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

She was the only person in the whole fucking world who liked to bathe in his dominating power, the nutcase.

This was why strong wolf shifters and dragon shifters never really got along. Dragons liked to swing their dicks or tits around, and wolves linked arms and said, “Come at me, fucker!” Too much ego all around.

He wanted to join Weston’s pack. To belong. To bask in that sense of unity and try to muscle our strength to its full potential rather than remain a lone wolf curled up at the feet of dragons. 

And while I got where the fuzzy bastard was coming from, I needed him to understand that Finley created unity just like that alpha wolf did, only she didn’t have to use wolfsong to do it. My loyalty to her had been earned by her actions alone, no magic involved. She would protect us just the same or better. She’d let us flower within her care.

Despite being his mate, she wasn’t technically the princess yet, and in this kingdom the queen had never shared the full weight of the throne’s power. That was the way it had always been. It was clear the prince didn’t care, though. He clearly intended to treat her as his equal in all things, including leading his kingdom. He had always made way for Finley, respected her, even when he wanted to throttle her.

“Power or not, being sworn in or not,” I said in an even tone, “keep talking to me like that and we’re going to have a problem.” 

He smirked. “Except the queen took her sword back.” 

“Do you think I need a sword to slit your throat?” I ground out. “I’ll find a fucking piece of glass if I get desperate enough, and I doubt I will, because a dagger or pocketknife will do just fine.”

He felt like a part of me, like half of me, actually, and everything in me was desperate to merge those halves.

“Dragons and wolves don’t really get along,” Lucille said. 

“Well, if everyone stopped being such cunts, maybe they could.”

“There is no before you. There is no after. There is only you. Always.”

His balmy smell cocooned me, pine and lilac with a hint of honeysuckle, like a warm summer evening in a high mountain meadow. Like coming home.

I wasn’t in a rush to learn everything about him all at once. I wanted to savor some of the secrets so that I could unravel him little by little over the years to come. We had all our lives.

“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.”

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

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!

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.

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

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?”

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.”

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.

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

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

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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