Phew okay I have some thoughts about this one. Overall I did really enjoy this book and this trilogy as a whole, and I am glad that the ending felt pretty satisfactory, <spoiler>all the main characters end up together in a happily ever after and the bad guys get what's coming to them</spoiler>. This is an extremely diverse group of characters, as they say in their author's note "now more than ever is a time to support diverse storytelling" and they really nailed it with this one.

Now, I had a few critiques, mostly revolving around the character Briar. From my review of the second book I wrote "I'm really hoping for a Briar POV in the next book... Girl has been a damsel in distress for too many times, now it's time for her to get some agency and badassery of her own". So when this book is looking like it will be Briar and Maez focused, like the others were Calla and Sadie focused, I had high hopes. However, I was pretty disappointed with the character arc throughout most of the book. With all the typical POV shifts, it felt like everything was so dire every time we switched over to Calla and Sadie as they are battling to try to figure out how to win a war, but then we'd switch over to Briar and what is she doing? "Embracing her dark side" and having a bunch of sex with Maez. I don't know, it just always seemed so much less urgent during those sections. Plus it really felt like the darker traits came out of no where in this book. Maybe we just didn't get to see her enough in the previous books, but it felt like a really big tonal shift. I know I asked for her to be more of a badass, but until the very end <spoiler> when she can control the dark magic that Sadie has been partially controlled by this whole time (which also came out of nowhere), </spoiler> it felt like she wasn't being true to herself in either form of the "perfect princess" or this darker version. It almost felt like the author thought to themselves "people seem to like a morally gray character in romantasy books, let me add one to my trilogy" without doing some of the background work to prepare for morally character choices.

The pacing of the final epic battle was very well done, big battles with lot's of moving parts are often hard to write and I think the author did an excellent job with it. My last little comment is that some of these villains didn't have a long drawn out enough death. I needed to see them suffer more for what they put these characters through!

Overall even with my critiques, I still had an enjoyable time reading this book and would recommend it and the rest of this trilogy to anyone who enjoys fated mates, found family, and some spice-three different couples with at least two spicy scenes each, plus a whole lot of romance in between.

I did have to go back and reread the other books on the series because my memory is awful, but I did really enjoy the representation and love in this story.

3.5⭐️ reads! Haha wooooowwww!!!! This series will also have a special place in my heart! This is just as amazing as the rest of the books! It’s an automatic buy author!!!!

This was the conclusion of Brair and Maez it was more emotional roller coaster than the other couples in the story.. there are wolf pack politics and magic...the characters had test the strength and love. Be prepared for all the feels.

This was my first ARC, and I'll admit I didn't realize there was a countdown once I downloaded it! If I had known that, I would have gotten the first two books and read them thoroughly. So, unfortunately, I can not give a fully proper review. I'm giving a little grace in my rating to account for the context I may have missed.

That said, there were things I really loved about this book and a few elements that didn't quite work for me.

The worldbuilding is rich, and I can absolutely see why readers get swept up into this series. The ending was particularly well done, emotional, satisfying, and tied things together. I also want to highlight the sapphic romance representation, which I thought was beautifully handled. It's refreshing to see more of these stories done well, and this one hit the mark.

Where i struggled a bit was with the character voices, while each character is distinct on paper, something about the dialogue and internal narration didn't always make them feel unique.

As for the spice (as someone who lvoes spice) I feel like it's important to maek these scenes impactful, though i'm sure that is more personal and others will eat this up.

Overall I enjoyed the book, and it's clear the uauthor created a world and story the readers adore, I'm sure that many will be saddened this series is coming to an end.

I can see myself going back to tyhe earlier books to get the full experience.

🐺✨ ARC Review: Epic, Fierce & Heart-Wrenching—The Final Battle for the Golden Court 🗡️🔥👑

War has come to Aotreas, and the fate of Wolves and humans rests on three brave souls fighting from every shadowed corner. 🐉⚔️

Briar Marriel, once heir to the Golden Court, is trapped in the enemy’s claws—until her ex-lover Maez, now a dark sorceress, storms in with a rescue that might cost Briar her freedom and her heart. 🖤🕷️ Is Maez savior or jailer? Trusting her could win the war—or doom them all.

Far away, Sadie and Navin race against time, dragon by their side, to unleash ancient magic that could save their people—if it doesn’t tear them apart first. 🐲🌙 Secrets buried for centuries rise as weapons, and loyalty is their sharpest blade.

Back at the Golden Court, Queen Calla stands at the edge of an impossible choice: risk the kingdom to save their twin, or hold the line as betrayal creeps closer with every heartbeat. 👑💔

In this breathtaking finale, love burns bright against the dark, war ravages the land, and freedom has never felt so costly. A must-read for fans of high stakes, fierce queens, broken lovers, and magic that cuts to the bone. 🐺

I did a reread of the first two books in this trilogy because my brain would have short-circuited otherwise. I thought this really wrapped up the series nicely and I thoroughly enjoyed wrapping up the series. I loved the multiple POVs and yay for LGBTQIA+ representation!

