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Sons of the Fallen #7.5
Beyond the Storm
Parties, laughter, and heart-melting romance. The war might be over, but the fun is just beginning. Join the Sons of the Fallen one last time in this end-of-series companion!
Say goodbye to the series with new short stories for each main couple showing them in their happily ever afters, a deleted scene, character interviews, and for the first time ever, Kallias is telling his own story in a companion-exclusive novella.
*Beyond the Storm is not a standalone book and must be read after the Sons of the Fallen series for max enjoyment.*
Say goodbye to the series with new short stories for each main couple showing them in their happily ever afters, a deleted scene, character interviews, and for the first time ever, Kallias is telling his own story in a companion-exclusive novella.
*Beyond the Storm is not a standalone book and must be read after the Sons of the Fallen series for max enjoyment.*
308 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 23, 2023
222 people are currently reading
720 people want to read
About the author
Jaclyn Osborn
50 books1,778 followersAs an avid reader and coffee addict, Jaclyn Osborn can always be found with either a book in her hand or one being written on her laptop. The men in her stories mean the world to her, and she's thankful for each day she's able to do this as a career.
She writes M/M romance across all genres and worlds, including contemporary, historical, fantasy, and paranormal.
She writes M/M romance across all genres and worlds, including contemporary, historical, fantasy, and paranormal.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 166 reviews
March 17, 2023
4.5 Stars
In the past year or so, no reading experiences have made me quite as happy and satisfied as I’ve felt reading Jaclyn Osborn’s Sons of the Fallen series. And this latest instalment—a glorified extended epilogue, if you will—just boosted my love for these characters (and their fated loves) tenfold, in my already overflowing and mushy heart.
I enjoyed each special glimpse into the HEAs of all our Nephilim heroes and their mates, with particular fondness for Damon and Warrin (surprise, surprise) and Bell and Nix. I loved witnessing each of the seven couples living their best lives post-war with Lucifier and his demonic army. It was great to see these characters thriving, happy and most certainly as loved-up as ever, without any of the fear of death and disaster that plagued these beautiful men for centuries.
Damon and Warrin and their gorgeous newborn baby were naturally the stand outs of the whole affair, and I loved the tenderness and care baby Sorin brought out in all the brothers across this heart-warming story.
More than anything, though, I was profoundly thankful that Osborn took this opportunity to give us the full (but, I guess, condensed) story of eighth brother, Kallias, and his Spartan lover, Elasus. As all fans of the series know, these two suffered a heartbreaking love story that was cut short way too soon, but with the magic that was the epic ending in Alastair’s book, these two got a second chance that is the stuff romance legends are made of. I cried my eyes out during their story, mostly from happiness that even though they went through hell, they made it back to each other in the end and it was BEAUTIFUL.
I’m shying away from a full star rating simply because the end portion of the book, with the interview scenes between Baxter and the boys, seemed a bit frivolous to me. But rest assured, I still adore this world and every character in it (which includes some weird love-hate-love feelings towards some of the “bad” guys, too). I’m practically bursting at the metaphorical seams with excitement for all the future stories Osborn will write in this world—I will no doubt be at the front of the line to read each and every one of them!
In the past year or so, no reading experiences have made me quite as happy and satisfied as I’ve felt reading Jaclyn Osborn’s Sons of the Fallen series. And this latest instalment—a glorified extended epilogue, if you will—just boosted my love for these characters (and their fated loves) tenfold, in my already overflowing and mushy heart.
I enjoyed each special glimpse into the HEAs of all our Nephilim heroes and their mates, with particular fondness for Damon and Warrin (surprise, surprise) and Bell and Nix. I loved witnessing each of the seven couples living their best lives post-war with Lucifier and his demonic army. It was great to see these characters thriving, happy and most certainly as loved-up as ever, without any of the fear of death and disaster that plagued these beautiful men for centuries.
Damon and Warrin and their gorgeous newborn baby were naturally the stand outs of the whole affair, and I loved the tenderness and care baby Sorin brought out in all the brothers across this heart-warming story.
More than anything, though, I was profoundly thankful that Osborn took this opportunity to give us the full (but, I guess, condensed) story of eighth brother, Kallias, and his Spartan lover, Elasus. As all fans of the series know, these two suffered a heartbreaking love story that was cut short way too soon, but with the magic that was the epic ending in Alastair’s book, these two got a second chance that is the stuff romance legends are made of. I cried my eyes out during their story, mostly from happiness that even though they went through hell, they made it back to each other in the end and it was BEAUTIFUL.
I’m shying away from a full star rating simply because the end portion of the book, with the interview scenes between Baxter and the boys, seemed a bit frivolous to me. But rest assured, I still adore this world and every character in it (which includes some weird love-hate-love feelings towards some of the “bad” guys, too). I’m practically bursting at the metaphorical seams with excitement for all the future stories Osborn will write in this world—I will no doubt be at the front of the line to read each and every one of them!
February 23, 2023
this is nice. i feel like we all deserved this after seven books of heartbreak.
i loved the mini HEAs and the kallias’ novella. it made me love him. (i still can’t stand gray, though. but we’re not surprised.)
but i think we could’ve skipped baxter’s q&a, that did absolutely nothing and the mini HEA’s could’ve been a little bit longer.
however, it was nice. it gave me a sense of peace after all that hurt. but i don’t think i’ll read this again.
i am so excited for the spin offs.
i loved the mini HEAs and the kallias’ novella. it made me love him. (i still can’t stand gray, though. but we’re not surprised.)
but i think we could’ve skipped baxter’s q&a, that did absolutely nothing and the mini HEA’s could’ve been a little bit longer.
however, it was nice. it gave me a sense of peace after all that hurt. but i don’t think i’ll read this again.
i am so excited for the spin offs.
March 15, 2023
EDIT: WE ARE GETTING MICHAEL AND KONNOR!!!!!!!!!!!
Loved how this series was wrapped up!
The little glimpses into their well deserved happy life were so cute and perfect!
OG: Idk if it’s just me but there are so many possible couples in the series 🥹🥹 plz can i get Michael and Konnor 🥹🥹🥹
Loved how this series was wrapped up!
The little glimpses into their well deserved happy life were so cute and perfect!
OG: Idk if it’s just me but there are so many possible couples in the series 🥹🥹 plz can i get Michael and Konnor 🥹🥹🥹
March 4, 2023
Bellamy is still my favourite Nephilim, closely followed by Daman and Gray.
Bellamy and Phoenix are still my favourite couple.
Kallias' spirit animal is Eeyore x1000 - his novella was so depressing I had to come back to it four or five times before I could finish it. He's definitely Melancholy! Really liked Elasus though!
Looking forward to the spin-offs!
Bellamy and Phoenix are still my favourite couple.
Kallias' spirit animal is Eeyore x1000 - his novella was so depressing I had to come back to it four or five times before I could finish it. He's definitely Melancholy! Really liked Elasus though!
Looking forward to the spin-offs!
November 9, 2023
3.5 Stars
February 24, 2023
Daman/Warrin and Bel/Phoenix are still my favorites. I hope there will be a story about Sorin - Daman/Warrin son one day. I wasn't sure about those two having a baby, but I ended up adoring him. And there is definitely a lot going on in the Winter Dragon’s kingdom - spin-off series can't be here soon enough. Raiden is still Raiden. I couldn't stop smiling reading his chapter. I'd love to see this shirtless cooking video! Alastair/Laz are still perfect together, and I still want more of them. It is confirmed that Michael's book will be the first in the spin-off series, so fingers crossed Al/Laz will make an appearance. Kallias story was sweet and tender, I loved that we got to see him finding his mate all those years ago and hear his voice. Elasus is a perfect mate for him.
I wish all authors would finish series with a book like this - it was like a prolonged epilogue for each couple.
I wish all authors would finish series with a book like this - it was like a prolonged epilogue for each couple.
March 10, 2023
Truly do not understand why, when you have a book series with 7 different pairings, that every single one has to end with the same version of sticky-sweet HEA. *yawn*
I only made it through three of these HEA + the novella, and even those were underwhelming--do I look like I'm coming to a series about the seven-deadly-sins to read about one of them becoming a fucking tik-tok food influencer? What is going on in MM romance land, y'all? Novella was the best of the bunch, until it turned into a coffee shop AU at the end.
