Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Trial by Fire

SERIES:  Shadows of London

AUTHOR:  Ariana Nash

PUBLISHER:  Crazy Ace Publishing

LENGTH:  319 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 18, 2022

BLURB:

The third book in the thrilling Shadows of London series.

Action, MM romance and adventure combine on the streets of London. Time is running out for John “Dom” Domenici.

It’s not just Kempthorne’s secrets bubbling to the surface of London’s streets …

Outmanoeuvred at every turn by the figure known as “M”, only Alexander Kempthorne can free Dom, but juggling the horrors of his own past, containing a rising preternatural threat and the twisted machinations of “M” might just be too much, even for Kempthorne. Can Kage Mitchell be trusted to help?

Alexander Kempthorne lost an agent before. He’ll not lose another. He’ll do anything to save Dom, and if that means revealing who and what he truly is, then his time has come.

REVIEW:

NOTE:  This is book 3 in this series.  They need to be read in order.

Whew!  What a ride.  I think this is my favorite book of the series so far.  Why?  Because we get to know Kempthorne a lot betterand understand his motivation and his pain.  A lot is revealed in this book that has been just out of reach in the previous books.  The shadowy M is uncovered and his connection to Alexander Kempthorne and his past goes much deeper than anyone could have known.  The motivation for the Dom’s continued detention at Wordsworth becomes obvious.  Dom’s power and connection to Kempthorne could be powerful mechanisms of control – if only they would cooperate 🙂  But that’s not their style.

Kempthorne also has to deal with his real feelings for Dom and he’s not at all sure how to do that – since he’s learned that his having any feelings for anyone lead to them running form him or leaving him in some other final way.  But he’s determined to try with Dom – if for no other reason that to keep him safe.  He’s also not scared off by Dom’s past which resurfaces as he’s trying to get Dom out.  And that past is worse than Kempthorne even thought.  Alexander Kempthorne is dealing with a lot – pressure, guilt, expectations, powerful enemies, intense manipulation and greedy bastards.  It just doesn’t stop.  He’s clever and powerful but he’s also vulnerable – particularly when it comes to his friends.  And those who would take his power for their own use will stop at nothing – something else he realizes and does his best to limit.  There is violence and torture and death, but Dom and Alexander are not going to give up.  The closer Dom and Alexander get, the deeper their connection, the more others want to exploit and use that to get to the real reason that M wants Alexander under his control.

Kage Mitchell is once again the wildcard in this mix.  Some of his betrayal is revealed and it’s clear he’s not being honest, no matter how much he insists he really does care for Dom.  Dom is definitely not happy about how his trust in Hollywood has worked out, but if they can use him and his organization to their advantage, Dom is not above saying whatever it takes to get his help.  Others pay a high price for their proximity to Kage and Dom and Alexander.  The stakes are high for Kage too and things definitely do not work out as he expected either.  He’s clearly torn by what he sees as his duty and the conflict with his personal feelings about Dom and Annie, his BFF.  While part of the mystery has been solved and the consequences have been severe, there are still unanswered questions and still latents to save despite the new circumstances of Dom and Alexander and the team.

This is a really good chapter in this saga and it could have ended here with the resolution of this particular story arc.  But while there is a HFN for this book, there is more to be done.  I can’t wait to see what Dom and Alexander do next.  Highly recommended for urban fantasy, slow burn, suspenseful and action packed stories!

RATING: 

BUY LINK:

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