ARC Review: Ruined by Amy Tintera

Ruined (Ruined #1)

by Amy Tintera

GoodReads/ Amazon/ TBD

Source: eARC provided by Publisher. Thank you!

My Rating: 4 stars

Summary:

A revenge that will consume her. A love that will ruin her. 

Emelina Flores has nothing. Her home in Ruina has been ravaged by war. She lacks the powers of her fellow Ruined. Worst of all, she witnessed her parents’ brutal murders and watched helplessly as her sister, Olivia, was kidnapped.

But because Em has nothing, she has nothing to lose. Driven by a blind desire for revenge, Em sets off on a dangerous journey to the enemy kingdom of Lera. Somewhere within Lera’s borders, Em hopes to find Olivia. But in order to find her, Em must infiltrate the royal family.

In a brilliant, elaborate plan of deception and murder, Em marries Prince Casimir, next in line to take Lera’s throne. If anyone in Lera discovers Em is not Casimir’s true betrothed, Em will be executed on the spot. But it’s the only way to salvage Em’s kingdom and what is left of her family.

Em is determined to succeed, but the closer she gets to the prince, the more she questions her mission. Em’s rage-filled heart begins to soften. But with her life—and her family—on the line, love could be Em’s deadliest mistake.

****

I was not expecting to like this book so much! And I’m so glad to say this because I was a bit of unsure of reading Ruined, since Reboot was really disappointing and the pitch about a bloody war and a kick ass character sounded a little similar.

Luckily, Ruined was better than that.

I’m going to be really honest here. I didn’t find anything new or different about Ruined compared to other fantasy books with characters in disguise. I didn’t even feel surprised of the twist and turns because there was nothing unexpected about them. But the real awesomeness of this book was in the characters and the way the plot was developed.

The writing was fast faced and though it felt a little bit modern, this book was almost impossible to put it down.

My problem with Amy Tintera’s other series and how easy the main character changed her personality after she met the love interest. But in Ruined, the relationship between Em and Cas was built slowly and their interaction made possible for the romance to feel authentic.

Another thing I enjoyed a lot about Ruined is how “gray” are the characters and the kingdoms. For me, it felt like there was no villain or hero, because every one of them made some evil things, and though I felt sympathy for them, I also felt a little of hatred. I don’t know if I’m the one who thinks that, but I liked that about a fantasy book. That’s the thing I found different about it.

So, if you’re looking for a action packed fantasy read with kick ass characters and a solid plot, you should definitely give Ruined a chance. Well deserved 4 stars for this book.

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Reboot by Amy Tintera

Reboot (Reboot #1)

by Amy Tintera

GoodReads/ Amazon/ TBD

My rating: 3 stars.

Summary:

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

***

The first time I read the synopsis of Reboot, it was because of the Spanish release, and I found it so original and badass that I couldn’t help but to order my ebook copy and started reading it as soon as I could.

I was promised a zombie-like, Robocop-like story that sounded like everything I needed to go back to the dystopian field.

And the first chapter was as amazing as expected, the second one was just as great, but when the “love interest” appeared I don’t know what happened to me, but I somehow lost my excitement.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy stories with a badass girl and a kind of fragile boy. It’s not that I didn’t like those characters: It was that I didn’t appreciate how Wren changed when she met Callum.

It wasn’t insta-love, but Wren One-seventy-eight started so strong and cold. She was truly badass, without much feelings and zero drama. But as soon as Callum appeared, all her world centered on him.

I know it was supposed to be that way. I know that Callum was the reason she started questioning her life and the way Reboots were treated. I know he was the changing factor.

But… I don’t know, I guess in dystopian books I don’t get a story where the romance is the reason behind a rebellion. And at the same time I know it’s what makes Reboot different from other dystopian books: that the main character wasn’t fighting to change the world, to protect her fellows. She was fighting to protect just one person.

This might sound good for some readers, but I didn’t enjoy it. The idea of the Reboots was so freaking remarkable that with a few twists and turns it could’ve been perfect.

Sadly, for me it felt straightforward and predictable.

Meet the boy. Find a way to escape. Escape. That’s all.

While I did not love Reboot, I can’t say the book wasn’t good. It was. It had good characters, an amazing world building and it was well written.

But it was not for me. 

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