A Ruin of Roses is a delicious and very sexy retelling of the story of Beauty and the Beast. I was worried stepping into the story that it would be boring or mundane as the base plot was already well known. I am a big fan of Disney movies- real & animated. Belle is the Disney princess I would want to be or try and be friends with. BUT! Back to the main topic- A Ruin of Roses - I really enjoyed this book and version of the story! It’s an enemies to lovers, forbidden love, emotional scars and redemption, injury, different worlds, riddled with magic and curses kinda book/series! The characters are, underneath the crass language and layers of curses, as lovely as Disney gave us. The beast is watching out for his people as much as he can to keep them safe as their defender against demons, he’s strong, selfless, a man of his word, intelligent and scarred. Finley, our Belle, is an outsider/nerd, intelligent, creative, loves books, a healer, beautiful, she’s strong, defends the people she loves and kick ass. Hadriel, one of the castle’s sidekicks, is a wonderful, grudgingly helpful, and funny character. As the series progresses, I think we will meet more of the castle characters to love and laugh with as the fight against the demon lord continues.
This book is not for the faint of heart or someone who wants to clutch their pearls upon hearing very creative sexual kinks and actions. It is spicy, juicy, all levels of action I haven’t read very often (let alone even tried) and will leave you feeling faint, satisfied, or looking for your battery powered friend hidden in the nightstand drawer. Beyond that, as another heads up, the language is very crass. It’s consistent though, so you can get used to it rather than continually be pulled out of the story as sometimes happens.
I didn’t realize this was a longer series so it ends with a rather huge cliffhanger that makes you want to yell at the characters “go! Get “them” go save them! Don’t just stay there!” Like a favorite show’s season finale is really the best way to explain it. Now I’m off to add to my book checkout A Throne of Ruin and see what happens next with Nyfain and Finley.
