Title- A Touch of Ruin
Author- Scarlett St. Clair
Series- This is the sequel to “A Touch of Darkness”
Rating– 3.9/5
Genre- Adult steamy dark fantasy romance
POV- third person, past tense
Trope- forbidden love
Cover– pretty, matches the series well
Plot/Blurb-
Persephone’s relationship with Hades has gone public and the resulting media storm disrupts her normal life and threatens to expose her as the Goddess of Spring. To add to her troubles, everyone seems eager to warn Persephone away from the God of the Dead by exposing his hellish past.
Things only get worse when a horrible tragedy leaves Persephone’s heart in ruin and Hades refusing to help. Desperate, she takes matters into her own hands, striking bargains that lead to severe consequences. Faced with a side of Hades she never knew, and crushing loss, Persephone wonders if she can truly become Hades’s queen.
First chapter recaps what’s important in the first book and gives us a hint of the steam to come. I adore bad boy, Hades & his wicked grin.
Character Development- Persephone needs to learn to trust Hades and his love for her as true and also grow into her own power
Best part- Hermes
What I would change- see below
Setting-The Underworld
Character goals/motivations- She wants to keep her mortal style of life instead of 100% being a goddess.
Vivid sensory descriptions- I wanted more in the Underworld to feel being there
Dialogue- Hermes is awesome. He reminds me of Cass in ACOTAR
Inclusivity- unsure of ethnic diversities. Some MM and FF relationships are mentioned in passing.
Ethics/morals- sexual content trigger warnings
Conflict/tension/obstacles- I didn’t fully understand why she was taking so much crap from her boss.
Pacing- medium
Thoughts while reading-
Page 35- who is this mystery man? Now that I’m getting back into the swing of it, I’m remembering the non-sexual prose of the routine story are a little less professional & more Indie-style, but the sexy prose are amped up to another level.
Page 57- she doesn’t like titles yet just referred to herself as Hades possession. Contradictory.
Instead of writing an article on Apollo, I’m hoping she writes an article on the conversation she just had with Hades but leave Apollo’s name out of it. Win win that way.
Page 92- jealousy isn’t attractive or pleasant but I see her point. But I see his too. It’s a steep slope to downfall to talk about ex lovers.
Page 104- get his attention? I don’t like that train of thought
Page 115- uh oh. Trouble in paradise, I mean … in Hell
Page 137- their sexy times are spicy… but they’re always so extreme, yelling and fighting, then doing it… just feels over the top sometimes.
Page 149- do people just stare at the news channel all day? Lol
Page 178- talking about needing protection against the person you’re in love with sounds unhealthy & sending the wrong message.
Halfway- sometimes their relationship feels toxic so I’m not liking the sequel as much as the first. I think some “dark” romance novels confuse me in regards to what makes them dark and why. Does darkness have to equal emotional abuse or control or possessiveness or supreme alphaholes? I’m unsure. Like a bunch of their insecurities are realistic, but then the way they process and converse about the problem feels “wrong” sometimes. I’m confused.
Hades has probably said, “I don’t expect you to understand,” multiple times to Persephone and it’s starting to pass me off. Why is she okay with him insinuating she can’t fathom to understand?
Page 216- awesome thorn scene but then the next page has me clenched. She slaps him from anger and he kisses her to subdue her? … um, I don’t like how this makes me feel yucky.
Page 225- this scene seems like a duplicate of one in the first book. I want more variety. Also, the “deals & bargains” are getting a bit repetitive
Page 326- the sex scenes feel so rushed. There not fire okay it’s the same pattern of
Yelling
Jump on each other
Penetration
1 descriptive sentence
Orgasm
Like it almost makes the steak not worth it if there’s no build up
Ending- Page 375- so… I’ll read the sequel. But I’m not sure if I’m “supposed to” like the book. Because their relationship is toxic… idk. I’m like 50/50 confused about my feelings after finishing
Cassie Swindon 