Red-Haired Ash Reads

Like a lot of people who have been reading this series since the beginning, I have been waiting for Hope’s story because she is a main part in bringing down Ulric with the Seven. But while I have been waiting for this story, I was also apprehensive about starting this book because I am not a fan of love triangles and I knew this was going to be that since the author has been teasing that Hope has to choose between Drake or Paxton since they were children. But, I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this, probably because the love triangle isn’t as centerfold as I was expecting. 

Hope is the Lock that will help bring Ulric down and she has known that since she was a child. Because of that, she expects fate to play a key role in her future and doesn’t really make her own decision about her future, which is part of why I didn’t love Hope for the beginning of this book. Yes she is an important part of defeating Ulric and potentially finding peace between the Realm and the Kurjan but she refuses to really think about what she really wants until it’s almost too late. Because she is so obsessed with being the peacebringer she ignores all red flags with Drake and assumes he is always telling her the truth, even though she receives all the reports on kidnapped women and attacks and knows he is the leader. Hope’s naivety is part of why I didn’t really love her at first, especially since it puts her and Paxton in danger. Once she wakes up to the truth though, we finally see the true Hope who is living for herself and that is the one I liked. She boldly declares her love even if it means death and fights to protect those she loves. 

While it took a while for me to warm up to Hope, Paxton was one that I instantly liked. He was protective and determined to save Hope from herself. Throughout this book Paxton just continues to show how far he will go to protect Hope because of how much he loves her. Hope and Paxton’s relationship is intense and filled with danger. While I was apprehensive of this couple at first, I ended up really enjoying their story and think they make a great couple. 

This book finally ends the Seven’s battle against Ulric. It has been a long time coming and it was a very unexpected and intense ending. The ritual with the Seven, the Keys, and the Lock was not what I was expecting and it made for a very intense and fast paced ending. I couldn’t put this book down once the final battle against Ulric started because things just kept seeming to happen and some of it was very unexpected. After waiting this long for this battle, I think this was a great final battle for the Seven and the Realm. 

Overall, this book exceeded my expectations and I really enjoyed it. I am unsure if this is the final book in this series since there is finally peace between the nations, but if so, I think this was a good ending, and if not, I look forward to more. 

CW: kidnapping, threat of rape, torture, violence, injuries, gore, death, misogyny, nonconsensual medical experimentation, references to child abuse and the death of a parent;

*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

---

Goodreads | StoryGraph | Amazon

---

Previous books and reviews for the series:

#1 Fated
#2 Claimed
#2.5 Tempted
#3 Hunted
#4 Consumed
#5 Provoked
#5.5 Twisted
#6 Shadowed
#6.5 Tamed
#7 Marked
#7.5 Teased
#7.75 Tricked
#7.8 Tangled
#7.9 Talon
#8 Vampire’s Faith
#9 Demon’s Mercy
#9.5 Vengeance
#10 Alpha’s Promise
#11 Hero’s Haven
#12 Guardian’s Grace
#12.5 Vampire
#13 Rebel’s Karma
#14 Immortal’s Honor
#15 Garrett’s Destiny
#15.5 A Vampire’s Kiss