Nothing will ever be the same again.

Our Bonded Group has been torn apart, and the monsters are now the prey.

But we’re not going to just wait around for our enemy to strike; the blood on his hands is unforgivable, and the god living inside of me wants her revenge paid in blood.

And a thousand souls.

We have been pushed to the limit, tested in ways that have devastating outcomes, and paid the ultimate price. Can we recover from such losses? Is the promise of a world without our enemy worth the sacrifices we’ve made?

Can we prove to everyone, and ourselves, that together our bonds are unbroken?

326 Pages | 28 Chapters | 6.5 Hours over 2 Days

Jeez Louise! The beginning of this book following on from the end of Book 4 – had me gasping, smiling, and frowning all at once. Not to mention the rapid beating of my heart and the anxiety I felt toward the direction of the plot! I have got to hand it to the author, they know how to reel an audience in and keep the cliffhangers going!

So much happened in this book and once again there were shifts in the character dynamics and evolutions of the characters themselves. I’ll split it like I have previously.

Oli – Oil is such a powerful character and her strength within the books has shown time and time again that there is more of her to offer. From being the woman who lived separately to her bond and shunned her bond group as much as possible, to the woman who embraces the bond inside her and protectively stands around the bonded she loves, there isn’t much that I haven’t seen about her character.

Watching her grow and evolve with each book has been an overwhelmingly pleasant experience. In this book we see her overcoming the curiosities and fears around the changes to her bonds and shoulder as much of the pressure as she can. We see her standing up to some new players and making new ties with joining characters.

I have always found a connection to Oli that is as easy as drinking water, and her character has boisterously wormed its way inside my book heart. With one book now standing in the way of the finale, I am intrigued to see what else she has to offer and whether the future still contains her or whether her bond and herself will be separated.

Nox – In or out. In or out. There is so much about this character that I have hated so completely through the course of the first four books. I have continually mentioned how this character lacks any redeemable quality and how I couldn’t understand why such a character was included in the Bond group. This book answers all questions regarding that, and though I wouldn’t reveal anything (don’t want to spoil it), it completely changed my opinion of the character. It did make me feel very short sighted but also despite the changes I saw, I felt relieved that underneath the same base character was still there.

Gabe – He grows in this book and it’s his growth that sparks an element of ‘what if’ and an unknown curiosity within the Bonded group as to what information they know and what information they’re lacking.

Atlas – Not going to lie, Atlas’s behaviour bordered on irritating in this book. The protective ‘alpha male’ stick has been rampant in this series, and I’ve always enjoyed the way Atlas looks out for Oli and remains loyal by her side through all things. However, in this book his need to protect her almost came off as aggressive and made me feel like he didn’t trust her or her bond to protect herself. I don’t know, his behaviour just gave me weird vibes that I wasn’t into.

North – We see North differently in this book. He becomes a little more reserved thanks to some of the situations happening around him. With North, his character has been so strong and protective, he plans, and he gives, and he shows a lot of emotion that seeing him neutral was more of a shocking thing. His behaviour was definitely needed in the situation but because it worked it didn’t feel so jarring.

Gryphon – Here Gryphon encountered a different obstacle, and it was interesting to see him react to it. I think through the series I’ve become so focused on Oli and her Bonded that I forgot the Bond had lives prior to hers. It was interesting to see this play out and see how being bonded to Oli has shifted other relationships.

Sawyer and Gray have their fair share of excitement in this book. It’s great to see supporting characters getting what’s deserved instead of wasting away on the side-lines.

This book also goes deeper into the actions of the Resistance and just how long they’ve been operable and how much they have manipulated. I found the writing very clever, in fact, the whole scenario of the Resistance is clever. It’s always been an entity that is seen but also shrouded in a little mystery. At the beginning I associated them with being ‘good’ because stereotypically a ‘resistance’ is good (in a book) and it has been interesting reading how differently my opinions have been made seeing the Resistance as the enemy.

So, we’ve seen Silas Davies as the antagonist of the series and honestly, I’ve imagined a thousand different ways of dealing with him once Oli and her bonded got a hold on him. When I tell you that nothing, NOTHING could have prepared me for that ending, for the final cliffhanger of the series! I’ll be dissecting this for hours now!

I give this book: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!!

Spice: 🌶️🌶️