A Break of Seals (Book 86)

Season 11: A Shade of Mystery
A Shade of Mystery (Book 87)
An Isle of Mirrors (Book 88)
A Sanctuary of Foes (Book 89)
A Ruler of Clones (Book 90)
A Gate of Light (Book 91)
A Dawn of Worlds (Book 92) ➜ Coming soon!

Reviews

[Tracey Mccall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wicked

This is an amazing series. Spacewalk written with amazing characters. It was not my typical genre but I picked keep book one and I was captivated. The power of friendship, love,hate,family, community is impressive. Following Finch, Harley and the rest of the rag team as chaos ensues round them.

[Linda Fine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incomplete!

I am beginning to despise this author's work. Rarely does a book function as a stand-alone product with hints of what preceded it or comes after. It just starts abruptly and ends abruptly in the middle of events. If you happen to pick up a book in the middle of the series, I have no idea how you would ever figure out what was going on. I suppose that I will continue to read the rest of the series since it is part of my Kindle Unlimited subscription but you can be sure that I won't be reading any of her other work and certainly won't be recommending her to other readers.

[nintoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a bit of a blip, I'm loving this series again. Finch is definitely my favourite character; thinking back, Harley now seems too earnest, perfect; almost too good to be true, whereas Finch is more relatable (if a magical can be relatable) because of, rather than despite his faults, foot-in-mouth syndrome and his 'redemption' from the dark side, among other things. He's not your usual hero, put it that way! I would (and will) definitely recommend this series, with the caveat that the whole series must be read in order from book 1; too many nuances, in-jokes and almost-forgotten characters popping up would otherwise be lost on the reader and ruin their enjoyment of the story arc.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It just ended. Stopped. Cliff-hanger. Ugh. Usually there is some resolution for each book with the over journey left open ended. Not here. It just ended. I had no idea it was near the end of the book. I can’t even process what just happened.

The good news is that the book was obviously good and had me hanging on every word, thus making me distraught when it ended unexpectedly. This deep in a series, I am obviously going to keep reading so I’m not sure the cliff hanger was needed. Geez. I can’t think. I can’t write a review because I have to go buy the next book.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This chunk of the series focuses on finding Atlantis and resolving the Finch/Ryann/Adam love triangle. The Atlantis stuff really is good with Finch having to face his past demons to find the final thing they need to go to Atlantis, and Finch is still pretty funny. However, the love triangle really sucked this book.

While I give Forrest props for making her romantic subplots more interesting than they were in Harley's part of the series (and once you get around the vaguely incestuous feel that the inevitable coupling of Harley's half-brother and Harley's foster sister creates) this is a good idea on paper. Ryann must choose between the new and exciting magical world and her safe and stable old life, as symbolized by her guys of choice. Our first problem, is that between Ryann's thirst for magical adventure and Forrest's previously established writing patterns, we know that Ryann will eventually end up with Finch.

The second problem is Ryann herself. While she seemed smart and fairly cool in previous books, I found her POV chapters whiny and entitled with a dash of a highly questionable sense of self preservation (she doesn't like people pointing out that she is in more danger because she is not magical--unless it's Finch--and at one point whines about not being able to use a good one-liner on Davin). Her first attempt to solve her romance problem is to see if she could tell Adam the truth about her new life. Here's the thing, if O'Halloran, a coven leader and war hero, cannot tell his wife the truth about magic, why would the human intern be allowed to tell her boyfriend? Still, she tries to hint at magic being real with Adam by telling a lie about a guy at a coffee shop declaring magic is real and is frustrated when Adam is concerned about her safety instead of going "wow, what if magic is real."

When Adam finds out about magic after they're attacked by Davin, Ryann makes a deal with Lux to erase his memory of magic. (Another sign that this isn't going well, the fact that I don't really care that Ryann has to go against her principles for the sake of the magical world.) When Lux comes to collect, she immediately whines about Lux doing it. Irritatingly, Finch is there when this happens, and is initially disappointed with her for making a deal with a Child of Chaos to do something that any adult magical can do, then drops it for no real reason. This could've been an interesting conflict for the couple, but it's dropped.

The ending is also more of a cliffhanger than previous books' endings (which is saying something for this series), and I'd probably end it right when they got to Atlantis instead of after being arrested by the princess and some guards. Fortunately, the next book was published soon after this one, and they're all on Kindle Unlimited.

[Emily Skermer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. Loved hearing from Ryanns perspective as she is great and one of my favourite characters.

