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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
OH MY GOD THAT ENDINDFLAKHSFAHLKSALKH *SHRIEKINGGGGG* I NEED MOAAAAAAAAARRRR.
UGH EVELYN CONTINUES TO BE MY FAVE HEROINE, I JUST LOOOOOOVE HER. BRADDOCK CONTINUES TO BE A SOFT EMOTIONAL BROODING PUPPY THAT I JUST WANNA PROTECT AND SMUSH. I JUST NEED THEM TO.....ALSHJKhaslknHLKh *CONTINUES YELLING* *GOES DOWN WITH SHIP*
ANYWAYS, THE PLOT WAS SO BLOODY AND ACTION-Y AND I LOVE ALL THE NEW DIVERSE CHARACTERS ADDED :'D I CANT WAIT FOR BOOK 3!!!!!!
UGH EVELYN CONTINUES TO BE MY FAVE HEROINE, I JUST LOOOOOOVE HER. BRADDOCK CONTINUES TO BE A SOFT EMOTIONAL BROODING PUPPY THAT I JUST WANNA PROTECT AND SMUSH. I JUST NEED THEM TO.....ALSHJKhaslknHLKh *CONTINUES YELLING* *GOES DOWN WITH SHIP*
ANYWAYS, THE PLOT WAS SO BLOODY AND ACTION-Y AND I LOVE ALL THE NEW DIVERSE CHARACTERS ADDED :'D I CANT WAIT FOR BOOK 3!!!!!!
This story starts with a daring rescue and had my blood pumping from the very beginning. We had a learned a that the Society of Aberrations existed in the last book, and here we are immersed into their world, as Evelyn tries to deduce if they are good or bad.
This book was not a typical second book (I am assuming from that ending this will be a trilogy). Many times you read a series and the second books drag, because its real purpose is to link book 1 and book 3. Absolutely, without a doubt, not the case with These Ruthless Deeds. This book brought me deeper into the magical world, and had several extremely surprising plot twists that have me wanting more....now.
There was a lot of action in the beginning of the book, and the authors bring us right into one of the major plot lines and some excellent new characters. However, something was missing, and that something was Braddock. I really missed Sebastian, and reiterated the sentiment expressed by Evelyn:
Many people complained that book 1 did not have much of a swoon factor. Well, let me tell you why. It's because it was all saved up for this book. There is lots of swoony talk and lots of kissing! Upon Braddock's return, the love triangle really ramps up. It was quite fun when the three were together, and the men were obviously competing for Evelyn's affections. Kent's rake factor was turned all the way to its maximum setting. He was dropping fun and flirty lines left and right.
The jokes about Braddock and his moods also continued:
Comparing this to book 1 I would say it was just more. There was more action, more details regarding the society and it's "members", more romance, more surprises, and definitely more heartbreak. I thought I was heartbroken at the end of the last book, but this ending is devastating.
Overall: An engaging tale of magic, mystery, and mayhem, which is fraught with romance, humor, and camaraderie. That story and that ending left me yearning for the next book.
**I would like to thank NetGalley and Swoon Reads for the advanced copy of this book
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This book was not a typical second book (I am assuming from that ending this will be a trilogy). Many times you read a series and the second books drag, because its real purpose is to link book 1 and book 3. Absolutely, without a doubt, not the case with These Ruthless Deeds. This book brought me deeper into the magical world, and had several extremely surprising plot twists that have me wanting more....now.
There was a lot of action in the beginning of the book, and the authors bring us right into one of the major plot lines and some excellent new characters. However, something was missing, and that something was Braddock. I really missed Sebastian, and reiterated the sentiment expressed by Evelyn:
TO SEBASTIAN BRADDOCK: COME BACK, YOU BROODING FOOL.
Many people complained that book 1 did not have much of a swoon factor. Well, let me tell you why. It's because it was all saved up for this book. There is lots of swoony talk and lots of kissing! Upon Braddock's return, the love triangle really ramps up. It was quite fun when the three were together, and the men were obviously competing for Evelyn's affections. Kent's rake factor was turned all the way to its maximum setting. He was dropping fun and flirty lines left and right.
"Any time is the time to flirt with you," he murmured. A slow smile.
"Before I met you, I went to brothels, gambling halls, scandalous music halls, all sorts of indecent places."
"And let me guess, ever since you met me, you've changed?"
He shook his head. "No, I just want to do these indecent things with you."
