Reviewed by Becca

 

TITLE: The Chosen One Universe Volume Three

SERIES: The Chosen One #4-5, Hellhound Champions #3

AUTHOR: Macy Blake

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 791 pages

RELEASE DATE: July 14, 2020

BLURB:

Have You Been Chosen?

For the first time, Macy Blake’s two bestselling paranormal fantasy series are being published in a three-volume mega-verse box set!

Each volume will feature three full-length MM novels with dragons, hellhounds, vampires and more, with never before published bonus material. All in reader-requested chronological order.

Volume Three:

Give Him Hell: Hellhound Champions Book Three

Nick Smith is a man with a mission: find the place where he’d been held captive as a child and discover what happened to the kids he left behind. He needs answers, especially since he discovered he can shift into a lion. Instead he finds a huge Viking of a man with flaming eyes who threatens Nick’s shaky hold on his control. When Nick’s past collides with a powerful, evil force causing havoc in the supernatural world, Nick races to find who is responsible for the current rash of dark magic. With a hellhound at his side, what could go wrong?

Nothing Gained: The Chosen One Book Four

With the truth finally revealed that Sawyer is the son of a powerful goddess, Sawyer must find the strength to fix the broken magic in his world. There’s only one problem: he has no clue how to do it. Even with six of his eight mates at his side, Sawyer doubts he has what it takes, especially as he is growing weaker by the day. With his newest guardian hiding in the shadows, Sawyer has to find the answers before it’s too late, for both him and his mates.

Stop at Nothing: The Chosen One Book Five

Rising forces of darkness are attacking faster than Sawyer and his mates can mount a defense. It’s time to fight, but Sawyer has too much to lose to risk disaster. The final pieces of the puzzle are falling into place, but they leave him with more questions than answers. He heads into the final battle without the knowledge…or the power…to win. Sawyer only knows one thing: he will stop at nothing to keep his mates safe.

Includes bonus short story:

Sweet Spot

When the goddess tells Augustus Eastaughffe to go to the mountains to find what he needs, he’s more than happy to comply. The billionaire griffin is in the midst of a deepening mystery and expects to find some of the answers he seeks. Instead, he finds a captivating human who proves to be sweeter than any he’s ever met. 

REVIEW:

This has been absolutely one of the best series I have read in such a long time. It’s in my favorite’s pile for sure now. I have loved every page. I’ve loved seeing the characters grow and become who they are. I love the bonds they’ve all formed and how each one would lay their lives down for each other. They know the importance of what they have and it’s made the story so much better. It’s been full of laughs, tears, anger, joy and so much more. It’s a series that you can’t put down, no matter how hard you try. You get involved in the pages and you are transported into another world. I love these books. They are a set of books I will happily read these over and over again, just to see them all one more time.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

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TITLE: Give Him Hell

SERIES: Hellhound Champions #3

AUTHOR: Macy Blake & Casey Drake

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 228 pages

RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2019

BLURB:

Nick Smith is a man with a mission: find the place where he’d been held captive as a child and discover what happened to the kids he left behind. His memories are in flux, returned to him after being blocked for the past fourteen years, along with his ability to shift into his lion form. Nick is ready for answers. Instead, he finds a huge Viking of a man with flaming eyes and more power than Nick knew existed.

As a hellhound, Jedrek is often sent on missions that lead to nothing. It’s part of the gig. He’s a champion of the fire goddess, tasked with keeping the secret of the supernatural world safe. When he gets called to a house of horrors he’d not visited in years, the last thing Jedrek expects to find is an out of control alpha lion who brings to life feelings he’s never felt before.

The mysteries of Nick’s past collide with a powerful, evil force causing havoc in the supernatural world. Nick is convinced he can determine who is behind the current rash of dark magic–especially if he has the strength of a hellhound at his side. And if that hellhound is one he can’t keep his mind or hands off? Well, that suits the lion instincts roaring back to life just fine.

REVIEW:

This, I have to say, was not one of my favorites but I still loved it. I really liked Jedrek because he always seemed like the calm quiet one. The one who seemed like the calm in the storm. But meeting Nick changed the course of his life and that of Nick’s as well. Being a hellhound, the strongest of the beings, normally has everyone in fear. But Jed has met his match. And his mate.