Osborn has joined the ever-lengthening list of MM romance authors that I'm just not fucking with anymore. Probably should have given this one a pass, too, but I'm a completionist. *shrugs*
I only made it through three of these HEA + the novella, and even those were underwhelming--do I look like I'm coming to a series about the seven-deadly-sins to read about one of them becoming a fucking tik-tok food influencer? What is going on in MM romance land, y'all? Novella was the best of the bunch, until it turned into a coffee shop AU at the end.
Osborn has joined the ever-lengthening list of MM romance authors that I'm just not fucking with anymore. Probably should have given this one a pass, too, but I'm a completionist. *shrugs*
August 26, 2023
~3.5~
I've had cotton candy less sweet than these stories.
The HEAs (extended epilogues of sorts) were cute but repetitive, with the exceptions of Daman's and Raiden's:
Daman's because watching Daman and Warrin holding their son made my ovaries explode.
And Raiden's because hell, yeah, I want to watch this shirtless gentle giant pound some meat.
I really liked Kallias and Elasus' story too. They deserve to drink lattes and cuddle on their porch for the rest of days.
I've had cotton candy less sweet than these stories.
The HEAs (extended epilogues of sorts) were cute but repetitive, with the exceptions of Daman's and Raiden's:
Daman's because watching Daman and Warrin holding their son made my ovaries explode.
And Raiden's because hell, yeah, I want to watch this shirtless gentle giant pound some meat.
I really liked Kallias and Elasus' story too. They deserve to drink lattes and cuddle on their porch for the rest of days.
February 28, 2023
SPANISH COMMENT BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO DO IT IN ENGLISH, SORRY NOT SORRY.
5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Apenas salió y me tomé el tiempo de leerlo. Solo puedo decir que desde que conocí la saga me enamoré perdidamente de cada hermano. Todos ellos son mis siete Nephilim favoritos.
No creo nunca antes haberme emocionado tanto por el estreno de otros libros, en especial cuando estaba esperando con ansias la historia de ‘Daman’ y sin miedo a decirlo es uno de los personajes que más me robó el corazón, mi pequeño gatito. Al igual que me emocione mucho con el libro de Alastair, dios, como ame ese libro también. Alastair y Lazaro se merecían estar por fin juntos. Y verlos juntos fue lo más emocionante y hermoso.
En lo personal este libro le dio a cada hermano el final que merecían y sobre todo su final felices. Y Kallias, para ser el último hermano tuvo su final junto a su guerrero; Elasus. Un libro de pocos capítulos pero que para mi fue suficiente para poder darle un cierre que merecían.
¿Y ver a todos con baby Sorin? ¡LO MEJOR DEL MUNDO MUNDIAL! En especial sus papis, que están más que enamorados del pequeño bebito. Daman y Warrin con un bebé en brazos: LA PERFECCIÓN.
Tengo pensado comprarme estos libros en físico para mi autoregalo de cumpleaños, ¿y si llegan a salir en español? ¡Me los compro de nuevo sin pensarlo!
¡Gracias Jaclyn por estas obras maestras! Espero con ansias tus futuros trabajos.
5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Apenas salió y me tomé el tiempo de leerlo. Solo puedo decir que desde que conocí la saga me enamoré perdidamente de cada hermano. Todos ellos son mis siete Nephilim favoritos.
No creo nunca antes haberme emocionado tanto por el estreno de otros libros, en especial cuando estaba esperando con ansias la historia de ‘Daman’ y sin miedo a decirlo es uno de los personajes que más me robó el corazón, mi pequeño gatito. Al igual que me emocione mucho con el libro de Alastair, dios, como ame ese libro también. Alastair y Lazaro se merecían estar por fin juntos. Y verlos juntos fue lo más emocionante y hermoso.
En lo personal este libro le dio a cada hermano el final que merecían y sobre todo su final felices. Y Kallias, para ser el último hermano tuvo su final junto a su guerrero; Elasus. Un libro de pocos capítulos pero que para mi fue suficiente para poder darle un cierre que merecían.
¿Y ver a todos con baby Sorin? ¡LO MEJOR DEL MUNDO MUNDIAL! En especial sus papis, que están más que enamorados del pequeño bebito. Daman y Warrin con un bebé en brazos: LA PERFECCIÓN.
Tengo pensado comprarme estos libros en físico para mi autoregalo de cumpleaños, ¿y si llegan a salir en español? ¡Me los compro de nuevo sin pensarlo!
¡Gracias Jaclyn por estas obras maestras! Espero con ansias tus futuros trabajos.
March 10, 2023
4.75 / 5: My story will end, and with the closing of the book, my life will become nothing but a memory that fades more and more as the days pass. I'll be like the smoke rising from those flames, here one moment....
...and gone the next."
as full of melancholy as kallias is as he spoke this sad quote, this really does feel like the end of an era as i read the final stories of these nephilim brothers and their lovers, who finally, after centuries of fighting and putting humanity first before their own hearts, get to relax and explore worlds of their own. whether it's the deep, cold forests of Russia that inhabit an icy kingdom as daman gets to devote all his time with warrin and their son, sorin, or idling in the warm sands just outside of Athens, Greece surrounded by the peace of the waves and the gentle aura of your revived lover as kallias is granted, the eight brothers are able to just be. having the chance to see them after the fury of the storm meant a lot to me, and it was every bit as sentimental as i hoped.
the way this companion novel was organized makes me want to write separate reviews on each of the couples' short stories because my feelings for each of them feel fairly different from each other. my entire reading journey with the first seven books alone resulted in feeling stronger feelings for certain couples over overs, or just loving certain stories even more. by giving my brief (lol) thoughts of each of the short stories in here, including kallias (!!), i feel this is the best way to sum up everything this entire series has made me feel, up to the very end.
disclaimer: unfortunately, goodreads has a character limit...so some thoughts in this review will be noticeably short :') but not out of choice!! and so there's a potential link i'll have to share to see the full review, because my love for this series shall never be censored. for now, i hope you enjoy what i could share!!
galen: I still found it hard to believe some days that this was my life.
we got a simon pov!! after all these months!! i mean, of course we were, if this was going to be a goodbye from these main couples' povs, we couldn't just leave simon out, especially as he and galen were the first of all the characters to introduce readers to this world. i think the reason why i felt so happy about it was just also because simon always felt more of a background character than anything else in books 2-6. being the only human who doesn't have much experience in the way of fighting demons (and no, spatulas do not count, unfortunately, no matter how much simon is adamant about it), and this being a pretty action-packed fantasy with a lot of death, it just wasn't safe for him to be involved in the fights all the other characters were engaged in. as disheartened as i was about it, i couldn't argue with that.
and interestingly enough, i feel like there's something really significant to garner from the way the author eased back his presence after book one because as epic as it would've been for him to become this strong warrior, he just...wasn't. he was someone who to galen and the other brothers and even their mates, doesn't have much of a connection to the supernatural world, and never should (beyond being mated with a nephilim). he just owns and takes care of an antique shop, and he just so happened to get tangled in this messy plot that led to asa possessing his body for a brief amount of time. if there's one good thing that came out of such a tumultuous event, it was when simon met galen, something simon wouldn't trade for anything; but other than that, galen would never and will never want to see simon put in harm's way again, not even for the sake of fanservice or plot.
the existence of this companion novel is fanservice enough!! and i'm very happy with it, i'm happy that we get to see simon & galen in their own little bubble, so comfortable and at ease with each other because the world isn't asking so much from galen anymore; he & wrath can just get to exist happily with the love of their life. this is especially so because when we did see simon in books 2-6, it was in some moments where galen and the rest returned from battle, and through the others' povs, we would see simon & galen running back to each other, with the latter immediately fanning out his wings to wrap around them both so no one else can see them, because these reunions were very private for them. i always felt a little emotional when the author wrote these bits, as again it felt like i hardly saw simon much after book one, and it definitely was just as hard for galen to be away from him. to get to see a little glimpse of the two of them in their cocoon was really special, and to know that they won't have to separated from each other anymore, it's a happy ending that galen & wrath deserve to have after centuries of using their rage to rip apart enemies, almost to the point of self-destruction. now, they can just be at peace.
would it still have been nice to see simon more through the eyes of gray & kyo's povs in their stories since he was supposedly very close to them?? yes; and it didn't even have to be in all the action!! just maybe there as like a source of comfort or for some natural filler that provides some cushioning in an otherwise intense story. maybe there just wasn't enough room for it, but even kyo mentions in his own short story here that he misses simon a lot. like that absolutely gutted me when i read that, because kyo acknowledges that all these conflicts they've all had kept them from enjoying more moments with each other as a family. we got to see a little of what is up ahead for them here, though, the little surprise party they all throw for galen for his birthday the first in a lot more happy reunions to come. it tears me up a little inside that i won't get to see all of it, but knowing it'll happen fills me with some relief, so there's that.
