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Jane Yellowrock #15
Final Heir
The stakes couldn’t be higher in the newest novel in the New York Times bestselling, pulse-pounding Jane Yellowrock series.
Jane Yellowrock is the queen of the vampires, and that makes her a target as she fights to maintain control and keep peace in the city of New Orleans. She has enemies at every turn, because vampires live forever, and they keep their grudges alive with them. That includes the Heir, the vampire sire of the Pellissier bloodline, which gave rise to Leo Pellissier himself—Jane’s old boss and the former master of the city.
With the Heir and all the forces of darkness he can muster arrayed against her, Jane will need all the help she can get. She’ll find it in her city, her friends, her found family, and, of course, the Beast inside of her.
Jane Yellowrock is the queen of the vampires, and that makes her a target as she fights to maintain control and keep peace in the city of New Orleans. She has enemies at every turn, because vampires live forever, and they keep their grudges alive with them. That includes the Heir, the vampire sire of the Pellissier bloodline, which gave rise to Leo Pellissier himself—Jane’s old boss and the former master of the city.
With the Heir and all the forces of darkness he can muster arrayed against her, Jane will need all the help she can get. She’ll find it in her city, her friends, her found family, and, of course, the Beast inside of her.
460 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 6, 2022
529 people are currently reading
1388 people want to read
About the author
Faith Hunter
93 books5,721 followersFaith Hunter's Junkyard Cats novella series is available in Audible, eBook, and "ridiculously expensive" (her words) trade paperback books at this time.
Faith's Jane Yellowrock series is a dark urban fantasy. Jane is a full blooded Cherokee skinwalker and hunter of rogue-vampires in a world of weres, witches, vampires, and other supernats. 15 books and several compilations of shorts
The Soulwood series is a dark-urban fantasy / paranormal police procedural /para-thriller series featuring Nell Nicholson Ingram, an earth magic user and Special gent of PsyLED. 6 books
Her Rogue Mage novels—Bloodring, Seraphs, Host, and the RPG Rogue Mage—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic alternate reality.
Faith is a full time writer who finally hired a housekeeper when the dust bunnies multiplied, She bakes homemade bread and loves to cook.
Faith researches in great detail, and tries most everything her characters do. Research led to her life’s passions – jewelry making, orchids, Japanese maples, bones, travel, white-water kayaking, and writing.
Faith loves orchids. Her favorite time of year is when several are blooming. Pictures can be seen at her FaceBook page. And yes, she collects bones and skulls. She has a fox, cat, dog, cow skull, goat, a boar skull, a deer skull, (that is, unfortunately, falling apart) and the jawbone of an ass. Her prize skull is a mountain lion (legally purchased from a US tannery) hit by a car in the wild.
Her latest love is Japanese maples, and she has managed to collect over thirty.
She and her husband RV, traveling to whitewater rivers to kayak all over the Southeast. Whitewater Kayaking is her very favorite sport, discovered when she was researching her (Gwen Hunter) mystery book, Rapid Descent. She took a lesson and—after a bout of panic attacks from fear of being upside down trapped in a boat—discovered she loved the sport.
Under other pen names, notably, Gwen Hunter, she writes action adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Gwen, she is a winner of the WH Smith Literary Award for Fresh Talent in 1995 in the UK, and won a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award in 2008. As Faith, her books have been on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists, been nominated for various awards and won an Audie Award with Khristine Hvam, among other awards. Under all her pen names, she has more than 40 books, anthologies, and complications in print in 30 countries.
For more, including a list of her books, see www.faithhunter.net , www.gwenhunter.com . To keep up with her daily, join her fan pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/official.fait... and see her website blog at
www.faithhunter.net
Faith's Jane Yellowrock series is a dark urban fantasy. Jane is a full blooded Cherokee skinwalker and hunter of rogue-vampires in a world of weres, witches, vampires, and other supernats. 15 books and several compilations of shorts
The Soulwood series is a dark-urban fantasy / paranormal police procedural /para-thriller series featuring Nell Nicholson Ingram, an earth magic user and Special gent of PsyLED. 6 books
Her Rogue Mage novels—Bloodring, Seraphs, Host, and the RPG Rogue Mage—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic alternate reality.
Faith is a full time writer who finally hired a housekeeper when the dust bunnies multiplied, She bakes homemade bread and loves to cook.
Faith researches in great detail, and tries most everything her characters do. Research led to her life’s passions – jewelry making, orchids, Japanese maples, bones, travel, white-water kayaking, and writing.
Faith loves orchids. Her favorite time of year is when several are blooming. Pictures can be seen at her FaceBook page. And yes, she collects bones and skulls. She has a fox, cat, dog, cow skull, goat, a boar skull, a deer skull, (that is, unfortunately, falling apart) and the jawbone of an ass. Her prize skull is a mountain lion (legally purchased from a US tannery) hit by a car in the wild.
Her latest love is Japanese maples, and she has managed to collect over thirty.
She and her husband RV, traveling to whitewater rivers to kayak all over the Southeast. Whitewater Kayaking is her very favorite sport, discovered when she was researching her (Gwen Hunter) mystery book, Rapid Descent. She took a lesson and—after a bout of panic attacks from fear of being upside down trapped in a boat—discovered she loved the sport.
Under other pen names, notably, Gwen Hunter, she writes action adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Gwen, she is a winner of the WH Smith Literary Award for Fresh Talent in 1995 in the UK, and won a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award in 2008. As Faith, her books have been on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists, been nominated for various awards and won an Audie Award with Khristine Hvam, among other awards. Under all her pen names, she has more than 40 books, anthologies, and complications in print in 30 countries.
For more, including a list of her books, see www.faithhunter.net , www.gwenhunter.com . To keep up with her daily, join her fan pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/official.fait... and see her website blog at
www.faithhunter.net
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 414 reviews
June 19, 2022
I really had no plans to read any more JY; but this is the last one so I’ll see the series out…
________
And so it ends, with not quite a whimper, but not quite a bang…much like the last few books, there was way over the top action, and far too much magic woo-woo. I still don’t understand how someone who has become as all powerful as Jane still keeps getting hurt. I make no secret that I desperately miss the Jane Yellowrock of the early books, when she and Beast were kick-ass babes. The last few books went in a completely different and weird direction. The books were overly introspective and wordy; and Jane just become more and more powerful. It was all about the woo-woo. Almost like reading a DC comic book, with vampires and dark magic.
A few twisties at the end, especially for Leo and Vampires in general. Hunter made some left turns on standard vampire lore. The saddest thing of all for me was that as much as I loved the early books, when I finished this I didn’t even feel a twinge of sadness that it was over, it was more like relief. At least there’s still her Soulwood series. I’m still enjoying it.
________
And so it ends, with not quite a whimper, but not quite a bang…much like the last few books, there was way over the top action, and far too much magic woo-woo. I still don’t understand how someone who has become as all powerful as Jane still keeps getting hurt. I make no secret that I desperately miss the Jane Yellowrock of the early books, when she and Beast were kick-ass babes. The last few books went in a completely different and weird direction. The books were overly introspective and wordy; and Jane just become more and more powerful. It was all about the woo-woo. Almost like reading a DC comic book, with vampires and dark magic.
A few twisties at the end, especially for Leo and Vampires in general. Hunter made some left turns on standard vampire lore. The saddest thing of all for me was that as much as I loved the early books, when I finished this I didn’t even feel a twinge of sadness that it was over, it was more like relief. At least there’s still her Soulwood series. I’m still enjoying it.