The jokes about Braddock and his moods also continued:
If you don't wish me to think of you as some kind of tragic Gothic figure, you really must stop acting like one.
I shook my head slightly and he seemed to brood harder, if such a thing were possible.
Comparing this to book 1 I would say it was just more. There was more action, more details regarding the society and it's "members", more romance, more surprises, and definitely more heartbreak. I thought I was heartbroken at the end of the last book, but this ending is devastating.
Overall: An engaging tale of magic, mystery, and mayhem, which is fraught with romance, humor, and camaraderie. That story and that ending left me yearning for the next book.
**I would like to thank NetGalley and Swoon Reads for the advanced copy of this book
BLOG|INSTAGRAM|BLOGLOVIN| FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
I raced through this book in a little over a day. It had been quite some time since I read the first book so I re-read it first and then dove into this one with book 3 waiting in the wings :-)
Once the story kicks in you are hooked and don't want to put it down. I love this kind of historical fiction, Victorian era mystery story with a twist (in this series there are people with super powers like healing, telekinesis, teleportation, control of metal, etc). This is one of those books that crosses lots of genres and I can't classify it as just one thing.
I love the characters and there are some good twists and turns to the story, although I have to say this book REALLY did not end how I expected it to! I will be diving into book 3 today. I can't say much more because spoilers :-) If you are looking for a story with a strong female lead who is stubborn and thoughtful and daring and brave, but also doesn't always know which thing is the right thing to do, pick this one up.
Once the story kicks in you are hooked and don't want to put it down. I love this kind of historical fiction, Victorian era mystery story with a twist (in this series there are people with super powers like healing, telekinesis, teleportation, control of metal, etc). This is one of those books that crosses lots of genres and I can't classify it as just one thing.
I love the characters and there are some good twists and turns to the story, although I have to say this book REALLY did not end how I expected it to! I will be diving into book 3 today. I can't say much more because spoilers :-) If you are looking for a story with a strong female lead who is stubborn and thoughtful and daring and brave, but also doesn't always know which thing is the right thing to do, pick this one up.
Second book in the series got pretty chaotic. I feel like the story would be better if either she had the cool ability (making people tell the truth) or if the person who had that ability was the protagonist / a smarter person. High body count at the end pretty much sank it for me.
4.5
As I’ve been doing with most books lately, I reread These Vicious Masks before embarking on the sequel. I was again impressed with the humor, the characterization, and the fast-paced sheer fun of the plot. All of those wonderful elements appear in spades in These Ruthless Deeds too, only, you know, turned up to ELEVEN, with an even more intense and shocking conclusion that left me in shock.
One of my other favorite current series, Lady Helen, has a similar-ish set up; both are historical fantasies about people with powers, centering on fabulous young ladies. The differences are myriad, and I’m not here to compare the too (though I will a bit), but where Lady Helen is Austen-esque in the wit and detail, These Vicious Masks takes more of a Tessa Dare approach (only much darker) with constant overt humor. Both are amazing and highly recommended, but pick wisely for your mood.
Evelyn’s such a queen. I just could not love her more than I do. Her observations are consistently hilarious, and I was laughing out loud through a good portion of this book. I sent endless quotes to a friendas I read. Shanker and Zekas are so good at keeping the humor going consistently, only to suddenly slam you with sad or shippy feels in a way you were totally not prepared for, and then to make you laugh again.
The plot of the book totally worked for me, though the characters are definitely the shining light. The blurb essentially gives away the “twist,” but it happens about a third of the way through and is well handled so I don’t mind in the least. And, basically from the moment that happens through to the end, the book is fast and furious with constant painful surprises but the ever-present beat of amazing humor.
In These Ruthless Deeds, you get to know everyone better, and the cast expands to include a bunch of new characters. It’s a super painful book for, well, everyone, and oh my god I don’t know how Shanker and Zekas are going to resolve everything emotionally because MY POOR BRUISED DARLINGS.
Evelyn and Sebastian continue to be the cutest ship, and I absolutely love that Evelyn continues to see him as this handsome broody guy, and everyone else is doing the Victorian version of OMG WUT HE IS SUCH A GOOBER GIRL. And he really is just such a goober. There’s an absolutely fantastic chase scene and a shirtless scene and basically Shanker and Zekas know exactly how to play my shipstrings and oh how they do.
