The Finisher Dark Verse #4

loved this plot this series is so good

4.5/5⭐️ • 3/5🌶️

I didn’t know how I was going to feel about this book when I started it, but once I finished it I determined that it’s one of my favorites on the series. This is what I like the series being about. It had the small touches of that on-going storyline but added a bit of freshness to the overall series. I actually really liked the characters in this one. They were unique and different. I just really enjoyed this one. I would have wanted a bit more for them for the ending but I’m thinking it’s one that will tie up whenever this series is officially over.

i just wish there was more zephyr and alpha

I FKN KNEW IT I cried a lot… I can’t wait to read “The annihilator”

i’m still in shock about what happened in the last few pages. i honestly didn’t expect it and i’m still trying to connect everything. this plot is so well played out and each time i finish a book in this series i’m still left with so many questions at the end. the couple in this book? won my heart immediately, especially zephyr, she was so refreshing to read about. her personality was unique, she never held back and she was so strong and persistent. alpha, with all his denial and grumpiness, won my heart too. i loved them together, and i can’t stress this enough. the other character appearances in this book were some of my favourite parts, it was so nice to read about my favourite book couples again and how they blended into the lives of zephyr and alpha. from what i’ve heard so far i’m definitely in for a tough ride with the annihilator but i’m too curious to resist starting it immediately.

4/5 The word 'love' isn’t enough what I feel for my babies. "I don't know if what I feel is love. I don't know what the future holds. But I know I want you by my side. I know I don't want to forget you now." "But in the arms of the man she'd loved for years, would love for years, Zephyr felt herself being able to breathe. The gray won't be forever."

My Review (May contain spoilers, fair warning upon reading this review)

The Finisher is a book that I have been itching to read since seeing this morally grey hero in the previous book in the series. His role just had me yearning to get my hands on his book and I am so delighted that I was able to and it was a blast. While it wasn't a perfect book and not quite as satisfying as the previous books....it was a pure delight. I can see why these books have been getting so much traction, they are worth it. The Finisher is basically a mix of a mafia/mma fighter romance with a blend of second chance love and a marriage of convenience.

The mix of tropes that we see enter into this story was such fun to read. I really enjoyed the whole heroine pining after the heroine, and him having forgotten her. It was so on point in so many real ways. I also was gravitating towards this story that had so much heartache and longing packed within in. They have such a strong connection to each other. And also the Latino blend to their heritage was top notch, it really felt authentic to the story. I also was so interested in how the secrets become revealed in the story. The only drawback in this story is that I didn't feel like all the questions got answered specifically for our couple especially them being together and the hero not remembering and that aspect to the plot didn't seem to get resolved that felt satisfying.

Overall I found The Finisher to be a captivating read that melted my heart. I was so easily drawn into their story on just an emotional level and it delivered all the way for me. Eager to see what the next book will showcase.

alphazephyr’s cute and all, but dante maroni’s ruling this series

3.75/5 I think Amara & Dante set the bar too high and ruined all the other couples in the process. It's not like I didn't like the book, I liked it! but it didn't give what I was expecting. when we met Alpha I was waiting for something quiet different (ok I'm gonna be honest with you, I was just waiting for a Cassian type of guy...) And the romance, it had so much potential.... yeah. the last chapters were actually insane and made me really sad :D also, oh my God, shadow man!! this man has been tormenting us for so long, I can't wait to read his book!!

Este libro me encantó, el balance entre romance y plot es perfecto.

