A Touch of Ruin by Scarlett St. Clair the second book in the Hades & Persephone series.

 

Trouble in paradise.

Warning Spoiler, If you haven’t read the first book this review may contain spoilers!

““I love you. Even if the Fates unraveled our destiny, I would find a way back to you.””

In the first book we follow along as Persephone tries to find her place in the world, and to balance what she is. A Goddess without power, and as she makes assumptions about Hades, only supported by her mothers opinion of the God. She finds her own powers and the strength that comes with it, when she finally breaks free from the prison her mother forced her into, and she accepts that Hades loves her, and that she is in love with him as well.

In the second book, we pick up pretty much where we left of. Only there is trouble in paradise. Persephone’s Powers are acting up and she finds it more and more difficult to trust in herself and her own powers. Her unwavering faith in the written word is put to the test when her lates article about the abuse off power by a god, lands her in hot water. And a personal Tragedy threatens to Ruin everything she and Hades has built.

““Hades doesn’t feel worthy without trust. He needs you to believe in him, to find strength in him.””

The evolution of Persephone is at a standstill, if not an actual devolution. she started out so confident, but her being thrust into the inner workings of the underworld. And the souls acting like she is their queen, she loses confidence in her-self, and she begins to make stupid choices. I know hindsight is 20/20, but she knows the choices are bad, if not only because she doesn’t have all the pieces to the puzzle.

““There are always consequences. The difference between you and other gods, is that you care about them.””

And Persephone is different from the other Gods, she has lived life as a mortal, powerless and at the mercy of unfeeling Gods, she knows the strife, and she knows that the consequences might not always be yours to pay initially, but you always end up paying in the end.

““Everyone needs protecting,” he said. “Life’s hard.” Persephone frowned. She’d said something similar to Hades’ once when she’d argued with him about why it was important to forgive mortals. She’d never considered she required the same grace.”

It doesn’t exactly make her situation better that Hades former Lover crawls out of the woodwork and upends her entire life. I mean yes, Hades doesn’t help the situation any by keeping her reappearance quiet, but considering Minthe the mint plant, I’m not sure it wasn’t a bad idea to keep her a secret. If only he had been honest with them both from the beginning.

“The woman lifted her chin, her chest rose as she spoke with misplaced pride. “I am Leuce, Hades’ lover.””

A lot of the problems facing the couple isn’t in fact a lack of love or differences in opinions, it’s the lack of communication that plagued the throughout the first book, only it has gotten worse than ever, the stakes are higher now that they hade admitted their feelings to each other, and their own fears are what is driving the apart.

““Do you know what I think?” He whispered furiously. She wanted to take a step away—she didn’t want to face what she’d done. How she’d retaliated against him. “I think this is all a game to you. I pissed you off so you wanted to piss me off, is that it? One for one—now we’re even.””

A lot of what happened could have been avoided if Hades had sat Persephone down and told her about what was happening, and why I couldn’t do what she wanted him to do. And then again, had Persephone trusted Hades enough to begin with, we wouldn’t bee in this mess. But fear and grief make people do stupid things. And an honest conversation is definitely not one of them.   

““You want Hades pissed off. Don’t lie to me, Sephy. You’re looking forward to hot makeup sex when you two reconcile.” Hermes shoved the dress into Persephone’s hands. “Now, go.””

We are also given a new treat in this book Hermes goes from being a funny side character, to have more of a function of a hilarious and adorable sidekick to the couple, and thereby he joins the hall of fame as the best sidekicks in the written word in my opinion.

““I’m not uncertain,” she said. “I’m afraid, you idiot!””

I like the fact that the book touch in on matters that are actually relevant for today’s society, the woke wave in the last book where opinions are more important than the truth.  And in this book we touch in on women’s issues.

“She shrugged. “I know how history treats women.””

The War of Two Queens by Jennifer L. Armentrout the fourth book in the Blood and Ash series.

 

I’m speechless!

Warning Spoiler alert. If you haven’t read the first three books.

“Thirteen days had passed since the first time the Handmaidens swarmed this cell, dressed in black and as quiet as a tomb. They came once a day to cut into my flesh, siphoning my blood as if I were a damn barrel of fine wine.”

In the last book poppy found out she was not just a mortal with Atlantean blood, or a deity, no she was a God, and not only that, Queen Ileana of Solis was her mother and that she was also Isbeth, purportedly the first Vampry and the start off all this mess. So basically, a LOT of information dumped on Poppy, ad to it all Casteel her husband, volunteered to be taken capture by the evil Queen to save poppy. So not a good day.

In this book, poppy will stop at nothing to get her husband back, so when she and her army travels into Solis and begin to liberate Cities, she is not at all surprised by the reception she receives from the ascended. But the fear coming from the mortals are surprising, they believe she is the harbinger of death and destruction, and poppy has to work hard to prove them Wrong.

“A wave of surprise fell like freezing rain, rippling over those before me. “I am not the Harbinger. I carry the blood of the King of Gods in me, and those who reside in these walls do not speak to any god—or for them. They are your enemy. Not us.””

Okay so I have a small confession, I feel like the books have declined a little in quality from book one, and it kind of irritates me. It hasn’t declined to a point where I don’t think it can be saved, but honestly, I shouted at my book during the second to last Chapter. I felt like Jennifer made Poppy more irrational and more emotional than she was in the first book, and it pissed me off. I also feel like the books have basically digressed into Porn with a Plot, and even though smut can be entertaining, when the stakes are this high, you shouldn’t have to read a ten-page long love scene, that keeps starting over. I mean at a certain point you just skip it because its too much.

