Review – The Wicked Within (Gods and Monsters, Book 3) by Kelly Keaton (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: June 3, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1442493162
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Boundary Magic series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Ancient lore leads to present danger in the final book of this dark and sexy paranormal romance trilogy about a descendent of Medusa, set in a richly reimagined New Orleans.
Her fate is not set in stone.

Having temporarily defeated Athena, Ari races to break the gorgon curse that has plagued the women in her family for centuries. Her one lead sends her on a quest for the Hands of Zeus, an ancient relic last seen in the charge of New 2’s ruling elite, the Novem. But if there is one thing that Athena desires as much as revenge, it’s the Hands of Zeus—and Athena always gets what she wants.

Before either can locate the Hands, the statue goes missing, and a trail of blood follows those who once protected the relic’s secrets. Ari knows that her city, her friends, Sebastian—her life—depend upon her finding the statue before Athena. And with rumors that an ancient power is on the rise, the statue may not be her only concern…”

This was an excellent book in this series. I loved all the mythology and monsters that come out to play. This book does an excellent job in wrapping up the storyline followed in the first couple books.

There is a new storyline hinted at involving Athena’s son at the end of this book. However, given the reviews I am reading of Heart of Stone (book 4, and the majority of reviews are poor) I am going to consider this book the last in the series and move on. There is a rather large gap in time between The Wicked Within and Heart of Stone, so it seems like Heart of Stone was kind of an add-on maybe?

I enjoy Keaton’s writing style and the darker more edgy tone this series has when compared to other YA urban fantasy series out there. I also love how deeply mythology is woven into the story.

Overall this was an excellent conclusion to the storyline started in book one. I really enjoyed the world-building, the characters, the action, and the mythology. I would recommend to those who enjoy darker YA urban fantasy. This series reminds me a lot of the Demon Trappers series by Jana Oliver in tone.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge