Age Gap Romances are NOT My Thing

 Beyond Scandal and Desire by Lorraine Heath 

I have very mixed feelings about this book because I hate an age gap. He is 31. She is 20. It's icky. But, the surprise twist at the end was good. Not good enough to give this a higher rating, but good enough that I will read more of the series. Mick is a bastard, literally and figuratively. Despite that he has built himself quite a real estate empire, and has taken care of his adopted mother and siblings. All in all he's a good guy. However, he is desperate to be accepted by society and he comes up with a plan to force his father, a Duke, to acknowledge him. His plan is to destroy the heir and he is going to use his betrothed to do so, in addition to gambling debts. However, once he meets Aslyn he starts falling for her and contriving excuses to spend time with her. He finally gets Aslyn into his bed and his brother comes barging in to say that heir finally bet the land that they have been waiting for. Aslyn overhears and starts questing Mick about his motives and their relationship. He comes clean about his parentage and the rest; she is heartbroken. He sends a message to the Duke and when he and the heir show up Mick has shaved his beard and the resemblance is uncanny, but the Duke maintains he has no bastard. Mick says all he wants is the right to call on Aslyn but the Duke refuses (he is her guardian). Still, Mick shows up the next day and while waiting he meets the Duchess. The book begins with the Duke calling a woman his love and then secreting away the baby to the Widow Truelove. He thinks he's giving the baby to an orphanage, but really she kills babies for a price. But she didn't kill Mick because she lost two of her own pregnancies and she thought it was payback for killing the babies, so she doesn't kill him to atone. Anyway, later in the story the Duke says he has been searching for his love ever since. But he doesn't name her. Well, come to find out the woman was his wife, the Duchess. She didn't keep the baby because she was raped and based on when she delivered she thought it belonged to the rapist and not her husband. Then, she saw Mick and realized the truth. The Duke knew it too, that's why he said he had no bastard. Mick is legitimate. And the true heir. However, when he found this out Mick didn't want to be acknowledged anymore; too many questions, too many bad memories to deal with. So, he runs off to his hotel and hides in work. Then, Aslyn and the Duke and Duchess come and stay in his hotel. He continues to avoid them. Finally, Aslyn invites him to tea with her, the Duchess, and his mother. He sprints down to the gardens to find them all getting along. He and Aslyn get married. He grows back his beard to help hide the resemblance to his father, and he builds relationships between his birth family and adopted family. I liked the ending and how nicely it set things up for future books. And, if you ignore the age gap it wasn't bad. I just hope all of the books don't have the age gap theme.

History Time

 The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783-1789 by Edward J. Larson 

I listened to this audiobook while taking my Granddad on a road trip to visit his baby sister. He had his hearing aids in for the first part of the drive, but I'm not sure if he was listening to the book or not since he made no comments about it. But, that also means that there were parts of the book that I didn't hear due to his commentary, stories, and musings (which are always fun but usually unexpected). With that being said, I did learn a lot about G.Wash and his life in the post Revolutionary War Era. I was a bit surprised that out of his two "adopted" sons he had more of a relationship (via written correspondence) with Lafayette than Hamilton. However, I was not surprised that Hamilton was instrumental in Adams getting the Vice Presidency, and ensuring that the vote was not overwhelming. I liked the use of primary sources throughout this book; some of which I use in my government classes. I think this would be a book that I would buy the physical copy of so that I could annotate it. I can understand G.Wash being a sought after dinner (and ball, play, tea, etc.) guest, I was surprised that he was such a popular dance partner. We all know that B.Frank is a ho, but Washington being so open to frivolity was unexpected. That G.Wash was so aware of how his presence and opinion could sway decisions was exactly what I expected of him. There was a comment during the 3rd part of the book about the egos of the Revolutionary War men and I chuckled at that, because that's not necessarily how they are taught in school (except for Hamilton and Jefferson, of course). Overall, this was enlightening and interesting and was a good choice for the road trip (even if Papaw wasn't paying attention).

