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The Alignment #5
The Warrior
The finale to The Alignment Series.
Captive in the Moore estate, Sloane Bevan sees an image that evokes her grandmother’s warning: When the moon aligns with the oak, a danger will come for you. To her family she’s a warrior. To the Moores a destroyer. But she holds knowledge of magic the Moores lost, knowledge they want to extract before they kill her.
Rex Moore is out of patience. He has trained his whole life to battle and end Sloane Bevan. Now she’s in his house and his family has ordered him to wait. This is the first order he’ll defy, the last order they’ll give. Once he kills Sloane, the Bevans will fall and he will claim his birthright as king.
To end the age-old war between their families, one must destroy the other. Sloane and Rex understand their destiny, but no one predicted the larger battle they walk into. The mutual enemy they unveil. And the impossible allegiance necessary to survive it.
Captive in the Moore estate, Sloane Bevan sees an image that evokes her grandmother’s warning: When the moon aligns with the oak, a danger will come for you. To her family she’s a warrior. To the Moores a destroyer. But she holds knowledge of magic the Moores lost, knowledge they want to extract before they kill her.
Rex Moore is out of patience. He has trained his whole life to battle and end Sloane Bevan. Now she’s in his house and his family has ordered him to wait. This is the first order he’ll defy, the last order they’ll give. Once he kills Sloane, the Bevans will fall and he will claim his birthright as king.
To end the age-old war between their families, one must destroy the other. Sloane and Rex understand their destiny, but no one predicted the larger battle they walk into. The mutual enemy they unveil. And the impossible allegiance necessary to survive it.
- GenresFantasyParanormalRomance
1 pages, Audio CD
Published July 19, 2022
10 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Kay Camden
13 books68 followersKay Camden is equal parts writer, reader, and metalhead, who believes the best stories are love stories and all heroes must have a cool car. She writes twisty plots with smart heroines, haunted heroes, ancient feuds, forbidden love, magic, and revenge. She lives with her husband, two children, and an assortment of four-legged creatures in the middle of the U.S.A. next to the mighty Mississippi River. Other interests include learning the Irish language and listening to a lot of industrial/synthwave electronica and progressive/melodic death metal the only way those types of music are meant to be played: LOUD.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 5, 2018
2.5 stars.
I'm conflicted about this one. Like all the other books of the series, the first person narrative did no favours for the telling of this book. There was a little bit of an info dump feel to the beginning of this story, but it quickly became less so when new material started mattering more than the old. The story itself, however, was interesting and engaging enough on its own to propel things forward. There were some plot holes or unlikely things that made this even harder than normal to believe, but it didn't overwhelm my enjoyment too much.
The plot, as daunting as it was, was quite simplistic. I found this story more to be about young love, and what can be accomplished when you say no to hate and make another choice. As sweet as the romance was, the tone of this story was overwhelmingly sad. The ease with which the H was able to slip back into being selfish and hateful reminded me of the third book of this series, where we find out all the torture and awful things Trey Bevan endured at the hands of the Moores. It broke my heart that this happened to the H, too, and to make matters worse, it was his own flesh and blood doing it to him.
The ending was a bit unsatisfying, I admit. I'm sorry to be so greedy, Ms. Camden. I wish that we had more resolution on what happened between the MCs. Also, some information on what happened would've been nice too. An epilogue from the H's pov would've been appreciated. Ten, twenty years into the future would have been nice. A more satisfying ending would have garnered a higher rating for sure. As it was, I can only say that what happened made sense and the actions of the MCs made me believe in their love. This was a bittersweet ending to an interesting series.
I'm conflicted about this one. Like all the other books of the series, the first person narrative did no favours for the telling of this book. There was a little bit of an info dump feel to the beginning of this story, but it quickly became less so when new material started mattering more than the old. The story itself, however, was interesting and engaging enough on its own to propel things forward. There were some plot holes or unlikely things that made this even harder than normal to believe, but it didn't overwhelm my enjoyment too much.
The plot, as daunting as it was, was quite simplistic. I found this story more to be about young love, and what can be accomplished when you say no to hate and make another choice. As sweet as the romance was, the tone of this story was overwhelmingly sad. The ease with which the H was able to slip back into being selfish and hateful reminded me of the third book of this series, where we find out all the torture and awful things Trey Bevan endured at the hands of the Moores. It broke my heart that this happened to the H, too, and to make matters worse, it was his own flesh and blood doing it to him.
