Author: Scarlett St. Clair
Genres: Fantasy, Retelling
Published: April 22, 2020
Pages: 417
Format read: Paperback
Triggers: Death, Sexual Assault, Suicide, Kidnapping, Car accident, Rape, Stalking
Quick Thoughts: A little chaotic at times, but came together nicely in the end. I love the new characters that are introduced and the development of the ones that were already there!
This book was self purchased.
All reviews are entirely honest and my own opinion.
Rating:
Characters:
Plot:
Spice:
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.
Hades, God of the Dead, is burdened by a hellish past that everyone’s eager to expose in an effort to warn Persephone away.
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 with severe consequences.
Faced with a side of Hades she never knew and crushing loss, Persephone wonders if she can truly become Hades’ queen.
The Touch of Darkness series is one of the most enjoyable I’ve read this year. Though, it took me a while to get to the second book. The first book left me with a book-hangover. But once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down anymore!
Kiss me. Love me. Ruin me.
The title certainly is appropriate: A touch of Ruin, because everything is falling apart in this book. I think I yelled at the pages approximately 5 times… This book is what I call an emotional roller coaster.
Scarlett’s writing style is very much the same as in the first book. It is relatively fast-paced and doesn’t use a lot of difficult words. The story flows really well and you just speed through the chapters. There is no case of confusion, you can follow the events really well.
Just like with the first book, there is no shortage of smut scenes in this one either. Hades and Persephone are getting their thing on a lot. The only issue I had with these scenes is the fact that it sometimes felt a little out of place. Some spicy scenes felt like they were put there simply for the spice, and didn’t really add a whole lot to the story. I feel like this is going to be an on-going issue with this series. I am expecting the same pattern in the next book. It, luckily, doesn’t make the book less enjoyable for me! It’s still a very fun read.
The fun thing about the second instalment was that there is a little bit more plot than the first one. And there are a few new characters introduced. I just love the wide variety of personalities that Scarlett gives her characters. Hermes is still my favourite by far, but Apollo is so cute as well!
There was a lot going on in this book: Persephone’s job, an emotional rollercoaster, her magic, the relationship with Hades, Persephone’s friendships and of course her b*tch of a mother. Sometimes it felt like just a bit too much, but overall it worked pretty well and was nicely balanced. Just sometimes, the book could have done with one less issue to give some breathing space between the emotional scenes.
My favourite thing about this series makes a come-back in the second instalment: The friendship with Lexa! There just is something about a strong female friendship that has my heart. I was very happy to see that this is an on-going theme through the books. I simply love a strong female friendship! Honestly, the fact that this is a thing in more books is such a joy to read! When I was younger, women had a lot of fights and were overall very jealous. This trend of strong female friendships is one I hope that stays a thing.
I love you. Even if the Fates unraveled our destiny, I would find a way back to you.
If I am being entirely honest, this book was just a little less enjoyable than the first. Yes, it has a lot more plot, but it also is a bit more chaotic for that very reason. I still enjoyed reading it, but like I said, it could have done with one less issue. That being said, it was a fun read and I absolutely love all the different characters that Scarlett introduced us to!
Good bits
Bad bits
- Picks up where book 1 ended
- Very easy to read
- Relatively fast-paced
- The passion is still a thing
- Introduction of more characters and development of the characters that were already there.
- Some of the smut-scenes felt ill-placed
- Could have done with one less plot point because it felt a little chaotic at times.
All with all, a really fun read and a nice second instalment to the series! I still love Hades and Persephone as a couple. There are plenty of side characters to keep the book interesting. A little chaotic at times with the big amount of plot points, but in the end it comes together quite nicely. I am curious to see where this story is going to take us!