Ren Faire part 2

 Well Played by Jen DeLuca

I HATE secret keeping as a trope. But, it worked in this book. At least initially. The audience knew (if you read the back of the book) that Stacey was not emailing with her summer fling but with his brainy cousin, Daniel. So, even though Stacey didn't know we did, which made the secret keeping less like a secret. Then, when she finally found it she made a plan on how she was going to confront him, and while her end of the plan went fine, Daniel didn't so any of the things she thought he was going to do which forced her to re-evaluate just how made she was. Which, was not really any at all. So, they are now, finally, together, in person. Things are going well. We got a lot of Emily and Simon in this book; their wedding was a big subplot. And Stacy and April became friends as a result. But then, Stacey overhears Dex and Daniel and come to find out, Daniel lied to her. Again. This time it was that Dex didn't know when in reality he did and he told Daniel to end things with her for him (Dex being the summer fling she thought she was emailing initially). So, she thinks Daniel was not actually interested in her and just taking his turn. He checks out and leaves the Faire early. Then emails her pouring his heart out. She, of course, is heartbroken. April shows up, takes her out, she spills all. Mitch shows up and he talks her out of driving in the dark and the next day they all go together to the new Faire so she can try to win back her man. The run into Dex and he tells her where to find Daniel, then, while they are talking, "accidentally" bumps them into each other. They talk things out and she decides to go on the road with him and things are good. This was cute and sets up book three well. I can't wait to read the next one. I love that the previous characters played an important role in this book, and I hope that trend continues.

The Pun in the Title was the Best Part

 Bite Club by Rachel Caine 

This was fine. Not great but not terrible. I did not like what was done to Shane in this book nor did I like how Claire reacted to things. Bishop is back (escaped from prison) and is using an underground fight club to raise money so he can kill his daughter, and take over. Of course he is not the face of the project, that's Vassily and Gloriana. She is using mind control on humans to get them to do her bidding. And Vassily is giving them "protein" drinks, which are enhanced with vampire blood so they can be stronger and fight longer. Shane is obsessed with the fight club and while he realizes that he's being manipulated by Glory he doesn't care because he gets to fight. And, all of his jealousies and insecurities are coming out. Claire gets the Founder to let her talk to one of the prisoners to gry to help them with tracing the website for the fight club but she turns on them and escapes in the confusion. Claire, Eve, and Myrnin have to stop fight club on their own, before Oliver goes scorched earth. They save Shane. Kill Bishop. Then, the tech girl shows up at Myrnin's lab and tries to kill Claire so she could be with Shane, but that doesn't work out. Shane finds out that his dad is now the brain running the vampire boundaries. He and Claire make up. She turns down MIT. Oh, and Eve and Michael are engaged; she is elated, he is not. Lots happened in this book, so it wasn't like it was filler. But it also wasn't great and lots of things irritated me.

Mama's Turn

 Wolf of her Own by N.J. Walters 

More like 3.75* This is a few months after Sage and Reese both get their books. Mikhail finally decides to make his move on Elise. And while she is intrigued, she is also still terrified, especially of men. But Mikhail is determined and goes at her pace. They have a delightful courtship and things are going well, expect for the fact that they are hiding it from everyone. Except for Gator who figures out something is going on and warns Mikhail. Warning is noted. Then Hannah's father shows up unexpectedly. He says all of the right things, but there is something off about him. Then, Hannah questions him about why now and if it's just to form an alliance and it is. Hannah leaves. Jacques tells him that there will be no alliance and to leave. He leaves. Then shows up at Elise's house that night. he is going to make this alliance one way or another. And if he has to forcibly mate the alpha's mother then he will do that gladly. She puts up a fight and is able to howl for help. Mikhail is the first to show up and he just destroys Hannah's dad, saving Elise. Jacques and Gator both show up and realize that Mikhail doesn't need help. But Elise doesn't want the man dead; better to let his own pack deal with him than kill him and have issues with them. She stops Mikhail. Jacques realizes what that means and is not happy. Gator carries him back to his waiting pack mates. Then Jacques starts questioning Mikhail and Elise. This is when it gets good because Jacques is unintentionally hilarious. He and Louis do not handle their mama dating well. At all. But Mikhail assures him that he loves her and that everything has been at her pace. Jacques hands down the edict that if Elise doesn't want him he's gone. Elise is struggling after her almost rape, but Mikhail is patient and safe. The Jacques tells Elise to make a move or let him go. She makes her move and it's awkward on all accounts. She has a panic attack. He can't last. Then, some humor and they are fine. She takes the initiative and asks him to mate wit her. When they return to everyone else and share the news Jacques is big mad. Again. Him being mad is the best part of this book. That is where this series ends. There is a spin off series but my library does not have those audiobooks on hoopla or libby so for now I am done with the Salvation Pack. I like this author and will read/listen to other things from her.

