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The Allure of Ruins

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Paxton Walsh has a comfortable life, which wasn’t always the case. But ever since he left his tumultuous life on the West Coast, trading it for a new beginning on the East Coast, things have settled. He can thank himself for the change, but also his boss and friend, Colton Gates. Their relationship is…a bit too codependent and close for most people to understand, but it works perfectly for them. So what if thoughts can be conveyed with a glance? That doesn’t really mean anything. Or at least not what other people think.

But now a threat from Pax’s past is back, shattering that hard-won peace. With Pax in danger and needing protection, Colton immediately steps up and takes him in. Without distance, though, without retreating to separate homes, both men have to be honest about their feelings. The truth is, Pax was hurt, body and soul, and if he reaches for Colton and finds they can’t be more, he’ll lose everything. If Colton does the same and it doesn’t work, he’ll lose Pax, his best friend and the person who knows him better than anyone. With both of them terrified of the what-ifs, it might be too hard to have faith and jump. If only they could both be brave.

159 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 30, 2025

162 people are currently reading
146 people want to read

About the author

Mary Calmes

129 books5,029 followers
Mary Calmes believes in romance, happily ever afters, and the faith it takes for her characters to get there. She bleeds coffee, thinks chocolate should be its own food group, and currently lives in Kentucky with a six-pound furry ninja that protects her from baby birds, spiders and the neighbor’s dogs. To stay up to date on her ponderings and pandemonium (as well as the adventures of the ninja) follow her on Twitter @MaryCalmes, connect with her on Facebook, and subscribe to her Mary’s Mob newsletter.

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5 stars
471 (48%)
4 stars
265 (27%)
3 stars
169 (17%)
2 stars
55 (5%)
1 star
16 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
Profile Image for rebecca.
631 reviews22 followers
July 19, 2025
I could definitely have done without the first forty pages of gossip. It was not, in fact, a good introduction to the story or the characters. It annoyed me more than it helped me understand the background of the plot (did it even help at all?)

Luckily, the story got a tiny bit better after that. And it's lucky that I was so curious about the characters, because otherwise I wouldn't have continued reading.

I'm not sure now if it was worth reading the book. The story didn't make much sense, mainly because it was too big for this really short book. And the romance, well, I don't entirely know what to say. It was okay, maybe, but it also just wasn't quite right. I don't know. This book confused me.
1,105 reviews
June 30, 2025
so boring

I don’t know how you make a book about someone being targeted by Russian mobsters boring but this author managed just that. This whole story takes place in a 36 hour time period. And you would think there would be urgency but no, the entire first two chapters are spent at a boring office party where we endure boring office gossip about people who don’t matter to the plot. Like this is a short book but it feels long because everything happens so slowly. It’s not badly written, and the two main characters are likable but nothing interesting happens. Even when the characters get together it’s just another thing that happens.
179 reviews3 followers
June 30, 2025
You can’t go wrong with a book from Mary.

I love anything Mary writes. This was a sweet little treat for all us readers who love her books. Hurt/comfort relationship that ends with love. I feel good when I read this author’s books and want more of the characters. Thanks Mary for sharing your stories with us.
4 reviews
July 1, 2025
Awesome short read

This was a quick story as usual would love for it to have been longer. This author never disappoints. I've read all her books and buy them all as I always read them again.
22 reviews
November 25, 2025
Absolutely perfect

A new Mary Calmes book is always a treat and this one was just delectable.
Pax and Colton have a connection that just leaps off the page. I’m going to reread it immediately to savor the details as I drank it down the first time without stopping for breath. Wonderful.
Profile Image for Terri.
2,901 reviews59 followers
July 1, 2025
This novella is a near-perfect low-angst story with a hint of danger. Just what I needed.
Profile Image for Heather.
881 reviews12 followers
June 30, 2025
I almost stopped reading because I've discovered I have a foster care trigger. I was actually IN foster care, and it drives me nuts when authors use the whole "abusive foster care" thing to create sympathy for their characters. You weren't in foster care and you're being gross to use it as a plot point. Yes, there are some bad ones, but people who get into it don't exactly get into it for the money, since it's not much. People are hesitant to foster because it has such a stigma, and as of right now there are 117,000 kids in foster care waiting to be adopted. Statistically they never will be. There are around 400,000 kids in foster care in the U.S. RIGHT NOW. What would they be doing without foster care? I just want to beg authors to PLEASE STOP DEMONIZING FOSTER CARE OH MY GOD.

