“My drops of tears I’ll turn to sparks of fire.” - Shakespeare, Queen Katharine, Henry VIII, Act2, Scene 4 "I set fire to the rain"- Adele "There may be a great fire in our hearts, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke." Vincent Van Gogh I prefer my continuing lessons on and ponderings about life wrapped in the lines of a story like a present wrapped in beautiful ribbons. Certainly, I am not alone in this regard. Storytelling is eons old and the foundation of communicating morality and spirituality beginning in one's early childhood. While this story culminating in this last book is the flavor of romance I love best, it did that special "thing" to my mind and spirit. It sparked contemplation and meditation; giving me a little bit more insight into myself, others and the world in which I find myself. Yeah...it's going to be one of "those" kind of reviews. Through the themes of the overwhelming need for revenge, the possibilities of atonement, and the freedom found in letting go of grievance with the symbolism of fire and smoke, this gifted and polished author teaches us profound, even timely lessons. Before I offer my thoughts on these, I will tell you the book hits all the high notes of composition and form and meets the expectations of the romance story lover. The "mains" continue to develop and captivate and the plot line moves along smoothly with some surprises that enhance. The plot was also tightly woven so that there was no jumping over plot holes. The fundamental disagreement between Edward and Celia is Edward's all-consuming desire to avenge every wrong done to Celia. In an introspective moment he describes himself: “I’ve been completely consumed with rage and spite, these twin fires that ate everything in their pathway. No matter what I fed them, they continued to burn, burn, burn. Everything was fuel, and there I was, throwing flames at whatever I deemed deserving to be burned down." Celia has been broken down and been made new because of Edward and their transforming love. She has crawled through the fire and emerged like the mythical Phoenix. She is looking to the future, yet, Edward is hyper-focused on revenge to the detriment of the "redeeming" love he found with Celia. He is also haunted by his past deeds. Celia is desperate to cling to her secrets to keep Edward safe from his own destruction. With a new life on the way, Edward has to choose between primary focus on his quest for destructive vengeance or laying down his sword of vengeance and becoming the father and husband Celia desires. What will be the consequences of his choice? Within the framework of this story are reminders of the hollow, destructive force that is revenge. Leaving ashes and smoke rising in its wake...Nothing left to hold onto. The smoke rising, itself, a metaphor for the fleeting nature of time and life. Haven't we all recently experienced the damage, destruction, chaos and the sheer nihilism based on a personal philosophy of revenge? Don't we all waste some of our precious time looking back, if not with vengeance in our heart, but holding a grudge there. Holding onto something which in the end is really nothing?...only wasted time, energy and emotional bandwidth? How can we expect to move forward when we are caught up in the past, mired in negativity, focused on the fire of vengeance? Nothing but smoke in our future? The idea of atonement is also introduced into the narrative as Edward begins to engage and confront his ultimate rival. The beauty and grace of atonement is underscored as a theme. Think about how liberating, karma-balancing, purifying the idea of true atonement is not only for the soul of one but also, the good of all. We may not be able to erase our past but we can lift the burden of guilt we carry from the harm we have perpetuated by atoning for this harm. Redemption is made more manifest by atonement. Forgiveness for ourselves and others becomes more possible. True acknowledgement of our flawed nature will allow us to move forward as a person toward peace of mind...peace just being human. Atonement is substantial proof of this acknowledgement. As you can tell, I had a hard conversation with myself. The ideas seem forthright and deceptively simple, yet so hard to truly manifest in our daily life. We are complicated emotional beings. We are spiritual beings. We are social creatures. We all have needs, wants and desires. All of this adds layer upon layer to our motivations behind anything we do, good or bad. Whether we move forward or stay fixed in time. Using this pallet of complex motivations, our author wrote a moving and brilliant romantic saga. A saga which intertwines with a few others she wrote. While her writing hit me in that place between my head and heart, it was also a wonderful escape into a lover's world filled with passion, big emotion, heart-stopping desire, and body-tingling sensation. Everything. And I mean everything, a reader of the art desires. Rivalry (Slay Quartet, #1) by Laurelin Paige Ruin (Slay Quartet, #2) by Laurelin Paige Revenge (Slay Quartet #3) by Laurelin Paige Rising (Slay Quartet, #4) by Laurelin Paige