[ARC Review] Last Resort by Amelia Wilde

"There's spending two weeks with a man who's kidnapped you. And then there's spending the rest of your life with the man you love."

When we last saw Daphne, her family had just forcibly removed her from Emerson's house. But stuck inside Leo's gilded cage isn't helping Daphne cope with the sudden loss of the man she loves. Their relationship may have been messed up from the very beginning, but it had morphed into something so much more. As both souls struggle to be without each other, both families soon realize that these two messed up individuals thrive around each other and together is where they truly belong. 

I honestly have both positive and negative things about the conclusion to The Collector Trilogy. Starting with the positives: 

I loved that Wilde really dove into the reasons why both Daphne and Emerson were messed up in their own ways. The issues that were mentioned in the previous books full come to light in this third installment and both Emerson and Daphne face their histories head on. Wilde doesn't sugar coat their issues; everything is presented as the hard truths that people unfortunately have to deal with on a daily basis. I liked that Emerson recognized that his issues might not be compatible with Daphne's life, and he was willing to give up what he wanted if it meant letting her live her best life. This was so far removed from the Emerson that we met in the first book, and I loved that growth during his character arc. And while Daphne was coming into her own by Emerson's side, there was quite a bit of discussion revolving around panic attacks and we see a good bit of that on-page during Emerson's POV. Both main characters fought through their struggles out of love for the other person, and I liked that Wilde addressed all of that head on. 

However, as much as I enjoyed seeing how far both Emerson and Daphne had come since book one, there were a few things that I didn't particularly care for: 

I had such a hard time emotionally connecting with either main character in this book. I didn't have that issue in the previous two books, but for some reason neither of their journeys really resonated with me this time around. I actually think I connected more with their siblings than I did either Daphne or Emerson. There was also some of Daphne's internal dialogue that really threw me off and took me out of the story; I don't want to give away the scene itself, but Daphne had some very troubling thoughts when it came to men in general and men's actions in specific situations. Some of Daphne's conclusions were not things that I can personally support, and seeing those types of thoughts propagated in the story really affected my feelings on Daphne. 

Of course, these thoughts and feelings are my own, and other readers may read things differently. But, for me, I loved seeing how the characters grew in this part of the trilogy but I just couldn't connect with them as well as I could in the previous books. I am glad that Emerson and Daphne could finally get their happily ever after; they both deserve the happiness and peace they could only find with each other. Overall, I recommend this book (and the trilogy) for people who love darker romances that don't shy away from the heavier topics. 

A huge thank you to the author and Candi Kane PR for providing a review copy of Last Resort. 

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Release date: 3/22/22
Format: eARC
eARC provided via: Candi Kane PR