Review: Rage and Ruin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Rage and Ruin by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, I'm loving these re-reads! Though I'm about to get real after this second read... Brace yourself...

So, I'm going to come out and say a VERY unpopular opinion, but I got SO mad at Zayne during this novel.  Many are mad at Trinity because of the way she treated him, but I'm on Trinity's side.  Sure, she's a bit self absorbed, but this girl was literally born to be a fighting machine by a man who doesn't care one bit about her.  She's been surrounded by people who treat her like a precious jewel about to break, but wants her to sacrifice everything for the moment she's summoned to do her duty.  She has a terrifying disease that she makes look flawless, but in reality is a hard thing to overcome, and NO ONE seems to understand that she can, and should, be a little selfish.  She's going to do an ultimate good, probably for her last act of courage, and yet, she's too in her own head.  She helps souls cross over, she fights demons, she's risking her life to help everyone, but all anyone ever says is she's selfish, and during this second re-read, it just hit me how lonely Trinity must be with everyone telling her about her flaws.  Zayne is not anywhere in my favorite male characters of JLA's book.  He's actually probably my least, or very far down the line.  But I do love this book, and series, because of Trinity and how amazing she is.  So, just needed to get that off my chest.  And even though I'm having issues with Zayne, that obviously did not deter me from loving this book or series, and I'm extremely excited to dive into book 3, the final installment of this amazing world!

My original review from May 17, 2020:

I received this free eARC novel from the author and Edelweiss. This is my honest review. 

Being bonded to Zayne is problematic for Trinity. Protectors and their Trueborns are forbidden to be in a relationship with each other, which is where Trinity and Zayne were headed. Now, Trinity has slammed on the breaks, even though it just about kills her. Throw in the fact they can both feel each other's feelings, and hello awkward moments...

And then there's the Harbinger. Trying to discover who this is and what their goal is has been a struggle. Some clues lead to others, but many lead to dead ends. Trinity can't help but feel everything is going to explode at once, but she has no control without any information. 

Then throw in Layla and Stacey, Roth and Co. and things are just escalating. Plus how things... ended... with Misha? Trinity's rage isn't going to stay bottled up for long. And the big reveal? Trinity didn't see that coming at all...

I say this every time Jennifer L. Armentrout releases a book and I'll keep saying it over and over: I LOVED THIS BOOK! I don't know how she does it, but JLA has created another masterpiece and completely sucked me into this world. She made me fall for each and every character, and broke my heart more times than I liked. But also made my heart race for every intense scene between Trinity and Zayne.

I seriously wanted to strangle this two love birds. They avoided each other, had close encounters, and honestly had great self restraint to not succumb to their intense feelings, which both could feel from each other, mind you. I was tense with anticipation, only to be thoroughly disappointed. But when they did give in? It was magical. 

During the whole book, I tried very hard to come up with many people who could be the Harbinger. I wanted to not be shocked, like JLA tends to do to me. While I wasn't shocked,  I also did not figure out out before the big reveal.  What did shock me was the very, very end, which is what the intention was, I'm sure. 

I loved the moment Trinity and Zayne had their deep, painful, intense, real conversation. It was heartbreaking, enlightening, true. They left everything on the table and aired our their dirty  laundry. I enjoy those scenes because true thoughts and feelings are finally released after being bottled up for so long.

I also loved seeing a lot of Roth and Layla and the rest of the gang. It wouldn't be the same if they were missing, and JLA gave us many moments of them. 

And, as always, I am anxiously awaiting the next book already. I'm so curious how things are going to move forward and I'm sure there will be many more surprises in the future. I'm waiting to see what part Peanut and Gina have too!

Thank you again for an amazing novel, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and I'll be waiting with forced patience for the next novel!

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