Ruined

by Jus Accardo

[kimbacaffeinate]

The tale is delivered from dual points of view, a trait I love in this type of novel. We get up close and personal with Jax and Samantha, “Sam”. Besides being smexy, I quickly fell for Jax and his tortured soul. He struggles with the demon side and willingly gives up all he holds dear to protect them. He is loyal, fierce and protective. The man wears black from head to toe and oozes dangerous and sexy. Picture Neo’s wardrobe from the Matrix. Yum! Samantha is complex and struggled after Jax abruptly left town. Accardo slowly peels back her layers and reveals why she returned home. I loved getting to know their shared history. Sam tackles thing head-on and confronts her fears making her quite the kick-ass. I loved how brazenly she talked to the demons and I found myself giggling at her snark. We do hear from Azirak; Jax’s dark passenger and I look forward to learning more about him. Sadly secondary characters aren’t fleshed out and only what is needed for the plot is revealed. Perhaps the most fascinating character was Heckle, and I am truly hoping we learn more about him.

Ruined started off slow for me, and I actually got a little nervous, but as things were revealed the action kicked up a notch and I found myself fully immersed. While the plot, gave me moments of déjà vu, Accardo owned it adding her own twists. The Demons, their hierarchy and the use of the biblical story of Cain and Abel added an interesting element to this paranormal. The villain was a surprising twist, although I pieced things together much sooner than the author intended. Accardo has an easy flow to her tales, and I thought the shared history of the main characters added depth to their romance. The ending is climatic and ends in a minor cliffhanger. Not pull your hair out but enough to have you eager for more.

Copy received in exchange for unbiased review​. Full ​Review​ originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewe​r​