The Grip of Death

Arcane Hearts, Book 8

By: Nazri Noor

Narrated by: Zachary Johnson

Wedding bells. Death knells.

Jackson Pryde and Xander Wright are hard at work preparing for their upcoming wedding. Good thing they have everything they need right in the Black Market, whether it’s an enormous cake or the perfect wedding rings.

Jack is working on an incredible project, too: an arcane engine inspired by his parents’ schematics. If it works, artificers and mages alike will unlock untold stores of energy, making it the guild’s greatest discovery to date.

But it’s not all wine and roses. Echoes from the past point to dark secrets still lurking within the Black Market. Jackson and Xander must unearth these mysteries before they wreak havoc and ruin the wedding... or put their very lives in danger.

©2025 Nazri Noor (P)2025 Nazri Noor

grand wedding but more

The author recently commented that Zachary Johnson performs the living hell out of the Arcane Hearts finale. I agree 1000%. The Guilds and all Jackson and Xander’s friends come together to plan and celebrate their grand wedding, but nothing is ever straightforward for the arcane world. We still get twists and turns and mayhem and secrets to uncover. My favorite cameo was Zephyr! And oh, that ending brought me to tears. This has been one my most favorite series ever. I’m sad to see it end.

The Grip of Death

A triumphant, emotional finale that delivers everything the Arcane Hearts series has been building toward. Jackson and Xander’s bond feels unshakable, forged through danger and devotion, and the payoff is both thrilling and deeply tender. Noor balances high-octane magical stakes with moments of genuine vulnerability. It’s a fantastic conclusion that cements this series as a standout in urban fantasy romance.

What a wonderful series

I did a re-listen of the series when the final book was released. I was surprised at how well all the pieces of storytelling fell together. All eight books were so well written, great action, heartbreaking moments and so much humor. The narration brought it to the next level, it was like I was watching a movie. And I especially loved how Zachary Johnston kept the same voice, intonation… everything the same by for every character throughout. Made me really care for each character… like I really knew them. Kind of sad it’s over.

Kinda disappointed

I waited so long for this book to come out and it just barely feels worth it at this point. I loved this series! plenty of steam and action made it amazing to listen to and the narrator did such an amazing job. This book however is missing steam and has little action. It's like the author gave up on this book and just wrote it to wrap up the series which it does in a nice and neat little bow. All the unanswered questions from the previous book are answered in this one a long with finally seeing the main characters get married but whatever passion the author has for this series ended with the previous book.

It's worth the credit just to see how the series ends but don't expect this book to have the passion and action the previous books had or you will be disappointed

Too short for the ending

I love this series, but out of all the books, this was the shortest. Not enough hotness for me, these two are just good for each other. Only one hot scene? The story wrapped up all the loose ends, and there was a big surprise as to the monster that worked with the frost queen, WOW, who knew? Glad to see my guys get their HEA and sad to see the series end. Zachary did an excellent job narrating, so please take a bow :-).