Thank you to Dreamscape media and NetGalley for the audiobook review.

I was really attracted to this book by the cover and the description. It had me very intrigued. I always enjoy a good RH and paranormal romance. That being said I had a hard time with this story. I was confused because I didn't feel like there was much world building or character development. The relationship didn't make much sense to me even though the were childhood friends in the past you're just thrown into it.

I did enjoy the narration. It followed nicely and did well with distinguishing between characters.

This audio is for a book that came out in 2021. Scarlett Everdeen and Chase Walker do a good job portraying the story and the characters. Having dual narrators definitely helps this storyline.
The cover, title and description of this book drew me in and I immediately wanted to read it. Unsure why I didn't pick it up years ago. The book was good. Not great, not bad, but good. I'll pick up the next in the series to see what happens.
Pros- not having to choose. For me, I look for more taboo. However, I understand that it's not for everyone. Kiarra's men are deeply protective and attentive to her desires.
The idea of the storyline and plot was good.

Cons-Kiarra is a weak MFC. I don't typically mind, but I wanted her to turn badass towards the end, and she didn't. She seems to always need saving and protection.
There was some holes in the plot that made me tune out at times.

Overall, I'll pick up the next book and recommend for the spicy fantasy lovers.

Thank you to Netgalley, Rumer Hale, and Dreamscape Media for the chance to listen to this in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook!
I love a good why choose book! The concept of this series seems super interesting and I am excited to read the rest of the series to see what King has up his sleeve and how Kiara and the guys will react! I did not see the twist of betrayal at all! I will definitely be continuing this series, if only to get to know the characters and their history a little more. I didn’t feel as connected as I had hoped I would to them, and hope that some more of their past relationships are shown!

This cover drew me in immediately....
A reverse harem (5 guys) with shifters, witches .again and more it had so much potential. But with that it fell very flat for me. A RH where all the do is kiss?! And at the worst possible times! About to be captured? Let's get lost in a make out session. The FMC has so much potential, she can heal herself and can not die. Love it, but why is the same thing told over and over and over again. I would of rather that time been spent explaining more about the guys. I feel like I hardly knew them and they weren't very distinguishable. I did love the twist at the end that I absolutely did not see coming. This one ends on a cliffhanger and I'm not sure yet if I will continue on. The audio was good but it does have the male narrator only at the very end of the book.

Thank you for this alc, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Let's start with the good things first:
• Beautiful Cover, one that I selected to complete my #roseday #februaryprompts
• Fascinating World of witches, magic and shapeshifters - one that most fantasy lovers would enjoy reading.

And besides that, it all went downhill for me. The multi-partner mating in so much depth was way beyond my capacity and would better suit smut readers (which I am not). Within the first 20% of the story, there is extreme sexual exposure even for an adult and I do feel the book should come with disclaimers on its excessive heat/spice levels, torture etc. Sadly, because of these overpowering aspects, I wasn't able to focus a lot on the story as I had to skip those sections. Unfortunately, after being overwhelmed by the book, I had to DNF it. This is just not something I enjoy reading.

This was the first novel from Rimer Hale that I have read and listened to and it definitely won’t be the last.

The story of Kiara, a sup whom lost her mother several years ago has been being held captive by her evil stepfather, King. King rules this particular area and the many shifters, witches and other supernatural beings.

King has a plan for Kiara. What is this plan? We don’t know but he is going to great lengths to see this out. This book left off on a cliff hanger and I can’t wait to listen to the next installment in this series.

The narrator did a great job with this story!

Blood & Ruin Review

Gorgeous cover that doesn’t quite make sense for this book. I’m not one to usually critique book covers but I felt like I was mislead with it. First off, the cover is utterly gorgeous but there’s no real theme behind it that matches the book whatsoever. The blurb of the book sounded interesting so when I saw it was available for an arc audiobook on netgalley I snagged it immediately.

Unfortunately this story wasn’t a hit for me. I felt like nothing really happened in the book at all and the miscommunication that was rampant in it between the main character and her childhood friends was so exhausting for me. I absolutely hated their banter especially Axel’s. The only likable male character for me was Luca. Unfortunately the harem of her boys weren’t very distinguishable for me and they all blended together. I can only remember Axel, cause he was super annoying, and Luca because he was the only one I actually liked and was sympathetic towards Kiara. Don’t ask me to name the others cause I can’t remember their personalities since they weren’t very distinguishable (besides the author letting us know they all had different powers) let alone their names.

