Ruin

by Clarissa Wild

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

My experience with this author has been good. I am used to her penning dark and gritty romance stories so Ruin was a surprising story. It is very different from her usual work. What intrigued me most about this book is some aspects of it were based on a true story and after reading the blurb, I felt compelled to read it. Thanks to kindle owners lending library I did just that.What the story is about.Ruin introduces Alexander and Maybell. They both went to the same high school, but they never interacted. Alexander secretly admired Maybell, but never had the courage to approach her. Maybell, despite the ridicule she faced from her classmates always had a smile on her face. She was on the road to become a dancer. However, a terrible accident ended that journey, but it led to a friendship and love that both she and Alexander never expected.My ThoughtsEarlier, I stated that the blurb intrigued me, so you know I went into the story with high expectations. However, it failed to deliver what I expected, therefore ruining my experience with this story.I thought the themes of self-discovery, acceptance, embracing one's destiny and unconditional love were well executed. The story demonstrates that sometimes it takes a life changing event for us to realise that we are living our lives at its full potential as a result opportunities pass us by. Initially Maybell never saw the opportunity that her accident afforded her. However, as time passed, she embraced her newfound destiny and living her life the way she wanted and not based on what others wished. In the process, she gained a friendship and discovered what it meant to love unconditionally.If someone were to ask me how this made me feel, I would have to say it did nothing for me. I was expecting this to be an emotional read, but it did not elicit the emotions one would expect from a story like this. I believe this was because I had a difficult time connecting to the characters. In addition, the manner in which the author portrayed the story played a part. In narrating the story the author used a tell approach, which made me feel like I was reading a report.Maybell and Alexander had the potential to be interesting characters if only they were more developed. The story hinted at them being bullied by their peers, but the author did not explore this aspect of the story. Mention was made of Maybell having a best friend, but I never met this friend. I wondered if she was a figment of Maybell’s imagination. There were threads that the author failed to explore. For instance, I would have loved to see how Asperger syndrome affected Maybell’s life. In addition, Alexander had his share of issues especially where his family was concerned, but that too was glossed over.Despite the issues I had, I kept reading because I was curious to know what Alexander did to ruin Maybell and how things would end for the characters. The story ended on a satisfactory note, but I was a bit disappointed in my discovery of what Alexander felt was his ruination of Maybell.Conclusion/RecommendationFor me this was just an ok read. I believe there are readers that would enjoy this book. Therefore, if these types of stories interest you then you can try it.