Every time I turn around, new opponents are looking to knock me down. No part of the magical community is safe.

And now my enemies have left me with a horrible accusation hanging over my head, using so many tricks I can barely defend myself.

If I want to clear my name and keep my freedom, I have to turn to the guys who once made my life hell. They’ve changed their tune and made amends, but how far can I really count on them? Especially if they discover that my greatest foes are within their families.

I’m going to have to find out. The truth can’t stay hidden forever.

But no matter what the villains in the university and beyond it throw at me, I won’t give in. I’m the last of the Bloodstones… and hanging onto that role may be the only way I can save everything that matters to me.

This review will be a bit odd because evidently, I read 75% of this book and then forgot about it completely! This is the fourth book in an eight-book series, so the characters develop and evolve at a slower pace, which allows the reader to understand and connect to them on a deeper level.

In the past three books we have seen Rory battle against the scions, the school, the teachers etc. She has been more than just the underdog. She has been hated, belittled, humiliated, bullied, ignored, abused… Her character has shown true resilience and a level of strength that is only encountered – in my opinion – in the pages of a book.

Rory spends much of this book carrying around the fear of the unknown with her trial looming ahead. She wears magic suppressing bracelets; she worries about the future and becomes paranoid about what threat she should be looking out for.

The biggest difference to Rory’s life from the first book to this one is the role of the scions. In the beginning, their only role was to tear her down as much as possible and leave her in a crumbled uncontrollable mess. Declan had always been a neutral party – from the beginning – but in this book we see him stripping the tense anxiety he carries around with him and actual accept that he is allowed to have a little of what he wants in life.

Jude, who has finally warmed to Rory begins to think of himself and a life for himself outside of his family name. I think he is a very complex character. While his past actions with Rory would make any sane woman want to stay far away, the character of Rory has the patience to want to accept and forgive him for his misdeeds. He has learned some home truths and while these have negatively affected how he views his position within his family, he is taking the steps to becoming more independent and shape his future in a way that benefits both him and those around him.

Connor was the first to crack Rory’s shell in the beginning, and though it has been a tumultuous ride since then, it is good to see that there is still a close bond there. Out of everyone, I believe Rory trusts Connor the most – even as she keeps some secrets close to her chest. Connor as a character of the world, I think has been overlooked by others and that has led him to develop a cool indifferent shyness that has been hard for him to overcome. I would say that his development in this book has allowed the other scions to realise what kind of man he is and what kind of person they had unintentionally ignored.

Malcom is, well, I never thought I would like this character. I have despised him. I have wished him death. I have wished him unmeasurable pain. He sunk to the deepest corners of my mind to the point where I loathed seeing his name on the page. This character wasn’t grey, he was the darkest black and I couldn’t envisage a world where he saw any light. 

I still dislike him, there is something foul about his character that rubs me the wrong way. I don’t see him as enemies to lovers. I see him as a vicious man who went too far. However, the plot is clearly designed to include him at some point and within this book we saw the beginning of that take root.

Indifferent at best, infatuated at worst. Malcom has A LOT to make up for and Rory has more forgiveness than I for allowing him to breathe in the same air space as her, let alone work to forgive him.

He does have a pretty spectacular entrance towards the end of the book and while his actions do have a positive effect for the storyline, I found myself wavered on the edge of whether I thought his actions were genuine or not.

Malcom, I think, will have the biggest character curve. He has the most to unlearn from the dogma beaten into him and he is the second most powerful next to Rory.

It would be foolish for me to completely discount him but for his character to win me over…well, there is a long road ahead.

The book ended in what I thought was a neatly tied bow, but it then got slightly ripped apart by an angry beaver. I’m not sure what’s coming next, but I am sure that Rory will rise to the challenge because there seems to be nothing she cannot fight.