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Cold as Iron #2
These Ruined Dreams
After regaining her lost memories and returning to her rightful place, Evelyn is coming to terms with the years stolen from her and the losses she endured. But even though she is back, parts of her are still missing and the courts are at war. As she seeks what the Unseelie Queen took from her, she grows more and more confused about the feelings she holds for Gideon, Maelona, and Emrys. When a massive betrayal and loss turn her world upside down, Evelyn is forced to team up with the enemy. It's then she discovers that everyone has secrets and they are unraveling the very fabric of the courts and fate itself.
435 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2023
2 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 8, 2023
so twisty, so spicy, and the pieces all coming together at the end? chef’s kiss. 5/5, can’t wait for you all to read this too
November 3, 2023
"You are a vicious thing, but you are my vicious thing and I'll have you no other way."
These Ruined Dreams is the second novel the New Adult Fantasy Romance series, Cold as Iron, which continues Evelyn after she has finally regained her most of memories and found her place...except the Unseelie Court is still wreaking havoc and secrets slowly unravel that threaten to shake the foundations of the Fae courts and fate itself.
THE ROMANCE!
Okay, okay.
Evelyn continues to be a fierce and powerful figure. I loved getting to see this side to her in all its glory in this book. She is a force to be reckon with and yet she has a vulnerability to her that I appreciated. It reminded me how much she had gone through and how much she's still finding about herself.
As we have learned in the previous books, there are three key characters that play as love interests and companions to Evelyn - Maelona, Gideon, and Emrys. While I'm usually not a fan of love triangles...or squares? I will say the key love interest becomes quite obvious from the beginning and I was rooting for them. I felt their connection the Evelyn was powerful and their capacity of love was clear. There is a lot of history that is unfolded here and I lived for it.
This book does contain spice and I would place it at a 3 spicy pepper out of 5 spicy pepper. We begin to see spice around the 35% mark and it increases throughout. The romance is what sucked me in this book. The angst, the past connection, the tension, and EVERYTHING else that I won't spoiler had me hugging the book to me chest and just basking it in. I felt the level of connection and history between the characters made the romance powerful and the spice just added to it. I will say I could have done without the love square but it does get explained why it had to happen.
"I am a selfish, greedy creature...and you possess me of everything in my soul. I am happy to let you take all of me and I will thank you for decimating my life."
In terms of world building and story, I felt we got some really amazing revelations that drew out the romance in so many wonderful ways. The first half of the book was slow and a bit clunky as we were finding where we were heading but the second half took a really great turn as the story felt smooth and with a goal I was easily able to follow. I found the secrets being unravelled, the investigations, and the plots really framed the story in addition to some twists I was not expecting. The ending itself left me feeling really good about this story.
Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this and I cannot wait to see the adventure continue!
Thank you Kayla for this review copy! You can also read this on Kindle Unlimited!
These Ruined Dreams is the second novel the New Adult Fantasy Romance series, Cold as Iron, which continues Evelyn after she has finally regained her most of memories and found her place...except the Unseelie Court is still wreaking havoc and secrets slowly unravel that threaten to shake the foundations of the Fae courts and fate itself.
THE ROMANCE!
Okay, okay.
Evelyn continues to be a fierce and powerful figure. I loved getting to see this side to her in all its glory in this book. She is a force to be reckon with and yet she has a vulnerability to her that I appreciated. It reminded me how much she had gone through and how much she's still finding about herself.
As we have learned in the previous books, there are three key characters that play as love interests and companions to Evelyn - Maelona, Gideon, and Emrys. While I'm usually not a fan of love triangles...or squares? I will say the key love interest becomes quite obvious from the beginning and I was rooting for them. I felt their connection the Evelyn was powerful and their capacity of love was clear. There is a lot of history that is unfolded here and I lived for it.
This book does contain spice and I would place it at a 3 spicy pepper out of 5 spicy pepper. We begin to see spice around the 35% mark and it increases throughout. The romance is what sucked me in this book. The angst, the past connection, the tension, and EVERYTHING else that I won't spoiler had me hugging the book to me chest and just basking it in. I felt the level of connection and history between the characters made the romance powerful and the spice just added to it. I will say I could have done without the love square but it does get explained why it had to happen.
"I am a selfish, greedy creature...and you possess me of everything in my soul. I am happy to let you take all of me and I will thank you for decimating my life."
In terms of world building and story, I felt we got some really amazing revelations that drew out the romance in so many wonderful ways. The first half of the book was slow and a bit clunky as we were finding where we were heading but the second half took a really great turn as the story felt smooth and with a goal I was easily able to follow. I found the secrets being unravelled, the investigations, and the plots really framed the story in addition to some twists I was not expecting. The ending itself left me feeling really good about this story.
Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this and I cannot wait to see the adventure continue!
Thank you Kayla for this review copy! You can also read this on Kindle Unlimited!
March 3, 2024
This was 4.5 stars for me but rounded up to 5. Most everything in this book was actually better than the first book, but there were a couple of things that happened that couldn't quite let me give it 5 stars. This book is much higher stakes and the world has expanded a lot, so it had me even more gripped than the first book. And if I thought there were a lot of twists and turns in the first book, I had no idea what was coming for me in this one. Kayla is great at keeping her readers constantly guessing. I'm really excited to see how this series will end!
February 9, 2024
Just as delightfully twisty and turny as book 1, and it keeps going to the very end. You know it's a fun read when there's so much going on that you keep coming up with wild theories. Some of mine weren't far off the mark, some were way off :')
Recommended for people who like fae, romance, star-crossed lovers, and courtly / political intrigue. Mature content warning for spicy scenes.
Recommended for people who like fae, romance, star-crossed lovers, and courtly / political intrigue. Mature content warning for spicy scenes.
July 31, 2023
This sucked me im
Immediately, I was sucked into this story. The details fully make you feel like you are a part of the world seeing the scene set. Woth turns you don't see coming! I stayed up all night to finish it haha!
Immediately, I was sucked into this story. The details fully make you feel like you are a part of the world seeing the scene set. Woth turns you don't see coming! I stayed up all night to finish it haha!
January 3, 2024
She did Gideon dirty - MFC is literally his villain origin story. The story felt incomplete, will there be a third?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2023
I loved this just as much as the first book. There were so many twists, and I devoured every word. I need more of this world. I need more of these characters. I'm so excited for the third book!
- Faeries and more
- A badass FMC and other women characters who are just as badass in their own ways
- A mysterious coded poem of fate
- A powerful and heartrending love story
- Messy faerie political intrigue and secrets
- So many twists and juicy reveals
[Also there is some spice as well]
I highly recommend this book and the first book This Broken Memory in the Cold as Iron series!
- Faeries and more
- A badass FMC and other women characters who are just as badass in their own ways
- A mysterious coded poem of fate
- A powerful and heartrending love story
- Messy faerie political intrigue and secrets
- So many twists and juicy reveals
[Also there is some spice as well]
I highly recommend this book and the first book This Broken Memory in the Cold as Iron series!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews