Reviewed by Nikyta
Title: Davidson King
Author: Raven’s Hart
Series: Haven Hart Universe #7
Heroes: Poe & Phin
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 234 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: September 13, 2019
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: Haven Hart stands on the edge of good and evil. Having balance between the two is the only thing keeping the town from crumbling to the ground. For years, one man has been charged with maintaining that balance. Poe.
The air of mystery surrounding Poe is one of necessity. He’s the keeper of secrets and for good reason. He’s stood alone against the most ruthless men and women, always hiding behind the curtain to help his friends defeat what seeks to destroy them.
Now, after all this time, the city he loves, the people he has protected, and the secrets he’s kept hidden are in serious jeopardy. Poe will need the help of his friends to fight the ultimate battle; not just save Haven Hart but everything and everyone he holds dear to him.
When the dust settles, will betrayals be forgiven? Will the city still be standing? Will Poe’s beloved be at his side or will everything crumble? One thing is for certain, everything will be tested, and questions will finally be answered. Raven’s Hart is the final installment in the Haven Hart Series.
Review:
I’ve been eagerly awaiting Poe’s story since we first met him in Snow Falling because he’s such an enigma. He holds such power within Haven Hart that he has to keep himself at a distance from everyone else because of that responsibility. He’s always intrigued me because he’s so quiet and intense but then swoops in to help everyone out. I loved that about him but I also loved that he obviously had such a huge heart that he wants to keep his city safe. With this story, we not only get to understand why he helps the citizens of Haven Hart but also a bit of how he became to hold the keys to the city. It was interesting to see how much Poe struggled without letting others know that he was having problems. I adored the fact that he loved Phin and Adelaide so much he would do anything for them but I also enjoyed seeing him wrestle with bringing his friends in to help him for once. It was intriguing to see the story unfold and we get those answers we’ve been jonesing for. This one definitely wraps up the series and explains how some of the things from previous books happened and why they happened.
While I enjoyed this one, I couldn’t get into it as much as I did with the others and, unfortunately, my least favorite of the series, which really saddens me because I’ve been anxious to get Poe’s story for so long. But I had a lot of ‘little’ issues with this one mixed with a couple huge issues. For one, I felt so disconnected from Poe and Phin that I couldn’t embrace their relationship and the feelings they had. I felt like we didn’t really get to know the characters because they had already been together. The author didn’t give us time to get to know Phin and really embrace their relationship because they’re already together without much explaining of how their relationship became the way it is. However, what we do see of them is in flashbacks, which are high on my list of pet peeves, but not in flashbacks that really gave depth to the characters as they should have done. I get that some of the flashbacks may have been necessary but most of them weren’t pertinent to the story, IMO, and just felt like a filler.
With that said, the story dragged for me because of two huge reasons. One, due to those flashbacks, which did not make me feel closer to Poe or Phin at all and, if anything, I expected them to give depth to Phin since he’s a new character in this series and to give depth to their feelings but they actually made me not like Phin and had me questioning their relationship. And two, the other books in this series had a really great suspenseful and fast-paced feel but this one felt too slow especially when you realize only a few days have passed because most of the story is told and not shown. I wanted to see more of the action and experience more of that suspense, as we have with other books, but this one felt like all the action happened ‘off-screen’ and then we were told about it instead of shown. Yes, we sometimes were shown the aftermath of what happened but not much of the actual suspense was shown and that may have disappointed me the most.
All in all, being the conclusion of the series, I expected to leave on a high note but I’m a little saddened I didn’t like this one as much as the others. Don’t get me wrong, I still adore Poe and I loved that we got his story and to understand why he’s the way he is. I also did like seeing Phin in the picture and finally get the answers to some of the questions we’ve been waiting on. It was interesting to see the story unfold and really understand why some of the things happened to the others. But I just can’t get passed the issues I had with it and really disappointed that this one didn’t resonate with me as much as the others in this series have. Maybe if I re-read it again in a few weeks my opinion might change, we will see as I plan to re-read the whole series entirely someday to really get the full experience at once. Plus, I do ultimately love this series so if you haven’t read it yet, give it a go because this story arc is definitely one that kept me on the edge of my seat!
Overall Impression: It was good
*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*
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