I am not ready to let Lexie go. I’m not. I’m not ready to let Sophia and Jeffrey go either. That said, this third and final book in EJ Noyes’ Halcyon Division series ties everything up neatly, and the only reason I’d want more books is because I enjoyed these so much, not because of any unanswered questions I might have. Yet, at the same time, Noyes leaves the door ajar for more episodes, just enough that I have hope that she may, someday, want to revisit Lexie’s non-spy adventures.

In Loyalty, Lexie is tasked with figuring out the password to unlock a hard drive containing extremely sensitive information. Nothing is ever simple or straightforward in her life, which I guess goes with the territory of doing spy-adjacent work for two U.S. government agencies—especially when one of them is a secret organisation—and inevitably, revelations abound that drive her to question, well, almost everything.

For reasons I can’t explain without spoiling—the acknowledgments may give you a hint—I went into this book already aware of an element of the story that turned out to be a lot more crucial than I expected. I usually hate spoilers but in this case, I was like a kid at Christmas, knowing something exciting was coming, with an inkling of what it would be, but not sure how it would happen nor of any detail. This feeling of anticipation made listening to Loyalty a very different experience than with Integrity and Leverage. Different but just as good.

As usual, Abby Craden‘s narration more than delivers (except for a few words in languages other than English). Lexie is badass, dedicated, out of her depth, terrified, brave, and all of that—and more—is reflected in her voice. Sophia’s is full of sunshine and warmth, and Jeffrey’s resonates with his good-natured and steadfast support and wit.

One thing I love in this series is the way Noyes mixes extremely touchy topics, some with awful consequences, and a definite sense of humour, banter, cockiness, and some super sweet moments. Loyalty, despite the stakes at play being even higher than in both previous books, is never heavy, and after I listened to it, I stayed with a buzz of adrenaline coursing through my veins and the satisfaction that comes from having had a lot of fun.

Experience Loyalty:

Bookshop.org (paperback)

Kobo (ebook)

Amazon (paperback – ebook – audiobook)

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