Finally got to Atlantis bit of a surprise to find people still living there did not expect that especially as it seems Erebus has a crush on their princess so excited for the next book to see how that goes down.

Lux is now possessing Ryann which is a bit sad but interesting as hopefully it will keep her more involved in the plot though I will miss her POV next book.

Davin is still annoying I just want him to hurry up and die at this point though it doesnt look like that is happening any time soon.

Finch got to reflect on his past as a cultist which we haven't seen him do much of yet and it was interesting seeing how it all affected him especially with Davin bringing Adley back to life to try and kill him.

Anyway good book excited to read more especially as now it has really picked up especially with the romance between Ryann and Finch.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome spinoff from the first series

Poor Finch has been put thru the wringer in more ways than one, especially having to deal with 2 children of chaos !!!!! Erebus has had Him jumping from day one, all over the globe, in tons of danger constantly, and threatening his life constantly! It seems impossible that he will survive, but the Muppet babies are still in play, hopefully !!!

[Paul Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A continuation of the Harley Merlin Series of Books. Kept me wanting for more. Leaves the reader with a major cliff hanger at the end requiring you to read the next book to find out what happens. The Finch merlin series portion of Harley Merlin series books takes the reader deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole of magical mystery in search of the lost city of Atlantis. This is very light reading not deep, and very relaxing.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series, and the conflicted characters, the development of all of them, the world-building. Great story, great action scenes. It does seem that the ever-increasing number of books in this series are likely making this author wealthy. I wish my library carried the audiobooks -- having to listen to them on Audible.

[Anne Absalom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

This is my favorite book so far in the Fitch Merlin series. I was happy to see the original characters return with more active roles in this latest book. When it comes to these stories, I have no ability to read a chapter of two. Once I start, I'm not satisfied until I finish the entire book. I'm glad Bella Forrest is such a prolific writer.

[Cynthia Slaughter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erebus forces Finch to continue his quest to find Atlantis

Lots of action and lots of twists and turns as Finch and his friends try to comply with the Gods of Chaos. Ryann has to choose between humanity and the magical and Finch has to come to grips with his past. Davin is a constant threat. Good read.

[Amber Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read in a wonderful series

The Harley Merlin series just keeps bringing me back for more! I have thoroughly enjoyed all the books in this series so far, and can’t wait for the next one.

[Marie Clifton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The excitement continues

The author keeps the adventure and excitement going. One word error but still it keeps you on your toes wanting to know what happens next. With Finch fighting for his life in more ways than 1. I look forward to the next book.

[Emily L-P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inconsistency

There’s several inconsistencies coming up. Also how can there be more books in this series. I think one can probably finish it up but why have more than that? Definitely interesting still just not captivating.

[Kathleen Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be careful of what you look for.

The Erebus scavenger hunt has landed the team exactly where Erebus wanted to be. They did all the work for him and now we'll have to see what kind of trouble they have landed themselves in.

[Chris Knight-waechter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Great Read...

Finch continues in his service of Erbrus and another Child is in the mix. Don’t want to spoil anything but a lot happens... great read!

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series, but Finch never gets a break!

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read.

Good to the last page. Finch and Harley keep you on the edge of your seat. I couldn't put it down. Read it in two days.

[Sylvia Howie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author writes from the characters view giving you beautiful images of their emotional turmoil.

The wry humour adds to a really good read as usual.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesomeness

I read this book so fast sadly. The .it's into the series I got the faster I seemed to read the books.

[Desiree Dennis]

Finally a lot of progress where Finch himself is concerned. So much nostalgia from this book since it involved Eris Island. The ghosts of Finch’s past has come back to haunt him...

[Lori Kern]

Harley Merlin 13

This author has an amazing imagination to be able to write this series and make sure that the reader is not bored with the book!

[Kay Millican · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these characters and storyline. V entertaining read.

[Elizabeth F. Nagey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

I'm recommending this series books to anyone who has an imagination ! The story is easy to follow and the story made me feel like it was all possible!

[Bronwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved book and loved Ryann's POV. Enjoying series. Must read.

[Christine Ingles · Rating 5 out of 5]

entertaining,,, worth it

[Kary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I would have liked a completed story not a cliff hanger of Atlantis but that’s what 14 is for. Hoping Fitch and Rayann find each other

[Alicia Mccauley · Rating 5 out of 5]

great

[G. Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning story lune

This story kept me enthralled all the way to the end. Still wondering how Finch and the gang are going to win this game. Ready to continue the journey.

[Kristi Langner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finch is a much better developed character than Harley - I love these books