The ending was a bit unsatisfying, I admit. I'm sorry to be so greedy, Ms. Camden. I wish that we had more resolution on what happened between the MCs. Also, some information on what happened would've been nice too. An epilogue from the H's pov would've been appreciated. Ten, twenty years into the future would have been nice. A more satisfying ending would have garnered a higher rating for sure. As it was, I can only say that what happened made sense and the actions of the MCs made me believe in their love. This was a bittersweet ending to an interesting series.
December 18, 2017
What can I say about this book? Other than it was utterly brilliant and the perfect ending to the series! I highly recommend this series!!
March 24, 2019
It's barely been 24 hours since The Warrior came out, and I'm already done, and I wish I wasn't. I want more.
I honestly can't pinpoint what it is about The Alignment series that I love so much.
It's not perfect. There are aspects of the writing that could use some work, but not enough to take away from my rating. There's just something about this series. I cannot recommend it enough.
I've never finished a series and had such little criticism for it. I'm sure I'll pick up on more things as I reread it, but the fact that I noticed so little the first time through says a lot in itself. I've been reading my entire life and am pretty nit-picky about what I call a good book. But there just wasn't much that bothered me with The Alignment.
Some thoughts:
1) FAMILY
It's hard to find a family-oriented series in today's fantasies. Family is often used as a tragic backstory, barely addressed, or dismissed entirely. It's annoying because familial relationships are so central to who we are as people, but too often ignored in favor of romance.
This plot doesn't exist without family. You can't have it without family. And despite that, it's in no way lacking in the romance department. This series has a healthy amount of both, proving that you don't have to squash out one just to highlight the other.
2) Characters
Mary Sues and Gary Stus do not exist in these books. The characters are flawed, and their flaws are acknowledged. These flaws aren't magically resolved, because humans don't work like that. But they are addressed. They aren't ignored or dismissed.
That said, you, the reader, still get to decide how you feel about the characters. Camden doesn't manipulate you to feel one way or another. The facts are laid out bare; from there, it's up to you to decide what opinions you form.
3) Plot
When you read a lot of fantasy series, their plots can start to blur together. It often feels like they're all just the same plot with (slightly) different characters and (slightly) different settings.
The Alignment series isn't like that.
Part of the reason might be the urban aspect of it, but most of it is how Camden creatively blends a handful of fantasy elements together just enough that they fit together. The plot twists are unexpected like true plot twists should be.
Are there some predictable, cliche tropes? Yes. But name me one book that doesn't have that. I don't think those exist.
What I really love about the plot is the nature vs. nurture theme. This concept isn't one you can just gloss over. It's complex and messy and doesn't have a clear answer. It carries a lot to think about.
I'm of the opinion that good books should make you think. They should you make you question, they should leave you wondering, and they should linger in your minds. The Alignment series does that.
4) Writing style
Camden's approach with details is different from most authors I've seen. There are a lot in places you wouldn't expect, and a little in places you would expect more.
The transition between scenes is often nonexistent. You just find yourself here then there, but I find that works in this series because of the long timeline it encompasses. I suppose calling her writing style choppy is accurate, but not necessarily in a bad way.
That said, there are aspects of the plot that I definitely wish were explored more. Some of the scenes and the timeskips felt rushed, and it left me disoriented.
Still, this series is among my favorites.
All in all?
READ THE ALIGNMENT SERIES.
I honestly can't pinpoint what it is about The Alignment series that I love so much.
It's not perfect. There are aspects of the writing that could use some work, but not enough to take away from my rating. There's just something about this series. I cannot recommend it enough.
I've never finished a series and had such little criticism for it. I'm sure I'll pick up on more things as I reread it, but the fact that I noticed so little the first time through says a lot in itself. I've been reading my entire life and am pretty nit-picky about what I call a good book. But there just wasn't much that bothered me with The Alignment.
Some thoughts:
1) FAMILY
It's hard to find a family-oriented series in today's fantasies. Family is often used as a tragic backstory, barely addressed, or dismissed entirely. It's annoying because familial relationships are so central to who we are as people, but too often ignored in favor of romance.
This plot doesn't exist without family. You can't have it without family. And despite that, it's in no way lacking in the romance department. This series has a healthy amount of both, proving that you don't have to squash out one just to highlight the other.
2) Characters
Mary Sues and Gary Stus do not exist in these books. The characters are flawed, and their flaws are acknowledged. These flaws aren't magically resolved, because humans don't work like that. But they are addressed. They aren't ignored or dismissed.
