Rune was a bit of an alpha hole and Jo is kind of a TSTL character. Overall a decent read, but not one of Krelsey Cole's best.

Sweet Ruin
Immortals After Dark, Book 16

I Picked Up This Book Because: Somehow I managed to skip this while reading the series

The Characters:

Jo (Josephine Doe) : (view spoiler)
Rune: Dark Fae/Demon or Bane Blood
Thaddy, Nix

The Story:

Jo has an amazing story. A poor child refuge caring for her infant brother, Thaddy, landing on earth. She manages to care for him alone until she is killed and her transformation is triggered. Rune is a big deal in the Morrior (Opposing force to the Veritas in the Accession which is imminent) They come together maybe by happenstance maybe by Nix’s devising. Rune is sent to kill Nix who just happens to be hanging out with Thaddy.

Jo an Rune have a semi complicated love/hate relationship in the beginning. Their chemistry is off the charts but neither of them has the capacity to trust. Herein lies the source of their problems.

I loved the story. Jo and “Ruin” cracked me up. It was great to see so many characters from the Lore, even if it was jsut that one scene.

The Random Thoughts:



4 Stars

I struggled through this book. I am excited about a reset of the series and those new aspects were the saving grace for me. I am looking forward to new set of characters.

I liked the hero and the heroine but because they were both new to the world and so many new factors were introduced the romance took a major hit. It was a good action paranormal but not a great love story.

This is a must read for fans of the series but unlike the other series reset Lothaire, it isn't a good place for readers new to the series to join in.

Soooo, I wish the romance had been better but in the end I enjoyed the book after taking a break from it and picking it up again understanding that the romance wasn't going to be the center of the book in the way I prefer.

I was given this book for my honest review. So,there you have it

For years, I have heard tons upon tons of amazing feedback regarding Kresley Cole’s books. Needless to say, she became an author that I really wanted to read. A couple of years ago, I saw this book on NetGalley and snatched it up. It didn’t say on the posting that it was Book #16 of a series so finding that out was a major bummer.

I put it off telling myself that now I would have to read the first 15 books before starting this one. Then one year turned into two and here we are. Fast forward into the future and I came across a review that said this book had an individual couple that hadn’t really been mentioned in the previous books and could somewhat be read as a stand-alone. I jumped at that opportunity and decided to read it without having read the previous books.

In the beginning, I was really enjoying it! The heroine was sassy, sarcastic and strong-willed. Just the way I like them! Although there were some facets of the book that were a bit confusing for me because they follow a storyline from several novels prior, I was still able to follow along. It was so funny and had me cackling while at the same time including emotional moments that made me feel for her. Then came the “hero” of the book and he completely ruined it for me.

He was rude, disgusting and sexually depraved bedding anyone and anything and as many people as he possibly could. That was a major turn off for me. I wasn’t convinced of their love for each other. I found out later that he’s actually one of the villains of the series. Now, I’ve read villains that I’ve still fallen for despite all of their misdeeds - he was not one of them.

The heroine began to completely change. She became somewhat of a doormat. But what bothered me more than anything else and what made me lose all respect for her was a particular incident around the 20% mark. The “hero” was going to murder her brother and when she witnessed that she attacked him ferociously! I was rooting her on and jumping for joy with how hard she fought to protect her brother until she looks at his eyes and gets horny. (Record scratch). Say what?? Yes! You heard that right.

She completely disregarded that he had just tried to kill her only living family member and began to make out with him instead! WHO-DOES-THAT?!! I don’t give a crap about mating and all that stuff. It’s reprehensible that she would choose a douchebag she’s known for approximately 24 hours over her own flesh and blood. This book completely lost me there and wasn’t able to reel me back in.

I don’t know if I’ll continue with this series, but I do still want to read more by this author. I may try one of her other series instead though.

Special thanks to the author and the publisher for approving my request to read this book through NetGalley!

While I liked the book, I didn't absolutely love it. I don't know why I couldn't connect to the characters in this one like I have in the other books.