This was a beautiful ending to this trilogy. I enjoyed the journey of the characters, and thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the big buildup battle to beat the bad guy actually felt worthy of the time spent to defeat him.

Lots of important themes, messages, and representation of diverse characters, their stories, and watching them become the truest versions of themselves.

I liked the first book well enough, the second book was hard to get through, but this really pulled the series together. It did focus pretty heavily on the spice, when that wasn’t the case in the previous books, which is fine, it just felt like we were missing some of the plot/world arc/finale in this story.

A Heart of Crimson Flames is a fiery, emotional ride packed with magic, political intrigue, and a beautifully slow-burn sapphic romance. Raewyn’s journey to claiming her power and identity is both fierce and vulnerable. A perfect sequel that deepens the stakes and the heart. 🔥👑✨

I didn’t get to read the first two, but this one was ok. I do enjoy multiple POVs but this one switched a lot, and a few times I had to scroll back to first page of chapter to remind myself the persons POV we are in. I do think it was an interesting book and wasn’t terrible to keep up even if I didn’t read the first two. I do still want to read another book by this author because over all it wasn’t a terrible experience!

Here we are at the end of her another beautiful story by A.K Mulford. A heart of Crimson Flames was everything I wanted. Calla will always hold the most secret pieces of my heart, because they are so much like me, it was like looking in a mirror. And finally seeing their story come full circle was so cathartic. I loved getting to know Briar and Maez, and their story of accepting ALL of each other, especially the darkness. And the spice was 🥵🥵 I love their connection and how they always pushed each other to be better in whatever way that meant or that they needed; bravery or bloodlust. Sadie and Navin are the perfect mates that aren't mates, and utter proof that you don't need a mate to find your person, to be loved, to be seen, to be accepted. Love stronger than magic.I wish I had more of everyone and what happens in their future. I am sad to be leaving Aotreas, but can't wait to come back and reread this series again and again.

And I can't wait to see what A.K has in store for us in the next series.

A. K. Mulford proves once again why they're one of my favorite authors with the conclusion of the Golden Court Trilogy. Heartbreaking choices, breath-taking action, and lots of romance will keep readers hooked til the last page. I'm sad this is the end, but holy hell, what a way to end a brilliant trilogy.

I didn’t read the first two books, but A Heart of Crimson Flames still pulled me in. Briar and Maez’s messy, magnetic dynamic was my favorite part—ex-lovers turned reluctant allies? Yes, please. Calla’s loyalty, Sadie’s magic quest, and the emotional weight of war gave it depth, even when I felt like I was playing catch-up. The romance was intense, the stakes were real, and the ending hit just right !

What a great ending to an amazing series! I hold all three of these books so close to my heart but this might have been the BEST one of all! Great villain, great live sorry, and wonderful story overall!

Thanks to NetGalley, the Publisher and Author for an eARC of this title in exchange for my review.

A Heart of Crimson Flames is the third installment in the Golden Court series. It is a blend of found family, dark magic, multiple POVs, spicy romance, world building and layered political intrigue. The character driven story reflects a spectrum of identities, backgrounds, and experiences. Overall a satisfying romantic fantasy read.

3.75 Stars - A satisfying and emotional finale to a series that’s grown stronger with each installment.

A Heart of Crimson Flames brings together all the elements I’ve come to love in the Golden Court Trilogy—magic, shifter politics, romance, and found family—while raising the stakes in meaningful ways. The conclusion felt earned, with well-paced action and character development that gave real emotional payoff. Each of the couples had their own arc, which I appreciated, and the ending offered closure without feeling rushed.

That said, the large cast occasionally made it hard to stay grounded in who was speaking or acting—especially with multiple POVs from characters whose voices sometimes blended. And while the spice was fun, a few scenes felt like they interrupted rather than enhanced the momentum of the story.

Overall, a strong finish that fans of the series will be pleased with. I’m glad I stuck with the journey and would definitely read more from A.K. Mulford in the future.

Unfortunately the third installment in The Golden Court series was a disappointment. This series had so much promise and I really enjoyed the first two books, however the final book I felt like focused way too much on the intimate relationships between the characters than the actual main story.

I wish that more time was spent developing and enhancing the steps to the end of the story including more espionage, mini battles, rebuilding of the kingdom, forming alliances etc.

I did enjoy the final scenes of the book as I felt they were relevant to the story. Those chapters had such great ideas and the descriptions of the scenes were wonderful. Overall this author is a great writer, but focusing more on the story and less on the intimate scenes would have vastly improved this final book.


A Heart of Crimson Flames by A. K. Mulford is available November 4, 2025. Check it out!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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.