Review: Ruined

Ruined by Amy Tintera
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought Tintera did a great job with her sci-fi dystopian debut, the Reboot duology - especially given its always-fascinating use of the undead. This book shifts into fantasy and yet stays a little more grounded in reality, because even though there are characters with powers, they're mostly supporting characters, while the book itself deals largely in inter-kingdom intrigue and one of the main characters disguising herself as the crown prince's betrothed.

The first half of the book is a little slow-moving, even with Tintera's addictive prose to keep me going. I was just waiting for something to happen, and around the halfway point, that was when the book really took off. The action flies in the second half, all building up to the huge cliffhanger ending - let's just say things get pretty bloody.

So, a three-star beginning, and a five-star ending. I definitely want more.

And one more thing - I liked how the majority of names in this book, of names and people alike, seemed to have a certain Spanish flavor. It lends this book some uniqueness in the sea of fantasies modeled after Britain (Throne of Glass), ancient Rome (An Ember in the Ashes), and even Malta (The Young Elites).

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