Book bundles are always tricky. You have to decide their rating based on all stories included, and some of them will inevitably bring the others down. In this case, what really saved the whole series was the middle story, as the other two were triggering in many ways, at least to me personally…

The series is about three women who did terrible things when they were alive, and ended up as phoenixes in the after life to atone for their sins. Immortal birds that can burn millions of times and reborn through fire. By doing that, they sacrifice themselves to save other people from dying. Over and over.

Of course, none of them is happy with this life. Or with Osiris, the god who created and supervises them. So when they meet those who make their hearts beat fast, it’s only a matter of time before they try to find a way out of their redemption cycle.

As a concept, the theme of the series was pretty interesting. The main characters seemed pretty badass in fighting their battles, and the dialogues were fine and didn’t feel wooden. The sex scenes were quite hot and stimulating, and there were some plot twists that I didn’t expect.

But that’s where the nice things stopped. To begin with, other than her badassery, Ice, the phoenix leader, was not exactly likeable. She was a moving contradiction that constantly got on my nerves, and her troubled past couldn’t manage to redeem her in my eyes. I get that she was trying to survive the guilt and in a job she didn’t want, but she kept refusing Tyler and his son, while still very much trying to be included in their lives – but noooo, commitment is baaaad. I’m not against a woman who wants to live and sleep around freely, but when you see that a man has certain expectations (scratch that, when he flat out tells you upfront!), you back away and STAY away.

Sadie was alright, but her story broke my heart. She was truly the only innocent one in the series and what was done to her was totally unfair.

Speaking of unfair, Osiris and Tyler were prime examples of what a toxic man is like. Tyler kept trying to convince Ice to become his son’s new mother, but was irresponsible enough to leave his son with a teacher that freaked out just because the child puked! All because he was smitten with her. He kept insisting that it’s a woman’s dream to marry a guy – newsflash, my dude, it’s not – and don’t get me started on the fact he just couldn’t take no for an answer, bordering on non-consensual behavior at times (basically, he wanted a relationship, Ice wanted just sex with no strings, and instead of understanding they would never click, they kept sleeping together and trying to force their ideals down each other’s throat). Same with Osiris – oh, that one really drove me nuts! You like a woman, want to screw her, so you kill her, turn her into an immortal who is forced to die a painful death for others for centuries, all the while letting her believe she was the one at fault for this. And then refuse to let her go. Consent, you dick, you ever heard of that?!

Basically, the only couple worth reading about was the second one. Ari and Grey were beautiful together, and their story was really touching. They were both broken, trying to fix each other AND themselves, and they were accepting and willing to find a middle ground. Not to mention the suspense was real in this one.

All in all, it wasn’t a bad reading choice, but if someone wishes to read this series, I recommend the bundle. This way, you won’t leave the whole thing after suffering through Ice’s story, and you’ll be able to experience the brilliance that is Ari’s journey to normality and love.