November 8, 2022
An amazing conclusion to an entertaining series! Hunter has been regularly upping the stakes with each novel, making Jane Yellowrock wade through all kinds of tribulations that just get worse. She faces all kinds of bad guys, everything from Naturaleeza vampires, the Sons of Darkness, demons, hostility within the paranormal community, and politics.
I wasn't sure in the beginning why Hunter wrote Jane as a woman of religious convictions, but those ideals make her love all her people, human, vampire, witch, werewolf, am I forgetting anyone? Ah yes, the citizens of NOLA. Vampires have lived so many centuries without love, kindness and compassion and they are bowled over that their Dark Queen wants to protect them, is loyal to them, and cares about them. Koun, Jane's hulking Celtic vampire, reminds us regularly that Jane doesn't need blood bonds to keep vamps by her side. They want to be there, basking in her care.
The angel who has intervened in Jane's life in the past now needs her help. The final heir of the Sons of Darkness is trying to bind both the angel and a demon to cement incredible evil power for himself. But Jane is fighting with love of her people and an assortment of magical accessories. There's no doubt who's going to win, but it doesn't come easy.
I bet Faith Hunter is celebrating the end of this long, long series, freeing her to write other things. The ride has been very enjoyable, Ms. Hunter, thank you.
I wasn't sure in the beginning why Hunter wrote Jane as a woman of religious convictions, but those ideals make her love all her people, human, vampire, witch, werewolf, am I forgetting anyone? Ah yes, the citizens of NOLA. Vampires have lived so many centuries without love, kindness and compassion and they are bowled over that their Dark Queen wants to protect them, is loyal to them, and cares about them. Koun, Jane's hulking Celtic vampire, reminds us regularly that Jane doesn't need blood bonds to keep vamps by her side. They want to be there, basking in her care.
The angel who has intervened in Jane's life in the past now needs her help. The final heir of the Sons of Darkness is trying to bind both the angel and a demon to cement incredible evil power for himself. But Jane is fighting with love of her people and an assortment of magical accessories. There's no doubt who's going to win, but it doesn't come easy.
I bet Faith Hunter is celebrating the end of this long, long series, freeing her to write other things. The ride has been very enjoyable, Ms. Hunter, thank you.
September 9, 2022
Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for gifting me an advanced copy. Below is my honest review.
Final Heir... the last book in the Jane Yellowrock series. I wasn't ready for this. I've been following this series for years, and I knew it was coming, and I still wasn't ready for the end.
Thankfully, Faith Hunter did an excellent job tying up the series with a satisfying ending and a helluva ride to get to that ending.
This series is long - this is book 15 - and you definitely need to read the rest for the proper appreciation of all of the character development and plot woven into Final Heir.
Highly recommended series. One of my absolute favorites, it will be missed greatly.
Final Heir... the last book in the Jane Yellowrock series. I wasn't ready for this. I've been following this series for years, and I knew it was coming, and I still wasn't ready for the end.
Thankfully, Faith Hunter did an excellent job tying up the series with a satisfying ending and a helluva ride to get to that ending.
This series is long - this is book 15 - and you definitely need to read the rest for the proper appreciation of all of the character development and plot woven into Final Heir.
Highly recommended series. One of my absolute favorites, it will be missed greatly.
October 20, 2022
Update, per Faith's 10/19/22 newsletter:
Update, per Faith's 9/26/22 newsletter:
Thoughts after Reading
Finale confirmed. Sniffling continues. 🥲
(✮✮✮✮½)
Initial thoughts after seeing title
Okaaaay, “final” in the title doesn’t sound good … is this *sob* the *sniffle* fin- *gasp* finale?! Say it isn’t so! It can’t be. I’m. Not. Ready. 😢
Over and over I am honored and humbled by your love for Jane and Nell and the extended families they have built together. Therefore, just to the newsletter readers, I am announcing it here first that I have started the new shiny. (Drumroll)… It is set in Jane’s world, in the year 2045-ish. It has a very different feel from the Jane books, but it features some of your favorite characters. And no, I am not saying who yet, because I reserve the right to change them out and add to the character list!
Update, per Faith's 9/26/22 newsletter:
SPECIAL NEWS REPORT!
Soooo…
I know you are all asking. What’s next for the JY world? It can’t be dead and gone can it?
Hmmm.
I took a poll among the street team and the winner by far was a series spinoff novel set in the future featuring Angie and (tangentially) Edmund. I have found the voice, and it’s set twenty years in the future. I like it but I don’t totally love it yet. I have no idea if the editors will like it, but I have eleven pages and by the time I hit twenty-five pages, I will know if this is going anywhere or if it got boring.
Thoughts after Reading
Finale confirmed. Sniffling continues. 🥲
"The future isn't composed of just one path, one single decision, one event. The present may be composed of those things, but not the future. The one butterfly we step on today doesn't make us who we are going to be tomorrow."I highlighted so much of this book it looks like a glowworm barfed all over it. I read so slowly. I didn't want it to end. Hunter (and her timeline/continuity chickie) did a great job of reminding us of all the threads while weaving them into an action-packed finale. If I'm being honest, a little too action packed. I wouldn't have minded (at all) a bit more chill time for all of our hard-working, much-changed, bad-assed JY/DQ members. After having JY 1-2 books over the past 13 years, I'll very much miss reconnecting with these characters. I'd love it if she did another sort of spin-off with continued cameos in Soulwood, but I'll take what I can get.
(✮✮✮✮½)
Initial thoughts after seeing title
Okaaaay, “final” in the title doesn’t sound good … is this *sob* the *sniffle* fin- *gasp* finale?! Say it isn’t so! It can’t be. I’m. Not. Ready. 😢
October 12, 2022
A moderately entertaining conclusion to the Jane Yellowrock series.
It feels more like a time killer than a page turner but it isn't bad...just not great.
It feels more like a time killer than a page turner but it isn't bad...just not great.
July 11, 2022
You don't need the word "Final" in the title to let you know that this is the finale to the series, the epic plot with game changing ending will clue you in there. I imagine that fans of the series will be happy with this ending and the conclusion it provides.
I went into this book without reading any of the previous books. (Whoops.) Surprisingly, it's really not a bad place to start the series. Jane (our Protagonist) does a lot of reminiscing on the Simple Good Old Days, and contrasting that to where she is now. It's gotten me excited to go back and read the series from the beginning.
All of that reminiscing also gives this book a somewhat melancholic tone. Jane is at a point where she has a lot of responsibilities and duties to take care of, and she's not exactly enjoying that. There are some character moments where she's learning to accept her new lot in life, but I wouldn't exactly call those triumphant moments. She certainly has a character arc, and it's one of maturing into her responsibilities.
The plot is okay, but sometimes drags. The story doesn't always seem to know exactly what it's doing, or why it's going somewhere.
A video review including this book will premiere on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, at https://www.youtube.com/c/ChloeFrizzle
Thanks to Netgalley and Ace for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
I went into this book without reading any of the previous books. (Whoops.) Surprisingly, it's really not a bad place to start the series. Jane (our Protagonist) does a lot of reminiscing on the Simple Good Old Days, and contrasting that to where she is now. It's gotten me excited to go back and read the series from the beginning.
All of that reminiscing also gives this book a somewhat melancholic tone. Jane is at a point where she has a lot of responsibilities and duties to take care of, and she's not exactly enjoying that. There are some character moments where she's learning to accept her new lot in life, but I wouldn't exactly call those triumphant moments. She certainly has a character arc, and it's one of maturing into her responsibilities.
The plot is okay, but sometimes drags. The story doesn't always seem to know exactly what it's doing, or why it's going somewhere.
A video review including this book will premiere on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, at https://www.youtube.com/c/ChloeFrizzle
Thanks to Netgalley and Ace for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
August 31, 2022
I received a free copy of this title to read and review for Wicked Reads
FINAL HEIR is the fifteenth and final installment in the Jane Yellowrock series. It is absolutely necessary to read all fifteen installments. None of the novels can be read as a standalone. Even with rereading countless times, this complex storyline is often times confusing.
Bittersweet. While I was ravenous to discover what life Jane, Beast, Bruiser, and the rest of the cast would lead unto their Happily Ever Afters, I was still saddened to let the series go. The novels are at the top of my reread list, so I can easily recapture the emotions they made me feel by cracking them open again. As for the ending, it's easy to let my imagination wander to envision Jane and her sidekicks happily interacting with one another in their forever to come.
The Heir to the Sons of Darkness is in Nola, seeking the Dark Queen crown that rests upon Jane's head. Not only is he the strongest vampire, the closest to the originators, but he is also Leo's master. Not only is he Leo's master, he's Leo's sire in more ways than one. This causes more than a few problems for Jane, especially with the fact that Leo is bound to her consort, she's taken over his territory and all that comes with it, meaning there are no secrets safe from Leo, and the Heir has a direct line into Leo's thoughts, no matter if the newly resurrected outclan priest is as loyal to Jane as she is to him.
Jane is still suffering from random shifting, unable to shift at critical times to save her own life. I'm not entirely sure this was ever answered for the reader. After rereading True Death, then jumping straight into Final Heir, I gathered that Jane's half form is her natural form now, with her human and cougar shapes being secondary. Other than Beast knowing the answer, I don't believe it was ever answered for Jane or us readers.
Angie's (Jane's? Beast's? Brute's?) angel has been trapped for eons by the heir, a scattering of complex timelines connect into this time and place, with Jane the only hope for good to reign over evil. The vampires are weeping for their lost souls, the product of Judas Iscariot's betrayal (his sons were the Sons of Darkness) FINAL HEIR is the last showdown that started over two thousand years ago, the origin of many religions.
While I was eager to learn Jane's HEA, I wasn't only reading slowly because I wanted to enjoy the journey. I found FINAL HEIR extremely tedious to read and in no way a page-turner. While exciting in parts, there were so many battles that I became desensitized to their outcomes. Countless battles, scene after scene, the tapestry tied together by out of place mooning over Bruiser. While I love Bruiser and enjoy the connection he has with Jane, the random "my George" or "my Jane" from Leo felt more authentic than the nonstop narrative of Jane being dreamy over Bruiser during life in peril moments. Eli was forever hurt, since the previous novel. Continually at death's door, a major focus for Jane. This made for a bizarre pacing that had me putting the book down, and not just because I didn't want to get to the ending too soon.
Jane would be in one battle, while another raged, or left the battle she was currently in to run to another battle, their people scattered all over Nola, harmed and on death's door... on every single page. Then the only downtime experienced was an info-dump of how all these complex threads tied together, with a peppering of Jane mooning over Bruiser/George, which was so out of place for Jane. It lessened their intense connection during interactions between them, most of them always and forever seeming as a final goodbye. I was desensitized to whether they'd be together or if Eli would survive yet another stupid "charge into battle" moment instead of allowing himself to heal. It was emotionally exploitive to the point that I was numbed after the first third.
The major storyline was a good one, the origin of vampires, along with their connection to angels and demons. The only issue I had was how complex this was written. I know the story like the back of my hand, but the bloodline, mythology, theology, and genealogy felt overly complex and overly explained, to where I felt as if I needed to take notes and be tested on it. Info-dumps that weren't easily digested by this reader, causing me to lose focus and interest.
Those issues aside, the Jane Yellowrock series will forever be at the top of my reread list, always the first recommendation given when one of my fellow readers is looking for Urban Fantasy. FINAL HEIR was a satisfying ending to a longstanding series. I cannot wait to see what Faith Hunter creates next.
Jane Yellowrock- along with Beast, a character unto herself -was the most intriguing, creative, and original Urban Fantasy heroines I've read to-date, with her origins, Native American ancestry, and her take-no-prisoners attitude. Jane was loyal and honorable to a fault, picking up randoms along to way to add to her found family. Utterly devoted to her people, selfless and self-sacrificing. It will be hard to let Jane go, but easily enough to reopen Skinwalker and experience it all from the beginning again and again.
FINAL HEIR is the fifteenth and final installment in the Jane Yellowrock series. It is absolutely necessary to read all fifteen installments. None of the novels can be read as a standalone. Even with rereading countless times, this complex storyline is often times confusing.
Bittersweet. While I was ravenous to discover what life Jane, Beast, Bruiser, and the rest of the cast would lead unto their Happily Ever Afters, I was still saddened to let the series go. The novels are at the top of my reread list, so I can easily recapture the emotions they made me feel by cracking them open again. As for the ending, it's easy to let my imagination wander to envision Jane and her sidekicks happily interacting with one another in their forever to come.
The Heir to the Sons of Darkness is in Nola, seeking the Dark Queen crown that rests upon Jane's head. Not only is he the strongest vampire, the closest to the originators, but he is also Leo's master. Not only is he Leo's master, he's Leo's sire in more ways than one. This causes more than a few problems for Jane, especially with the fact that Leo is bound to her consort, she's taken over his territory and all that comes with it, meaning there are no secrets safe from Leo, and the Heir has a direct line into Leo's thoughts, no matter if the newly resurrected outclan priest is as loyal to Jane as she is to him.
Jane is still suffering from random shifting, unable to shift at critical times to save her own life. I'm not entirely sure this was ever answered for the reader. After rereading True Death, then jumping straight into Final Heir, I gathered that Jane's half form is her natural form now, with her human and cougar shapes being secondary. Other than Beast knowing the answer, I don't believe it was ever answered for Jane or us readers.
Angie's (Jane's? Beast's? Brute's?) angel has been trapped for eons by the heir, a scattering of complex timelines connect into this time and place, with Jane the only hope for good to reign over evil. The vampires are weeping for their lost souls, the product of Judas Iscariot's betrayal (his sons were the Sons of Darkness) FINAL HEIR is the last showdown that started over two thousand years ago, the origin of many religions.
While I was eager to learn Jane's HEA, I wasn't only reading slowly because I wanted to enjoy the journey. I found FINAL HEIR extremely tedious to read and in no way a page-turner. While exciting in parts, there were so many battles that I became desensitized to their outcomes. Countless battles, scene after scene, the tapestry tied together by out of place mooning over Bruiser. While I love Bruiser and enjoy the connection he has with Jane, the random "my George" or "my Jane" from Leo felt more authentic than the nonstop narrative of Jane being dreamy over Bruiser during life in peril moments. Eli was forever hurt, since the previous novel. Continually at death's door, a major focus for Jane. This made for a bizarre pacing that had me putting the book down, and not just because I didn't want to get to the ending too soon.
Jane would be in one battle, while another raged, or left the battle she was currently in to run to another battle, their people scattered all over Nola, harmed and on death's door... on every single page. Then the only downtime experienced was an info-dump of how all these complex threads tied together, with a peppering of Jane mooning over Bruiser/George, which was so out of place for Jane. It lessened their intense connection during interactions between them, most of them always and forever seeming as a final goodbye. I was desensitized to whether they'd be together or if Eli would survive yet another stupid "charge into battle" moment instead of allowing himself to heal. It was emotionally exploitive to the point that I was numbed after the first third.
