Friday, May 5, 2017

Review: Avenged by Amy Tintera

Avenged
Author: Amy Tintera
Release Date: May 2, 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen
Ruined Book #2
ISBN:  0062396633
ISBN13: 9780062396631
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Edelweis
In the sequel to Ruined, the romance of The Selection and the epic stakes of Red Queen come together in a story of revenge, adventure, and unexpected love.

Emelina Flores has come home to Ruina. After rescuing her sister Olivia from imprisonment in rival kingdom Lera, Em and Olivia together vow to rebuild Ruina to its former glory.

But their fight has only begun. Olivia is determined to destroy everyone who acts against Ruina, but Em isn’t as sure. Ever since Em posed as Prince Casimir’s betrothed in Lera, she’s started to see another side to this war. And now that Cas has taken the throne, Em believes a truce is within reach. But Olivia suspects that Em’s romantic feelings for Cas are just coloring her judgement.

Em is determined to bring peace to her home. But when winning the war could mean betraying her family, Em faces an impossible choice between loyalty and love. Em must stay one step ahead of her enemies—and her blood—before she’s the next victim in this battle for sovereignty.

If you liked RUINED, AVENGED will leave you feeling just as excited!

Picking up where book one left off, AVENGED continues the Ruined series with action, deception, politics, love and turns that will leave you wondering why you didn't see that coming. The characters continue to grow together and as individuals and the storyline is smooth and easy to fall into. 

Cas and Em still have me loving them as a couple—not that they are always a couple. They are torn apart by their warring sides, but fate still finds ways to push them together. They don't have much romance time, but I still enjoyed their interactions and I could feel the connection between them, even when they weren't allowed to show it.

I enjoyed the addition of Aren's POV. It is easy to like him and root for him in everything he does. Olivia is beyond crazy and it shows in every decision she makes. People see it, but I don't think they fully understood how much crazy was there until the end when it was too late. There are a few other secondary characters—especially Iria and Violet—that I enjoyed getting to know more about as well.

I'm dying to know what will happen next and I really want Em to get her happily ever after at the end of it. She has sacrificed so much—and for people that don't fully appreciate it—that she deserves some good to come of everything that's happened. Book three doesn't have a name yet, but it's already on my wishlist.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.