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roobie's review against another edition
4.0
⭐️4 stars⭐️
When did you stop fighting?
When did it become easier to give in, just a little?
When did you become numb, even as a part of you died, over and over again?
He wished he didn't know.
When did you stop fighting?
When did it become easier to give in, just a little?
When did you become numb, even as a part of you died, over and over again?
He wished he didn't know.
mdalida's review against another edition
5.0
If you see me all over Bec McMaster reviews, then you know I’m in love with all of her books. I’m floored when people don’t feel the same.
If you like angst, good steamy angst, then McMaster is for you. Redemption, guilt, family drama or family ties, loving oneself, controlling one’s inner demons, sacrifice.. these are themes I’ve noticed come up a lot in her stories.
Johnny Colton was not a hero I expected or even looked forward to after the first book. Even the second book in this Burned Lands series had me merely begrudgingly accepting that he wasn’t pure evil. So, when I tell you I was swooning at the end of this book for these lovers, I was the most surprised!
But, I love a good redemption story. Johnny’s story is one of past physical, emotional, and verbal abuse tied in with a mindfuckery of alpha control from his evil uncle, the main villain in the first book. For years - I don’t think I realized before that Johnny had been broken and tortured by this uncle since he was 14.. about 15-20 years!!
I also love the “opposite sides of the tracks” feeling. Usually that means class differences, but here it means that Johnny is a warg, basically considered a monster to the Burned Lands and therefore, less than human. While Eden, aptly named, is this beautiful healer human beloved, or at least wanted, by her community. The feelings of guilt and worthlessness wrapped around loneliness and trauma had me all up in my feelings about this castaway warg who just wanted to belong.
Ugh. It was just SO. GOOD. You definitely need to read the previous books to understand the hatred that this hero incurred to appreciate his redemption arc. It’ll help to understand why Eden hated the attraction between them so much.
My nitpickery has to ask - who chooses romance covers? It’s not infrequent when romance covers look nothing like the characters, look overly photoshopped to the point of looking unhuman, or have, say, tattoos on their chesticles and *bellybutton* that are never mentioned in the book?
If you like angst, good steamy angst, then McMaster is for you. Redemption, guilt, family drama or family ties, loving oneself, controlling one’s inner demons, sacrifice.. these are themes I’ve noticed come up a lot in her stories.
Johnny Colton was not a hero I expected or even looked forward to after the first book. Even the second book in this Burned Lands series had me merely begrudgingly accepting that he wasn’t pure evil. So, when I tell you I was swooning at the end of this book for these lovers, I was the most surprised!
But, I love a good redemption story. Johnny’s story is one of past physical, emotional, and verbal abuse tied in with a mindfuckery of alpha control from his evil uncle, the main villain in the first book. For years - I don’t think I realized before that Johnny had been broken and tortured by this uncle since he was 14.. about 15-20 years!!
I also love the “opposite sides of the tracks” feeling. Usually that means class differences, but here it means that Johnny is a warg, basically considered a monster to the Burned Lands and therefore, less than human. While Eden, aptly named, is this beautiful healer human beloved, or at least wanted, by her community. The feelings of guilt and worthlessness wrapped around loneliness and trauma had me all up in my feelings about this castaway warg who just wanted to belong.
Ugh. It was just SO. GOOD. You definitely need to read the previous books to understand the hatred that this hero incurred to appreciate his redemption arc. It’ll help to understand why Eden hated the attraction between them so much.
My nitpickery has to ask - who chooses romance covers? It’s not infrequent when romance covers look nothing like the characters, look overly photoshopped to the point of looking unhuman, or have, say, tattoos on their chesticles and *bellybutton* that are never mentioned in the book?
nelsonseye's review
4.0
The Hero Within was a great conclusion to a really compelling trilogy. Johnny's backstory was painful, but I think it was handled well, and his relationship with Eden (both past and present) was believable. Their chemistry was also really intense. It was interesting learning more of the backstory of the warg curse and meeting the pack in the Divide - Nnedi and Arik, and even Lincoln, were great side characters. I think my favourite parts were Eden's moments to shine: her showdowns with the Confederacy villains and with the council made me applaud. I also really liked Adam and Johnny's conversation about Eden and her weaknesses in the final chapter; that was cute.
slimcakeyreads's review against another edition
5.0
You just can’t find trilogies like this anymore, and I truly wish the author had continued it on further because I have reread these books many times.
