I mistakingly requested this book, not knowing that it was in a series I began reading it and found that I really needed to read the first book and my local library does not yet have a copy.

I loved this whole series. I had originally set aside The Blighted Stars because the start of the book felt too immature and trivial for my liking, but something made me pick it up again and then eagerly read the next two books in the series as soon as I could get my hands on them. It's the kind of series where the characters aren't very admirable or likeable at first, or just seem too shallow, but then they experience delightful and interesting character growth. It's the kind of series where a single narcissistic megalomaniac is the archvillain, which always seems improbable to me until I remember our current real life political situation, and how unthinkingly herdlike humans really are.

This is the final book in The Devoured Worlds trilogy, and a slightly disappointing conclusion. I almost did not finish the book however I was still intrigued enough by how this story would end I pushed on.

The writing is still just as good as the first two books, the characters are still very well written and the dialogue always felt real. Where I was disappointed was the lack on continuance to the overarching threat from the initial 2 books. We are introduced to a new evil and are also given a much more limited world scope which took away from the expansion to other planets in book 2.

I struggled to make sense of the new threat until the halfway point and then the plot kin of fell apart. We had established how mind mapping worked, the risks associated and the dangers of cracking yet we somehow shifted away from these rules in order to conclude the story with a happily ever after. The inconsistent way in which the world works threw me out of the story and were not present at the start of the series.

Overall the series was enjoyable, I just wish the ending lived up to the wildly addicting start of the trilogy. I am not deterred though and do find I quite enjoy Megan O’Keefe’s writing and have added the Protectorate series to my TBR.

An ending that made me sob violently for an hour, but still the most gourmet soup I’ve been served in a hot minute. All the stars for Megan E. O’Keefe!

I still had a great time with this series conclusion, but it was the weakest book in the series for me. The characters are still nuanced and realistic, but some of the relationships didn’t work quite as well for me. It almost felt like there were too many at this point that we didn’t get to spend enough time with them to make them really real. Also, I feel our main relationship was a bit boring at the beginning of the book and so that made the first half drag. The plot took a little while to pick up as well so the pacing was a bit off for me. However, once we got to about 30-40% everything picked up and we were back to what I loved about the series! A great look at humanity and the consequences of our actions set in a fascinating and terrifying future. The end had me crying at one point! Overall an excellent trilogy and a solid conclusion (even if a bit of a slow start). I highly recommend!

I knew it from book one, but with this conclusion, this is a new sci-fi favorite series! These characters are going to stay in my mind for a long time. They are broken, but also somehow showcase one of the healthiest relationships I've seen in fantasy/sci-fi in a long time. This addition to the series is such a great way to end the trilogy, even if I don't want the story to end. It wraps up all the plot threads and mysteries from the series beautifully, and I wasn't left feeling that anything was unanswered by the end. The pace continues to be fast-paced and keeps you engaged the entire time. 

If you haven't given this series a try yet, you need to! I can't wait to see what O'Keefe writes next. I'll be going back to read her backlist.

Things come to a head in this last book with everyone trying to survive the fighting and find new lives on the last cradle and the space stations, whether they be humans looking for a peaceful solution to ending the spread of Canus, the more violent group (ironically calling themselves the conservators) willing to destroy the universe to bring about destruction of Canus, or Canus itself evolving to a new form and having its own place. This book gets to be very interesting, especially when past, present, and future collide to avoid the destruction of everything and Naira with her resilient mind (so amazing what she can go through without totally cracking) has to make such hard choices between saving one versus the universe. I really felt for her and was rooting so hard for her to find a way to make sure the universe didn't die out while still being able to have her own happiness with Tarquin (who is such a good guy and would do anything for her too).

It was really a hard fought thrilling adventure with friends lost and found, loves standing the test of time, and even chances for people to redeem themselves from past wrongs committed. This was a good sweet, heartbreaking conclusion to a wonderful space opera trilogy. Megan E. O'Keefe has done a masterful job and I enjoyed all of her her books in this series!

The third and final book in this scifi trilogy by Mehgan E Okeefe, which shocks me, I feel like book 1 was just announced yesterday, the way time flies. This is a very high stakes space opera "romance" I guess, there is a prominent romance but nothing that’s going to make you go blahhhh. Basically following characters who are stranded on a planet and that have to survive, help one another. I had no Fear O'keefe wasn't going to finish this one off in a stellar. Satisfying as hell!

Oooof.

When I reviewed book 2 of this trilogy, I wrote “Honestly, I’m not sure if I’m going to read the third book when it comes out - I don’t know if I care enough about these characters or this world to slog through another doorstop of a novel.”

Well, gentle readers, I did slog through the final book.

And I kind of wish I didn’t?

It was long. It was boring. And the author seemed like she was trying to rehabilitate the controlling and violent ex boyfriend character.

The story took several unexpected twists and turns that didn’t make alot of sense. I was, ultimately, disappointed.

Thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Devoured Worlds has become one of my favorite series of all time, and the final installment in the trilogy, THE BOUND WORLDS, was yet another 5 star read for me. I fell so in love with the cast of characters - they were all so fleshed out and complex. I couldn't believe that I was even fond of [redacted] at the end. And what an end! Oh, my heart. O'Keefe managed to pull off a trope that I usually don't care for in the slightest, but it was done so well and with such poignance and gravitas that it just worked. I'm going to miss this series so much, but it is so gratifying that at no point in the series did anything flag or fall apart for me. Usually I have the biggest complaints about unsatisfying endings, but everything in this book was simply handled too well. What a book, what a series.

As with all of Megan E. O'Keefe book's, I really enjoyed this! I find her writing to be super readable and compelling, and this novel was no exception. I really love the characters that she's crafted and thought this was a super enjoyable finale to the series. I think at certain points I would've liked the characters to be together more, but overall this was a great time and I would happily read anything else from this author.

I finished this book a week ago and it's taken me this long to overcome my emotional devastation and gather my thoughts enough to write a review. To summarize, I loved it, The Devoured Worlds is going to go under the short list of my favorite series of all time. When I started the series I was expecting a more plot driven narrative but the shift to a character centric story surprised me in the best ways. Naira’s and Tarquin's dynamic was so captivating that even though I thought I knew where the story was headed, Megan O'Keefe surprised me at almost every turn.

I think I need to do a reread soon just because I ended up loving this series so much, but I'm still not over that ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, I just loved this series. The author has created a totally compelling world, full of complex, interesting characters. In this final book, set on a planet called Seventh Cradle, we continue to see the characters and their relationships grow; the romance between Naira and Tarquin continues to bring delight and suspense. I won’t comment on the other relationships because of spoilers, but across the board, just great.

On brand for the series, the worlds and, in some cases, the characters’ very identities continue to be under threat in this book. Some aspects of the plot surprised me, shifting the focus in a way that extended the drama of the previous books into new territory. I found this helped keep things fresh but consistent, although occasionally I craved a little more technical detail.

Overall I would highly recommend this series to romance readers; if you enjoy fantasy and haven’t read much sci-fi, I think the world building aspect of this series would appeal!

Thank you to the author, Orbit Books US, and Net Galley for the opportunity to review this arc!

What an ending!

Over the last 3 books I fell in love with Tarquin, Nairia, and the band of characters in the devoured World Series. I’m always nervous going into the final book because it’s the end. Megan O’keefe delivers in this ending.

This book has you buy the heart strings pulled to the edge of your seat from start to finish.

I am excited to see what o’keefe has coming out because I’m already missing my band of E-Xs

Thank you Orbit and NetGalley for this eARC

I really loved the first 2 books but this conclusion to the trilogy felt like it dragged on and on and on. I ended up soft DNFing when I was about 30% in and had zero motivation to pick it up again. Alas, I finally did but needed the audiobook to help get through it.

Where The Fractured Dark expanded the world and heightened the stakes, The Bound Worlds returns to a very narrow narrative which worked exceptionally in book 1, but book 3 also changes the overall antagonist back to someone that ultimately made it feel lackluster.

Another big aspect I really loved about the first 2 books was the romance and how Megan O'Keefe was able to masterfully balance it with the plot. Whereas the romance in this 3rd book was too overdone in my opinion. A lot of the plot took a backseat to Naira and Tarquin's relationship, which would be fine if it didn't feel so repetitive and exhausting.

I used to be hesitant of the concept of mind mapping at first but was impressed with O'Keefe creating consequences for it and it not being a complete get out of jail free card. Yet, all of that is thrown out the window in this last book and the characters are constantly finding convenient solutions to avoid those consequences. So all of the stakes and tension that were created in book 2 end up dissolving in this final book. There's also a some time travel which is honestly a trope that is so hard to do well and felt like it was forced into the book and didn't have much of an actual impact.

I'm also usually such a sucker for a redemption arc but it just didn't work for me here. It didn't feel deserved at all and the book was more so telling us we were supposed to like them again instead of actually showing us.