The major storyline was a good one, the origin of vampires, along with their connection to angels and demons. The only issue I had was how complex this was written. I know the story like the back of my hand, but the bloodline, mythology, theology, and genealogy felt overly complex and overly explained, to where I felt as if I needed to take notes and be tested on it. Info-dumps that weren't easily digested by this reader, causing me to lose focus and interest.
Those issues aside, the Jane Yellowrock series will forever be at the top of my reread list, always the first recommendation given when one of my fellow readers is looking for Urban Fantasy. FINAL HEIR was a satisfying ending to a longstanding series. I cannot wait to see what Faith Hunter creates next.
Jane Yellowrock- along with Beast, a character unto herself -was the most intriguing, creative, and original Urban Fantasy heroines I've read to-date, with her origins, Native American ancestry, and her take-no-prisoners attitude. Jane was loyal and honorable to a fault, picking up randoms along to way to add to her found family. Utterly devoted to her people, selfless and self-sacrificing. It will be hard to let Jane go, but easily enough to reopen Skinwalker and experience it all from the beginning again and again.
September 11, 2022
And here we are - Final Heir, the final installment in the Jane Yellowrock series.
So many questions, so little information, and all I can say is - i'm not ready
=============================================
And here we are, nine months later. i wasn't ready. i didn't want it to be like this. ಥ﹏ಥ i just...
i love how it ended, but i hate that it was an ending. It left a few little teasery things that may, one day, end up being an epilogue book. An Angie Baby & Family book, or something like that. But... i'm satisfied. i'm fully, deeply satisfied. i'll miss you, Beast, Janie, and everyone else.
So many questions, so little information, and all I can say is - i'm not ready
=============================================
And here we are, nine months later. i wasn't ready. i didn't want it to be like this. ಥ﹏ಥ i just...
i love how it ended, but i hate that it was an ending. It left a few little teasery things that may, one day, end up being an epilogue book. An Angie Baby & Family book, or something like that. But... i'm satisfied. i'm fully, deeply satisfied. i'll miss you, Beast, Janie, and everyone else.
October 5, 2022
I have been with this series since book 1 and loved them all. This one works hard at trying to tell a story while wrapping up as many loose threads as possible at the same time. Jane has now ascended to be the Dark Queen and it loads a ton of responsibility on her shoulders. I did find a bit of discontent with the way the relationship with Aggie One Feather was handled since I felt it did not jive with the previous books but that was probably the only major problem I had, any other complaints I may have had were down in the weeds. The story has a lot of action, a bit of naval gazing that has been a part of the last few books but all things considered this was a great ending but I do expect to see her make an appearance from time to time in her other books and maybe a short story so I feel it is not goodbye but "cya later" and 4 Stars only because of the complaint I mentioned above.
October 12, 2022
Final book in the series and it was quite disappointing.
I'll admit that it has been a while since I read the previous book in the series so the plot wasn't fresh in my mind and I found it incredibly difficult to remember past events and characters that were thrown in along with half clues about their history.
But that is not my main complain. The crux of the problem is what Jane herself laments when she has trouble remembering who she really is: a vampire bounty hunter, she is no more! and she hasn't been for quite a while now. The earlier books were much more enjoyable compared to this magic on steroid last few books!
The plot was extremally repetitive with Jane whining about her status, describing every weapon worn around her, being too focused on describing and eating food, sitting on her hands talking about ops or babysitting instead of taking part in most of the action yet surprisingly is constantly injured! Generally chasing her tail despite all the clues handed to her and letting waltz in and out while sharing the same revelations repeatedly while ignoring the whole under compulsion thing!
Moreover, it got really old and super boring how many times Eli and herself kept getting injured within an inch of their lives. For a being who is supposed to be all powerful she is surprisingly fragile!
Beast was hardly a presence and her actions/keeping unnecessary secrets made no sense.
The witches and their ridiculous powers were just exactly that...ridiculous; as the magic just become ridiculously over the top.
The last fight was ludicrous with the amount of time Jane is taking to consider what to do and then how long it took to actually do any of those things when the bad guys could have easily stopped her in her tracks before she even started!
Basically the plot was a convoluted mess with over the top magic, skirmishes and big baddy fight scene. All interspersed with whining, food and injuries galore!
It does try to weave a lot of past book plots into a whole but to do so it also rewrites some of those earlier plots!
Her relationship with Bruiser was a footnote and saccharine sweet with no real depth.
It is a really disappointing end to a very good series. The saving grace is that it wraps up on a happy note and with what seems to be a clear resolution for key plot arcs.
I'll admit that it has been a while since I read the previous book in the series so the plot wasn't fresh in my mind and I found it incredibly difficult to remember past events and characters that were thrown in along with half clues about their history.
But that is not my main complain. The crux of the problem is what Jane herself laments when she has trouble remembering who she really is: a vampire bounty hunter, she is no more! and she hasn't been for quite a while now. The earlier books were much more enjoyable compared to this magic on steroid last few books!
The plot was extremally repetitive with Jane whining about her status, describing every weapon worn around her, being too focused on describing and eating food, sitting on her hands talking about ops or babysitting instead of taking part in most of the action yet surprisingly is constantly injured! Generally chasing her tail despite all the clues handed to her and letting waltz in and out while sharing the same revelations repeatedly while ignoring the whole under compulsion thing!
Moreover, it got really old and super boring how many times Eli and herself kept getting injured within an inch of their lives. For a being who is supposed to be all powerful she is surprisingly fragile!
Beast was hardly a presence and her actions/keeping unnecessary secrets made no sense.
The witches and their ridiculous powers were just exactly that...ridiculous; as the magic just become ridiculously over the top.
The last fight was ludicrous with the amount of time Jane is taking to consider what to do and then how long it took to actually do any of those things when the bad guys could have easily stopped her in her tracks before she even started!
Basically the plot was a convoluted mess with over the top magic, skirmishes and big baddy fight scene. All interspersed with whining, food and injuries galore!
It does try to weave a lot of past book plots into a whole but to do so it also rewrites some of those earlier plots!
Her relationship with Bruiser was a footnote and saccharine sweet with no real depth.
It is a really disappointing end to a very good series. The saving grace is that it wraps up on a happy note and with what seems to be a clear resolution for key plot arcs.
October 6, 2022
I think it is almost impossible to rate and review the final book in a beloved, long-running series without in some ways rating the entirety. It is the culmination of so many storylines, so many characters and so much emotion that has followed a reader for years.
SO… I’ll try and do a bit of both. First, this specific book (of which the rating represents): In it, all our most loved characters play parts and it is an absolute delight to revisit and follow them once again. The storyline itself, however, was filled with SO MANY explanations and details that even one event would take chapters just to get through. Good grief! By the time anything actually happened, I was so bored and frustrated that I was just glad to get it over with! Because of this, things moved along at a snail’s pace throughout the entire book. And, unlike previous installments, I could put the story down and never really be driven to pick it up again. Understandably, there were so many intricate threads that had developed throughout the series that trying to tie them all up had to have been a Herculean task for the author! Still, the need to see Jane, Bruiser, Eli, et al receive their much needed rest and (hopefully) happy ending kept me reading.
And, in that we are gifted! It truly was a wonderful, perfect ending! Each of those multitude threads that were woven throughout the entire series wraps up in a surprisingly beautiful and satisfying way. That alone was worth the perseverance! As the last page closed, I was sad to leave this amazing family, world and stories. But I knew the ending came at the exact moment and in the most believable and satisfying ways in the lives of the characters and in the overall arc of the series. Bravo Ms. Hunter for perfectly timing that happily ever after!
