Avenged Review

     Emelina has rescued her sister, Olivia, and they escape Lera, promising to restore Ruina. They are still not safe, though, as their past actions catch up to them. Olivia is ruthless and will destroy anyone who goes against her, but Em is more hesitant. Spending time with Casimir has made her see a new side to the war. She believes that Cas will be different than past Lera rulers and that they can reach peace. Olivia thinks that Em's love for Cas is only weakness. Em wants to reach peace, but will she choose love and betray her only family or loyalty?

    Keep in mind that everyone has their own opinion. This review is only my opinion, and you may have your own, different one. I would take into consideration what I say, but do not make a decision about the book solely based off of this review. Let's begin:

    One of my favorite aspects of this book was the growing tension between the sisters, I love both sisters as characters (even with Olivia's questionable personality), and it was interesting to watch them battle between their old love for each other and the reality that they are different people now with opposing methods to reach peace. It was sad seeing the demise of their relationship because you never want to see a family torn apart, but it was written out very well and the internal conflicts that Em especially faced were interesting.

    I am totally in support of Em and Cas, so I loved all of the cute moments between them. Their relationship is so strong even after everything they have been through and it is honestly quite inspiring. I appreciate that they represent more of a true relationship. Many novels leave out conflicts between partners and makes the relationship appear perfect which is not real. I love that this author shows that relationships take efforts and that there are going to be bumpy parts.

    The characters are very strong. I love Aren's character. He has a lot of depth and it is interesting to watch how he grows and changes. Honestly, I love all of the characters and could say the same thing for all of the others as well. They are all very deep and morally grey. I think this is very important because, similar to the relationships issue, many characters are too good or too evil. None of the characters here are like that. Even some of the worst characters, like the one Olivia is developing into, are not pure evil. You can see how they were molded into who they were and the little bits of good they do have.

    My only issue is the same one I had with the first book that I was hoping would be resolved this time around; the powers of the Ruined are not fully explained. I have an understanding of their powers and how they work, but I also feel like I am missing something. This is not a super big deal because it does not have any sort of major impact on the story, but it is something I wish was developed and explained a bit more.

    Overall, I really liked this read and think it was just as strong as the first book. This series is very underrated; I think more people should definitely give it a try, especially if you like YA fantasy. The characters are strong in every aspect such as their growth and relationships with each other. The romance is very cute and realistic, which is another piece of praise for the characters. The storyline is very good, and I loved watching the sisters' relationship change. The internal conflicts they were facing were intriguing to watch play out. I would definitely recommend this book.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars (-o.5 for the powers confusion)

Author: Amy Tintera

Publisher: HarperTeen

# of Pages: 412

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance

Series: Ruined Trilogy (Book 2)