The Official Description: Ean and Matthias have known they’re mates for a while, but Matthias has been unwilling to claim Ean. He believes his past and age-old secrets are too big for Ean to overcome, so instead keeps Ean away by irritating him.
Depressed and no longer able to be near the dragon-shifter, Ean leaves the pack house and, after a night of heavy drinking, makes a life-changing decision that pushes Matthias into action.
As the blood moon draws nearer, the Chevalier Pack is called before a tribunal of paranormal leaders to assess the Alpha’s rumored mysterious abilities. Matthias decides to share his secrets with a little help from Colby. And to top everything off, they face another attack by the McBane Pack, which the Chevalier decide will be the last.
Just the facts: M/M shifter romance, the series conclusion
The Chevalier pack is back. There’s one pack member left without a mate. He knows who his mate is but chooses desperate measures to get the attention he craves.- Kinzie Things
My thoughts bit: This is the fourth book in the Chevalier Series by Kay Doherty. At the time of writing this, I believe it might be the conclusion of the series. I’ve reached out to the author and will update if that is incorrect.
This book continues the story of the various pack members Doherty has brought to life in her series. This particular installment focusses on Matthias – a dragon shifter – and Ean – a wolf shifter. In an earlier book, it became clear that the two shifters were mates but Matthias was having none of it. His past experience with interspecies mating… and perhaps other secrets kept him from bonding with Ean.
The pack is still bonding in this novel…although things are definitely settling into place. An approaching blood moon and the ongoing threat from Tanner’s pack of origin have them all under a great deal of tension. Doherty is great at establishing the “feel” of scenes quickly and I really enjoyed the ramping up of tension throughout this story.
While this book is primarily told from the points of view of Matthias and Ean, there are some lovely segues into the mind of Ross. Ross is a wolf shifter who has fallen victim to a blood lust that has left his sanity a bit frayed. There are signs that bonding with the pack may be making him better, but nothing is certain for the Chevalier pack. There are secrets in Ross’ life that not even his mate can unravel.
Ross is a lovely character. I really enjoyed the way he moved freely between speaking in almost-riddles to being quite lucid. his “language” was creative and entertaining and often a bit eerie. I really enjoyed his presence in this story.
Really, this book is about the Chevalier Pack finally fitting all the pieces together. They don’t want to be considered a threat to anyone, they simply want to be able to live their lives the way they want. Their small pack is a refuge for them, a respite from the hate and loathing that has faced them in their packs or origin. The problem is that no one really knows if the pack is a threat. Their pack, their bonds, and their skills are such a mixture and a bit of an unknown. That makes them threatening.
It’s time for the pack to pull together, pool their resources and do what they can to protect themselves. They need to stay together!
This was a well-written series. I’m not going into great detail because I don’t want to spoil some of the great plot twists and reveals in this installment. This is a great way to wrap up the plot lines that have been woven throughout the series! Very satisfying!
Links: Goodreads // The Author // The Publisher
I received an ARC of Hearts of Destiny by Kay Doherty from NineStar Press via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Kinzie Things 