This is the best entry since book 1, but that comes with a slew of caveats, particularly given I skimmed so much of it to get through Sam, Kevin, and Gary. When Lady Tina isn't the thing you're skipping past, you know that's a problem.

Overall the main plot was pretty good. The climax was... a bit repetitive and frustrating at times, but overall good. There were moments I laughed, and I grinned for a good chunk of the very end.

Ryan, Justin, and Sam's parents honestly stole the show. Every time one of those characters was talking (well mostly with Ryan; sometimes he was drawn into Sam's stupidity) was either funny, endearing, or at least otherwise enjoyable on some level. I'm hoping, given that Justin's bits were the most enjoyable of this book, that this is a sign that his book will be at least good and I won't have to skim hopefully at all just to get through it.

That being said, I think one reason I enjoyed this more than 2 and 3 was that I came into it prepared to skim, and boy did I skim. Sam is almost as bad as he was during book 3, and there's not as much Kevin as there was in book 2, but there's more than book 3, and plenty of Gary, and it's just... It's annoying, and tiring. They're not funny. They're not enjoyable. They're just cringe-worthy and irritating and they bog down the plot with their stupidity and kinky jokes that mostly still end up being kink-shaming more than they're playfully sexy. Kevin and Gary pretending to be Sam and Ryan's parents has never been funny. I guess this kind of references the way this often happens in the queer community - commentary about "they grow up so fast" from older folks (and sometimes younger ones) about unrelated folks in the same space are relatively common, but this is just tired at this point, especially when Sam's parents are such a strong presence in the story proper.

The plot is still repetitive and frequently boring, with large sections leaving me wondering what would have happened if this manuscript had been halved, and how much more enjoyable the book was. Allie Therin had two MUCH better books when she made them like 1/3 shorter than her earlier ones. Maybe Klune should take a leaf from that. Rather than having Sam back and forth on ideas again, just to annoy whoever he's talking to the most, even if it contradicts his own position or something he just said.

Overall, it was an okay end to this part of the series, and a relatively good follow-up to book 3. I'm looking forward to book 5. I hope it is so much better than this (maybe four years have done the series some good). I still have no interest in reading the anthology, particularly after book 4, though Todd's story is vaguely appealing. We'll see. ( )

A great ending to this series. The story got a lot more serious without losing the fun moments. Loved it! ( )

What a trip!

Even when things are dire, twisted, even when Klune made me cry, there is still that core of humor that is the soul of this tale. And, honestly, this book contains possibly my most favorite Epilogue of ever.

Read this series. It just got better and better and the end is mothercracking awesome. ( )

This book just felt like more of the same as the previous two books. Yes, things are dire and the land of Verania is under the thumbs of an evil overlord, but ... it just didn't felt dire enough. There was a real lack of tension between the antagonists at the end and no real sense of doom other than what we're told is happening by the characters. We never really see the destruction of any of the cities or towns in Verania, we're just told about them, so they're a distant concern and not really relevant to what's happening in Camp HaveHeart (oh brother). So the ending of the matter is anti-climatic. The epilogue is way too long and should have been included in the main book proper as part of the story.

The Darks, wizards/sorcerers who've turned to the dark side of the force, are a joke, but then, they have been since the first book. Gary getting his horn back leads to some epically awful (and I mean bad awful - not funny) discussions and reactions Gary's lowered my expectations of unicorns over the years and this takes it even lower with the rainbow spooge(sp?) that results when he gets his horn back (gag), though, thankfully, the dialogue between him and Kevin is dialed down a bit.

In all honesty, I couldn't care less if Justin finally does find his happy ever after at this point. I'm glad the series is done and that I did enjoy some of it, but I'm ready to move along to something else.

... So, I have a complaint, but it's spoilered because it is a bit of whining I really, really needed to get off my chest: Sam of Wilds can't hold a candle to Julius Heartstriker ([b:Nice Dragons Finish Last|20426102|Nice Dragons Finish Last (Heartstrikers, #1)|Rachel Aaron|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389049309s/20426102.jpg|30107715]). Yes, I know, two very different characters, motivations, etc., yet, Julius is what I want in a character who is faced with impossible odds - mature, optimistic, fun, but who doesn't react with inappropriate commentary about sex or what have you at every opportunity. Even when infatuated with his girlfriend, Marci, Julius is very focused on making sure everyone else is safe and cared for. Sam, at the same age acts like he's still 16 years old. I think a lot of it has to with Sam being a bit spoiled and Julius having to grow up fast. ( )