That said, you, the reader, still get to decide how you feel about the characters. Camden doesn't manipulate you to feel one way or another. The facts are laid out bare; from there, it's up to you to decide what opinions you form.
3) Plot
When you read a lot of fantasy series, their plots can start to blur together. It often feels like they're all just the same plot with (slightly) different characters and (slightly) different settings.
The Alignment series isn't like that.
Part of the reason might be the urban aspect of it, but most of it is how Camden creatively blends a handful of fantasy elements together just enough that they fit together. The plot twists are unexpected like true plot twists should be.
Are there some predictable, cliche tropes? Yes. But name me one book that doesn't have that. I don't think those exist.
What I really love about the plot is the nature vs. nurture theme. This concept isn't one you can just gloss over. It's complex and messy and doesn't have a clear answer. It carries a lot to think about.
I'm of the opinion that good books should make you think. They should you make you question, they should leave you wondering, and they should linger in your minds. The Alignment series does that.
4) Writing style
Camden's approach with details is different from most authors I've seen. There are a lot in places you wouldn't expect, and a little in places you would expect more.
The transition between scenes is often nonexistent. You just find yourself here then there, but I find that works in this series because of the long timeline it encompasses. I suppose calling her writing style choppy is accurate, but not necessarily in a bad way.
That said, there are aspects of the plot that I definitely wish were explored more. Some of the scenes and the timeskips felt rushed, and it left me disoriented.
Still, this series is among my favorites.
All in all?
READ THE ALIGNMENT SERIES.
October 7, 2021
Though it was a bit twisted of me to appreciate the righteous killing spree carried out by the two 15 year old protagonists on the quest to eliminate a primordial evil hibernating in the hearts of a clan of psychopaths, I thought at times it was almost bordering on overkill the way death came so easily to the enemy.
The kills became so frequent that by the time the count hit thirty dead bodies I had lost all my capacity to feel shock and the lack of originality in the method of assassinations just diminished any anticipation I would have otherwise had been feeling.
The book started off well enough and I was thoroughly engaged until due to a lack of any worthy adversaries, apathy began to creep in.
The writing is hypnotic on nearly every page but due to the intent of continuously trying to flood the reader with endorphins, the end result was an exhausted reader. The epilogue though as dramatic as the rest of the book was just a bit too short.
This book would make an excellent TV series or movie and should be read only after the previously released books in the series
The kills became so frequent that by the time the count hit thirty dead bodies I had lost all my capacity to feel shock and the lack of originality in the method of assassinations just diminished any anticipation I would have otherwise had been feeling.
The book started off well enough and I was thoroughly engaged until due to a lack of any worthy adversaries, apathy began to creep in.
The writing is hypnotic on nearly every page but due to the intent of continuously trying to flood the reader with endorphins, the end result was an exhausted reader. The epilogue though as dramatic as the rest of the book was just a bit too short.
This book would make an excellent TV series or movie and should be read only after the previously released books in the series
January 1, 2018
This was an amazing series I am sad it is finished I really loved it. I think the ending was really good. So often I am disappointed by the ending of a long saga but I was very happy with this ending. I think that it was perfect and it fitted really well into the story. The author is a very creative and excellent wordsmith and I really love her work. I wonder what she will come out with next. The Alignment is a hard act to follow but I am sure she will find in her creative mind something equally as compelling. I really look forward to taking that journey with her.
MCR.
MCR.
December 22, 2017
Awesome read.
I read book one of the series and just kept going. Waiting for #5 was tough. The whole series was great interesting exciting paced just right. Kay Camden you are my newest fave author. Can't wait to read more of your work!!!!!!!!!!😍😍😍😍😍
I read book one of the series and just kept going. Waiting for #5 was tough. The whole series was great interesting exciting paced just right. Kay Camden you are my newest fave author. Can't wait to read more of your work!!!!!!!!!!😍😍😍😍😍
October 23, 2019
Absolutely wonderful series, I loved every book. Couldn't put them down. In fact they've disrupted my sleep.
I loved everything about this series. I couldn't stop reading. The characters were so damaged that you couldn't help loving some and hating others. Great books.
I loved everything about this series. I couldn't stop reading. The characters were so damaged that you couldn't help loving some and hating others. Great books.
March 11, 2020
Amazing
This is the best series read in a while. The characters are so well developed you feel like you know them. I could not stop reading. You have to read them all!
This is the best series read in a while. The characters are so well developed you feel like you know them. I could not stop reading. You have to read them all!
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January 2, 2018Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews