Third Debt by Pepper Winters

Third Debt by Pepper Winters

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?! What the heck was that? That wasn’t a cliffhanger. I’m not hanging from a cliff here! I’m sliding down the mother-freaking summit to end all mother-freaking summits!!! I understand how Jethro feels because I feel like I’ve been buried under an avalanche of emotions. I’m overwhelmed, yet numb. My mind has been boggled.

Third Debt is an intense series of highs and lows. I don’t want to call it an emotional rollercoaster because there’s not a lot of happiness found within and what bits of happiness do occur are tainted by the darkness that pervades the Hawks. It’s a bad case of whiplash in the very best way. This installment picks up right where Second Debt ended, with Nila’s liberation from Hawksridge Hall. Nila has no understanding of the repercussions her departure will cause and as awareness sets in before she has even left the grounds she tries to return to Jethro but is unable to. As Nila learns yet again that she has absolutely no control over her life, Jethro is forced to face his failure in collecting the debts. Cut’s cruelty knows no bounds, but he attempts to convince Jethro (and the reader) that he does love his son as he offers Jethro an alternative. Yet all are aware that there is no choice being given, rather Jethro’s trading of one cage for another.

As the third debt must be paid, it is obvious that Nila must return to Hawksridge. And while she does so with a plan, she underestimates Cut’s cunning and finds herself in a worse situation than in the beginning. The level of detachment and coldness that Jethro displays in Third Debt exceeds that of previous installments, yet Cut’s cage proves to be an unworthy opponent in the face of Nila’s love. But a woman in love can only endure so much abuse of her heart, body, and trust before that love is snuffed out and the third debt promises to do just that … cut the tie that binds Nila and Jethro once and for all. Yet again I found myself disgusted by the Weaver ancestor’s behavior that led to the third debt. Honestly, I’m not sure whose depravity disgusts me more – the Weaver ancestor or Cut and Daniel. Granted, Kes and Jethro are not innocent in their actions, but they don’t take pleasure in collection of the debts the same way that Cut and Daniel do. And that ending. I have not felt the fear for Nila in any of the installments that I do now for her. I see the Fourth Debt as a train wreck (and I’m not talking about the writing) – I don’t want to be witness to the horrifying events that are soon to become a part of Nila’s life and yet I can’t NOT see them. I HAVE to know what comes next. I have to know if the ending of Third Debt is as it appears or not. I take nothing for granted when it comes to Ms. Winters’ writing and thus begins the countdown to the Fourth Debt AND the Final Debt. Fingers don’t fail me now.

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!

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