Nick’s life has not been an easy one. He is one of ‘those’ kids, like Henry, Ben, Ollie, etc. The only ones who really remember Nick, though, is Ben, Tasha and another, but barely. They remember him as Lion and one who escaped, promising to come back for them. But something happened and Nick couldn’t get back. And he’s been trying for fourteen years to do so. When he finally finds the house, he trips wards that cause Jed to show up. And Nick is furious because he thinks they are the ones behind the kids being kidnapped. Jed thinks he means they are behind the kids being gone and the  wards up. Misunderstandings shoot through the roof but no one can get through to Nick because his lion has finally been freed and Nick has no control. Jed finally does what he has to to get them through, but it’s not going to be easy. Nick is all alpha and although Jed has never submitted to anyone, being a hellhound, his instincts are telling him to submit to this alpha. But until Nick can learn to control his lion, things are going to be tough. Especially when it’s time to meet his brothers and their mates, and be slammed with all the beings he’s about to meet. So now it’s a question of whether Jed can help him control himself or will he need to leave?

I feel for Nick. My heart broke for him in minutes. Knowing what the other kids had to go through, killed me for Nick, because he was taken in and couldn’t find his way back for so long. Which means he’s had all those years to panic over whether the kids were dead or hurt or who knows what. He knew they were all being experimented on. He tried to keep them scared away from the kids, but he could only do so much. And then when his lion came out, it took all he had to keep himself in line. And honestly, he couldn’t. He needed help from Jed to keep him focused and even then, it didn’t always work. How much was this poor man supposed to take? And to make matters worse, he felt like he had to hide what he was from his brothers, not knowing they knew all about the supernatural world. They all felt that way. And it made it harder on them as well. Because they felt like they had to keep a part of themselves separate when they needed each other so much. But that’s one thing I love about Jed. He wasn’t necessarily quite ready for matehood and all it entailed. Heck, he wasn’t ready to not be the alpha, but the fates had other plans and he just rolled with it. And for Nick, it was really what he needed. He needed that rock in Jed that just rolled with it. He needed someone he knew he could lean and rely on, when his whole world was crashing around him. And I love that Jed was the one could be that for him. That they had each other and even if it was them against the world, which it wasn’t, it still meant the world to the both of them that they had each other.

It’s a good ending to this part of the story. I know it’s not over for them, because there are two more books of the Chosen One series and they are very much a part of it all. And I’m anxious to see how this is going to end. Because right now, everyone may be healing and making a plan, but the evil is about to catch them off guard again. And I hope they survive what’s about to be thrown at them.

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

amazon

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TITLE: Nothing Gained

SERIES: The Chosen One #4

AUTHOR: Macy Blake

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 232 pages

RELEASE DATE: July 23, 2019

BLURB:

Sawyer Smith’s life is a hot mess. Hot, because he’s found six of his eight mates. To say things are heating up between them is putting it mildly. A mess, because he’s the Chosen One, the son of a goddess with no powers of his own, tasked with fixing the broken magic in his world… and he has no clue how to do it. With every new layer of mystery that’s revealed, Sawyer’s doubts about his abilities get stronger. To complicate matters, Sawyer is growing weaker by the day. Meanwhile, his newest guardian, the one he’s calling Yellow Eyes, refuses to reveal himself. With time running out, Sawyer’s desperate enough to make a daring move — one that’s potentially deadly for him and his mates. Because at the end of the day, if there’s nothing ventured… there’s Nothing Gained.

REVIEW:

Well, we are definitely back on track in this one. whoo. I can not believe all the twists and turns flying at us in this one. We’ve known that Sawyer needs his eighth guardian, but trying to find where he is, is becoming impossible. But things start coming more clear, when Sawyer’s 7th guardian shows up angry and quiet, Sawyer is confused. And is about to get a lesson of his life.

Sawyer knows he’s the son of a god. He knew he did something to hide his memories from this life, but he’s not figuring out why. He doesn’t get what he’s done so wrong and why the pieces are not fitting together. Why they can’t find what they are needing and why he can’t figure out the meaning to what’s around him. When Dakota, his 7th guardian, finally comes out of hiding to save Sawyer’s life again, and everyone starts to settle down after what he did, the truth to things start coming out and it’s not a pretty picture. For Dakota, everything Sawyer has done as a god with his brother, was all a game of greed and one-upmanship. And he’s been caught in the middle. And he’s furious. Who could blame him. Because Dakota was another one of ‘those’ kids, along with some Nick is now finding. And Dakota is so mad at the game that has been played. Because it’s caused a catastrophic change in the supernatural world and it’s not fair. And Sawyer is horrified. He felt guilty enough at what he has learned already, but seeing what it’s done to Dakota and others, has him feeling lower than low. Now it’s up to Dakota to forgive enough to want to help, and for Sawyer and everyone to get on the ball, get the last guardian and one more surprise, and get moving toward the offensive instead of defense. It’s time to take a stand. But will they survive it?

