King Tomb (Forever Evermore #3) by Scarlett Dawn-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 8, 2014

Queen Shifter, Lily Ruckler, has found solace in brutal warfare. Her bloodied fists and bared fangs fill the holes left in her memory, the blank spaces that leave her soul aching and empty. Her only pleasure is in blood; her only salvation is the relationship she has with her infant child, the baby of unknown origins who brings her solace and stability.

When Elder Harcourt summons Lily and her protector Antonio back to the United States, Lily thinks nothing unusual about the change of location. But a standard reconnaissance mission leaves her trapped inside King Zeller’s private quarters, and at his mercy. Surprise attraction rapidly turns to a battle of wills and an intense power struggle that leaves no clear victor but plenty of resentment.

They are not allowed to nurse their wounds. In order to win the war against the Commoners, the King Vampire and Queen Shifter must work together. It should be easy. The war is turning, the battle is deadly, and both Lily and Ezra love the cold cleanliness of combat. But their chance meeting has led to more than an unlikely alliance. Secrets have a way of surfacing, especially on a torn-up battlefield, and Lily and Ezra are about to re-learn all they cannot remember. If they can’t control their emotions and responses, it will be to their own ruin and the destruction of everything around them.

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REVIEW: KING TOMB is the third instalment in Scarlett Dawn’s new adult, paranormal ‘first’ Forever Evermore Trilogy. Told from first person POV (Lily) King Tomb is the conclusion to Lily and Ezra’s story-one that began as adult students in King Hall-where Lily (wolf shifter) and Ezra (vampire) were trained to one day take over as King of the Vampires and Queen of the Shifters. KING TOMB sees Lily and Ezra fighting a war against the Coms (commoner/humans) all the while fighting the knowledge that their minds have been wiped and there are black holes where memories were once stored. The storyline advances the series twelve to eighteen months.

The focus of KING TOMB finds Lily embroiled in her own personal war –a new mother who has no recollection about the past-a past that directly affects her daughter and her own mind. Returning to the United States, she will be placed in direct contact with the man who once called to her heart but missing pieces of information and lost memories feed the hatred and ambivalence she now feels towards the vampire she used to love. While Lily and Ezra work to stop a war with the humans, the Elders work towards a peaceful reconciliation between their King and Queen. But magic is at work and the Elders are having a difficult time extrapolating the truth.

There is an immediate attraction between Ezra and Lily-one that does not go unnoticed by the Elders and one that is born out of a previous love. But when the mind is wiped clean of the past, no one is sure where they stand and whose side they are on. The one constant and important tie is a small three month old child whose DNA cannot deny her heritage or her parents.

The secondary characters drive a good portion of the storyline and there are new revelations and declarations of love from an unlikely source but a love that has lingered for years. We get an up close and personal look at Lily Ruckler and Ezra Zeller’s fathers-a trio of men whose own lives are becoming more complicated.

As for secondary characters, throughout the first two instalments King Jack (Mage) and Queen Pearl (Elemental) were a fixture in the storylines-best friends with Lily and Ezra-but two characters whose existence or presence in King Tomb was almost negligible until the end. They appear to have been forgotten or pushed aside.

KING TOMB is the final instalment in this trilogy. The storyline ends with a hint of more to come but one that does not necessarily focus on Lily and Zeller. There is a quick resolution to this story-a rush to the finish-one that left me questioning what happened and why. As Lily and Ezra travelled back in time-there is no real explanation as to how and why. This particular part of the storyline came out of nowhere, seemingly unquestioned by most of the people involved and one that left me with mixed feelings about the ending. There is a HEA but not necessarily one for this reader.

Reading Order
1. King Hall
2. King Cave
3. King Tomb

Copy supplied by Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy