It had been a while since I read the previous book but I slipped right back into the story, I love the dynamic between Estrella and Caldris and the adventure and trials and tasks within this book were gripping. I really enjoyed the links to mythology and how that was incorporated. I love the romance and banter in the book and after that end I can't wait for the next book!

The fourth installment in this series and it pick up exactly where book three left off.

I would have liked a quick recap but that actually became a smaller problem. This story follows Estrella’s journey through the underworld which as a standalone was actually quite interesting but as the fourth book, really disappointing as it hasn’t moved the story on at all.

I can’t say for certain whether I’ll proceed with this or not but the next book should 100% be the conclusion to a fun series.

After Mab sends her on a mission to the depths of tartarus, Estrella must face a set of trials to prove her worth and gather a serpent from Medusa’s crown if she wants to escape alive. But things are not what they seem as on her journey she uncovers many truths that were kept about her origins, her identity and her magic.

In this book, we have character growth from Estrella’s character as she is confronted with her past and her decisions. We not only learn her nature but the role she must play in the world and at the hands of the fates as well as the identity of her parents.

The world building is stronger in this book, as we learn more about the primordials, the gods and their roles.
I love books with well crafted world buildings and this installment showed me glimpses of a great one.

The bond between Caldris and Estrella is getting stronger and stronger, (there’s still a lot of spicy scenes in this one) and I feel like they could achieve a lot together, but that cliffhanger of an ending was so frustrating, I don’t know what to think.

I feel like this series is getting better as you read it and I can’t wait to know what the author has in store for us.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Hodderscape for this ARC!!

Great 4th installment of the series. This is not the concluding book that I thought it was going to be. It's a more emotional vibe with so much learning, healing and growth.
Estrella has already been through so much but here she has to survive the trials from and within Hell. She has to reconcile herself with the part of her she represses and find the love and acceptance needed to really take on Mabs and free the fae realms.
Bring on the epic battle that I'm sure is to come!
Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for the arc, all thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

I was so excited to recieve this book after loving the other books in the series! This book was worth the wait, and the cliffhanger has made me desperate for the next book.

I had been waiting ages for this book and thankfully I was able to get an ARC copy! Obsessed!! I loved it. I read it within a few days as I couldn't put it down. Please if you read the first book read this one. You won't be disappointed.

I have enjoyed the rest of the series for this, but unfortunetly this was just missing something for me. I was waiting for things to happen, for something to move the story along, and I don't like books like that.
Perhaps it needs a re-read later down the line

Back with Estrella who is now in Tartarus and Caldris who is Mab's prisoner......

I did have to do a sneaky, skimmy catch up of the previous books in the series because it feels like it's been ages since I read them! I'm so glad I did because I remember how much I loved them!

We have new characters, some great twists, it's full of action and an ending that made my jaw drop.

So imagine my complete surprise when I didn't enjoy this anywhere near as much as the other books. I am absolutely gutted (for me!) I just found it not to have the same feel as the others and Estrella got on my nerves.

Also, I thought this was going to be a quartet and, honestly, I think it should've been. It feels like the series is strung out where it doesn't need to be.

Thank you, NetGalley, HodderBooks, and Harper L. Woods for an e-ARC of this book!

For me personally, I haven't been the biggest fan of this series, but by the end of book 3, I really got my hopes up. I didn’t particularly enjoy the first two books, but something about the story and the characters drew me in and captivated me, so I was really looking forward to What Sleeps Within the Cove.

Unfortunately, this is where it fell flat for me.

This book felt ancient, dangerous, and mythic. But the late-stage Greek mythology additions felt a bit like genre whiplash. They arrived fast in book 3 with little grounding in the series' original lore and left me blinking in confusion.

In terms of plot and pacing, this book moved. There are trials, beasts, betrayals, and revelations. It’s dramatic and cinematic—but also? Kinda exhausting. The middle third drags under its weight, and emotional beats are often sacrificed for action. The ending seems to set up more books, but at this point, I think I'm done with the series.

Estrella continues to grow into her power, finally confronting her trauma and making choices with teeth. I liked her arc, but didn’t feel it deeply. Caldris is still your fave morally gray beast, but he didn’t evolve much, and their emotional growth as a couple? Meh. The connection felt more told than shown this time, especially for a bond that’s supposed to span worlds and lifetimes.

We get lots of spice, but I would've appreciated more tension. The emotional intimacy was lacking, especially compared to the earlier books. There were high-stakes moments that should’ve broken or bonded them—and instead, we kinda breeze past them.

The vibes are strong - atmosphere, angst, and ancient curses. But the emotional core felt thin, the pacing uneven, and the mythology a bit disjointed. Still, it’s Harper L. Woods, so the prose is pretty, the monsters are tragic, and the romance has claws.

Am I emotionally gutted? Not quite. The Dark Romance grilies should love this though.

I was kindly granted a review copy of this title by the publisher for an honest review.

When searching for recaps of the previous books in this series (note to publishers, always put recaps at the start of books please) I came across a lot of people not happy with the way the series had progressed. However though the gory nature of some of the series isn’t to my taste, I am very happy with this latest instalment. The weaving of mythology into this title in the underworld setting was wonderful. And this title allowed great character development and focus on Estrella. And we saw a softer side to her mate. I am impatient already to read the next in the series!

I loved that we finally got some needed answers (even though I could have probably guessed them) but after the last book I don’t feel as invested in the series anymore as I used to. I do still want to know how it ends and I’m holding out hope that the series will get its spark back in the next one!

I really enjoy this series but the wait for book 4 certainly made it lose some of its impact. We're following Estrella's journey through 5 trials in Tartarus to get what she needs to defeat Mab while Caldris is left behind.

This book was great for discovering more about Estrella, where she came from her parents and the motivation of the fates. But as much as the plot is moving forward it was at a slower pace due to us watching her face the 5 trials. Like book 3 I think this could have been condensed, book 3 and 4 making a book and a half with the final book to come being longer.

It ended on a major cliffhanger and I am really hoping we don't have another two year wait for the final book. With all the research you can clearly see has gone into this book it's understandable why it took so long, the side effect being readers have lost interest or some emotional connection with the series.

4,5/5 stars

This series gets better and better with every book that comes out. Especially this one was easy to read and it kept me interested in what happens next the whole time and I couldn't put it down. I literally read it in two days which tells a lot.

Tartarus was a nice change of scenery, and the journey Estrella went through in there gave me a rollercoaster of emotion. It clearly built Estrellas character further and built things up for the next book but I enjoyed that part very much. I also enjoyed Fenrir as a character and now I want a wolf of my own as a pet.

The cliffhanger was brutal once again, and I can't wait to read the next book some time in the future.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.

This book never should have existed. It should have been a trilogy and is clearly just a money grab at this point. Sadly, it reads like a money grab as well. There is little to no movement in this book and it just felt like poorly-timed filler. It's sad because I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but at this point, I'll have to wait for the series to be done and see if it's worth slogging through the filler to get to the good parts of the story.

I unfortunately had to DNF this book at the 50% mark. I found the plot to be quite one dimensional and felt like the storylines and plot points of the previous books were beginning to be used repetitively. The main character, Estrella was beginning to become quite an unlikeable protagonist for me and I was questioning her motivations and decisions throughout. I’m sure there will be lots of people out there who will love this book but unfortunately it wasn’t for me.

3.5 - 4 ⭐

(I received a free ARC in return for an honest review)

Rating this isn't as easy as I thought it would be if I'm honest.

While I did enjoy it, I found it a little long and a little bit dragging. Yes I enjoyed reading more of Estrella finding her way to her actual self and obviously I enjoyed the fact that the story itself continued. But there is also part of me that's thinking that there is so much going on that's just making everything more complicated than it needs to be.

Now I did like the ending oddly enough but it leaves more questions than anything else. Especially given who her parents are it feels a little like "let's put some random twist in this to keep it going" 😅 There were quite a few moments where I had to stop reading and calm down from the rage I felt at what happened and the ending was one of them 🤷‍♀️

I will obviously continue reading the series as there is loads of stuff I want answers to and I do like the story, but I would have preferred if it wasn't so many ups and downs in the books itself 😅

I love this series very much and the world Harper created. The heroine was more interesting in this book and again She won a place on my top badass females characters. What i like the most and enjoyed in each volume was the worldbuilding, with all the detailes and descriptions. I wasn't bored at all. So happy to have been able to read the Arc. Thank you very much NetGalley.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for approving me to read this early, I’m stuck between rating it 4.0-4.25 stars.

I am such a fan of these characters and this world, the growth of the story from book 1 to book 4 is insane. I really thought we were on the horizon of a conclusion this book, but alas I feel I am mistaken.

Caldris and Estrella romance is always a highlight for me even if this book put them on such separate paths, I will always hold out hope for them as end game living happily ever after.

The world further expands in this book following Estrella’s POV and it was dark, so many trials and tribulations I’m actually waiting on our girl to catch a break. This book had just as many secrets to be revealed as the other books.

I will be waiting on the next book impatiently.

I'm not actually sure how I want to review this, I did like this book and there was nothing bad about it but I just struggled to really get into it. I felt like I was reading it for weeks, I never really got hooked enough to binge read it sadly but nevertheless, I persisted, the story was interesting and intriguing but I guess I thought that the trials Estrella went through to be the entire story and that everything would be wrapped up in this book but even so I'm looking forwards to seeing how the next book plays out.

The end of this book was so good and it made me excited for the series to continue. The problem I had is that it took me sooooo long to get into the book and it felt like a chore until the last 25% The extra .5 star is Estrellas revenge on the lord. A scene that is truly diabolical!
Thank you netgalley for letting me read and review. 3.5*