When Galen spoke, his voice had a dual layer, a deeper tone mixing with his normal one. "Forever."
"Forever," I agreed.
castor: Give me all you got, Red."
kyo & castor omg...their story was really the first that got me truly hooked into this series. there was a lot of potential to keep me going after simon & galen's story, but the writing was pretty average, if i have to be honest. and so i was very relieved to see how that potential was for the better because there seemed to be this huge improvement in quality, at least in my eyes, once i moved on to the second book. not only did the plot get even thicker in this entire arc of the series, but i was very much charmed by castor's pov.
i was charmed by how much more we got to know about his father, and how there was no sad backstory on that end where castor hated his father like some of his other brothers did. he actually had a pretty happy childhood before he was taken away, and he felt very spoiled & happy living with his mother and having his father visit him from time to time. the one sad part was castor eventually losing his dad, and in such a traumatic way as he actually witnessed his death. the resentment that hooked in against lazarus for being the one to have killed caim ran very deep, and i have some respect towards the author for not brushing away that kind of grief and just letting castor feel how he felt. the good relationship he had with his father despite the horrible things he had done while fighting on the side of lucifer, was the first of many examples in this entire series that shows how there's no simple black & white when it comes to morality, and there's a lot of grey areas to be aware of in this war that fought over humanity.
in the afterword, castor has kyo. and so while he'll always have to wrestle over the grief of what happened centuries ago, in the present day, the knowledge of castor finding a treasure as golden and precious as is kyo, and for that same treasure to adore him right back is just enough to satisfy castor's insatiable greed.
i was really happy to get to be in this couple's povs again and have castor be his funny self while kyo loves him too much to be annoyed by the many dirty jokes castor gives because that's just who he is. their romance sucked me in immediately and even as many laughs as there in their relationship dynamic, the two are absolutely gone for each other, and it's a kind of chemistry that even surprised them both. they're just...very precious to me.
"The strings of fate led me to you, and I'm never walking away again."
i also found it really cool to get a small look of the work that lies up ahead for them both since the pair now reside somewhere in japan in kyo's family's kingdom. with tatsuya, kyo's older brother, as king of the water dragon clan, there's a lot of negotiations and ally ships to be done to repair the damage that all dragon clans faced after the tyrannical rule of kyo & tatsuya's father all those years ago. that was yet another thing that i found very intriguing in the second book of the series, with the reveal that these dragon clans did still exist despite both the heavenly realm and the demon realm believing otherwise. their continued existence lies on very fragile footing, though, as there's a lot of reparation to be done, and so i'm eager to see what more that could possibly entail since it had been confirmed by the author that even if this might be the last we'd see of kyo & castor's povs, there are some other characters who will be given a spotlight in the future, which just has me hyped.
daman: He had loved me when I didn't love myself."
there's something about daman's pov that feels so special; maybe it's in the way he has a connection to the forests from his time as child when he was raised in the depths of his home in Dacia.
his character is relatively seen to be more comfortable living on the outskirts, with his first introduction revealing him to be pretty rough around the ages and clearly not much of a people person, but when getting to his pov in his own book, the quiet way he observed his surroundings and sought comfort on his own made the writing draw me in completely. what drew me in even more was seeing his growing romance with warrin, and so in this short story here, witnessing the little family they create with their little son, sorin (!!), was everything.
gray: "Hey, angel."
gray and mason's relationship is possibly the purest of all the couples in the series, next to raiden & titan's, because there's just so much sweetness, that i practically ached while reading all of it. it felt a bit like relief once i got to revisit gray's pov because even as much as i have mixed feelings about his almost childish characterization, he's still a big sweetheart, and mason's affection for him made this short story feel like a warm hug. getting to see them just play around and go to arcades together was such a nice filler, and it was perfect for them; mason being a hunter obviously means he still has to sometimes go out to hunt down demons and other malevolent creatures but it means a lot that being with gray now, there's the promise for him to have a home to go back to and just have fun without constantly being haunted by the bloody images that battles and the losses of old comrades bring.
i think another thing important for me to highlight for this short story is how it just reinforced my strong wish for gray to have more closure with his father, belphegor, or maybe a possible reconcilation...?. as far as we're all aware, belphegor is jailed in the celestial realm after the defeat of lucifer; and it just feels too dense to think that his story arc is over--i mean..after the end of book seven?? no, the author has to be planning more with his character. out of all the fathers, gray, castor, and raiden's are the ones who offered very conflicting views despite the black & white morality that certain characters (ahem **uriel**) imposed on them. unfortunately, castor & raiden's fathers are long past dead, with belphegor the only one to have survived them all.
gray and his brothers were born directly out of lucifer's command in the hopes to harness their powers, and so for most of them, their fathers saw them more as a means to an end, but with belphegor, caim, and yes, even beelzebub, there was a connection made between father & son; and while in raiden's case, it didn't come much into fruition, all of them exhibited a fondness that made me yearn for more. with belphegor still alive and his fate kind of left in the unknown beyond simply being imprisoned, i want to think there's a chance i could see his own pov in the future and maybe see what would come out of the potential healing that he & gray would need after fighting on opposite sides of a war over humanity, a father against his own son. the way things left off with them in the final battle in book seven felt like a huge cliffhanger, and gray's own sadness uncovered in this short story here leaves a lot more to still be explored in the complexity of their relationship.
if we were to get a belphegor pov, it might just mean there's a potential romance for him to be paired up in since this is jaclyn osborn i'm talking about here, so...may i propose vepar???
i'm just going to leave that there because i can write a whole post about vepar on a separate platform, and the clear romantic feelings he had for belphegor that were (sort of?) one-sided because belphegor was in love with lucifer but lucifer was in love with alastair's dead father, azazel, so it was just all a mess on that end. but with lucifer now gone, and vepar disappearing after being left for dead by belphegor in the final battle, there's a lot of potential angst to be explored. not only could i be getting to see more of belphegor & gray's father/son relationship but a potential belphegor/vepar second-chance romance??? i would be obsessed.
bellamy: Maybe we were a disaster. A comet heading straight for a planet, the collision inevitable. But who said crashing was a bad thing?
With him, I broke apart over and over, and each time those pieces melded back together. I found myself deeper in love with him.
there's just...too many words i have for bellamy & phoenix. they're my most favorite couple, and their short story made me cry. more to come.
raiden: "We've given enough to the world. You owe nothing more."
raiden potentially opening up his own restaurant, i am so happy for him :')
alastair: "Having you in my arms right now is like an answer to an unspoken prayer I dared not even hope for."
i'm going to be honest here, guys.....i do not care for alastair & lazarus' relationship in the slightest. now one might be confused by me saying this statement because "kaylina, didn't you rate their book five x a billion stars?"; very good question. if it wasn't made obvious by my review for that story, the high rating was a mix of sentimentality and also admiration for a very well-done plot. one of the thrills of this entire series is that even if you may not be a big fan of the romance (thankfully, alastair & lazarus are the only ones i felt apathetic about), there's so much fantasy and action and a huge cast of characters to fall so in love with that it completely overrides any criticism you may have (at least in my case). and in the case of book seven, i have no criticism of the romance, none at all....except for one little nitpick but i can just talk about in in a revision for my review of their book.
i spoke very highly of the brotherly relationship that alastair had with his brothers because it was genuinely moving, seeing the way alastair always put them first and fought to make sure they get their happy endings obviously making it clear he deserved his own as well. and if it's with lazarus then of course i can't argue with it; going into this fantasy romance series, it's a given he'll be mated with someone, and lazarus was a natural fit because they're both equals of sorts in how both of them are like the patriarchs of the family and two people who've always felt duty came first before pleasure. a certain reveal of their mated bond and the knowledge that lazarus was aware of it quite longer than even i expected made the angst hit hard and i love angst, but i just felt...nothing, concerning them most of the time (and when i did, it was like weak sparks of light that quicky died out), hence why i hardly spoke about them in my review for book seven.