The more these kids pop up, the more my heart aches. Especially when Sawyer finds out not only was he one, but so were his brothers, two of his guardians, and so many more that have touched his life. But he doesn’t know how to fix it. And as much as I love Sawyer to bits, I’m almost …not really on Dakota’s side, per se, but I understand his anger towards Sawyer and what his ego as a god has done. And that says a lot. Because Sawyer as a human is one of the most compassionate people you will ever meet. He will put his life as risk so many times, if it means saving someone else. And it’s a hard pill to swallow. Because seeing the Sawyer now, and hearing of the Sawyer as a god, the two pictures don’t match. And it’s hard to picture things from Dakota’s perspective to what we know of the now Sawyer. So this was a hard story. In so many other ways as well. While Sawyer has grown and is learning, and the families are bonding even closer, and now the 8th is among them and they can do what they need to, I’m hoping the right decisions will be made this time and balance will be correctly restored.

And I hope that all can finally heal.

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

amazon

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TITLE: Stop at Nothing

SERIES: The Chosen One #5

AUTHOR: Macy Blake

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 236 pages

RELEASE DATE: 

BLURB:

Series Finale

With all of his mates assembled, Sawyer Smith should be ready for his own version of the end game. He must defeat the god of air and restore both of their broken magics to all of the realms. There’s only one problem: he still doesn’t know how to do it.

HIs brother is a god and is raising the forces of darkness against Sawyer and his mates more quickly than he can mount a defense. It’s time to fight, but Sawyer has too much to lose to risk disaster. As the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place, Sawyer is faced with a task that seems impossible. He must go into battle without the knowledge or power to win.

So many of his questions remain unanswered, but Sawyer knows one thing: He will stop at nothing to keep his mates safe.

REVIEW:

Well, this ending shocked the crap out of me. I was so sad because when Sawyer figured out what he was going to have to do, because he was going to have to make a sacrifice he doesn’t want to make. But it’s time. He’s been told over and over and finally the old ones have stepped in and given him and ultimatum.

Sawyer has still been trying to figure out the missing puzzle pieces. It’s coming to him little by little, but there’s a few pieces a bit out of reach. After the recovery of all his mates, he knew something was going to have to give. He knew he was going to have to make a huge sacrifice and it was one he didn’t want to give. But a vision with the old ones gave him no choice. They also gave him words of wisdom that he couldn’t quite figure out yet. But the battle was coming and again, his brother decided to be sneaky and evil. By hurting his friend and taking one of his mates. And all at once, things seemed to click for Sawyer. Even during battle, the final pieces clicked into place and he knew what he had to do to stop this mess and still get to keep the one thing he yearns for. But his brother is tricky and it may not be as easy as Sawyer thinks. But everyone now has a dog in this fight, and no one is going to stop until the balance is restored and the evil is finally gone.

What an ending!!! It makes me so sad this series is over but man what an ending. There are so many parts to this that I just love. I can’t share them, obviously, without giving away spoilers, but there are a lot of twists in this that I never saw coming and they are mostly good ones. I was really happy that things turned out the way they did in some ways. The full bonds of the guardians, the relationships that are forming, the balance being restored. All good stuff. And it’s a great story. Of course, you can’t have a perfect story without a little angst or evil, and that was the one hard part in this story. I get Sawyer and his mom’s side. This is their blood and they really don’t want to have to go to the extreme of killing him. But when push came to shove, someone had to and it was done. They all knew the evil would never end. The look on his brother’s face told him that. And it’s sad. But family is what you make it, and it’s not always blood. In fact, I know in a lot of cases that it’s not the case at all. The toxic has to be cut out to restore things the way they should. And if that means cutting off blood, then so be it.

I’m so sad this series is over. It’s one of the best I’ve read in a long time. I love the characters, the mystery, the intrigue, the plot and all of it. It was humorous, snarky, sassy and just plain fun at times, but it never detracted away from the seriousness of the world around them. And I love that they knew when it was time to be which.

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

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