Read my reviews of the previous books in the Madly Ever After series:
Sins That Find Us (#1) | Sins That Bind Us (#2)
In another world, more of this trilogy delved deeper into the history of and relationships between the complicated dynamics between Kane, Phoenix, James, and Ari. I will never penalize an author in a review of a well-written book for not writing the story that I’d have preferred to read; I just wish I’d seen Alice as more of a missing puzzle piece and less of a walking plot device. I will stress here that this book is certainly not lacking the elements that I’ve come to expect from Lindsey’s work, such as dynamic characters and solid, immersive writing. If anything, I’m more disappointed in myself for not loving this trilogy as much as I anticipated.
Overall, including Alice as a character started to feel contrived when I understood that the conflict between the two mafia families was inevitable. I’ve tried to be aware of my own biases when contemplating my criticisms of her, but I never felt that she truly came into her own as a force to be reckoned with this in this overall story. I did warm up to her a bit in this final installment of the trilogy, but so many of her actions were merely reactions to the decisions made by the men around her, beginning with her father and ending with Kane and his men.
The external plot did have some decent twists that I didn’t see coming. Lindsey had to strike a delicate balance between delving into those intricacies at the expense of sacrificing time spend on the relationship element of the story. On the other hand, all of the spicy scenes were delightfully hot but then ended up feeling like padding for the mafia storyline that dragged as a result of not enough detail.
There’s so much here for readers to enjoy, and I know that Lindsey’s excellent writing will hopefully draw in new readers who prefer these subgenres. Luckily, they are prolific enough that I know I don’t have to wait long for stories that satisfy me as much as I truly wish this trilogy did.
Disclaimer: I received a digital review copy of this book from the author.