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Sometimes, when we're in pain, we need to come to the realization that we need help on our own. Before we can ever accept it.

Rosalyn 'Rosie' Graham

The American Roommate Experiment (Chapter Sixteen) by Elena Armas

#quote #the american roommate experiment #spanish love deception #elena armas #rosalyn graham #rosie graham

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Book Chat: The American Roommate Experiment

Spanish Love Deception (Book 2) by Elena Armas

Source: Google Images

Rosie Graham has a problem. A few, actually. She just quit her well paid job to focus on her secret career as a romance writer. She hasn’t told her family and now has terrible writer’s block. Then, the ceiling of her New York apartment literally crumbles on her. Luckily she has her best friend Lina’s spare key while she’s out of town. But Rosie doesn’t know that Lina has already lent her apartment to her cousin Lucas, who Rosie has been stalking—for lack of a better word—on Instagram for the last few months. Lucas seems intent on coming to her rescue like a Spanish knight in shining armor. Only this one strolls around the place in a towel, has a distracting grin, and an irresistible accent. Oh, and he cooks.

Lucas offers to let Rosie stay with him, at least until she can find some affordable temporary housing. And then he proposes an outrageous experiment to bring back her literary muse and meet her deadline: He’ll take her on a series of experimental dates meant to jump-start her romantic inspiration. Rosie has nothing to lose. Her silly, online crush is totally under control—but Lucas’s time in New York has an expiration date, and six weeks may not be enough, for either her or her deadline.

ISBN: 9781398515642 (2022) | Source: Goodreads

Disappointing

This book was tough to get through. Writing was all right but the plot... Not only was it boring but the vibe was just not it.

The way Armas wrote Rosie and Lucas's respective feelings for each other was as if these two were soulmates born for each other. Except, they weren't. They were two individuals who had deep feelings for each other mainly because of physical attraction. Lucas spent more time mentioning Rosie is beautiful rather than other aspects that got him to fall for Rosie. Likewise, Rosie's love stemmed from her stalking Lucas's Instagram.

I am not denying Rosie and Lucas love each other. I just am peeved at the fact that Armas really thought her characters fell for each other due to deeper factors instead of from how they look to each other.

Additionally, their sexual tension was not it. I honestly thought their chemistry was better when sex wasn't even considered. The only good thing that came out of The American Roommate Experiment was that the smut did not come until the last fifth or sixth of the book.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5)

#book review #the american roommate experiment #spanish love deception #elena armas #rosalyn graham #rosie graham #lucas martín #lucas martin

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Everybody has a little bit of love for the same sex, some people more than others. ... But I'm saying that strict heterosexuality is probably a small minority of humanity. If you take society and religion out of the equation, we're probably all a little homo.

Nahr

Against the Loveless World (Chapter: Um Buraq) by Susan Abulhawa

#quote #against the loveless world #susan abulhawa #nahr

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Palestinians learned the first time in 1948 that leaving to save your life meant you would lose everything and could never go back.

Nahr

Against the Loveless World (Chapter: Dance, Ruby River) by Susan Abulhawa

#quote #against the loveless world #susan abulhawa #nahr

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Book Chat: Against the Loveless World

Source: Google Images

As Nahr sits, locked away in solitary confinement, she spends her days reflecting on the dramatic events that landed her in prison in a country she barely knows. Born in Kuwait in the 70s to Palestinian refugees, she dreamed of falling in love with the perfect man, raising children, and possibly opening her own beauty salon. Instead, the man she thinks she loves jilts her after a brief marriage, her family teeters on the brink of poverty, she’s forced to prostitute herself, and the US invasion of Iraq makes her a refugee, as her parents had been. After trekking through another temporary home in Jordan, she lands in Palestine, where she finally makes a home, falls in love, and her destiny unfolds under Israeli occupation.