Obviously it was hard for me to enjoy this one, and it was too short to really be very romantic. The romance happens in like the last 15%. Not the best, I have to say.
Profile Image for Lisa1269.
322 reviews4 followers
July 14, 2025
This author has a formula and it's consistent and I treasure that. I know exactly what I'm getting and I can plan my reading accordingly. Her characters are larger than life and their hearts are bigger yet and I love knowing that when that's what I need, Mary Calmes has me covered.
3 reviews
June 30, 2025
Worth a read

It's definitely one to read. I got lost a couple of times, but read it in one sitting. Did enjoy this one
24 reviews2 followers
June 30, 2025
Another awesome story

This is yet another brilliant story from Mary Calmes. She never disappoints. Can’t wait for the audiobook. Love love love this.
Profile Image for Donna.
3,426 reviews42 followers
July 2, 2025
For some strange reason, I found this story to be soothing. And, I just realized that the MC's names were Colton and Paxton, but it didn't click while I was reading. 🤦‍♀️🤣

Anywho, the flow between Colton and Pax was so smooth that you don't even notice it happening until the end, and you think, I love the way they are 'together' and they don't even realize it!

And, let me just say, I have spent over 40 years with my darling HB, and I also follow the plan that Pax has for getting Colton to do what he wants! I make a suggestion in passing, and then a few days or weeks later, HB has this "great" idea and bam... yep, it works every time!!! 🤣

If you need a short read that gives you warm and fuzzy feelings, this is the story to do that!
Profile Image for Jodi.
1,834 reviews
July 14, 2025
good

A typical Mary book that held my attention from page 1. Pax’s backstory is horrible but his future is better since meeting Colton. Working with Colton in a law firm, everyone tries to poach Pax but neither man refuses to leave the other. Now Pax's ex abusive mafia lover is out of jail and is looking the diamonds Pax doesn't have. However, there is a twist that it's not the ex and the FBI are not doing a good job. The ending was sweet once both men admitted they had feelings for each other.
Profile Image for Lora Graham.
467 reviews20 followers
October 11, 2025
This was all over the place (spoilers)

I hate when writers have characters go into 5+ pages of flashbacks. Do you not realize that this person is standing/sitting there for however long, not alone, and they're having random flashes of memories that are oftentimes triggered by nothing and aren't cohesive to the story.

The Russian mob plotline was...I don't know. The FBI was watching them, yet they all managed to still be skulking around unnoticed; they thought one was dead when he wasn't; 2 of them had been following Paxton for a week and no one knew. And one agent turned on his partner and tried to destroy the plan to protect Pax. So basically the only intelligent people in the entire story were Pax and Colton.

Other parts that didn't make sense was all of Colton's friends having Paxton's phone number - for what? - and Pax spending Christmas with Colt's family while Colt was on vacation with his friends. The only saving grace for the story was the intimacy (not just physical) once they got together.
Profile Image for ReviewerLarissa.
713 reviews31 followers
July 27, 2025
This could have been good if there was a better balance to the book and the story was more fleshed out. The first 30% of the book is useless office gossip. Not even really part of the story. Then the story moves at the speed of light and is finished practically in the middle of the story.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked the characters and see why they get together. But the story as a whole fell through.
Profile Image for Fritz42.
1,624 reviews
December 31, 2025
I needed a fiction book to read. I planned to use it as a reward for pushing myself to read a long nonfiction library book that I need to get through. It had to be somewhat short and well written by an author I could trust. I took a chance on this one to meet my requirements, and oh boy. I was not expecting the intensity that this one had. Library book? What library book? I had to finish this one instead.

Paxton is the coveted assistant of the head attorney of the pro bono division of a prestigious law firm. Both the attorney and Pax came from the US Attorney’s Office. Pax is efficient, gets along well with the rest of the staff, and has a great reputation in the firm. And he’s very loyal to his boss Colton, who has a reputation of being abrupt, good at his job, and uncaring to climb the firm’s ladder. The two of them work great together mainly because Pax is super efficient and Colton needs that in his life. Also, from the minute they meet, Pax does not kowtow to Colton’s abrupt bellowing. Their banter is worth the price of the book right there.

