When I saw that this book finally existed, it was a major relief.  Mainly because I had already finished the previous four books and that that was it.  I was angry for days, weeks, months (I stopped counting) because book four ended on a massive cliff hanger and I wanted to scream.

So thankfully book five exists, and man oh man does it deliver.  Obviously as this is book five in a series, you do need to read the other four books to understand the overarching plot.  I promise, books 1-4 are just as worth it.

The main plot of this book centers around Mina, a shy timid girl with a stutter, and Wrune a Horde King od Dakkar.  The red mist is still thick in the area, suffocating all life.  Wrune is desperate to find an answer that will save his horde, and challenges himself by walking into the mist daily.  Mina, lives with a few humans and can somehow control the red mist.  She is tasked to lure the Horde King inside so he can be sacrificed.  While he is indeed captured, Mina has a change of heart.

I fell in love with these two characters and honestly actively started cheering for them.  And when Wrune would make a terrible, terrible mistake, I just wanted to slap him across the face and tell him to do better because he deserved better. 

The best part of this book was watching Mina grow.  At the start of the novel she is timid, she is scared, she stutters, and she tries her best to stay out of the way.  Even though she led to his capture, even Wrune is appalled by the abusive way of how she is treated.  In watching her grow, and come into herself you got to see the pieces of her character that were missing.  It was heart wrenching to see that her dream out of life was just to feel safe.  Then we get to travel with her as she realizes that her feeling safe is something she can control.  It is breathtaking. 

I am sitting here trying to think of the worst part of this book, and honestly it had to be that it ended.  One of the few times I will say that.  I loved essentially everything about this book, and I am looking forward to book six.

Overall –  This is an excellent book, but don’t start here.  To get the full scope of this novel you do need to read books 1-4 as well.    The characters are insanely well developed, the plot is mesmerizing, and you don’t need to love sci-fi to fall in love with this book.

Plot – 10/10

Characters – 10/10

Originality –  10/10

General Joy of Reading – 10/10

Overall Score – 40/40

Taken by the Horde King (Horde Kings of Dakkar Book 5) – Zoey Draven

Link – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09R4VNKXD/ref=ku_mi_rw_edp_ku

Cost* –  Kindle is $4.99 Paperback is $16.99 Book is included with Kindle Unlimited

*Cost is based upon what the book cost when book review is published