With These Last Breaths by Vanessa Rasanen is the final book in the Aisling Sea trilogy; however, not the final book in this world as this author plans on having a new series called Immortal Reveries that takes place in this world, which will be a collection of interconnected stand-alones. But it will take place beyond the Aisling Sea, as the conflict here has been resolved, and the main characters are setting out in different directions.
Synopsis
Every journey must end… one way or another.
And in Declan’s experience, that usually means death.
Death of his enemies. Death of his friends.
Their one hope of surviving is in the hands of a man he wants to see suffer… even if it means letting the darkness within take over.
But even if he retrieves the dagger, he could still lose everything.
He could still lose her.
He may not be good enough-he may not deserve her-but he’s not about to let her go.
Not without a fight.
Book Details
- Published: August 15, 2023
- Page Count: 496 pages
- Genre: Fantasy Romance
Thoughts on With These Last Breaths
This story takes place after the previous with Declan having just been rescued from the sound by his crew and Aoife, and Maura has been taken by her sisters to go help with the war in the south. Something that Maura didn’t want to do since it meant leaving Tommy. They also left with no explanation of why Maura was leaving Tommy behind immediately after she got with him. And the magical dagger they are after is now in Callum’s hands, who is delights in causing cruelty to others. While back in Cregah, Cait isn’t sure who to trust after Adler “exiled” her best friend Lucan.
So, the large majority of the book focuses around these plots:
- Aoife and Declan figuring out to trust each other, while Declan struggles with the consequences of what happened in the sound after being forced to kill a member of his crew and almost killing Aoife. And Declan struggling to accept that Aoife has forgiven him and loves him.
- This also results in Gavin acting out and not listening to Declan’s orders, since Gavin was the cousin of Collins, who Declan killed under the control of the Siren Queen. So, there’s a lot of tension between the two.
- Cait stops trusting everyone in the Rogues besides Adler, Lucan, and Kira as the council has a spy within her ranks. Due to this lack of trust, the council discovers her waiting for Adler to leave and ends up torturing her.
- Maura is working to get back to Tommy and has to get around her oldest sister’s control in order to do so. Not to mention, she has to make sure they stop somewhere that the Siren’s Song crew would pass by on their way back to Cregah.
- Retrieving the dagger needed to put a stop to the council then bringing it back to Cregah. However, they can’t outright take it due to the dagger’s magic. It either has to be freely given or the owner has to double-cross someone.
They manage to do each of these, which brings everyone together on Cregah where they have to defeat Aoife’s mother. However, if the odds weren’t already in their favor, the King has arrived with a fae who can use phantom hands to pluck objects out of the air or force individuals to remain in one place. Not to mention, the dagger isn’t extremely helpful against the one who created it. So, they can’t use that magic to their benefit. I won’t say how they managed to defeat the odds, but they did.
So each of the couples in the end get their happily ever after/happily for now. As who knows if they all work out after the book or all survive long as some are heading off to war while others are living the life of pirates. I like to think they do survive and continue to be together. One couple also decides to settle down in the north. I won’t say who does what, so if you read the book it’s not completely spoiled.
The spice level in this book has increased as the couples finally all get together. However, I wouldn’t call it explicit by any means. But there’s plenty of scenes between each of the three couples. Which was something we didn’t get a whole lot of in the precious books as it was a slow burn. Like three books in the making slow burn, but the pay out was good as each couple realized what/who they wanted. Tommy and Maura once reunited waste no time picking up where they left off, despite Maura leaving with no explanation. Declan and Aoife took things slow as Declan had to figure out that Aoife could accept all sides of him, so once he showed her that darker side, he was able to get over those doubts. While Cait and Adler finally gave in to their attraction after Cait learns that Adler is on her side. So, the two learn how to get past their heartbreak and be there for each other.
Overall, I’d give With These Last Breaths a 4.25 out of 5 stars. I seriously enjoyed this series and can’t wait for the next one. I wonder if the characters who aren’t settling down will make an appearance since it’s taking place where the Fae are still at war in the south.
Love ya,
Mae Polzine
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