I felt a lot of the information we are given, character powers, etc was constantly being repeated as well. Between Kiara being constantly tortured by others/King, her stepfather, and the boys not being able to control themselves and constantly making out with her not much in the plot actually happens.

If you’re someone who’s looking for a steamy romance this probably won’t even satisfy that. Kiara’s kind of insufferable and the make out scenes seemed in poor taste to situations they were in, especially that last make out scene near the end of the book…

I don’t know, I think I just went into this book expecting something else and I’m probably just disappointed by that. This is the first book in a series and I don’t see myself continuing it.

“Blood and Ruin,” by Rumer Hale

Wow this book was absolutely amazing. One of the best books I’ve read this year so far. It’s a perfect reverse harem fated mate’s books that is more storyline than romance. The abuse and trauma the FMC goes through was insane and how she stayed kindhearted despite having to hide it. I cannot wait for book 2, I’m fully invested. I listened to the audiobook version, and it was paced well, and the voice was good. 5 out of 5 stars. And the cover is beautiful.

-Mating Bond/ Fated Mates
-Shifter/Alpha
-Witches/ Magic
-Reverse Harem
-Torture/ Abuse
-Strong FMC

Thank you for the Arc.

4.5 ✨

I really enjoyed this! The cover reeled me in and i went in pretty blind. As someone who doesn’t read a lot of fantasy books i didn’t mind the lack of world building because that’s normally where fantasy looses me. I loved the concept of shifters and this big secrecy of the King. Maybe 1-2 chapters of back story / building would have been beneficial just to make you understand more why our FMC was where she was.

BUT i still really enjoyed this! It was fast paced, kept you on the edge of your seat and kept you hooked from start to finish. I really loved the boys and Kiara. It was not the best writing you’ll find, but i still enjoyed it and will absolutely be coming back for the rest of the series!


The audio was very well done and made me hooked more than i think just reading it would have been.

Thank you Netgalley, Rumer Hale and Dreamscape media for this audio arc of Blood and Ruin.
Narrated by Scarlett Everdeen; Chase T. Walker.

I was intrigued with this book ( seeing that it will develop into a series ) and looked by the tags that it had a mixture of horror, fantasy, romance ( bit of spiciness too )

Otherall the narrative was okay, not my normal book that id go for but I still enjoyed the premise of the book. Thought it was well written by Rumer Hale with a good mix of genre. I do feel however that there was something missing but couldn't put my finger on it The characters were well developed and I also enjoyed the world building within the fantasy aspect.

Scarlett Everdeen; Chase T. Walker did a great job narrating and could listen to other books they have narrated. I did however listen to the book on 1.5 speed.

Will look forward to book two from Rumer

Blood and Ruin was an okay read. Thought because it was a why choose that there would be spice, but the first book was pretty tame.

It reminded me too much of The Bonds That Tie series even, the characters were very similar.

But I still enjoyed the story. I didn't get bored. It just didn't stand out enough for me to give it more than 3.25 stars.

Blood and Ruin by Rumer Hale follows a young girl that is being held by King at a hotel in New York. After Kiara's mother is killed by King. She is trapped by a spell that that will not let her leave. The hotel is full of paranormal creatures. Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, Shapeshifters and more all inhabit the place and some even work for King. Kiara is working with Jasmine, a witch that will make a potion so she and Alana can escape. Kiara soon meets her long lost friends and soon finds out that they are bonded as mates . This was just ok. I hope that the other 2 in the series will be a bit more steamy.

Kiarra might be the most stubborn female lead character that I’ve read about in a long time. The plot of this book has so much potential and felt a little rushed. I think focusing on either the world building or romance aspect more would have helped for a more cohesive story. Overall, this book was entertaining and fun. I do love a strong female lead who doesn’t need anyone to save her.

Wow! That is a cliffhanger!

In a world of sorcerers, shape shifters, demons and witches, Kiara fights to survive. Abused and tormented by her powerful stepfather, King, Kiara plans her escape.

Until the day her childhood friends appear, and they realize that they are meant to be together.

A reverse harem sexy tale of magic and violence, it fun and fast-moving story is almost enough to gloss over the glaring plot holes. I would listen to the sequel to see where this story goes.

I was initially attracted to this book because of the cover alone. It typically takes me about a week to listen to an audiobook since I only listen when I'm in the car. I ended up pulling out my headphones to finish this book quicker. It's extremely low spice, a 1 out of 5 peppers. The story was good but I wish the background was more developed. King is evil incarnate but for no apparent reason. Maybe it's revealed in the second book. Kiarra is a very frustrating character. She's incredibly self deprecating with a refusal to accept any kind of help or give even a hint of what was happening to her to her childhood best friends. I'll probably read the second book, just to find out what happens to Kiarra but it's going to be very low on my TBR.

This book brought me back to The Zodiac Academy for some reason. It was giving all the same vibes. Multiple love interests, supernatural characters, average writing but still wildly entertaining. There were a few things that didn't make sense to me but it didn't hinder the storyline too much. I was having trouble keeping up with all of the characters as well. It felt like the book wasn't long enough for me to get to know them well enough. There was sexual tension all throughout this book but somehow at the worst times. I enjoyed it but I wish it didn't end on a cliffhanger!

Wowza! What an incredible & intense story! You’re sucked right in, with the magic system, and the corrupt structure of power. Each little breadcrumb left to pull you in deeper! There is suspense, twists & turns, betrayal, & heartache.
We have a corrupt and evil “King”, a group of alphas, a girl who has an incredibly unique ability, and a plot full of twists and turns!
I can’t wait to see what happens next…..
There will be hell to pay!!
Scarlett Everdeen did a fantastic job bringing all of Kiera’s emotions out, and giving a voice to each character.
Chase T. Walker did a great job narrating the ending and leaving us needing more.

I got sucked into this book pretty quickly and was hoping for the traffic to take a bit longer so I’d have an excuse to keep listening on my way into work. I liked all the different personalities of the mates and the FMC was suitably snarky and determined to have us cheering for her.

It’s not technically spicy, but it is horny. There’s not any action in this book (though I’m hoping things kick off in the next book) but there’s a FMC with 5 shifter fated mates, so there’s lots of “you’re mine/ours”, steamy kisses and promises of future adventures.

Some of the bits were a bit repetitive for those who know and read “fated mates” books a lot, like there’s no point repeating how you and your mates will be going your separate ways once you escape… we know mates and we know that’s not gonna happen. But it didn’t make it any less enjoyable.

Thanks to #NetGallery and publisher for a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

CN for assault, torture, kidnapping, murder

Genre: Romance/Paranormal
Format: Audio
POV: Single (FMC) except for final chapter
Spice: 0.5 /5
Age suggestion: 18+

Blood and Ruin may have finally been the book to make me say that maybe these types of books are not for me, and that’s ok. I want to love all books and for some reason, I want to love fantasy but I keep striking out and Blood and Ruin was another failed attempt to bring me into the genre.

This is the first book in the Blood and Ruin series and that surprised me. This did not read like the first book in a complicated universe. This felt like I jumped into the middle of a series and I was lost because I didn’t start at the beginning. I failed to get attached to any characters or the world because of this.

The story had its ups and downs but mostly I found myself having a hard time taking it all in. This can go back to the fact that I had to keep checking that I was not wrong and this was in fact the first book in the series.

What I found most successful in this book was the twist that happened right before the end and the lack of resolution. For a book that I was generally not interested in it did a great job sucking me in at the end and left me wanting to know what comes next.

I had the chance to read this on audio through Dreamscape Media and I am so grateful. Blood and Ruin is the first book of a series about shapeshifters, witches, wizards, vampires and demons. Kiara was taken into this world by her stepfather who rules over all. Her stepfather has big plans for her, but will Kiara and her five fated mates make it out alive?

The action in this seemed a teeny bit repetitive at times, but I was still hooked to the story and cannot wait to see what happens in book two. The twist and cliffhanger at the end definitely have me scrambling for more and I cannot wait until the next two books come out on audio.

Thank you to Dreamscape and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.