SO… I’ll try and do a bit of both. First, this specific book (of which the rating represents): In it, all our most loved characters play parts and it is an absolute delight to revisit and follow them once again. The storyline itself, however, was filled with SO MANY explanations and details that even one event would take chapters just to get through. Good grief! By the time anything actually happened, I was so bored and frustrated that I was just glad to get it over with! Because of this, things moved along at a snail’s pace throughout the entire book. And, unlike previous installments, I could put the story down and never really be driven to pick it up again. Understandably, there were so many intricate threads that had developed throughout the series that trying to tie them all up had to have been a Herculean task for the author! Still, the need to see Jane, Bruiser, Eli, et al receive their much needed rest and (hopefully) happy ending kept me reading.
And, in that we are gifted! It truly was a wonderful, perfect ending! Each of those multitude threads that were woven throughout the entire series wraps up in a surprisingly beautiful and satisfying way. That alone was worth the perseverance! As the last page closed, I was sad to leave this amazing family, world and stories. But I knew the ending came at the exact moment and in the most believable and satisfying ways in the lives of the characters and in the overall arc of the series. Bravo Ms. Hunter for perfectly timing that happily ever after!
October 16, 2022
After 500 “Holy Cows” it’s over. There were lot of things going on in this book.
, a whole lot dues ex machina by way of Angie. All in all FH managed to tie it all up in the end.
There’s wiggle room for a return later and possible spin off’s. I enjoy Soulwood, from this world but I don’t think I want to read anything more. I especially don’t want to read anything about Angie
, a whole lot dues ex machina by way of Angie. All in all FH managed to tie it all up in the end.
There’s wiggle room for a return later and possible spin off’s. I enjoy Soulwood, from this world but I don’t think I want to read anything more. I especially don’t want to read anything about Angie
March 6, 2023
'Final Heir', the last Jane Yellowrock book, is aimed at people like me who've been following Jane Yellowrock for more than a decade and have watched her change from a 'Have Stakes, Will Travel' vampire hunter for hire, riding into New Orleans on Bitsa, her rebuilt Harley and nothing but her clothes. her weapons and a whole lot of secrets, to someone who, without ever becoming a vampire, now leads and protects them. Along the way, she's moved from lone operator to someone with a found family that includes some very dangerous humans, witches and vampires. She's also found out a lot more about her own origins and has developed a sophisticated and mutually rewarding relationship with BEAST the Puma Concolor who shares her body and her 'soul home'.
I've read all of the previous fourteen books, None of them is short. All of them have plots so complicated that you'd need a pretty smart piece of software to map all the relationships, plots and betrayals and with each book what you thought you knew gets twisted into something yet more complex, like a piece of origami that moves from simple swan to mind-boggling menagerie.
'Final Heir' is the book where all of that complexity finally resolves itself in a way that brings an end to most of the conflicts and offers most of the players a hopeful future. I'm normally sceptical of happy endings but even I had to admit that I was glad that, at the end of this book, BEAST is able to declare herself happy.
'Final Heir' is also a long book. In audiobook form, it runs for 17hrs 15 mins. When I was 2.5 hrs in, I made this note:
"The pace is... unhurried. There has already been a skirmish in which key characters were injured but most of the time has been spent with Jane unravelling the layers of politics and vamp history that wrap themselves around the plot like reeds around a swimmer's ankles slowing it down, or on Jane reflecting on her own emotional state and moral health
Reading this cold, you might expect that I was likely to set the book aside before the halfway mark and move on. I knew that was never going to happen. Why? Because I had to know what happened to Jane and her people. All that unravelling and how Jane felt about what she found out WERE the story.
It helped that Faith Hunter writes well and that I'm in love with Khristine Hvam's narration. The action scenes, as always, were spectacular. My emotions were played like an instrument, as characters I'm invested in were put at risk.
'Final Heir' isn't the best book in the series. The bad guy is a little underdeveloped. Some of the regular characters get given what, in a long-running TV series, would be called a walk-on cameo. But the emotions are still powerful and the main characters, especially Jane's found family continue to develop. Hell, I wanted Angie to have her own series, even though she's still a child (although a scarily powerful one).
What 'Final Heir' excels at is what pop psychology would call 'closure' and what I found myself calling 'Faith Hunter Explains It All'. The plot is a fiendishly clever final reworking of everything we learned in the first fourteen books, A reworking that provides clarity, and the possibility of a hopeful resolution. Of course, this being a Jane Yellowrock book, hopeful outcomes can only be achieved at great personal risk and are usually paid for by pain and sacrifice.
In my opinion, Faith Hunter delivered something very rare: a series finale that works and which gives the fans what they want. If you're one of those fans then I'm sure you'll enjoy this.
Personally, I'd have been happy if the series had ended with 'Dark Queen'. It wouldn't have been a happy ending for Jane but it felt real to me and it gave Jane a chance to end things on her own terms and do right by her people.
On the other hand, I enjoyed 'Shattered Bonds' which cleverly rebooted the series, giving it a boost in energy that allowed 'Final Heir' to deliver a very different outcome.
So, this is goodbye to Jane Yellowrock. It's definitely not goodbye to Faith Hunter. I'm already a fan of Nell Ingram and the Soulwood series and Shining Smith and the Junkyard Cats series. I'm sure there will be more good things to come. Maybe even a series about Angie.
October 6, 2022
I'm sad that this is the last book, I have loved this series and all of it's characters, how they all have changed over the course of things. This book was a lot, it felt like we were balls to the wall the whole book, going from one crisis to the next, to the next. I sort of feel like this would be a good one to re-read again right away, so much was going on.
I did like how Jane faced things, how she adjusted on the fly when she learned her people were in danger, often seconds before that danger happened. Angie always seemed to be in the middle of things, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always with very important info they needed right then.
I liked how this one ended, so much great things for Jane and her people, but most importantly Jane can now live the life she has wanted for a long time, a quiet life with the people she feels are important around her.
I did like how Jane faced things, how she adjusted on the fly when she learned her people were in danger, often seconds before that danger happened. Angie always seemed to be in the middle of things, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always with very important info they needed right then.
I liked how this one ended, so much great things for Jane and her people, but most importantly Jane can now live the life she has wanted for a long time, a quiet life with the people she feels are important around her.
October 22, 2022
Oh, what a magnificent ride this has been! The beauty of finishing such a wonderful series is that you can read it again, and it is indeed time to start back at the beginning. I want to imagine Jane kick starting her bitsa and roaring down the mountain. I want to watch her and the Big Cat, Beast, fight the vampires and the other evil beings that stalk the night. I want to once again follow Jane as she falls in love and dances like there is no tomorrow. I want to experience through this series the amazing assortment of beings that Faith Hunter has created who are drawn to Jane's side, most of whom will eventually bend the knee in service to the Queen of Darkness.
I am really hoping for an Angie baby sequel, or any sequel that keeps these characters alive. Thank you Faith for all the wonderful hours I was able to spend immersed in Jane's life and world!!
Faith Hunter has made me laugh, cry, scream out loud in both frustration and victory. "The Final Heir" is both bittersweet and triumphant. If you read and loved the other books in this series, you will also love the last. It does not disappoint!
I am really hoping for an Angie baby sequel, or any sequel that keeps these characters alive. Thank you Faith for all the wonderful hours I was able to spend immersed in Jane's life and world!!
Faith Hunter has made me laugh, cry, scream out loud in both frustration and victory. "The Final Heir" is both bittersweet and triumphant. If you read and loved the other books in this series, you will also love the last. It does not disappoint!
October 6, 2022
3 no one died generous stars.