and there's not much i can really say for their short story either, unfortunately; except that i am happy that alastair gets to live a relatively quiet life in the celestial realm with the love of his life and actually make friends with the archangels who live among the clouds. i also loved that i got to see a little konnar cameo as the both of them are still and always will be best friends; the knowledge that there's potential for konnar's own story in the widely expanding sons of the fallen universe thrills me very much so i look forward to seeing what promise there is in his own (possible?) book.....with michael, i hope.
kallias: "Much like when the blossoms awake to welcome spring and then fade away once the air turns cold, we too will part for a short time before greeting each other once more."
with kallias' story being better fit to be described as a little novella that was tucked inside this entire companion novel, it's something incredibly worthy of being discussed in a separate review of its own. when that would come out, that is to be decided, but if there's ever more proof to know how much the author knows the potential of her characters and wants to explore their arcs to the fullest, kallias' story was a very strong example of it.
i've always been so curious about him since the moment he was first mentioned in book one, and it should only have been expected that he'd have an epic return later on. but i was still so overcome with emotion because the implications of what he had gone through and what it meant to have him come back without his mate felt overwhelming. to get to see him have his own novella was just such an utterly brilliant move on the author's part, one she explored with incredible depth. the existence of kallias' character in general is so powerful because as the sin of melancholy, it only reinforces the sadness that comes with being left out of the canon knowledge of the "seven deadly sins", when in this fictional universe, there are really eight , which was just so interesting.
...and gone the next."
as full of melancholy as kallias is as he spoke this sad quote, this really does feel like the end of an era as i read the final stories of these nephilim brothers and their lovers, who finally, after centuries of fighting and putting humanity first before their own hearts, get to relax and explore worlds of their own. whether it's the deep, cold forests of Russia that inhabit an icy kingdom as daman gets to devote all his time with warrin and their son, sorin, or idling in the warm sands just outside of Athens, Greece surrounded by the peace of the waves and the gentle aura of your revived lover as kallias is granted, the eight brothers are able to just be. having the chance to see them after the fury of the storm meant a lot to me, and it was every bit as sentimental as i hoped.
the way this companion novel was organized makes me want to write separate reviews on each of the couples' short stories because my feelings for each of them feel fairly different from each other. my entire reading journey with the first seven books alone resulted in feeling stronger feelings for certain couples over overs, or just loving certain stories even more. by giving my brief (lol) thoughts of each of the short stories in here, including kallias (!!), i feel this is the best way to sum up everything this entire series has made me feel, up to the very end.
disclaimer: unfortunately, goodreads has a character limit...so some thoughts in this review will be noticeably short :') but not out of choice!! and so there's a potential link i'll have to share to see the full review, because my love for this series shall never be censored. for now, i hope you enjoy what i could share!!
galen: I still found it hard to believe some days that this was my life.
we got a simon pov!! after all these months!! i mean, of course we were, if this was going to be a goodbye from these main couples' povs, we couldn't just leave simon out, especially as he and galen were the first of all the characters to introduce readers to this world. i think the reason why i felt so happy about it was just also because simon always felt more of a background character than anything else in books 2-6. being the only human who doesn't have much experience in the way of fighting demons (and no, spatulas do not count, unfortunately, no matter how much simon is adamant about it), and this being a pretty action-packed fantasy with a lot of death, it just wasn't safe for him to be involved in the fights all the other characters were engaged in. as disheartened as i was about it, i couldn't argue with that.
and interestingly enough, i feel like there's something really significant to garner from the way the author eased back his presence after book one because as epic as it would've been for him to become this strong warrior, he just...wasn't. he was someone who to galen and the other brothers and even their mates, doesn't have much of a connection to the supernatural world, and never should (beyond being mated with a nephilim). he just owns and takes care of an antique shop, and he just so happened to get tangled in this messy plot that led to asa possessing his body for a brief amount of time. if there's one good thing that came out of such a tumultuous event, it was when simon met galen, something simon wouldn't trade for anything; but other than that, galen would never and will never want to see simon put in harm's way again, not even for the sake of fanservice or plot.
the existence of this companion novel is fanservice enough!! and i'm very happy with it, i'm happy that we get to see simon & galen in their own little bubble, so comfortable and at ease with each other because the world isn't asking so much from galen anymore; he & wrath can just get to exist happily with the love of their life. this is especially so because when we did see simon in books 2-6, it was in some moments where galen and the rest returned from battle, and through the others' povs, we would see simon & galen running back to each other, with the latter immediately fanning out his wings to wrap around them both so no one else can see them, because these reunions were very private for them. i always felt a little emotional when the author wrote these bits, as again it felt like i hardly saw simon much after book one, and it definitely was just as hard for galen to be away from him. to get to see a little glimpse of the two of them in their cocoon was really special, and to know that they won't have to separated from each other anymore, it's a happy ending that galen & wrath deserve to have after centuries of using their rage to rip apart enemies, almost to the point of self-destruction. now, they can just be at peace.
would it still have been nice to see simon more through the eyes of gray & kyo's povs in their stories since he was supposedly very close to them?? yes; and it didn't even have to be in all the action!! just maybe there as like a source of comfort or for some natural filler that provides some cushioning in an otherwise intense story. maybe there just wasn't enough room for it, but even kyo mentions in his own short story here that he misses simon a lot. like that absolutely gutted me when i read that, because kyo acknowledges that all these conflicts they've all had kept them from enjoying more moments with each other as a family. we got to see a little of what is up ahead for them here, though, the little surprise party they all throw for galen for his birthday the first in a lot more happy reunions to come. it tears me up a little inside that i won't get to see all of it, but knowing it'll happen fills me with some relief, so there's that.
When Galen spoke, his voice had a dual layer, a deeper tone mixing with his normal one. "Forever."
"Forever," I agreed.
castor: Give me all you got, Red."
kyo & castor omg...their story was really the first that got me truly hooked into this series. there was a lot of potential to keep me going after simon & galen's story, but the writing was pretty average, if i have to be honest. and so i was very relieved to see how that potential was for the better because there seemed to be this huge improvement in quality, at least in my eyes, once i moved on to the second book. not only did the plot get even thicker in this entire arc of the series, but i was very much charmed by castor's pov.
i was charmed by how much more we got to know about his father, and how there was no sad backstory on that end where castor hated his father like some of his other brothers did. he actually had a pretty happy childhood before he was taken away, and he felt very spoiled & happy living with his mother and having his father visit him from time to time. the one sad part was castor eventually losing his dad, and in such a traumatic way as he actually witnessed his death. the resentment that hooked in against lazarus for being the one to have killed caim ran very deep, and i have some respect towards the author for not brushing away that kind of grief and just letting castor feel how he felt. the good relationship he had with his father despite the horrible things he had done while fighting on the side of lucifer, was the first of many examples in this entire series that shows how there's no simple black & white when it comes to morality, and there's a lot of grey areas to be aware of in this war that fought over humanity.
in the afterword, castor has kyo. and so while he'll always have to wrestle over the grief of what happened centuries ago, in the present day, the knowledge of castor finding a treasure as golden and precious as is kyo, and for that same treasure to adore him right back is just enough to satisfy castor's insatiable greed.
i was really happy to get to be in this couple's povs again and have castor be his funny self while kyo loves him too much to be annoyed by the many dirty jokes castor gives because that's just who he is. their romance sucked me in immediately and even as many laughs as there in their relationship dynamic, the two are absolutely gone for each other, and it's a kind of chemistry that even surprised them both. they're just...very precious to me.
