Golden Eagle

It may have been my own fault for reading books three and four back-to-back, after having put some space between the first three, but this is easily my least favourite of the series. Nothing awful, and certainly not worth giving up on, nor even a reason to not consider the series if you haven't yet, but.. not my favourite.<br /><br />In complete contrast to book three, in GOLDEN EAGLE we spend all our time in present day and reunite with.. well, pretty much everyone we've met across this series. We also got some payoff I was hoping for as far back as book one. But it left me with some pretty mixed feelings because I felt a lot of the characters, or maybe just moments, felt so out of character. Which was frustrating because there are so many characters in this world in general and many that I can pretty definitively say I do not like -- or only tolerate. So to be stuck with everyone and to have the ones I do love.. feel strange? Mixed bag.<br /><br />This was the most romance heavy of the series which I definitely would've loved had my precious beans felt a little more like themselves but it wasn't all bad. Some moments? Pure swoon, pure loveliness, pure steam. But it does give the reader a bit of whiplash going from very different tones in each book. It keeps it interesting, that's for sure, particularly considering the wordcount. Just something to keep in mind, though.<br /><br />That said, even with the few typos or missed punctuation marks, something I noticed started to occur in book three and we had a few more of them in this book, considering the aforementioned wordcount, considering all the history and reference points, everything that goes into this, and what the author is listing them for on amazon? Ridiculous. A steal. There is definitely a lot of good in this world, in these books, and I'm keen to still read on -- but now that I've caught up I am in for a wait as who knows when book five is due to come out! Shucks.<br /><br />----<br /><br />This review can also be found at <a href="https://atakefromtwocities.home.blog/2020/10/23/golden-eagle-by-lauren-gilley/" rel="nofollow noopener">A Take From Two Cities</a>.

I didn’t do my homework before starting this series. I originally thought it was just 3 books. Then I found this one and realised it’s still an ongoing series.<br /><br />Despite loving vampires, werewolves, Russian history and this author. The first 2 books weren’t the run away 5* reads I’d expected. Good but not great.<br />The third book changed all this. It started slow but once it got going I couldn’t put it down. <br /><br />I moved straight onto this, the forth one. My expectations were high, maybe too high.<br /><br />It just didn’t move fast enough for me. This is more of a relationship book. In fact around the half way mark I found I was skimming. It wasn’t going anywhere fast and I was losing my patience. It all ended well and I’m looking forward to Lionheart.<br /><br />But in the interests of writing an honest and fair review. In my opinion this book was too long, too dragged out and just didn’t have enough plot for pages.

I love this series. But where’s the fifth book? ? I want <i>more</i> of these guys, this wonderful pack; and I don’t want to leave this universe that Gilley had so skillfully created… 2,5k pages just weren’t enough. ?<br /><br />I enjoyed this fourth installment very much. It was fast-paced and action-packed, and Nikita and Sasha’s story was as good as I’d expected. After seventy-odd years of mutual pining, they <i>finally</i> got their HEA, and it was so lovely. That ending just about made me melt. So sweet and romantic, but these boys deserve all the happiness in the world. Especially Nikita with his ever-persisting guilt about <i>everything</i>… I loved seeing all the positive changes in him after his union with Sasha, that darling, precious boy. ❤️ The way he finally allowed himself to be <i>happy</i>, for the first time in his life.<br /><br />I loved all the scenes with Val, of course, he’s still my fave character here. Reading about him finally enjoying his life as a free man was so bittersweet. His interactions with his wolves, especially the prickly Fulk, were so adorable. It’s good to know he has their unconditional love and emotional support (as well as Mia’s, I suppose…). That talk with Nik on the rooftop, though! ? God, I love this guy.<br /><br />There’s no cliffie, and that’s great, because I’ve become so attached to some of these characters that I’d be climbing the walls waiting for the next installment. As it is, I knew this was an ongoing series, but I just couldn’t resist…<br /><br /><i>Lionheart</i> is going to be amazing, I can feel it. And I want Alexei, Dante and Severin’s story, asap! I have the feeling it’s the poly that we’d been promised~ ?

I started of 2020 with an amazing book! Lauren Gilley is so underrated as an author. This series is so epic. I love the characters. This one was action packed and filled with emotion.

<strong>12 stars</strong><br /><br />Absolutely one of the best authors I've encountered in my almost 7 decades! I worry that Trina needs some immortality. Great adventures.

<strong>Thoroughly enjoyed</strong><br /><br />I love that Sasha and Nikita got their HEA. I wonder when/if Trina will become a vampire too. I ADORE the idea of Pack. <br /><br />Only one complaint, I really think the organization of this wonderful series is unwieldy. There's a lot of info, a lot of back story, a lot of characters, action, storyline and it all just SO much to take in. <br /><br />That said, I LOVE that it's so epic, I love the story and I love all the characters.

<strong>The best so far</strong><br /><br />The story continues and is awesome - so many characters and plotlines that Lauren keeps straight and keeps expanding. I am so looking forward to the next book.

Another excellent installment in this genre bending series. All the characters make an appearance in this one and some new characters are introduced. Relationships evolve and Nik finally gets out of his own way in regard to his feelings for Sasha. And that ending...wow. If you've enjoyed the other books in the series, dive into this one because the slow burn pays off in this one.

<strong>Every book gets better!</strong><br /><br />This has been my favorite book of the series so far! I can’t wait for the next book In this series!<br /> <br />

Man I love this series and this writer! Hands down most underrated writer out there. I wish everyone would pick up one of her books. Golden Eagle is special because it’s all Nikita and Sasha. Fell in love with those two in White Wolf and it makes my little heart overflow with love to read more about their story. Loved the Alexei storyline as well and super excited to be getting more info on Robin and his crew in the next installment. Time to start scouring the net to see when bk 5 Lionheart will drop because somehow Golden Eagles release got past me! 4.5