We know that Pax had some heavy duty trauma in his past that will trigger panic attacks, but Pax knows and works to control those triggers. And he has Colton when he can’t handle it on his own, even when Colton doesn’t know Pax’s history. The care that Colton took to set up his office and his apartment for those times. When I read that, it was like someone squeezed my heart. I loved how Colton in general could read Pax (and vice versa) and knew what Pax needed, really showed how much he cared for Pax.

When Pax’s former life – and a good chunk of his trauma – comes blazing into their lives, Colton refuses to leave Pax to deal with it on his own. I couldn’t read those pages fast enough.

This book was a delightful surprise. I’m coming back to it when I need a funny but deeply touching book with characters that banter but care so deeply for each other.
Profile Image for Snow.
1,382 reviews12 followers
July 3, 2025
3.25 - 3.5 stars.

ohhhh how i enjoyed the dynamic between the heroes. i wanted to read even more scenes with them.

but im not giving this a higher rating for the moment because i needed the heroes' relationship to have an even bigger central role in the book.

for the first 22% we got descriptions of all their colleagues and sooo much office gossip and i had to learn like 40 names of people who work at the law firm, including people who are being hired and being fired and might be getting fired.
and i was thinking whew that's a lot of characters and information to keep track of but i got this 💪
and then we LITERALLY NEVER HEAR ABOUT ANY OF THOSE PEOPLE AGAIN. like what was the point of me learning all those names and getting office gossip if the rest of the book is about the heroes and the russian mafia 🙈

but the banter between the heroes was amazing. and colton was really intense in a way i LOVE. so this was definitely worth reading for me. i just think the story should've been revised a bit, cutting out the unnecessary bits.
if i ever reread this book i will probably just jump straight to the 22% mark, when the second hero makes his first appearance.

reread if i want: a strong-willed hero prone to panic attacks, who is an expert at managing his bad-tempered, gruff boss. a relationship full of protectiveness and putting each other first for years, even while they were just boss and employee. a hero who has never wanted another man before meeting the other hero.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Barb ~rede-2-read~.
3,784 reviews115 followers
July 18, 2025
So refreshing! I love Mary Calmes's work and always have. Give me that hero nice guy any day and this one has two. This is the story that fills up my cup and I may just read it again to top the tank of good feelings.

Be aware, Paxton has a deep history of sexual abuse including dub-con and non-con sex and there are some on-page descriptions of dark experiences. That being said, the author doesn't wallow in the past. Pax is about the now and the future and he's all about his boss, Colton, who is the attorney at their firm who does all the pro bono work. Pax, as his assistant, keeps him organized, makes sure he's fed, gets him to keep to schedule and shames him... err highly encourages him to attend business functions, which is where the story opens. They are friends and readers can easily see they will someday be more.

The drama in the story is great though the culmination of events felt a little weak. But the romance and relationship between Colton and Pax is the main plot and the author delivers. So well. And when they share a bed after a tough experience... You guessed it, no more holding back. They are ready.

I finished this yesterday, but I still can't forget these guys. I want more pages! That's my pleasure meter telling me I'd better make this five stars.
Profile Image for Zoe.
94 reviews1 follower
January 17, 2026
Nice enough

Firstly, I did enjoy this but it needed a prologue. For a lot of the time there was too much thinking back being done by Pax that I had to remind myself what they had been taking about before the internal monologue. I'm used to this author telling much of the story that lead up to the current event instead of actually showing the reader through action and dialogue, but we needed to experience these two meeting in the beginning in order to understand and appreciate the way things were.
There are drawbacks to these shorter stories, the main one being lack of depth to the characters and their relationship. The author does try to cram in as much as possible but this does not really work and much detail is lost because of the lack of time focused on the story and characters. It also does not help that this author seems to favour single viewpoint, this limits the details even further because we don't get to see inside one of the main characters. The only insights we get are from the assumptions by the main character whose thoughts we get, and the dialogue that's included which is simply not enough.
It's such a shame because I love the style of dialogue this author gives, the banter and the wit that's always present within her books and that draws me back to her so many times, I just wish she would give both sides of the characters views and more pages.
904 reviews5 followers
July 6, 2025
Enjoyable!

It’s always a pleasure to find that Mary Calmes has released a new book and I really enjoyed this one. Pax and Colton had oodles of chemistry.

It was a hurt/comfort story with both MCs working in a law firm, Pax worked for Colton. Pax had a traumatic past and Colton was determined to protect him even though Pax was a strong resilient character. I thought they made a perfect pair. There was some danger but overall this short story was about Pax and Colton admitting their feelings for one another and acting on them.

I have to say I do like an epilogue, a nice happy one to round things up but Mary didn’t give us one with this book although the ending did answer all my questions.














Profile Image for Alysia Nicole .
247 reviews1 follower
November 19, 2025
I am beyond confused. I liked the premise of this and I enjoyed the characters in theory, Pax was giving Jory vibes and Colton seemed like a quirky man, there was potential. But the pacing was wild, I feel like a lot and nothing happened. This feels like it could be a multi book series, they went from being purely boss/assistant to apparently being in love. We were told about their relationship, their dynamic, their non-verbal forms of communication but barely got to see it. The plot was forgotten. I honestly feel like if I had the physical copy of this I would assume that 100 pages had fallen out somewhere along the way.

I will forever be grateful for the gift that is Jory, so will always be keen to see what else Mary Calmes writes but this just didn’t work for me.
Profile Image for RE Reader.
1,325 reviews2 followers
July 12, 2025
I enjoyed many aspects of this, but I'm rounding down from 3.5 mostly because this was too short a timeline. The entire story takes place over one or two days, and that doesn't really work for me. Many parts of the book were flashbacks or info dumps regarding Paxton's backstory (Colton didn't really get much except through Paxton's reminiscing). I think if this has started a couple years earlier and let us watch as Paxton's and Colton's working relationship (and friendship) developed, I would've enjoyed it a lot more.

If you're a Mary Calmes fan, you'll probably like this, though, as it has many of the aspects that she's known for (and I did like those aspects, for the most part). :)
1,193 reviews7 followers
July 1, 2025
Another excellent read from one of my favorite authors. I was immediately engaged in Pax and Colton's lives and relationship. I loved their interactions, how they communicate with few words, and their banter when they did use words was so entertaining. Pax is so strong, surviving so many horrific situations. He's also smart and cagey, making the storyline more interesting. Colton's strength and determination makes him a perfect fit for Pax, supporting him at the same time that Pax keeps Colton on track. Loved the ending, where all of our questions are answered.
Profile Image for Mercedes.
1,183 reviews97 followers
July 12, 2025
It’s a word vomit book. Everything that occurs in the book happens in the span of 24 hrs. The first 15% of the book is basically a workplace conversation around a buffet table. We don’t meet the other MC until about 20%.

And well then you can guess what happens. No, it’s is not insta-love because these guys have been working together for the last five years. And yeah one of them is straight but of course secretly in love with the other MC although he never cared to hint about his feelings at all.
Profile Image for Dana.
Author 6 books23 followers
July 31, 2025
Mary Calmes is an autobuy author for me. The Allure of Ruins was a sweet romance. One character does have a sad back story, but he has worked to become stronger and successful in life. His boss and close friend steps in to protect him when his past shows up with bad intentions. A familiar face shows up and I always love how the author ties all of her stories to each other and solidifies her world building.
Profile Image for Yvonne.
1,350 reviews
July 2, 2025
An MC book, so I was predisposed to love it; but I found this one to be good but not great. At the start the reader is introduced to a large cast of characters from the law firm, all of whom are irrelevant to the story, albeit important in establishing the character of the leads. Pax’s backstory is hideous but important to the story. The ending is sweet and left me smiling. I’ll probably bump this up to 5 stars after a couple more readings.
187 reviews6 followers
July 3, 2025
too short

My only gripe, really, is that this one is too short. Even her other short novellas in this universe felt a lot longer. But because what happened to Pax was so brutal and complicated, and as always there were 100 names introduced to keep track of, it felt a lot shorter, and therefore, not nearly as satisfying. Please go back to writing 300+ page books!
Profile Image for llv.
2,329 reviews14 followers
July 4, 2025
Rating: 3.5 stars

My biggest complaint is the book was too short. It did tell a complete story and it helped that it wasn't Insta love but I wanted more at the end. The conflict was resolved way too easily and I wanted to see what happened at work after the events of the story. Overall, it was enjoyable. I just wanted more.
Profile Image for Rissa.
2,294 reviews3 followers
July 17, 2025
4.5!

I said this before on a review of this author's works - but I know what to expect when I read this author's works and I am almost always never disappointed.

I love Colton and Pax. I love how they are codependent and have their own bubble, lol. My only gripe was that I wanted more. I wish we can have more of them.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews

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