Red-Haired Ash Reads

Zayn, a former Strike Wing pilot, now spends his days treasure hunting alongside his brothers. When an assassin lures them into a hunt for her freedom, he finds himself confronting his past and his lost love.

This was another action packed adventure for the Phoenix brothers. Zayn was shown as the care-free brother in the previous book but we find that isn’t really the case. He has been running from the trauma of his past and meeting Ria means he can’t run anymore. In Ria, he sees his old teammate, and he really struggles at first to see she is her own person. White he does struggle a little, he falls quickly for Ria and loves her for who she is. Zayn ended up being a great hero who I really enjoyed, much like his older brother. 

Ria was a wonderful and deadly heroine. I know I can always count on Anna Hackett’s stories to have kickass females. While Ria is an assassin, at her heart she doesn’t want to kill and that has led her to the Phoenix brothers in the hope she can win her freedom by stealing the Assassin’s Guild’s prized treasure. Ria was just a great heroine who didn’t let Zayn use her as a placeholder for his old friend, and she doesn’t back down from trying to win her freedom. I just really liked her. 

The adventure in this was fascinating because it meant going back into the Devil’s Nebula, where Eos almost was sold into slavery. This time it’s centered around the Assassin’s Guild and their most prized treasure, the Lincoln derringer. Like the previous adventure, I really enjoyed this and was very surprised by the secrets that were uncovered in the Assassins Guild. It was a startling and traumatizing realization for Ria, and for everyone else, but I liked that we got to see something being done about it in the end. 

My favorite aspect of this series is how Hackett has weaved famous items from history into this futuristic world that considers these famous items as well, but they don’t actually know all the history anymore or they are considered myths. It just creates a fascinating story set in a possible realistic future for humans. I really love this world and can’t wait to see the next Phoenix brother fall in love. 

TW: PTSD; death of a friend/coworker; grief; violence; physical abuse; bombs; kidnapping; child abuse mentioned; desecration of a body; brainwashing; genetic experimentation;

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

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Previous books and reviews for the series:

#0.5 Among Galactic Ruins
#1. At Star’s End