"Road to Salvation" Trilogy Rating: 4.25 stars Gavin's Song Book Rating: 4 stars Note: I'm including my reviews for all three books in this trilogy, because it's not a trilogy in the sense that most romance ones are, it's basically one extremely long book about the same couple. You should NOT read the 2nd book without reading the 1st, or the 3rd without the 1st and 2nd—these are cliffhanger books. BOOK ONE: Gavin's Song (4 stars) { Life wasn’t fair. It was like a river that was just there—no rhyme or reason. It didn’t have feelings, didn’t care that every living thing needed it to survive, yet it would share its wealth or be as stingy as a miser. It could turn on you indiscriminately, creating havoc at a moment’s notice, destroying lives and everything in its raging path. } Gavin's Song kicks off this terrific trilogy and is definitely the hardest book to read emotionally. This book essentially leads up to the romance between Ginny and Gavin, and they only really meet for the first time at the very end of it. The book alternates between each of them, showing us different important points and periods of their lives. Gavin is kidnapped and spends 10 years being emotionally, sexually, psychologically, and physically tortured and that period is not skimmed over, so it definitely earns a *trigger warning*. It was incredibly difficult for me to read parts of it, because it was so graphic and so horrible. But—of course—what Gavin goes through very much affects and shapes the person he is "now," so it didn't feel at all gratuitous to me, it's essential to understanding his motivations, problems, and thinking afterwards. Ginny goes through her own difficulties, though if you've read some of the other books in The Last Riders series (I recommend all of them!), you're familiar with her and already know some of them. There's a big surprise about her origins though that come out here, and we find out that Ginny has in fact been in hiding almost all of her life because of something that happened when she was 3 years old. My disclosing this is not at all a spoiler (though the details about what would be, so I won't write any more about it). Both Gavin and Ginny are such wonderful characters who have survived tremendous challenges and you really feel so much for them and are rooting for them so hard by the end of this book. At first, I was dismayed that basically none of their romance would exist in this book, but I quickly dismissed that while reading it and think it was very well done. We are so invested in them and their relationship in Books 2 and 3 because of all that we know about them from this book. And as always, half the fun and joy (seriously) is The Last Riders themselves and seeing all the guys and their partners again; the friendship and true brotherhood among these characters is so wonderful and contributes to making it my favorite MC series. Not a bad book among them. BOOK TWO: Reaper's Wrath (4.5 stars) { “We may be going in opposite directions, but we could both end up in the same place. I can wait for you to get there.” } Reaper's Wrath is my favorite in the series, probably because it's the most focused, has the most complete arc of their romance, and if it weren't for Ginny's subplot the story could be wrapped up with this one (practically). Both Gavin and Ginny have their own "mystery subplots" and this one centers around Gavin's: revenge for his kidnapping and torture (hence the title) and him really coming to terms with what happened (though this very much continues on into Book 3 as well). This picks up right when and where Book One dropped off and charts essentially their first meeting, up until they truly begin their relationship. Practically all her life, Ginny has been convinced that she has a soulmate out there and for a long time, she thought that something had happened to him, because she couldn't "feel" him anymore, so she thought he was dead and she would never meet him (this was during the period of Gavin's kidnapping). The minute she meets Gavin, she knows it's him, and he also has essentially the same reaction, though of course doesn't believe in all this soulmate crap, doesn't think himself a fit partner for anyone, etc., so is very resistant to all of Ginny's overtures. And lord are there many, lol. Ginny is hysterical in this book and I have to give the girl props. She's a pretty self-contained person—she's had to be in her life—and the way she puts herself out there for Gavin and the bravery she shows is just plain fantastic and mind-blowing. I loved it. She is SO strident and certain in her conviction that he is her soulmate and is SO open about it, which of course freaks him out (as it would any guy, but Gavin especially so). BOOK THREE: Reaper's Salvation (3.75 stars) { “My love doesn't have time limits. It's everlasting.” Ginny could see the toxic train of thoughts that held him. “Nothing lasts forever.” “My love will.” } Unfortunately, this was my least favorite in the series for a couple reasons (though you'll note I still gave it a good rating): Ginny's "mystery subplot" was a little weak and unbelievable, the story dragged at times and could have been wrapped up far sooner, and most disappointing of all, Ginny was annoying and immature at times. Up until this book, she had earned herself a spot on my Favorite Romance Heroines shelf, but I'm now torn and don't think she'll make it. She had a bit of the TSTL to her at various points in the book, and because I had loved her so much up until then, it was all the more frustrating. I won't go further into my first two reasons, since that would involve spoilers. As I said, this centers around what happened when Ginny was three years old and why she's been hidden away since then. Part of the mystery is literally what did happen, because she herself doesn't remember some key points, which is part of the challenge. This book also involves a lot of relationship development between Ginny and Gavin. As much emotional damage as these characters have and as many problems as they have to overcome, their love is 100% believable at the end because Begley really does show them overcoming all the main issues and being able to finally and fully come together as soulmates. And since they are "together" for all of this book, you really get to bask in the romance between them. BOTTOM LINE This was a terrific trilogy and if the last book had been a bit different, I would truly be raving about it. As I said at the beginning, this is basically one long book—don't try skipping ahead, it will make no sense and you will be cheating yourself. Begley has her own order to read all of her books, because there's a lot of overlap between them all, since they all exist in the same book universe, but that involves almost 30 books (with these three being the last ones). I would recommend that you read The Last Riders books first, but it is not necessary. They are fantastic though, so it's not a chore by any means. Note that I would categorize most of that series as Romantica, while the Ginny-Gavin trilogy is strictly CR. Finally, be aware that her books have a bunch of annoying typos—like, a truly uncommonly high number—but wow is she a good storyteller.