Sweet Ruin (Immortals After Dark, #15)

by Kresley Cole

An immortal assassin is caught between desire and duty in this sizzling new novel from Kresley Cole's No.1 New York Times bestselling IMMORTALS AFTER DARK series.

A foundling raised in a world of humans

Growing up, orphaned Josephine didn't know who or what she was - just that she was 'bad', an outcast with strange powers. Protecting her baby brother Thaddeus became her entire life. The day he was taken away began Jo's transition from angry girl… to would-be superhero… to ruthless villain.

A lethally sensual enforcer on a mission

Whether by bow or in bed, archer Rune the Baneblood never fails to eliminate his target. In his sights: the oldest living Valkyrie. Yet before he can strike, he encounters a vampiric creature whose beauty mesmerizes him. With one bite, she pierces him with aching pleasure, stealing his forbidden blood - and jeopardizing the secrets of his brethren.

A boundless passion that will lead to sweet ruin…

Could this exquisite female be a spy sent by the very Valkyrie he hunts? Rune knows he must not trust Josephine, yet he's unable to turn her away. When Jo betrays the identity of the one man she will die to protect, she and Rune become locked in a treacherous battle of wills that pits ultimate loyalty against unbridled lust.

• ISBN10: 1471113671
• ISBN13: 9781471113673
• Publish Date: 1 December 2015
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 3 May 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

Sweet Ruin is the fifteenth book in Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series. I read this book for the first time in 2019 and reread it this year, 2022. I think the second time around; I may have enjoyed the book a little more than my first time. It helped when I annotated some of my favorite parts in the book. I actually liked the secondary characters more than the primary characters in the book. I have my reasons. I promise. 

Storyline/My Thoughts: Sweet Ruin didn’t grasp me like the previous books in the series, and it’s due to me not being fond of Rune and Josephine, especially when it comes to their relationship. 

Rune is not my favorite male protagonist because he is a big-time player. He also uses the nymphs, and they adore him too much. Readers get a glimpse into his life and how he became a player, but it still does not persuade me to like his character. He’s over 7000 years old, and he’s an Immortal Assassin. In Sweet Ruin, his task is to assassinate Nix. (There’s another reason I was not too fond of his character. No one messes with Nix. I know he was told to it, but as I said, no one messes with my all-time favorite character in the series.) Unfortunately, he has a beautiful vampire distract him from his task, and he believes she may be a spy for Nix. Josephine is no spy, though. She’s trying to live her life as a creature that she is still getting used to in this book.

Josephine’s story starts from the beginning, where she’s an orphan and takes care of her younger brother. Unfortunately, one day, she ends up in a predicament that causes her to lose her life. She never expects to wake up and become something supernatural. She ends up losing her brother because of it. She’s forced to stay away and ends up living her life as a superhero/villain, depending on how readers perceive her in this book. She’s not sure what she is as far as an immortal, but she knows she drinks blood. She also has another ability, but she’s not familiar with it. When she meets Rune, she realizes there are more immortals out there. Rune is an experienced Dark Fae/Demon, and he is taken back by Josephine in the book. He doesn’t realize that she’s very young and is new to this world. These two end up hooking up together to go after Nix, but Nix is not someone who will go down easy. This is one of many reasons why I love Nix because she’s crazy and knows how to handle everyone. She does see things before anyone else does, and proof of this has happened in previous books.

Unfortunately, it took me a while to read this book because I couldn’t get past Rune’s character. He’s an assassin who sleeps his way through women to get his way or get answers. Women crave him. Josephine even desires him but in different ways. Rune is supposedly poisonous, and he can never be with a woman without killing her. There’s instant love between the characters, even though Rune denies the attraction. The end of the book threw me off more with Rune. I know he’s lived this way for eons, but he can find another way. Josephine deserved better.

I did like how Kresley Cole introduced the Møriør in this book, although I’m not sure if I should like them since the main guy, Orion, wanted Nix killed. Nope. I don’t like him. I am interested to find out if all of these characters will get their books.

There were also shocking moments in the book when finding out more about Josephine and her brother. These two characters are going to be unstoppable and powerful together.

I give this book 3.5 stars. Even though this book was not my favorite, Kresley did introduce some critical points in this story. I can’t wait to continue my read-through of this series. Each book connects with the other, which is why Kresley Cole is one of my favorite authors. I love her world-building and characters and can’t get enough of the Immortals After Dark series.

Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Immortals After Dark series and I highly recommend reading in order.

Steaminess: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Trope(s): Fated Mates; Age Gap (the male protagonist is 7000 years old compared to 25).

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I recommend this book to Paranormal Romance readers.

[Vicki]

I normally don't like to read books out of order, but I started reading the excerpt that was in the back of A Hunger Like No Other and I was totally hooked. I just couldn't help myself. Josephine was sassy and awesome. Love the name Rune and he was just yummy and my favorite kind of bad boy turned good. Plot was ok, but loved the romance. What a fun and addicting read.

