The Wrath

In love with Neeka and Rathbone!

**WARNING: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review - it will contain a few minor spoilers but, I never spoil the ending.**

If you know me, by now you know I’m an active member of Gena Showalter’s ARC team and have been for the last two years. In no way does this influence my reviews at all. I’ve been reading and loving Gena’s books since I was 17 years old. I’m 32 now, and Gena’s writing will forever hold an incredibly special place in my heart. I might be a little bias since I’ve loved her books for so long but, regardless it doesn’t take away from how incredible they are or how I truly feel about her stories. My reviews are always my honest thoughts and from my heart.

If you love her Lords of the Underworld series, then the Rise of the Warlords is the perfect continuation for you to dive into this magical world. You thought our Lords were to die for? The Astra? On another freaking level. AND we get Rathbone and more Hades?! Happy squeals! Book 4, The Wrath did not disappoint. Now we know that in this series the big bad Erebus (gags) has another challenge for the Astra; in this particular book Azar. But, it doesn’t focus on the Astra specifically. He’s here and there in the book but, it actually focuses on Rathbone and Neeka, The Unwanted.

Can you say yes for our ever fantastical Harpy Queens?! I love Neeka so freaking much. I’m continually impressed by Gena and how she makes me love these Harpies more than the last. Their humor just gets better and better in each book. I laughed so much in this one, I feel like Neeka is the ultimate baddy best friend a girl could ever want or ask for! The reason this book focuses so much on Neeka and Rathbone; and not Azar and his future Gravita (his fated one) is because of the star of this particular challenge, Lore. And let me tell you…she’s the freaking worst. Back in the day, Rathbone thought Lore was his fated one or mate if you will. Azar killed her but, Rathbone carved the song of life into each of her bones so he could bring her back to life one day. Enter in our lovingly, crazy (in the best way) Oracle, Neeka.

She knows that Lore and Erebus have something bad planned for this challenge and at the end they could all die… so it’s up to her to help… and not help Rathbone at the same time. You see, with her visions doesn’t always come clarity. And sometimes she has no idea what she’s actually doing or what her visions mean, which made this story so much fun and her character so endearing. Did I mention endearing? She’s incredibly so, and we see Rathbone start to fall for our crazy girl. Was Lore his fated one after all? Or Neeka? As this story unfolds so does their rising passion for each other… and let me tell you, sparks erupt! While he does fight it… he starts to see Neeka in a new light and realize he may not have known who Lore truly was..

“He huffed. Such prolonged stupidity. So many eyes, yet he'd failed to see the truth. He'd let pride blind him to the goddess's trickery, exactly as Hades once prophesied.”

I won’t give away the ending but, I was surprised at the twist and turns at the end. I didn’t know how this was going to end or work really but, of course Gena knew what she was doing! I also might not hate Neeka’s mom as much as I thought… again the ending was surprising! And now I can’t freaking wait for the 5th book. This book has spice but, it doesn’t have as much as the previous three books. But, it wasn’t missing it! The tension between these two… (fans herself).

Diving into this paranormal world is one of my favorite things to do.. getting lost in the pages of a Gena Showalter book is forever amazing. I’m in awe of her and her writing. Don’t sleep on this series and dive in.