Early Review--Rituals by Kelley Armstrong

The fifth book and the exciting conclusion to bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's "impossible-to-put-down" Cainsville series, in which she mixes hard-hitting crime writing with phenomenal world-building to create a brand of fiction all her own.

Olivia Jones must make a choice. Caught between two rival supernatural forces, Liv was granted a brief period in which to make her decision. Now that time has run out. Whichever side she chooses, someone she loves will pay. Her lover, Ricky. Gabriel Walsh, the man she knows she cannot, must not love. Her parents, already trapped in prison.And now there is a new, terrifying power rising - one that doesn't distinguish between good and evil intentions. It feeds on chaos and destroys without mercy. Unless Liv acts fast, no one will survive. In this gripping thriller, international bestselling author Kelley Armstrong brings the Cainsville series to a powerful, richly rewarding climax.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.


Rituals is the final book in Kelley Armstrong’s sensational Cainsville series! This series has been so phenomenal I wasn’t sure how she was going to be able to wrap it all up in a way that satisfies and answers all the strange mysteries that make up Cainsville. And in some fitting way, she does answer the big questions but still leaves us with a bit of mystery that is truly Cainsville.

Gabriel’s mother, Seanna, who we long thought dead has returned to Cainsville. She’s a cruel and selfish woman and now she’s in town out to put an end to Gabriel’s happiness. Gabriel has worked hard for himself to have life that’s filled with safety, security, and even a possible something-more-than-friendship with Liv. And now his worst nightmare is back.

But Seanna being in town is only the beginning to Liv’s problems. For months now she’s been told she would have to choose sides, either the Cwn Annwn or the Tylwyth Teg, knowing that whomever she chooses would be the one who has the best chance at survival. But now there’s a new fae in town, one that claims ownership of Liv and basically making itself a third choice for her to contend with. But with the way it acts, it’s clear that it will be the only one who will survive. And so begins another truly mysterious and puzzling mystery for Liv and Gabriel and Ricky to solve. Who is this mysterious fae that claims to know Liv and how can they destroy it?

The world of Cainsville isn’t like one we’ve uncovered before with Kelley’s other books. It’s different, as I’ve likely said time and time again these past five years. But I love that about this series! It’s so intriguing and alluring in a way. I don’t know if I would call it world-building, since it seems to be more about the culture that is fae, I struggle to think of a proper term but for lack of a better word, I’ll call it story-building! There’s so much history and lore being shared and not just with the Matilda story. As we once again get to see more from the original roles that are characters are playing now.

We finally get to see what I feel like I’ve been waiting for since Omens, some Liv and Gabriel time. Since throughout this series we do get snippets from both Gabriel and Ricky’s points of view, we know that Gabriel has had feelings for Liv. And since Ricky essentially broke up with Liv at the end of the last book, Gabriel sees his chance is nigh! And boy do the sparks fly!! While I’ve always liked Ricky, I did find myself more of a Team Gabriel fan!  Gabriel may seem like a cold and unfeeling person, but that’s not the case at all. He has his own broken past and he’s had to help shape himself into being the kind of man he is now. And I like to think that Liv even helped break some of that hard exterior shell into being a bit more feeling like!

Answers. There are a good dose of answers in this one! All but one…but more on that in a moment! We get to know more about the mysterious new fae, though it’s not a very detailed answer, then there’s the choice Liv will have to make, there’s the matter of Seanna that gets settled with a little light shined onto things that we didn’t even know was a possibility! The only thing I felt that was left unsaid was the fate of Liv’s true parents who were still in jail. There were talks about an appeal on Gabriel’s part since he’s still their lawyer, but the end result was never made. I guess in my own everything-must-end-happily-way-at-the-series-finale way, I’ll say it was a positive outcome!

Kelley Armstrong brings yet another masterpiece to a fitting conclusion! She’s been one of my favorite authors for years and I’m always amazed at every book she writes! They’ve all been incredibly amazing reads! Cainsville was yet another delightful series that I will look back on fondly in my times of reading several hundreds of books in my lifetime! She’s truly one of the great ones! If you’ve yet to visit Cainsville, I highly recommend it! It’s a trip you’ll never forget!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars


Rituals releases August 15, 2017