Reviews

Another fun one in the Ruinous trilogy. I didn't love it like I did the first one, but I still really liked it. It's really good, just a bit anticlimactic and I have no idea where the third book is going to go.

read_with_blondie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jessgreads's review

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

cboel's review against another edition

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3.5

The narrators of this audiobook were good, minus Lark’s laugh and the singing. I did enjoy the way their relationship evolved and the banter was great! However, It felt like the same story, different font compared to book one. I still plan to continue the series.

ryansometimesreads's review

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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

4.0

arankin's review

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1.5

Honestly I struggled for a good bit on what to rate this book. Sadly, this was my most anticipated book for 2024 and I was left really disappointed. WARNING SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!

First what I loved about the book -

There banter was absolutely amazing. I found myself laughing constantly at their conversations and there were SO many highlightable/annotation worthy moments I’d even say more so than Butcher & Blackbird.
Individually both Lachlan and Lark were lovable characters that were very similar in their love of their inner circles and the way they expressed their devotion to those people were also very similar they never announced it they always just looked after and did things in secret. Like finding out that Lachlan every year spends a small fortune to get information for Rowan and Sloane’s annual killing game and how Lark marries Lachlan in order to protect Sloane’s happiness with Rowan.
Lachlan and Lark together I’m somewhat on the fence about there’s good and bad moments as their relationship develops but it isn’t really until about maybe 60% that it kind of becomes likable. I loved Lachlan throughout the entire book but Lark a lot of the time got on my nerves and I hated that her bubbly happy go lucky personality was mostly a facade that she put on for everyone around her.

Now for what I didn’t like:

Their first meeting although what Lachlan did by throwing her into the trunk after she pleaded with him not to was mean I did not think it warranted over 70% of the plot and her hatred for him. I really wish her hatred had been more warranted and understandable. First of all he was their to literally clean up her murder scene and her stepfather literally told her to not give out details or personal information because Leviathan was a dangerous organization, so how are you going to be mad at someone for doing minimal talking and their job? I understand she has trauma and is claustrophobic but she could get out of the trunk so I just don’t think her hatred should have run that deep to warrant 70% of the book. He even cleared up why he was in a bad mood that night and explicitly told her MULTIPLE times that he didn’t hate her.
I felt like Lark’s attraction to Lachlan was a little out of nowhere yes she found him attractive and when they officially met before she realized who he was she was attracted to him but the majority of the book she could not stop talking about how much she didn’t like him and couldn’t stand being around him and then she randomly talks about how she’s thought about their first kiss all the time and how she masturbates to the thought of him it just didn’t make sense. Compared to his POVs where you can see how he constantly thinks about her, wants her forgiveness that his first impression was wrong, that he wants to be apart of her inner circle of people she cares deeply about, how he wishes the first time he met her was on Rowan and Sloane’s balcony you can literally see how he’s falling in love.
The rushed ending. Majority of the book was just Lark being stubborn and wanting an apology I really didn’t think she needed. He apologized and didn’t expect anything from her and she could not let it go for over 70% of the book. I know I mention 70% a lot but it should not take 70% of a standalone to get together and genuinely be happy especially when they should have been looking for the phantom. The resolution for the phantom was literally just a chapter and a half…and the need to give her the option to divorce Lachlan was SO unnecessary. During the whole scene with the phantom she was going to sacrifice herself in order to protect him from having to choose between her life and Rowan’s and she literally said she loved him before making the decision for him.

Overall the book was okay and I’m just thankful for no third act break up but I had much higher expectations considering how much I loved B&B. On a positive note the epilogue has me excited for the third book with Fionn and Rose so crossing my fingers that it’ll be more of a hit!

cld6's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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