Overall it's not a bad book but just such a disappointing ending to what I thought was going to be a new all time favorite series. I still am very excited to read more books by Megan O'Keefe and see what she comes up with next!

What an incredible ending to an amazing series! I am absolutely in love with these characters. She even made me love a villain. This was a wild ride from start to finish and I think this was helped by the short chapters. It felt like every new page held important information and kept my eyeballs glued to the page.

Megan E. O'Keefe has become an auto-buy author for me.

The Bound Worlds was the much anticipated conclusion to one of my favorite series in SFF. The science and societal structure O’Keefe created had me fascinated from the beginning of the first book and I was extremely eager to see how she would finish out this trilogy that I have come to love so much.

While this did turn out to be my least favorite book of the three, that isn’t actually a big criticism and in no way a reason not to pick this series up because it was still a great book that took me off guard so many times with its twists and turns. The biggest of them being: XXXX.

I can’t actually tell you because that would be such a terrible thing to spoil. BUT HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME CHANGE MY MIND ON XXXX. I’m worried that’s already too much but I can’t not say anything!

The struggle with this book was that it used one of my least favorite tropes in SFF. While O’Keefe managed to put a really cool spin on it that I haven’t seen like this before, I was still a bit apprehensive at times. And for once, I actually wanted more details for this trope in regard to the potentials it hinted at. I think that would’ve worked up the tension and danger a lot more. But I still liked the additional drama and potential complications it added to the story. It was great that this wasn’t just a big easy fix for everything.

From a societal standpoint, I love that things really came to a head here. Ethical limits were hurdled over, the savagery heightened, loyalties were questioned, unlikely alliances forged, and trust destroyed. The cruelty of some apparently knew no bounds. All these things lead to an emotional intensity that felt incredible through much of the book.

Something I really liked before was that the author knew how to make me uncomfortable with her creations. She once again figured out how to do that here, not in a horror-ish way, but by pushing her narrative decisions in a direction far from the rest of this story at times. It was done in a really cool but sometimes unsettling way.

While I can’t say that I completely understood all the scientific aspects of the explanations, I still enjoyed their inclusion since that was something that’s worked really well for the other books too. It allowed for a badass and interesting conclusion to multiple aspects of the conflicts. Some things weren’t addressed in as much detail as I would’ve liked towards the end but overall it felt pretty satisfying.

So overall, this was still a really good book and a cool conclusion to an amazing series. I loved the emotional turmoil, the constant danger, the nods to mental health, and the badass ending to the conflict. While I usually am not a big fan of cheesy endings, I do think that was done well here also in more ways than one. It really put my heart at ease for some of these characters and showed that true love knows no bounds.

Screaming crying throwing up. An explosive finale to the trilogy. The characters developed beautifully, the enormity of the plot was insane but well handled and explained. I loved seeing just where the characters were going in this book. It felt like an amazing blend of the first novel in science/exploration and the second with politics and I deeply appreciated that.

This is the most stressful book in the series, in my opinion. I was so filled with dread to the point that I had to put it down for days until I could build up the courage to finish it. I love this series with all my heart, even though it tore me apart.

First let me say thanks to NetGalley and Orbit books for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

***This Review contains Spoilers!***

Book three in The Devoured Worlds Trilogy sees Naira and Tarquin trying to have a peaceful life on Seventh Cradle. Unfortunately, the Universe has other plans for them. That peace is shattered in devastating ways throughout a majority of the book.

I have to be honest and say, I did not enjoy this final installment in the trilogy. I almost never find myself struggling to get through a book, or rating a book as less that three stars. I’ve perfected picking books I am confident that I will enjoy. And I loved this series’ first two books!

The Bound Worlds felt like I was reading a completely different story than what was laid out in books one and two. Part of what I loved in this series was the relationship between Tarquin and Naira, and Naira and her friends. Almost none of that was translated into this book. Tarquin for the whole series was someone you couldn’t help but love because he was good to the core of his being. But this book saw him start to turn into someone similar to his father, which is just not believable. Additionally, there was an element of time travel in this book, that was never even hinted at in the previous two books which added a very confusing layer to an already tumultuous book. Naira and her friends were actually on opposite sides for a majority of this book as well. Naira was operating as a rogue individual, making decisions and choices that she never would have made in books one and two.

The first two books in this trilogy were 5-star reads for me. I am a fairly easy to please reader as I’m not hyper critical. I wanted to love The Bound Worlds by Megan E. O’Keefe, but this felt like a rushed third book that went in a direction that didn’t make sense based on the ground work already laid.