‘Shattered Souls’ (Flames of Time #3) by Erica Lucke Dean

5 stars!

Book Blurb:

 “Don’t miss the explosive conclusion to the Flames of Time trilogy.

Ava Flynn walked through flames to erase the past and bring her little brother, Josh, back from the dead. But the reboot doesn’t come without strings. While navigating her new reality, Ava must avoid Maddox... without fracturing the timeline. If she fails, she may never find Laith again.

With her own heart at stake, Ava scours time for the key to unraveling the curse binding her soul to both Laith’s and Maddox’s. One brother is the love of her life. And the other... Not even death will stop him from keeping them apart.

As Ava’s present collides with the brothers’ pasts, she discovers that breaking the curse might have unintended consequences. And this time, her soul isn’t the only one on the line.”

Review:

Such an amazing conclusion to this trilogy!  ‘Shattered Souls’ will shatter your heart and then put it back together again, in the best way.

I loved being back in Ava’s world, following as her story re-set to the beginning, to when readers first met her.  She retains the memories of what happened before she walked through flames to re-set her timeline but no other characters do, not even her time-traveling soul mates.  Having knowledge of the future could be an advantage, but it only gets her so far, since she makes different choices and has a different goal than before.  Watching these differences play out is one of the things I enjoyed most about this trilogy’s conclusion.

My absolute favorite thing about this book is that it is partially narrated by Laith.  Author Erica Lucke Dean chose perfectly which scenes to share Laith’s thoughts and feelings with readers.

The careful planning and attention to detail that went into crafting the story of these soul mates is clear for readers to see.  I love how creative Dean got with the curse, the timelines, and the characters, throughout the entire series, and how beautifully everything comes together in its conclusion.  At long last, the details of the curse are all laid out and explained to Ava, and it is worth the wait.

I enjoyed ‘Shattered Souls’ so much that I read it through once, then re-read certain key scenes and character interactions.  After re-reading ‘Splintered Souls’ and ‘Shattered Souls’ to refresh my memory before diving into the trilogy’s conclusion, I am happy to say that everything checks out; the time-travel math adds up perfectly, and Ava got the perfect ending she deserved after all she’s been through.

As usual, Erica Lucke Dean’s writing flows wonderfully.  In the days since I finished this book, I’ve missed both her writing style and these characters.  I can’t believe the Flames of Time series is over and I will definitely be re-reading this trilogy in the future.

‘Shattered Souls’ will be available on May 18, 2021.

I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.