"The strings of fate led me to you, and I'm never walking away again."
i also found it really cool to get a small look of the work that lies up ahead for them both since the pair now reside somewhere in japan in kyo's family's kingdom. with tatsuya, kyo's older brother, as king of the water dragon clan, there's a lot of negotiations and ally ships to be done to repair the damage that all dragon clans faced after the tyrannical rule of kyo & tatsuya's father all those years ago. that was yet another thing that i found very intriguing in the second book of the series, with the reveal that these dragon clans did still exist despite both the heavenly realm and the demon realm believing otherwise. their continued existence lies on very fragile footing, though, as there's a lot of reparation to be done, and so i'm eager to see what more that could possibly entail since it had been confirmed by the author that even if this might be the last we'd see of kyo & castor's povs, there are some other characters who will be given a spotlight in the future, which just has me hyped.
daman: He had loved me when I didn't love myself."
there's something about daman's pov that feels so special; maybe it's in the way he has a connection to the forests from his time as child when he was raised in the depths of his home in Dacia.
his character is relatively seen to be more comfortable living on the outskirts, with his first introduction revealing him to be pretty rough around the ages and clearly not much of a people person, but when getting to his pov in his own book, the quiet way he observed his surroundings and sought comfort on his own made the writing draw me in completely. what drew me in even more was seeing his growing romance with warrin, and so in this short story here, witnessing the little family they create with their little son, sorin (!!), was everything.
gray: "Hey, angel."
gray and mason's relationship is possibly the purest of all the couples in the series, next to raiden & titan's, because there's just so much sweetness, that i practically ached while reading all of it. it felt a bit like relief once i got to revisit gray's pov because even as much as i have mixed feelings about his almost childish characterization, he's still a big sweetheart, and mason's affection for him made this short story feel like a warm hug. getting to see them just play around and go to arcades together was such a nice filler, and it was perfect for them; mason being a hunter obviously means he still has to sometimes go out to hunt down demons and other malevolent creatures but it means a lot that being with gray now, there's the promise for him to have a home to go back to and just have fun without constantly being haunted by the bloody images that battles and the losses of old comrades bring.
i think another thing important for me to highlight for this short story is how it just reinforced my strong wish for gray to have more closure with his father, belphegor, or maybe a possible reconcilation...?. as far as we're all aware, belphegor is jailed in the celestial realm after the defeat of lucifer; and it just feels too dense to think that his story arc is over--i mean..after the end of book seven?? no, the author has to be planning more with his character. out of all the fathers, gray, castor, and raiden's are the ones who offered very conflicting views despite the black & white morality that certain characters (ahem **uriel**) imposed on them. unfortunately, castor & raiden's fathers are long past dead, with belphegor the only one to have survived them all.
gray and his brothers were born directly out of lucifer's command in the hopes to harness their powers, and so for most of them, their fathers saw them more as a means to an end, but with belphegor, caim, and yes, even beelzebub, there was a connection made between father & son; and while in raiden's case, it didn't come much into fruition, all of them exhibited a fondness that made me yearn for more. with belphegor still alive and his fate kind of left in the unknown beyond simply being imprisoned, i want to think there's a chance i could see his own pov in the future and maybe see what would come out of the potential healing that he & gray would need after fighting on opposite sides of a war over humanity, a father against his own son. the way things left off with them in the final battle in book seven felt like a huge cliffhanger, and gray's own sadness uncovered in this short story here leaves a lot more to still be explored in the complexity of their relationship.
if we were to get a belphegor pov, it might just mean there's a potential romance for him to be paired up in since this is jaclyn osborn i'm talking about here, so...may i propose vepar???
i'm just going to leave that there because i can write a whole post about vepar on a separate platform, and the clear romantic feelings he had for belphegor that were (sort of?) one-sided because belphegor was in love with lucifer but lucifer was in love with alastair's dead father, azazel, so it was just all a mess on that end. but with lucifer now gone, and vepar disappearing after being left for dead by belphegor in the final battle, there's a lot of potential angst to be explored. not only could i be getting to see more of belphegor & gray's father/son relationship but a potential belphegor/vepar second-chance romance??? i would be obsessed.
bellamy: Maybe we were a disaster. A comet heading straight for a planet, the collision inevitable. But who said crashing was a bad thing?
With him, I broke apart over and over, and each time those pieces melded back together. I found myself deeper in love with him.
there's just...too many words i have for bellamy & phoenix. they're my most favorite couple, and their short story made me cry. more to come.
raiden: "We've given enough to the world. You owe nothing more."
raiden potentially opening up his own restaurant, i am so happy for him :')
alastair: "Having you in my arms right now is like an answer to an unspoken prayer I dared not even hope for."
i'm going to be honest here, guys.....i do not care for alastair & lazarus' relationship in the slightest. now one might be confused by me saying this statement because "kaylina, didn't you rate their book five x a billion stars?"; very good question. if it wasn't made obvious by my review for that story, the high rating was a mix of sentimentality and also admiration for a very well-done plot. one of the thrills of this entire series is that even if you may not be a big fan of the romance (thankfully, alastair & lazarus are the only ones i felt apathetic about), there's so much fantasy and action and a huge cast of characters to fall so in love with that it completely overrides any criticism you may have (at least in my case). and in the case of book seven, i have no criticism of the romance, none at all....except for one little nitpick but i can just talk about in in a revision for my review of their book.
i spoke very highly of the brotherly relationship that alastair had with his brothers because it was genuinely moving, seeing the way alastair always put them first and fought to make sure they get their happy endings obviously making it clear he deserved his own as well. and if it's with lazarus then of course i can't argue with it; going into this fantasy romance series, it's a given he'll be mated with someone, and lazarus was a natural fit because they're both equals of sorts in how both of them are like the patriarchs of the family and two people who've always felt duty came first before pleasure. a certain reveal of their mated bond and the knowledge that lazarus was aware of it quite longer than even i expected made the angst hit hard and i love angst, but i just felt...nothing, concerning them most of the time (and when i did, it was like weak sparks of light that quicky died out), hence why i hardly spoke about them in my review for book seven.
and there's not much i can really say for their short story either, unfortunately; except that i am happy that alastair gets to live a relatively quiet life in the celestial realm with the love of his life and actually make friends with the archangels who live among the clouds. i also loved that i got to see a little konnar cameo as the both of them are still and always will be best friends; the knowledge that there's potential for konnar's own story in the widely expanding sons of the fallen universe thrills me very much so i look forward to seeing what promise there is in his own (possible?) book.....with michael, i hope.
kallias: "Much like when the blossoms awake to welcome spring and then fade away once the air turns cold, we too will part for a short time before greeting each other once more."
with kallias' story being better fit to be described as a little novella that was tucked inside this entire companion novel, it's something incredibly worthy of being discussed in a separate review of its own. when that would come out, that is to be decided, but if there's ever more proof to know how much the author knows the potential of her characters and wants to explore their arcs to the fullest, kallias' story was a very strong example of it.
i've always been so curious about him since the moment he was first mentioned in book one, and it should only have been expected that he'd have an epic return later on. but i was still so overcome with emotion because the implications of what he had gone through and what it meant to have him come back without his mate felt overwhelming. to get to see him have his own novella was just such an utterly brilliant move on the author's part, one she explored with incredible depth. the existence of kallias' character in general is so powerful because as the sin of melancholy, it only reinforces the sadness that comes with being left out of the canon knowledge of the "seven deadly sins", when in this fictional universe, there are really eight , which was just so interesting.
June 13, 2023
4/5 stars
Although some of the books were okay, I’m still sad that’s it’s over. I’m just happy to see Daman and Warrin having their happy ending. They deserved it.
Although some of the books were okay, I’m still sad that’s it’s over. I’m just happy to see Daman and Warrin having their happy ending. They deserved it.
February 24, 2023
* 3 stars *
this was a pleasant enough conclusion to the series.
it comes as a no surprise to absolutely anyone but my favorite short hea was of course, daman & warrin's. their sweet baby is adorable and i'm glad even envy loves the hell out of him 🥺
i really liked kallias and elasus' story too. to me, they seemed like the most soulmate-y pairing out of everyone.
i'm glad we're getting more spin-offs! idc about michael & konnar but i am very interested in asa and his adventures in the mortal world.
this was a pleasant enough conclusion to the series.
it comes as a no surprise to absolutely anyone but my favorite short hea was of course, daman & warrin's. their sweet baby is adorable and i'm glad even envy loves the hell out of him 🥺
i really liked kallias and elasus' story too. to me, they seemed like the most soulmate-y pairing out of everyone.
i'm glad we're getting more spin-offs! idc about michael & konnar but i am very interested in asa and his adventures in the mortal world.
February 25, 2023
3.75 stars of cute and cheesy. I enjoyed the follow up and can't wait for more stories in this universe.
March 12, 2023
What a perfect way to say goodbye to these characters.
I absolutely adored this companion novella!!!! The short stories were lovely and Kallias' novella was as heartbreaking as I expected it to be: that boy deserves every single ounce of happiness in the world.
And the extras were also pretty fun! Although I kept hoping that deleted scene from "Alastair" was going to be the much anticipated, but never manifested, spanking scene Lazarus kept promising Alastair. But alas, it will live only in my dreams.
Obviously, OBVIOUSLY my favourite short was Bellamy and Phoenix's. They still own my heart: their banter is top-notch and the chemistry is still explosive and absolutely wonderful.
Second place goes to, surprisingly, Galen and Simon's short because I LOVE THEM. So much. Menacing, dangerous beast who only melts for their human X cute, insecurity-riddled human is always going MY trope.
Raiden and Titan were adorable, as were Gray and Mason. Precious babies.
I miiiiight have been expecting something more from Daman and Warrin's novel, but I love those two to bits!!!!!!! As always.
Alastair and Lazarus were fantastic too, and Alastair having a huge praise kink is never going to stop being priceless. Plus, all Michael scenes are hilarious and he needs his own novel ASAP.
Castor and Kyo, as with the novels, were my least favourite couple, but I did enjoy seeing them together. They are cute, even I have to admit that.
All the rest, Kallias' novella and the extras, were a yummy addition and I honestly cannot wait to see what else Jaclyn Osborn has planned for this universe. I desperately need more stories and more HEAs for all the wonderful side characters she has created.
I absolutely adored this companion novella!!!! The short stories were lovely and Kallias' novella was as heartbreaking as I expected it to be: that boy deserves every single ounce of happiness in the world.
And the extras were also pretty fun! Although I kept hoping that deleted scene from "Alastair" was going to be the much anticipated, but never manifested, spanking scene Lazarus kept promising Alastair. But alas, it will live only in my dreams.
Obviously, OBVIOUSLY my favourite short was Bellamy and Phoenix's. They still own my heart: their banter is top-notch and the chemistry is still explosive and absolutely wonderful.
Second place goes to, surprisingly, Galen and Simon's short because I LOVE THEM. So much. Menacing, dangerous beast who only melts for their human X cute, insecurity-riddled human is always going MY trope.
Raiden and Titan were adorable, as were Gray and Mason. Precious babies.
I miiiiight have been expecting something more from Daman and Warrin's novel, but I love those two to bits!!!!!!! As always.
Alastair and Lazarus were fantastic too, and Alastair having a huge praise kink is never going to stop being priceless. Plus, all Michael scenes are hilarious and he needs his own novel ASAP.
Castor and Kyo, as with the novels, were my least favourite couple, but I did enjoy seeing them together. They are cute, even I have to admit that.
All the rest, Kallias' novella and the extras, were a yummy addition and I honestly cannot wait to see what else Jaclyn Osborn has planned for this universe. I desperately need more stories and more HEAs for all the wonderful side characters she has created.
October 4, 2023
4⭐️ 2.5🌶️
•spoilers for Sons of the Fallen series•
This was such a fun addition to the Sons of the Fallen series. I loved seeing what the different couples were up to after the war and also reading Kallias' novella. A bit cheesy at times, but everyone's in love and happy so I guess they can have their cheesy moments.
The first part of this book is an epilogue chapter for every couple. It just shows them living in the new reality where they aren't all warriors and constantly fighting. Our favorite Nephilim are spending times with their mates and living their best lives. I love them all and am so happy they found their happily ever afters.
The second part is a novella that shows the relationship between Kallias and Elasus. We go back to Ancient Sparta and see how they meet and the events that lead up to their parting. Of course, we get another epilogue chapter of Kallias and Elasus adjusting to the modern world on the Greek island. Even knowing how their story plays out, my heart still hurt for their time apart. They have true love at first sight, and are so devoted to one another. I love the depth of their love and how they get to now spend their days in peace. (They might be one of my favorite couples now).
The last few bits are fun little extras. Baxter gives them interview questions, then we see their files that Uriel keeps on them. Now that the series is truly over, I can't believe it. I love this world so much and I can't wait to get back to it in other books with all of our favorite side characters finding their own happiness.
Read if you like:
• paranormal/fantasy
• fated mates
• epilogue stories
•spoilers for Sons of the Fallen series•
This was such a fun addition to the Sons of the Fallen series. I loved seeing what the different couples were up to after the war and also reading Kallias' novella. A bit cheesy at times, but everyone's in love and happy so I guess they can have their cheesy moments.
The first part of this book is an epilogue chapter for every couple. It just shows them living in the new reality where they aren't all warriors and constantly fighting. Our favorite Nephilim are spending times with their mates and living their best lives. I love them all and am so happy they found their happily ever afters.
The second part is a novella that shows the relationship between Kallias and Elasus. We go back to Ancient Sparta and see how they meet and the events that lead up to their parting. Of course, we get another epilogue chapter of Kallias and Elasus adjusting to the modern world on the Greek island. Even knowing how their story plays out, my heart still hurt for their time apart. They have true love at first sight, and are so devoted to one another. I love the depth of their love and how they get to now spend their days in peace. (They might be one of my favorite couples now).
The last few bits are fun little extras. Baxter gives them interview questions, then we see their files that Uriel keeps on them. Now that the series is truly over, I can't believe it. I love this world so much and I can't wait to get back to it in other books with all of our favorite side characters finding their own happiness.
Read if you like:
• paranormal/fantasy
• fated mates
• epilogue stories
February 14, 2024
«Estábamos entrelazados de todas las formas posibles: almas, corazones y nuestros cuerpos mientras él los unía. Ya no teníamos que preocuparnos por la salida del sol y por lo que podría ser de nosotros al amanecer… Estábamos en casa.»
𑁍 Ojalá que todos los autores sacaran algo como este libro al final de todas sus sagas o series, esto fue un vistazo a ese “y vivieron felices para siempre”. Tenemos pequeños capítulos de cada uno de los hermanos Nephilim viviendo en sus hogares con sus parejas predestinadas, es refrescante enterarnos de cómo es que cada uno, finalmente, puede llevar una vida en paz después de miles de años de vivir en luchas o guerras, sin duda alguna este libro era lo que mi alma necesitaba para saber cómo cada uno de mis bebés están viviendo sus sueños llenos de felicidad, esperanza y amor. 🥹❤️
𑁍 Mis momentos favoritos son los de Daman y Warrin, creo que tienen uno de los mejores cierres de historia puesto que podemos verlos ejerciendo de padres con su pequeño y hermoso hijito. Leer como es que el bebé adora a sus padres es la cosa más dulce y tierna del mundo; la forma en la que Warrin lo carga y le susurra palabras en ruso para calmarlo, también en como el bebé extiende sus manitas hacia su papá Daman porque quiere ser cargado por él y verlos teniendo escenas tan domésticas de los tres en su hogar sentándose en la sala a tomar chocolate caliente y estar en familia, es sin duda el mejor HEA que pudieron tener mis niños; el amor entre Daman y War no ha hecho más que crecer y lo vemos en cada una de sus interacciones, en la forma en que Warrin los defiende de cualquiera y en la forma en que el pecado de Daman ronronea al estar cerca de su esposo y su adorable hijito.
𑁍 También tenemos una historia corta acerca de cómo fue que Kallias y Elasus se conocieron, me gustó conocer ese flechazo de ambos en medio de una batalla y como es que el mundo pareció dejar de girar en cuanto ambos se encontraron. Fue un instalove un poco apresurado pues en tan sólo dos días se conocieron, follaron y se enamoraron, se entiende que el ritmo debía ser rápido pero igual me hubiera gustado que ellos tuvieran su propio libro, ya que su historia daba para ser una de las más románticas y trágicas a la vez.
𑁍 Finalmente, tenemos una serie de entrevistas hechas a nuestros medios ángeles (y que al final me entere que fueron hechas por verdaderos fans en el grupo de la autora), aunque no aportaron mucho de información que no supiéramos, sin duda, el fanservice se agradece. También tenemos una escena eliminada que, considero, fue buena idea haberla quitado del borrador final de Alastair, y así sin mucho más llegamos al final del libro pero no del mundo de estos Nephilim, ya que se anuncia que habrá más libros de otros personajes y estoy emocionada por leer el de Oliver y Daichi.
«—Podría vivir un millón de años y nunca conocer un momento más feliz que este —dijo Kallias antes de besarme de nuevo. Luego susurró contra mis labios—: Mi corazón. Mi alma. Mi todo. Todo te pertenece, Elasus.»
𑁍 Ojalá que todos los autores sacaran algo como este libro al final de todas sus sagas o series, esto fue un vistazo a ese “y vivieron felices para siempre”. Tenemos pequeños capítulos de cada uno de los hermanos Nephilim viviendo en sus hogares con sus parejas predestinadas, es refrescante enterarnos de cómo es que cada uno, finalmente, puede llevar una vida en paz después de miles de años de vivir en luchas o guerras, sin duda alguna este libro era lo que mi alma necesitaba para saber cómo cada uno de mis bebés están viviendo sus sueños llenos de felicidad, esperanza y amor. 🥹❤️
𑁍 Mis momentos favoritos son los de Daman y Warrin, creo que tienen uno de los mejores cierres de historia puesto que podemos verlos ejerciendo de padres con su pequeño y hermoso hijito. Leer como es que el bebé adora a sus padres es la cosa más dulce y tierna del mundo; la forma en la que Warrin lo carga y le susurra palabras en ruso para calmarlo, también en como el bebé extiende sus manitas hacia su papá Daman porque quiere ser cargado por él y verlos teniendo escenas tan domésticas de los tres en su hogar sentándose en la sala a tomar chocolate caliente y estar en familia, es sin duda el mejor HEA que pudieron tener mis niños; el amor entre Daman y War no ha hecho más que crecer y lo vemos en cada una de sus interacciones, en la forma en que Warrin los defiende de cualquiera y en la forma en que el pecado de Daman ronronea al estar cerca de su esposo y su adorable hijito.
𑁍 También tenemos una historia corta acerca de cómo fue que Kallias y Elasus se conocieron, me gustó conocer ese flechazo de ambos en medio de una batalla y como es que el mundo pareció dejar de girar en cuanto ambos se encontraron. Fue un instalove un poco apresurado pues en tan sólo dos días se conocieron, follaron y se enamoraron, se entiende que el ritmo debía ser rápido pero igual me hubiera gustado que ellos tuvieran su propio libro, ya que su historia daba para ser una de las más románticas y trágicas a la vez.
𑁍 Finalmente, tenemos una serie de entrevistas hechas a nuestros medios ángeles (y que al final me entere que fueron hechas por verdaderos fans en el grupo de la autora), aunque no aportaron mucho de información que no supiéramos, sin duda, el fanservice se agradece. También tenemos una escena eliminada que, considero, fue buena idea haberla quitado del borrador final de Alastair, y así sin mucho más llegamos al final del libro pero no del mundo de estos Nephilim, ya que se anuncia que habrá más libros de otros personajes y estoy emocionada por leer el de Oliver y Daichi.
«—Podría vivir un millón de años y nunca conocer un momento más feliz que este —dijo Kallias antes de besarme de nuevo. Luego susurró contra mis labios—: Mi corazón. Mi alma. Mi todo. Todo te pertenece, Elasus.»
April 23, 2023
"It's my birthday." He dropped a kiss to my throat. "You know what that means?"
"Hmm." I feigned ignorance. "It means to get birthday spankings. Damn. I'll be spanking you all night. Over two thousand times. I guess my spatula skills will come in handy after all."
It was nice revisiting the boys, especially some of the earlier pairings from the series. It was pretty fluffy - but this is their HEA, right? It's supposed to be fluffy. The author did a good job keeping everyone's characters true to self. I admit - I skimmed Kallias' story. I wasn't in this epilogue book for melancholy and loss, and I felt like we saw enough of his and his mate's HEA through the other stories.
I perched on the branch, unmoving. Barely even breathing. Tracking was my specialty. And in that moment? My target was my six-foot-six ice dragon husband.
I can't decide which storyline was my favorite ending. I - l o v e - Damen and Warren's developments. Raiden's . Hell, I even love that Simon and Galen are still running the store and going about business. But the final peek at Laz and Alastair was absolutely lovely, and despite their actual story not being my highest rated in the series, I think their HEA means the most to me somehow.
Overall, some nice closure to an engaging series!
January 7, 2024
Lovely ending (glimpse to their HEA) to an amazing series!
See you later!
See you later!
February 25, 2023
Full Disclosure I didn’t read this entire book. I only read the updates on Daman, Bellamy, Raiden and Alastair. I don’t really care much about the rest of it. I will eventually read the Kallias novella I’m just not in a good head space for his story.
October 28, 2023
This was a fun extra, sweet to see all the boys’ HEA. I really liked getting Kallias’ story too, it made the fact that he got his HEA even better
July 15, 2024
Beyond the Storm by Jaclyn Osborn
💙 Bonus Epilogues
💙 Kallias Novella
💙 Character Q&As
💙 Deleted Scene
💙 Found Family
💙 Fated Mates
💙 Not to be read as a standalone
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Humour: 🤭🤭🤭
Intimacy: 🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂
Angst: 🥺🥺
First person dual pov 👀
CW: death, violence, bullying, trauma, ptsd. (Please note: this list is incomplete.)
💙 Bonus Epilogues
💙 Kallias Novella
💙 Character Q&As
💙 Deleted Scene
💙 Found Family
💙 Fated Mates
💙 Not to be read as a standalone
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Humour: 🤭🤭🤭
Intimacy: 🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂
Angst: 🥺🥺
First person dual pov 👀
CW: death, violence, bullying, trauma, ptsd. (Please note: this list is incomplete.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2024
Si me leí solo los happy endings de los primeros siete libros y no leí la historia extra que se nos presenta aqui, se considera como leído este libro??? Para mí sí 😂😂🤭
February 24, 2023
It’s so cute seeing them all in their HEA habitat. I’m so happy spin offs are coming, because I’m not ready to say goodbye yet to the characters. I’m anticipating Soo many stories …
February 10, 2023
TOP 2023
This book is everything and more. It was a perfect conclusion to this series. I adored everyone’s happily every after. My man Phoenix surprised me. I swooned so hard at each couple living in peace and love.
I squealed at the Easter egg Jaclyn wrote in the book because OMG!!!!!
Kallias and Elasus extended story made me feel their love. Smack right in the heart. I love me some amazing Spartans. 😉.
Baxters Q&A was so funny and just put a smile on my face.
I can’t wait to see where Jaclyn goes with the spin offs. I’m here for it all.
This book is everything and more. It was a perfect conclusion to this series. I adored everyone’s happily every after. My man Phoenix surprised me. I swooned so hard at each couple living in peace and love.
I squealed at the Easter egg Jaclyn wrote in the book because OMG!!!!!
Kallias and Elasus extended story made me feel their love. Smack right in the heart. I love me some amazing Spartans. 😉.
Baxters Q&A was so funny and just put a smile on my face.
I can’t wait to see where Jaclyn goes with the spin offs. I’m here for it all.
February 25, 2023
Yessssss!!! Pure fluff and happiness which is exactly what I needed today 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 it was so nice to see these characters again, once again Daman and Warrin really are THAT couple - love them so much. Also Kallias!! Omg!! He and Elasus have the sweetest relationship ever it was so nice to see their story they really had me like 🥹🥹 the whole time
March 7, 2023
What a disappointment this book was. I was truly excited about it, I usually love short novellas after the ending of a book or a series with a glimpse into the happy ever after of the characters I fell in love with. This book was definitely the exception, and I really wish I hadn’t read it at all.
The short stories for each couple are very poorly written and they tell absolutely nothing. It literally reads as a fan-fiction written by someone that didn’t even bother to re-read the first books before writing. The POV of the brothers and their mates from the first books is really inauthentic. Also, this part of the book had everything bad from the series with none of the good. The cheesiness, the fact that the author explains the plot and characteristics from it from previous books over and over again (even though who would read this without having read the series? This wasn’t supposed to work as a standalone, the only reason why it didn’t bother me *that* much in the rest of the books, since they were each supposed to work on their own and therefore some extra explanation of some points was understandable), the fact that actually a lot of the love stories have SEVERAL points in common (including what the characters say to each other, how they touch each other, how they explain their feelings to the author). Phrases like “you are mine… yes I’m yours and only yours”, “you make me soar”, “you are the missing half of my heart”… the explanation on how they make each other feel to the reader… somehow ALL the couples share THE SAME feelings. It was endurable during the books (if a bit annoying there too… specially after having read the same thing for 5 or 6 other books) but I went through it because the plot was different and each couple had their particular things, each character with their own personality and, specially, humor. None of that was present in this book. The only good thing of that part of the book is Daman and Warrin’s son.