“Seventy-one that must have been taken in the unexpected last Rite and the one before. That number had to include the second and third sons and daughters. Which meant none had been given over to the Court as was normal for the second-born. It also meant that those who carried that not-so-dormant ember of life had been slaughtered.”

I feel like Poppys character has devolved in this book, in the first, she was this great fighter, ready to fight and take charge, when people were I trouble, now I feel like she’s bumbling around, I also feel like the sexual tension between her and Kieran is a little weird, not unlikely, but it feels very sudden. I really hope the character starts to develop again.

“I couldn’t believe I was staring at the Blood King’s head. A slow smile spread across my face. I laughed—deep and hard. Gods, Poppy was…damn, she was vicious in the most magnificent way, and I could not wait to show her just how much I approved of it. “That’s…gods, that’s my Queen.””

Casteel got his own chapters this time, and it gives a whole new insight into who Casteel is.

I feel like the book could have been better, it felt a little bit repetitive. And I had a hard time concentrating. And I really just wanted it to end.

2 out of 1 stars from me.  

The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout the Third book in the Blood and ash series

Just Wow.

Warning Spoiler alert. If you haven’t read the first two books.

“He remained on one knee, staring up at me from between the vee of the swords he’d crossed over his chest. His damp hair, blue-black in the Atlantian sunlight, curled against the sandy-hued skin of his forehead. Red streaked those high, angular cheekbones, the proud curve of his jaw, and ran down lips that had once shattered my heart. Lips that had pieced those broken shards back together with the truth. Bright, golden eyes locked with mine, and even bowed before me, so motionless I wasn’t sure he breathed, he still reminded me of one of the wild and strikingly beautiful cave cats I’d once seen caged in Queen Ileana’s palace as a child.”

In the last book, poppy and Casteel feel in love and married, they weathered attacks, betrayals, and prejudice. And even though it was a long road to get there, poppy found peace not only in her growing powers and abilities, but in the husband, she knows will always be by her side. Even when poppy I proclaimed the rightful queen of Atlantia.

The Third book. Poppy is the rightful hair to the Atlantian throne, but she is not that keen on the idea of becoming queen. More and more she is convinced that her parentage is not what it seemed when her parents died, desperate for answers she searches the lands and find answers in the most unlikely places form the most unlikely source.

““This is Wilhelmina Colyns,” Valyn announced, and every single part of my body flashed hot and then cold. “She joined the Council after you…”

Valyn was speaking, but my heart was pounding so fast that I couldn’t be sure if he even spoke a language I understood. Oh, my gods, it was Miss Willa.”

The plot has only changed a little from the last book, saving the kingdom and becoming free. But still there are minor changes, and it occurs even throughout the book, and even though information is coming in slowly but surely, it still has a lot of blank spaces that needs to be filled out. And the confusion prices because its not always the adjacent pieces of the puzzle that are being revealed and its not until later when it all fits together that you realize the information was important. Mostly because it’s  all hearsay.

“My stomach tumbled as I stared at Kieran. “But then how can I…?” I trailed off. “None of this makes sense, Kieran. I get that I carry the blood of Nyktos in me, and even Malec’s if what Alastir said is true, but that doesn’t explain how my abilities are so strong when as far as I can remember, neither of my parents had these gifts. Neither did Ian. And, yes, I know he might not be my full-blooded brother,” I said before he could remind me of that fact. “But if I am the descendant of Malec and one of his mistresses, that had to be several generations ago. How did I end up with so much either?””

Poppy is finding new truths about her heritage, but it all still comes down to the people around her. The wolven  answer to her now and their former bonds have been broken. And getting used the new dynamic is sometimes harder than other times. Poppys life, and her Powers, change drastically, and when bits and pieces of her parentage are revealed, she takes it in strides. Poppys loyalties never waiver however, she remains true to her husband, her mother and father and her brother. Even if she no longer knows if they are blood.

““He’s right,” Casteel said softly, his gaze searching mine. “I don’t know why Alastir would’ve lied about your mother being a Handmaiden. If he was telling the truth, your mother was never a Lady in Wait, destined to Ascend. That could also mean your father wasn’t a merchant’s son.” He paused. “It could also mean that only one—or neither of them—was your parent by blood.””

Casteel rises to the occasion and is an amazingly supportive husband to Poppy, whatever happens, he is by her side wanting to protect her. Even when he is more playful in this book than the others, yes he did have a playful streak, but not like this, he seems happy and settled. Even when the teasing heightens, you can feel the love flow of the pages.  

““Yes, from Poppy’s favorite journal, written by a Miss Willa—”

“He was reading that,” I cut in, picking up a piece of cheese. “I woke up, and he was reading—”

“You know, the one I found her with on that window ledge? The scene was about a very dark sort of wicked kiss on a very inappropriate area,””

It feels like it’s getting slower paced, yes it was nice to hear that they were happy and in love, but honestly, I don’t know if I’m just eager to know what happens, but I feel like the pace definitely slowed down significantly. I do still like the book, but I’m getting just a little impatient for some real answers, I still feel like she is one of the authors that keeps the cards close to her chest.

“When Casteel had asked if I wanted to take a walk through the city, I’d hesitated. We needed to speak with his parents. Not only did we owe them that, but there was also the possibility that they held some of the answers to the questions we had. But Casteel had kissed me and said, “We have tomorrow, Poppy, and we have right now. You get to decide how you want to spend it.””

I liked it even if it had a slower pace than the others, but even though I really wanted to know what happened, I still loved the story.

4/5 stars from me.