Reviews

In the Arms of the Beast by K.A. Merikan

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_lindsay_reads_a_lot_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

rellimreads's review against another edition

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2.0

I’m utterly devastated by this book, and not in a good way. While in some ways it was good, it was completely inconsistent with all the previous books of the series. For the most part this reads like a somewhat dramatic New Adult RomCom.

With the exception of the epilogues - this was from Beast & Laurent’s perspectives. Most of the dark and twisted was replaced with sophomoric jokes and insufferable immaturity by Laurent and sometimes Beast. While I get that Laurent is still acclimating to current times and a relationship - his behavior is the antithesis of what he demanded from Beast. He dismissed his partner’s wishes, feelings, and needs at every turn with unending petulance. I get that one of Laurent’s choices was needed as catalyst for the ending, but the minutiae of that took up more than 1/2 the book.

The conclusion of the “Battle against Baal” was anticlimactic. Events happen that are never addressed & left hanging. The epilogues, in particular, felt like the authors were concentrating more on launching a new spin-off series than they were with satisfactorily ending this one.

Narration:
Joel Leslie was absolute perfection throughout this entire series. He didn’t get to show off his talents as much this time as Beast & Laurent took up almost all of the dialogue - but he was still flawless.

purple676's review against another edition

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5.0

This book was SO GOOD. I never wanted it to end. I’m so sad rn. Beast and Laurent are my second favourite couple after Shadow and Grey and it felt so good to read about them again. Even though the whole baby thing was kinda boring for me I still liked it. And Jasper I love thay man. He was so awesome. I wish he didn’t have to die but oh well. Even though I’m sad the series is over I’m also happy there’s going to be a spinn off. I’m so excited for it I can’t even.

carosi's review against another edition

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4.0

Hmm that is a hard one - Honestly I wanted to quit this book a few times because of all the drama between Beast and Laurent it was just annoying... But I kept going because I wanted to get to the great finale (which never came)
In the end the author took the easy way out in my opinion because every reader knew it would be unrealistic if all of them survived. So she killed off the character which never had much of a story for himself but was in all the books. The whole scene where Joker kills the mole is stupid - why should he just kill her?? Its his best friend sister! Nope just nope.
So now we get the seven deadly sons - I don‘t know how I feel about ...

iam's review against another edition

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4.0

Holy moly, this was a WILD ride!

Content warnings include:

Spoiler

PTSD (character who was burned badly gets caught in a small space with fire and has a flashback), side character gets hurt badly by acidic substance, break-in, sex on-page, miscommunication, murder, side character has to hurt their spouse as punishment because of biker club rules,

I had a GREAT time reading this book. I liked the entire series but I was especially looking forward to In The Arms of The Beast, not just because it is the finale of the series but also because it focusses back on Laurent and Beast. I absolutely adore Laurent, and he certainly did not disappoint! His love for plastic is as big as ever, just this time he knows about environmental pollution - he has learned a lot in his time in the future, but technology and society still frequently confuse him, which often leads to precarious and hilarious situations and I admire the way he handles it.

Which isn't to say Laurent is without flaws. Both he and Beast have grown a lot since they first met in [b:Laurent and The Beast|33959435|Laurent and the Beast (Kings of Hell MC, #1)|K.A. Merikan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485883934s/33959435.jpg|54936206], but their relationship is still a work in progress. Both of them make mistakes: Laurent being stubborn and refusing to see he is wrong, while Beast is hotheaded and has trouble seeing past his anger - but they are still miles ahead from where they were a year ago. I did not like to see them fight and fall into patterns of miscommunication, but they handled themselves a lot better than before and the tension it created was a lot more natural and enjoyable to read.

Then of course there is the whole "the world is ending" thing. It was.... surprisingly secondary? Sure, it was always there in the background, but mostly overshadowed by certain other things that happen that involve Magpie.
A lot of things happened in the background that felt more like a means to an end than part of the story, often making me wonder why it was even mentioned before I realized "wait this is part of the apocalypse plot".

So while I absolutely loved the book and had a ton of fun reading it, I laughed a lot and screamed during the entirety of the last few chapters, and while it's a great book about the future of an established couple, with new troubles and old resentments coming up - if you look at it as the climax of a series about the world ending, with the stakes getting higher and higher towards the later books, it was weak.

I also would have liked to see more of the other couples, especially Vars and Jake. Each of them got their own epilogues, which, while I enjoyed them, didn't feel very conclusive in their own right - instead they are more of a setup for the upcoming spin-off series, which I am SO PUMPED FOR!!!! I can't wait to get more details, I'm already looking forward to those books!

I received an ARC and reviewed voluntarily.

thosemedalingkidsss's review against another edition

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2.0

Underwhelmed with this one, the grand finale wasn't as bonkers or even crazy as I've come to expect from the authors.

Laurent also turned into the worst lead and became insufferable throughout this. Would have loved this book to solve the plot fiasco as well as give closure to all the previous couples, rather than focusing on Beast and Laurent's toxic marriage.