dragon_lion64's review against another edition
4.0
I had a feeling when I read the last book of this series that this book would be about Bastien Cabarro and I was right.
Bastien was the youngest child of three of the emperor of the Kirovarian empire. Since he was not expected ever rule, he had a reputation of being a spoiled womanizer.
Ember had just caught her boyfriend in bed with her youngest sister Alura so she lit her boyfriend’s fighter craft on fire. As punishment, she had to take on Bastien as a wingman. She had never met him but had heard about him and after just breaking up with a player, she was not looking forward to having to work with him.
When she went to go meet him, their station was bombed and her sister Alura was caught underneath a bunch of rubble. Bastien saved Alura and was hurt in the rescue but he managed to ask Ember out on a date anyway. At the hospital, with her other sisters and her parents Alura told her parents that she was going to marry him because she liked that he was a prince. Alura has a nasty habit of sleeping with her sister’s boyfriends and it pisses Ember off so she tells her that she has already accepted a date with Bastien even though she hadn’t.
A year later, Ember and Bastien were still dating. His family hated that she was a pleb and not of royal blood. His father met with her one day and told her that Bastien was planning on asking her to marry him but he would rather see Bastien dead than married to her. Just after the meeting, Bastien had called her in the middle of a battle in his fighter craft. This was not unusual but the timing seemed odd since she had just left his father who had threatened to have him killed if he married her. She decided to break it off with him rather than see him die. She had him moved out of her unit and into his sister’s unit.
Bastien had no idea what had happened. Not only had Ember turned down his proposal, leaving him on bended knee in a restaurant, she also had moved him to his sister’s unit where she knew he hated it. His sister treated him like a moron and was always berating him. Ember had told him she needed time to figure things out yet she wouldn’t even return his calls.
A month or so later, Alura asked him out to dinner so he called Ember to ask permission. He thought she would yell at him and tell him he couldn’t which would prove to him that she still cared about him but instead she told him she didn’t care who he went out with or slept with. He went out with Alura but ended up taking her home and dropping her off at her apartment before the date ended because she annoyed him so much that he couldn’t stand being around her. When Ember found out that he had actually gone on the date, she walked up to him and kneed him in the crotch.
That night, he went out to a bar and got drunk. He woke up in bed naked next to Alura. He couldn’t remember anything though. Five weeks later, Alura announced she was pregnant in front of a dinner party where his parents and other important people of society were attending. The only thing he could do to prevent a giant scandal was tell everyone that he was going to marry her.
Alura, of course, was not pregnant. She was just a scheming bitch. She was actually scheming with Bastien’s uncle Barnabas who wanted the throne for himself.
Bastien married Alura which broke my heart because there are slight hints about Ember thinking that she will never tell him her secret now and her getting sick which makes me believe she is pregnant. Alura faked a miscarriage later.
Bastien and Alura’s marriage was not a happy one. He tried to avoid her as much as possible so he stayed with his parents at the castle a lot. One night, he was in the shower and heard a noise. When he went to check it out, he found his entire family slaughtered. The League, the police force for the whole galaxy, showed up and he was arrested and convicted for murdering his family. Alura went around to media outlets and lied about how horrible Bastien was and she testified against him at the trial.
Bastien was sentenced to death but a letter arrived just in time from the Emperor of the Triosan, his Uncle Aro, asking for leniency. The Overseer or magistrate said she wouldn’t sentence him to death but would make him a Ravin and if he survived fifteen years, she would set him free. Ravins rarely live past six weeks. They are implanted with a tracking device and used as practice prey for The League. They hunt them down and assassinate them. So, the Overseer basically handed him a death sentence anyway. He promised her that he would survive and come back for the real killer’s head.
Barnabas took over the throne and declared Ember’s family traitors except for Alura who made statements against them to save her own skin. Ember and her family went into hiding.
Throughout the book, we read about events that we already saw through the eyes of other characters in previous books and since I had read those stories, I knew that Bastien had made it for at least a little while.
My heart ached for both Bastien and Ember for the things they endured.
This series has become very complex so there are a lot of characters and events that I have forgotten some of it so I got a little lost but I enjoyed the cameos from the various characters who we have come to love in the series. I have no clue who the next book will be about but I really want The League and their allies to be destroyed.
www.paranormalromanceslut.com
Bastien was the youngest child of three of the emperor of the Kirovarian empire. Since he was not expected ever rule, he had a reputation of being a spoiled womanizer.
Ember had just caught her boyfriend in bed with her youngest sister Alura so she lit her boyfriend’s fighter craft on fire. As punishment, she had to take on Bastien as a wingman. She had never met him but had heard about him and after just breaking up with a player, she was not looking forward to having to work with him.
When she went to go meet him, their station was bombed and her sister Alura was caught underneath a bunch of rubble. Bastien saved Alura and was hurt in the rescue but he managed to ask Ember out on a date anyway. At the hospital, with her other sisters and her parents Alura told her parents that she was going to marry him because she liked that he was a prince. Alura has a nasty habit of sleeping with her sister’s boyfriends and it pisses Ember off so she tells her that she has already accepted a date with Bastien even though she hadn’t.
A year later, Ember and Bastien were still dating. His family hated that she was a pleb and not of royal blood. His father met with her one day and told her that Bastien was planning on asking her to marry him but he would rather see Bastien dead than married to her. Just after the meeting, Bastien had called her in the middle of a battle in his fighter craft. This was not unusual but the timing seemed odd since she had just left his father who had threatened to have him killed if he married her. She decided to break it off with him rather than see him die. She had him moved out of her unit and into his sister’s unit.
Bastien had no idea what had happened. Not only had Ember turned down his proposal, leaving him on bended knee in a restaurant, she also had moved him to his sister’s unit where she knew he hated it. His sister treated him like a moron and was always berating him. Ember had told him she needed time to figure things out yet she wouldn’t even return his calls.
A month or so later, Alura asked him out to dinner so he called Ember to ask permission. He thought she would yell at him and tell him he couldn’t which would prove to him that she still cared about him but instead she told him she didn’t care who he went out with or slept with. He went out with Alura but ended up taking her home and dropping her off at her apartment before the date ended because she annoyed him so much that he couldn’t stand being around her. When Ember found out that he had actually gone on the date, she walked up to him and kneed him in the crotch.
That night, he went out to a bar and got drunk. He woke up in bed naked next to Alura. He couldn’t remember anything though. Five weeks later, Alura announced she was pregnant in front of a dinner party where his parents and other important people of society were attending. The only thing he could do to prevent a giant scandal was tell everyone that he was going to marry her.
Alura, of course, was not pregnant. She was just a scheming bitch. She was actually scheming with Bastien’s uncle Barnabas who wanted the throne for himself.
Bastien married Alura which broke my heart because there are slight hints about Ember thinking that she will never tell him her secret now and her getting sick which makes me believe she is pregnant. Alura faked a miscarriage later.
Bastien and Alura’s marriage was not a happy one. He tried to avoid her as much as possible so he stayed with his parents at the castle a lot. One night, he was in the shower and heard a noise. When he went to check it out, he found his entire family slaughtered. The League, the police force for the whole galaxy, showed up and he was arrested and convicted for murdering his family. Alura went around to media outlets and lied about how horrible Bastien was and she testified against him at the trial.
Bastien was sentenced to death but a letter arrived just in time from the Emperor of the Triosan, his Uncle Aro, asking for leniency. The Overseer or magistrate said she wouldn’t sentence him to death but would make him a Ravin and if he survived fifteen years, she would set him free. Ravins rarely live past six weeks. They are implanted with a tracking device and used as practice prey for The League. They hunt them down and assassinate them. So, the Overseer basically handed him a death sentence anyway. He promised her that he would survive and come back for the real killer’s head.
Barnabas took over the throne and declared Ember’s family traitors except for Alura who made statements against them to save her own skin. Ember and her family went into hiding.
Throughout the book, we read about events that we already saw through the eyes of other characters in previous books and since I had read those stories, I knew that Bastien had made it for at least a little while.
My heart ached for both Bastien and Ember for the things they endured.
This series has become very complex so there are a lot of characters and events that I have forgotten some of it so I got a little lost but I enjoyed the cameos from the various characters who we have come to love in the series. I have no clue who the next book will be about but I really want The League and their allies to be destroyed.
www.paranormalromanceslut.com
chaos_tempest's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to love this book, I wanted to love the romance between Bastien and Ember so much, I wanted to further the story in some way, shape or form, and it failed me in all three ways. I have loved Sherrilyn Kenyon for years, she was the first real romance author I religiously followed, but the last several books from her have been less and less promising.
Bastien, as we know, was convicted of killing his family in a failed coup d'état and was sentenced to be a thrill kill for would be assassins. He hides out on a planet, often used by Andarions for the Endurance right, that blocks the tracker hidden in his body. Ember was a captain on Bastien's home planet, his partner, actually, after a controversial mishap with another aristo. Before the uprising, they of course fell in love, do we get to see this happen, no, not in the slightest. Ember becomes scared and backs out of the relationship (not Bastien's fault), leaving him wide up open to take the fall. Time skip, jump thing, insert Jullien, then Dancer, then Jullien again, keep in mind, these scenes are from other books and in BoV it takes up over half the book. When Bastien is finally, and I mean FINALLY, reunited with Ember, it was almost like nothing happened, they pick up right where they left off, with no build-up or romance.
If you can't tell, this book was a cop out filler, and a poor one at that. The Bastien that was portrayed to us in the other two books was strong and independent, willing to take a beating to save two kids he barely knows. We don't get to see that Bastien here. In BoV, Bastien whines, woe is me, think of Ember, more woe, etc. The scenes from BoL or BoF could have been beneficial to character building, since they are from his perspective instead, but they weren't used that way. The romance and love that Ember and Bastien shared could have been a cute and riotous story. They both have the potential characteristics for raising Hell and getting reactions from people, they had SO much potential, why wasn't it utilized?!