This series has maybe my favorite love triangle ever (though don’t quote me on it, since I don’t actually have a list). Mr. Kent’s amazing, and he becomes ever more so. He’s a bit much in book one sometimes, but the more you get to know him the more lovable he is. He wears his negative qualities openly, and I’ve come to admire that (and him) so much. Also, lbr, if I had his powers I would totally fuck with people by asking sensitive questions and watching them deal with it. He lightens every single scene he’s in, even when he’s hurting.
The reason I love this love triangle so much is that Mr. Kent doesn’t end up having his character assassinated. And, I like that he’s an actual good option. He’s a great guy and they get along so well, and, were Evelyn’s heart not already engaged, they totally could have been a thing. Unfortunately for Mr. Kent…
Given the fact that the cast has like a million people in it, it’s fucking impressive that I care about basically all of them a lot. I got serious feels from a beautiful scene between Emily and Evelyn. (And Emily and Laura should so totally be a thing.) Oliver’s a precious moppet, despite my general feelings on moppets. Evelyn’s kinda forgotten bestie (who was on a grand tour in book one) Catherine shows up and she’s fabulous and bookish and the trust between her and Evelyn deserves a million stars tbh. Lord Atherton, though awful, is the perfect straight man to the rest of the cast. I really can’t list everyone because there are so many but this cast is FABULOUS.
Because it’s a sequel, I don’t want to get into details about plots or anything. I DO want to talk about how much I love the way the powers work in this world. Shanker and Zekas make such clever use of everyone’s various powers. Mr. Kent has an obvious power on the surface, but he comes up with some creative applications I’d not anticipated. Miss Chen pulls out a hilarious application of her power in the midst of a battle. It’s another example of how good Shanker and Zekas are at humor of absolutely all sorts. Battle scenes often are a bit like in those fantastic old kung fu movies where Jackie Chan would get creative and use whatever comes to hand as a weapon.
These Ruthless Deeds lulls you into this false sense of security. It’s this flufftastic bantersplosion of all the best shiptrashy tropes, and it’s so completely unapologetic about every single bit of that. As it should be. But this book is also intense, dark, and heartbreaking, and you really don’t see that gut punch coming because five seconds before you were laughing at a hilarious joke. Even though I knew something was coming, Shanker and Zekas totally shocked and horrified me (in the good way). This series is surprisingly brutal, and that’s why I love the fuck out of it. But also, HOW COULD YOU?!?!?! That last battle scene was so intense that I actually couldn’t always tell quite what was happening,Seriously can we confirm that everyone else I love is okay SOBS SOBS about the ones that definitively are not, and also how did Goode escape? and that’s basically the only qualm I have with this book at all.
This series is fucking fantastic. If you enjoy laughing a lot and getting gut punched, you absolutely must buy these because they are the best. (Even if they are the reason that I will never ever be able to quit Swoon Reads.)
As I’ve been doing with most books lately, I reread These Vicious Masks before embarking on the sequel. I was again impressed with the humor, the characterization, and the fast-paced sheer fun of the plot. All of those wonderful elements appear in spades in These Ruthless Deeds too, only, you know, turned up to ELEVEN, with an even more intense and shocking conclusion that left me in shock.
One of my other favorite current series, Lady Helen, has a similar-ish set up; both are historical fantasies about people with powers, centering on fabulous young ladies. The differences are myriad, and I’m not here to compare the too (though I will a bit), but where Lady Helen is Austen-esque in the wit and detail, These Vicious Masks takes more of a Tessa Dare approach (only much darker) with constant overt humor. Both are amazing and highly recommended, but pick wisely for your mood.
Evelyn’s such a queen. I just could not love her more than I do. Her observations are consistently hilarious, and I was laughing out loud through a good portion of this book. I sent endless quotes to a friendas I read. Shanker and Zekas are so good at keeping the humor going consistently, only to suddenly slam you with sad or shippy feels in a way you were totally not prepared for, and then to make you laugh again.
The plot of the book totally worked for me, though the characters are definitely the shining light. The blurb essentially gives away the “twist,” but it happens about a third of the way through and is well handled so I don’t mind in the least. And, basically from the moment that happens through to the end, the book is fast and furious with constant painful surprises but the ever-present beat of amazing humor.
In These Ruthless Deeds, you get to know everyone better, and the cast expands to include a bunch of new characters. It’s a super painful book for, well, everyone, and oh my god I don’t know how Shanker and Zekas are going to resolve everything emotionally because MY POOR BRUISED DARLINGS.
