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Series: Beautiful Tyrants #1
Publication date: October 20th, 2020
Pages: 270
Synopsis:
*Contains Dark themes and the first book in a series!*
Ruined
That's what people call me.
Ever since it happened to my mom, I've only had one goal.
Discover the truth--no matter the cost.
But to find the answers I seek, I'll have to dive into the dark underbelly that took her from me. Beneath the pristine surfaces of two elite rival colleges in Charleston, lies a world of wealth, power, and sickening corruption, that runs deeper than anyone could imagine.
And I intend to destroy it.
Problem is, I can't do it alone.
I need help, and I'm willing to sacrifice my soul to get it.
That's where they come in; Julian, Adam, and Michael.
A friend, a stranger, an enemy--and the only ones who can help me.
But each of their help comes at a price, and the only ones who can help me.
But each of their help comes at a price, and by the time I'm done, I'll have gone passed every moral and rational boundary I've ever known.
But I don't care, because there is no coming back from where I intend to go.
You see, the danger in surrounding yourself with monsters, is that there's a good chance you'll eventually become one...
Ruined (Beautiful Tyrants Book One) is a dark college bully reverse harem romance intended for readers 18+. This book contains dark themes, including bullying, abuse, violence, suicide and sexual relationships that some readers might be uncomfortable with. These heroes are human with dark histories and actions that may make you hate them at times. But redemption is never a straight path. It's dark, twisted and comes at a steep price...
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Review:
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
Normally I am very careful about not putting any spoilers in a review because I want my followers to experience the book for themselves and judge accordingly. A book that may not be for me, may be wonderful for someone else. However, in this book, I will probably spill some spoiler tea. This would be your warning to not read any further if you want to try this book for yourself.
Lisette is bent on avenging her mother's death. She is not convinced that her cause of death was suicide as there was no way her mother would ever willingly leave her alone. Her father having died not long before her mother she was now at the college of her legacy to find the truth behind how deep her mother had gotten herself in trouble that would warrant her being murdered.
Along the way Lisette has her trusted best friend, Julian, a homeless man from her mother's favorite halfway house, and a spoiled rich boy with a headmistress for a mother. Banding together these reluctant allies have more in common then their pursuit for the truth, they all desire the young Lisette. Now Lisette must find a way to navigate not only the love of three men, her budding returned emotions for them, but also the twists and turns the mysteries she uncovers brings her to. Will she make it out with her life or will she end up just like her mother?
I never DNF books. Never. I always give them a fair shake because you never know if they may turn for the better later down the road. This one made me wish so hard that I didn't have a completionist personality. I found myself tossing my iPad away and facepalming on an almost constant basis. Let me tell you why:
- The storyline was incredibly choppy. Usually with mysteries you want twists and turns in stories so that the reader is kept on the edge of their seat. But the parts that you twist must still be cohesive to the overall story. One can not change a character completely for no reason just because it works better for a certain action you may want to accomplish. SPOILER! You have a main antagonist who is murdering everyone who defies him but then towards the end you decide, you know what, he had a change of heart. Now he wants to give the female protagonist everything that could legally get him arrested for the rest of his life with ZERO reason to believe she has some loyalty that would make it so she doesn't shout the evidence from the rooftops! He just gave up on his master plan because, eh, he just didn't feel like it anymore? What?
- The romance and sex scenes were cringey and lacked the impact needed to be appreciated. When creating a dynamic between characters, especially in a reverse harem, you would need to have the characters struggle with their feelings and have some resistance. Granted, this was presented with one of the three male protagonists but even that was short lived. Also, to have insta-love and constantly refer to sex as 'making love' even before they establish a real connection, is TERRIBLE. It's meant to make the scenes romantic by calling it 'making love' but when you couple that with a sex scene that is less descriptive than a basic sex education textbook, it's not something most smut enthusiasts will appreciate.
- Unrealistic situations should be kept at a minimum as it causes the reader to no longer feel consumed by the story overall. Why go to the trouble of making this grand separation of the protagonists if you just let them defy the separation with zero punishment or obstacles to do so? Why under value your life as the main antagonist by letting the protagonists sway one of your constituents to their side with almost your permission? Either the antagonist had a death wish from the start or the author was too busy trying to fit in everything she wanted in the story that she didn't give much thought to how her enemy figures would actually think and act.
- Lack of world and character building. I can barely visual the setting the story takes place and have even less of a visual of the main characters. There was so vague description of the characters but overall I needed more to be able to see the characters in my mind's eye and be able to be more involved in the story overall.
Overall, I would not recommend this book. I would have DNFed it at 56% but decided to power through. I will not be continuing the series, but if someone does give the series a chance, let me know if I'm wrong to stop while I'm behind.