Historical Fiction

 The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers 

I listened to this audiobook and it was a slow start, so much so that I was considering DNF'ing it. Then, at about the one hour mark it started to get interesting. (I listen at 1.5x speed so the timing may vary) It was also around this time that the time period was fully established; I thought they were talking about the Vietnam era but it was really 1946 and the end of WWII. Maddy's mom wakes her up in the middle of the night, puts her in the car and starts driving. They show up unexpectedly at Aunt Edda's house (her dad's aunt). Mom just drops her off so she can go husband hunting since she is now a widow. Aunt Edda is not expecting Maddy for two more months but she takes her in anyway. It's the busy time for Edda; she has to get the gala dresses ready for the Tobacco Wives and has to bring Maddy along. Maddy doesn't mind, she wants to learn more and maybe help if she can because she loves to sew and wants to be just like Aunt Edda. Mitsy, the head Tobacco Wife, takes a liking to Maddy and even gives her some hand me down dresses to wear to a festival. The next day at Cordelia's fitting Edda gets super sick so they take her to the hospital and leave Maddy at Mitsy's house. Turns out Edda has measles and has to stay in the hospital for a while. Mitsy moves Maddy into her house, then buys basically the entire fabric store to set up a workroom for her. Maddy has her rescheduled meeting with Rose and Cordelia and Cordelia, a grumpy old woman, takes a liking to Maddy. Maddy and Mitsy's godson, David, become friends and have a couple dates. She and her friend Anthony make the dresses for the Tobacco Wives. Maddy discovers that Dr. Hale and Mr. Winston (Mitsy's husband) know that cigarettes are bad for pregnant women and the babies. She accidentally takes a classified letter out of Mr. Winston's trashcan when she was looking for paper to write down the hospital phone number on so she could check on Aunt Edda. Anyway, Mitsy ends up in this hospital worried that she's going to miscarry and while there Maddy sees a bunch of premature babies under lights. She decides to tell David and Anthony about the letter and she and David plan to confront Dr. Hale. He lies to them about it then has David walk his secretary to the bus station since it's late and he yells at Maddy. Cordelia shows up at the end of his tirade and puts an end to it and takes Maddy home. Maddy eventually tells Mitsy who confronts her husband and he tells her it's all under control. The gala arrives, the dresses are spectacular, and Mitsy interrupts her husbands speech to announce that she, her sister (Ashley), and Cordelia are now board members, that the women will not be losing their jobs when the men return home, and two women are being promoted. But she doesn't say anything about the babies. Maddy is upset and returns to Edda's house. Then we have a time jump. We have no idea what happened to Maddy after that summer; did she return home? did she finish high school? We can make assumptions because in the time jump she and Anthony own their own custom clothing store and she and David are married with children and grandchildren. Mitsy shows up and tells Maddy how proud of her she is, and how proud Cordelia was. Then she gives her the papers from that summer so that Maddy can do whatever she wants with them. Maddy is scheduled to testify before Congress and she's going to take the papers with her as proof. Mitsy tells her she did what she thought was right; that bringing down the tobacco industry and causing everyone to lose their jobs didn't seem like the best idea, but now that her husband is dead she and some of the dangers are coming out, she thinks it's time. My biggest issues with this book are 1) that I didn't know the time period until pretty far into the book and 2) the unanswered questions from the main story to the time jump. However, once it picked up I really enjoyed this book and was actively looking forward to listening to it. I was sad when it finished; I wanted more.

