Review: Ruined

RUINED
The Eternal Balance #1
Jus Accardo
Paranormal New Adult
325 pages
Entangled Embrace
Available Now
Source: e-ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Jax lost the genetic lottery. Descended from Cain, the world's first murderer, he's plagued by a curse that demands violence in exchange for his happiness. He left everything behind, including the girl he loved, but thriving on the pain of others is lonely… And it's killing him.

After a series of heartbreaking losses, Samantha put rubber to pavement and headed for college as fast as her clunker could carry her. But she can't outrun her problems. When an attack at school drives her back home, she's thrown into the path of a past—and a guy—she's been trying to forget.

Sam strains Jax's control over his darkness, but running isn't an option this time. Someone—or, something—followed her home from school: a ruthless monster with a twisted plan centuries in the making. Forced together to survive, and fighting an attraction that could destroy them both, Jax and Sam must stop a killer bent on revenge.

MY THOUGHTS
Ruined is a darkly captivating story, the characters’ demons – both literal and figurative – presented to us in various lights so we can see all their shades of gray, no pure white or solid black in sight despite the myriad of evil connotations the word demon initially brings forth. The history of Jax’s demonic possession and the presence of demons in our world is explained fairly simply and easily, no hugely complex backstory, keeping the focus on the characters themselves while giving us just enough information to feel as though we have our feet solidly on the ground. It does take a little time for some of our questions about Jax and his demonic counterpart to be answered given we’re immediately thrust into danger and heartbreak with him and Sam, but it's not too long before Ms. Accardo satisfies our curiosity, thus ensuring this story sinks its claws into us and doesn’t let go.

Thanks to the alternating perspective of both Jax and Sam, we get to know the two of them inside and out, sharing in their emotional turmoil as their painful past is resurrected and the depth of their hurt increased tenfold. Jax blows hot and cold in the beginning chapters, something that might seriously irritate us if not for the benefit of his point of view; a point of view that allows us to bear witness to the self-flagellation that follows each and every callous word aimed with unerring precision at the soft tissues of Sam’s heart. His reasons for wanting to stay away from Sam are both numerous and valid, the standard “I’m doing this for your own good” excuse taken to an entirely new level when we come to understand just how much of a struggle it is for Jax to assert any dominance over the demon within. One of the more interesting aspects of this story is how we come to know Jax’s demon, its presence in the beginning something we despise as he does for the pain it causes him and Sam, but as the story progresses the two of them become as inextricably linked emotionally for us as they are physically in Jax, and we find ourselves desperately wanting things to end well for them while fearing true happiness is forever from their shared grasp.

Aside from the gift of Jax’s point of view, Sam is the main reason Jax’s cruelty doesn’t have us shaking the book in the hope he’ll somehow magically feel our displeasure at his behavior. Though his words undoubtedly cut deep and she returns fire in self-defense, she’s quick to catch on to the reason why he lashes out, and once she understands that the hurtful game he’s playing has only losers and no winners, she stands her ground. She refuses to be cowed by his impressive bluster and his deliberate poking of her sore spots, instead assuming the role of his rock: immovable and always there for him to lean on when the exhaustion of his existence finally brings him to his knees. Once her decision is made early on, she never wavers, taking the truly terrifying things that are tossed her way as they come and simply bracing herself for the next impact.

The romance between the two of them (or three of them since Jax’s demon cannot be discounted), is one certainly categorized by a lot of push and pull as the reasons they cannot be together are legion, but instead of the angst and melodrama that usually accompanies such a relationship there is only raw emotion and the painful realization of just how high the odds against them are stacked. We’re left with a resolution to one of the main conflicts in place, but it’s also very clear that innumerable hurdles remain firmly in place, barring Jax and Sam’s path to happily every after with tooth, claw, and Tainted soul.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Jus:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Review: Darker Days

DARKER DAYS
The Darker Agency #1
Jus Accardo
Paranormal Young Adult
332 pages
Entangled Teen
Available August 26th
Source: e-ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Jessie Darker goes to high school during the day, but at night she helps with the family investigation business. Cheating husbands and stolen inheritances? They’re your girls—but their specialty is a bit darker. Zombie in your garage? Pesky Poltergeist living in your pool? They’ll have the problem solved in a magical minute. For a nominal fee, of course...

When gorgeous new client, Lukas Scott, saunters into the office requesting their help to find a stolen box, it sounds like a simple case—until the truth comes out. The box is full of Sin.

Seven deadly ones, in fact.

They’ve got five days to recapture the Sins before they're recalled by the box, taking seven hijacked human bodies with them. Easy peasy—except for one thing...

