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4.4 AVERAGE
4.4 AVERAGE
Rounding to 4 ⭐️ I’m still absolutely obsessed with this world—every second spent in it feels like a win. But these characters in this one? Exhausting.
There’s always that one book in a series that feels like a detour you didn’t need to take, and sadly, this was it. The plot didn’t move forward so much as spin in circles, throwing chaos at the wall just for shock value.
The second half did pick up a bit, but it still felt like we were stuck in place. There’s one thing that keeps happening in every single book, and at this point? It’s giving “we ran out of ideas” filler. Definitely dulled the shine for me.
That said—I’m still ride or die for this world. I just really hope book 5 wraps up this arc, because some plot points need to be retired. But give me more stories in this universe once it’s done? I’ll absolutely be back for another round. Just maybe with less déjà vu.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
City of Smoke and Brimstone by Kayla Edwards: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5 Stars! 🌶️🌶️Spice!
Summary: Ever since Loren has woken up, she had to fight to live bc everything she has worked for is at stake including her found family & the man she loves, Darien Cassel. In an unlikely turn of events with the Veil dropping, everyone is separated and fighting for their life and nothing, not even love can save them this time.
Review: Wow, talk about a book with high stakes! This book hit the ground running and picked up right where book 3 left off & never stopped! I could barely catch my breath the entire time and could never find a good stopping point. It was action packed and each character was going through so much, mentally and physically it pulled every emotion out of me. The writing was incredible and kept me at the edge of my seat!
Loren and Darien have really been through it and the author does not let them off easy in this book. I’m not going to lie, Loren pissed me off a little bc she has a beautiful man so in love with her but she still chose to stay mad at him for like 50% of the book! However, I see the other side of things bc she knows the end is coming and doesn’t want to make it harder for him. Talk about pulling at my heart strings 😭 I still think Loren is doing all she can and I love her commitment to her family. Darien is still my favorite & his loyalty is still unwavering but he tends to put himself last which costs him. He still had so many demons and it really tested him but he stayed true to himself and I will forever love him! His obsession for Loren is top tier ❤️🔥 Roman and Shay have a rough story in this one and Roman pissed me off in the beginning, but seeing them finally give in to one another and stop fighting their connection was great! I loved getting the other POV’s, like Travis and Max, and seeing their struggles through their eyes. I will say, this book isn’t very spicy but the few scenes we do get with D&L and R&S, do not disappoint bc those men have it down bad 😮💨 and they aren’t afraid to show it by their words and actions!
What I love about this series is the multiple POVs you get throughout. The author does an amazing job of having the book flow while switching POVs and it makes me connect to the characters even more. The ending was intense and action packed but I will say, it ended better than I thought. I was a little shocked we didn’t see more of the Imperator or Donovan in this book but that’s okay bc they suck 🤣 overall this was an incredible book and if you’re looking for a story with monsters, morally grey MMC’s, found family, and high stakes - CoSaB is for you🌃🖤
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“And I told you there is no after.” What he—they—were going through put an edge in his tone as well. Not a harsh one, no. But she knew Darien well enough to detect it. “You are my present, my future, and my eternity, Loren.”
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! You have no idea how glad I am the cliffhanger this book ended with isn't as huge as the one in book threeunless if giving the spider her freedom means Loren ends up in her place, in which case yes, it's a huge cliffhanger . So many things were solved, and I feel content. That's not to say I'm not excited for the next one though, I just felt like this was a less-cruel place to leave us waiting on.
But most importantlyTHEY GOT MORTY BACK WE CHEER!!!! , I didn't think it would happen in this one, because we were down to the last 100 or so pages, but I'm so glad it did. I would've lost sleep over it if I had to wait any longer.
ALSO, you have no idea how happy I am that Loren and Darien made up and thatall our beloved characters made it to the end in one piece. I don't want anyone to die .
Speaking ofdying , I badly need to know how Loren is going to avoid her fate. If this series ends with her and Darien dying I'm going to throw hands.
Anyway, I love how none of these feel like filler books, no matter what's going on - it's always interesting. In this one we ended up with little groups of characters being separated, and having to rely on each other to survive, which allowed for greater character development than before.
There was even some relationship development between Roman and ShayI burst into tears when she told him she loved him , and Travis and Jewels, they're very dear to me. Max and Dallas didn't get to shine as much, but I figure they're already established so it's not a big deal. Plus a lot of Max's page time was taken up with his side quest.
We learned more about what's going on, but something I noticed is that Loren didn't really use much of her magic this time around, she definitely deserves the rest.
Meanwhile Darien...went above and beyond to keep everyone safe even at his own expense. That man will NOT stop until he saves the whole world.
Ivy pissed me off untilshe apologised , it really wasn't fair that she was mad at Loren for something Darien did .