i literally inhaled this in a few hours wow, alphazephyr damm they were perfect, loved them sm. all this mystery around shadowman is just agh hot - "I can be there for him. I promise. What's his name?" "You're a sweet child." "His name?" "Alessandro. Alessandro Villanova. Alpha." - "He was her love at first meeting. And she didn't know who he was now, but he was hers. He'd always been hers." - "Rainbow. He'd called her a rainbow. Once upon a time, he'd called her sunshine, back when her hair had been blonde." - "Be careful of the ways you offer yourself to me. They don't call me the beast for nothing." "You're a twisted beast. I'm a twisted beauty. We're totally meant to be, handsome. It's written in the fairytales." - "He couldn't remember the last time he'd wanted to smile before she jumped into his world, a burst of colorful explosions in the stark gray of his sky, a sprout of life blooming in the land of death, a festival in a field that had only witnessed funerals. And now that he'd experienced that, like an addict, he wanted more." - "It had started as a farce, a game, and now he didn't know. He hated to admit how much he'd begun to enjoy her company, how she amused him with her cuteness and seduced him with her antics." - "Zephyr studied the scar he hid under the leather patch, and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss over it." - "Who am I?" "What?" "Who. Am. I?" "My husband." "And who are you?" "Your wife." "Mine." - "One day soon," "I'll get a car and pick you up from home, so you won't have to walk here. A Jeep." "And I'll take you for a long drive away from the city. Would you like that?" "Mmmhmm." "And one day, I'll get out of this shithole. Get rich. Build you a house. Get dogs. You like dogs, right?" "I think so." "And one day, when I have money, I'm going to buy you the prettiest ring, sunshine. Would you take that?" "I would love nothing more." "My sunshine. Lighting me up from the insides." - "But you're my wife now. Mine. And I'd bathe this whole city in blood before I let you change that." - "You know how a rainbow is made?" "When sunlight passes through a raindrop." "My life has been nothing but gray for as long as I remember," "Rainstorms and thunder clouds that never went away. You filtered through that, all bright colors and exuberance and life. And the clouds are still there, but my eyes can't leave the rainbow long enough to see them. You changed things. And I'm not letting that go, Zephyr. I'm not letting you go. Get that out of your head right now." - "My touch?" "I didn't realize how much I missed your touch. You gave a starved man a feast every day until he forgot what hunger felt like, and then took it away." - "I think" "you're both my rainbow and my treasure at the end of it. And nothing" "will" "ever""compare." "You're the twisted beauty, and I'm the beast, remember?" - "Don't leave me again, rainbow," "I don't know if Ill ever remember anything. I don't know if what I feel is love. I don't know what the future holds. But I know I want you by my side. I know I don't want to forget you now." "I'm not going anywhere, handsome. I've loved you as a boy, and I love you as a beast. All of you has always been loved by me." "Remember when I told you my heart was a dead scar tissue?" "Hmm." "I feel it pumping again with you. My lifeblood. My little rainbow." - "A presence came behind her, before strong arms wrapped around her. Zephyr sunk back into the embrace of her one-eyed beast, the only solid, real thing in her topsy-turvy world right now. Through the days, he'd been her mountain, solid, impenetrable, immovable. She had raged upon him, knowing he wouldn't be shaken by an avalanche of emotions. "We'll be okay, won't we, handsome?" she whispered softly, almost fearful to hope for better. His arms tightened around her, and he dropped a kiss on her head. "The gray won't be forever, rainbow.""

I received a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I don’t know what it is about this book, the characters or just being back in the Dark Verse world. But this book absolutely took me by surprise. Before this book was released, I was excited about it. I’ve read every single book by this author so far and I absolutely love all her work. However with this book, in some weird way I’ve grown to love RuNyx even more than I previously did. Which I thought was absolutely impossible. The immediate connection that I felt to Alpha and Zephyr was unlike any other main characters that I’ve read before. I didn’t expect to fall so in love with both of them! Especially Zephyr. I identify so closely with her. Her sass, ray of sunshine attitude and heart, really drew me in. She’s such a relatable character. And Alpha? He surely lives up to his name and is also a big grump. Which made everything even better! When a book plays out vividly like a movie in my mind while I'm reading it, I know it's a great book. The Finisher did that plus some. This book is one of those books that will forever live rent free in my mind. The emotions, characters, mystery, steam, storyline, twists and turns we are taken on just made this book, so far, my favorite book of the year. It’s one of those very rare times where I must give this amazing book 6 stars because in my opinion, it’s out of this world. There’s only three other books that’s ever made me feel this way, I now have number four! P.s. The playlist for this book is just perfect. *Chefs kiss* ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

** spoiler alert ** “We'll be okay, won't we, handsome?" "The gray won't be forever, rainbow." Alphazephyr were absolutely adorable..I loved their grumpy/ sunshine and marriage of convenience dynamic. Zephyr was definitely a ray of sunshine who loved unconditionally and was never afraid to be herself completely, which was definitely empowering to see. Alpha was also a pretty complex character, and it was amazing to see how he went from having nothing to building his empire from the ground and founding an organization to protect women like his mother. There were moments when I definitely wanted to see more of their pasts but giving that he doesn’t remember I understand why that didn’t happen but hopefully we will see more in their epilogue or bonus chapters. Seeing Tristanmorana and Dante amara and Xander and Tempest was just PERFECT! My absolute favorite was definitely Zenith and Zephyr’s dynamic and that twist at the end had be sobbing 😭😭 “Don't leave me again, rainbow, I don't know if I'll ever remember anything. I don't know if what I feel is love. I don't know what the future holds. But I know I want you by my side. I know I don't want to forget you now." "I'm not going anywhere, handsome. I've loved you as a boy and I love you as a beast. All of you has always been loved by me." "Remember when I told you my heart was a dead scar tissue?" "Hmm." "I feel it pumping again with you. My lifeblood. My little rainbow.” “Do you think I’m beautiful?” she asked him, genuinely curious about what he would say. She didn’t think she was by society’s standards, but she liked how she looked. “I think You’re both my rainbow and my treasure at the end of it. And nothing will ever compare.” “You know how a rainbow is made?” Zephyr frowned. “When sunlight passes through a raindrop.” “My life has been nothing but gray for as long as I remember. Rainstorms and thunder clouds that never went away. You filtered through that, all bright colors and exuberance and life. And the clouds are still there, but my eyes can’t leave the rainbow long enough to see them. You changed things. And I’m not letting that go, Zephyr. I’m not letting you go. Get that out of your head right now.”

