Ruthless

*Full disclosure I received an ARC (advanced reader copy) of this book in exchange for an honest review* I’ve been waiting (what feels like so long) to post my review and the time has come, yay!! I’ve said this once and I will say it again (and probably again and again) Gena Showalter can expertly write the most compelling males! Her heroes and heroines fit each other so well in every book I read of hers, I cannot stress enough how much I love her characters. And her continued character development just gets better and better with time. (I’m looking at you Pearl Jean and Jareth). *I will preface this review by sharing that while you can read this book as a stand-alone I would absolutely recommend reading the first in it’s series, Heartless (SO good). Getting the background info of the Fae realm and it’s different courts and learning the characters/character development I feel is extremely important for the second book, Ruthless.* I absolutely love reading enemies to lover tropes. If you do too, then this book is for you! First off, I totally have a type and Micah, our leading male ticked all the boxes for me! When you have a male, who is closed off, has a hard exterior, brushes everything off like he can’t be bothered but, inside he’s hurting, lonely, and yearning for a partner? Someone he can trust, without a doubt? That is Micah. It did not take long but, he pulled at my heart strings instantly! I didn’t know how I would feel about him (I didn’t want to betray Kaysar LOL) but, I couldn’t help but feel for him! How could I not fall for him? Enter, Viori. Honestly, my heart was breaking for her too. To grow up without family, not having anyone to watch your back and being betrayed at every turn (both in the Fae and mortal World) it’s no wonder she gives Micah a run for her money! She was so sassy and funny at times, I was laughing out loud during my read (Cookie “the Uncrumbled” was hilarious as always too, I loved her and Kaysar’s cameo’s in this book) and truly loved watching her character grow and watch her become worthy of Micah and in turn, watching him become worthy of her. If you love a darker enemies to lovers tale with a little trial and error, epic story weaving, exciting character growth, laugh out loud moments, betrayal, love AND intense chemistry then don’t sleep on this book! I enjoyed it so much and absolutely recommend it across the board! I’ll leave you with this: “You are my family and my forever. You woke me from the dead. I’ll always live for you.”

Micah the Unwilling has worked hard to overcome his glamara and provide for his kingdom. But when the woman he has listed after for ages appears in his camp, can he do what’s best for everyone and himself. This story picks up almost a year after Heartless. Viori is alive but the struggle she went through have hardened her and she trusts no one. Her character constantly wars with herself on what she should do. I enjoyed seeing how broken she was and how she adapted to survive. Learning about Micahs past and his rise to power made me love his character. The couple had a lot to overcome to make their relationship work. Knowing this is an enemies book, I expected their to be friction, misunderstanding and fighting between our love interests. I was not disappointed and loved how they fought and fell for each other. As always Gena has expanded the world she started in the previous book so masterfully that I want it to be real. With glimpses of past characters we are given hints at what will happen in future books. I was provided with and ARC in exchange for an honest review.