Review | Rage & Ruin – Jennifer L. Armentrout

Not too long ago, I posted my review for Storm and Fury. I really enjoyed that book and was really happy that the release of the sequel was right around the corner. Rage and Ruin was released at the beginning of July and a friend and I did a buddyread right away. Let’s say it was another wild ride. Keep on reading for my full review of this book!

A half human, half angel and her bonded gargoyle protector must work with demons to stop the apocalypse while avoiding falling in love. The Harbinger is coming…but who or what is it? All of humankind may fall if Trinity and Zayne can’t win the race against time as dark forces gather.

As tensions rise, they must stay close together and patrol the DC streets at night, seeking signs of the Harbinger, an entity that is killing Wardens and demons with no seeming rhyme or reason. Forbidden to be with each other, Zayne and Trinity fight their feelings and turn to unusual sources for help—the demon Roth and his cohorts. But as deaths pile up and they uncover a sinister plot involving the local high school and endangering someone dear to Zayne, Trin realizes she is being led…herded…played for some unknown end. As anger builds and feelings spiral out of control, it becomes clear that rage may be the ruin of them all.

Review

It’s always harder to write reviews for sequels than it is for the first book in a series. I want to give you my thoughts, but I don’t want to spoil anyone who hasn’t been able to read the first book, Storm and Fury, yet. I will say it again though, if you haven’t read The Dark Elements trilogy yet, I definitely would before this book. There are some cameos and events that will make a lot more sense and hit you in the feels just a little more if you have some background information!

Rage and Ruin starts off right after the ending of Storm and Fury. Our main characters Trinity and Zayne need to find The Harbinger and stop this being. Nothing good will come from it being able to do what it pleases. This element in the story was really interesting, because who or what is this Harbinger? When Wardens start turning up dead, it’s a race against the clock to find out more. I loved trying to figure it out along the way.

“Rage and ruin had not corrupted me. They powered me.”

If I’m honest though, the first book was stronger in my opinion. While I loved the character development, plot and events in Rage and Ruin, it takes so long for anything to really happen. I’d say the first 250+ pages are really just filled with relationship drama, patrolling and Trinity trying to make sense of everything going on. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed reading this, but this made the ending feel a bit rushed. I would’ve loved more information about certain twists and turns! That being said, there were twists and turns that I never saw coming and left me wanting the third book so much when I read the last page. As usual, this author knows how to leave you wanting more after you’ve come to love the characters so much.

Besides the fighting aspect of Rage and Ruin, we have some amazing characters. Zayne was a character that I enjoyed in The Dark Elements, but I never expected to end up loving him as much as I did. We get to see a whole different side of him in this spinoff and I’m loving every minute of it. He’s protective, strong, loving, will fight for everything he believes in, but is also more vulnerable than you expect him to be. Trinity changes along the way as well. She goes from being afraid of what she can do, to embracing it. This makes things hard for her, because what if she’d done this sooner? Would she have been able to protect the ones she loved just a bit more? Trinity is a feisty one and when she thinks something is right or needs to be done, there’s no stopping her. This can work in her advantage, but not always. I love that the author also really talks about her visual disability, but let’s us see that she’s still a strong capable person who isn’t letting it keep her down.

“Look, I just don’t want to be…”
A burden. A victim. A challenge. Someone to pity and coddle and worry about. Someone treated less than, even with the best of intentions.”

We also have an amazing cast of side characters. Peanut is still so much fun, even though I wish we would’ve seen just a bit more of him this time around. He’s still one of my favorites. We still get to see a lot of Roth, Layla and Cayman (he deserves his own story). These moments are so much fun, because Roth is hilarious. There are other little special moments that I don’t want to spoil, but that readers will really enjoy.

Last but not least, I have to talk about the romance. It’s technically a forbidden romance even if we don’t know why. We kind of get a glimpse of why near the end, but it’s definitely interesting. I do feel like that should’ve been explained a bit more. The romance was definitely a slow burn romance, because both Zayne and Trinity knew that it wasn’t supposed to happen. I loved the tension and the buildup and really think they’re great together. They may need to talk a bit more, but I definitely enjoy them together.

“I can see you. Each breath you take. The way your lips are parted. How wide your eyes are and how flushed your skin is. That light inside you. The spark. I can see it and it’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

All in all, Rage and Ruin was a great sequel. It set up some interesting story lines for the third and final book. That ending left me with so many questions and I’ll be counting down the months until I can get my hands on the final book.

It’s always interesting when endings go in ways you never see coming! Even though I’m happy I picked this up right away, it’s going to be a long wait for the third and final book. Grace and Glory won’t be releasing until Summer 2021. Luckily I have plenty of books to keep me busy until then!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge