Book Review: RUINED by Jus Accardo

Summary from Goodreads:

 
A new adult novel from Entangled's Embrace imprint...

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.

NOTE: I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I can't say that Jus Accardo is my most favorite author, but she is among the Top 50 that I'd read if given the chance. With that said, I was a little disappointed by Ruined. Don't get me wrong, it was enjoyable, but sometimes the 'tell' got a little too much for my taste.

Writing style:
It was good. Not amazingly great (unfortunately), but good enough to entertain. I liked the unique voice of each character and that Accardo didn't bore me to death with super detailed descriptions. I didn't like the overuse of foul language though.

Story line:
A bunch of girls are found dead. Only they appear to all look like Sam (our female lead) and they turn out in places where Jax (the male lead) has happened to stay for a night or two. The questions keep on coming but the two most important are: 1) who is the murderer? and 2) is he/she onto Jax, or onto Sam?

Themes:
- Trying to run away from your problems is never the right decision.
- Being the bad boy isn't always good. Or funny. Usually it's messed up.
- The bad boy isn't always the most dangerous one.
- Sometimes life requires sacrifices. The question is, can we handle them?
- The impossible love relationship is on.

Characters:
I was quite a bit disappointed in Jax's character. Other than having killer looks, horrible temper and sometimes lack of self-control we don't really learn much about him (other that he's a descendent of Cain and carries his curse). I got bothered a lot by his always 'saying' that he's in pain when the demon inside him is hungry. For all readers' sake, don't 'tell' me he was in pain, 'show' me, so I can feel it too at some level. This goes on and on chapter after chapter. It was annoying and frankly, it killed a lot of the story for me.
Other than that, Jax was impulsive and violent. Sure, he did resemble some kind of self-control which was commendable, but it wasn't enough. Although, if you really think about it, he must've been pretty strong to exercise such control over the demon who resided in him (Azirak I believe was the name).

Now I've got a few things to say about Sam. that girl was either super stupid and unobservant or she took belief in coincidence to a whole new level. I mean, all sorts of suspicious things happen in her life - to her! - threats and such, and she doesn't do anything about them but complain and try to reason them to coincidence.
What I liked about her was how she called Jax's crap when he was trying to get her angry and push him away. In that perspective it seemed that her brains and observation worked perfectly.

Jax had a twin brother who played the 'good' guy. Despite being a world class player, the whole town was wrapped around his finger. I don't remember his name, nor will I say much about him, because it may spoil your read, but just... don't take him lightly.

In conclusion:
My words above may have sounded harsh, but they're honest and I'm not changing them. Still, I would recommend the book to readers of paranormal romance/urban fantasy, because it's a fast pace, enjoyable read that will have you turning the page even if it's not all that spectacular.

My rating is: