In the Requiem (Metahuman Files #5)

Im in a quandry. As a reader, do I credit Hailey Turner a masterful manipulator of my emotions or a cheat? I loved the previous books in the series or I wouldnt have come this far (my favourite being Out of the Ashes*****). But, groomed from the start, each blurb until this last one warned of only a HFN conclusion so we readers were ready for the pending disaster and heartache to follow. Our only questions were who of our most beloved characters would bear the brunt of this tragedy and how, in this last gut-wrenching conclusion. I guess it wasnt so hard to pick the person who would leave the most characters reeling and vulnerable. I cried for hours as I read this book (yes, Im not a speed reader and its even harder when youre trying to read through a blur of tears). The grief of these characters was portrayed so poignantly that I was devastated along with them until I wasnt. I was played. This total devastation was a lie, one, I suspect, was anticipated right from the beginning. I know grief. When someone is taken so unexpectedly away it leaves you in a place of emptiness where you are caught and trapped in the never-ending cycle of misery and regret and loneliness and even anger. You feel your world collapse about you, where nothing but your misery matters. Your love is gone, and they will never come back. And you blame yourself for not having said all you needed to say or doing all that you should have done, and you blame them for going and leaving you so alone even if they couldnt help it. This is grief, and the author gave us a glimpse of that utter hopelessness. Only it wasnt hopeless. This is the cheat, the manipulation. If youre told your loved one has a chance, slim though it might be, you hold on to it with both hands, your teeth gritting tenaciously, and you dont let go until there is no other option. The human experience is hope, hope, hope even in the darkest of moments. This, I feel, was purposely never touched upon in order to drag out the last vestiges of our shredded emotions and then to spring on us the astonishing and ultimately relieving reveal. Dont get me wrong. Im glad for the ending, I just dont think I was taken on a completely honest journey in order to get there. In my mind these characters would have held on to that glimmer of hope with the fiercest and most unshakeable tenacity and these feelings were never given voice. You might ask, would I rather the character had die then? The answer would be no, of course not, but I would rather be presented with \’real\’ grief for a \’real\’ death instead of the faux manipulation this ultimately turned out to be.

Jamie is still letting his fathers campaign eat up his time. Still feeling the after effects of Boston, his fathers campaign for president is going under. All Jamie wants is to do his job with MDF and spend time with the love of his life Kyle. Kyle loves his life with Jamie and being on the same team as the man he adores. He only wishes he could wear his engagement ring out of the privacy of their home. They both are willing to wait for the future when that will happen. Alexei and Sean still recovering from their kidnapping and subsequent torture are still very much in love. Planning a future together, their friends betting on when they will get engaged. Their relationship on track, where flipping each other off means I Love You. The whole team knows something big is coming. Whether it\’s from the Sons of Adam, Declan Wolcott or Pavluhkin the precog or all three remains to be seen. Whatever it is it\’s going to be bad. When it happens the team is devastated. I can\’t even begin to say how emotional this book was for me. Tears, lots of tears, might even of been a sob or two. The author know exactly how to sink the reader into the story. Excellent storytelling.

Un-freaking-believable!! This book is the 5th in the series and once again it was hit out of the ballpark awesome, with plenty of twists, bad guys, sexy times and angst. A truly brilliant series ending that was wrapped up perfectly. Hailey knows how to write…and how to break you with her writing! The THING will have you in tears (which she proudly collects in her author mug…she is EVIL!!!) This has been a favourite series for me right from the start. I\’ve re-read it several times from beginning to end and it still takes my breath away with the complexity of the writing and the depth of world building. This is a must read book in a must read series!

Wow! I don\’t know what to say. It has been a roller coaster ride with the members of Alpha Unit. These characters are vibrant and real, metahuman or not. The secondary characters have been supportive of the storyline throughout the entire series and served their purpose well. There are no extraneous characters that I could find. The author snatched me into their world with the first book and led me, sometimes kicking and screaming, throughout the rest of the series. In the Requiem is a fitting finale for this series. It ties the threads of the storyline together, giving me satisfaction at the conclusion of the ongoing threat they have fought, and also sadness that I won\’t have more to look forward to from these characters about whom I\’ve come to care so much. I love the books so well that I viscerally hate the circumstances they find themselves in. I had a hard time shaking it off when I took a break from reading. I laughed with them. I fought their fights with them. I shook my fists and yelled out when they came up against seemingly insurmountable odds. I cried and cried through so much of this book. The heartwrenching pain of losing someone you love more than anything, and the constant reminders that surround them were almost more than I could bear. You know it\’s good when you feel ALL the emotions. Jamie and Kyle, as well as Alexi and Sean, are still firm in their love for each other and their hope for their future. Their passion has just grown stronger with time. The intimate interactions between each couple are off the charts hot and spicy, but I could also feel the love pouring off the pages. I look forward to more from this author, but it will be hard to top the Metahuman Files series.

All the stars – see them, all of them and then some. I want to give this book more than just the five stars here because it couldn\’t have been a more perfect ending to this series if it tried. Any book which gives me both a hot flush (and oh boy, the encounters in this one are especially volcanic) and can turn me into an emotionally wrecked, limp as a tea towel pathetic mess, almost sobbing while raging at the author at the same time, is more than a win in my book. Stories, and series\’ like this one, are why I read. They take me out of the everyday mundane normality into a world where it\’s completely believable that a member of the British Royal Family could be a secret metahuman ex-SAS operative, where people can not only fly, but where they can phase themselves out of sync with their surroundings and be practically invulnerable. They\’re believable not only because of the incredible level of world building and scene setting which has gone into them, but because I want it to be real – minus the evul Russian bratva and unhinged terrorist groups that is! I want there to be a team of superhumans all supporting themselves, their friends and their country. You won\’t find any plot details or spoilers in this review, In the Requiem requires complete story ignorance and even then, it\’s still an adrenaline filled ride which answers all the questions I had left for Alpha Team, their families and friends. Except for one. Hailey please tell me we\’re going to get Liam Wessex\’s full story at some point 🙂

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