Read my reviews of previous books in the Reckless Damned series:
Devil’s Mark (#1) | Devil May Care (#2) | Deal With the Devil (#3)
Though this review is being posted long after the book launched, that’s because I’m fighting a backlog of reviews, not because I didn’t immediately dive into this series finale the day it was released! I was already looking forward to the full enemies-to-lovers story of Dagon and Dmitri, but that’s not the arc Taylor gave me. Too much intricate history exists between these men for it to be so simple. Instead, she immediately hit me straight in the feels with an amazing plot twist, featuring an excellent reveal of unexpected backstory that never felt flashback-heavy or too much of an info dump.
This book functioned more as two stories in one as the primary trio first deals with the developing relationship arc, then joins the rest of the main cohort to finally deal with the series’ overarching external plot. The storylines could have been intertwined a bit more, but I never felt like either story was rushed, nor that the overall book lasted too long. For the first half, I appreciated the examination of how in a world in which fated mates are a factual concept, the trope removes a certain element of choice from relationships and how that’s not always necessarily a good thing. I enjoyed seeing Dmitri and Dagon work together to bring Lucky into their fold, despite the lingering conflicts from their pasts. The plot development that moves that bit along felt justified based on Taylor’s setup of Lucky’s circumstances rather than something more contrived.
The full ending was suitably epic after the slow buildup over the previous books. Lark nicely balances the dark elements of portraying demon heroes without going full horror. I was more than satisfied with how this series wrapped up, even if I’m sad to see it end. Luckily, I’m already looking forward to the next stories set in this world based on moments we’ve had with secondary characters here, and I’ve already marked my calendar.