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
Sweet Ruin continues the saga of the immortals who mostly haunt New Orleans, and I have to say that Rune and Josie's story was both touching and sweet, with lots of action, and even more nostalgia.



I'm not sure why I have kept Sweet Ruin hidden on my kindle for so long! But I'm very happy to have read it now - so that I'll be ready to delve into Immortals After Dark #17 in January next year... This is a series with an extremely well done mythology, and I am always in awe when I read a new installment. The stories are also character-driven, with a solid story and an overall plot that spans over several books in the series. What's not to like, right?

From the very beginning of Sweet Ruin, I had so many feels for Jo! She was a little girl, and she was all alone in the world, responsible for her littler brother who was just a toddler. Still, she was strong, and she was very creative when it came to taking care of him - until the day when she wasn't able to do that anymore - when she was shot, and left for dead. Only, because Jo wasn't human, she didn't exactly die, she just came into her powers instead, but she had to leave her brother somewhere safe so he could grow up off the streets.

As an adult, Jo ran into Rune, a half demon half fae, several thousand years old, one who knew he would never find a mate, never be able to love. And to make things more interesting, Nix was definitely messing with both of them. I have a special place in my heart for Nix - she's pretty out there in many ways, but she's also fun, and I think she loves pretending she's not got all her marbles, as it lets her do exactly what she wants, while others will always underestimate her.

Needless to say, Sweet Ruin was an action packed and very hot story. I loved the characters, and I especially loved that Jo wasn't willing to let her needs be second. She stated very clearly what she expected from a relationship, and expected nothing less if Rune agreed to be with her. Gotta love a woman who has a backbone and the self respect to keep to her guns!



Whereas Jo would just as soon sneer at someone, he babbled greetings to everyone, inviting them to play with his toy. If she'd ever owned a toy of her own, she never would've shared it with people who weren't Thaddie.

She sounded reasonable, but here was the thing: Jo was feral. There'd be no living under someone else's roof and following someone else's rules. Rules didn't apply to Jo and never had. There'd be no sharing Thaddie with a woman who desperately wanted to be his mother.

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

This story starts off with Josephine and Thaddeus from several years ago. Thad is just a baby and Josephine is just a preteen herself. They are living on the streets, but visit a librarian who provides them with food and tries to convince Jo to come live with her and her husband. Jo has no memory of her past. Just just woke up with the boy in her arms. She has no idea she is part of the Lore until after she is killed before her thirteenth birthday. Even then, she doesn’t understand what she is.

Rune is extremely old, like older than Nix old. He is part of a new faction of immortals in the Morior. They are very old and don’t live on Earth. Rune is a manwhore and uses his body to get information for the Morior and their leader, Orion. He is sent on a mission to kill Nix, because Orion doesn’t like how Nix is playing with the future. Rune is also a Dark Fae, half elf and half demon.

I loved the beginning of this book with young Thad. Jo teaching him such colorful language was hilarious. I also loved Josephine. She was a great heroine. She is everything you would expect from a IAD character. She was funny, strong and likes to “hulk smash”. Rune, on the other hand, is nothing like the heroes I’m used to seeing in the IAD world. He doesn’t seem very keen on giving up his ways even after finding Jo.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. I really liked Jo. I loved that we learned more about Thad. We got to spend more time with Nix, maybe the the most in any book. We didn’t get much of the other characters, just a few glimpses. I did miss seeing more of them. There was a ton of action and lots of sex. Also, many new characters, which makes me wonder where Cole is planning to take this series and what her endgame is. I’m also very curious as to how many more books she is planning on in this series. While I love this series, I’ve been burned by series that run for too long. I’m not to that point yet, but I don’t want to get there either.

Narration
Once again, Robert Petkoff nails this series. He just blows me away every time I listen to him read one of these books. His ability to pick up any accent as needed is miraculous. He makes it sound easy. My favorite part in this book was once again at the very beginning with baby Thad. I just loved it. If you haven’t tried this series on audio, you’re really missing out.

[EBookObsessed]

Kresley Cole’s stories are always enjoyable. I found the most interesting part of this story was seeing the IAD world from an outsider’s perspective, both Jo’s, who is unaware of the Lore and her relationship to it, and Rune’s, who is a member of the Møriør or the Bringers of Doom.
In Sweet Ruin we meet Josephine. Jo is Thaddie’s older sister. We met Thaddeus in Dreams of a Dark Warrior. Thad was in the cell with Regin being held by the Order and we learned that Thad is half-vampire/half-phantom. We already know more about Jo, than she does.

