Author: K. Loraine & Meg Anne

Series: The Mate Games: Death

First Published: 06 May 2024

“I’d protect you from every evil to see you happy.”

I will start by saying that I wI will start by saying that I was given an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank so much Meg & Kim for sending a copy my way!

This is a sequel; I will try and keep my review as spoiler free as possible but just be wary if you haven’t read first three books, Haunting Beauty, Hunted Beast & Hateful Prince.

Captain Hook isn’t loyal to anyone, but I’d die for her.

Once I was a prince, then I became a lost boy, then their king. Now, I’m nothing more than a heartless villain.

Or at least so I thought. Until I met her. Until I had a reason for that husk in my chest to resume its beating.

I know I’m not alone. She’s worked her magic on all of us.

Her monstrous beast

Her vengeful dragon

Her merciless god

And of course me, her mad pirate

I’ve been trapped far from home, without my crew, without my ship. A captain with no purpose. But Dahlia is my port in the storm. She calls me to her and grounds me. Unfortunately, it’s not enough. With every passing tick, tick, tick, my madness grows.

How can I protect her when I can barely remember who I am?

Something dark is coming for us all. It’s been hiding in the shadows, but now it’s time to play in the light. And even without a compass to guide me, I’ll fight for her until the bitter end.

I can’t believe The Mate Games: Death is over! Heartless Villain is the perfect ending for Dahlia and her guys. This book gave me all the feels – I was giggling and smiling one minute and crying the next. 

We dive right in after the events of Hateful Prince. The ripper is defeated. Dahlia and the gang are trying to leave Blackwood. I will say Death really got them. Dahlia, Tor, Cain, Kai and Cas had no idea just how easily they were playing into Death’s hand to bring about the apocalypse. There were so many twists in there that left me gagging. I didn’t see them coming – even after rereading the first three books in the series. The final battle scene was intense. Honestly, I was not expecting it to end that way! My heart was in my throat the entire time. Tor, Kai, Cas and Cain do everything they can to keep Dahlia safe. But wow when Dahlia unleashes her power, no one is safe. 

I adore how Tor, Cas, Cain and Kai are so devoted to Dahlia. The group have settled into a companionship and has started to trust each other. This led to several group scenes, all of which left me in need of a cool shower. These guys sure do get creative in their pursuit to give Dahlia all the pleasure she could desire. I loved the bonding tattoos!

I am endlessly in love with this world. All the little nods to fairytales K. Loraine and Meg Anne weaved in her left me giddy – like the villagers are storming the castle and Cas is trying to hide from a constant ticking and corrcodiles. It was such a nice touch. We also get to see some other portal worlds, including Ravenndel and Elysium, which was a nice touch. I can’t wait to see how the world expands in the next series. 

I’m not sure if I mentioned it before, but I adore Dahlia and Kiki’s friendship. These two are truly platonic soul mates and have each other’s back. I adore how Kiki is a sounding board for Dahlia and helps her talk through her fears and concern. Kiki is hilarious. There were several times that her one liners left me cackling. I adore seeing female friendships in books and this is one of the best I’ve read. It feels so authentic.  

Can we get a round of applause for the audio production of this audiobook? The narrators once again have done an impeccable job at bringing these characters to life. I am in awe of their skill. I will always get a kick out of the little touches they’ve included, like distorting the audio for the sections that are transcripts of therapy sessions. Heartless Villain – along with the rest of The Mate Games books – are hands down my favourite audiobooks. I can’t imagine consuming this series in another format. 

I am a little sad that this series is now over. I will say the ending does leave me with a lot of questions about what is going to happen with the overall series. I am counting down the days until the next Mate Games series is released. I am fully obsessed with K. Loraine and Meg Anne’s writing and world-building. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, this is my perfect brand of paranormal romance.