Title: Ruined
Author: Tracy Wolff
Publisher/Year: Random House Publishing 1/7/14
Length: 228 pages
Series: Ethan Frost #1
Overview
He’s the last man Chloe Girard should love . . . but the first she ever could.
Ethan Frost is a visionary, a genius, every woman’s deepest, darkest fantasy—even mine. And, somehow, I am his.
He stole into my life like a dream. Turned my reality upside down and made my every desire come true—especially those I never knew I had. He demanded everything I had to give and gave me everything of himself in return.
But dreams don’t last forever, and ours is no exception. Because my nightmares are darker, and my wounds deeper, than I could ever reveal. And as much as Ethan wants to protect me, the secrets we share will only tear us apart.
My Thoughts
I’m always eager to find a new series to get into and this one gives me exactly what i was hoping for even if it was a VERY expected path. We meet 2 very damaged characters, yet i don’t know that we even fully get to the heart of the damage. Chloe is our leading lady and we quickly learn that she’s had to grow up very quickly as a result of trauma of being raped in high school. Ethan, his past is still a mystery but we know that there’s more to him than he’s letting on.
It’s a chance encounter in the cafeteria that brings these two together, and it’s a blender that keeps them coming back for more. Throughout their interactions at the onset, there’s tension between them that’s undeniable, we see that they are fighting each other so much tat it’s inevitable that they’ll find their way back to one another. The question really just becomes what will it take and how will they survive.
The nuance here that we done see in a lot of these types of stories is that Ethan’s not looking to really hide his relationship with her and that’s a piece that we always see – that there’s a fear of being ‘found out – but here – he doesn’t care. It’s nice in a sense, but detrimental to her career it may seem.
The nice thing that our author Ms Wolff does for us is really give us a sense of what it takes to get these two together and have them stay together. It’s sweet how they are constantly giving each other momentos of who they are so that they are building their relationship on something that’s more than just superficial, but i continue to wonder what’s still under the surface and what’s being hidden.
It’s not until the very end that we see that there’s going to be conflict and of course we come to expect that knowing that it’s a trilogy. someone has to screw up and push the other away and then it’s a matter of understanding what the reason is and if they can repair what’s been broken. It’s also a surprise revelation of sorts that shows up at the door – and to be honest, i was expecting it, but it’s still quite a surprise to Chloe. That all being said, i have the next installment all ready to read – and that’s what i’m going to do. Happy Sunday!