This one is probably my favorite out of the three, and I think that’s because the build up from the other two books kept me in suspense about what Johnny Colton’s story would be. I was not disappointed.
And a side note just about this author in general, as I have read some of her other books as well (all good!)....she really knows how to give you the whole package: character development, complete arcs leaving the characters changed for the better by the end of the stories, action and adventure, awesome worlds and steamy scenes that are still classy and don’t take up the whole book. It’s okay to write romance books with actual substance and I feel so many authors these days forget that...hell, I’ve read some books lately that made me roll my eyes and return them to KU out of embarrassment at how terrible they were.
I guess I’m just picky. I want it all. Bec McMasters delivers, and as long as she keeps delivering I will keep reading.
This one is probably my favorite out of the three, and I think that’s because the build up from the other two books kept me in suspense about what Johnny Colton’s story would be. I was not disappointed.
And a side note just about this author in general, as I have read some of her other books as well (all good!)....she really knows how to give you the whole package: character development, complete arcs leaving the characters changed for the better by the end of the stories, action and adventure, awesome worlds and steamy scenes that are still classy and don’t take up the whole book. It’s okay to write romance books with actual substance and I feel so many authors these days forget that...hell, I’ve read some books lately that made me roll my eyes and return them to KU out of embarrassment at how terrible they were.
I guess I’m just picky. I want it all. Bec McMasters delivers, and as long as she keeps delivering I will keep reading.
_misty_'s review against another edition
4.0
The best of the three! And finally a story where the big secret about the hero being a warg is already out.
But now I want a spin off about the Confederacy!
But now I want a spin off about the Confederacy!
namita's review
5.0
What an amazing end to the trilogy!! I really hope the Bec would write about Wargs of the Burned Lands!!
5 Fantastic Stars!!
5 Fantastic Stars!!
scrittrice's review
4.0
Full disclosure: I received a copy from the author for review. However, my opinions are my own.
I trust Bec McMaster. I think that’s the biggest takeaway I have for this book. I’d been wondering if I’m a little worn out on romance, as I just haven’t found myself taken with the ones I’d been reading lately. I picked up this book as the end in a series that I had good memories of, one that had made me forget a trans-Atlantic flight.
The groundwork was laid in the earlier books, with Johnny Coltan and Eden McClain both playing smaller roles in the previous books, though their relationship is paused until this book. We get deeper exploration of the world and further understanding of the wargs, as Eden fights a plague and Johnny acts as her unwilling guide across the dangerous Divide.
While I wouldn’t say that dystopian stories are my strongest favorite, I love these ones. McMaster even addresses the slightly troubling Indian magical artifacts of the first book, and we get some racial diversity in the cast. I’m only sorry that fantasy readers who would never pick up a romance book are missing out on some amazing world building and delightful storytelling. Because I trust McMaster’s storytelling.
I trust Bec McMaster. I think that’s the biggest takeaway I have for this book. I’d been wondering if I’m a little worn out on romance, as I just haven’t found myself taken with the ones I’d been reading lately. I picked up this book as the end in a series that I had good memories of, one that had made me forget a trans-Atlantic flight.
The groundwork was laid in the earlier books, with Johnny Coltan and Eden McClain both playing smaller roles in the previous books, though their relationship is paused until this book. We get deeper exploration of the world and further understanding of the wargs, as Eden fights a plague and Johnny acts as her unwilling guide across the dangerous Divide.
While I wouldn’t say that dystopian stories are my strongest favorite, I love these ones. McMaster even addresses the slightly troubling Indian magical artifacts of the first book, and we get some racial diversity in the cast. I’m only sorry that fantasy readers who would never pick up a romance book are missing out on some amazing world building and delightful storytelling. Because I trust McMaster’s storytelling.
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