Jo was found wondering in Texas as a child holding baby Thaddeus. Neither had any knowledge of the Lore and of what they are. Jo and Thad are living in the streets and Mrs. Brayden, the local librarian, has been trying to take them home with her and her husband. Jo doesn’t trust the system or anyone in general. The only thing she knows is that she needs to protect Thad. She also feels the need to protect the underdog and in doing so she antagonizes the local drug lord by burning down his house. Jo ends up being shot and presumes that she has now become a ghost/vampire when her phantom/vampire natures are triggered. Thad ends up being raised by MizB, as we had learned in the prior book.

Jo eventually ends up in New Orleans, surrounded by the Lore but still not realizing her part in it.

The very interesting twist in this story is that the Møriør are nearing. The Møriør, or Bringers of Doom, who Nïx has been warning everyone about since MacRieve, live in a movable dimension (really? like a space ship?) and they have been traveling toward Gaia (Earth) for some time now. The Møriør are made up of the primordials of each species (the first lyke, the first witch, etc.) and they are lead by Orion, who is a great big question mark. He doesn’t even keep the same appearance each time we see him and he can look like anything or anyone. Orion sends out Rune ahead of the rest because Rune is his archer/assassin. Rune has been given the task of killing Nïx, who Orion is accusing of organizing and bringing about the apocalypse.

Rune gets most of his information from boinking nymphs, who apparently have their ears to the ground, and everywhere else, and only require payment in sex which Rune is happy to provide. Jo comes upon Rune in a plaza working out payment to several nymphs for information with his ho-ha and phantoms over to watch the show. Rune can’t see Jo, but he can scent her and she definitely catches his interest.

While Jo and Rune play hide and seek around town, both of them see Thad and Nïx walking through the streets of New Orleans and while Rune is aiming his bow, Jo assumes he is trying to kill her brother, Thad, and attacks. Even while they straighten out who Rune’s target is, Jo is lead to believe that Thad is being held hostage by the valkyres (a rumor started by none other than Nïx because we know she has a plan). So Jo and Rune team up and end up chasing Nïx around the globe. Each time they arrive where Nïx says she will be, they just miss her and she sends a note where to be next. I think she does this was just so Jo finally gets to see some of the world other than just Texas and New Orleans, because Nïx is sweet that way.

I thought it was interesting that while Nïx was working everyone into a frenzy that the Møriør were coming to bring about the Accession, the Møriør believe that they are here to stop Nïx from bringing about the Accession. I am going to guess from hints of why all the primodials are coming to Gaia that Nïx’s ultimate plan will involve mixing the Møriør with our Loreans and creating peace throughout the dimensions.

THOUGHTS:
I have seen a few tweets about reviews claiming this is the best book of the series. I am going to say, not so much. While I can’t wait to see how the Møriør’s arrival will change things and I enjoyed the overall story, I had the same problem with Rune that I had with Lothaire and MacRieve.

In more of the other books, the Lorean males were searching for their one true love, be it a bride, a mate, a lover, whatever term you use. No matter what issues they had with her or with winning her affection, the goal was always to win her love and affection. Even in Regin and Declan’s story, Declan was attracted but was trying to avoid Regin because of his hate for the Lore in general. In her earlier stories, the plan was never to just use their one true mate. In MacRieve and Lothaire, we see that both had no problem with using their female for their own pleasure and had no problem verbally using her and then tossing her away when they were done. There is a real lack of respect for the women in the last few books. (Thankfully, not by Thronos which would have broken my heart.)

In Sweet Ruin, Rune is a half breed or bloodbane and doesn’t believe he would have a fated mate. Even once he starts to believe that his attraction toward Jo might mean there might be something more to their connection, Rune digs in his heals that his job is to pumping nymphs for information so Jo will just have to learn to deal with that the fact if she wants to stay together. Jo won’t sleep with Rune unless he agrees that their relationship will be monogamous. It gets to a point that Rune tries to resort to getting her drunk so she’ll give in, which was kind of date-rapey.

Jo was a great character and as lively and snarky as all the IAD heroines. I liked Jo a lot, but Rune left me kind of cold for most of the story. You’d feel bad for him since he had as bad a childhood, just like Malkom (Demon from the Dark) but then he would get all bent about how if Jo wants to be with him she would have to deal with his job and how women always got possessive of him. No matter how many other characters pointed out that he can’t cheat on his fated mate, Rune insisted that was the way of things and Jo better learn to deal with it.

And Nïx being Nïx, she takes down Jo in a cage match to try and teach Jo that she should be fighting in her phantom form which she would be indestructible rather than risking herself against more powerful beings trying to throw punches. (That would be my favorite scene, but it went on too long.)

No question that every IAD fan is going to be grabbing for a copy of Sweet Ruin and it will be bringing big changes to the series and yet we still have so many characters to go back to. Yes, overall it was a good story but Rune is no real hero and Sweet Ruin won’t be making my top 10 list for this series.

Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Check out Fun with Nix on H&H.