The Cursed King (Inferno Rising, 4)

Rating: 5 stars Steam: 3 flames Genre: Dragon Shifters / PNR

And then there was one remaining unmated phoenix left. Angelika… can she tame the broken, feral dragon shifter, Arik?

Oh. My. Goodness! This book was everything I had been waiting for since I first picked up The Rogue King and watched as each phoenix had found it’s true mate… and the battle for the true High King raged on. Now it is Angelika’s turn, but what will happen to the last unmated phoenix that has none of the special phoenix gifts.

Arik is “Broken. Cast aside. Forgotten.” After over 500 years in the Rotting King’s dungeon, with his dragon trapped, he no longer feels worthy of affection, love, or tenderness. His dragon is feral and a risk to all those around him. He feels he is expendable and he has one mission, to end the rotting king's reign.

Arik and Angelika together… WOW! Angelika is calm to Arik’s storm. The soothing balm to his soul, if he would just take a chance.But can he risk his dragon taking control and potentially ending the only good that has ever touched him?

The Cursed King takes us to the final battle between good and evil and the series has been leading to this moment. All our favorites are in this book, the sisters Kasia and her mate Brand, Skylar and her mate Ladon, Miera and her mate Samael, all ready to battle for what is right.

Once I started this final journey, I was fully engaged until I turned the final page. I laughed, cried, and my heart swelled with joy and heartache.

I do not want to spoil anything so I will leave you with this,,, the Inferno Rising Series is an amazing tale filled with secrets, suspense, sisterly love, and steam and The Cursed King was a fantastic conclusion to a series I never wanted to end. If you are looking for protective dragons, and the strong women that fall for them, this is your series! A five star series and a five star book in my opinion and I recommend this without hesitation!

This is the 4th and final book in the Inferno rising series, and while each book can be read as a standalone to get the most out of the series I would recommend reading the entire series in order. I loved the romance between Angelika and Arik.. There was so much chemistry and a whole lotta angst as Arik refuses to let himself feel anything for Angelika. So when they finally get together its so satisfying. Almost from the very first page its action packed, but everything ramps up even more the last few chapters. We are getting the end of the war between the dragons and King Pythos, after everything he has done he is finally going to get his comuppance.. and that ending was soo good.. Both of Abigail Owens dragon series have become fast favorites and I can't wait to see what else she writes..

"I do not fear you Arik Azdajah. Any part of you."

Angelika Amon, a dormant Phoenix refuses to stand on the sidelines, while her sisters and their dragon King husbands attempt to dethrone Pytherios, the High King. Ark Azdajah, a white dragon shifter, and rightful King to the White Dragon Clan fears that his dragon is feral, and can't be trusted not to harm others.. Angelika, and Ark are strongly attracted to each other, and Angel suggest a Mating to show a united front to the White Clan. Arik refuses fearing that his dragon is to unpredictable, even though every time he's near Angel, his dragon screams, "Mine!". What follows is plot within plot, betrayals, action packed battles scenes, as these two broken souls accept who they are, and triumph in the end to become who they're ment to be.

I started reading this series a week ago, and couldn't stop until I'd read all three. To say they were amazing doesn't quite do it. The storyline was perfect and all were well written. But the love between the 4 sisters was amazing. I've lost a sister and still feel loss. The mates of each one was also incredible, and I certainly wouldn't mind having any one of them. (Don't tell my husband 😁). Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that if you read it, you'll love it too.

Now THAT'S how you end a series. Wow. I stumbled into shifter romances, not sure what to expect. Thank gawd I stumbled into her Fire's Edge and Inferno Rising series. There were a lot of moving parts in the interrelated series, and I can't imagine the pressure to pull off this final book, but she nailed it. Airk and Angelika's love drew from the past, present and future and created a HEA beyond their love story. So sweet and satisfying right to the last word. Well done!

This book and the entire Inferno Rising series is a life, love, and death affirming masterpiece encompassed in a beautifully crafted paranormal romance. The Cursed King has a little bit of everything - sweet moments, fan your face steam, dangerous excitement, tragic pasts, cut throat and loyal supernatural creatures, strong family ties, nail biting fight and chase scenes, and even some chuckles, all set against the backdrop of the continuing war between dragon clans.

Airk and Angelika’s love story has all the feels - expect to gasp, to laugh, to grit your teeth, and to cry. When Airk was just a boy, he watched his parents and the White King and queen be murdered by Pytheios, the Red King. Following the murders, for five hundred years, Airk was imprisoned in the Red King’s dungeon. He escaped at the end of the previous book. Angelika, one of four Phoenix sisters, did not inherit any of the phoenix’s powers. All her sisters have powers and have mated with kings. She still wants to do her part despite her powerlessness and believes mating with Airk will help the fight against the Red King but Airk refuses believing he’s too dangerous. Due to his imprisonment and torture, he’s never shifted and as a result his dragon is feral. Airk and Angelika have a bit of a roller coaster ride to get to their HEA. It is definitely a c’mere, c’mere, c’mere, get away, get away, get away angsty dance.

Sprinkled throughout this beautifully paced story of Airk and Angelika’s HEA, we are given first person glimpses into Angelika’s phoenix sisters and their mates’ relationships. Other secondary characters from the first three books make cameo appearances as well. Rather than being overwhelming or detracting from the main storyline, these characters are central to moving the story along. The conclusion of the book and the series was different than what I was envisioning but it was well crafted to bring the whole conflict (including the parallel Fire’s Edge series) to a beautifully satisfying conclusion.

This is 4th and final book in the Inferno Rising series. It is a stand alone but the series has a story arc that weaves the books together. To get the full richness of the story I suggest you read them all.

I received this book free from the author.

Airk was imprisoned and tortured for so long that being free didn't feel free. He feared his dragon was feral since he hadn't been able to shift in half a millennium, so what kind of king could he be. At times, he thinks he should have never left his prison as it would be safer for those around him.

Angelika is the last of her sisters to find her mate, but she's the only one with no powers so she doesn't expect to have a mate. She decides to offer herself to Airk for political leverage, something he doesn't want in the first place. They are both broken and he feels they'd just break each other further. However, she disagrees.

"If you thought I was bossy before..."

When Angelika sets her mind to something she doesn't give up, and the more time she spends around Airk the more she falls for him. Airk on the other hand, just when you think he's warming up he flips to cold again. Mostly he does it because he wants to protect her, but she doesn't know that. Why couldn't she just love Jedd, the wolf shifter who she'd grown up with? He loved her and would protect her no matter what...even if her heart belonged to someone else. Instead, she was in love with a stubborn dragon shifter or wouldn't shift.

"The man was a mass of contradictions. F*** her but don't talk to her after. Bring her the most shattering pleasure, ignore her, then protect her. Put himself between her and whatever happened next."

The Cursed King continues where the Warrior King left off. Three of the phoenix sisters are now mated, leaving only Angelika. Pytheios is still reeking havoc. He decides he wants Angelika for his own, but she has everyone helping to protect her, and he'll finally get what's coming to him. As with the first three books in Inferno Rising series this one doesn't disappoint. It's an interesting read that has just enough suspense to keep you engrossed in what will happen next.

Great ending to the set of four books. Wonderful world of supernatural creatures. It drug just a little in a couple of areas but I knew it was going to pull out of doing so based on what a wonderful writer Abigail Owen is. Justice, fairness, revenge, mercy and kindness was served. I loved the dragon world created in these books. Phoenixes too. And werewolves. And gargoyles. And Hellhounds. And witches. Not to mention a few I’ve never heard of.

3 stars - I liked it

Airk Azdajah, the rightful King of the White Clan, has spent hundreds of years being tortured by the false High King Pytheios. He may be free now but his dragon is no longer stable. When Angelika comes into his life, he wants her more than anything but is too afraid to take the chance.

This was a great conclusion to this series. Angelika has been the one sister we have barely learned anything about because she has been hiding with the wolves and hasn’t really shown any phoenix abilities. Angelika was a very compassionate woman who is determined to help unite the dragon clans and bring peace. I loved her dedication to helping people. She really cared about everyone, but also wasn’t afraid to kill someone if necessary. I liked that she was always supporting Airk, even when he was being dumb.

Airk is a man who has finally found his freedom but is still caged in a way. His dragon is unstable and he can’t shift because of it. It make him angry, antisocial, and, at times, very dumb. I liked Airk but I didn’t love how he was constantly pushing Angelika away.

The war against Pytheios finally ends. It was an action packed battle with a lot of casualties and near misses for both sides. I think it was a great ending and loved how the dragons gained allies and are changing for the good. I wasn’t surprised at all by how important Angelika ended up being in this battle because I always knew she was destined for more than hiding with the wolves.

Overall, this was a great ending for this series. I enjoyed seeing the four sisters fall in love and help bring together the dragons.

Trigger Warnings: Arik was held prisoner and tortured.