The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
birbpal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I am confused to the point that my brain feels as though it has melted through my ears. I am either incredibly stupid, or I have no idea what was happening for the majority of the book.đđ¤ˇââď¸
For a good chunk of the story, it was endless exposition that made little to no sense along with sexy times between Lis and Thorne. I was hooked at the beginning of the book, but the middle dragged on and on; simultaneously making little sense but also info dumping??
The last 20% of the book hooked me again. Finally, there was action! And some questions were answered! But wait, those answers only made me more confused, so yeah, I don't know what to think lol.đ
Someone else described this book perfectly: Fall of Ruin and Wrath read more like a prequel than an actual fully-formed book. Nevertheless, I am somewhat hooked, so I will be reading the next book. Depending on how I like it, I might change this review. For now, I will keep it at 3.5. đĽđ
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, Drug use, Torture, and Gore
Minor: War, Child abuse, and Abandonment
chelbawamba's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.75
Also an interesting choice by the author to borrow terms and characteristics from another, much more popular series.Â
Graphic: Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Gore, and Classism
rasha_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, War, and Gore
izzyproudfoot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I haven't read any of JLA newer stuff, I read the Aplloyon one years ago and recently re read the first. My library got a copy of this, after wanting to read her newer stuff but not wanting to spend a fortune on them I picked it up.Â
This was not what I was expecting. It's incredibly smutty to the point where is pornographic. We can even have dinner without something smut happening.Â
So yeah, unoriginal plot smothered in smut. I didn't mind the writing so much and there was an actual plot there unlike other super smut books so it gets points for that. I didn't hate the characters another point. It was actually an enjoyable read. I would read the next one when it's out.
There is also a whole lot of graphic violence/gore and also torture so don't read if that's a problem for you.Â
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Gore, and Sexual content
deedireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
- First, consent in this novel is EXTREMELY questionable. JLA tries to address the question head-on and make it clear that Calista is willing, butâŚis she??? Itâs uncomfortable at least.Â
- Second, I couldnât keep any of the worldbuilding details straight in my head. I kept forgetting all the different ranks and types of magical races, etc. I read a LOT of high fantasy and am pretty darn good at this; it was a book problem, not a me problem.
- Finally, I love spice as much as the next romantasy reader, but this is not really about romance, itâs just about sex (she uses the word âf*ckingâ every time). There is a lot of it (in public, no less), which is fine, but it got repetitive. And yet somehow itâs also a slow burn? The raunchiness completely overshadowed the worldbuilding and the plot (even the romance plot).
Graphic: Sexual content, Gore, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.25
"Good and evil are real. They always have been. Yet the weight of the realm has always fallen on those in-between. Ones neither good nor bad."Â
My experience with A Fall of Ruin and Wrath is that it's like the beginning of a Sarah J Maas story written by Katee Roberts. It leans into the theme of "morally gray" like it was the assignment and plays with the push-pull of "fated mates" and "star-crossed lovers" in a way that could get interesting if a lazy "chosen one" trope doesn't get in the way.Â
Parts of it were kind of a mess for me â sometimes in ways I didn't mind and sometimes in ways that I did. The world seems like standard high fantasy at first but then it's also sort of post-apocalyptic and maybe less fae and more seraphs and demons? I don't need the world building to be completely nailed down in the first book in a series so I wasn't too fussed about this. If anything makes me pick up book two it'll be wanting to figure out this fantasy world and system. I mean I did not have
Graphic: Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Torture
Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Classism, Murder, Physical abuse, Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Grief, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Vomit
Physical compulsionanoelle896's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Sexism, Gore, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Violence, and Cursing
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit, Classism, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was my first Jennifer L. Armentrout novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it.Â
I found the pacing to be great, with a focus on drawing our anticipation and action, never verging on being boring, whilst simultaneously not being overwhelming in content.Â
To accompany and complement the pacing, I appreciated the chapters being concise and manageable. It added to the desire of the every famous reader phrase of 'just one more chapter'.
I found the characters to be intriguing (especially our MFC) & I quickly grew ever more curious about these highborn lords particularly wanting to know what kind of immortal being they were. Would they fall more under the fae type being or a sort of energy vampire? I feel like this could have been called My Hyhborn lord, but not sure that would have been as catching a title for me.
I thought the lure of the deminyens was pretty cool with the idea of them radiating desire and their origin story was interesting too.
I would have loved to explore deeper the relationship between Lis and Grady. I was shown how their bond was so tight in the childhood but I don't think it was carried as strongly into adulthood enough in example. I would have also have loved to see more expansion between Lis and Naomi.
The romance was super spicy and I was blushing, let me tell you. I think that was one of my favourite parts about the book. It was definitely more romance than fantasy, but there was definitely more than enough magic and fantasy themed political intrigue to not fall too far behind the steamy scenes.
I cannot wait to see where book 2 takes Lis.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Violence, War, Blood, Body horror, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Genocide, Confinement, Cursing, Addiction, Gore, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse
Minor: Death of parent
alisswift's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, and Violence
kayanoelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Calista is a great protagonist! She asks the right amount of questions (*cough* Poppy) and I feel like her character is very realistic. Sheâs brave and sometimes even bold when her intuition tells her to be but she has a sense of self-preservation, too (which I loved).
Thorne as a love interest is⌠something. I LOVE him. At the beginning, I was a little put off by his bluntness and how he just decided things but after finding out how other Hyhborn behave, he seemed mellow in comparison lol. Anyway, I enjoyed how he actually listened to Calista and tried to respect her wishes after she explained why itâs so important to her. And I genuinely just love men who simp for their love interestsđ
The story was perfectly balanced in my opinion, it was heavy on the romance especially in the middle (which I liked though) whereas the beginning explored the characters & world and the last third focused on the plot. Also, we didnât get a lot of info dumping concerning the world building which is something that bothers me in FBAA, especially the Crown of Gilded Bones and the War of Two Queens. Instead, it was incorporated into the story in a way that made it seem natural but we still get all of the information we need in order to understand the world.
I also feel like the world building isnât too complex and thereâs things that are revealed throughout the book or still unclear at the end (in a good way).
I liked the writing style, it was very easy to read and had a flow to it that made it hard to stop. I also noticed that there werenât any typos as opposed to some of her other novels, so thatâs an improvement.
Every scene that JLA included felt necessary and that also added to the flow of the story. None of the conversations or scenes were too long or seemed forced which made this really fun and I was never bored while reading. We got the perfect amount of information about the characters, their relationships and the world while simultaneously leaving enough room to elaborate in the sequel.
One minor thing that bothered me was that I found two inconsistencies within the storytelling.
1) At the beginning of one chapter, Lis said that several weeks had passed since she saw Thorne in the garden but then when she went to see Claude, she referred back to his âearlier outburstâ which to me sounded like the outburst happened on the same day (because why would she still be referencing it as âearlierâ if it had been several weeks ago?)
2) When Thorne asked Lis to sleep in his bed, she said that sheâd only ever shared a bed with Grady but later in the story (when she was looking for Claude in his chambers before the attack) she talked about a memory of hers in that chamber where she woke up with Claude and they had breakfast in bed??
Apart from that, I loved this book and I canât wait for the second one! I wouldnât say the ending was a terrible cliffhanger but I wouldnât mind having the next book in my hands right now:)
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Violence