sins that define us coverRating: 4 stars
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Length: Novel

 

Sins That Define Us is the third book in the Madly Ever After trilogy and the books follow one another in one long story. This review will have some spoilers for events that happened earlier in the series. Check out my review of the first book, Sins That Find Us, for a spoiler-free review to kick off the series.

After Leo approached Alice during her engagement party, she now is forced to really confront her loyalties. Alice knows her life now is not only happier than the one she was living before she was kidnapped by the misfits, but she also has more control. If she is a pawn in a larger fight between her men and the man she thought was her father, at least she is helping to control her own destiny. But she also doesn’t fully feel confident in her place with the men, worrying that they may never completely trust her or see her as one of their own.

However, with the wedding coming up, not to mention Rhys’ betrayal to sort out, things are tense around the house. Kane is determined to have the wedding continue as planned, but with his top aides suddenly looking less loyal, everyone is on edge. And when they learn that their security system may not be locked down as tightly as they thought, it adds to the stress even more.

Despite it all, there is a future on the horizon for all five of them. Alice is expecting, her wedding to Kane is coming up, and she is falling for the men and they for her in return. It seems impossible that this group of killers and fighters could work together, but somehow they do. But with the Romano threat still looming, they need to take Guido out once and for all before they can move forward together.

This final story rounds out the Madly Ever After trilogy and I think it ties things together nicely. As with the other books, this one partly focuses on the relationship dynamics between the men and Alice, and partly on the Romano threat. The group has fallen for each other, or at least as much as they are capable, and I think Lindsey continues to do a nice job making the four men feel like individuals with their own personalities and distinct relationships with Alice. While she may be unsure of where she fits at times, they clearly see her as one of them. There is an interesting dynamic here, as Alice and Kane are the public couple, getting married to make sure Guido Romano knows just what Kane took from him. But at the same time, there is a clear connection among all of them that is bigger than just Alice and Kane and I think that comes through well. I appreciated that this time we see more of the physical side, along with the emotional one, among the men. I felt like at times the series was so focused on everyone’s sexual relationship with Alice, rather than the men with each other as well. So this one definitely has a better balance in that regard.

The other focus here is on the larger fight with the Romanos, and some new threats come up that they all must face once again. We also get resolution to this plot and finally see the Walshes come out on top. I do feel like for a series-long conflict, the resolution felt a little rushed. All the threads are closed, but it just seems like a lot of story over three books to have the climax then feel like it happens so fast. But we do get a nice happy ending for the group, as they finally can move forward together without the Romanos looming.

Looking back on the trilogy, I think it is overall a really engaging dark romance. This group never becomes good or kind or soft. In fact, Alice becomes harder and darker as the series continues. But there is a clear connection between the five of them that I find really interesting. I will say that I feel like in some ways the story is stretched too thin over three books. Each book moves the events forward, but I also felt like there isn’t always quite enough story and there is a lot of time setting things up, or similar scenes of either sex or mayhem. But again, I found this one to be a compelling story and I think fans of dark romance will find a lot to like here.

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