Educational Book

 Time to Teach! The Source for Classroom Management by Rick Dahlgren, Brett Malas, Dr. Joanna Faulk, and Melanie Lattimer 

This was fine. Nothing great. Nothing horrible. I got this book years ago at a professional development seminar I attended and I used one of the handouts diligently for the rest of the year following that PD. It did not help. And, the presenter ended up becoming my principal and he was not a fan of me using the handout, that he gave me! The information can be helpful if everyone involved in the school, from the superintendent down is on the same page. However, if even one person is out of sync then the information it provides and the ideas it recommends are useless. One thing I will say, when it comes to classroom management, your personality has to match with the grade level you are teaching. It does not matter how much you love the grade or the content, if it doesn't match your personality then you are doomed. That was one of the issues I was having; I was teaching middle school but my personality works better with high school, specifically juniors and seniors. I am much more laid back and middle schoolers (and freshmen) really need strong disciplinarians which isn't me. Much of my apathy for this book comes from the situation I was in when I went to this in-service. Time did not alter my feelings. Additionally, many of these things work better in lower grades as high schools are often too big and have too many moving parts for some of the recommendations to work effectively.

She Tried to Tell You

 The Runaway Princess by Christina Dodd

Evangeline comes into some money and goes on an adventure. But, she is disrupted by Danior, who thinks she is a princess. She continues to tell him that she's not and he refuses to listen. They have to get married after all. He is convinced that she is his betrothed and they have to break the curse to unite their two kingdoms. So, he decides to bind her to him emotionally and romantically. It works and she falls in love with him, the entire time maintaining that she is not the lost princess. He tells her that he loves her, but it's originally a lie. She escapes a few times and they are each harrowing, only for her to be caught by the rebels, who are led by Danior's half brother Dominic. The second time he catches her he's going to violate her, but he discovers that she doesn't have the mark of the princess and she incapacitates him to get away. And then she ends up back in Danior's hands. He shows up to her room and finally sees her, and sees that she doesn't have the mark that she's supposed to have. I was waiting for that to happen and was a bit disappointed in how it played out. He realizes that she is telling the truth, but he also realizes that he loves her and is going to marry her anyway. The wedding happens and she tries one last time to tell him that she's not the princess and he tells her he knows. Then the rebels start shooting. They finish the ceremony and it's time to open the magic case, but they can't because she's not the princess. But, one of the nuns steps up to administer the blessing and when she puts her hands on theirs, the case opens. That's because she is the real princess, but she gives them her blessing because they love each other and she doesn't want to marry him. Turns out, the head nun is the same lady who took Evangeline out of the orphanage and raised her. She did this because she's also a 1000 year old saint who knew that she would be the one Danior fell in love with and would be able to unite their kingdoms because she looks enough like the real princess for trick everyone. It was kind of confusing, the magical element didn't really belong in a historical romance. But, I liked Evangeline and Danior grew on me (but not enough to be on the book boyfriend shelf). Still, it was a solid, enjoyable book. 