ISBN: 9781526618801 (2020) | Source: Goodreads

Nothing I Expected

When I first picked this book up, it was because I wanted to support the author. Knowing this was literary fiction, I had an inkling I might not enjoy it as much as when I read other types of fiction. However, I was completely taken aback when I finished this book and realised Against the Loveless World is a 5-star read for me.

Abulhawa writes in a way where it's easy for the readers to understand everything she is trying to put into the book. This book sings like a calm melodic tune but tells the tale of horrendous happenings.

Yes, this book is fiction but it reads like a memoir. Knowing everything that happened to Nahr was not everything Abulhawa experienced does not take away how harrowing reading about all those events was. Why? Because even though this story might not tell the real story of one person, it's a combination of many real stories of many individuals. So what if there is not one person who suffered like Nahr exactly? Suffering is still suffering, big or small.

Against the Loveless World is not an educational text. Do not read this book hoping to learn everything about that side of history. Although, feel free to read it as a snippet of an introduction to the history.

Rating: ★★★★★

#book review #against the loveless world #susan abulhawa #nahr

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Drama Gossip: The Spirealm (致命游戏)

Source: Google Images

It started off peculiarly; first, his domestic cat refused to let him cuddle it. Lin Qiushi soon found that a sense of disharmony and incongruity began to pervade everything around him. Then, one odd day, he pushed open a door, and he discovered that the hallway he was familiar with turned into a boundless corridor. At both ends of this corridor were twelve, identical iron gates. Thus, the story began.

Source: MyDramaList (2024)

Action, Adventure, Augmented Reality? Sign Me Up!

I do not consume everything that has the 'entering a virtual game with real life consequences' plot-line but when I do, I more or less will enjoy them. The Spirealm is exactly that plot-line and after just finishing 19th Floor (another Chinese drama with similar concept), I was expecting more and hoping for lesser disappointment.

This drama did not disappoint at all. Lets first talk about the roles and the cast. Brilliant job on the casting, everybody pulled off their role so wonderfully, it felt like they were made for their roles. As for the characters these actors portrayed, wow. I haven't been obsessed with a fictional Chinese character in such a long time but Ruan Lan Zhu is so easy to be obsessed with. The writing was brilliant because I very quickly grew attached to the main people and when shit hit the fan, yeah, I felt everything as if I was a part of them.

Spoilers going on from here so if you haven't watched the show, go and watch it now, please?

As I was saying, I was so attached to some of the characters, I really, wow... Say Li Dong Yuan first. I actually already was spoiled with his death, I even knew which door was going to cause his death yet when it happened, I physically gasped. Then his farewell scene came about and goodness gracious, Xiao Zhuang's reaction was absolutely heart-wrenching. It really did not help that right before getting stabbed, the door Dong Yuan went through for Ling Ling was one of the most entertaining and comedic doors.

After that Zao Zao's death? She was already trying her best in the real world, she tried her best in the spirealm. She gave one of the best speeches ever. Yet that chandelier... I never hated chandeliers as much as I do now.

That's the thing about The Spirealm. This show has plenty of heartbreaking scenes but at the same time, it has a bunch of hilarious scenes too. You really can go from laughing one second and then depressed the next. Exactly like when Cheng Yi Xie sacrificed himself for his brother? One second I was laughing at Lan Zhu begging for Ling Ling's forgiveness and suddenly I was pissed but before I could even get real mad, I was hit with a broken heart. This may sound like a complain but the roller coaster of emotions made this drama ten times more interesting than other dramas.

Moving on to the game or doors or levels (however you want to call them). I really, really enjoy shows with this concept but many a times, the stakes just aren't high enough. Not The Spirealm though. I mean, look at Dong Yuan, Zao Zao and Yi Xie. They are part of the main leads and that world did not go easy on them. As much as I hate that they died, I really appreciated the high stakes in this drama. It made watching the show so much more worth it.

Anyhow, despite thoroughly enjoying this drama, I have so many questions. First things first, did I miss the significance of the necklace Lan Zhu gave Ling Ling during the first door?

Also (this is not that important by the way), when the time comes, the players have no choice but through the door. We've watched Ling Ling enter his doors plenty a time. Now tell me how did Wu Qi survive?

I may be someone who loves an ambiguous ending but if the theory that everything was not real is in fact real, I hate it. Yet, everything being a part of Ling Ling's dream or "hallucination" does make sense, as much as I hate it. Remember where Ling Ling walked into upon completing the first door? He entered the door in the middle of the road and exited it into his house? The discrepancies started right from the beginning. Which (if I did not miss anything) might explain the lack of significance behind the necklace. It will also explain why Ling Ling's time between each door is never long yet Wu Qi's not worried about his next door when he witnessed Dong Yuan's death? Or that Chen Fei's advancement is so much slower than Ling Ling. Furthermore, I'm supposed to believe the crew learnt about a mysterious man who helped Xiong Qi reunite with Xiao Ke in the spirealm and they did not investigate more?

I really do hate the everything was not real theory but I also cannot deny it's the most reasonable one. There was another theory I chanced upon on Douyin a while back and have since forgotten most of the information. However, I like that theory a lot even though it was quite farfetched. Long story short, the user theorised that after Lan Zhu walked into the portal and cleaned the program, Ling Ling woke up and regained consciousness after being hit, right? That's not reality but the 12th door and the door god for this last door is Lan Zhu. That was all I remember but the user did provide explanations and timestamps for their theory and upon reading it, it did make sense too. Therefore, if I ever come across that video again, I will link it here.

In the meantime, let's wallow in the conclusion of The Spirealm. It was a quick and short ride but an extremely memorable one.

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)

More productions from China here: 19th Floor (19层) | Under the Skin (猎罪图鉴)

#drama review #the spirealm #致命游戏 #ruan lan zhu #ling jiu shi #li dong yuan #tan zao zao #cheng yi xie #cheng qian li #zhang ru jiao #xia zhi guang #huang jun jie #liu xiao bei #lu meng lin #liu ruo gu #yin rui #chinese drama

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Payne: I've been thinking lately. I'm forty-one soon. Beau: Did that take a lot of thought to realize?

#quote #roommate arrangement #divorced men's club #saxon james #payne walker #beau rickshaw

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Don't 'romance' me. Men can like love too.

Beau Rickshaw

Roommate Arrangement (Chapter 9) by Saxon James

#quote #roommate arrangement #divorced men's club #saxon james #beau rickshaw

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Book Chat: Roommate Arrangement

Divorced Men's Club (Book 1) by Saxon James

Source: Google Images

Payne:

In search of: room to rent.

Must ignore the patheticness of a forty-year-old roommate.

Preferably dirt cheap as funds are tight (nonexistent).

There’s nothing sadder than moving back to my hometown newly divorced, homeless, and lost for what my next move is.

When my little brother’s best friend offers me a place to stay in exchange for menial duties, I swallow my pride and jump at the offer.

I need this.

I also need Beau to wear a shirt. And ditch the gray sweatpants. And not leave his door ajar when he’s in compromising positions …

Beau:

In search of: roommate.

Must be non smoker and non douchebag.

Room payment to be made in meal planning, repairs, and dumb jokes.

Since my career took off, I barely have time to breathe, let alone keep my life in order. I’m naturally chaotic, make terrible decisions, and scare off potential dates with my “weirdness”.

So when Payne gets back into town and needs somewhere to stay, I offer him my spare room with one condition: while he’s staying with me, I need him to help me become date-able.

And while he does that, I can focus on my other plan: ignoring that Payne is the only man I’ve ever wanted to date.

Source: Goodreads (2022)

This Deserved A Bit More Angst

This was neither good nor bad, nor was it enticing or boring. Did I enjoy it? Yeah, kind of but do I love it? Not really.

