ARC Review: When Death Frees the Devil by L.J. Hayward

From the Blurb:

Ethan is finally free. He’s left the Cabal behind and embraced a civilian life with Jack, the man he loves. The only problem is that the Cabal isn’t willing to let him go. A call in the middle of the night and a threat to Jack’s family, and Ethan is back in the game. The only way out is to take on the organization that spent years warping his life. 

Jack’s boyfriend has a way of vanishing on him, but this time Ethan’s disappearance is more frightening than ever. A trail of mysterious clues, a hit against his family, and the handprint of the Cabal on everything means the greatest test of love and determination Jack has ever endured. 

Torn apart by forces greater than they are, Jack and Ethan must fight harrowing battles to get back to each other. The Cabal is the greatest foe either of them has had to face. Ethan is willing to throw away everything to bring an end to the Cabal’s evil. And Jack is willing to do the same to make sure Ethan comes out the other side alive.

Ky's rating:

*5 well-deserving stars*

Third and last (?) book for this amazing series and it was every bit as good as what we're used to getting from this author!

Jack and Ethan are back and they're in trouble once more. Ethan is trying to bring down the people who have harmed so many young lives in the name of an experiment and in an effort to gain money and power. It's not an easy feat but Ethan has always been the odd one out so if anyone can do it, it should be him. Plus, now he has something to lose...


The story once again has the characteristic back and forth that L.J. Hayward is known for and once more it took me a few chapters to get used to it. I was kind of confused about the timeline because in addition to the back and forth here there were also two sets of voices - yes, we have Ethan as a narrator again! - who each told his part in the story. But, the thing is that, for a big part of the book, Jack and Ethan didn't have any common scenes so it was even more challenging than usual to figure out the order of the events.

However, everything worked great with the way the book was set up, as it always does. The exact same story wouldn't have the same effect if it was told differently. The suspense, the wondering, the excitement. Everything was hightened by the back and forth.

I could have done with a little less page time for the fighting scenes but that's minor considering how explosive the story was. The series truly ended with a bang and the waiting for it was well worth it. I wish there will be some more scenes in the future about Jack and Ethan and maybe for once we can see them relaxing together and doing everyday "couple" stuff.

The ending was simply perfect. I don't want to spoil anything but I will say that someone from a previous book is appearing again and is making Ethan very very happy!

I can't wait to see what this author will up with in the future!




An ARC of this book was kindly provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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