Ruined

I received an ARC (advanced reader copy) of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Also, this book is currently only available in ebook format. I am awaiting a reply as to when it will be released as a hard copy book. 

By Jus Accardo

Series: Book #1 The Eternal Balance
ISBN: 97816226621848
Publisher: Entangled: Embrace
Publication Date: December 30th 2013
Number of Pages: 325
Source: ebook (ARC)
Goodreads Summary: Hell is looking for a way to break loose...Jax lost the genetic lottery. Descended from Cain, the world's first murderer, he's plagued by a curse that demands violence in exchange for his happiness. He left everything behind, including the girl he loved, but thriving on the pain of others is lonely… And it's killing him.After a series of heartbreaking losses, Samantha put rubber to pavement and headed for college as fast as her clunker could carry her. But she can't outrun her problems. When an attack at school drives her back home, she's thrown into the path of a past—and a guy—she's been trying to forget.

Sam strains Jax's control over his darkness, but running isn't an option this time. Someone—or, something—followed her home from school: a ruthless monster with a twisted plan centuries in the making. Forced together to survive, and fighting an attraction that could destroy them both, Jax and Sam must stop a killer bent on revenge.

My Rating:  

This is book #1 in a new series featuring demons. We have twin brothers, Jax and Chase who are total opposites and not very close. The problem with their relationship stems from long ago - they are the descendants of Cain & Abel (biblical brothers; Cain became jealous of Abel and killed him). Because of this, Cain's descendants that are born with a "tainted" soul have to bear the burden of sharing their body with a demon. This demon hates Jax's brother and taunts Jax with images of killing Chase. The only way Jax can deal with the hate of the demon is to stay away from Chase and "feed" the demon with violence.

I enjoyed how different and unique this story is. We have the paranormal aspect of demons and we also have sort of a twist on the old story of Cain and Abel. 

I don't want to give anything away, but I will say there are many surprises to this story. I was hooked and could not stop reading it until the end.

I did not give a higher rating to this book because I did have a problem with the relationship between Samantha & Jax. There was a good background story to them and his reasons for leaving her behind are legit. I don't like the idea or portrayal of this "all-consuming, obsessive" love between them. Doesn't feel true to life when we have that type of love. I am classifying this book in the New Adult category, as the characters are older (18) and it does have some racy scenes (as one of the emotions demons can feed off of is lust). 

I will probably pick up the next book to continue the story and see how it turns out. I do find that 3 books may be too much, as it sounds like the story could be wrapped up in just one other book.