Let me first get through James's writing. I have absolutely no issue with it at all. In fact, James writes in a way that's not too flowery or too amateur. In other words, the way James writes makes it easy for readers to get into a book.

Unfortunately, the problem I had was the plot. The characters, both major and minor, were completely fine. However, because I was expecting more drama or at least angst, Roommate Arrangement fell short for me. I love me a wholesome read but this isn't exactly wholesome as well. It's just so calm, too mellow.

This book started out great. The divorce that was pushed into the reader's face in chapter 1, I love that. Sadly, the story started becoming slow and stagnant when Payne and Beau started sleeping together. On the other hand, I love the idea of the divorced men's club but when I barely got any of them, it was kinda of disappointing too.

To be completely objective, I do think the reason this book fell lower for me was because the previous book I read was also an MM novel and it's one I absolutely love. Just a case of wrong book, wrong time.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

#book review #roommate arrangement #divorced men's club #saxon james #payne walker #beau rickshaw

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Annabeth: Alecto offered to help our quest if I gave you up to her. Percy: What did you say? Annabeth: I killed her sister. Percy: Medusa offered to help me save my mom if I turned on the two of you. Annabeth: And what'd you say? Percy: I cut off her head.

#quote #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson and the olympians season 1 #annabeth chase #percy jackson

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TV Series Discussion: Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Season 1 (2023)

Source: Google Images

Percy Jackson is on a dangerous quest. Outrunning monsters and outwitting gods, he must journey across America to return Zeus’ master bolt and stop an all-out war. With the help of his quest mates Annabeth and Grover, Percy’s journey will lead him closer to the answers he seeks: how to fit into a world where he feels out of place, and find out who he’s destined to be.

Source: Disney+ (2023)

A Solid Adaptation

Before I begin, I do need to admit a couple of things. I love Percy Jackson, the character, the books, the world. As an adaptation, I disapproved the movie but if I'm just watching the film without caring that it's an adaptation, I do like it. So there, my stance.

Now, the TV show. I wanted to be ready so I did what I usually do not do. I reread the book in preparation for the show. And thankfully, I did that. As an adaptation, this is a million times better than what the movie did. Unfortunately, this first season is also a little boring but I am not mad at it.

You see, this entire first season is honestly just world building after world building after world building. Despite there being a prophecy and a quest, the main focus of season 1 is to build the Percy Jackson universe. If you watched this show without reading the book, you are honestly going to find it boring half the time. Hell, I read the book and I was bored half the time too. But, that's what the book did too, world building. Percy Jackson's plot truly begins in the next instalment (which I am so glad Disney did not cancel the show after one season).

On to the cast, I have nothing but compliments. First being the ages of these kids. As much as I love Logan Lerman as Percy, I love that these kids reflect the book more. Also, even though these are just teenagers, they did a phenomenal job with their roles.

Walker Scobell's Percy Jackson was confused, sarcastic, brave and sometimes awkward (exactly like the book). Not gonna lie, the way Leah Sava Jeffries portrayed Annabeth Chase was not what I imagined while reading the books. But I'm not mad at all. In the books, words did not quite explain Annabeth's contempt towards Percy or the world. Which makes sense because all Percy thought was why was Annabeth mad at him when she wasn't. In the TV series, Jeffries had the luxury of facial expressions so it explained the predicament she was in. It was easier to understand Annabeth Chase from the show. And of course, Aryan Simhadri's Grover is brilliant. Grover's (sometimes subpar) skills, awkwardness and humour were so well done!

I might have found Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 1 boring half the time but I truly still enjoyed the show. If we keep this up, we can get five seasons of Percy Jackson which is what readers have been saying for years. Series should be made into TV shows, one book per season.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5/5)

P.S.: Disney, come on. Why did the end credits soundtrack sound like a Marvel show?

