Epic battles rage in Avalon as Laurel, Tamani, David, and Chelsea struggle to protect the faerie realm from the venomous wrath of Klea in this conclusion to the Wings series. Pike pulls together a number of loose ends and stray characters in a satisfying finale, and her future-oriented postscript (like Rowlings in the final Harry Potter volume) raises some interesting questions about humanity and magical knowledge.

The bloom is off the rose in the conclusion of a paranormal romance featuring faeries who are, biologically, plants. At first (Wings, 2009; Spells, 2010), blond, zitless Laurel seemed idealized but unique: Laurel oozes sap (not blood) when injured, and the prose likewise was pleasant and refreshingly non-angsty for the genre. By this fourth volume, however, any freshness has faded. Four friends--faeries Laurel and Tamani, humans David and Chelsea--fight to defend idyllic Avalon against renegade faeries and ugly trolls. David wields Excalibur, echoing King Arthur, though the Arthurian theme never jells. Cliché ("A true hero knows love is more powerful than hate") and purple prose ("A single tear, glistening in the moonlight, slid down her porcelain cheek") sprout up, overwhelming vivid images and one particularly clever textual misdirection. Despite claiming a "deadly fast-forward" pace, fight scenes drag. Laurel hopes her love triangle will become a neat square (with David finally noticing Chelsea), but just before--before--a strong closing chapter, Pike interrupts with an Author's Note, counseling, "if you prefer your endings happy… maybe you should stop reading here." This bizarre Note disrupts the fiction and sabotages the last chapter's emotional power--and its content. With mediocre exposition and with battles superseding the previous volumes' fluttery abstinence-romance scenes, this won't attract new fans, but it will gratify loyal followers by providing closure. (Paranormal romance. 13 & up)

In the fourth and final novel in the series that began with Wings (2009), the action begins fast and furious and never really stops. In fact, in its plotting, the story has a great deal more in common with action video games than most books. The characters move from dangerous situation to dangerous situation toward the final climax with only the slightest of lulls in between. It all comes down to the heroine, Laurel, and her fae and human friends (and love interests) fighting their nemesis Klea for the very existence of the faeries' realm, Avalon, which lies behind a secret portal in California. Klea is a bit of a stock villain fallen faerie who likes experimenting with the basic components of fae DNA a bit too much. Laurel herself is cast as similarly talented with potions, and she gets to prove just how good she can mix them up at the end. Obviously a must-read-now deal for fans. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Boosted by fans like Stephenie Meyer, this series has been a perennial best-seller, and the advertising and tours around this one should make it four for four.