Title: Saint Returns
Series: The Thresl Chronicles #6
Author: Amber Kell
Genre: Paranormal / Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781781849491
Length: Novella (93 pages)
Publisher: Totally Bound (December 21st, 2013)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3 Hearts
Reviewer: Thommie
Blurb: After centuries of isolation, Saint has returned to reclaim what is his…
Saint, a Thresl of unimaginable power, has spent centuries trapped beneath rubble. Now free, he is determined to claim both his throne and his mate. Anyone who stands in his way will be annihilated.
Marsley Jacks is unsure if he wants to be the mate of a ruthless Thresl. After spending most of his life protecting the shifters, he’s unsure if allowing a power-hungry Thresl takeover is the best thing for the species.
Two men with opposing views—will they come together in time to save their people?
Product Link: https://www.totallybound.com/saint-returns?search=saint
Review: So… ugh… was that it…?
All the wait for Saint’s story, all the anticipation, and this is what we get? Nope, this fan girl is not happy.
This is going to be mostly a things-that-let-me-down review because, well, they were many. Let’s start with Mars and his not wanting a mate attitude. I felt like the pattern was dragged out here and the reluctant mate card was drawn yet again, which after an extensive inner monologue on Mars’ side, resolved itself mostly due to the fact that no one can evade his soul-mate forever.
Oh my God, have I mentioned how tiresome that thing really is? We saw it a little bit with Soldier Mine, but we had a hell of a blast with Prince Claimed. Politician Won had it a bit differently since Leo refused to change, and let’s not even mention the inner-monologue with the Bonded Broken. Of course Duke Betrayed was full of it since Balaze has no say there, so does it really surprise me we’d encounter it here too? Honestly yes, it does. What really made this one stand out from the others though, is that it literally solved itself. Mars had the problem. Mars overcame it with nothing so much as an effort from Saint. He just let the mating bond take its course.
Moving along we have Saint, the greatly anticipated Thresl for all his ancient power, the original King of the Thresl race, the one with the most potential of them all. Saint, as beautiful and gorgeous as an idea as it was, simply was not enough. I feel slighted on Saint’s behalf. He deserved more. This 93 pages novella was not enough for him. There was not enough space for his mating to settle and develop, there was not enough space for their Thresl-saving-mission, there was not enough space for his throne claiming, there was not enough space for the final closure and the villain mastermind fight in the end. Saint did not deserve the rush he got, and neither did we.
And, oh my God, the villain of the story. I so did not expect that. As much as in hindsight there were clues all over the place, I did not expect that. I think the identity of the bad guy here was brilliant. I also think that the execution that came delivered along with the all-time classic “bwahaha I’m the bad guy, I will rule, you will die” monologue was God-awful. I mean, you ruin the bad guy and you’ve ruined the entire story, and it was such a shame.
The epilogue itself was not the closure one would expect. I’ve seen around people mentioning this being the final installment and if that’s indeed so, than I’m afraid the closure was a poor choice, as well. It would have been much preferable if the epilogue was set a year after and given a more potent ending than this happily for now sort.
So, why 3 hearts you might ask? Hell, I’ve always said I’m biased when it comes to this series, and even though I was let down with this one (hard), I still got my time with my favorite Thresls. What can I say, I have my soft spots. 😉