“I’ve come too far to surrender now…” Eledan’s nightmare has been unleashed upon the worlds and with Oberon gone, only the messenger crew stand in its way. Kellee, Talen, Sirius, Sota, and Kesh. Together, they are stronger, but there are forces on Faerie who do not want the worlds saved, forces that would see the Messenger and her crew torn apart.Queen to Faerie’s new king, Messenger and more to … Faerie’s new king, Messenger and more to the saru, lover to some and a weapon to others, but who is Kesh Lasota really? A guiding light or an unwitting puppet?
Answers are coming.
The time for lies has passed.
And Kesh will soon learn some battles can’t be won alone.
The mind-blowing Messenger Chronicles comes to its explosive conclusion in Her Dark Legion.
Series Reading Order:
Shoot the Messenger, #1
Game of Lies, #2
The Nightshade’s Touch, #3
Prince of Dreams, #4
Her Dark Legion, #5
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A beautiful end to the series
A gripping and beautiful end to a well done and exciting series. I cannot even have comprehended the end of the reverse harem. The perfect lovelies all together in the end. Absolutely fun.
4.5/5 Stars
Disclaimer: This review MAY contain spoilers.
I am a sobbing, blustering mess right now! Holy fricking moly! It feels like the world is being pulled from its axis right now. That’s how important this series has become to me. And now it is at an end and I don’t know what to do with myself. *Tells myself to breathe.*
Pippa DaCosta is such a gifted storyteller. Her writing style is one that I latched on to right away. The plotting of this book and this series as a whole is brilliant. I honestly could not have predicted the outcome of this story beforehand. I had theories, but I really had no clue how things were going to end for Kesh and her crew. I love how unpredictable the plots of DaCosta’s books are. What I expected to happen certainly didn’t and I really love that about her writing. She doesn’t write the books as one might expect. A lot of stories are extremely predictable so this book is a breath of fresh air. I have to add that I really love the mashup of fantasy and science fiction that we get in this series. It is usually one or the other, but not in this series. I love how original and unique the premise for this series is. I am jazzed every time I think about it. The nerd in me highly approves.
The characters in this book are golden. Seriously. They are everything. The chemistry that they share with each other is electric. I love how the characters experience so much growth in this series. Some more than others, but you can see the changes in the characters by the end. I have always loved that their dialogues are always entertaining. Most importantly for me is that I connected with each of the characters. They were all special to me.
The romance in the book was a little less steamy than previous books. I was honestly expecting more in this area with regard to certain characters. This is a reverse harem story and the main character loves a handful of men. I expected her to have alone time with certain characters, but it never happened. I was a little disappointed by this, honestly. It didn’t take away from the story or even the love between the characters by any means. The love that the characters had for each other was written very well despite the lack of physical intimacy between Kesh and some of the men in her harem. Lack of steam aside, the romance between Kesh and her men is great. They have intense chemistry and I love the way that the men carry on with one another. They always delighted me.
This paragraph may contain spoilers so stop reading if you are sensitive to them. I will try to be as vague as I can so I don’t give much away. I have some mixed feelings about some of the developments in the story and the overall outcome of the villain in the story, Eledan. I can’t really go into much detail without major spoilers. I can say that I liked what he ultimately does at the end of the story and I like how it revealed much about his true nature. It showed that people make mistakes and have flaws, but those things don’t dictate our heart or it’s course. I also have to add that I didn’t much like Kesh’s final assessment of Eledan, though I can understand where she is coming from. I was just hoping that she would feel differently about him at the end, especially with the revelations we see.
This book didn’t turn out as I expected but the ache in my chest right now is proof that I still loved it very much. Some things didn’t come to pass like I was hoping but the story is still strong and satisfying. These characters have become such a big deal to me and I will revisit this series again in the future. I recommend this series so hard. This series contains kick-ass characters, a compelling plot, and tantalizing slow-burn romance. It is every nerd’s wet dream. You won’t want to miss it!
I’ve read a lot of books in my lifetime, and I’m looking forward to reading a lot more. This is one of the very rare times I’ve rated every book in a series 5-stars. In fact, I would give this series more stars if I could!
That’s how good Pippa DaCosta’s Messenger Chronicles is! So a couple of things I’m not going to lie about.
1. When I started the Messenger Series, I really wasn’t sure about Fae in space. But I loved everything else I had read by DaCosta to date, so I thought “What the heck?” One of the best reading decisions I’ve made.
2. I put off reading Her Dark Legion, because I didn’t want the story to end, then ended up reading the entire book in a single sitting – yes it was that good!
3. I’ve had a book hangover for every installment of this series, so while I devoured Her Dark Legion, I’m still having trouble finding the words to convey every emotion I had while reading it.
4. This was the perfect way to end the series. I didn’t see it coming, and you won’t either. Just read the series and be prepared to be find yourself in the same situation.
I’m not going to even try to describe any more of Her Dark Legion. It’s amazing and DaCosta has set the bar for slow burn reverse harem so high, I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Enjoyed reading this book , it is filled with adventure, action and intrigue. The interaction and chemistry between the characters is wonderful. I can’t wait for more from this author. I received this book as a FREE ARC copy to read and I voluntarily leave this review.
Every series must come to an end whether we want it to or not BUT it’s how the author ends a series that matters and I have to say that this author has done a great job in ending this epic series! Well written I have loved this series from the start with its awesome storyline, twists and turns, it’s romance, surprises, emotions and great characters and I would totally recommend this paranormal space fantasy!
To be brutally honest it took me over a week to read this final book in this amazing series. I could only read in small sections before my heart would break, and I found it very difficult to want to finish because, frankly, I just didn’t want it to be over. For this story to be over. For someone else to die (hello, have you met Ms DaCosta, Breaker of Hearts and Destroyer of Happy Endings?). For there to be no more.
But I did it. I finished. I wept, and smiled, and ached, and am glad that I finally convinced myself to find out what happened after all Kesh had been through. And it was worth it – in that bittersweet style of endings.
If you have loved this series, you won’t be satisfied without this ending.
A last book of a series is always an emotional read. You’ve followed the characters through so much, seen them grow and overcome so much. It’s even worse when you’ve followed a series from the start, instead of coming in late to the party. So when I picked up this book I felt both excitement and dread. Add to it the fact that Ms. DaCosta doesn’t tend to write happy endings and I wanted to both hide under a pillow and reject the existence of this book and to devour it in one sitting. I forced myself to go slowly so I could better appreciate the ending. It was a hard thing to do because so much happens and I wanted to just read and ignore the rest of the world. At times my heart stopped beating and at times I was so overwhelmed I was sobbing. But in the end I was content and even happy. I was also wistful because I will miss this world and all it offered, the difficult journey and the complexity of the characters. And in the end I just wish we had more time.
An eARC was provided by the author in exchange of an honest review.
Goodness, where to begin?! It took me days to read this book, not because anything is wrong with it, but because I just didn’t want to rush to the end of the final book! I still can’t believe this is the end, and there won’t be anymore of Kesh, Kellee and the guys! I have to say out of all five books, this is my favorite. Kesh finally comes into her unapologetic own, and becomes an absolute icon for her people. This was richly detailed, intricately complicated, and leaves you pondering the events long after the story ended. This was a spectacular finale that I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to review! Thank you!
” Discovery is worthless without the journey. ”
There is a reason that this book took me so many days to read. It wasn’t because I wasn’t loving every heartbreaking and soul crushing moment of it. It wasn’t because it didn’t have me riveted by it’s amazing plot, outstanding world building and unparalleled characters. It was quite simply that I wasn’t ready, and indeed am still not ready to let go of this world and say goodbye to Kesh, Sota, Kellee, Talon, Sirius and even Eledan. The conclusion to what has been an epic tale was full of action, adventure, tragedy, manipulation and surprises.
” I wanted to cry in her {Hulia’s} arms, but I somehow pushed the swell of emotion down. – Kesh ”
Well Kesh, at that point you did better than me because I spent a good half of this book either finding a quiet corner to sob in or with tears streaming down my face. The emotion from each and every main character tore me apart. Again. And again. And again. I have tears welling in my eyes even now, and feel a strange mixture of both joy and sadness.
” I wanted to hear his voice, one last time. I wanted to feel his touch on my face and his kiss on my lips. and I never would. ”
With lines like that how HOW am I meant to remain an in-charge capable adult woman? Impossible! Every single time it left me a snivelling mess. This book was everything I wanted and more. So much more. A whole universe full of stars could not shine as brightly as this story, nor would be able to bear adequate witness to do this book justice.
” We could make it happen, together, just as he’d always believed. The Messenger really had made a difference. ”
And those guys of Kesh’s, wow did they pull out all the stops in this concluding book. There was absolutely no doubt about the depth of their feelings for her. Each of them, in their own way, worships the very ground she walks on, loves her to the stars and back and would do anything within their power for her.
I mean, talk about *swoon*. But then we had the reminders that all these men were immortal whilst Kesh, with a piece of the Pole Star inside her, was very much mortal. A fact that came very close to breaking those men on more than one occasion.
Thankfully there were some wonderful moments of banter and humour to lift the spirits. These usually involved Sota and Kellee, though it wasn’t exclusively their gig. And they just served to make the poignant moments even more touching.
Now whilst I’ve fallen in love with all the main characters, even going so far as to have a soft spot for the much misunderstood (IMO) Eledan, my favourite has always been Marshall Kellee. It’s just something about his wild west lawman ways and his dark good looks.
” “Oh really?” he drawled in that smooth voice he liked to unleash on unsuspecting females. ”
Yep, that’s the guy I’m talking about. The one who only needs to quirk an eyebrow to have the panties of all females in a 20 mile radius melting. Not just the females either! We really got to see all the true depths and many facets of Kellee in Her Dark Legion.
Throughout all the trials and tribulations, intrigue, schemes and manipulations, Kesh continued to battle her way towards the final showdown. Weighed down with the expectations of Fairie herself, the hopes of the saru, the fears of her males, Kesh fought with everything she had. Gave everything she had, prepared to sacrifice everything for those she loved.
” I climbed the steps onto the deck and planted myself between Kellee’s simmering presence and Talen’s icy stillness. We watched the fleet and the stars behind, and I wished I had more time with them, just to stand and watch and be in the moment. ”
” Events had led us right here, either by fate or by Eledan. Harlow’s fall, Arcon’s rise, the Game of Lies, Hapters’s dark fae, and Valand’s dead… Whatever the source, there was no escaping what would come next. ”
I’ve used far too many quotes and I just don’t care. I could have chosen a hundred more. There are just so many lines that punched me in the gut and tore my insides apart. These are ones that I just couldn’t leave out.
And to finish, a quote that sums up the current state of my heart.
” I almost couldn’t speak, and when I did, the words were just a whisper.
“It felt like goodbye.” “
I have a history of either not finishing the last book in a series or not liking it. I think it’s because I just can’t stand to let an excellent series end. I believe they should end, but I hate that they do. And, yes, this series-ender broke my heart. Kesh and company know the end is coming for the Polestar, and they need to know what will happen now that the Hunt is loose. I really can’t say too much as I don’t want to spoil anything. This book was full of surprises, just what you’d expect from the author, and I enjoyed every minute. Things ended in a great way, and I am very satisfied. If you are a fan of this series, you’ll love this, and I highly recommend it! I was provided the e-book which I voluntarily reviewed.