Fate’s Design (Masters' Admiralty/Trinity Masters Finale)
Lila Dubois
Blurb:
After the tragic
death of both his wives and his sister, Eric knows that he’s cursed. Every
woman he loves dies because he fails to protect them. That’s why, for years,
he’s been fighting his feelings for Nikolett–the only person brave enough to
stand up to him.
As leader of the
dangerous secret society, Eric has the power to force Nikolett to marry someone
else. He tried that, desperate to keep her safe, but circumstances, and
Nikolett herself, conspired to upend that arranged marriage.
When a friend
finally forces Eric to go to therapy, he realizes the past tragedies weren’t
his fault, and that he has no desire to live without Nikolett. He arrives in
Paris ready to woo the woman he loves…
But he’s too
late. She’s on a date with another man.
Nikolett is
planning to arrange her own marriage, even though she’s still helplessly in
love with Eric. And a chance meeting with a sweet man in a coffee shop months
ago might be the key to her future happiness.
Eric and
Nikolett’s tangled love isn’t the only danger they face. An elusive enemy
called the Spaniard is making plays against the Masters Admiralty, and the only
way to catch him may be to use Nikolett as bait.
Themes: Menage, Series Finale
Rating: 4.5 stars
Heat Rating:
Review:
How does one right a review of not just a
fantastic love story that has been in the making for years, but a book that
brings to a close two twisting series that began over a decade ago written by
two of the most amazing authors I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading and
reviewing for? Let me tell you it isn’t easy, but after reading this story I
have thoughts that just have to be shared and doing so without giving away any
of the spoilers is going to be tricky.
To
begin I wanted to thank Lila for giving us an ending that finally brings
together the two people that we have all been clamoring for even though it has
been a complicated and messy relationship, we refused to let her end the series
without giving us Eric and Nikolett. And of course, a second and bigger thank
you to both Lila and Mari Carr for giving us over a decade of fabulous twisty
and turny stories as they moved us through the Trinity Masters and Master’s
Admiralty series leading up to this fabulous ending. Eric and Nikolett have led one another on a
merry chase through a bitter and often heartbreaking adventure as they dealt
with their hangups and fears, but finally they have found their way in this
amazing tale of trauma, healing and love.
But they have an insidious enemy that has finally decided that the
endgame has arrived, and he is no longer going to stay in the shadows. The
Spaniard is coming out of the darkness to enact the ultimate revenge against
the Master’s Admiralty, Nikolett and most importantly Eric. After finally
finding love and forgiveness, Nikki and Eric have to fight for their lives and
the lives of their people as the Spaniard works even harder to end them all in
a flaming mess of pain and degradation.
I
loved every painful, beautiful and heart mending moment of this story. From watching Nikolett open up about her
past again and again, finally coming to terms with her past and allowing love
to lead her to the truth of her own worth, to showing those she loves the
vulnerable woman that requires help sometimes. Nikki is obviously a woman that
knows her own mind and strength, but sometimes strong women need to be able to
put down their swords and let others shield them as they rest. Eric also
finally came to terms with his trauma, admitting his shortcomings and releasing
his fears and erroneous beliefs that everything that has ever gone wrong in his
life was his fault, allowing him to heal and give Nikki the love and faith she
needed. Once he was able to offer her a
healed and whole heart, he became the man she needed and wanted to stand by her
side and be the lover and husband that she deserved. Together they were finally able to learn more
about and understand their enemy, no longer confused by their complicated
relationship and allowing them to think more clearly, and oh boy was that enemy
a doozy. The Spaniard was truly and
interesting and multilayered enemy, one that had interesting and deep-seated
issues, and I would have liked to see him overcome and maybe get a book of his
own later as a hero, but all good things must come to and end. The passion and fire of the chemistry between
Nikki and Eric was definitely undeniable and powered their relationship through
the painful moments until they got past in order to heal.
I
honestly almost died at the end of the book (until the epilogue) but thank gods
we got that epilogue, or I might have tracked Lila down and made her pay. (j/k,
sorta) But we now have a proper ending to the series and hopefully someday Lila
and/or Mari will come back and maybe we’ll get second generation Trinity
Master’s stories, but if not, I’m thrilled with this ending and can’t wait for
whatever these two authors give us next. I’m sad to watch it end, but it’s been
a wild and amazing ride that I’ll never forget, so thanks Lila (and Mari) for
an amazing ending and a series that changed my life for the better.
*eARC provided by author for the
purpose of an honest and unbiased review.
No compensation was provided.
No comments:
Post a Comment