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Review

“I love you … with everything I am, and I’ll do it until the sun falls from the sky.”

Finally, the long-awaited finale to Kristen Ashley’s paranormal series ‘The Three’ and yes, it was worth the wait! We are dropped straight into the story and its go, go, go from the very beginning. This is a really long book (600+ pages) and although the mad pace from the beginning does slow down, I was completely swept up from the very first page and struggled to put it down.

The series revolves around a mysterious prophecy – that ‘The Three’ are destined to save the world from enslavement by supernatural bad buys. Book 1 featured vampire Lucien and his mate, book 2 was werewolf Callum and his mate, and this book gives us the story of Abel – a vampire werewolf hybrid (the only one of his kind) – and his mate, Delilah.

The book begins with Abel rescuring Lilah from a vicious attack, immediately claiming her as his and taking her to his home. I love a fast-moving alpha, but this one has got to be a record! But then, supernatural bonds always help a romantic storyline along.

“I’ve waited three lifetimes for you, and now that I’ve got you, I’m keepin’ you.”

Both have felt that a wrenching hole in their lives, like something is missing. That hole disappears as soon as they are together, and they both recognise each other as what that they have been searching for – the ‘thing’ they need to complete them and make them whole. Because of this, the romantic storyline happens really fast as well, which is good, because they’re together and functional quickly so they can deal with everything else that’s about to happen. But they still banter, bicker, and have to feel their way forward with each other just like any other couple.

“Even if it’s to my peril, I think it’s pertinent to point out at this juncture that you’re in a serious fucking jealous rage and I haven’t even kissed you yet.”
I snapped my mouth shut.
He watched me do this before he grinned.
My stomach flipped over.
Oh yeah, he was beautiful.

It’s a fantastic relationship, and the supernaturalness of it allowed me to get swept up in their intense connection, and the way that they are drawn to each other. But it’s not insta-love – their falling for each other happens naturally as they get to know each other, and it’s gorgeous.

“We’re together, Delilah, nothin’ else matters.”

Jesus, he loved her.
She wasn’t a dream come true.
She was a fucking fantasy come to life.

And, of course, the sex is scorching! The book is called ‘Wild and Free’, and that describes Lilah and Abel perfectly! They are wild in life, and in the bedroom, they are uber-hot – both of them liking things hard and rough. And there is plenty of opportunity for it!

Abel tangled a hand in my hair and yanked my head back and to the side so he could watch me come. And when he did, I gave him a show because one could say I seriously liked my man pulling my hair. But it was better because it felt like he was using it to drive me down harder on his big dick.
“I keep coming,” I gasped as more burned through me, my body shaking with it.
“Yeah, fuck yeah, I feel it. Keep goin’, baby. Milk me.”
He had to shut up or I was going to die from orgasming.

I love Lilah! She is sensible and no-nonsense, yet totally sassy in that way that KA heroines are, and she is a straight-up biker chick (which probably helps her accept the crazy that is about to overtake her life). She was raised by her father who absolutely adores her, and who is a badass biker who lives loud and proud, and that is a lesson that Lilah has taken to heart.

He’d told me time and again to live my life, enjoy it, figure out who I was and what I wanted, and only then go out and find it. And when I did, not to settle for anything less.

And Abel is absolutely gorgeous! He is a vampire werewolf hybrid of Asian descent but despite this, he speaks and behaves like a Carnal mountain man, or possibly a badass for hire. He’s on the extreme end of KA alpha-ness, and I loved it! His protectiveness and possessiveness is amped up a bit due to the bond between him and Lilah, but in all other ways he is exactly like the KA alphas that we all know and love so well… “you feel me?.

He has been raised in the human world with no contact at all from supernaturals, so he has had to figure his needs and his special powers out on his own, all the while thinking that he was some kind of monster. It’s heartbreaking. Not only that, but he has only just had his first contact with vampires and werewolves, and it was as they were attacking Lilah, so he is fully untrusting of vampires and werewolves in general. So when Lucien and Callum make their appearance (yay!) it takes a bit of time for him to come around and start trusting them. But the boys are made of awesome, and are there to guide him, and I love that we got to watch as Abel started to understand what he is fully capable of, and the bond between the boys became something incredibly special.

Callum leaned toward Abel. “Feel it,” he said quietly. “Abel, you’re fortunate. I know. You have many brothers, as do I. But now, you have two more.”

The previous two books in the series have all been leading up to the big ‘event’ that has been prophesised, and with this book being the culmination of the prophecy, both Lucien and Leah, and Callum and Sophie feature heavily throughout the book as The Three are gathered together for the first time in order to prepare for the big confrontation. It was fantastic to check in on both couples, and I loved watching the strong relationships develop between them all.

But as much as I love KA’s writing and her detailed, showing-you-everything style, I felt that this one dragged a little. The big confrontation has been building over the three books, and with such a strong start to this one, and so many paranormal elements at play (vampires, werewolves, witches, golems, phantoms and wraiths) I was expecting something epic, but it takes such a long time to get there, I thought that the story lost momentum. And when it finally happened it took me a moment to clue in that this was actually it, but then I was hooked – excited but with a sense of impending dread waiting to see if everybody would make it out alive.

The whole story is told in multiple POV. Not just Lilah and Abel, but little bits thrown in from the side characters and it creates a really nicely well-rounded story. And as with all KA books, there is an extended cast of characters who all contribute hugely to the story – particular shout out to Lilah’s Dad, Hook! A badass with a tender heart, he is completely unapologetic and utterly hilarious!

He looked to his daughter. “Trust you to find a warrior this good-lookin’. Fuck me, little girl, not a man I clapped eyes on in my life was a match for you, ’cept this motherfucker,”

Our silence lasted awhile before Dad broke it, muttering, “Christ, I could use a doobie.” I looked to him to see his eyes on Gregor. “You got any pot around this joint? My stash ran out three days ago.”

There is also a surprising secondary love story featuring one of the side characters. I really enjoyed both of these characters, and seeing them come together was gorgeous, but it felt a little strange for such an in-depth secondary romance to be included when there was so much else going on. As much as I enjoyed it, I feel like it took away from the intensity of everything else that should have been happening.

Overall though, I thought this was a fantastic book. It’s funny, sexy, romantic and emotional with a lot of heart and a nice amount of action. It’s a very fitting ending for the series, and I was really happy with the way it all ended up even though there was a ‘hooray for love’ moment that had me rolling my eyes. KA’s fantastic paranormal world proves that, once again, there is nothing the woman can’t do! She has created some absolutely epic characters throughout this series (oh Lucien ♥), and I know I’ll be revisiting them again and again.

I loved it – 4 stars.

 

The Three Series

 

For more KA awesomeness, check out our Kristen Ashley Author Spotlight