** spoiler alert ** “We'll be okay, won't we, handsome?" "The gray won't be forever, rainbow." Alphazephyr were absolutely adorable..I loved their grumpy/ sunshine and marriage of convenience dynamic. Zephyr was definitely a ray of sunshine who loved unconditionally and was never afraid to be herself completely, which was definitely empowering to see. Alpha was also a pretty complex character, and it was amazing to see how he went from having nothing to building his empire from the ground and founding an organization to protect women like his mother. There were moments when I definitely wanted to see more of their pasts but giving that he doesn’t remember I understand why that didn’t happen but hopefully we will see more in their epilogue or bonus chapters. Seeing Tristanmorana and Dante amara and Xander and Tempest was just PERFECT! My absolute favorite was definitely Zenith and Zephyr’s dynamic and that twist at the end had be sobbing 😭😭 “Don't leave me again, rainbow, I don't know if I'll ever remember anything. I don't know if what I feel is love. I don't know what the future holds. But I know I want you by my side. I know I don't want to forget you now." "I'm not going anywhere, handsome. I've loved you as a boy and I love you as a beast. All of you has always been loved by me." "Remember when I told you my heart was a dead scar tissue?" "Hmm." "I feel it pumping again with you. My lifeblood. My little rainbow.” “Do you think I’m beautiful?” she asked him, genuinely curious about what he would say. She didn’t think she was by society’s standards, but she liked how she looked. “I think You’re both my rainbow and my treasure at the end of it. And nothing will ever compare.” “You know how a rainbow is made?” Zephyr frowned. “When sunlight passes through a raindrop.” “My life has been nothing but gray for as long as I remember. Rainstorms and thunder clouds that never went away. You filtered through that, all bright colors and exuberance and life. And the clouds are still there, but my eyes can’t leave the rainbow long enough to see them. You changed things. And I’m not letting that go, Zephyr. I’m not letting you go. Get that out of your head right now.”

I aspire to be able to love as freely as Zephir one day and be as strong as Alpha. I can't choose between Morana/Tristan, Amara/Dante, and Zephir/Alpha. l love them all Also, I think the next book is going to destroy me pls send help and a mega pint of wine

i honestly just LIVE for how these series is written. the plot, the characters, the twist!!! amazing. this couple was a little hard for me to connect to since there was no building to either of them beforehand but still so sweet. Zephyr is a women thats knows what she wants and goes all for it

I love them so much.

I didn’t think I’d love alpha and zephyr this much, but I do.

Since it is also heavily plot-based, I preferred it as compared to the previous book.

Umm absolutely not. And what the fuck is up with writers naming their characters???? This dude's name is alpha.. literally.

I LOVE ALPHAZEPHYR !!! they became one of my favorite couples and first five star book 🫶🏾🥹

idk how was I able to finish this ngl I kept imagining him as the hulk and it freaking ruined the enjoyment for me 😭 I will just pretend this book does not exist and will wait for the 5th one

3.5 ⭐ idk how to feel about this one tbh on one hand, i think this had the strongest plotline out of all the books so far, but on the other hand, alphazephyr just fell flat in comparison with tristanmorana and danteamara

