My rating: 5 of 5 stars
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I took a break after the Dark Elementals series before I moved on to this, hence me reading it almost a month later.
The story is basically the start of Zayne's "second chance". We get to meet Trinity, this badass Trueborn, who grew up protected in this community that ends up attacked. Zayne's clan has their own troubles in DC, and well, trouble attracts trouble, so these two end up meeting each other. Then on, it's Trin weaving her way through a treacherous and demonic journey to find her kidnapped Protector, and we get a whole lot of Zayne!
First, the plot.
Basically this book starts off around 7 months after Every Last Breath. I've been a sucker for the gargoyle Warden concept since I read the Dark Elementals, so I loved seeing it coming back for another series. I think the whole heavenly plot might be getting stretched a bit thin with the whole Trueborn and her Protector concept, but I'm still loving the development since we're getting a badass heroine from it. And the plot twists? Too good! I loved it! I gotta commend this book for it majorly twisty plot twists because I'm a sucker for emotional turmoil!
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Then, the characters.
We've got Trinity, this badass Trueborn with human flaws and superhuman fire in her blood. Maybe I'm biased by my experiences this year, but I found her independence as sexy as hell. She's got this strength and unapologetic confidence that had me loving her from the beginning of this book.
Then there's Zayne, our resident good guy Warden who's been through hell in the last few books. I definitely got a better look at him in this book as compared to the previous books. I saw more of his personality, his flaws, his inner turmoil and his goodness in this. To be honest, I was very surprised by some of his actions in this whole book. And somehow, he was a lot hotter in this book compared to before.
Then, there were the cameos of the characters everyone loves. It was so good when the original characters started actively getting involved in the plot, and I had many moments where I squealed in delight at characters that popped up along the way.
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So, the new characters? Pretty damn good ones too. Including the villains. I loved Matthew & Thierry; they're just too precious. They're pretty much Trinity's parent figures, and I think they're doing a damn great job! Peanut the ghost is basically the typical comedian that brings all the humour by just being themselves; it was snorting-laughing goodness with him. Misha was basically a very interesting guy, who has this incredibly faceted personality you only see parts of throughout the book.
Then, the chemistry...
Trinity & Zayne are meant to be. I'm gunning for them so hard, especially after the developments at the end of the book. Their banter is pure art. And their chemistry makes me blush. Trin & Zayne have a lot more depth to their relationship, as compared to when Zayne dated Layla, and that's glaringly obvious to me.
Trinity has very strong relationships with the people she grew up with, and that warms my heart. She has this genuine selflessness that I find very charming, and some insecurities that are relatable. I found her friendships and family very inspiring and downright good people. I pretty much want to meet them in person after this book.
Zayne's bond with his clan is definitely different after what he's been through, and this is something we hardly saw in Every Last Breath. He has many walls up that he has to break through and deep waters to wade through to heal. But, I like that he isn't being douchy about it; he's pretty much got supportive relationships all around him, but Trinity brings that extra push he needs to work through what he experienced.
My overall impression is that this story is going in a very different tangent to what its predecessor did but in the same premise. So, it's a very welcome chapter to the Warden story, in my opinion. We saw and learnt more of Hell's mysteries in the Dark Elementals, and now its Heaven's turn to spill some beans. I'm also very excited to see more of what Zayne & Trinity are gonna bring to the table; they're two very strong people with very different personalities coming together in an interesting way, so I foresee more amazing stuff for these two.
What did you think of this book? Did it meet your expectations? Exceed them? Anything you guys were irked by? Let me know in the comments below!