Time Jump part 2

 Wolf in Her Soul by N.J. Walters

This is right after book 7, so still with the 10 year time jump. Reese is a cop in Chicago because he had a dream that sent him there. But, it's been 10 years and the woman he was looking for hasn't shown up yet and he's had it so he puts in his 2 weeks. Then, she shows up. They get an arson and murder case; Reese knows that the victim is a werewolf but has no idea if it's a pack sanctioned kill or something else. Then, the next day, the killer finds and attacks Hannah, who is a half-breed. She escapes the attack, but is not unharmed. Her boss was watching for her since she told him she thought she was being followed and he sees the attack and calls 911. Reese and his partner show up and he gets the wolf's scent. Then they go to the hospital to talk to her. She knows she can't stay because she's going to heal too fast and other issues. As she is picking up her bag she turns in the way that Reese has seen in the dream and realizes that she is who he has been looking for. He takes her home so she can pack, then takes her to his place. They go to the station so she can sign her statement and he says he's using the rest of his sick leave until his quit date. Then he heads home. The killer/attacker follows them and sets up an ambush. They are in a car wreck with Reese taking the brunt of it. Sage feels and sees the attack and gets the pack to head to them. Hannah gets out of the truck and leads the killer away from Reese, buying them time. Reese wakes up, shifts, and follows. He catches up to them and they fight. Reese kills him. Then Hannah has to tend to his wounds because he passes out. The pack shows up and she is confused because she thought Reese was next to her, but it's Sage. He carries her and Elias carries Reese back to the trucks. Jacques divvy's up the clean up work and Sage takes them home. Reese knows he loves her and that she is his mate, but she is uncertain. He asks her to give them time to get to know each other. Once they are both feeling better Jacques calls a meeting, they call the number on the killers phone; it connects to his alpha who happens to be Hannah's estranged father. He says they will get no trouble from his pack about the killing and will Hannah please talk to him. She declines because she doesn't know how she feels. Reese sets to convincing her to stay. She agrees to mate with him and stay. Like Sage's book this was good but not as strong as Elias's book (which was my favorite). There is one more book left in this series, and I am looking forward to it as I have enjoyed this series. 

Alternative History

 Romanov by Nadine Brandes 

I don't know if I would classify this is alternative history or fantastical history but it fits both of those categories better than historical fiction. Anyway, this focuses on the Romanov family, with Anastasia being the main character. It follows the abdication and exile of the royal family. However, that is where things take a turn to the alternative and fantastical. Anastasia, or Nastya as she is called in the book, and Maria befriend some of their guards. Maria, who has been there a month longer, has already made progress with Ivan and young and handsome guard. Nastya develops a frienship with Zash, and a bit of a crush, but unlike Ivan, he is dedicated to his job and doesn't open up easily. Maria is full on in love with Ivan and they get caught kissing and he get killed. She is devastated. Nastya and Zash struggle in the aftermath because he had to bury his friend. But, he still likes her and tries to help her. She is studying to be a spell master, to help her brother, and Zash helps her by giving her spell ink and helping her. But, his commander is obsessed with spell masters and has a watch that detect magic and threatens her frequently. Then, her family gets taken to the basement for "their protection" but really it's their execution. Zash is struggling and fires one shot, it hits Nastya. But, because of the jewels sewn into her clothes she survives. When they are throwing the bodies into a truck she realizes that Alexi is also breathing and uses a spell that sends them to the spirit realm. They run away from truck and find Zash in the woods about to killing himself. She undoes the spell and their bodies transport to their new location. She and Zash have to take care of Alexi and try to build trust back. Turns out, his motives were because of Ivan; he said if he was being killed he would want to see a friendly face when it was happening so that's why he was there. It made a twisted bit of sense. He takes them to his grandmother and she helps them. She makes spells for Alexi; yes, she is a village spell master. Then they escape to find the best spell master ever. There is a big chase. They meet some people who are loyal to Alexi. They find the spell master. He heals Alexi. And has a potion to remove all memories, but Nastya doesn't take it because it wouldn't be fair to Zash, and while she doesn't want the pain of remembering her family, she also doesn't want to forget them. So, she uses the spell on the Bolshevik leader who was chasing them instead of killing him. Then Alexi and the spell master go off to rally the troops and Nasty and Zash stay to tend the home base, and for her to learn spell mastery. And they finally kiss. I understand why people are so enamored with the story of Anastasia; her body not being found for years after the bodies of the rest of her family were discovered gave people hope that she got away and lived. The identification in 2008 did not diminish the hope that the test was wrong and that she survived. And this story gives us a potential alternate ending for her, a happy one. I really enjoyed this, even if her real end was much less happy.

I Wanted to Like This, but Didn't

 Sweet Sweet Revenge, LTD by Jonas Jonasson 

It's giving Scooby Doo, but you already know who the villain is. I wanted to like this book; it has such a cute premise. But I just didn't. I don't know how I feel about most of the characters, except for Victor (hate) and the police inspector (love). Everyone else was just meh. Yes, there were some funny moments. But it just wasn't for me.

