Sweet Ruin

Each time a new installment comes out in the Immortals After Dark series, I rush to get it. Things have taken an interesting turn as the Ascension is upon the Lore. Instead of continuing along as before, the series hangs a louie. There are new players on the scene and stuff just got real. I devoured this book and was left well sated. New players on the scene, Rune and Josephine are sizzling and the new series story arc was intense.

This is the sixteenth book in the series. It is not a standalone and the series needs to be read in order.

Josephine, the older sister to Thaddeus the phantom-vampire who was introduced in Dreams of a Dark Warrior, gets her story and there were some interesting reveals into Thad and Jo’s heritage. Jo is a hard-bitten cold-hearted snarky female whose only soft spot is Thad. She had to let him go to human parents who could care for him, but plans to reunite with him. Her plans are interrupted by the arrival of a charismatic male who becomes intrigued by her and then can’t let her go when she accidentally snags his memories through his blood.

Rune Baneblood, a dark half fey with poisoned blood in his veins is an older being who comes from a world far distant from earth. His past is painful and sordid, but then he was accepted by Orion to the Morior Twelve. Orion has an assignment for the Morior assassin. Go to earth and take out Nix the Soothsayer to keep her from controlling the events of the Ascension and opposing the Morior’s plans for earth. Rune uses his skill learned as a sexual slave to go about his tasks. He feels nothing for the females he uses for information until he encounters one who is indifferent to his wiles and sexual appeal. He becomes more intrigued the more he learns about her and then he has to take her captive when she seems a threat to his mission. His duty to the Morior comes first. Always. But for once he is conflicted.

Alright, so as I said, this one didn’t continue with any of the usual suspects and plot threads everyone speculated about from previous books. A whole new group of players, the Morior are introduced along with what they bring to the time of the Ascension. They are explained as is their purpose, but only up to a point. I got the impression that things are going to get even more exciting than before.

I was surprised, but not disappointed by the hero and heroine introduced in this story. Jo’s background is rough and she’s a tough snarky gal as a result, but her past doesn’t hold a candle to what Rune went through. And it totally scared him so that he is messed up in matters of relationships, love, and sex. Jo warms to him and accepts a chance of being together while Rune is resisting and busy trying to figure out how to pump her for intel and use her. But Rune got a tiger by the tail. Jo’s pretty powerful even if she is nearly ignorant of who and what she is.

And that brings me to Jo and Thad’s race. They are hybrids and very powerful ones at that. An answer is revealed about them, but there is a lot more to come and I am excited to see where that goes.

The story focuses mainly on new characters with Thad and Nix being the only two regulars, sadly, that get any significant time though there are some cameo appearances. Nix was on her game and wielding the cray-cray oracle stuff well as she manipulates the players and events. She is growing darker it seems, but I am fascinated to see where it is going.

Things are moving forward, but on a much grander scale than previously. There are some tantalizing older threads along with added new ones that have my sweating for the next release in the series. The fresh reboot might not be to everyone’s taste, but I loved it along with the pair who got their story in this one. It is definitely one not to be missed by series fans and it is a series that I strongly recommend if you like paranormal romance.

You shouldn’t start reading Kresley’s Immortals After Dark series with this one…but you definitely DEFINITELY should keep reading Kresley’s Immortals After Dark series until you get to this one, where a half-demon/half-fey hero with poisonous blood falls for a vampire who won’t be denied.

I’ve meant to read Sweet Ruin since; it was released in 2015, but life got in the way of me reading the Immortals After Dark series. Now four years later, I’ve finally read Josephine’s and Rune’s book. Unfortunately, this book didn’t grasp me like previous books have done in the past. I think it’s due to the main characters. I was not fond of Rune and Josephine, especially their relationship. Rune is not my favorite male protagonist in the series due to him being a manwhore. He’s with many women in his lifetime. Readers do get a glimpse into his life and how he became a manwhore, but it still not persuade me to like his character. He’s over 1000+ years old, and he’s an Immortal Assassin. In Sweet Ruin, his task is to assassinate Nix. (There’s another reason why I didn’t like his character. No one messes with Nix.) Unfortunately, he has a beautiful vampire distract him from his task, and he believes she may be a spy for Nix. Josephine is no spy, though. She’s trying to live her life as a creature that she is still getting used to in this book.

Josephine’s story starts from the beginning, where she’s an orphan and is taking care of her younger brother Thaddeus. Unfortunately, one day, she ends up showing her real self and ends up losing Thaddeus. She’s forced to stay away and ends up living her life as a superhero/villain, depending on how readers perceive in this book. She’s not sure what she is as far as an immortal, but she knows she drinks blood. She also has another ability, but she’s not familiar with it. When she meets Rune, she starts to realize there are more immortals out there. Rune is an experienced Dark Fae/Demon, and he is taken back by Josephine in the book. What he doesn’t realize is she’s very young and is new to this world. These two end up hooking up together to go after Nix, but Nix is not someone who will go down easy. This is one of many reasons why I love Nix because she’s crazy and knows how to handle everyone. She does see things before anyone else does, and proof of this has happened in previous books.

Unfortunately, it took me a while to read this book because I couldn’t get past Rune’s character. He’s an assassin who sleeps his way through women to get his way or get answers. Women crave him. Josephine even desires him but in different ways. Rune is supposedly poisonous, and he can never be with a woman without killing her. There’s the instant-love between the characters, even though Rune denies the attraction. The very end of the book is what threw me off more with Rune. I know he’s lived this way for eons, but he can find another way. Josephine deserved better. I did enjoy getting to know the other assassins in this book. I also loved getting to know Thaddeus more in this book since he was introduced in a previous book in the series. There was also the backstory of Jo and Thaddeus and where they are and where they come from, which was fascinating.

I’m going to take a break from reading the last two books in the IAD series, but I plan on reading them before the end of 2019. Even though this book was not my favorite, Kresley did introduce some critical points in this story about what is going on with the Immortal characters.

Story Rating: 3.5 stars
Steaminess Rating: 3 stars
Standalone or part of series: Part of series.
Do I recommend this book? Yes.
Will I read other books from the author? Yes.
Tropes/Elements: Fated/Eternal Mates; Age Gap
Hero: Dark Fae/Demon; Manwhore; Immortal Assassin; Abused
Heroine: Orphan; Vampire (Halfling); Outcast; Protective of her Little Brother

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent…Kresley Cole has done it again..she weaves her stories in the IAD world so effortlessly…I wonder how she retains all the different story lines so that they mesh perfectly?
I loved Josephine and Ruin so much. I can so see myself as her “when in doubt, squeeze until something breaks” she is so bad ass but oh so sensitive at the same time, her naivete at the beginning is so cute adorbs….I must bow down to the genius that is Kresley Cole…well done Ms. Cole.
Absolutely Well Done!!

I’m sweetly ruined by this book! What an epic tale.

*Some Spoilers Below*

Let me start by saying that I didn’t read the blurb for this book when I requested it from Netgalley, it was Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series enough said. But when I got ready to read it and seen that the MC of this book are two new characters, I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t Munro’s book, and kinda worried. But I loved this book and I think it tied in well to the series. That being said Lawd have mercy this was a angsty read!

Jo has no memory of her life before the age of 8, when she was found wondering the streets with her baby brother Thad(remember the teenage boy that was locked up with Regin the Radiant in the Immortal prison by Declan Chase in Dreams of a Dark Warrior, that was Thad) and put in foster system. Jo took Thad and ran away, and as a little child she raised Thad the best she could on the streets. A few years later ( I don’t wanna give to much away) Jo and Thad get separated. Thad gets adopted and Jo is all alone not knowing what she is and trying to figure out her powers. Years later she runs into another immortal, who is screwing some chick out in the open with three others on the ground looking like he already had them. She has so many questions for this guy about who she is and her powers, but first she’s gotta wait for him to finish.

Jo was an awesome heroine. She had a rough and lonely life. No one to depend on but herself. She was strong, brave and had a great since of self, even though she didn’t know who or what she was. Jo was brash, outspoken, sometimes a little naive due to raising herself, but she was a good person who tried to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. With her snarky comments, and her sassy “hulk smash” attitude I found Jo engaging and endearing.

Kresley Cole has a talent for writing rough, dark, and damaged heroes. Ones I think I will hate, but end up loving. And Rune was no exception. Rune made me love him, ache for all the things he suffered, and want to choke the crap outta him in equal measure! Rune was strong, and loyal. A 7000 year old man-whore, he has a big heart under everything, feels deeply, but he thinks he is damaged, dirty and unfeeling. Rune is a half dark fae, half demon so his blood, and bodily fluid is poison. A slave since he was a child, at 15 his queen turned him into a sexual assassin, having him sleep and kiss her enemies(his kiss kills)then she turned around and sold him to a whorehouse. Sold into sexual slavery, using sex to get what he wants is all he knows. A master of pleasure, he is known as Rune the Insatiable. He wants more, but doesn’t think it’s in the cards for him. Rune has sweet moments, where I could see how Jo would fall for him then he had stupid moments where I wanted to slap him.

Jo and Rune had massive sexual tension, and tons of chemistry. Most of the book really builds up their relationship, and boy is their relationship a roller coaster ride of emotions and so full of drama. Rune doesn’t think he can do monogamy, and he doesn’t believe he has a mate. Jo wants love, commitment, and faithfulness, and she will have nothing less. So starts the battle of wills. Rune trying to seduce Jo into seeing things his way, and Jo refusing to sleep with him until he can promise monogamy. I loved that Jo stood up to Rune, she knew what she wanted in their relationship and she respected herself enough not to settle for less.

I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I feel this book opened up the plot of the series so that Nix could get her HEA and built up the upcoming Accession. I am pretty sure I know who Nix’s mate is, but I don’t wanna give too much away. I also think it set up a story line for Thad to get his own book. We also get to meet Darach the first Lyka. I hope that Darach and Desh(Charming pirate demon that we see in this book and few others) get their own books. Sweet Ruin was a great addition to the IAD series I can’t wait to see what’s next!