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Review

“The snake and the bear, the man of stealth and lies, the man of soul and strength.
Both men who had a stake in my heart at some point in the game.
This ever-changing game.”

HOLY FREAKING HELL! What a rollercoaster! Karina Halle has given us an amazing ending to her dark and gritty Artist’s Trilogy. Bravo!

This book is a wild ride from start to finish! It’s suspenseful and action packed, with plenty of ‘holy shit’ moments spread throughout the story. I was excited, I was shocked, I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book and was highly impressed with the amount of badassery on display – everybody gets a chance to go all badass, and it makes for one crazy ride!

So much happens in this book! It picks up immediately after the ending of Shooting Scars, and follows the mad trio of Ellie, Camden and Javier in Mexico as they reluctantly join forces to save their loved ones and bring down the bad guy.

First off, the dynamic between the three of these characters is phenomenal! With so much murky history between them, and so much passion and animosity, there is some fantastic banter that flies back and forth, and when added to the intensity of their situation, it’s all creates a fantastic mood for the story. The moments of humour lighten the madness that is going on, and I loved it.

Of course this series has been Ellie’s story and this book goes back to solely her POV. As with the first two books, she goes through so much in this one, and it’s not all action, there is a lot of emotion in there too. Mostly to do with Ellie finally coming to realize who she wants to be, and then deciding exactly what (and who) it is that she wants, and claiming it. And this gives us some AMAZING romance, nd it is sensational! Firstly with the sexual tension, and then there is the swoon! Oh. My. God. Regardless of which team you are on, you’ve gotta admit this is pretty freaking swoony…

“I love you,” he whispered. “I was never meant to love anyone else. No matter what. Ellie Watt, you own me. And I’ll keep you safe.”

And hot…

He grabbed my hair hard with both hands, tugging sharply, and looked me dead in the eyes. He was all fire and hard angles.
“I love you,” he said, his voice gruff. “And I’ll have you. Keep you. Own you. You belong to me, only to me, from now on.”

Yeah, that’s hot! And there’s a whole heap of actual hotness to go along with this. Can you say… steamy jungle sex? In the rain, no less! Yes. Really. *fans self*

And then there’s this…

“That man would kill for me. He would die for me. And he would fuck me to death if I asked him.
I was tempted. What a way to go.”

Mmmhmmmmm.

The romance did get a bit cheesy towards the end, but I was so happy to have some resolution and to actually see Ellie happy, that I was able to overlook it. I did have a couple of other issues…

… But overall, they were minor, and didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.

Bottom line – it completely blew me away! I was hooked from the very first page, and was frantically flicking pages through all of the action – which is pretty much non stop – and one very satisfying epilogue. The plot was intricate and detailed, and really clever, and the shocks along the way had me bouncing up and down in my chair. And even though it isn’t always happy, I loved the directions that the story took and how it all ended up.

A superb finish to a fantastically gritty and original series.

5 stars.

 

The Artists Trilogy series

 

For similar reads, check out our Dark & Edgy Recommendations page

And for more amazing books by this author, see our Karina Halle Author Spotlight