*3.5 round up to 4 stars

I *really* wanted to love this story and thought it had great potential, but felt that it fell short. Malcolm is part of the Grey Wolf Pack and has recently lost his mate. Trixie, a bartender and witch, is under the protection of the pack when she learns of plan of a war starting. A part of her being a witch is that she has the gift to tell if someone is lying and allows her insight into Malcom's heart/feelings. These two have a really strong connection, but I felt the ending was slightly rushed and the fated mates didn't hit the mark. I don't believe it's explicitly stated that they are fated mates, but I'm not sure I felt that strong of a fated mates vibe between them. It's a really good story and I wish I would have known it was book 6. While it can be read as a standalone, I wonder if it would have been better in order to get a full overview of the other characters.

I did not realize that when I requested this book that it was the sixth in the series.. I really wish I had started from the beginning to be honest. I may go back later on and read the rest of them to get the full picture even though I’m sure I’ve spoiled a lot with having read this book.

I really enjoyed this book until the last few chapters to be honest. There was no real conflict that should be in a book and therefore the “ending” was also extremely lacking. I feel the ending was very rushed and not thought out well at all. There were no details to actually make me be like wow! That was an amazing ending, I can’t wait to read the next books in the series. Which has made me not jump on the first six books immediately if I’m being completely honest.

I did enjoy the characters and their relationships, it was really just the ending that ruined a five star rating on this book. But more then worth the read for sure!

I love this series! Kait Ballenger is such a sweet heart and I was so happy that she was continuing this series! This book was not short of hot just like the last 5 books! I will say I liked the representation in this book with Malcom and Bo. Having a has a run in the worst luck Bo is killed leaving Malcom heartbroken and looking for comfort which comes in the living form of Trixie. Now I wasn't the biggest Trixie fan, especially her reminding be of Meg from Hercules--with the whole I am bound to my warlock master to take on her ex's debt but its ok. I really wish there would be more in the series so that the series couldn't end with this book but I guess I can be happy to see what Ballenger comes out with next.

Malcolm gets his story in the final book of the series. He is a complicated character and his relationship with Trixie, a local bartender and veritas witch is also complicated. I'm not the biggest Trixie fan. Her skills as a witch who can tell when someone is lying seem to be hit or miss. They certainly didn't seem to keep her out of trouble. I do enjoy it when the pack acts together and enlists the assistance of their allies. It was good to see the fulfilling conclusion and hope for their future.

Although this is billed as a standalone, as a first time reader of this series, I have to admit that there were aspects to the story that I feel like probably would have made more sense or have been more compelling if I had read the rest of the books in the series.

This book follows Malcolm, a wolf shifter and enforcer of his pack and Trixie, a witch who gets embroiled in a plot where bear shifters are trying to partner with vampires to overtake Malcolm’s pack. He helps her and then it is a race to fight the enemy and win. In between then, they fall for each other but I have to admit that I didn’t really feel the sparks and especially in the beginning, their relationship felt a little forced. Overall, an interesting shifter novel with a lot of moving parts- I may go and try to read the series from the beginning to try to get more grounded in the story. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this early read. I give this book 3.5 stars, rounded up.

I think my main problem was this novel was overly complicated with too many plot points. Veritas witch Trixie knows when someone is lying. When she overhears a plot against the Grey Wolf pack she goes to Grey wolf executioner Malcolm to let him know and for help in keeping her safe as she double crossed a mafia like bear shifter out for revenge. Trixie is also bound to her warlock boss when she assumed an ex boyfriend's debt. Further complicating matters Malcolm is bisexual and when his male mate Bo is killed, he is grieving and not sure he wants to get involved with someone like Trixie who could only break his heart. It's implied in the description that this is fated mates but I saw no evidence of that. Also, it didn't really feel like Malcolm could truly want just Trixie when he spent many moments in the novel admiring the male wolves in his pack. I found this odd because in straight romances, the male hero never admires other women in this way which would be a total turnoff for me because I want the hero to only want the female main character so this really detracted from the romance. It also felt a bit slow burn that it took awhile really for the romance to move itself along.

This story is full of action, danger and romance. It is also the last in a series that has Malcolm finally getting his story. He and Trixie have a HEA but it does not come easy and at times I thought it would not happen. There is never a dull moment in this story which makes it a great read that is definitely worth your time.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and are voluntarily leaving a review.

Malcolm is the bad ass executioner for the Grey Wolf Pack whose mate has died in battle. Trixie is a bartender at a local club that caters to the supernatural. She’s a witch, the kind that can tell when someone is lying. But she is caught up in a bad situation. She has information about a war being planned against the Gray Wolf Pack so she’s taking refuge with them and has offered them more help. But is she really helping them or is something else going on?

Malcolm and Trixie have a sizzling attraction that they’ve never acted upon. Trixie is in a sort of magical indentured servitude and is being manipulated by her boss, Boss. She’s had a hard life and uses her sexuality to make it through. Malcom can see through this to the real Trixie.

Malcolm is the pack’s executioner. He’s always been an outsider but he’ll protect the pack with his life- while still not feeling a real part of that pack. He is always the outsider and always alone, unattached, lonely. People see his apartness as emotional detachment, as the heartless indifference of a reaper. Trixie can see the truth of him, however.

These two outsiders have a chance to create their own world if they can get through this war and betrayal.

This is the final installment of the series. It can be read as a standalone but would be a much richer read with the rest of the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Malcolm and Trixie's story. He is a wolf, she is a witch, and both hate the vampires. Another in a good series set in Montana.. Liked it overall, but getting tired of the overuse of the trust/honesty/lying story line. Was reading two books at the same time, on different devices, and both had the same issue almost word for word. Tiresome. Otherwise, I did like this one and would highly recommend it.

Trixie is a bartender and a veritas, which is a witch that knows when someone is lying. Her boss, Boss, has Trixie in a contract that she took from a boyfriend long ago. Malcolm is the executioner for his wolf pack. He already lost his true mate, Bo, and works and lives on the packs ranch. When Trixie overhears her boss and another man talking about Malcolm’s pack, she tells after she gets him to save her. Now Trixie is hiding out at the pack’s ranch and trying to figure out how to get out of her the mess she finds her in. The one thing Malcolm wanted from Trixie is no lies. When he finds out she has, will he loose her or forgive her?

Secrets and lies. Two people who have been hurt in the past. Great story. A hurt wolf shifter and a witch that “ flaunts what she has “. Can be read alone but is part of a series.

* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *