I received an advanced reader copy of this book to review *minor spoilers ahead*
I loved the story of Drocco and Cailyn in the first novel and couldn't wait for King Malloron's story. Don't let his use of magic fool you into thinking he's not just as Alpha as Drocco and this book proves it! I loved the in-depth worldbuilding of the Western Lands in this book and how different it was from the 1st 3 books around Drocco. This was not necessarily a direct continuation of the 1st trilogy but it's not a standalone either. I saw one reviewer hard trouble following this on its own, and it's very hard to understand what's going on if you haven't read books 1-3. Don't judge this book unless you've read the other installments!
That being said, King Malloron is a very different alpha from Drocco. He *is* that cruel but charming alpha that you're not necessarily going to like in the beginning of the story but he has met his match with Amara. She is a more seasoned Omega operative than Cailyn was so she finds herself going toe to toe with Malloron and her skills can't match his. Her fire and devotion to her mission isn't abandoned the minute she capitulates to Malloron which I LOVED. I've read many a "reluctant mate to the Alpha" novel and within 10 pages, the heroine abandons all the toughness and grit that you were ready for! That's why the Alpha liked her to begin with!! Grrrr... I did find Malloron's character arc a little slow to wander over to the "good side" but it arrived just in time of course for the novel to end!!! But in hindsight, that's what I liked about this novel -- Malloron was set in his ways much like Drocco was and given his use of ancient magic and the fact that he had a kingdom to protect, his resistance to recognizing his own emotions was understandable. I could not believe the novel ended where it did. Zoey Ellis is a master (mistress?? :) of the cliffhanger. You KNOW a cliffhanger is coming but it still shocks you all the same as you frantically swipe to the next page (on Kindle ;)), going "oh noooo. It's OVER??"
Oh and the sex scenes are dark and very different from the ones in the previous novels, so I appreciate so much when sex scenes are inventive, original, and suit the specific characters vs. being repetitive. One scene I kept going over and over back to was where Malloron thinks Amara is interested in someone else and harshly confronts her. You'll know what I'm talking about. ;)
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