K.F. Breene

The final book in the Wall Street Journal bestselling series!

I thought once we released the curse, I'd only have one enemy to contend with.

Wrong.

The queen lives. Not only that, but she knowingly hid herself from me and the rest of this kingdom until the moment the curse was broken. Now she is back, and her desires aren't clear. Neither are her motives.

Will she try to take the throne for herself?

We can stop her…unless she had a hand in that curse. In which case, will we need to battle her and the demon king before we can finally live in peace? Or has this all been for naught?

Regardless, we have very little time before the demon king returns to wipe us out.

Deliciously Dark Fairytales #4

A Queen of Ruin

Anna Stewart

After an upbringing of nightmares, I was finally living my dreams.

“You are my everything. You’ve brought me such happiness, given me the whole world. You’re my true love and you’ve helped me find my true destiny. My life couldn’t be any more sublime, Finley. Thank you.” 

My heart swelled, full to bursting. Tears stung my eyes. 

“You’re my dream come true and you always will be.”

“I love you,” I murmured, kissing her. 

Her lips curved upward under mine, and she looped her arms around my neck. “Aren’t you supposed to be the grumpy one who hates everyone?” She sucked in a gasp as I ran my fingers down the scales on her back, displayed by her slinky dress. 

“I’m still the grumpy one. They’ll just think I hate everyone but you. It’ll be fine.”

In my opinion, using magic to keep flowers in eternal bloom took away the natural beauty of the seasons. The fresh growth and bloom of spring after a chilly and barren winter had always moved me. If nothing ever died, there could be no rebirth.

“You cannot appreciate the light if you don’t spend any time in the darkness.”

“I can’t believe my good fortune,” he said in a ragged whisper. “Thank you for believing in me when I’d lost all hope. Thank you for forcing me to find my way out of the darkness so that I might once again enjoy the light. I love you, Finley. Please guard my heart. It is yours forever.”

“I am literally living my dream right now, Nyfain. The dream I had since I was young. I’ve found my golden prince, and I’ll love my golden king until the day I die.”

“When I was young, I used to dread this day. I knew it was my task to lead this kingdom to greatness, and I didn’t see how it could possibly be done. Then, years later, I walked away without the intention of looking back. Through a sick twist of fate, I was forced to return, to bleed for this kingdom. To learn the true meaning of duty.” He looked at me. “And I thank the goddess from the bottom of my soul it happened this way. Now I can see a way forward. I can see a future. And when I wake up next to you, smelling your scent and feeling your hair brush across my chest, I can see my forever. Every trial I’ve been through was worth it to find myself here, with the woman I love by my side and a great kingdom at my feet. The nightmare king with his warrior queen. You’ve given me a chance to rise to my full potential, and I cherish you for that. I will love you always.”

For one solid beat, he looked into my eyes, hand in hand, and then we walked forward as king and queen of Wyvern.

“We’re moving the coronation closer,” I told her as I walked her in through the back of the castle. “We’re ready. I want you as my official queen, and then I want to take on the world.”

, I thought, trying to maintain a level head. 

Either way, we’ll make a name for ourselves and this kingdom. Either way, we will own our place as king. We are still a dragon without wings. A mostly golden one. We can feel confident by her side

Shut up and get out of the way. I’m shifting

I did as he asked, allowing him to surge up and take over. We grew into his large dragon body, and I felt them immediately. I felt them growing up from our back and then out to the sides, large and glittering and 

His gaze locked with mine for a very long moment, and I felt something move within my chest, such a profound love that tears sprang to my eyes. It wasn’t enough to say the words. This feeling couldn’t be properly expressed.

“In a life created of nightmares,” he murmured, “you have become my paradise.”

“Look at me,” he commanded. “Look at the monster who occupies your bed.”

Iddly romantic but romantic all the same. 🥺

“Thank you for being there tonight,” he said. “Thank you for standing by me. For never refusing to back down to my rage. I need it. The kingdom needs it. I like knowing that you’d poison my breakfast if I ever get out of hand.” His lips curled up into a smile, but I could hear the seriousness in his tone. “I like knowing you’d never allow me to turn into the man who raised me. If I should ever turn into the thing I loathe, I know you’ll never allow me to treat you the way my— what I thought of as my father treated my mother. You’ll ensure I don’t continue the cycle, and that gives me comfort. I will never hurt you, little dragon, and if I try, I expect death.” 

“That is oddly romantic,” I whispered.

She clasped her hands in her lap, her eyebrows lifted. “And what of the people? I am their favorite, not you.” 

