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A review by iam
In the Arms of the Beast by K.A. Merikan
4.0
Holy moly, this was a WILD ride!
Content warnings include:
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.
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.