5 out of 5 stars
E-book. Kindle Unlimited. 145 pages. Published December 26th 2019
Blurb:
Rowan Harbor has been peaceful for a now unprecedented two months, but everyone knows it’s the calm before the storm. The Summer king is coming for the thorn—a weapon destined to bring his end—and Fletcher has never felt so helpless.
When the disturbing dreams start and his mentor, Oak, is hesitant to discuss them, Fletcher doesn’t know where to turn. He and his boyfriend Conner are in the process of moving in together, and he doesn’t want to add anything else to Conner’s list of concerns.
With a vengeful fae waiting for his chance to raze Rowan Harbor to the ground, Fletcher has to find a way to protect everything he loves and survive the coming storm.
Likes:
- Great ending to the series.
- Great ending to Fletcher and Connor’s romance.
- How supportive everyone is.
- I don’t have as much of a book hangover as I expected.
- The town is finally safe.
- The way Fletcher handled the King fit him perfectly.
- Fletcher’s powers are amazing.
- Town bureaucracy finally moving forward.
Dislikes:
- Started with a dream sequence.
- Fletcher’s lack of self-confidence.
- Some sad parts.
I love stories that make me wonder how the hero is going to succeed, and then when the answer is revealed, it’s so obvious and perfect it feels like there could be no other ending. That’s how I felt when Fletcher defeated the Summer King. Which isn’t a spoiler. He was obviously going to do it. The question was, could he do it without sacrificing everything?
There were sacrifices in this book. It was inevitable. All the bad guys, all the threats, have been building up to this fight. The most powerful villain. And poor Fletcher, who feels like he can never live up to how great the other people in his life are.
Like with Jesse and Sean, there was some stuff Connor and Fletcher had to work through before they could get their happy ending. Fletcher’s lack of self-confidence has been present in all of his books, but never as intensely as this one. After everything he’s done, and being trained by Oak, he still felt “small, unimportant, and powerless compared to his friends.” And that includes Connor, his smart, rich, magical boyfriend.
In a way, it took a strong support network, and a bit of slow-moving bureaucracy, to make Fletcher finally feel settled. And major props to Fletcher’s dad for being awesome. With this book, Fletcher finally came to realize that he has a place in Rowan Harbor. That the people looked at him as one of their own. And that his presence is irreplaceable.
So much happened in this book that’s not in the blurb, and I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say that Fletcher went through a lot. There were some tears, both from characters in the story and a few of my own, but the ending really made me think that the town and its residents would be safe and happy from here on out.
My one big gripe is that the book started with a dream sequence. I’m not a fan of that tactic. It did have a solid purpose here, so it gets a pass.
I think everything was so well wrapped up with this book that I don’t have as much of a book hangover as I expected. All the characters are neatly paired off and happy. Devon and Wade, Jesse and Sean, Cassie and Isla, Fletcher and Connor. They’ve gone through relationship troubles, dealt with villains, and faced their inner demons. In the end, they’ve all come out stronger. I am supremely satisfied with the ending, both of the book and the series as a whole. I will definitely pick up something else by Sam Burns one of these days, and hope she keeps writing for decades to come!
Love is Love Reviews 