Kallian’s story was a bit better if also, again, extremely repetitive. But if this book had been only that, maybe i’d be rating it 2,5stars or even 3 instead of 1.
Baxter’s interview and Uriel’s note are not even worth mentioning, that’s how ridiculous they are.
The short stories for each couple are very poorly written and they tell absolutely nothing. It literally reads as a fan-fiction written by someone that didn’t even bother to re-read the first books before writing. The POV of the brothers and their mates from the first books is really inauthentic. Also, this part of the book had everything bad from the series with none of the good. The cheesiness, the fact that the author explains the plot and characteristics from it from previous books over and over again (even though who would read this without having read the series? This wasn’t supposed to work as a standalone, the only reason why it didn’t bother me *that* much in the rest of the books, since they were each supposed to work on their own and therefore some extra explanation of some points was understandable), the fact that actually a lot of the love stories have SEVERAL points in common (including what the characters say to each other, how they touch each other, how they explain their feelings to the author). Phrases like “you are mine… yes I’m yours and only yours”, “you make me soar”, “you are the missing half of my heart”… the explanation on how they make each other feel to the reader… somehow ALL the couples share THE SAME feelings. It was endurable during the books (if a bit annoying there too… specially after having read the same thing for 5 or 6 other books) but I went through it because the plot was different and each couple had their particular things, each character with their own personality and, specially, humor. None of that was present in this book. The only good thing of that part of the book is Daman and Warrin’s son.
Kallian’s story was a bit better if also, again, extremely repetitive. But if this book had been only that, maybe i’d be rating it 2,5stars or even 3 instead of 1.
Baxter’s interview and Uriel’s note are not even worth mentioning, that’s how ridiculous they are.
February 24, 2023
my Nephilim boys and their mates finally got their HEAs🥲
“After a lifetime of heartache, violence, and constant fighting, the dark sky had cleared. New light broke across the horizon, and the air felt so much lighter. Calmer. We were finally beyond the storm.”
I just need a second to process that this series is officially over (although I’m looking forward to Konnar, Michael, and Baxter’s books👀)
These brothers deserve all the peace and happiness in the world. They all found their mates, beat Lucifer and can finally enjoy the life they wanted😭
Daman and Warrin as dads is everything, Bell and Phoenix being god fathers and wanting to finally settle down, Raiden and Titan being happy with their cooking and unofficial child, Galen and Simon living the simple life with his shop, Castor and Kyo with the water dragons, Laz and Alastair living in the celestial realm, and Gray and Mason doing Gray and Mason things (he’s still better as a side character)😭😭😭😭
Kallias and Elasus’ novella was a punch to the face with emotions. Wow their bond was intense from the beginning and I’m so glad they got their second chance (although the thought of them spending years apart after they died and not being able to feel each other breaks my heart)
I was on my knees sobbing when Elasus gave Kallias his ring on their anniversary like my god
“A date is engraved on the inner band. 394 BC. That’s how long I’ve loved you.” like he’s so sick for this???????
anyways I’m done ranting thanks I miss them already
“After a lifetime of heartache, violence, and constant fighting, the dark sky had cleared. New light broke across the horizon, and the air felt so much lighter. Calmer. We were finally beyond the storm.”
I just need a second to process that this series is officially over (although I’m looking forward to Konnar, Michael, and Baxter’s books👀)
These brothers deserve all the peace and happiness in the world. They all found their mates, beat Lucifer and can finally enjoy the life they wanted😭
Daman and Warrin as dads is everything, Bell and Phoenix being god fathers and wanting to finally settle down, Raiden and Titan being happy with their cooking and unofficial child, Galen and Simon living the simple life with his shop, Castor and Kyo with the water dragons, Laz and Alastair living in the celestial realm, and Gray and Mason doing Gray and Mason things (he’s still better as a side character)😭😭😭😭
Kallias and Elasus’ novella was a punch to the face with emotions. Wow their bond was intense from the beginning and I’m so glad they got their second chance (although the thought of them spending years apart after they died and not being able to feel each other breaks my heart)
I was on my knees sobbing when Elasus gave Kallias his ring on their anniversary like my god
“A date is engraved on the inner band. 394 BC. That’s how long I’ve loved you.” like he’s so sick for this???????
anyways I’m done ranting thanks I miss them already
February 24, 2023
really appreciated this book, it gave me closure to all the couples’ plot lines. also it was nice to relax and read something where everyone was finally happy and sated bc the war is over. i wish more authors made these extended epilogues where nothing happens but mundane domestic bliss.
galen & simon
i loved their pairing in the og series and here they were equally as sweet.
castor & kyo
i loved how playful they always were with each other.
daman & warrin
i just loved how everyone was calm and happy.
gray & mason
they weren’t my favorite couple but they were cute here.
bellamy & phoenix
loved this one.
raiden & titan
raiden was just so wholesome and precious.
alastair & lazarus
i didn’t love them a lot in og so it was only okay now.
kallias & elasus
it was cruel of lazarus to separate kallias and elasus just after they found each other. but he then encouraged (ordered) kallias to return with elasus so whatever.
and yes i sobbed.
galen & simon
i loved their pairing in the og series and here they were equally as sweet.
castor & kyo
i loved how playful they always were with each other.
daman & warrin
i just loved how everyone was calm and happy.
gray & mason
they weren’t my favorite couple but they were cute here.
bellamy & phoenix
loved this one.
raiden & titan
raiden was just so wholesome and precious.
alastair & lazarus
i didn’t love them a lot in og so it was only okay now.
kallias & elasus
it was cruel of lazarus to separate kallias and elasus just after they found each other. but he then encouraged (ordered) kallias to return with elasus so whatever.
and yes i sobbed.
May 18, 2023
3.75 stars
This was a great goodbye to the series. Not every couple got a spicy scene, but all of the chapters were dripping with cheese. It's over-the-top romantic declarations, so if you're not in the mood for that skip this compilation. Gray was still my least favorite, but the story was sweet.
I loved the short story for Kallias. It made me wish he had more time on the page. Still, I was happy to get even this. I skipped the interviews with Baxter. It read too silly and didn't fit the tone of the series as a whole. I did read the private notes of Uriel on the brothers. It made me laugh that Raiden was the one deemed the safest. It's a fact that he's the biggest marshmallow of the group.
I'm ready for a continuation of the world via spinoff. I can't wait to see these great characters pop in and out of others getting their HEA.
This was a great goodbye to the series. Not every couple got a spicy scene, but all of the chapters were dripping with cheese. It's over-the-top romantic declarations, so if you're not in the mood for that skip this compilation. Gray was still my least favorite, but the story was sweet.
I loved the short story for Kallias. It made me wish he had more time on the page. Still, I was happy to get even this. I skipped the interviews with Baxter. It read too silly and didn't fit the tone of the series as a whole. I did read the private notes of Uriel on the brothers. It made me laugh that Raiden was the one deemed the safest. It's a fact that he's the biggest marshmallow of the group.
I'm ready for a continuation of the world via spinoff. I can't wait to see these great characters pop in and out of others getting their HEA.
June 18, 2023
A fun little companion to this series, it’s nice to see these characters get their final happy endings. It was so nice to read about Kallias and Elasus and their relationship. Now that I think about it, I mignt need to readjust my ratings of the couples to include them:
1. Daman and Warrin (this will never change)
2. Alastair and Lazarus
3. Kallias and Elasus (had they gotten their own full novel, I think they’d be number two. They’re both so gentle and soft, it warms my heart. Alas, it was only a few chapters and so I’ll satisfy myself with this order)
4. Bellamy and Phoenix
5. Raiden and Titan
6. Castor and Kyo
7. Galen and Simon
8. Gray and Mason
I will still stand behind this
1. Daman and Warrin (this will never change)
2. Alastair and Lazarus
3. Kallias and Elasus (had they gotten their own full novel, I think they’d be number two. They’re both so gentle and soft, it warms my heart. Alas, it was only a few chapters and so I’ll satisfy myself with this order)
4. Bellamy and Phoenix
5. Raiden and Titan
6. Castor and Kyo
7. Galen and Simon
8. Gray and Mason
I will still stand behind this
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