Of Claws & Chaos by M. Sinclair

                 
                                                                                          reviewed by Katy Grant

The eighth and final tale of courageous young princesses that gave up their magic and life to return what was taken from their dying land.

 Evera had never expected that a night out, with her friend Stella, at The Portal would have ended in a struggle with two totally strange men and then dropped through a portal to a land she had never seen. Okay this was strange. The two men were no where in sight, and what a strange sight. I saw a river below the cliff edge I was standing on. It looked like a town below with people celebrating, but like no modern town she had ever seen.

 This might be my only hope for answers and a way home. I didn’t have any idea of what I would find when I reached there. But something here was triggering long ago memories. I was on the run again this time from the terror within me. The King and Queen of Vargr were demanding I be brought to them and somehow, I knew it wouldn’t end well for me. No one had to tell me twice to run. But the Kingdom of Nightfall didn’t sound much better, and I would have to travel through the mountains to reach it, alone and at night.

 The Kingdom of Nightfall was beautiful to look at and Axel the man I had thought of as a King was the ruler of Nightfall. He knows me. He loved me long ago. He had waited fifty years for my return. I had been one of eight princesses who had given their lives to restore magic to the land. Axel had been my personal guard but had left my parents’ Kingdom entering the land of Nightfall. It had taken him more than thirty years to bring life and prosperity to the land that had once been a desolate barren place. How?  

He tells me I am his true mate, but I don’t remember. He says I have great magic within me, but I can’t pull it forward. He says I am a wolf shifter and used to run by his side in my wolf form but can’t hear her call.  I know this my parents and half-brother, Reyon, the rulers of Eventide, are cruel, vicious and want me for the magic I can’t find within me. If they capture me, I will be killed when they have no further use of me.

 The final story of the eight princesses, answers why the land of Nightfall has been barren, as well as offering the romance behind Evera and Axel’s love. As a love paranormal love story, I sincerely enjoyed reading it. Evera struggles the most with trying to understand her past, present and accepting the future Axel presents to her. Although there is talk of war and the viciousness of Evera’s parents, it isn’t until the later part of the book that most of the interaction happens. Then, the tale runs with blood, spills out their hatred, shows their greed, exacts their cruelty, while the people of Nightfall seek their vengeance. For my part, I had wished that this part of the story had been spread out a bit more throughout the story. This tale did wrap up the series for me, and I really appreciated the different writing styles of each book. It spread out the saga from a lot of different angles.  Evera and Axel’s love tale at the heart of the story touched me when I thought of all the years Axel fought to hold that love and make a better place for Evera when she returned.  Evera’s years on Earth were heartbreaking but strengthened her character while adding to her character after her two lives were finally able to come to light for her.

 I highly recommend the book. Though it is a standalone read, I believe readers may find more enjoyment by reading the complete series starting from the beginning. The romance is spicey hot, the background building is lush, I just wish there was a little more history given. The action and the danger towards the end was a surprise and had me on the edge of my seat with the twists that came up. I really loved that M. Sinclair gave us an updated epilogue at the end.