Review – Wicked Ever After (Blud, Book 4) by Delilah S. Dawson (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk/Paranormal
Length: 177 pages
Publisher: Pocket Star
Release Date: October 5, 2015
ASIN: B00WRBQP0O
Stand Alone or Series: 4th book in the Blud series
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Ever since landing in the magical world of Sang and falling in love with dashing ringmaster Criminy Stain, Tish has been waiting for the axe to fall. Until her dying grandmother’s last breath on Earth, Tish can’t bring herself to give up her all-too human frailty and commit to life on Sang as a youthful, long-lived Bludman like her handsome husband. But when a peculiar twist of fate delivers Tish’s grandmother to Sang, an unexpected chain of events forces Tish and Criminy to embark on one last wild adventure. From old friends to new and into the lair of terrifying enemies, the couple’s love and longevity will be pushed to the brink by each harrowing encounter. Is blud thicker than blood, and can Tish and Crim find their wicked ever after?”

This is the final book in the Blud series and takes place after all the other books and novellas in this series. The story between Tish and Crim picks up where it left off in Wicked as They Come, with Tish refusing to become a Bludman because she wants to continue being able to visit her grandmother on Earth. Unfortunately this traveling between worlds has cursed Tish to age years for every day she’s away and she is quickly becoming an old woman.

I loved Criminy and his patience and determination with Tish. He is determined for her to come to terms with turning into a Bludman on her own and deals with her aging gracefully.

I found Tish to be rather irritating in the beginning of this book; with her grandmother in Sang Tish has absolutely no reason not to become Bludded yet she stubbornly hangs on to her humanity and makes life miserable for all. I also thought her expectations regarding her grandmother were a bit irritating as well. Her character takes a turn for the better in the 2nd half of the book. However, I still wonder what Criminy sees in her at times.

I love the world of Sang and am sad that there won’t be more books set here. I actually thought both the love scenes and the fight scenes were better written in this book than they were in the other full length Blud novels. Dawson seems to write excellent short stories and novellas; but when it comes to full length books her stories can lag a bit and that was not the case in this story.

Overall this was a well done story and very entertaining. It brings nice closure to the Blud series and I enjoyed it a lot. I will miss this world and I will miss the dashingly handsome and wicked Criminy Stain.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge
– Pick Your Genre (Steampunk) Reading Challenge