My rating: 4/5 stars
ARC received by Samantha Young and House of Hearts in exchange for my honest review.
I know this is the last book in the series, and it has had an impact on me because I have grown fond of this universe and these characters, and I am sad to leave them behind. At the same time, I know it’s time for Sam to start another Scottish series, so I am very curious to see the Montrose spin-off, which I know will rock.
We follow Cameron and Forde, childhood friends who never really got the opportunity to be together. As the plot progressed through book 4, we saw them together and felt the energy between them, but we never understood what happened, until now. First of all, their story is the most heartbreaking one and the one that has a major crime twist. Cameron will be involved in a serious investigation, and things between her and Forde will be tense, complicated, but revelatory, because they will understand where they made mistakes and try to solve them.
After what happened in book 3, Cameron left town to put her mind at ease. She also has a secret plan that will be revealed soon and will require Forde’s help. Things between them are off – she has been in love with him all of her life, but she is tired of waiting for him to make a move and realize he is there. We don’t really understand what is keeping them apart, but when seeking deeper, we understand that the real problem here is Forde, his lack of confidence and his traumatic past. He thinks he is not good enough for Cameron, that she deserves better, and in the process, they lost almost 20 years in this yearning, which consumed them both.
It’s very easy to judge someone and not understand their motives, as I did. I kind of judged Forde’s for his lack of initiative and for this push and pull, but I understood him afterwards, because Sam depicted his trauma and these dark thoughts. I wish he had been more open to Cameron, telling her the truth and letting her decide if she wants in or not. After some events at the beginning of the book, Forde and Cameron are stuck together and the puzzle just clicks again, with more clarity right now. They both need to be determined into making this work, but the darkness from the future and insecurities are very hard to battle with…
This book had it all – suspense, love, action, thrill, drama, and lots of melancholy, mainly because of the special epilogues and the joy of seeing all the main characters back. A part of me is happy because of the spin-off, which will be released next year, leaving us in the same universe, which means I will still be connected to my characters and won’t miss them so much.