Book Review – A Heart of Crimson Flames by A.K. Mulford

The journey of the Golden Court may be over, but their stories will stay with me for years to come. What a wild and unforgettable ride it's been following these fearsome, fierce characters through love, danger, and destiny.

While I loved all the mated pairings throughout the series, Briar and Maeve completely stole my heart—talk about magic. Their story was a perfect blend of passion, power, and emotional depth. Watching their bond grow felt like witnessing something truly elemental.

A.K. Mulford continues to impress with her ability to create immersive worlds and deeply compelling characters. A Heart of Crimson Flames was a fantastic conclusion (or next chapter, depending on what’s next!), and I can’t wait to see what she writes in the future. I'm definitely a lifelong fan now.

DNF. It wasn’t for me.
Rating this a 5 on NG since it requires a star rating and I have a feeling that I’m the problem and not the book.
I’ll probably try again later so I can read the conclusion 💕

I think this was a solid end to the trilogy over all! I really enjoyed the multi pov for this book, and the pacing was perfection! Great proud queer representation and the spice was pretty good 👀

I do slightly wish I had reread the first two books before starting this one because it had been awhile… but that was a me problem and my adhd brain forgetting a lot of details about specific characters! 😂

A.K. Mulford is definitely an auto buy author for me now! ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by early access to this title.

A Heart of Crimson Flames was a good final book to the triology. It was a pretty quick read, but I felt like it could have been tightened up a bit. Maybe lose a sex scene or two. I like spice, but there can be too much spice in a book.

I loved Briar's evolution and dedication to Maez. Her story was wonderful to read and my favorite POV.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A Heart of Crimson Flames, the second book in A.K. Mulford’s Five Crowns of Okrith series, picks up the pace and the stakes without losing the heart that made the first book such a hit with fantasy romance fans. Mulford’s world is as lush and magical as ever—filled with fae courts, forbidden magic, and uneasy alliances—but it’s the characters who steal the show.

A Heart of Crimson Flames delivers a rousing, emotionally charged conclusion to an inclusive and magical saga. With dragons, queer love, shapeshifters, and heart-wrenching choices, it offers:

High-stakes fantasy thrills

Deep emotional resonance

Proud queer representation

I loved book 1 and 2, and was thrilled to receive Book 3. AK Mulford first entranced me with the Mountain Court 5-book series, and now she's an auto-buy author for me. This wasn't the best one she's ever written, but I did really enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley for this gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review. I appreciate it!

Ak mmulfordcontinues to thrill and embrace our hearts and expand their worlds i cannot wait to see what they conjure up next and am honored to have seen this growth

The pacing and different POVs in this one really helped flesh out the book in comparison to the first two. I will say I was very close to DNFing the first two, but this one was much more interesting, so it's just a question of if you as the reader want to stick it out for the first 2. The narrative also felt a lot more cohesive and flowed a lot better. It was actually interesting, I found Maez and Briar and Sadie and Navin's storylines much more compelling than Calla's in this book.

Fans of fairytale retellings will enjoy these books, which also have a lot of LGBT representation.

Thank you Netgalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

The Golden Court series is certainly not for the faint of heart, and Book 3: A Heart of Crimson Flames heartily packs a punch.

Brief Summary:
Calla and her friends are scattered and desperately attempting to finalize their allies for the impending war with King Nero and his vicious pack of Silver Wolves.

Struggling with the separation from her twin, Calla is determined to get Briar back, even if that means allying with a traitorous kingdom.

Sadie and Navin are traveling to the Temple of Knowledge to seek out songs for controlling monsters, all while Navin has to learn to train his dragon.

Meanwhile, Briar has to navigate a den of bloodthirsty wolves and deal with the knowledge that her mate is now a wicked sorceress.

Tropes & Other Info:
✨ Multiple POV (new ones added in this book)
✨ Continuation of Sleeping Beauty Retelling/ Spin-off
✨ Beauty and the Beast retelling
✨ Wolf shifters, humans, dragons, monsters
✨ Magic
✨ LGBTQ+ rep
✨ Found family
✨ Enemies-to-lovers
✨ Royalty & courts
✨ Happy Ending
⚠️ Spice & Dark Romance Spice
⚠️ Intolerance, Bigotry, & Misogyny
⚠️ Battles & War
⚠️ Violence, Gore, Death, close calls with SA
*Note: The spice and violence in this book are more intense than the previous books, so please check trigger warnings at the beginning of the story!

Thoughts:
I have to say that I really struggled in reviewing this. When I first started this series, I loved the characters and the plot, the inclusion, the found family, and I especially loved the way that Calla finds their own identity. However, I think what made this story so special got lost as the series went on because the focus shifted more toward other characters and, although Calla is still a POV character, they started feeling more like an afterthought.