Rant disguised as a review to follow. Possible spoilers.
Cons: Witches.
8 year old Angie baby suddenly developed an incredible prophetic talent. Angie’s prophetic abilities are so great they detoured from any real need to investigate, let alone problem solve. The powerful witches are the solution to every problem. Wounded to the point of near death? Witches. Considering what to do with bad guy’s organ? Witches. Need an Angel GPS tool? Witches. Suspicious of usually drugged up vampire? Witches. It was overly convenient & heavy handed.
Cons: Light dragons.
What purpose did the light dragons serve? They added nothing to the plot. It was absolute filler & should’ve been edited out.
Cons: Royal titles.
In a monarchy an emperor & Queen are both rulers, but the power associated with them is different. An empire can have many kingdoms within it; the emperor rules the entire empire while Queens rule smaller kingdoms within the empire. Edmund is the emperor of Europe. Jane is the Queen of what territory? The world? The Vampires as a race? How does a queen have power over an emperor? That’s the equivalent of a regional manager ruling the CEO… it seems improbable. It needed clarification. Although most monarchs have been abolished & those that haven’t are consolidating power to the immediate family a number of them do exist, the same cannot be said about Emperors. The only emperor in the world today is the Emperor of Japan (tennō), but he lacks political power. The true leaders of Japan are the Diet & Prime Minister because the country is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy.
It’s all very confusing when looking through the lens of today & like most people I am not a royalist. Jane having political power doesn’t answer the questions regarding the vampire monarch.
Cons: Plot /Pro: Ending
The series ends beautifully but the story lacked any depth. 🙄 Tbh I felt the author had a fan driven ending & no plot to get there, resulting in a set of circumstances that was sold to us as a “story”. A disappointment considering how well she’s managed such a long series. That said she wrapped up the series well.
Pro: All things Edmund.
I’m incredibly satisfied Edmund made it to the states & was crowned by the Queen. That emotional bit while dressing & braiding Jane’s hair in the final chapter added a lot to the story.
Pro: Leo & Jane alive
Considering in the original finale (3 books prior) Leo dies as does Jane it was a satisfactory HEA. I’m happy they offered the author a 3 add’t book deal.
I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading the series. The author is an incredibly talented writer with tight plot lines & I will continue to read her work. My criticism of the plot is a as rarity.
Pet peeve: Wedding (date was set but not occurring on page).
Rant disguised as a review to follow. Possible spoilers.
Cons: Witches.
8 year old Angie baby suddenly developed an incredible prophetic talent. Angie’s prophetic abilities are so great they detoured from any real need to investigate, let alone problem solve. The powerful witches are the solution to every problem. Wounded to the point of near death? Witches. Considering what to do with bad guy’s organ? Witches. Need an Angel GPS tool? Witches. Suspicious of usually drugged up vampire? Witches. It was overly convenient & heavy handed.
Cons: Light dragons.
What purpose did the light dragons serve? They added nothing to the plot. It was absolute filler & should’ve been edited out.
Cons: Royal titles.
In a monarchy an emperor & Queen are both rulers, but the power associated with them is different. An empire can have many kingdoms within it; the emperor rules the entire empire while Queens rule smaller kingdoms within the empire. Edmund is the emperor of Europe. Jane is the Queen of what territory? The world? The Vampires as a race? How does a queen have power over an emperor? That’s the equivalent of a regional manager ruling the CEO… it seems improbable. It needed clarification. Although most monarchs have been abolished & those that haven’t are consolidating power to the immediate family a number of them do exist, the same cannot be said about Emperors. The only emperor in the world today is the Emperor of Japan (tennō), but he lacks political power. The true leaders of Japan are the Diet & Prime Minister because the country is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy.
It’s all very confusing when looking through the lens of today & like most people I am not a royalist. Jane having political power doesn’t answer the questions regarding the vampire monarch.
Cons: Plot /Pro: Ending
The series ends beautifully but the story lacked any depth. 🙄 Tbh I felt the author had a fan driven ending & no plot to get there, resulting in a set of circumstances that was sold to us as a “story”. A disappointment considering how well she’s managed such a long series. That said she wrapped up the series well.
Pro: All things Edmund.
I’m incredibly satisfied Edmund made it to the states & was crowned by the Queen. That emotional bit while dressing & braiding Jane’s hair in the final chapter added a lot to the story.
Pro: Leo & Jane alive
Considering in the original finale (3 books prior) Leo dies as does Jane it was a satisfactory HEA. I’m happy they offered the author a 3 add’t book deal.
I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading the series. The author is an incredibly talented writer with tight plot lines & I will continue to read her work. My criticism of the plot is a as rarity.
Pet peeve: Wedding (date was set but not occurring on page).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2022
BEAST IS THE BEST! This is a satisfying end to a great series. The first 30% of the book was a bit of a drag for me. After that, the hits just keep on coming. The casts of characters I have grown to love over the years show up. Even a couple I don't like. There is an unexpected heartbreaking scene for me at the beginning that set the tone of this book. This is the end of this chapter for Jane. A new chapter or perhaps a totally new book will start for her life. There is so much to process in this book. There are big fight scenes, blood, gore, sex, and loss. Still, this is balanced with a bit of humour here and there. One of my favourite characters because she is such a precocious 8 yo is Angie-baby. I really hope there is a spin-off series for her. Or more novellas with her growing up and coming into her own. She is a handful. I am glad she is not my daughter. lol. My full review will be appearing a closure to the review date or you can see it on NetGalley.
To read the rest of my review, click on the image below to see it on my website.
To read the rest of my review, click on the image below to see it on my website.
September 11, 2022
I honestly can’t believe it is over. This book was amazing. It pulled emotions out of me whether i wanted to feel them or not. Jane went through a LOT in this final installment and despite being pulled in many directions, she remained true to herself. Bruiser is literally the best consort ever! Their love is beautiful but not overpowering. I wish we could have seen more from Gregoire and Edmund but their parts were well played. The action was above and beyond. It was harrowing, worrying, gory, and had me gripping my phone hard at many turns. There was several times where I could not see a way out for Jane and I felt extreme grief for her, especially at the end. However, seeing Jane with her HEA (finally!) was amazing and filled me with joy for her but sadness for me to be done with these characters. I hope we return at some point to see how the Vampires are living with their souls, can we see and Edmund spin off?!?!? I will keep hope. Meanwhile, I plan on reading this series anytime I want to revisit this world and my favorites again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2022
When a lot of popular authors the main characters don't change. They may marry or move, but personality, loves, hates and emotional maturity does not improve or shift with all the many violent things happening around them.
Faith Hunter created Jane Yellowrock, a woman who wasn't sure about herself, felt guilt, confusion, had little real confidence and was seriously worried about that growly voice in her head.
Faith made sure we knew Jane was a good person, she placed friends around her that loved her, but it was not really something Jane was sure of.
Over the course of 15 novels Faith added friends, family, betrayal, violence, terror, joy, hot love, silly bits and a huge amount of learning to believe in herself and others.
At the last it ends very well...with a few bits we still yearn to see.
If for some reason this is your first chance finding this series, go back to Skinwalker and begin. I envy you.
Faith Hunter created Jane Yellowrock, a woman who wasn't sure about herself, felt guilt, confusion, had little real confidence and was seriously worried about that growly voice in her head.
Faith made sure we knew Jane was a good person, she placed friends around her that loved her, but it was not really something Jane was sure of.
Over the course of 15 novels Faith added friends, family, betrayal, violence, terror, joy, hot love, silly bits and a huge amount of learning to believe in herself and others.