Time Jump

 Wolf in His Heart by N.J. Walters 

With this book we have a 10 year time jump. Sage is now 27 and despite not being able to shift he is happy and contributing to the pack. Reese is living in Chicago but their twin telepathy is still strong. Sage is camping in Tennessee when he comes across a woman lost in the woods. He identifies her immediately as a wolf, tells her who and what he is, and helps her. Her name is Irena and she is running from human hunters, one of whom saw her shift. They have been chasing her since they forced her to leave work to go with them; she left work, but she ran instead. Sage convinces her to trust him, at least enough for him to give her a ride. She thinks he's taking to to a bus station, but he told her he was taking her somewhere safe, and then she slept the whole ride so he took her to pack land. He did call Jacques who told him to bring her. She is very nervous and just about the only person who pays Jacques the respect he is due as alpha, but he still doesn't mind that his pack makes decisions without him. Anyway, Rina is super into Sage but she's not sure if it's because he hot or because of the circumstances. Sage knows she's his mate and really wants to bite her, but doesn't because she is so unsure of him. They get down to business, frequently. Finally, she calls her much older brother and it turns out he has been looking for her since she was banished by their former pack for refusing the mating. Sage gives him directions then tells Jacques. He shows up and is ready to take Rina away, but Sage and Jacques won't let him. Then he meets Miss Elise and doesn't want to leave. Rina tells Sue that she thinks Sage is only into her because she's the first full blooded werewolf he's ever met. He hears and walks away so he doesn't say something he doesn't mean. She sees him walk away and runs off. Then the hunter shows up. She refuses to leave with him and she shoots her. Sage, Mikhail, Jacques and the others show up. Sage takes her home. Gator removes the bullet and sews her up. Jacques takes pictures of everything and calls the police. The hunter gets arrested and eventually sent to be evaluated to see if he's sane. Rina heals. Reese has shown up by this point. Rina realizes that she loves Sage and wants to mate with him. He is able to grow fangs for the first time in his life and bites her. Turns out, Reese funneled his power into Sage so he could do the bite. Reese goes home to Chicago. Rina and Mikhail stay; Rina permanently, Mikhail temporarily or so we are led to believe. It was nice to see the kids grown up and to get an idea of how the pack has grown; there are now 3 children between the couples, plus Billy who is 15. This was not as strong as the previous book which was my favorite, but it was a solid addition to the series.

Twilight, but With a Plot

 Crave by Tracy Wolff 

This was so "Twilight" but with a plot other than the love triangle. Grace moves to Alaska to live with her Uncle after her parents die in a car accident. He runs a boarding school for supernatural creatures, but she doesn't know about the supernatural. She moves into a room with her cousin Macy, who is really great. She meets Jaxon and Flint. And I was correct in my guesses about what kind of creatures they were. (yay, me!) Macy is crushing on Flint even though she has a boyfriend, Cam (who we see very little of). And Flint is a golden retriever of a guy so Grace likes him immediately. But, only as friends because she only has eyes for Jaxon. Jaxon of course is tortured and has a sexy scar. Grace keeps ending up in near death situations, and Jaxon keeps saving her. Turns out she is his mate, but he won't tell her that because it won't be safe for her. Flint, as it turns out is behind the near death experiences, or at least the rest of his dragon shifter friends are. Then there's Lia. I knew something was off about her from the jump, but her trying to kill Grace to bring back her dead mate was not on my bingo card. Jaxon saves Grace. Grace kills Lia. Then, things are great for about three days and Hudson (Jaxon's brother and Lia's dead mate) somehow manages to solidify and tries to stab Jaxon so Grace uses her body as a shield to protect him. We get bonus chapters from Jaxon's perspective and that's when we find out that Grace isn't actually dead, just a gargoyle. And she isn't returning to her human form. We are led to believe that it's because wherever she it, Hudson also is, and she won't come back to human if it will also bring Hudson back because he has the power of persuasion and can make you do anything he wants, regardless of how you feel about it. So, obviously she's not going to bring back the person how wants to kill everyone that's not a vampire. This ends on a cliffhanger and it's interesting enough that it makes me want to read the next book.

