Ethan Moonsong is in a bad place...his girl Cricket Hunt was stolen right out from under him by a man he hates, Spencer Blackwell (Greed). Now he is grief stricken, depressed, lonely, drunk most of the time, filled with fury and obsessed with revenge.

Anger is a consuming thing, a burning takeover. It sets up shop in your heart and head and murders anything else attempting to make its way in.

Finley Dyer and Ethan were friends in High School. She has faced her own demons and has been where he is...angry and wanting revenge...and understands what it can do to you. She kind of just pushes back in his life, determined to help him. She is intrusive, bossy, fierce, tough, and resilient. She reaches Ethan when no one else can. They forge a renewed connection and friendship that they both really needed.

She was so full of life. So my exact opposite.

"...you understand me more than anyone ever could, Ethan. Like we share the same sort of insides. As if we're knitted form the same thread."


But she has plans to travel for a year to help with an organization. And her secretive behavior sends off warning bells. He knows he wants to protect her and save her if she needs saving...like she did for him.

They were two tortured souls looking to belong and find hope. They just fit together and literally helped the other breathe. But when situations arise that bring out Ethan's fury as well as protective warrior instincts, he finds himself treading a fine line again. Will he fall back into the trap or vengeance or will Finley be able to save him again?

We were broken, the both of us, apart, but together we were whole, perfect, flawless, and intact. Collectively we were absolute. Together we were conclusive. Period. 

Like the other books in this series there are two distinctly diverse locations--in this one it is rural Montana and Vietnam. Both environments provided challenges for these characters that they had to fight to overcome. And similarly in this installment you see the dichotomy of the character's selfishness versus their altruistic intent of them trying to make a difference in the lives of others. But this one was definitely darker, fiercer, more gritty, raw, and consuming. And Ethan was faced with trying to come to terms with and question if wrong behavior would be forgiven if it was for a greater good.

The line between heaven and hell. A line I walked myself. Careful, or you'll tip to the wrong side.


This book kind of divided itself naturally into two parts. Ethan dealing with the issues at home in Montana with lost love and his changing future. And then the second part that included a study in a new culture that had its good parts and horrific parts. This was an often harsh story of a seedy vile way of life and atrocities. It involved one woman facing her own demons, and one man's attempt to save and protect at the risk of losing himself and his love in the process.  

This was a YA/NA love story built into the back drop of stories of heartbreak, loss, and evil intentions,. But there was also an underlying spark of connection, love, faith and hope. I really liked Ethan and Finley's rapport and support of each other that was based on friendship and loyalty instead of just sexual chemistry. But they did still have a definite pull, attraction, and need for one another.

"Finley, you fix me."

"We fix each other."

I will admit I was really engaged in the first half of the book, and then it lost me  a bit as the story had a definite shift, but then it rallied again. But this shift coincides with Ethan beginning to lose some of his connection to himself and Finley, so in essence I was truly also feeling what the characters felt. Parts of it were deep, emotional and dealt with personal pain, while other parts were anger-inducing, dangerous, and suspenseful. It was hard to read at times, but there were also parts that were sweet, emotional, funny, hopeful, and inspiring to balance it out. I liked seeing Ethan's growth and his developing friendship and love towards Finley as well as her own protective nature towards Ethan. And seeing how they took on difficult situations and challenges.

"I can touch you, feel you, smell you, see you, but you--"she said, pressing her palm in  my chest, my heart, "this you is somewhere else, Ethan. I've been looking for you, searching for you, calling for you, but you don't answer me. You're living somewhere else and I feel the distance, smell the distance, see the distance, I can taste the distance, Ethan, and my God, is it better....Come back. Come back. Come back to me, Ethan."

Overall I enjoyed Ethan Moonsong's story and found it completely surprising and unexpected. I never thought it would unravel the way it did, but at the same time it makes complete sense and is consistent with Ethan's personality. Each book in this series is full of layers and depth and really makes you think about the world around you and what individuals can do to make it better. But each person takes on that task in their own way. Ethan's was one that had the potential to destroy him, but like everything else in his life, he dives right in with a warrior's tenacity and ferocity. And Finley is a perfect partner to him that can see the darkness swirling around in him and understands his need to protect by whatever means necessary, but can also help him channel his demons and ground him.

I am looking forward to the next book in this series, Lust. Fisher Amelie never fails to pull me in, make me think, and get me totally invested in her characters, their outcomes, and important messages about life and the world around us.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The truck door slammed closed behind me as I reached for my hidden bottle, unscrewed the lid, and took a swig. It burned on its way down, alleviating that sick feeling in my stomach, albeit temporarily.

Slowly, ever so slowly, I walked toward the bakery. I kept as close to the storefronts as possible. When I reached Ceres, I stopped and leaned against the brick beside the window, knowing they couldn’t see me. Carefully, I peered into the window and saw them. Their backs faced me as they ordered at the counter.

“My God,” I breathed.

There she was. It was the first time I’d seen either of them since the day in the forest when she chose him over me. It felt so surreal to me. Her hair had grown out a little and she’d gained weight, probably since the transplant went so well. I looked at Spencer. I bet the bastard was her hero. I couldn't help but think I could have just as easily been him. I could have been standing next to her in line at Ceres, waiting for our sweet potato sticky buns, laughing and feeling happy because I was with her.

I thought about what Finley told me earlier that morning. I thought she was wrong. Cricket would have been just as happy with me as she was with Spencer.

I studied them together. She bounced on her heels, talking animatedly, her hair swishing around her shoulders. She used her hands a lot when she spoke. I wondered what she was talking about. I wondered if she thought about me at all, if she gave a shit that she broke my heart, shattered it into a million pieces. She smiled at Spencer and they started laughing. Apparently not.

God, I hated him. I mean really hated the guy. I looked back at my truck and remembered that I kept my hunting knives in the glove compartment in case my mom’s brother Akule, the only one willing to talk to me on her side of the family, wanted to go hunting. He gave them to me for my eleventh birthday. They were beautiful. Two Spartan short swords with leather handles, and I knew what I was doing with them.

Akule is Echo River Indian, as was my mother. She left the tribe when she converted to Catholicism right out of high school, and they didn’t approve but Akule was young when she did and he was close to my mom, so he didn’t care. He would sneak into town and they would watch movies together at her apartment.

He taught me how to hunt with my hands in Echo River style from a young age but when my mom died, he made it a weekly trip to the mountains. We would spend entire weekends up there up until I turned nineteen and Cricket got really sick.

I looked back at Cricket. She brought her hand up to Spencer’s back. He followed suit and tucked his hand into her back pocket, incensing me. Immediately, I walked to my truck and opened the passenger side door. The knives sat in their sheaths in the glove box. I hadn’t touched them in months, and my hands itched to hold them again.

I reached for them but paused a few inches from the handles. My hands shook and my heart pounded.

“What are you doing?” I asked myself.

I shut the glove box and sat on the bench of my truck, my booted foot resting on the concrete below. I ran my hands through my hair and rested against the back of the seat, shocked I’d been even contemplating what I’d been pondering.

“What were you going to do?” I asked myself. “Murder him?”

And don’t miss the first two books in the Seven Deadly series!

Add the SEVEN DEADLY series on Goodreads

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble