Ruined

WARNING: This is a series. If you're expecting to sit and read one book and be done with it, this isn't it - that said, READ IT ANYWAY. **Very slight spoilers ahead** There's nothing I love more than a high-stakes game with a relationship that starts out with an "I love to hate you, hate to love you" vibe. War already ravages Em's home and endangers her people, and as the non-magic eldest daughter of Ruina's murdered queen, Em is overlooked and forgotten by the rest of her refugee Ruined, but that doesn't stop her from doing all she can to avenge her parents and kidnapped sister. With the help of two close friends, Em puts her plan for revenge into action at the start of the book; infiltrate the enemy nation of Lera by posing as the Leran prince's betrothed. What follows is a story of unlikely friendship, a mutual desire to prove worthy, and family loyalty. Em and Cas make for intriguing heroes; she has everything to gain, and he has everything to lose. Em is hotheaded yet analytical, determined to follow through with her plan; Cas is calm and intelligent, yet allows his opinionated parents to dictate much of his life. What starts as a tense and forced companionship between the two eventually shifts into understanding and friendship, which only makes Em's task that much more difficult to follow through, and Cas' eventual loss all the greater. Filled with interesting characters, decent world building, and a quick-paced plot that captivates and holds attention, I loved Ruined right out of the Amazon box. The action starts immediately in the first chapter, and the subtle suspense and precarious nature of Em's mission continues right up until the end. I wasn't expecting a split-POV read, and when the second chapter switched to Cas' POV, I *was* a bit thrown. However, Cas' voice and personality connected with me right away, and worked as a perfect balance to Em's often survival-oriented mind. The slow, gradual building of Cas and Em's relationship is extremely satisfying, and by the climax of the book, I realized I had yet another OTP (One True Pairing for non-fanpersons). While romance is certainly a part of this book (I'd be lying if I said romance wasn't a factor in my decision to read it *hopeless romantic alert*), it's far from being the main focus. A greater focus is on the friendships between the characters - Aren and Damian are two Ruined who have stuck by Em through the war and the running, and stood by her with support when she devises what the other Ruined would call a doomed plan, if they knew of it at all. The Prince Casimir's friendship with guard Galo is both fun and serious, a brotherly relationship full of complete trust and respect, made more real by the good-natured teasing between the two. Both Em's and Cas' friends play an important role in shaping their development throughout this first installment, and I foresee their even greater importance in future books. I would suggest RUINED to everyone who's a fan of fantasy and YA, but particularly to those in love with the series of Sarah J. Maas' THRONE OF GLASS, Victoria Aveyard's RED QUEEN, Sara Raasch's SNOW LIKE ASHES, Sara B. Larson's DEFY, and Kristen Cashore's GRACELING and FIRE. High stakes, intrigue, magic, and precarious "Romeo and Juliet"-esque romance (minus the hasty nature) spins RUINED into a well-woven YA fantasy, and cements its place on my Top Shelf of favorite books to re-read. FIVE out of FIVE stars, + bonus star for the adorable friendships, including the one that grows between Cas and Em.

When I picked up Ruined I was expecting at most a mildly enjoyable young adult fantasy. The story wasn’t the most original story I’ve ever read and there were some typical YA tropes, but Ruined definitely exceeded my expectations. It was fast-paced, and just so much fun. It’s not often I am eager to immediately start reading the next book in the series, but with Ruined I was on Amazon as soon as I finished the last page. I was disappointed to see it isn’t released until May! Anyway, I absolutely recommend Ruined– especially if you are looking for an exciting, fast-paced YA fantasy to get you out of your reading slump. The synopsis for this book is almost like the prologue. You are thrown into the middle of the action from page one, with Em brutally killing Princess Mary in order to take her place to infiltrate the kingdom of Lera. Emelina Flores’ kingdom of Ruina has been ravaged by war, leaving its people broken and scattered. Em’s sister, Olivia, is also being help captive somewhere in Lera- and Em intends to rescue her. We also learn that many people of Ruina have special abilities, which is partly why they are so hated. I’m a sucker for any kind of book with magical abilities, so I thoroughly enjoying learning what each of the characters could do. Em, however does not have any apparent abilities. She is very skilled with a sword and I appreciated seeing such a badass female main character. Em desperately wants to avenge her people, but when she gets to know her betrothed, Prince Casimir, she doesn’t see a harsh, unyielding king. She sees a future with peace. So, yes, this can be considered a typical trope with the “special female main character falls in love with the enemy,” but guys, it was good! I loved the alternating points of view, and laughed at some of the misconceptions they had about each other as their relationship developed. It was all very cute :). Cas and Em were great together and I am looking forward to see their fate in the next book. I was also pleasantly surprised at how violent this book was. Tintera certainly didn’t shy away from hurting and even killing some important characters. It makes me even more excited to read the next book because anything could happen! Overall, Ruined is an extremely enjoyable story filled with great action, handsome princes, magical abilities and a girl who wants nothing more than to avenge her kingdom. I definitely recommend!

Loved it - which is funny because this book has gotten such mixed reviews, I had held off on reading it. I'm glad I took a chance, it was a good read for those of us who like young adult dystopia but also like a good romance novel. I found this story perfect for someone like me, I don't need a ton of world building and don't really relish gratuitous violence - this story found the happy medium. Em is a Ruined, a people who are being systematically killed by the kingdom of Lera. So she goes undercover as the Lera prince's intended, they end up marrying, but this does not stop Em's plan to destroy the Lera kingdom. Of course things don't go smoothly and Em ends up falling in love with the Prince, Cass. I like how he also falls for her and even when he finds out about her betrayal, and tries hard to not love her, still can't do it. The story moves at a quick clip, people are killed (it wasn't sugar coated) and the only bad news, it is book one of a series, so now I must wait till 2017 for book 2, urgh! I agree there were some editing mistakes, that I even found, so hopefully the editors will do a better job for book two. Highly recommend for older teens (there is mention of sex in the book) and adults like me (see description above), I finished the book in three days.

4.5 stars! This was a really awesome and bad-ass read! Damn, I loved every second spent reading this book and I'm craving more!! And I'm so sad for not having its sequel, avenged, on my shelves right now, because I really want to continue reading. - Kick-ass and fearsome female lead present, named Em: CHECK - lovable male lead named Cas who's a perfect counterbalance to Em: CHECK - interesting minor characters: CHECK - action-packed: CHECK - sometimes brutal and cruel things happening: CHECK and CHECK - an author who isn't afraid to kill off characters: CHECKKKKKKKKKKK - great writing in general: CHECK - a loveable and well-developing romance: CHECK - things getting out of control ending up in freaking out moments - with some shedded tears here and there: CHECK and CHECK A minor remark on my behalf; In the first 15% of the book, there were some moments that felt a bit repetitive regarding how the author wrote about Em being a killer and that she could kick some ass. I loooved Em's strong character, don't get me wrong. She's definitely one of those female characters most readers will love, me included - but in the first few chapters, the writing was a bit too much sometimes I think when it comes to describing how murderous Em could be, lol. Thankfully, this was only in the first few chapters and it all improved really quickly after that. It only got better and better throughout the book. A fast-paced read, which I just couldn't put down - nor did I want to because it was seriously addicting and awesome. I'm hooked and I need more, so I really need to buy AVENGED asap. a great first book in a new series and one I'd DEFINITELY RECOMMEND!!

Okay, admito que não esperava muito do livro, mas fui felizmente surpreendido. A história é cheia de ação desde literalmente o primeiro capítulo e não desacelera por nenhum segundo. O final da história é de explodir a cabeça e deixar angustiado para a continuação. Leiam, Ruined, vocês não vão se arrepender.

It was packed with action and a beautiful love story! A strong and unique concept with an amazing heroine I devoured this book and simply couldn't put it down! Can't wait for the next book!

L'ho letto due volte e come l'ho finito non vedevo l'ora di agguntare il secondo! Un bellissimo mondo e personaggi abbastanza curati, ve lo consiglio!

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING WOW. I fell in love with the characters, especially Cas. One of my favourite books I've ever read.