3.75 out of 5 stars
E-book. Kindle Unlimited. 232 pages. Published May 7th 2019
Blurb:
Nick Smith is a man with a mission: find the place where he’d been held captive as a child and discover what happened to the kids he left behind. His memories are in flux, returned to him after being blocked for the past fourteen years, along with his ability to shift into his lion form. Nick is ready for answers. Instead, he finds a huge Viking of a man with flaming eyes and more power than Nick knew existed.
As a hellhound, Jedrek is often sent on missions that lead to nothing. It’s part of the gig. He’s a champion of the fire goddess, tasked with keeping the secret of the supernatural world safe. When he gets called to a house of horrors he’d not visited in years, the last thing Jedrek expects to find is an out of control alpha lion who brings to life feelings he’s never felt before.
The mysteries of Nick’s past collide with a powerful, evil force causing havoc in the supernatural world. Nick is convinced he can determine who is behind the current rash of dark magic–especially if he has the strength of a hellhound at his side. And if that hellhound is one he can’t keep his mind or hands off? Well, that suits the lion instincts roaring back to life just fine.
Likes:
- Nick and Jedrek, together and separately.
- Some interesting surprises.
- Nick’s mission, both at the start and the end.
- Good setup for the Magical Mates series.
- Nick learning about his lion.
- Leandra and her cubs.
Dislikes:
- Didn’t do justice to the characters or their relationship.
- Felt like a way to tie up loose ends.
- Not sure if everything lines up properly.
- The way the mating happened.
- Not a fantastic end to the Hellhound Champion series.
One of the problems with a long series like the Chosen Universe is that it can be easy to tell which couples the author isn’t as invested in. And while I don’t know that Blake wasn’t as invested in Nick and Jedrek as she is in the other couples, that’s the feel that I got.
It’s a shame really, since I liked Nick and Jedrek. They’re both good guys, and it was easy to root for them. Nick was especially sympathetic, and I loved the way he was tied in to everything that’s been going on. He’d been given slivers of information, but didn’t know a ton of stuff. That didn’t stop him from his quest to find and rescue the other kids who were kidnapped by Mrs. Foote.
Watching Nick learn about his lion was both sweet and sad. I understood why he was kept from shifting, but it deprived him of so many experiences. The way Jedrek stayed by Nick’s side and helped him was adorable, as was the way Nick bonded with Leandra and her cubs. I was glad for the mission he was given at the end. It suited him, and made up for the fact that he didn’t get the chance to rescue Ben and the other kids.
After reading this book, I understand why Jedrek wasn’t really introduced in either Hell on Earth or Hell to Pay. While Jedrek is a part of the hellhound pack, he’s Nick’s mate, and Nick is an alpha lion. So Nick didn’t seamlessly fit into the hellhound pack the way Drew and Cody did.
The book’s ending nicely set up the Magical Mates series. That was good. What wasn’t good is how I felt like this book was designed solely to tie up loose ends and set things in motion. Nick and Jedrek’s relationship sometimes took the back seat to everything else going on. It meant less page space for the relationship, and is part of why I feel like the author didn’t care about this couple as much as the others.
There have been loose threads dangling from all the other books in the series, and so many were dealt with in this book. I’m not entirely sure they all line up properly, and I still have questions, but I’m glad with what I got. Still, it wasn’t fair not to give Nick and Jedrek’s relationship the focus it deserved. Nick didn’t even know what he was doing when he mated Jedrek, which I didn’t like. Even though Jedrek was fine with it, since Nick didn’t know the meaning behind his actions, it was still lacking consent.
As an ending to the Hellhound Champions series, this book wasn’t what I hoped for. There wasn’t a big fight scene like with the other two books. And Nick and Jedrek didn’t actually spend much time with the hellhound pack. They were too busy with Leandra and the coven. This book felt more like a prequel to the Magical Mates series than a solid end to the Hellhound Champions.
Be sure to check out the rest of the series – Sweet Nothings (The Chosen One #0.5), The Trouble with Love (The Chosen One #0.75), Santa Trouble (The Chosen One #0.76), All or Nothing (The Chosen One #1), Nothing Ventured (The Chosen One #2), Hell on Earth (Hellhound Champions #1), Double or Nothing (The Chosen One #2.5), Next to Nothing (The Chosen One #3)
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