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A review by mandersjojo
Ruthless Knight by A. Jade, Ashley Jade
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I recently listened to the audio version of this book (not my first time) and realized I never posted a review so here I am! For starters, if Teddy Hamilton is narrating, I’m listening. He narrates a lot of Ashley’s book and I couldn’t be happier about that. He’s the perfect narrator. Lila Winters is good, but I struggle with her attitude while narrating Sawyer’s parts. Maybe that was the intention but I wasn’t a huge fan. I still give this book 5 stars though. For everything.
Cole is the middle child in the Covington family. In book one of this series, we learned he had a twin brother that suffered with mental illness, which he eventually succumbed to. Each of the remaining siblings are dealing with their emotions tied to his passing (or maybe not so much dealing but rather harboring) and this is Cole’s story.
Sawyer is a sassy and smart southern belle. She transferred to Royal Hearts Academy a few years ago and is just trying to finish her senior year without too much drama. Her best friend, Dylan, is dating Jace, who is Cole's older brother. Because of this, Sawyer and Cole do interact from time to time. He's super popular and she is targeted by certain girls in her class because of her weight.
During one of the parties thrown by classmates, Sawyer tries to get away from everyone by retreating to a room without knowing Cole is drunk on the bed. Alone. Before she can leave, Cole opens up about a few things, bringing the two of them closer together. They kiss and he works his way down to her chest, then passes out. She isn't able to move him before his sister, Bianca, and Dylan's cousin Oakley burst into the room. To excuse what's going on, Sawyer says Cole was giving her CPR after she had an asthma attack.
Rumors start around school about this and Cole denies everything. He says he'd never be with Sawyer and that he was with his girlfriend, Casey, who corroborates his alibi. Sadly, he's very cruel with his words when describing Sawyer (calls her fat). Turns out, he had his reason for this. While very rude to ever call anyone fat, his denial is understandable. Not his words.
Two months later they're in school and a bet is proposed to Cole by one of his football teammates. The stakes are high and Sawyer is part of the wager. She happens to be in the guys locker room (long story) and overhears the entire bet.
The rest of the story is about them carrying out the bet, Sawyer struggling to have enough time to manage school, tutoring Oakley, working, and (fake) dating Cole so she turns to stimulants and ends up losing weight, Cole pushing her away then pulling her back in, jealousy and falling in love.
This story is sad. Very sad. The first time I read it, I remember binge reading and lying in bed at night, bawling, with the chapters toward then end. The ending is great but leading up to it… have ample tissue readily available. Sawyer's struggle with her self-worth and weight are discussed a lot in this book. Some people aren't a fan of this topic but I think it's well written here.
Jace is such a jerk, but I fell in love with him. He's the kind of guy that doesn't just have red flags, he IS a red flag. Loud and proud. It's his defense mechanism. The meaner he is, the further people stay from him. Sawyer breaks those walls down though, slowly.