Book review here: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (#1)

#tv show review #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson and the olympians season 1 #percy jackson #annabeth chase #grover underwood #walker scobell #leah sava jeffries #aryan simhadri #book to tv adaptation

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Drama Gossip: 19th Floor (19层)

Source: Google Images

Unconscious after a car accident, university student Chun Yu and her best friend Qing You mysteriously find themselves inside the dangerous world of a VR game. Several other people have also unwittingly ended up here, and they soon discover they were all involved in the accident - except for substitute teacher Gao Xuan, who claims to have simply fallen asleep. Seeing no other option than to play the game, they eventually beat the level and wake up … only to immediately return the next night.

Faced with deadly monsters, puzzles, and mind games, the players have to learn to cooperate despite being unsure if they can trust each other. The pressure increases when it turns out that people who die in the game fall into a coma in real life. And then several more students are dragged into the game! The group spends their nights trying to survive the next level and their days investigating who is doing this to them and why. As they grow closer, friendships and budding romances are repeatedly put to the test by the stress of the situation and the evil machinations of the people behind the game…

Source: MyDramaList (2024)

Actually Interesting

This drama was all over my Douyin FYP when it was showing. Imagine seeing people in modern-day clothes, in a slightly olden-day setting running from what seemed like zombies. Tell me that wouldn't pique your interest. Okay, maybe it wouldn't but it piqued mine. However, apart from that snippet, I went into this drama not knowing anything. Hell, I didn't even know who were the actors.

Anyhow. The premise of 19th Floor is not a new concept. It's the classic 'real life people entering a game with high stakes' plot. What was new was that them entering the game was not obvious initially. The how they entered was a mystery until quite a few episodes in too. Additionally, the games were different. Each time they entered it, the game, the rules and even the stakes were different.

Initially, this was an extremely fascinating drama. I was hooked and went through episodes like I had no other responsibilities. However, as the cast went on and began discovering the secrets and motives, the drama honestly, got predictable. In my opinion, 19th Floor could have had a darker tone to it. Keep the storyline but make things darker, bring in the 'unreliable narrator' trope, make the high stakes actually high stakes as in, more deaths or consequences that cannot be undone. You see, the beginning of this drama was action-filled but the end, not so much.

Don't get me wrong, 19th Floor is still interesting but it could have been way more interesting, considering the actual story from where this drama was adapted from? Yeah, 19th Floor could have done more.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

More productions from China here: The Romance of Tiger and Rose (传闻中的陈芊芊) | Under the Skin (猎罪图鉴)

#drama review #19th floor #19层 #chun yu #gao xuan #yang ba wan #nan xiao qing #zhang tian qiang #xu wen ya #sun qian #wei zhe ming #bai shu #rachel wang #wang ruo shan #xiao kai zhong #luo yu tong #chinese drama

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Book Chat: God of Fury

Legacy of Gods (Book 5) by Rina Kent

Source: Google Images

I’m not attracted to men. Or so I thought before I slammed into Nikolai Sokolov. A mafia heir, a notorious bastard, and a violent monster. An ill-fated meeting puts me in his path. And just like that, he has his sights set on me. A quiet artist, a golden boy, and his enemy’s twin brother. He doesn’t seem to care that the odds are stacked against us. In fact, he sets out to break my steel-like control and blur my limits. I thought my biggest worry was being noticed by Nikolai. I’m learning the hard way that being wanted by this beautiful nightmare is much worse.

ISBN: 9781685452193 (2023) | Source: Goodreads

Absolutely Worth It

This review took me a long while to get to it mainly because I am still in a daze. I cannot believe I finally got to God of Fury and that I am finished with the book. It hasn't been a long journey to get to Nikolai and Brandon's story but it had been a rather arduous one. Kent's books have been an unpredictable roller coaster ride with extreme hits or misses and as much as I was afraid my high expectations for this book would ultimately bite me in the ass, I maintained extremely high expectations for God of Fury.

For a book written by an author I sometimes have issues with for the writing style, for a book where I have ridiculously high expectations for, and for a book that I've actually already know roughly what goes on in it... This was a wonderfully and beautifully crafted story. While reading God of Fury, I can feel the patience and time and effort Kent took to build her characters and develop the storyline. I finally understand why some people said this felt like such a different book as compared to Kent's other books.

Lets begin with the storyline of God of Fury. This is the only book in the Rina Kent Universe where I did not feel that the author was rushing through the plot. Yes, Nikolai was instantly attracted to Brandon but the feelings both parties developed for each other came slowly, smoothly and very naturally. Like, before I finished the book, when exactly did Nikolai fall for Brandon? Or when exactly did Brandon start to develop positive feelings towards Nikolai? As you're reading the book, you really don't see it as it happens right in front of your eyes.

Which brings me to why the patience in plot development is so prevalent in this book. First being the way Kent wrote Brandon's character arc, there is simply no other way to have this book succeed without having patience in developing the plot. Secondly, Nikolai's willingness to go with Brandon's pace. Because of what plots these characters have, Kent had no choice, she could not rush through the storyline and that made this book her best one.

Now moving on to our two main characters. I knew there was a reason I loved them since their first appearance (as kids). I mean, Astrid and Levi? They are my favourite Royal Elite couple. Rai and Kyle? They are one of my favourite Rina Kent couples. I could not hate their children even if I wanted to. Of course, this is not a place to gush over the parents.

Starting with Nikolai Sokolov. He is another unhinged man in the long list of unhinged men Kent has created. However, he was really only unhinged in other people's books. In God of Fury, you see that Nikolai's not exactly unhinged. He's just unapologetically himself, does not care how anyone views him and even though he does bad shit, he has a moral compass despite what anybody assumes. The fact that my dude has vulnerable phases every now and then, and yet he does not hide that. How many men has Kent created that embraces and showcases his vulnerability like Nikolai does? I can bet that's one big reason why Nikolai is such a beloved character.

As for Brandon King. He's my baby, okay? And I will do anything to protect my baby. He is the one and only male character created with a different template. This man is not annoyingly frustrating or has that stupid toxic masculinity that ultimately plays into his stubbornness to not accept people's "no". And boy, oh boy. One of the most tortured character with the most kindhearted soul. I really do love that Kent made everybody like/love Brandon, because he deserves all the kindness the world has.

Last but definitely not least. Kent did not do a good job writing God of Ruin to the point where I don't actually have a connection with Mia or Landon. But the way she wrote Brandon and Landon's brotherhood? I have a connection with Landon King now, all thanks to this book. Even thinking about the hospital scene now brings tears to my eyes, and I finished that book weeks ago.

So, yes. I really love God of Fury. This is the only one where I own a physical copy of. I read the book, fully focusing on every single word. I did not do any annotations because the first time deserves my full undivided attention. And I am way too lazy to check back but I am very sure this is the only book by Kent that I have given 5-star to.

Rating: ★★★★★

P.S.: Remember in God of Ruin when Nikolai made Mia call Brandon and Brandon ended up covering for Mia? I really wished we had a chapter for it here too.

More Rina Kent Universe here: Cruel King (Royal Elite, #0) | God of Ruin (Legacy of Gods, #4) | Throne of Power (Throne Duet, #1)

#book review #god of fury #legacy of gods #rina kent #brandon king #nikolai sokolov #rina kent universe

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have you read gof of fury yet? If you have what did you think about it? I loved it so much bran bran has my heart in a chokehold 😭😭

Hello! Yes, I finished God of Fury soon after God of Ruin. My thoughts are coming up soon, I procrastinated a lot because I struggled to put my thoughts into words, in a good way.

Long story short: This book has me tied tightly around every single one of its pages. 🥹 I didn't think I could love Nikolai and Brandon even more than I did.