I huffed out a laugh. “You are their comfort blanket. I’ll make them realize they don’t need one. They’ll follow me because I’m more than a figurehead. I’m the hero of this tale, and I’ll promise them the glow of victory.”

She assessed me for a moment, and a little smile played across her lips. 

“I was not as hard as you, young Finley. I was not forged in fire as you were. I knew he could dominate me, and I didn’t push the issue. I didn’t learn how to manifest my will to rise higher, fight harder. Instead, for many years, I cowered.” 

“Not all women will randomly stab someone with a pocketknife, sweetheart,” Nyfain told me, and through his rolling emotions I could pick out his brief flare of humor. 

“That wasn’t random,” I mumbled. “Or did you forget you had me by the throat?”

“He wouldn’t have killed his heir.” 

“You are only his heir in name. You aren’t his heir by blood.” The air seemed to flash- freeze over the table. Nyfain’s lifted his gaze to hers slowly, his profound confusion evident. 

“I beg your pardon?” he finally said. 

She took a deep breath. “The king’s animosity toward you probably stemmed from many things, but one thing in particular. The king knew he was not your father.”

Together they looked like they would burn the world down and laugh in the ashes.

Her focus was entirely on Nyfain. He waited at the bottom of the stairs, right in the middle, staring up at her with such supreme devotion in his expression that another tear leaked from my eye.

I was standing before the goddess reborn, I knew it. 

Finley’s eyes shone with a strange golden tint, like they were literally flickering with fire. Her head was held high, face composed but determined. Her body, tall and lean muscled, stood in a way that bespoke blood- soaked battlefields on a cold winter’s morning. 

That wasn’t what stole my breath, though, or made Leala gasp.

The air shimmered around Finley as she let her power uncoil within her. Tiny flames licked up her arms and curled from her back. Actual fucking flames!

“Who do you belong to?” I asked in a rough growl, my dragon feeding me power, wanting to take over again. 

“You,” she said on a sigh. “My golden prince.” 

“I’ll make you worship this cock.” I slipped a finger into her pussy, groaning at how wet she was. I used my other hand to assault her clit, getting her on all levels. “I’ll ruin you for anyone else.” 

“You are a blessing in my life, Finley,” I mumbled, my heart full to bursting in a way that eclipsed my pain and anxiety.

“It’s time for the people to learn a queen isn’t just a pretty figurehead. A queen is a leader. She’s someone to shoulder the weight of the royal duty alongside the king. We’ll rule together, or we’ll all crumble.”

Andrea Rodriguez

3.75 stars

Ahh I'm so sad to have to say goodbye to these characters. I feel like this book really made me remember why I loved them so much in the first place.

This book was a big improvement from the last one. We got to see more of the Nyfain that I fell in love with in A Throne of Ruin. He was so incredibly sweet, protective, adorably possessive, and all the other things that I love about him. 

Finley is still one of my favorite fmcs. Just.. an absolute badass. 

The first half of this book felt almost kind of fluffy? Lots of romance and sweet moments, which I was not mad about. I feel like she had a lot of that to make up for from the last book lmao.

I thought it all wrapped up nicely in the end, though I did find myself just wanting to finish it and I hate when I feel like that reading a book. I legit remember thinking "I love this book so much, I don't want it to end" when reading the second book. That just wasn't the case for this one.

Also, jesus christ the spice in this. I'm never one to say there's too much spice, but.. Maybe just a little in this one?? lol. 

I think I'm still salty from the last book and being overly critical. That and I still can't get over how much I loved the second book and how I've only been disappointed since lmao. I know I sound like a broken record but I just loved it so much. Also, I know it's not fair for me to continually compare them, but here we are.

Anyway, I seriously hope we get a Hannon spin-off book. I'm dying to get more of him.

Kacy Rulison

A great ending to the series. The spicey scenes did get a bit repetitive for me but I also binged the last half of the book in one day so that could be the reason. Had several twists and lots of build up. Will definitely be purchasing a physical copy to own this whole series. 10/10.

Michal Stone

Ummmm honestly I’m confused. I liked the first three, but this one seemed entirely different. Less sex, confusing (and very complex) plot, and the romance got so perfect it was utterly unreal (so euphoric it wasn’t even interesting to read anymore…..). I feel like anyone who came for the spice would be bored. Anyone who came for the romance, bored. Anyone who came for the fantasy plot, confused. I wish there was a tiny bit more consistency. 
On the other hand, I thought it wrapped everything up okay, which is nice. The closure is good. And there was a few spicy scenes and a few good action scenes. But nothing to hold it all together enough to recommend it or read again.

A Queen of Ruin Deliciously Dark Fairytales #4

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