Jase Ballenger, the Man That You Are

 Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

Jase Ballinger, the man that you are. I was worried about this book since I loved  book 1 so much, but it did not disappoint. First and foremost, the man that narrates Jase has a sexy voice. *swoon* Now, on to the story. Jase and Kazi are separated for the majority of this book but they are foremost in each others minds. Everything they do, they do to get back to the other. I love them so much. They are happily planning their life together on the way back to Hell's Mouth. They get to where they can see Tors Watch and the skyline looks different. They find a messenger bird that falls out of the sky, but when they get to the bird it has clearly been dead for a while. The message is still attached and it's addressed to Jase. Just as they are about to run hell bent for leather arrows rain down on them. Jase is hit. A lot. Kazi manages to get control over his horse and sends it running, with Jase, to the safety of the forest. She is captured, but kills 3 of the attackers in the process. She is wounded and put in a prison. But, she soon has a guardian angel that is giving her extra food and medicine so that she can survive. She is taken from the prison and put in a room to clean up. Then she is taken to the king; turns out he's not the bumbling fool everyone thought. He's a megalomaniac. And he's obsessed with Jase. He wants everything he has, including Kazi. Paxton arrives with a severed hand wearing Jase's ring and Kazi about loses her mind thinking he's dead, but she refuses to believe it. The king is ecstatic. He goes about his plan to take over everything, starting by killing anyone who is still loyal to Jase. He has Nash and Lydia captive so he uses them to force Kazi to do his bidding and join his team. When she finally gets time with the kids she learns that they don't actually hate her and they are terrified of the king but they know how to play their part. She is sent to search the house for some special papers that have disappeared and Paxton is sent to guard her. While their Paxton tells her that Jase is safe, he took him to the settlement. He also tells her that he was the one sneaking her medicine. They form an alliance and plan to save the kids. Their plan works and she hides the kids in the crypt. Then, she runs to the mountain trying to find the hidden entrance to the vault. When she gets there Jase is not there and the family does not believe her about anything. They lead her to a trap and she gets grabbed by the king's patrols. Now the king knows she was faking it and she no longer has to pretend, so she tells him he is inadequate in every way. He is going to publicly execute her, but not until he gets answers about the vault. He attacks her with the poison dogs but she never tells him anything. Meanwhile, Jase is in the root cellar recovering. He slowly builds up his strength andonce he is strong enough he heads up the mountain to his family because that's where he expects to find Kazi. When he gets there Gunner tells him that they gave her up to the king and Jase loses his mind. Gunner is all are you going to kill your brother over a traitor? And Jase is all "Kazi is my wife!" and *swoon* I knew it was coming, but hearing him say it was everything. He gets into the mountain and has to convince his family to help him rescue her, they do not want to but he will do it without them if necessary. So they agree and devise a plan that hinges around her public execution. Ren and Synove show up and help him get to his family and with the plan. They are going to create a diversion and steal her from the execution platform. They do not know that she is in bad shape, so when Jase drops down from the rafters to save her she can't do anything but hang there like dead weight. During the dash home he discovers the dog bites and figures out what happens. They get her home and give her the medicine and she lives. They then come up with a plan to attack the king. Paxton is now being trusted by everyone. They decide to blow up all of the kings weapons. Then they fight; Jase goads the king into a sword fight and the king is nowhere near as good as Jase. Plus, he's fighting with pure rage so no finesse. Jase wins. Easily. Kazi kills Zane, finally, as he's trying to escape and he is so surprised that she wins. Before he dies he tells her where he took her mother; the old kings house. She was stolen to be his new wife. She has been dead for years but Kazi finally gets the closure she needs. They go home and start rebuilding, but Jase's mom wants them to get married again, so she can be there this time. So they do. The Queen shows up and makes Tors Watch officially part of the kindgom. Ren and Synove are given new jobs, they are to stay at Tors Watch. And they all live happily ever after.  I could read so many more books about Jaze and Kazi. Or a spin off. I love this duology. I love it so much I'm going to buy the physical books (yes, the audio version was amazing, but I need to have it in my possession). If he's not Jase Ballinger, I don't want him. Obsessed.