Avenged (Ruined, #2)

by Amy Tintera

With the romance of The Selection and the epic stakes of Red Queen, Amy Tintera's New York Times-bestselling Ruined trilogy continues with the thrilling young adult fantasy Avenged. Emelina Flores has come home to Ruina. After rescuing her sister, Olivia, from imprisonment in rival kingdom Lera, Em and Olivia together vow to rebuild Ruina to its former glory. But their fight has only begun. Olivia is determined to destroy everyone who acts against Ruina. Em isn't as sure. Ever since Em posed as Prince Casimir's betrothed in Lera, she's started to see another side to this war. And now that Cas has taken the throne, Em believes a truce is within reach. But Olivia suspects that Em's romantic feelings for Cas are just coloring her judgement. Em is determined to bring peace to her home. But when winning the war could mean betraying her family, Em faces an impossible choice between loyalty and love. Em must stay one step ahead of her enemies-and her blood-before she's the next victim in this battle for sovereignty.

• ISBN10: 006239665X
• ISBN13: 9780062396655
• Publish Date: 2 May 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[Vicki]

3.5 stars

[tweetybugshouse]

This is the sequel to Ruined which was a very exciting different ya fantasy for me. In this book we follow along as Olivia the psyco co ruler of the ruined is bent on avenging her people for all the wrongs that have been thrown at them over the years. Olivia is very much bent on that one concept destroy all who are not Ruined and their is no reasoning with her. Em is bent on her promise to unite the Ruined and have them live in peace with Lera. I did find that at times the whole play between the different characters seemed a bit drawn out, but then when you get to the last 100 pages everything picks up as Em is captured and then rescued and somehow has to figure out how to rescue Olivia from her self. That the heart of this story is risking everything to save a family member always a good thing. Can you really change someone who is so rooted in their revenge, pscyo plot to destroy the world? That were we are at the end of the book Em is faced with the reality of hell bent revenge or the peace she been striving for and will be at the cost of her sister's life? A whole year tell then crap.

[Cocktails and Books]

3.5 Stars

Avenged picks up pretty much where Ruined ended. Em has freed her sister Olivia and is torn between her feelings for Cas and ensuring her people are safe. What we end up with in this second installment to the trilogy is Em figuring out that she has a choice to make and it may not be the one that she fought for.

Cas was a little annoying at the beginning of the book, but I was happy to see he finally found his spine. If he has any chance of standing next to Em when things are said and done, he needed to start standing up for what he believe in. And surprise, surprise, when that backbone surface he found people willing to stand behind him and what he believed in.

I'm anxious to see how this ends. Olivia is a complete loose cannon, but I'm hoping there is some way Em, Cas and the rest of their group can actually show her she can work towards a common goal without tearing down everything in her way.

[Sam@WLABB]

Can we just get a round of applause for Tintera, as this book does not suffer not one iota from second book slump.

Avenged resumes the story with Emelina and the Ruined returning to Ruina. Em and Olivia must both adjust to being back as they develop a plan of how to restore their kingdom to its previous glory. Emelina hopes to rebuild, while Olivia is bent on revenge. Meanwhile, Cas is reeling from the death of his parents and the invasion of his own kingdom, but he also has to battle to keep his place on the throne since his own cousin is trying to usurp him. Both Cas and Em want peace, but will they be able to convince others that this is the right choice?

I reread my Ruined review, and found that all the things I loved in book 1, are still there in book 2, but there are also more things to love.

If you didn't love Emelina before, you are sure to love her now. She continues to be a strong and ardent leader, who is extremely dedicated to her people. There are a lot of compromises she makes or considers making in this book for the sake of her kingdom. I fully understand why she is willing to make these sacrifices, but my heart just can't let my brain lead on this one, and I found myself quite frustrated at times.

Cas is still my favorite after this book. That man is so swoony. The way he laid all his cards on the table and was all in for a relationship with Em made my heart pitter patter. I like that he had some challenges, and that he had to reach deep inside and make some tough decisions. He actually grew a lot during this book, and I am eagerly awaiting what is next for him in book 3.

This is such a Romeo & Juliet type love story, in that Cas and Em are from kingdoms that hate each other, but they still cannot resist their love. Even when they try, the universe continues to bring them back together. It's kind of beautiful that they can see the person beyond the race, and this idea is woven throughout the story. The more the story unfolds, the more we learn that not everyone hates the ruined. We learn about all the people, who actually advocated for better treatment of the Ruined or who don't hold any preconceived opinions of them, but rather take them on a person by person basis.

Tintera expanded this world for us. We traveled to the southern part of Lera, as well as Oslo and Ruina. Tintera did a great job revealing the new parts of this world, and made a few interesting choices as well (Oslo!). I had to do a double take, when I first saw what she introduced in Oslo, but I guess they needed some way to be able to hold their own against the Ruined.

Several villains emerged, with Olivia and Jovita emerging as the biggest threats. Jovita is making her power play in a traditional way, while Olivia is just plain crazy. Seriously, I am worried about her, and I hope that Em will be able to handle her.

We meet some new characters, while others play a larger role in the story. I really liked the addition of Violet, yet another fierce female, who becomes quite an important friend and confidant to Cas, and the expanded role of Iria. Yes, Iria fast emerged as someone I was very fond of, but mostly because of her entanglements. Another character who got a lot of page time was Aren. As one of the strongest Ruined, I knew he would serve an important purpose, but Tintera let him become so much more, and I am looking forward to see what she has in store for him in the next book.

Overall: Another great adventure with augmented political drama, battles, and nefarious plots. This one has definitely left me wanting for the next book, because I know something HUGE is going to happen.


**I would like to thank Edelweiss and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book

This review and others can be found at We Live and Breathe Books

BLOG|INSTAGRAM|BLOGLOVIN| FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS