Source: e-ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
King Tomb (Forever Evermore #3) by Scarlett Dawn
From Scarlett Dawn comes the stunning, sexy, sensual, surprising, spell-binding conclusion to the best-selling first Forever Evermore trilogy.
Queen Shifter, Lily Ruckler, has found solace in brutal warfare. Her bloodied fists and bared fangs fill the holes left in her memory, the blank spaces that leave her soul aching and empty. Her only pleasure is in blood; her only salvation is the relationship she has with her infant child, the baby of unknown origins who brings her solace and stability.
When Elder Harcourt summons Lily and her protector Antonio back to the United States, Lily thinks nothing unusual about the change of location. But a standard reconnaissance mission leaves her trapped inside King Zeller’s private quarters, and at his mercy. Surprise attraction rapidly turns to a battle of wills and an intense power struggle that leaves no clear victor but plenty of resentment.
They are not allowed to nurse their wounds. In order to win the war against the Commoners, the King Vampire and Queen Shifter must work together. It should be easy. The war is turning, the battle is deadly, and both Lily and Ezra love the cold cleanliness of combat. But their chance meeting has led to more than an unlikely alliance. Secrets have a way of surfacing, especially on a torn-up battlefield, and Lily and Ezra are about to re-learn all they cannot remember. If they can’t control their emotions and responses, it will be to their own ruin and the destruction of everything around them.
Review...
I've been in love with the Forever Evermore series for a while now. I was taken by the absolute awesomeness of King Hall, and then swept away again with King Cave, and after the ending to that one...I was DYING for this third book. It was so conflicting, because I was scared to see what would happen next, and this is the end of Lily's story. But I wanted to read this SO. BAD. Like, I needed it. And then I got it and read it, and I have to say that I am so pleasantly satisfied with this third installment.
The characters have all been making some darn good headway in this trilogy, and I was so worried about how that would be affected. From the beginning of this book, you can SEE that Lily was set back. She's pretty cold. And then when we get back to Ezra--and Jack and Pearl--they're the same way. But as the story progressed, the personalities began to shine through. The humor and emotion behind Lily came back, and things got better. By the end of the book, she ended up with such a complete character arc. Not only compared to this book, but compared to King Hall? She's grown so much, as have the rest of these characters I heart.
Speaking of characters I heart...EZRA. One of my favorite book boys ever. (Seriously, I made a list at one point. He was number 4.) I worried about him more than anyone else. He's my favorite, what can I say? It hurt me so much to see the way he'd changed due to the ending of King Cave. But this book just made me love the guy even more. Seeing him as a dad was such a hit to the heart, and it was great.
The romance...took time. We all know they love each other. We saw them fall, we saw them declare it, we know it's real. But it's not so easy anymore, and there's way more in play. One of my biggest worries when picking this book up was how long it'd take Ezra and Lily to bump into each other again. Because if they're not in the same vicinity, then they can't have any type of sweet interaction or...ANYTHING.
I'm telling you now: don't worry about that.
Don't worry about how long it'll take for them to see each other, or how things will work out. I did at first, but then I just...stopped. Why? Because Scarlett Dawn pieced together a fantastic plot to wrap up this trilogy. So many questions are answered--even ones I never even thought to ask. Everything falls into place and makes sense. There's a certain character who turns out to be way more important than they seemed in the previous books, but it MAKES SENSE that they're important, and the things that they do fit, too.
And guess what? I actually DID do a fair amount of swooning.
So awesome plot, swoon-worthy romance, and Scarlett Dawn's addicting writing all play a part in the greatness that is this installment in the Forever Evermore series.
There were a couple of issues I had with the book, however. First, it was so much shorter than the previous books. I've gotten used to this series containing long novels, and I've loved it. The stories flew by as it was, and now this one was even shorter. It made some things feel a little rushed. Everything that needed to happen DID, but I would have liked more to it. Second, there wasn't nearly enough Jack and Pearl for my liking. I loved the four friends in the first book, and there was a sufficient amount of them in the sequel, but this one lacked. We DO get to see them, and we DO get to gauge their growth, though, so that's a plus. And these things I just mentioned didn't make me dislike the story at all. They're simply things I noticed that I wasn't exactly a huge fan of.
Overall, Scarlett Dawn did a darn good job with this final chapter in Lily's story. The story and writing were great, and I felt so satisfied when I reached the end. Of course, I wish this wasn't the last book for Lily, but I am happy with where her story left off and look forward to seeing where the Forever Evermore series goes with the next character.
4 stars - Breathtaking plot, addicting writing, and dashes of romance made this book another one to love by Scarlett Dawn!
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