#god of fury #legacy of gods #rina kent #brandon king #nikolai sokolov #rina kent universe

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You're an uncultured swine with not an artistic bone in your miserable body. Don't pollute my studio with your lack of taste.

Landon King

God of Ruin (Chapter 8) by Rina Kent

#quote #god of ruin #legacy of gods #rina kent #landon king #rina kent universe

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My cousin Killian ... posesses the emotional IQ of a goldfish.

Mia Sokolov

God of Ruin (Chapter 2) by Rina Kent

#quote #god of ruin #legacy of gods #rina kent #mia sokolov #rina kent universe

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Book Chat: God of Ruin

Legacy of Gods (Book 4) by Rina Kent

Source: Google Images

I’m out for revenge. After careful planning, I gave the man who messed with my family a taste of his own medicine. I thought it’d end there. It didn’t. Landon King is a genius artist, a posh rich boy, and my worst nightmare. He’s decided that I’m the new addition to his chess game. Too bad for him, I’m no pawn. If he hits, I hit back, twice as hard and with the same hostility. He says he’ll ruin me. Little does he know that ruination goes both ways.

Source: Goodreads (2023)

I'm Embarrassed

I really did not do God of Ruin justice. My only goal to reading this book was finishing it so I could get into the next book immediately. That being said, I entered the Rina Kent universe only for Brandon and Nikolai, so by default, only for God of Fury. Knowing that is the next book in the reading order, I was breezing through God of Ruin like it was unimportant. When I say I sped-read through this book, I truly meant it, I probably missed a ton of sentences and with that, some minute details.

Now, going on to the review, this is the first book in the Legacy of Gods series where I felt the first half was bad and it got better afterwards. Let me put it this way, I was bored through the first half which made speeding through it a lot easier than usual. Unlike many, I never hated Landon before God of Ruin but because of that, he was nothing fascinating here. He even annoyed me several times initially.

Thus, when his eventual and gradual character arc redemption arrived, I wasn't wow-ed by it. Just felt like it was something Kent had to write because all her characters must not be horrible at the end of the day, right? I know I sound bitter here but that's because God of Ruin really was very average.

The character arc redemption was one thing. But the trauma plot? So weak. Mia's entire character ever since she was 8 was due to the trauma she suffered but the resolution was not even half-assed, it was less than that. Why give Mia such a character, have plenty of pages to foreshadow and yet the final countdown was so pathetic? Personally, I think the biggest problem with the trauma plot was that Kent did not know when or how to foreshadow it through the book. This would have been such a kickass final countdown scene yet ultimately, it fell flat, so very flat.

One last thing, I am aware Kent might be having fatigue from writing stories in this universe now, which I completely get. Because not only do we have the same kind of characters in the same series (Killian, Creighton, Landon and since she's been hinting at it, Eli), her writing for God of Ruin was sloppy. I will just use one example: In Chapter 33, due to Mia's friendship with Jeremy, Landon said he will bump Jeremy up to the top of his shit list. You know who else who happened to be very different from Landon said a similar sentence? Nikolai, to Mia, about Brandon, earlier in this book.

I do want to justify Kent's sloppy writing to her fatigue for this world, and I will. Unfortunately, Kent's lines around all her characters are becoming muddled. Not only are so many of her characters similar, she's using very specific sayings for characters that should not have had those same kinds of sayings. This is not the first time I caught it but this series had multiple of this instances, I have had enough and need to point it out.

Despite this entire post being filled with complains, I like God of Ruin. I just think Kent should not have written them all one after another. Someone, or many, should have told her to take a break, write something else in between and clear her mind of this world for a while. Because back in her first series, all the guys and the ladies had such distinctive personalities yet in this series...

Rating: ★★★☆☆

More on the Legacy of Gods series here: God of Malice (#1) | God of Pain (#2) | God of Wrath (#3)

#book review #god of ruin #legacy of gods #rina kent #mia sokolov #landon king #rina kent universe