Review: 4.5 Stars for the perfect ending to the series that captivated me with this sadistic and masochistic couple.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 27, 2013
For complete review with quotes, visit romanticreadingescapes (dot) netThe cruel s.o.b. that I love to hate and hate to love, Gage Channing, is back a changed man. Oh, he's not so changed that he's no longer cruel...he's just different. He's still the Master, but the Master with a less black heart. The setting is a year later, but The Devil's Salvation: Final Epilogue picks right up at the exact spot that Retribution (The Devil's Kiss #3) ended. Before reading this book, it is important that you read The Devil's Kiss Trilogy, as these books must be read in order.I was pleading for Gage and Kayla's story to continue after the open ending in Retribution. I was so invested in this dark series and left with unanswered questions. Those questions and so many more about Gage's history are answered in this final installment of the series.Gemma James takes us farther into Gage and Ian's past with surprising revelations as to when and where Kayla actually came to be the focus of attention. I like that Kayla is even stronger in this installment; she stands her own with the controlling and demanding Gage Channing. I understood Kayla's choices and really loved the growth of her character throughout the series, but most evident in this final installment. Knowing that Gage is capable of inflicting harsh and incomprehensible punishments -- many times being unwarranted -- Kayla still pushes him to the breaking point by asking questions of his past and challenging his confessions of love.The relationship between Gage and Kayla is tumultuous, dysfunctional, and the control has shifted from the previous installments. Gage is still just as controlling, but Kayla seems to have the upper hand and exerts her own demands throughout the book. As hard as she tries to deny her feelings, knowing that Ian is perfect for her and Gage borders on the same treatment of her that her ex-husband exhibited, she craves the malfunction and depravity she has with Gage.There is nothing "normal" about Gage and Kayla in my definition of normal, but their abnormal and deviant behavior is their normal, and it works for them. There are a few surprises in this book, one in particular toward the ending that brings Gage to an all time cruelty and made me want to go all Exlax on his tail with the toe of my boot. I think I wanted to kick Kayla even more for sticking around, but then I understood her position and feelings and would have acted the same way...maybe...probably. How sick and depraved does that make me?There is a sliver of humanity in Gage that comes out in this book, and I welcomed it. After the dark and inhumane treatment he gave Kayla in past installments, this fragment was a piece of Gage I wanted...something I knew, like Kayla, was just beneath the surface.Gemma James has delivered the perfect ending to the series that captivated me with this sadistic and masochistic couple. As always with this author's writing, The Devil's Salvation: Final Epilogue is flawlessly written and reaches into the depths of the reader's psyche, eliciting acceptance of the bizarre and preternatural conduct of the dark and cruel world of the Master, Gage Channing. If you haven't visited the Devil's den, I recommend you follow the journey of this woman who lost so much to gain everything she never knew she needed and wanted.