Whoo! What a winter wonderland… In seriousness, I love how winter played a role in this, the breaching cold reaching in to make a mess of something soft and sweet. And there was a lot of sweetness in this book. Just as much as it was violent and fucked up.
My kind of story.
I really enjoyed this book and how the three storylines came together at the end. Okay, where to start. Where to start.
The easiest place to begin is with Mayhem and Mahrci. Although Instalove isn’t usually my favorite, it worked pretty well in this case since they had such limited time. Ward let it simmer a little, too, although it was obvious how Mayhem felt from the start, getting Mahrci’s hesitation made it flow more realistically.
The “I think I love you” confession at the end, to be met with an “I know I love you,” made for a great peak moment for their romance. And the confession of being bonded in a rush fits what I remember of the series.
Besides, I love a man who falls first and falls fast.
I mentioned it before, Mayhem is one of my favorite kinds of character: Chaotic Neutral. However, at the end, he seems to have turned to a Chaotic Good. I approve.
Next, the mystery. Apex’s confession to having killed Broadius was a sweet moment and it made all of his secrecy at the beginning of the book with Mayhem make all the more sense. I really love it when details click together like that.
Honestly, fuck Broadius and that pompous snake Whestmorel. I do love to hate a character like that. It was nice to see the good guys fucking up his plans.
Okay, the big romance—Apex and Callum. I can’t say I was expecting that kind of breakup before they got back together at the end. I may have teared up a little. Poor Apex.
Of course, I’ve been feeling the poor Apex through the whole book. I’m glad Callum finally got some sense of peace, and that he got to have Apex at the end. That he got to be the one to save him when he was ready to die. It brings their story full circle, and I’m a big fan of that.
Plus, he got to tear Remis to shreds, which was satisfying as all get out.
Alright. So, I was obviously happy with this book. Ward is a master, as always.
Let me know what you think of A BLOOM IN WINTER, and although I won’t see you next week, we will be starting up again after the holidays to read Carissa Broadbent’s The Songbird and the Heart of Stone.
Until then, happy reading!