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The Ruined Destiny #1
Shield of Ruin
Destiny Defies Doctrine.
As a Valkyrie, Sayra vows to protect the church’s dwindling Arcanists from hordes of daemon-kind. But her world shatters when she unleashes majik to save herself in battle—a forbidden feat for women. Discovered by the dark prince, Emrys, she learns of her true fate—to eradicate the corrupt Holy Family running the church before they discover her ability and assassinate her first.
In the shadows, Prince Emrys maneuvers his pieces to expose the Holy Family’s vile intent to conquer every country on the continent. Sayra’s majik ignites his covert rebellion, but the path to justice is full of betrayal and peril. As the stakes rise, Emrys confronts the harsh price of change.
Sylven, a majik-wielding Arcanist determined to hunt daemons, finds himself forced to contract Sayra as his guardian—a Valkyrie he vows to reject. As the Holy Family’s sinister methods unfold, Sylven faces a crucial cling to his past or risk everything to dismantle the corrupt power.
All three must navigate a labyrinth of lies and split loyalties before the Holy Family destroys what little of humanity remains.
As a Valkyrie, Sayra vows to protect the church’s dwindling Arcanists from hordes of daemon-kind. But her world shatters when she unleashes majik to save herself in battle—a forbidden feat for women. Discovered by the dark prince, Emrys, she learns of her true fate—to eradicate the corrupt Holy Family running the church before they discover her ability and assassinate her first.
In the shadows, Prince Emrys maneuvers his pieces to expose the Holy Family’s vile intent to conquer every country on the continent. Sayra’s majik ignites his covert rebellion, but the path to justice is full of betrayal and peril. As the stakes rise, Emrys confronts the harsh price of change.
Sylven, a majik-wielding Arcanist determined to hunt daemons, finds himself forced to contract Sayra as his guardian—a Valkyrie he vows to reject. As the Holy Family’s sinister methods unfold, Sylven faces a crucial cling to his past or risk everything to dismantle the corrupt power.
All three must navigate a labyrinth of lies and split loyalties before the Holy Family destroys what little of humanity remains.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 17, 2024
19 people are currently reading
261 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 30, 2024
Oh my freaking goddess!!! EPICCCCCCCCCCC!!! Like couldn’t get enough of this story and characters the twists and bombs dropped!!!! I need book 2 like yesterday🤣🤣🤣🤣 another author added to my fav list of 2024!
July 1, 2024
I found The Shield of Ruin very charming, very well written, and just a delight to read really. Slightly slow to get into but once you’re past chapter 5 it’s all fun and games from there!
In not usually a YA/NA reader as I feel like sometimes the writing and plot can come off too “immature” and a little lack lustre but there was none of that in this book!
Can’t wait to read the rest!!
In not usually a YA/NA reader as I feel like sometimes the writing and plot can come off too “immature” and a little lack lustre but there was none of that in this book!
Can’t wait to read the rest!!
July 2, 2024
This book was great. It was a little slow at the beginning but you start falling for the characters. I cannot wait for book 2 to come out to find out what happens next.
August 2, 2024
📚BOOK REVIEW 📚
💫My Rating: 4.5/5 💫
*Round up for Goodreads*
⚠️Trigger Warnings ⚠️
Hand to hand combat, abuse mentioned,
📝My Review📝
While “Shield of Ruin” is a story with a slow beginning, don’t let the first five-ish chapters fool you. “Shield of Ruin” by S.H.Blodgett is a classic novel full of majik, politics, ethics, relationship dynamics, and some mystery. Characters will be tested in loyalty and trust as they journey on a quest to take down the Holy Family and the evil lurking in the forest. While the daemons target and hunt the men for their majik, women serve a multitude of important positions in the community. Specifically, women are destined to bear children in hopes of rebuilding the male population or they become a protector of Arcanists (males with majik) as a Valkyrie.
With this novel being written in multiple POVs, the reader will experience and discover the world in different perspectives. Whether it be a woman serving as a Valkyrie, the Arcanist forced to be linked to a Valkyrie unwillingly, or a mysterious, dark Prince with hidden secrets and agendas. No matter what pov you read from this cryptic world will begin to unravel and rope you into wanting more.
Those who like steamy romantasies this may not be the spice level you want. It is a sweet and enduring love story that could blossom to more as the series evolves, but the romance scenes are very PG. I personally loved it and find it to be a book I would be okay with my daughter reading in the future.
If you enjoy strong female leads and women’s rights these tropes are tastefully interlaced within the story. I enjoyed seeing the MFC follow her dreams and strive to discover a way to work with her fears and doubts. In addition, I loved how many of the women are depicted as vigorous, independent, and vital members of the community.
Shield of Ruin is the foundation to a series with a promising future that you will not want to miss!
🤍Thanks to S.H. Blodgett for trusting me with their novel in return for my personal review🤍
💫My Rating: 4.5/5 💫
*Round up for Goodreads*
⚠️Trigger Warnings ⚠️
Hand to hand combat, abuse mentioned,
📝My Review📝
While “Shield of Ruin” is a story with a slow beginning, don’t let the first five-ish chapters fool you. “Shield of Ruin” by S.H.Blodgett is a classic novel full of majik, politics, ethics, relationship dynamics, and some mystery. Characters will be tested in loyalty and trust as they journey on a quest to take down the Holy Family and the evil lurking in the forest. While the daemons target and hunt the men for their majik, women serve a multitude of important positions in the community. Specifically, women are destined to bear children in hopes of rebuilding the male population or they become a protector of Arcanists (males with majik) as a Valkyrie.
