Thursday, January 9, 2014

Review of Ruined by Jus Accardo

Ruined is Book One of the Eternal Balance series from Entangled Publishing's Embrace Line for New Adults. And although I am not technically a "new adult", I devoured this book. This book heads onto my favorite books of all time and Miss Accardo goes on my list of authors to read. This book offers everything that a reader could want and more.

My book description:
Damaged alpha willing to make the ultimate sacrifices to be a true hero.  Fast paced page turner, witty dialogue and heart aching emotion.

The world building is sensational with a new take on the biblical Cain and Abel storyline. I loved the backstory on how the hero, Jax is cursed with a demon living inside of him. Pegged as the "bad" boy, on the outside shows he acts the part with his rough (yet oh so sexy) look and sarcastic tongue, but on the inside he sacrifices his life and happiness for the ones he loves. Jax walks away from his life including his uncle that raised him, his brother and his best friend and love interest, Sam, to keep himself from killing his brother. He returns only to say good bye to his dying uncle and stays when Sam's life is in danger. The background and creativity of the Cain, Abel and demon world is awesome and I can't want to dive deeper into it in the next book.

The characters are just plain awesome. The hero, Jax, is the typical bad boy that every girl loves, but once you discover he's not so bad, he's even better! He's a sharp tongued, bad ass hero that requires violence to feed his demon. His internal struggle is amazing! Look out Edward Cullen! The heroine, Sam, isn't a shrinking violet. And despite her love for Jax, she definitely isn't one of those weak heroines. Sam is as tough as Jax and together, they are the perfect couple. All I'm going to say about the villain is that he's awesome and that although I had slight inkling about the identity of the villain, I didn't see it coming! What a twist in the conflict! The characters are all well-written, multi-dimensional characters with some serious bite. The point of view writing was awesomely done.

There are so many positives about this book that I'm sure that I would miss some if I started to list them. This book is well written with great twists, turns and edge-of-your-seat conflict. The characters are solid and the world building is fresh. The romance is smouldering and the sexual tension vibrates off the page. The ending isn't what you expect either, but I won't give away any spoilers. This was just a great read and I'm sure that I will read it again.

The negatives? I have no complaints other than when does Book Two come out? Miss Accardo left me on a cliff hanger and anxiously awaiting the next in the series. Please write fast. :)

I give this book five out of five stars. It was everything that I could've asked for and more. I know it's early in 2014, but this is my favorite book to start the year. What a way to start 2014!

* I received this ARC from the publisher for an honest and unbiased review. *

Book Description:
Hell is looking for a way to break loose…
Jax lost the genetic lottery. Descended from Cain, the world’s first murderer, he’s plagued by a curse that demands violence in exchange for his happiness. He left everything behind, including the girl he loved, but thriving on the pain of others is lonely… And it’s killing him.
After a series of heartbreaking losses, Samantha put rubber to pavement and headed for college as fast as her clunker could carry her. But she can’t outrun her problems. When an attack at school drives her back home, she’s thrown into the path of a past—and a guy—she’s been trying to forget.
Sam strains Jax’s control over his darkness, but running isn’t an option this time. Someone—or, something—followed her home from school: a ruthless monster with a twisted plan centuries in the making. Forced together to survive, and fighting an attraction that could destroy them both, Jax and Sam must stop a killer bent on revenge.

For an excerpt from Ruined, see Entangled Publishing website ~ Ruined.

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