Reviewed for the BFS by Elloise Hopkins.

THE LAST LIES OF ARDOR BENN by Tyler Whitesides. Orbit Books. p/b. £9.99.
Reviewed by Elloise Hopkins.

Third cycle, The Char and Ardor Benn’s next masquerade is ready to commence. This time he appears as a Holy Isle, though perhaps more than just in costume, with everything he needs ready and in place; his team at his side, a vial of ignition grit and a bit of Raek’s expertise.

Pardoned by the queen after his last escapades, Ardor Benn has issued apologies to his previous victims – those whose names and status render it necessary, anyhow – and his public image is firmly that of ruse artist turned Holy Isle.

Unlike Ardor Benn and his recent religious activities, Quarrah Khai is still working, and is as effective a thief as she ever was. With job after job lined up, despite her being in Talumon rather than Beripent, she is getting along very nicely without Ardor and his antics. Yet whether she likes it or not it would appear that fate – or someone else – has destined their paths to cross again, and it seems Ard is not at all ready to forget their past, or his feelings, even if he is a little preoccupied with his next scheme…

A ruse, on top of a ruse, on top of a ruse. Will this be their biggest yet?

The Last Lies of Ardor Benn is the closing book in the Kingdom of Grit trilogy and certainly brings things to a close on an epic scale. Following Ardor, Quarrah and Raek for one last time, the narrative runs from ruse to stumbling block and back again as they face an enemy who appears to see their every move before they make it and Ardor comes face to face with more than just a dragon from his past.

In this final instalment the focus is much more firmly on the bigger picture, exploring moonsickness, scripture, Ardor’s relationships and the consequences of his past actions, and as a result we don’t have the exciting and manic tumbling from ruse to ruse so much as with the first two Ardor Benn books. There is less plotting and more reactive action this time, but still enough of Ardor’s brilliance that the slower pace is forgiven.

If this is the last we see of Ardor Benn then he ends as he began, with just enough charm, arrogance and wit to have the reader applauding him to the grand finale. However, just as Ardor never seems to give up rusing, we might live in hope that his world is perhaps not ready to give him up just yet.

This was a great final instalment to this trilogy. The characters continue to be well written, the world is a vivid one and the plot is compelling throughout. If you enjoy heist based fantasy books, then you should definitely check this trilogy out.

I have been lucky enough to get all of the books in this series via NetGalley. I was approved for this book quite a few months ago but, unfortunately the file I was sent was so badly corrupted that I was unable to read it. To say that I was disappointed is an understatement. I was distraught. Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but only slightly. Anyhoo, I loved the first two books in this amazing fantasy series so much that I have now purchased the final book in the trilogy and have just now finished reading it. And it is just as wonderful as I hoped it would be. There are more ridiculously complex ruses that couldn't possibly work but somehow do, even more mind bendingly clever than in the previous books. I can honestly say that this is the best, most original, fantasy series I have ever read and it should be much more well known than it is. But even though I have loved this series, and I will miss the characters terribly, I believe that this is a good place for the series to end. So many series have gone on to span four, five, six or more books and end up loosing the magic from the initial story and begin to feel stale. This series, trilogy, has ended on a fantastic high and I really hope that the author comes up with something new and equally amazing in the very near future. A thousand thank yous NetGalley and the publishers for introducing me to Ardor Benn and his merry band of miscreants.

I sincerely apologise that I wasn’t able to get around to reading this title prior to the publication date in order to review it.

Received from Little Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for honest read and review.
Third book in series, am I glad it is finished yes, am I disappointed,yes.
Sadly not for me this one,maybe a bit too samey

Unfortunately this is the last in this series I loved.
I had high expectations and wasn't disappointed as I loved every moment.
It's highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Shattered Realm of Ardor Benn and The Last Lies of Ardor Benn sees Ardor return to prime position with more Grit-filled stunts, more heists and even more edge of your seat fun. Ofcourse Raek and Quarrah are in tow, somewhat.

After the end of the last book, I was reluctant to read this one; it went an entirely different way for me and did somewhat marr the ending. The whole Visitant Paladin plot was something that pulled me in but spat me out in the end. Though, this book is a return to form. Without wanting to spoil, the plots are even more complicated and ofcourse this does lead to holes and the reliance on luck can somewhat spoil the complexity, but once again I was enamoured by the use of Grit.

Grit is my favourite part of the series, its origin and how it is used really is right up my alley. That paired with Ardor's wit and Raek's mixing is what makes these last two books.

I love the fact that the author dares to make the escapades even more intricate and daring and the plotting that must go into these books to pull all the threadlines all the way through and cut them off and knit them together into something that is always that bit more entertaining and every bit more intriguing.

The characters and their relationships are phenominal. The way they compliment each other and build each other up but at the same time can be the weakness, the finnan straw. It is because these are so well - developed that it hurts so much in places. And I love a series that makes you feel, care and hurt along with the characters.

The final two entries to the series are not to be missed. If you felt the same as me after the first, please don't hesitate to read the second and third. They definitely get better.

The egalley I received was so badly formatted with missing sentences and paragraphs that I was unable to read the book. So this review and rating is indicative only of the bad formatting and not the content.

A little devil on my shoulder wants me to give this book 1 star - just because it's the last in the series, and that's really disappointing. However, it's a fantastic book and a fitting conclusion to the "Kingdom of Grit" series. I've thoroughly enjoyed all 3 books. The story, characters, writing, and world-building are all first class. I hope there will be more adult fantasy from Tyler Whitesides in the future.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

I was so interested in picking this new title in this series and wow was it worth it! A series not much talk about online, but it deserved more attention. All about the world and the characters, a gripping story, with twist and turns and emotions. I love it! Obviously not saying much since it's the third one and everything could spoiled the first two, but read this series, discover this author and thanks me for it!!