WOWWW THE PLOT TWISTS IN THE END!!!!! that ending shock and hurt me so much like i haven't been surprised by a plot twist in a while AND THE BONUS OMGG the shadowy mystery of it all “You’re a twisted beast. I’m a twisted beauty. We’re totally meant to be, handsome. It's written in the fairytales.” the way alpha thinks of zephyr "He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted to smile before, she jumped into his world, a burst of colorful explosions in the stark gray of his sky, a sprout of life blooming in the land of death, a festival in a field that had only witnessed funerals." "cpr" by summer walker "chasing pavements" by adele "1 step forward, 3 steps back" by olivia rodrigo "almost love" by sabrina carpenter I love alphazephr so much like every little thing they did or said about each other I ATE UP!!! i love the beast and his rainbow <3 zephyr may have been a sunshine character but she had moments of depression, doubts, and insecurity which felt so real and relatable to me! zephyr is a hopeless romantic. she’s a crier. she’s optimistic who endlessly hopes but breaks her own heart ! she feels all the feelings!! she’s written for me!! "She felt what she felt and it was valid, and if it was a depressive void, well, she was going to drown in it." "That was the thing about a depressive episode. She bounced back usually, but sometimes, she didn’t. Sometimes, it changed her just enough for her to notice. Sometimes, she just wanted to stare at the wall and let everything pass by, no matter how good things seemed to be going." "Sometimes, she smiled at people out of politeness even when she didn’t want to because she was sweet like that, completely unlike him who had forgotten what a smile felt like until she poked the beast inside him." after reading the emperor, my perception of alpha was that he was an unbreakable machine. but as i’m reading the finisher, you can see more of his human side. some beautiful DEVELOPMENT (spoilers): "Nothing. Fucker hasn't spoken in years. It's a dead, scarred piece of useless muscle." Oh boy, he had no idea the CPR she had planned for him. (Ch 8) -> "Remember when I told you my heart was a dead scar tissue?" "Hmm." "I feel it pumping again with you. My lifeblood. My little rainbow." (Ch. 27) "Every day, she’d hug him until he returned it, until he accepted that it was normal, until he began to crave it from her." (ch 6) -> “I didn’t realize how much I missed your touch. You gave a starved man a feast every day until he forgot what hunger felt like, and then took it away.” (Ch. 24) "Would she do that to him too? Change his life, make him feel new about himself, earn his loyalty to the point he would look out for her? Could she? He was intrigued, and nothing really intrigued him anymore." (Ch.4) -> "Little by little, she’d shifted things in his life, minuscule bit by minuscule bit, in a way he’d not even been aware of it happening until it had stopped. And now she was a part of his lifeblood, vital to his functioning." (Ch. 26) there's so many good quote but here are some of my favs (that i can remember): "My life has been nothing but gray for as long as I remember, Rainstorms and thunder clouds that never went away. You filtered through that, all bright colors and exuberance and life. And the clouds are still there, but my eyes can’t leave the rainbow long enough to see them." "And then the rainbow had come barreling into him, like a burst of color after endless gray" "Gentleness was not something Alpha had been familiar with in a very long time. His life had been brutal and ugly and monstrous, all rough edges and bleeding wounds and selfish interests, and Zephyr? She was all softness and light and generosity. Her very existence was proof enough that there was good in the world, that beyond the pain and the hurt and the darkness, joy existed in the form of a small woman." "For the first time, sitting with the two women as they argued in jest, surrounded by good food and his bois, Alpha felt a sense of family wash over him. He’d wanted it for such a long time deep down and eventually began to believe he would never have it." reading this again after the ending and now i'm crying again "Alpha bent down, tilting his wife’s adorable face up with his fingers, putting his thumb in the little dent, loving how his digit fit like the groove had been made for it." "She loved that he let her see him like that, at what he felt was his ugliest. Idiot man. His ugly was her beautiful." "Don't leave me again, rainbow," he spoke quietly in the space between them. "I don't know if I'll ever remember anything. I don't know if what I feel is love. I don't know what the future holds. But I know I want you by my side. I know I don't want to forget you now." "I'm not going anywhere, handsome. I've loved you as a boy, and I love you as a beast. All of you has always been loved by me."

4 stars Here's my reasoning: I honestly loved Zephyr. She was so sweet and good and unique and hot and everything. I liked Alpha but I had higher expectations of him. I wasn't as invested in their relationship as I was in the others, however, I did really want him to find out about their past. I liked him more after he apologised and started showing more emotions and everything. So, relationship-wise, I was not as invested as I thought I would be. I was invested in the plot though. It kept me on my toes. The PLOT TWIST??? I had a feeling, but it was so tiny, I did not expect this one. I felt hurt, betrayed, angry, and honestly shocked. I cried at the end. I was not happy. TELL ME WHY THAT HAD TO HAPPEN, PLEASE? Also, I was glad for the snippets we got of Tristan and Morana and Dante and Amara Hopefully, the next one will be everything I hope it is. I am expecting a lot from this Shadow Man.