Roark and Dean really grew on me, I know we just met the latter, but he left a good impression. And Roark really improved, but it's bugging me a little howErasmus and Cyra, her actual parents, were barely mentioned and didn't even appear in the book.
And I get Roark raised her so he IS her dad too, but every time she interacted with him and called him dad, there wasn't a single thought spared to Erasmus. Personally, I think as soon as they learned the spell was broken they should've ran to get some answers. And I kinda don't like how Roark's so concerned about Loren, but is still cold to Dallas.
Since I'm on a roll,it was incredibly convenient that Donovan didn't cause more trouble. His presence was looming in the background, and don't get me wrong, I LOVE that he didn't get Pax, and didn't hurt Roman but I feel like SOMETHING should've happened.
It's all probably being saved for the next book, which I hope won't be the last one. I'm not sure if there's 5 books, maybe a 6th *and* a prequel, or if book 6 would be the prequel? Either way, I will be here waiting. I love these books so much.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! You have no idea how glad I am the cliffhanger this book ended with isn't as huge as the one in book three
But most importantly
ALSO, you have no idea how happy I am that Loren and Darien made up and that
Speaking of
Anyway, I love how none of these feel like filler books, no matter what's going on - it's always interesting. In this one we ended up with little groups of characters being separated, and having to rely on each other to survive, which allowed for greater character development than before.
There was even some relationship development between Roman and Shay
We learned more about what's going on, but something I noticed is that Loren didn't really use much of her magic this time around, she definitely deserves the rest.
Meanwhile Darien...went above and beyond to keep everyone safe even at his own expense. That man will NOT stop until he saves the whole world.
Ivy pissed me off until
Roark and Dean really grew on me, I know we just met the latter, but he left a good impression. And Roark really improved, but it's bugging me a little how
And I get Roark raised her so he IS her dad too, but every time she interacted with him and called him dad, there wasn't a single thought spared to Erasmus. Personally, I think as soon as they learned the spell was broken they should've ran to get some answers. And I kinda don't like how Roark's so concerned about Loren, but is still cold to Dallas.
Since I'm on a roll,
It's all probably being saved for the next book, which I hope won't be the last one. I'm not sure if there's 5 books, maybe a 6th *and* a prequel, or if book 6 would be the prequel? Either way, I will be here waiting. I love these books so much.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Can this couple please just finally be happy?? I am unsure why in my head this was the last book.. I was so wrong. And the wholes series only spans like 6 months??? Jeez they need a break
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
wow... kayla edwards you never disappoint. if you haven't picked up this series yet, please do.
this was the most intense book i have possibly ever read. SO fast paced with BARELY any downtime, not that that is a bad thing, but oh my goodness my heart rate was easily over 100 bpm the entire time i was reading. the TENSION between darien and loren, and roman and shay was literally so sharp you could cut it with a knife, but it was so good and the end was so worth it wow. the writing, as always, was amazing and just so poetic, and i know there is def clues to the overall plot hiding within this writing that i am too blind to see. (HOWEVER, malakai felt unnecessarily petty this book and i was almost getting tired of it when he finally let his grudge go thank god)
loren - girl you are so ridiculous sometimes but i can relate because anger also possesses me like that! darien - the man u are, wow, a groveling king, but please be kinder to yourself!!! shay - THE BADDIE MOMENTS THIS WOMAN HAD HOLY IM OBSESSED. roman - him facing his anxiety and his trauma in this book was so amazing im literally obsessed w his growth.
i am so glad i took my time with this because now that i am going to have to wait probably over a year for the next (and maybe final) installment of this series i already wish i could go back and read this for the first time again. reading about this cast of characters again felt like coming home to a warm cup of tea and a big hug, and it was so so amazing to feel.
this was the most intense book i have possibly ever read. SO fast paced with BARELY any downtime, not that that is a bad thing, but oh my goodness my heart rate was easily over 100 bpm the entire time i was reading. the TENSION between darien and loren, and roman and shay was literally so sharp you could cut it with a knife, but it was so good and the end was so worth it wow. the writing, as always, was amazing and just so poetic, and i know there is def clues to the overall plot hiding within this writing that i am too blind to see. (HOWEVER, malakai felt unnecessarily petty this book and i was almost getting tired of it when he finally let his grudge go thank god)
loren - girl you are so ridiculous sometimes but i can relate because anger also possesses me like that! darien - the man u are, wow, a groveling king, but please be kinder to yourself!!! shay - THE BADDIE MOMENTS THIS WOMAN HAD HOLY IM OBSESSED. roman - him facing his anxiety and his trauma in this book was so amazing im literally obsessed w his growth.
i am so glad i took my time with this because now that i am going to have to wait probably over a year for the next (and maybe final) installment of this series i already wish i could go back and read this for the first time again. reading about this cast of characters again felt like coming home to a warm cup of tea and a big hug, and it was so so amazing to feel.
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No