With this novel being written in multiple POVs, the reader will experience and discover the world in different perspectives. Whether it be a woman serving as a Valkyrie, the Arcanist forced to be linked to a Valkyrie unwillingly, or a mysterious, dark Prince with hidden secrets and agendas. No matter what pov you read from this cryptic world will begin to unravel and rope you into wanting more.
Those who like steamy romantasies this may not be the spice level you want. It is a sweet and enduring love story that could blossom to more as the series evolves, but the romance scenes are very PG. I personally loved it and find it to be a book I would be okay with my daughter reading in the future.
If you enjoy strong female leads and women’s rights these tropes are tastefully interlaced within the story. I enjoyed seeing the MFC follow her dreams and strive to discover a way to work with her fears and doubts. In addition, I loved how many of the women are depicted as vigorous, independent, and vital members of the community.
Shield of Ruin is the foundation to a series with a promising future that you will not want to miss!
🤍Thanks to S.H. Blodgett for trusting me with their novel in return for my personal review🤍
January 13, 2026
I had a good time with this book!
- I was not expecting 3 POV’s but regardless they all felt seamless. The chapter changes weren’t redundant with writing the same event from how another character saw it go down.
- I really like the whole magic system we have going on here and how we learned it didn’t feel to much info dumpy. It’s sort of a mixture of elemental, and then light/dark magic types. Nothing too complicated to understand but still interesting in how the types of spells can be casted and used.
- Also one of those books where I feel religion being a prominent force in the government was blended really well. Despite the secret we learn of the corrupt Holy Family’s origin and how magic came to be to the kingdoms, it also felt realistic with how our characters are trying to dismantle that regime. It’s not something to take down overnight and feels like the characters understand the weight of this fight might be decades, but they are still willing to try.
- Romance isn’t really involved throughout the book, but it does set up for things to be a potential slow burn.
I definitely will be keeping track of how the rest of this series goes!
- I was not expecting 3 POV’s but regardless they all felt seamless. The chapter changes weren’t redundant with writing the same event from how another character saw it go down.
- I really like the whole magic system we have going on here and how we learned it didn’t feel to much info dumpy. It’s sort of a mixture of elemental, and then light/dark magic types. Nothing too complicated to understand but still interesting in how the types of spells can be casted and used.
- Also one of those books where I feel religion being a prominent force in the government was blended really well. Despite the secret we learn of the corrupt Holy Family’s origin and how magic came to be to the kingdoms, it also felt realistic with how our characters are trying to dismantle that regime. It’s not something to take down overnight and feels like the characters understand the weight of this fight might be decades, but they are still willing to try.
- Romance isn’t really involved throughout the book, but it does set up for things to be a potential slow burn.
I definitely will be keeping track of how the rest of this series goes!
June 20, 2024
I absolutely devoured this book! It is extremely well written, with world-building that pulls you right in. The magic system is so interesting and I love the relationship between the Arcanists and the Valkyries. This is one of those "things are not what they seem to be" stories and that is one of my favorite things in a fantasy novel. I can't wait to see what happens next. Pick this up if you're a fan of fantasy with strong female protagonists, great world-building, training academies, plotting and scheming, multiple POVs, and is set up for an epic adventure across multiple books!
July 2, 2024
I honestly couldn’t put this book down. The author did a great job setting up the world initially in a way that gave you enough of the relevant information without spoiling the book or making it an effort to get through the world building. There were twists and turns throughout the book that I didn’t see coming, some slow burn romantics, and plenty of snarky comments with an enemies to friends style arc. I cannot wait for the next in this series!
July 5, 2024
Loved getting to read this early !!!! 4.5 stars. It would have been a solid 5 but I felt it ended with too many loose ends. There was lots of build up only to have it end. I’m sure there will be others in the series or at least I hope so as there is sooo much to explain !! This lengthy book needs at least 3-4 more books to truly tell an amazing story !
August 24, 2024
Loved the world this story was set in. It started off a little slow but that's to be expected from book 1 in a fantasy series. The world building was good and I really enjoyed the majick system the author put in place. Great character development throughout, especially for the main characters Sayra and Prince Emrys. I love the way their dynamic developed. I cannot wait to get my hands on book 2!
August 4, 2024
Love love love this story! Looking forward to book 2! I added this girl to my author list and am waiting for the notification for more.
The story does take a bit to get into, but this is just how it goes because you have to build up the characters and the plot and all the history along the way.
Beautiful details, enthralling fight scenes, and the characters are so much to read. Definitely ones you could yourself being friends with.
The story does take a bit to get into, but this is just how it goes because you have to build up the characters and the plot and all the history along the way.
Beautiful details, enthralling fight scenes, and the characters are so much to read. Definitely ones you could yourself being friends with.
October 28, 2024
Excellent book! If you love fantasy books you'll love this one. The story is wonderfully written and the characters are so easy to fall in love with. Not too long of a book so it's great for a quick read. I'll definitely be reading more books from this author.
July 16, 2024
Started off slow but picked up. Once it picked up I couldn’t put it down. Can’t wait for book 2!!
July 31, 2024
Got about half way and couldn’t continue reading. The story and plot are very interesting but it’s a little too slow of a build for my reading taste.
December 28, 2024
Came for the Valkyries, stayed for the Norwegian swear words. 😂
(Not really. Still a great story without the Norwegian swear words.)
(Not really. Still a great story without the Norwegian swear words.)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews