Redemption

Demon Spring #3

by S. Usher Evans

Jack has been taken to the Underworld by Bael. With no other options, Cam and Anya set off to Mexico City to tangle with the noxes, hoping to charm or fight their way into a second gateway to the demonic lands. But once there, Lotan, the son of the slain original nox demons, has different plans. He wants Bael dead, releasing the iron grip he has on both the human world and demon one--and Anya's the only one with the power to do it. But does she have the will?

The final book in the Demon Spring trilogy takes readers deeper into the demonic Underworld and into Anya's past.

366 pages, Paperback

Published August 7, 2018

About the author

S. Usher Evans is an author, blogger, and witty banter aficionado. Born in Pensacola, Florida, she left the sleepy town behind for the fast-paced world of Washington, D.C.. There, she somehow landed jobs with BBC, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic Television before finally settling into a "real job" as an IT consultant. After a quarter life crisis at age 27, she decided consulting was for the birds and rekindled a childhood passion for writing novels. She sold everything she owned and moved back to Pensacola, where she currently resides with her two dogs, Zoe and Mr. Biscuit.

Reviews

[Vikki Chi-Mera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series. It started off a little slow but that was due to the whole demon thing. Once I got past it then I started enjoying the characters and the story line. I'm a huge fan of Ms. Evans.
I have hard time putting any of her books down or walking away from them.

[Chels · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love when a series leaves me satisfied. That doesn't mean every single loose end was tied up but there was enough for me to be happy with how everything ended up.

I'm always a big fan of character development and this series had a lot of it. Jack grew so much and I loved how he wasn't the typical "stupid" protagonist. It's better to leave the dead alone and I was SO happy he knew that. Cam will forever be my favourite and I liked how her story ended. Not perfectly but with hints of something more for her. There were times I wanted to scream at Anya but she was honestly a very realistic character. It's hard to overcome what she went through but you see her slowly push forward throughout the whole series. Even Bael, as horrible as he was, started making me feel a little bad for him. Just a little though. Plus we got to see some new characters (I'm thinking of one very specific one) and they added so much more to this story.

Plot-wise it could be a teeny bit predictable at times but somehow the characters would make decisions I didn't think they would. While the plot and word building is strong, I think it was the characters that really brought this book and series to life.

**I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences my review. **

[Energy (Rae's Reading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

So-many-feels!

I will be so insanely vague about this because I don’t want to spoil where this one went. Even though Cam did something that was so completely out of character for her, I adored that she did it (and wish it would have stuck). I loved her new connection to Anya, and I’m hoping this friendship will last because both of them could use more friends.

The entire journey was so much fun because it mostly took place in the Underworld. I love Sush’s imagination, from the details of each different land to the castles, it was all highly imaginative. This series is addicting, and rumor has it, Sush is working on more books for this (which is insanely exciting). You can leave this series feeling like it’s complete, but then you can also see that there can be more in the future. So I’m excited about the prospect of more because I absolutely adore Cam, Jack, Anya, and Lotan (whom I definitely need more of).

This has been such a fun journey, the writing is excellent, and I finished the book feeling such a sense of happy. An insanely fun series with another home run for Evans.

[Robyn Bennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been loving S. Usher Evan’s novels since The Island, and I legit think they’re getting better with every new book. Redemption wowed me with its depth of characters, page-turner pacing, sparkling dialogue, and gripping action. This is a perfect, satisfying end to the Demon Spring trilogy.

[Jen Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This final book in the Demon Spring trilogy was not what I expected. That’s not necessarily a bad thing–it gave me all the resolution I needed and an HEA that I wanted–just not on the path I anticipated. One of the things that attracted me to the first book was the male main character, Jack, and a set-up that I haven’t seen before in Urban Fantasy. All the great world-building is still in place and we’re still working toward the same goal, only Jack isn’t the main character anymore… and I missed him.

To be fair, Jack’s best friend, Cam, and his love interest, Anya, have always featured prominently. I’ve said before how much I liked the strong platonic relationship between Jack and Cam and she is quite the firecracker. But she kind of takes Jack’s place here. This is definitely Cam and Anya’s book as they team up to rescue Jack from the clutches of Bael. We see him in some cut-scenes, but the idea of him played a bigger role than the character himself. Again, not bad, but different.

Cam takes over as the voice of reason in Anya’s life. While Jack tried to gently cajole her into recognizing the destructive nature of her relationship with Bael, Cam comes at it with her no-nonsense style. She’s not there to pussy-foot around; she is there to save her friend. And she’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

The women end up traveling into the demon world and Anya must confront her former life as well as some difficult truths about Bael’s lies. The arc for her was a little difficult to read at times, with the mindset she has of a victim, but she does get to where she needs to be. And perhaps, moving her through it any faster wouldn’t have rang true.

Cam, meanwhile, gets an unexpected man of her own, which was a fun surprise. I wish they hadn’t thrown around the L-word so fast, but you can’t have everything. At least somebody was getting some action.

I wish I got to savor Bael’s end a little more. There was a lot of build, but when the time came it went quicker than I would have liked. And I was a little sad about the Jack and Cam resolution. But I can recognize that all the characters ended up where they needed to be and ultimately, I walked away satisfied.

Would recommend this series for fans of Urban Fantasy, but you need to start with book one, Resurgence. Be careful, all the titles sound alike, but it’s important to begin at the beginning. I’m not sure how much you would enjoy jumping on in the middle of the ride.

Rating: B

*ARC provided by author

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic ending to this trilogy!!!
Visiting the underworld was quite fascinating!
There's so much that I loved about this book, here are a few:
CAM!!! Cam is my favorite!!! She is strong, tough, very loyal to her friends, willing to do whatever she has to do to save them.
Jack - seeing him grow so much over the course of this series. Dealing with the death of his wife and learning to move on. Managing to hang on to himself even after the way Bael tortured him.
Lotan and Freyja - learning there is so much more to them than we had been led to believe.
The tension leading up to the final battle!
I loved the way everything was wrapped up!! I have a hard time when a series finishes only to leave you with more questions than answers.

[Alice (Alice's Book Vault) · Rating 4 out of 5]

a wonderful conclusion to a fantastic series. I highly recommend checking this series out if you're into urban fantasy.

[Amna the_book_witch_of_hogwarts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This trilogy got better and better!! I’m totally in love with the Demon Spring Trilogy! I was overwhelmed the moment I set my hands on the third book.

Character development was amazing! Each and every character involved were playing the best within their space. The moment I finished reading it, I just didn’t have enough words to describe my happiness! The end was astonishing!! Sometimes I found myself smiling sheepishly while reading! The feels!!! Whoa! (Not to say that I cried during certain incidents)

Let me talk about each and every one!

Starting with Jack, his bravery was appreciable. No one would hold that strong to an emotional torture. What Bael did to him was unbearable. He held, he believed in his love. That is something no man would do!

Cam, the change of her character was super interesting to read. It was so brave of her to change into something she hates just because she wanted to save her friend. She and Lotan!! I ship Cam and Lotan yaass!!! Her bravery in front of Bael and other demons were extraordinary. Cam was my favourite character by the time I finished reading the series. I love her soo much!!!

Anya, I really do appreciate her for standing on her own at the end. She fought for him! That’s all we expect from our loved ones. For fight for us. I was screaming the moment I knew she was….. Well ... I’d not say read it for yourself.

You may hate me for this but I felt bad for Bael. I was developing a crush on this villain! And wham!!! He’s ….. That’s too bad. Isn’t it?

This trilogy is one of the best Urban Fantasies I’ve read so far! The way it enlightened me about the good and bad which lies within the human beings.

“”I believe evil still lives in men’s hearts, and not all demons are full of their supposed sin. You, my dear, do not strike me as a prideful woman.”
Anya half – smiled. “I used to be”.
“Yes, but then you did something else. Choices my dears, are what makes a life.” "

This conversation is filled with truth and honesty. I loved this exact part of the book very much.
The end was epic! It was more than I expected. I would recommend this trilogy to all the fantasy lovers.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m sooooooooo frustrated. AGAIN.

Why did Anya magically come back all brand new and happy pants and wearing sundresses and all “Poof problems solved!!!” NOOOOO THAT IS NOT HOW THIS WORKS SHE SHOULD HAVE DIED.

*calming down*

This was definitely the best book of the trilogy. The underworld was sooo much more inviting and fascinating than the human world. I loved the drama and pacing and the general jive of all the characters. They all had such meat to them and if you wanted, you could probably read this book several times over just trying to unpack it all.

But I just.... *sigh* This is not how grief and depression and suicide work. I think Anya was ready to die? And I think given how she only barely overpowered Bael (who seemed suddenly so weak in his final moments that I wonder why Anya was the only one who could kill him supposedly?), she would have chosen to move on to death. I think it would have been a peaceful idea for her. I just don’t buy that someone that fucked over and suicidal would have actually found Jack enough to reason to come back, especially when I think deep down she doesn’t believe it would work out in the end.

And same with Jack. He seems so magically cured at the end when in reality I think he’d be on a huge arsenal of pills and therapy and SOS HELPPP. There really is no getting over loss in life. It haunts you forever. So to see him go through that and then suffer Bael’s torture on top of it? No way home boy comes through that. No wayyyyy!!! Realistically he would be miserable for the rest of his life and probably slip even further down the hole with Cam now leaving him behind too.

I’m probably projecting way too much of my own pessimistic mental health issues into these characters, but it really was nice to see a story tackle some tougher issues and have such a rollercoaster finale. I was sad Frog Man died. He was cool.

Also...... Cam x Anya would have been the best plot twist ever, just saying. They had some HEAT. ;)

(Don’t hate me, Sush, I have problems 🙏🏻)

[Kristin Wallin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The finale to the series does not disappoint. A big showdown was inevitable, but how it comes about will have the reader turning the pages (or swiping the screen eagerly).

As the cover suggests, the ladies are taking the lead in getting things done in this novel. As much as we love Jack, it's great to see what Cam is capable of and from her own perspective. She and Anya make a formidable team, as they would need to be to storm the Underworld.

However, even more important than the action or romance is the overall arc of the story, which is about self-sacrifice and the possibility of redemption for one’s sins and mistakes made. It is the human element that truly makes this a story worth reading.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each book in this series just gets better and better! Not only is there always a great action story and wonderful character development, but in each book you find out more and more about the mythology of this universe and its creatures. There's nothing not to love.

[Lilivette · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you thought that Resurgence and Revival were good, just wait until you get your hands on this amazing conclusion to the Demon Spring Trilogy. The story that developed through this book was fun, intense and just plain awesome! Even though I suffered in some parts—especially with my boy Jack and his torture—I have to admit that I still loved this book, and I can easily name three reasons why: Colibrí, Polluelo and noxes! I really enjoyed seeing Colibrí and Cam meet and deal with each other after the ending of the last book. But what I enjoyed the most about it was the secrets we get to uncover about Bael and about Colibri’s past life as Bael’s Lady of Destruction (and the reasons behind that). There was action, blood, suspense and even a newfound romance in this last installment, which helped it become a great bloody ending for this series. I really loved every second of it—especially the ones Colibrí and Cam spent together fighting and the sacrifices they both made in order to save Jack.

As Bael’s schism in Atlanta closed after he took Jack with him, Camila and Colibri are on their way to Mexico City, searching for another way into the underwold; through the noxes. Once they reached Mexico City, they stayed at Cam’s grandma’s place and then they went to meet the noxes at their little palace. But honestly, the most important and fascinating settings were the ones in the underworld. Since Jack is trapped in Bael’s castle, we get to visit the treacherous place again, but besides that, we also get to visit the Nox lands, and make our way through them until we reach the Kappa territory, from where we part until we reach the lilin’s Castle; we basically travel through almost all of the underworld and seing how different, magnificent and dark things were all throughout it was great. We also got to visit the no-man’s-land from the underworld and boy was that intense. In the end, every place and we traveled through and visited was new, fresh and unique and they all served their purpose right.

Since this book is told from three POV’s, we get to meet quite a handful of old and new characters and enjoy them through different sets of eyes. We had Jack, Camila and Anya as the main characters, and then we get to meet again with Oce, Angela and Bael. Then we got to meet with the new ones such as: Lotan, Juana, Lazlo, Cerberus, Freyja, Izel and many more! They were all very enjoyable and I wish I could’ve known more and spent more time with them!

In the end, Redemption was a wonderful conclusion to the demon spring series and it was even better than I expected it to be. S. Usher Evans did a great job with this conclusion—as usual with her books—and I can’t wait for whatever she has in store for us next!