At the last it ends very well...with a few bits we still yearn to see.
If for some reason this is your first chance finding this series, go back to Skinwalker and begin. I envy you.
October 13, 2022
I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked how it tied things up and actually finished of the whole series - it's strangely a relief to know it's over... - but I have to admit that I felt like a lot of it was random. I couldn't remember Soledad, or another heir, and that may be because I listened to the last book when it came out and I've been in a bad head space since then, but it left me feeling like the author threw together some story line, just to push out another book. (I know it wasn't on her, but that she had a contract to fulfill)
But, yeah, I like how it wrapped things up with a neat little bow, but I felt like most of the book was redundant.
But, yeah, I like how it wrapped things up with a neat little bow, but I felt like most of the book was redundant.
September 21, 2022
The Final Heir is the action-packed finale to the Jane Yellowrock series, and I am so sad that the saga is over. I want to go back and read it from the beginning! There were some chapters closed for Jane in this last book, some good closures and some sad. It seemed like the interaction between Jane and her mentor “in the smoke” at the beginning was super poignant, but then it didn’t feel resolved and I felt it like a gaping wound as I read.
The final heir to the Son of Darkness (Judas) is in Nola and intending to take on the Dark Queen and steal her power and city. So its here that we learn a lot more about the Sons of Darkness, how they came into being, how they connect to Hayyel (our mysterious angel), and some surprises about Leo and his bloodline. We revisit characters from throughout the series, including Ed, Gregoire, the imprisoned witches, and Jane’s family (both good and bad). Leo pops in and out, and is much changed and kinda creepy. He’s not the same sex-on-a-stick vampire from earlier books.
The bones of this story were good, but it was complex. So I did get a bit lost or confused in the story line sometimes, usually when Jane in her own head and thinking things through. Sometimes it seemed like an info-dump to tie the story together, and other times it seemed like being lost in thought with no clear consensus on what was occurring. So I don’t recommend this for late night reading as you will want full brain power to digest what’s occurring.
While I loved the wrap up to the story (particularly the last couple chapters), saying goodbye is bittersweet. But maybe it won’t be the end for Jane’s world and we will still get glimpses in Soulwood or other series. PS. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see a spinoff for Koun. The huge Celtic vamp warrior became one of my favorites over these last few books. Same goes for Ed. And Gregoire. And Gee di Mercy. LOL
The final heir to the Son of Darkness (Judas) is in Nola and intending to take on the Dark Queen and steal her power and city. So its here that we learn a lot more about the Sons of Darkness, how they came into being, how they connect to Hayyel (our mysterious angel), and some surprises about Leo and his bloodline. We revisit characters from throughout the series, including Ed, Gregoire, the imprisoned witches, and Jane’s family (both good and bad). Leo pops in and out, and is much changed and kinda creepy. He’s not the same sex-on-a-stick vampire from earlier books.
The bones of this story were good, but it was complex. So I did get a bit lost or confused in the story line sometimes, usually when Jane in her own head and thinking things through. Sometimes it seemed like an info-dump to tie the story together, and other times it seemed like being lost in thought with no clear consensus on what was occurring. So I don’t recommend this for late night reading as you will want full brain power to digest what’s occurring.
While I loved the wrap up to the story (particularly the last couple chapters), saying goodbye is bittersweet. But maybe it won’t be the end for Jane’s world and we will still get glimpses in Soulwood or other series. PS. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see a spinoff for Koun. The huge Celtic vamp warrior became one of my favorites over these last few books. Same goes for Ed. And Gregoire. And Gee di Mercy. LOL
September 9, 2022
The final book of the Jane Yellowrock series does not disappoint! Questions (including one from several books ago!) are answered, the usual kick-ass attitude is alive and well. Characters we’ve grown to love return. Faith ties up the series nicely. I laughed, I cried, and at the end I felt complete. I will miss looking forward to new stories but this is a series I will read over and over again.
Thank you, Faith Hunter, for the amazing world-building, for so many hours of entertainment, and for the wonderful, lifelong friends made through Beast Claws!
Thank you, Faith Hunter, for the amazing world-building, for so many hours of entertainment, and for the wonderful, lifelong friends made through Beast Claws!
November 10, 2022
Fantastic ending for a unique series
The author did the series finale justice with this closure to the drama of Heirs. It had a slow burn of a start but a vivid peak to the events and a HEA that could make the most stoic swoon. Well played, Ms. Hunter.
The author did the series finale justice with this closure to the drama of Heirs. It had a slow burn of a start but a vivid peak to the events and a HEA that could make the most stoic swoon. Well played, Ms. Hunter.
September 15, 2022
I enjoyed this last book of Jane Yellowrock, in the end the finale was satisfying. I did however had rolled my eyes more than once during the delivery. I disliked how in her head Jane would go, and would always complain or describe the security team and the guard, and just always detail and complain of how she wasn't useful. Also Angie, older than her age, was waaaaay too overpowered, and I really don't know how her parents had no idea of what was going on. Beast's presence was limited, I guess part of the merge of I/we and the half-form, but I did expect some more page time. All in all a good finale :)
August 31, 2022
So it's a bit hard to review this book properly as it's the epic finale in a 15-book series, and I think most of the stuff I want to say would be spoilery in some way.
The Jane Yellowrock series has everything an urban fantasy reader will love, Vampires, Witches, Skinwalkers, magic, love, and an amazing world that sucks you in and will have you binging the entire series.
Final Heir is pretty action-packed right from the start, everything comes together in this insane final battle that you are not sure if everyone is going to survive. I literally could not put this book down until I reached the very last page, and I loved how everything was wrapped up, I can't wait to read this entire series again from the beginning!
I'm sad this is the last book, I'm going to miss Jane, Bruiser, Eli, Alex, and the Everharts. Even some of the Vampires like Edmund and Gregoire. I'm hopeful that we will get some snippets and updates about all my favorite people from the Soulwood series.
I can't wait to see what Faith Hunter will come out with next.
The Jane Yellowrock series has everything an urban fantasy reader will love, Vampires, Witches, Skinwalkers, magic, love, and an amazing world that sucks you in and will have you binging the entire series.
Final Heir is pretty action-packed right from the start, everything comes together in this insane final battle that you are not sure if everyone is going to survive. I literally could not put this book down until I reached the very last page, and I loved how everything was wrapped up, I can't wait to read this entire series again from the beginning!
I'm sad this is the last book, I'm going to miss Jane, Bruiser, Eli, Alex, and the Everharts. Even some of the Vampires like Edmund and Gregoire. I'm hopeful that we will get some snippets and updates about all my favorite people from the Soulwood series.
I can't wait to see what Faith Hunter will come out with next.
February 12, 2024
5 Stars:)
December 15, 2022
Final Heir
3.5 Stars
With the aid of her friends, family, and clan, Jane Yellowrock, the Dark Queen of the vampires, fulfills her destiny in the final battle with the heir to the Sons of Darkness and his followers. Who will prevail?
Unfortunately, Final Heir continues in the same vein as the last few installments (from #13), which have been rather lackluster, and have failed to completely live up to the excellence of the first books. That said, there are some exciting moments, all remaining plot threads are resolved, and the ending is satisfying overall.
While the rehashing of previous grievances over her position as the Dark Queen is kept to a minimum, and the religious elements (often overdone and unnecessary in the past) actually have a significant role in the plot, there is still too much focus on Jane's internal musings and recriminations. Moreover, she once again takes a back seat to the action until the end, and yet, is constantly sustaining life-threatening injuries.
The storyline revolving around the heir and his powerful followers - witches, skinwalkers and humans - is intense and suspenseful. Hunter skillfully weaves all of the threads from previous books into a cohesive and compelling whole.
In terms of the characters, there is little to no development, but that is to be expected in the final book. The biggest issue lies in Jane and Bruiser's relationship, which is overly saccharine and lacking in any real substance. Where is the intensity of attraction and connection that initially characterized their romance?
In sum, although the book is entertaining despite the issues mentioned above it is also disappointing in that it fails to provide anything truly remarkable or outstanding to the genre. It ends on a whimper instead of a bang!
3.5 Stars
With the aid of her friends, family, and clan, Jane Yellowrock, the Dark Queen of the vampires, fulfills her destiny in the final battle with the heir to the Sons of Darkness and his followers. Who will prevail?
Unfortunately, Final Heir continues in the same vein as the last few installments (from #13), which have been rather lackluster, and have failed to completely live up to the excellence of the first books. That said, there are some exciting moments, all remaining plot threads are resolved, and the ending is satisfying overall.
While the rehashing of previous grievances over her position as the Dark Queen is kept to a minimum, and the religious elements (often overdone and unnecessary in the past) actually have a significant role in the plot, there is still too much focus on Jane's internal musings and recriminations. Moreover, she once again takes a back seat to the action until the end, and yet, is constantly sustaining life-threatening injuries.
The storyline revolving around the heir and his powerful followers - witches, skinwalkers and humans - is intense and suspenseful. Hunter skillfully weaves all of the threads from previous books into a cohesive and compelling whole.
In terms of the characters, there is little to no development, but that is to be expected in the final book. The biggest issue lies in Jane and Bruiser's relationship, which is overly saccharine and lacking in any real substance. Where is the intensity of attraction and connection that initially characterized their romance?
In sum, although the book is entertaining despite the issues mentioned above it is also disappointing in that it fails to provide anything truly remarkable or outstanding to the genre. It ends on a whimper instead of a bang!
October 21, 2022
Check out our full post for FINAL HEIR on Wicked Reads.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Erica – ☆☆☆☆
FINAL HEIR is the fifteenth and final installment in the Jane Yellowrock series. It is absolutely necessary to read all fifteen installments. None of the novels can be read as a standalone. Even with rereading countless times, this complex storyline is often times confusing.
Bittersweet. While I was ravenous to discover what life Jane, Beast, Bruiser, and the rest of the cast would lead unto their Happily Ever Afters, I was still saddened to let the series go. The novels are at the top of my reread list, so I can easily recapture the emotions they made me feel by cracking them open again. As for the ending, it's easy to let my imagination wander to envision Jane and her sidekicks happily interacting with one another in their forever to come.
The Heir to the Sons of Darkness is in NOLA, seeking the Dark Queen crown that rests upon Jane's head. Not only is he the strongest vampire, the closest to the originators, but he is also Leo's master. Not only is he Leo's master, he's Leo's sire in more ways than one. This causes more than a few problems for Jane, especially with the fact that Leo is bound to her consort, she's taken over his territory and all that comes with it, meaning there are no secrets safe from Leo, and the Heir has a direct line into Leo's thoughts, no matter if the newly resurrected outclan priest is as loyal to Jane as she is to him.
Jane is still suffering from random shifting, unable to shift at critical times to save her own life. I'm not entirely sure this was ever answered for the reader. After rereading TRUE DEATH, then jumping straight into FINAL HEIR, I gathered that Jane's half form is her natural form now, with her human and cougar shapes being secondary. Other than Beast knowing the answer, I don't believe it was ever answered for Jane or us readers.
Angie's (Jane's? Beast's? Brute's?) angel has been trapped for eons by the Heir, a scattering of complex timelines connect into this time and place, with Jane the only hope for good to reign over evil. The vampires are weeping for their lost souls, the product of Judas Iscariot's betrayal (his sons were the Sons of Darkness). FINAL HEIR is the last showdown that started over two thousand years ago, the origin of many religions.
While I was eager to learn Jane's happily ever after, I wasn't only reading slowly because I wanted to enjoy the journey. I found FINAL HEIR extremely tedious to read and in no way a page-turner. While exciting in parts, there were so many battles that I became desensitized to their outcomes. Countless battles, scene after scene, the tapestry tied together by out of place mooning over Bruiser. While I love Bruiser and enjoy the connection he has with Jane, the random "my George" or "my Jane" from Leo felt more authentic than the nonstop narrative of Jane being dreamy over Bruiser during life in peril moments. Eli was forever hurt, since the previous novel. Continually at death's door, a major focus for Jane. This made for a bizarre pacing that had me putting the book down, and not just because I didn't want to get to the ending too soon.
Jane would be in one battle, while another raged, or left the battle she was currently in to run to another battle, their people scattered all over NOLA, harmed and on death's door... on every single page. Then the only downtime experienced was an info-dump of how all these complex threads tied together, with a peppering of Jane mooning over Bruiser/George, which was so out of place for Jane. It lessened their intense connection during interactions between them, most of them always and forever seeming as a final goodbye. I was desensitized to whether they'd be together or if Eli would survive yet another stupid "charge into battle" moment instead of allowing himself to heal. It was emotionally exploitive to the point that I was numbed after the first third.
The major storyline was a good one, the origin of vampires, along with their connection to angels and demons. The only issue I had was how complex this was written. I know the story like the back of my hand, but the bloodline, mythology, theology, and genealogy felt overly complex and overly explained, to where I felt as if I needed to take notes and be tested on it. Info-dumps that weren't easily digested by this reader, causing me to lose focus and interest.
Those issues aside, the Jane Yellowrock series will forever be at the top of my reread list, always the first recommendation given when one of my fellow readers is looking for Urban Fantasy. FINAL HEIR was a satisfying ending to a longstanding series. I cannot wait to see what Faith Hunter creates next.
Jane Yellowrock – along with Beast, a character unto herself – was the most intriguing, creative, and original Urban Fantasy heroines I've read to-date, with her origins, Native American ancestry, and her take-no-prisoners attitude. Jane was loyal and honorable to a fault, picking up randoms along to way to add to her found family. Utterly devoted to her people, selfless and self-sacrificing. It will be hard to let Jane go, but easily enough to reopen Skinwalker and experience it all from the beginning again and again.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
December 28, 2022
I have loved this series- it's definitely one of my favourites and have loved reading along with these characters as they have changed and grown. I have actually put off reading this final book in the series as I just didn't want it to end, but I got there eventually and boy I was not disappointed at all. It was a great ending for Jane, Bruiser, Eli, Alex, Molly and everyone else!
This one was full of action, romance, power and a heap ton of magic! I loved how all the different factions came together to help defeat the Heir, even though it was nowhere near easy to do!
I will miss reading this series, but can now pop over to the Soulwood one and get back into that!
A highly recommended series from start to finish, so if you haven't read it, get to it now!
This one was full of action, romance, power and a heap ton of magic! I loved how all the different factions came together to help defeat the Heir, even though it was nowhere near easy to do!
I will miss reading this series, but can now pop over to the Soulwood one and get back into that!
A highly recommended series from start to finish, so if you haven't read it, get to it now!
June 14, 2022
Wow. This book is full of action, suspense, and OMG moments. Jane as always is flying by the seat of her pants and doing her best to keep everyone safe while still hunting the bad guy. I can't say too much about this book without spoiling it because there is not much that did not have a significant impact on the story. Unfortunately for me there still seem to be some unanswered questions. I have heard this is the last book of the series, I hope not because I really love it and want more. I guess that is the best compliment you could give an author.
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