Evelyn and Sebastian continue to be the cutest ship, and I absolutely love that Evelyn continues to see him as this handsome broody guy, and everyone else is doing the Victorian version of OMG WUT HE IS SUCH A GOOBER GIRL. And he really is just such a goober. There’s an absolutely fantastic chase scene and a shirtless scene and basically Shanker and Zekas know exactly how to play my shipstrings and oh how they do.
This series has maybe my favorite love triangle ever (though don’t quote me on it, since I don’t actually have a list). Mr. Kent’s amazing, and he becomes ever more so. He’s a bit much in book one sometimes, but the more you get to know him the more lovable he is. He wears his negative qualities openly, and I’ve come to admire that (and him) so much. Also, lbr, if I had his powers I would totally fuck with people by asking sensitive questions and watching them deal with it. He lightens every single scene he’s in, even when he’s hurting.
The reason I love this love triangle so much is that Mr. Kent doesn’t end up having his character assassinated. And, I like that he’s an actual good option. He’s a great guy and they get along so well, and, were Evelyn’s heart not already engaged, they totally could have been a thing. Unfortunately for Mr. Kent…
Given the fact that the cast has like a million people in it, it’s fucking impressive that I care about basically all of them a lot. I got serious feels from a beautiful scene between Emily and Evelyn. (And Emily and Laura should so totally be a thing.) Oliver’s a precious moppet, despite my general feelings on moppets. Evelyn’s kinda forgotten bestie (who was on a grand tour in book one) Catherine shows up and she’s fabulous and bookish and the trust between her and Evelyn deserves a million stars tbh. Lord Atherton, though awful, is the perfect straight man to the rest of the cast. I really can’t list everyone because there are so many but this cast is FABULOUS.
Because it’s a sequel, I don’t want to get into details about plots or anything. I DO want to talk about how much I love the way the powers work in this world. Shanker and Zekas make such clever use of everyone’s various powers. Mr. Kent has an obvious power on the surface, but he comes up with some creative applications I’d not anticipated. Miss Chen pulls out a hilarious application of her power in the midst of a battle. It’s another example of how good Shanker and Zekas are at humor of absolutely all sorts. Battle scenes often are a bit like in those fantastic old kung fu movies where Jackie Chan would get creative and use whatever comes to hand as a weapon.
These Ruthless Deeds lulls you into this false sense of security. It’s this flufftastic bantersplosion of all the best shiptrashy tropes, and it’s so completely unapologetic about every single bit of that. As it should be. But this book is also intense, dark, and heartbreaking, and you really don’t see that gut punch coming because five seconds before you were laughing at a hilarious joke. Even though I knew something was coming, Shanker and Zekas totally shocked and horrified me (in the good way). This series is surprisingly brutal, and that’s why I love the fuck out of it. But also, HOW COULD YOU?!?!?! That last battle scene was so intense that I actually couldn’t always tell quite what was happening,
This series is fucking fantastic. If you enjoy laughing a lot and getting gut punched, you absolutely must buy these because they are the best. (Even if they are the reason that I will never ever be able to quit Swoon Reads.)
These Ruthless Deeds is a fantastic sequel to 2016's excellent debut, These Vicious Masks. It's, dare I say, even better than the first book of the series! I loved getting to see everyone and their powers in action, plus that witty banter amongst the main cast. Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas really take it up to eleven and after that ending I'm pretty sure I'm dying (for book three, These Vengeful Souls)! At least, I won't have to wait too long since it's due out February 20th, 2018. If you like historical fantasy, Jane Austen, the X-Men, and the Lady Helen series by Alison Goodman, then you absolutely need to try this!
5 HUGE stars for one of the best books in the entire world.
I am in love with this world and characters. Especially Mr. Kent. I absolutely adore him. He made me laugh out loud even when I was reading it in public. I loved this entire book, every chapter, every page, every word. AND THAT ENDING!!! DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT ENDING!!! WHAT??? HOW??? WHY???
I can't wait to get my hands on the next one. I want to know how everything ends.
I am in love with this world and characters. Especially Mr. Kent. I absolutely adore him. He made me laugh out loud even when I was reading it in public. I loved this entire book, every chapter, every page, every word. AND THAT ENDING!!! DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT ENDING!!! WHAT??? HOW??? WHY???
I can't wait to get my hands on the next one. I want to know how everything ends.