Review--Covet by Tracy Wolff

 

I may have reached my breaking point. As if trying to graduate from a school for supernaturals isn’t stressful enough, my relationship status has gone from complicated to a straight-up dumpster fire.

Oh, and the Bloodletter has decided to drop a bomb of epic proportions on us all...

Then again, when has anything at Katmere Academy not been intense?

And the hits just keep coming. Jaxon's turned colder than an Alaskan winter. The Circle is splintered over my upcoming coronation. As if things couldn’t get worse, now there’s an arrest warrant for Hudson’s and my supposed crimes—which apparently means a lifetime prison sentence with a deadly unbreakable curse.

Choices will have to be made...and I fear not everyone will survive.

Tracy Wolff's hit Crave series is one that continues to get more and more epic as the series goes on! The latest installment of the quartet, Covet, is a game-changer in the biggest of ways! I swear, I feel like each preceding book is a game-changer and if the next book weren't the last one already, it would be one too! This is a series that might give some readers whiplash in a sense, but I can say it is a series that will constantly keep you on your toes because you just never know what will happen next!

So we left in the thick of tension with Grace and her friends. Hudson just killed his father, he revealed that he is actually Grace's mate, and he helped to heal Grace after his father tried to kill her. Now all we can say is things are definitely stained amongst the group. Macy is still in mourning, and Grace is trying to deal with her mating bond with Jaxon being severed and then adjusting to the fact that Hudson is her mate. Things are so epically complicated on a personal level that when the life threatening drama ensues, it's almost a breath of fresh air.

The Bloodletter tells Grace and Hudson of a crown that will give its wearer infinite power. Problem is, it's lost. The Unkillable Beast is said to know where it is, but first they'd have to free him. But before they can free him they need to figure out a way to break him out of his chains, which involves trying to find the blacksmith who created them. Buuuuuut, the blacksmith hasn't been seen in a thousand years or so. So yeah, should be easy!

All the while there is a turmoil of relationship drama afoot. Jaxon drifts further and further away from Grace and all their friends. She grows closer to Hudson, but there's still a strain on their relationship. Her not remembering their previous time together holds her back from Hudson, which then hurts his feelings that she draws away from him. It's messy. So utterly messy and I totally get where they're both coming from. Grace can't remember, Hudson can, though I'm still fuzzy on why they don't have a sit down and talk about some of it. I get Hudson not wanting to tell her just to tell her and her not sure if she'll trust him or not, but whoa, you have to truly appreciate drama in some sense to be able to get through all the turmoil that goes on in this one. Or even if you don't, but have grown to love these characters like I do, then you're just eager to see what will happen.

These characters have become my favorite part of the series and more are constantly turning up on the page. You never know who will be more important or make a repeat appearance or who will be duplicitous or who will turn out to completely shock you! You seriously never know what's going to happen and I positively love that about this series!!

I will say again that the pacing is definitely more sedate. I don't want to say slow, because it's not, not really. But it does take time to get to those more plot defined moments. There are other things that are happening that are equally important but they don't involve the BIG mission Grace has on her plate. And oh, let's not forget the arrest warrant that is out on Hudson and Grace, if they leave school grounds and are caught, they're pretty much going to the supernatural version of Alcatraz, except more Inferno style, if you know what I mean! And whew boy, that's another plot point entirely!

It's always hard to try to review such a massive book because soooo much happens and you don't want to touch on every little thing but you don't want to miss out on the good stuff either. We continue to follow Grace's point of view as she learns to adapt to her new paranormal being and learning about the paranormal world around her...and you know, her boyfriend's evil father who wants to kill her for her being herself. Yeah, this is like Harry Potter on steroids, but with paranormal beings and not just witches and wizards! It's beyond epic!

What would this review be if I didn't at least touch on the romance. If book 1 focused on Jaxon, book 2 began a withdraw and possible "game-changer #1", then this book would obviously be the Hudson book and oh I was so for it! Don't get me wrong, I loved Jaxon when we thought he was the ONE, but book 2 showed us another side of him that I think was meant to make us begin a slow withdraw. He's not a bad guy at all, he's just different in how he treats Grace and that's where Hudson comes in. Hudson treats Grace the way she needs to be treated. He treats her like an equal and yet, is still her shield or rock if that's what she needs at the time. He's her "mate" and it is just very endearing the lengths this guy goes to to make her happy, even if it would mean his own destruction. 

But yes, onto the actual romance part, can we just saw oh my wow? Because, Oh. My. Wow. Hudson is truly the sweetest, most romantic vampire I've read about in awhile! You have your domineering type that has a sweet side, but then you have Hudson who has that scary exterior, but it the complete opposite on the inside. And what I love even more is that Hudson and Grace still have to work at building a relationship, a romantic one, because the friendship part is already there. They both have personal issues to deal with, but they really seem to complete the other and it's just oh so sweet. And then of course once the fire between them is lit, stand back, because as I previously said, oh my wow!

The ending of this one will shock you. It will captivate you, hold you riveted, and then completely blow you out of the water. This is an ending you will not be prepared for. An ending you will not see coming, at least not in its entirety. I'm still left in shock and still reeling over the last few details and thank goodness the final book, Court, is only a few short months away--as in THIS YEAR! Tracy Wolff is a goddess for releasing these 4 books in 2 short years!

Whoever said the YA vampire trend is dead was wrong--thank goodness! It's a trend I will never ever tire of and will always want to read those books over whatever is the newest "hot trend." I fell in love with the vampire many years ago and though I do read more than just those books, vampires will always be my first love. Yet, the best part about this series is, you get more than just the vampire, you get pretty much everything under the sun...or moon in this case! The Crave series is the paranormal jackpot in YA! The characters are by far my favorite and the most endearing part of the series and with an enticing plot and uber thick spines, a reader truly couldn't ask for more...unless it was more installments that is!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars