Throne of Truth by Pepper Winters

I will try my best to make this review spoiler-free as possible but there will be spoilery quotes. I would also like to thank Pepper Winters and her team for providing me with an ARC.

Pepper Winter's Truth and Lies series was a thoroughly provocative read start to finish. Throne of Truth picks off right after Crown of Lies and readers will be in for an exhilarating ride that will leave you breathless and on the edge of your seats. You'll be terrified for the characters and you'll be clueless to their fates. How can it possibly end well with so many secrets, lies, and enemies? The only way to find out the truth is to read Penn and Elle's entire story, all the way to the end.

Penn Everett is a fantastic hero and I wish I got to know more about his past, his motivations, and his dreams. While we did get a brief glimpse of that in Throne of Truth, I wanted to know more. I sympathized with him and hated those who got in his way. I was angry at Elle for her lack of trust. I was on Team Penn.

Pepper Winters absolutely knows how to write her suspense well. In fact, I believe it might be one of the best parts about this book. It was an intoxicating ride since the first page and I was immediately gripped by Elle's predicament. I had so many feelings while reading this book: Fear, anger, sadness, happiness for a short time, and of course, relief when it was all over. There's no denying Penn and Elle's explosive chemistry and as always, Pepper Winters knows how to demonstrate such sexual tension and lust across the pages. The love scenes definitely had me hot and bothered, that's for sure.

"I'm going to take away all your control. I'll fuck you the way I want to fuck you. I'll look after you while I ruin you. I'll protect you while I hurt you—just like I promised that first night. I'll take everything you have to give. We play rough. We love hard. We live every fucking fantasy."

Although I fully believe in Penn and Elle's love for one another, I did feel like the romance wasn't as developed compared to Pepper's previous books. Not enough time was spent between the two for me to fully immerse myself in their relationship. Elle also became a frustrating point for me because of her lack of trust and sometimes her inability to do anything. To be fair, however, she did try her best to turn the situation around and eventually got better in the end.

"He completed me. I wanted him. I wanted him inside me. I wanted him for all eternity."

While I didn't exactly have any problems with the book overall, I did get bored at one point and wanted more action. Time skips, fillers, and the waiting game are not my favorite things in the world, even when they're needed. I was disappointed the villains didn't get what was coming for them, sort of. At least it felt like they got off easy compared to the things they did to our couple. In any case, these were just minor things and will absolutely not take away the enjoyment of this book.

Overall, I thought Throne of Truth was a wonderful conclusion to Penn and Elle's story. Sure, the bad guys don't always get what was coming for them but at least our couple is alive, happy, and looking forward to the future. The epilogue was also very sweet and romantic—perfect for our couple who has been through a lot.  I can't wait for Pepper Winter's next book and I'm dying for her return to the world of the Dollars series!

Rating: ★★★★☆