A Heart of Crimson Flames: A Novel

Rating: 4 ⭐️ Spice: 🌶️ A.K. Mulford did an excellent job of wrapping up this series in this final book of the Golden Court series. This book is an excellent mash-up of fantasy and romantasy. The magic system that was used in this series was well done and the character growth that finished up in this book was good as well. The culminating battle scene at the end was well done. Pros The character development and character arcs that took place were well developed and the MC’s dealt with some personal demons that plagued them throughout the series. I loved the diversity of the characters throughout the story. The 3 main female characters were vastly different with varying perspectives throughout the story. Two of our female main characters were twins and I loved how the author wrote them as very different people. Calla was a fighter from the get-go and strong-willed; where Briar was more meek and timid. However, at the end, Briar found strength and power with the help of her mate. Out of the 3, her arc was the best. I also liked that there was a clear closing. The conclusion of the story was wrapped up nicely and the story was well-paced. It didn’t drag on too long. Cons The only negative that I had for this story was the placement of the steamy parts. I felt like they were just thrown in there to be in there. There were a few times that one popped up and I didn’t feel like it needed to be there. Overall, this story had an engaging finish, richly imagined worlds,…

First off, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me snag both the audio and ebook versions. I did an immersive read for this one, and if you don’t do that often—wow, it’s an experience. I’m honestly teetering between 2.5 and 3 stars here. I read the first two books right before starting this one, so everything was fresh in my mind. Book 3 did a great job tying up the loose ends, but it really felt like the plot started running thin, and the story shifted into being very sex-heavy. And don’t get me wrong—I love a good smutty read—but something about it just felt off or out of flow. Almost like the story would hit a lull, and then boom, another sex scene to fill the space. I hate giving lower reviews, but I ARC read to give honest opinions, and this one just didn’t fully land for me the way I hoped it would.

**𝔄ℜℭ ℜ𝔢𝔳𝔦𝔢𝔴** 𝔄 ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔬𝔣 ℭ𝔯𝔦𝔪𝔰𝔬𝔫 𝔉𝔩𝔞𝔪𝔢𝔰 𝔟𝔶 𝔄.𝔎. 𝔐𝔲𝔩𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔡 (𝔊𝔬𝔩𝔡𝔢𝔫 ℭ𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔱 #3) Release Date: November 4, 2025 4.5⭐️3.5🌶 Music Theme Song: Heavy is the Crown by Linkin Park This series continues to get more complex and interesting. A. K. Mulford continues to not disappoint with each installment I've read from her. Briar Marriel has been taken captive by Evres and Nero, who is Grae's father and angry that his son has gathered more loyal wolves to him. Maez and Briar were only able to spend a brief time together as a mated couple before they were torn apart by wolves conspiring to take over all the kingdoms. Maez did what she thought was necessary to save herself and her mate by taking in sorceress magic and becoming something that is not traditionally "good". Briar and Maez's story is sort of a twist on Sleeping Beauty and the Evil Sorceress. With Briar being Sleeping Beauty and Maez being the Evil Queen, except Sleeping Beauty falls in love with the Evil Queen in this story. Grae and Calla continue to travel from Kingdom to Kingdom and try and collect allies to fight with them against the corrupt Nero. Sadie and Navin are on their own mission still to find and save Ora and use the travelling singers and their magic to help them against Nero. This is one of those series that is deliciously complex and has a wide range of characters. Maez and Briar's story is a beautiful addition to this story set. Themes/Tropes: 🍁Fated…

⭐️: 3.75/5 Format: 📱 + 🎧 Finally made it to the end of this trilogy! And I say finally, but I did finish all three books within a few weeks, so, clearly, it wasn't arduous. The way this series is structured was so interesting to me, because in each book, we *added* a new POV. We kept the previous FMC's POVs, but just added a new one in each book. The challenge with that was that by the time I started AHOCF, I'm already well-versed with and attached to Calla, and her character arc is largely complete. I'm also acquainted with Sadie (and LOVE HER), and her arc is mature as well. So then, I have those two POVs that were competing with Briar, who was a new POV for this installment, and there was a lot of character development that needed catching-up, because we hadn't gotten enough from Briar previously. It felt like the first quarter of the book was info-dumping in the form of Briar's introspection. That said, aside from the pacing at the beginning, I did really enjoy this. The things that made this enjoyable to read were also the things that made this book a little bit darker than the previous two. There was this bigger struggle with the grayer parts of evil that were really interesting, because in book one, we spend so much time establishing that sorcery is the root of evil and bad-ness and it twists a person to become those things. So then to start looking at the shades between the black and white gave a deeper perspective on that battle. I also really enjoyed Briar's…

4.5⭐️ (rounded up) SERIES REVIEW - What an absolutely fantastic series! Every single character was wonderfully written their journeys, while each having an individual character arc, are beautifully intertwined. From Calla finding her true self, to Sadie believing in the good, to Briar harnessing her inner strength, they are all such amazing embodiments of characters you cannot helped but be entranced by their stories. If you are spooking for a beautifully built world with high stakes and burning love stories (multiple) I highly recommend giving this trilogy a read! Additionally, I listened to the audiobooks and the cast narration beautifully brings this world and these characters to life. Highlights: ✨Vibrant World Building ✨Unique Magic System ✨Multiple Love Stories ✨LGBTQ+ Rep ✨Found Family Thank you to the author, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the listening copy. My opinions are my own.