Also, I don't understand why SK keeps saying that this series can be read independently. If a newbie went into this book, no knowledge of the rest of the series, they would have no idea what was going on. This series absolutely should be read in order!
Bastien, as we know, was convicted of killing his family in a failed coup d'état and was sentenced to be a thrill kill for would be assassins. He hides out on a planet, often used by Andarions for the Endurance right, that blocks the tracker hidden in his body. Ember was a captain on Bastien's home planet, his partner, actually, after a controversial mishap with another aristo. Before the uprising, they of course fell in love, do we get to see this happen, no, not in the slightest. Ember becomes scared and backs out of the relationship (not Bastien's fault), leaving him wide up open to take the fall. Time skip, jump thing, insert Jullien, then Dancer, then Jullien again, keep in mind, these scenes are from other books and in BoV it takes up over half the book. When Bastien is finally, and I mean FINALLY, reunited with Ember, it was almost like nothing happened, they pick up right where they left off, with no build-up or romance.
If you can't tell, this book was a cop out filler, and a poor one at that. The Bastien that was portrayed to us in the other two books was strong and independent, willing to take a beating to save two kids he barely knows. We don't get to see that Bastien here. In BoV, Bastien whines, woe is me, think of Ember, more woe, etc. The scenes from BoL or BoF could have been beneficial to character building, since they are from his perspective instead, but they weren't used that way. The romance and love that Ember and Bastien shared could have been a cute and riotous story. They both have the potential characteristics for raising Hell and getting reactions from people, they had SO much potential, why wasn't it utilized?!
Also, I don't understand why SK keeps saying that this series can be read independently. If a newbie went into this book, no knowledge of the rest of the series, they would have no idea what was going on. This series absolutely should be read in order!
athenaevarinya's review against another edition
5.0
Actually, this is more of a 4.5 stars rating to me, but GoodReads doesn't divide stars into quarters so I can't put that. I just feel that the ending for Bastien and Ember was a bit rushed, hence the half star deduction.
thenovellush's review against another edition
3.0
Sooooo, I pre-ordered this book because SK is one of my favorite authors and in my eyes, she can do no wrong. Especially in this particular series. BUT, I was sorely disappointed with this book. It was boring, the two main characters went basically the entire middle 3/5 book without any interaction, and the whole thing seemed to be in fast forward making the timeline foggy and hard to keep up with. Some chapters and passages were labeled ___ years later, or ____ weeks later, and then some weren't labeled at all, leaving you to figure out the weird time jumps on your own.
Plus, the main issue that initially broke up Bas and Ember? The big reveal? NEVER HAPPENED. What the hell?! Ember just totally ignored the fact that Bas's father threatened them if they got married and never told Bastien what happened after I spent the whole book waiting for it. And then that same father never seemed to protest the fact that he married the sister instead.
The characters were really just kind of weird and inconsistent and unbelievable to me, especially Bastien and the sister (you know which one) and there was no real reasoning or explanation behind her douchbaggery. Overall, I think the 3 star rating was kind of generous, and I'm even more disappointed because I waited with bated breath for this book to come out and I love SK so much. Sad face! I'll definitely do an in depth book talk on my channel soon
Plus, the main issue that initially broke up Bas and Ember? The big reveal? NEVER HAPPENED. What the hell?! Ember just totally ignored the fact that Bas's father threatened them if they got married and never told Bastien what happened after I spent the whole book waiting for it. And then that same father never seemed to protest the fact that he married the sister instead.
The characters were really just kind of weird and inconsistent and unbelievable to me, especially Bastien and the sister (you know which one) and there was no real reasoning or explanation behind her douchbaggery. Overall, I think the 3 star rating was kind of generous, and I'm even more disappointed because I waited with bated breath for this book to come out and I love SK so much. Sad face! I'll definitely do an in depth book talk on my channel soon
craftingrama's review against another edition
3.0
a bit confusing and hard to figure out but glad I persisted, it finally got sorted out after awhile
ozettegirl's review against another edition
1.0
After the first chapter this book became unreadable. The timeline jumped ahead unevenly, the plot was ludicrously all over the place with tons of ransom characters. Wow, so bad.
fronik's review against another edition
2.0
I usually love Kenyon's series, but I found this plot choppy and hard to follow at times. One minute they are Meeting and the next deeply in love and - with seemingly little provocation- falling out and embroiled in a multi-verse revenge war. I was able to finish it in one day because I flipped through some of the - sorry! - unengaging fight scenes. I hope she writes more, but goes back to her style of building up plots and filling in back story with the admirable skill she used for the Dark Hunter series.
pixi_reads's review against another edition
4.0
It was alright. There was a lot of overlap with Dancer's story, and I feel most of the book was a retelling from Bastian's view. Even with this, I still rather enjoyed the telling of Bastian's story and got a surprise with the bonus story at the end - not an epilogue, a bonus story.
nellesnightstand's review against another edition
4.0
riveting, as always. i enjoyed Bastiens story.