Also, while I appreciated the Briar/Maez storyline turning into a Beauty and the Beast retelling where Briar has to decide whether or not to accept the darkness that Maez now carries, I was thrown by the addition of the brutal dark romance plotline. This book did provide trigger warnings at the beginning at least, but I feel like the marketing just really didn’t give any indication that the series or this book was going to go there, so that definitely threw me with this one as it is not my genre of choice, and I really wanted to know what was going to happen, being invested in the earlier characters, so I felt locked in.

I also think that having three different couples involved made the pacing tricky because some of the spicy scenes showed up in consecutive chapters where we didn’t get as much of a build up to those moments to make them more satisfying. Besides feeling rushed, some of the moments that were supposed to be romantic felt out of place. (Ex: A character is lost in battle and the two main characters of the scene barely mourn her, instead taking the moment to get engaged.)

Despite all of the above, I really loved the wrap up scene where all of the characters were sitting around talking to each other at the end. It was a touching moment that gave me all of the found family vibes that I treasured and missed from the first book.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the eARC!

A Heart of Crimson Flames lit me up. Like, emotionally combusted. 🔥❤️‍🔥

This book was everything—magic, chaos, romance, DRAGONS (yes, actual dragons), and a fierce MC who said “I fear no man but I do have anxiety and unresolved trauma.” Honestly relatable.

A.K. Mulford created a world that’s lush, inclusive, and full of heart. The stakes are high, the battles are epic, and the romance? Screaming, crying, throwing up. There’s queer rep, chosen family, and an undercurrent of healing and self-worth that hit harder than I was ready for.

If you like your fantasy with soul and your characters messy-but-trying™, this one’s calling your name.

Read if you like:
🐉 dragons, magic, and high-stakes vibes
🏳️‍🌈 strong LGBTQ+ rep + soft romance moments
🛡️ fierce MCs who would die for their people but also need therapy
✨ fantasy that’s both empowering and emotionally wrecking

10/10 would ride into battle with this book in my hands.

A Heart of Crimson Flames by A.K. Mulford is the epic, emotional finale the Golden Court Trilogy absolutely deserved. War is raging, the stakes are sky-high, and the heartache hits just as hard as the magic.

Briar is back and more badass than ever—trapped behind enemy lines, facing off with her ex-lover-turned-dark-sorceress, and somehow still keeping her wits sharp enough to consider teaming up with said ex to save the world. No big deal, just emotionally devastating decisions and unresolved feelings wrapped in magical chaos.

Meanwhile, Sadie and Navin are out chasing ancient magic with their dragon in tow, uncovering secrets that made me yell "oh no" and "oh YES" in equal measure. And Calla? Still the no-nonsense queen we know and love, balancing political pressure, court betrayals, and the very real possibility of losing everything.

There’s heartbreak, redemption, sibling bonds, found family, queer romance, and so many twists I nearly dropped the book. A.K. Mulford sticks the landing with a finale that is both powerful and tender, full of high fantasy drama and deeply human emotion.

If you want a romantasy series that blends magic, love, and rebellion with unapologetically queer heroines and dragons. A Heart of Crimson Flames will set your soul on fire.

En un mundo donde ser loba y mujer significa obedecer, Briar Marriel ya ha tenido suficiente.

Encerrada en una mazmorra y forzada a cumplir el papel de princesa perfecta para un reino gobernado por la crueldad, Briar lucha por mantener intacta su identidad. Con un vestido carmesí como símbolo de su sumisión y una promesa de dolor rondando cada esquina, ella se aferra a su mayor esperanza: Maez, su compañera destinada, la única que alguna vez la vio tal como es, y no como un trofeo.

Mientras tanto, Calla, su hermana gemela y reina de Olmdere, lidera con firmeza en medio de un mundo cada vez más amenazado por la ambición de los Lobos Plateados. La guerra se avecina, y la sangre humana ya comienza a teñir la tierra. En otro rincón del continente, un dragón nace del fuego y la música, trayendo consigo la promesa de venganza y liberación... si logran dominarlo antes de que la oscuridad lo corrompa.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest.

Since this was book 3, I had to read all three to get the full picture—and honestly, I kind of regret the time commitment. The whole “Brady Bunch but make them wolves” setup gave me serious déjà vu, like someone took LJ Andrews’ Viking pirates, added fur, maxed out the inclusivity meter, and called it a day. Nothing against representation—love to see it when it feels organic—but here it felt like a box-checking exercise.

The plot? Predictable. The big bad was obvious from the jump, and the main character went from identity crisis to expert queen in five minutes flat. She didn’t know who she was for two decades, but suddenly she’s a political mastermind navigating courts with flawless ease? Sure, Jan.

There’s an audience for this—clearly, since it’s book three—but it’s not me. The story just never felt like its own thing. Borrowed tropes, borrowed vibes, and not enough emotional grit to ground it. Not my jam. At all.