There’s a spell that will allow the Sins to remain free, causing chaos forever. When the key ingredient threatens the life of someone she knows, Jessie must make the ultimate choice between love and family—or lose everything.

MY THOUGHTS
Darker Days is a laugh-out-loud, thrilling start to a new series, gifting us with a protagonist whose sarcasm charms and whose acknowledgement of her own flaws has us falling more and more in love with her with each page. In addition to a standout young heroine, we are also treated to a well-executed mystery and romance, ensuring any of our small nitpicks along the way are vastly outnumbered by marks in the story’s favor. Though this is the first installment in a series, we get a complete plot arc wherein events are nicely wrapped up for us, but there’s also numerous legs for this series to stand on, a veritable centipede of young adult fiction ready to move forward and usher us along for the non-stop ride.

As mentioned previously, Jessie is full to brimming with snark, and while many times an abundance of something as tricky as dry wit and sarcasm can grate on our nerves if not handled with care, Jessie remains firmly on the amusing side of the line. She wields her snark with consummate skill, intending it to sting those who dare I say deserve it, while at other times using it to defuse tense situations, infusing her words with warmth and humor and bringing a smile to our faces every time. She does have a tendency to repeat a few phrases such as “hell in a hailstorm” with more frequency than we might like, reminding us she’s a teenager despite the very adult battles she fights side by side with her mom, but that minor quibble doesn’t detract from the success of her character as a whole.

Another highlight of this story is the presence of family in Jessie’s life. Her mother is neither an absentee parent nor someone who’s completely oblivious to what’s happening in her daughter’s life, instead she’s involved at every turn without being smothering or controlling. She and Jessie have an extraordinarily healthy relationship, one that’s certainly not perfect as both make mistakes, but one that’s full of respect and genuine heartfelt affection, leaving us excited to see how the two of them are going to continue taking on the world in the next installment.

Overall, Darker Days is a very strong start to Ms. Accardo’s new series, the romance daring to leave all instant declarations of love at the door, and progressing instead at a nice pace wherein they neither develop feelings too quickly nor fall into a vicious cycle of push and pull that leaves us a seething mass of frustrated reader. The concluding events leave us extremely excited to see how things are going to progress for the Darker women and the men in their lives, and book two simply cannot release soon enough.

Rating: 4/5

Find Jus:

Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Amazon • Goodreads

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Cover Reveal: Toxic by Jus Accardo + Reminder

I'm really excited today to be a part of the reveal for Jus Accardo's second book in her paranormal young adult series Toxic (scheduled to release May 1st from Entangled Publishing)! Toxic is the sequel to Touch, and while I haven't had a chance to read Touch yet, I've heard AMAZING things about it from fellow bloggers and can't wait to get my hands on it.

When a Six saved Kale’s life the night of Sumrun, she warned there would be consequences. A trade-off. Something taken for the life they gained. But Dez never imagined she’d lose the one thing she’d give anything to keep… And as if it’s not enough Dez finds her immunity to Kale fading, the Six brought in to help Kale learn to control his killer touch starts drooling on him the moment they meet. Worse than that? Jade can touch Kale. But bimbo Barbie is the least of Dez's problems.

After Dez and Kale got away at Sumrun, her father lost not only his most powerful weapon but an important piece of the Supremacy project. Forced by Denazen to remedy the situation, he poisons Dez and offers her a choice—surrender to Denazen for the cure…or die. Determined to find a solution that doesn’t involve being bagged and tagged—or losing someone she loves—Dez keeps the poison a secret. But when a rash of Denazen attacks hit a little too close to home, Dez is convinced there’s a traitor among them. Jade.

Sacrifices, broken promises, and secrets. Dez will have to lay it all on the line if there’s any hope of proving Jade’s guilt before they all end up Residents of Denazen. Or worse, dead...

Also, I just wanted to post a quick reminder for those of you who signed up for the Some Girls Bite read-along that the first Tempting Tuesdays discussion post goes live tomorrow! I've re-posted the discussion questions below, and you can find the full introductory post and sign up HERE. Yay Ethan and Merit!



DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTERS 1-4

1. Let’s say tomorrow a “vampire manifesto” as Merit calls it runs in newspapers across the country announcing their existence. How do you think you would react? If you were hesitant to believe initially, what would it take to convince you they were real?

2. Since being turned into a vampire means complete removal from your former life and a new job serving your House in some capacity, what do you think you would miss most about the life you live now?

3. What are your first impressions of Merit and how she’s handling all the changes in her life?

4. When you first read the description of Ethan, what actor/model/person you know pops into your head as the perfect embodiment of him? Feel free to include pictures ;-)

5. Do you think Merit’s anger at Ethan himself, not the situation, is justified?