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Ruby Killingsworth #1
Rites & Desires
Ruby Killingsworth relies on magic to keep her entertainment empire on top. When a ritual gone wrong robbed of her of this magic, she wasn't about to take it lying down. Enlisting Loki's aid and commanding the band of supernatural henchmen he’s proffered, Ruby embarks to capture the magic of an ancient African gem.
While endeavoring to regain her powers, Ruby must also contend with the daily business of Goblin Records, her romantic designs on her billionaire neighbor, and the unwanted attention of the newly elected U.S. president. The return of her power and a relationship with the city's most prominent citizen would give Ruby all she ever desired. But magic comes with a price, politics are a dirty business—doubly so when a trickster god gets involved—and Loki is never on anyone’s side but his own.
While endeavoring to regain her powers, Ruby must also contend with the daily business of Goblin Records, her romantic designs on her billionaire neighbor, and the unwanted attention of the newly elected U.S. president. The return of her power and a relationship with the city's most prominent citizen would give Ruby all she ever desired. But magic comes with a price, politics are a dirty business—doubly so when a trickster god gets involved—and Loki is never on anyone’s side but his own.
- GenresFantasy
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 20, 2018
10 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Cherry
16 books93 followers Amanda Cherry is a native of Pensacola, FL and an alumnus of UNLV who hasn’t been thoroughly warm since moving to the Seattle area in 2003. Amanda’s first love was performing, and she has had a successful career as a theatre, television, and film actress.
Amanda’s first book was penned in her family’s den and published by her father in time for Christmas in 1985, she was six years old. After the limited success of that first outing, Amanda turned to writing stories for fun. She spent the next twenty-odd years doing just that.
A lifelong nerd, Amanda joined the staff at her favorite Star Wars site, Tosche Station, as a contributing writer in 2016 and discovered that letting other people read what she’d written was actually pretty fun. Thanks to the encouragement of a friend, she was invited to submit to Cobalt City Christmas: Christmas Harder in 2016 while living overseas in Berlin, Germany. When she learned that her story was bought, she cried.
Capitalizing on the success of that publication, Amanda’s pitch for a follow-up novel was accepted. The rest is, as they say, history.
Amanda once again lives in the Seattle area with her husband of ten years and three-and-a-half year-old son. In her free time, she enjoys driving her little blue convertible and officiating flat track roller derby.
Amanda’s first book was penned in her family’s den and published by her father in time for Christmas in 1985, she was six years old. After the limited success of that first outing, Amanda turned to writing stories for fun. She spent the next twenty-odd years doing just that.
A lifelong nerd, Amanda joined the staff at her favorite Star Wars site, Tosche Station, as a contributing writer in 2016 and discovered that letting other people read what she’d written was actually pretty fun. Thanks to the encouragement of a friend, she was invited to submit to Cobalt City Christmas: Christmas Harder in 2016 while living overseas in Berlin, Germany. When she learned that her story was bought, she cried.
Capitalizing on the success of that publication, Amanda’s pitch for a follow-up novel was accepted. The rest is, as they say, history.
Amanda once again lives in the Seattle area with her husband of ten years and three-and-a-half year-old son. In her free time, she enjoys driving her little blue convertible and officiating flat track roller derby.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 20, 2018
First of all, how dare you make me root for the villain. :)
There’s been a number of stories told in Cobalt City over the years, but never anything like Rites & Desires, in which debut novelist Amanda Cherry gives the city something it has sorely needed: compelling, sexy villainy. And Ruby brings that by the bushel.
The ruthless executive of Goblin Records got where she was through a combination of skill, grit, manipulation, and magic. Or some combination of same. But she’s lost her magic, and is undertaking some dangerous (and of course illegal) methods to restore her former powers. This provides the main spine of the story, and initially I had problems with how it was paced. It felt like success was coming too easily. Until I realized that Amanda had more tricks up her sleeve, and what I saw as an early victory was just the first step on her quest. Once I settled in and trusted the story to unfold at its own pace, it became a rollicking caper.
As for Ruby herself, (and the major b-plot), she has the kind of classic good looks and fashion sense that would have gotten her painted on the nosecone of B52 seventy-five years ago. She’s the woman who appears to have everything she’s ever wanted. But she’s envious of those she sees with more. When she undertook her seduction of Cobalt’s favorite son, the awkward Boy Scout of a hero Stardust, I interpreted it as less of an interest in Jaccob “Stardust” Stevens himself, and more spiteful grab at something she feels she deserved–whether she genuinely wanted his affections it or not. Initially, I read it as her seeking the satisfaction of stealing this paragon of virtue and simple goodness from tall, brilliant, and beautiful Elizabeth Stevens. And it’s in this compelling subplot that I saw the most character growth from Ruby.
There’s something compelling about the corruption of the innocent storyline. Especially when that innocence changes the person who seeks to corrupt them in the first place. And the unfolding of what becomes a real relationship feels natural, hard-earned, and it leaves its marks.
If I had any complaints, they would fall among the common flaws of first-novel-itus. In particular, I think there was about 5% more on the page than really needed to be there at times. But the sheer enthusiasm of the narrative and freshness of authentic voice more than compensated for that.
All in all, I found Rites & Desires to be a great read. It was not only welcome–it was long overdue–to see a story from the villain’s perspective. And in Ruby Killingsworth, Amanda Cherry has given us a fascinating and flawed woman to root for. Even if you might not want her to win.
There’s been a number of stories told in Cobalt City over the years, but never anything like Rites & Desires, in which debut novelist Amanda Cherry gives the city something it has sorely needed: compelling, sexy villainy. And Ruby brings that by the bushel.
The ruthless executive of Goblin Records got where she was through a combination of skill, grit, manipulation, and magic. Or some combination of same. But she’s lost her magic, and is undertaking some dangerous (and of course illegal) methods to restore her former powers. This provides the main spine of the story, and initially I had problems with how it was paced. It felt like success was coming too easily. Until I realized that Amanda had more tricks up her sleeve, and what I saw as an early victory was just the first step on her quest. Once I settled in and trusted the story to unfold at its own pace, it became a rollicking caper.
As for Ruby herself, (and the major b-plot), she has the kind of classic good looks and fashion sense that would have gotten her painted on the nosecone of B52 seventy-five years ago. She’s the woman who appears to have everything she’s ever wanted. But she’s envious of those she sees with more. When she undertook her seduction of Cobalt’s favorite son, the awkward Boy Scout of a hero Stardust, I interpreted it as less of an interest in Jaccob “Stardust” Stevens himself, and more spiteful grab at something she feels she deserved–whether she genuinely wanted his affections it or not. Initially, I read it as her seeking the satisfaction of stealing this paragon of virtue and simple goodness from tall, brilliant, and beautiful Elizabeth Stevens. And it’s in this compelling subplot that I saw the most character growth from Ruby.
There’s something compelling about the corruption of the innocent storyline. Especially when that innocence changes the person who seeks to corrupt them in the first place. And the unfolding of what becomes a real relationship feels natural, hard-earned, and it leaves its marks.
If I had any complaints, they would fall among the common flaws of first-novel-itus. In particular, I think there was about 5% more on the page than really needed to be there at times. But the sheer enthusiasm of the narrative and freshness of authentic voice more than compensated for that.
All in all, I found Rites & Desires to be a great read. It was not only welcome–it was long overdue–to see a story from the villain’s perspective. And in Ruby Killingsworth, Amanda Cherry has given us a fascinating and flawed woman to root for. Even if you might not want her to win.
May 16, 2024
Ruby Killingsworth, billionaire CEO of an entertainment empire, is a morally flexible, narcissistic, manipulative misanthrope. She’s also a whole lot of fun. In most any other story, she’d be the villain. In this speculative action rom-com, she’s not quite a hero, but she is definitely in charge of her own story, and I wanted her to succeed. Ruby used to have her own magic. She lost it during a ritual gone wrong in the recent past, and she wants it back. She also wants to seduce fellow billionaire and all-around Good Guy Jaccob Stevens AKA local superhero Stardust. She enlists an old frenemy, trickster god Loki, to help with one and maybe the other. This all leads to glittering nights out, heists, escapes, dangerous magic, and … feelings?
This book has an archly witty tone, like if P. G. Wodehouse wrote about superheroes. I love that both Ruby and Jaccob are certified actual adults, over 40, established and successful in their fields. Ruby is unapologetic about her tastes and appetites. She dresses expensively to show off her assets, eats and drinks what she likes, enjoys sex without the complications of love and marriage. And while she is a manipulative schemer who loves wealth and power, she is an excellent boss who pays her staff and artists well, rewards competence, and stays out of the way. I suspect there’s a truly decent human being under all the luxury and magic. I already bought the next book, so I guess I’ll find out.
This book has an archly witty tone, like if P. G. Wodehouse wrote about superheroes. I love that both Ruby and Jaccob are certified actual adults, over 40, established and successful in their fields. Ruby is unapologetic about her tastes and appetites. She dresses expensively to show off her assets, eats and drinks what she likes, enjoys sex without the complications of love and marriage. And while she is a manipulative schemer who loves wealth and power, she is an excellent boss who pays her staff and artists well, rewards competence, and stays out of the way. I suspect there’s a truly decent human being under all the luxury and magic. I already bought the next book, so I guess I’ll find out.
February 24, 2018
In full disclosure, I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rites & Desires is the first book by author Amanda Cherry. It follows Ruby Killingsworth, an enchanting music mogul who doesn’t always play by the rules. Without access to her magic, Ruby is forced to go to extreme lengths to influence her neighbors and regain her power. Things take a turn when she finds herself compromising her moral center to realize her goal of wining the heart of Cobalt City’s very own superhero, Stardust. More remarkable when she realizes that she may have found herself in the predicament of actually caring.
It’s always a bit surprising to realize that you’re following the villain, more so when you realize you care about them. Ruby is a delightful rogue, equal to any Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne, as she simultaneously builds and breaks her community through her exploits to regain her magic. She’s a billionaire, but she worked her ginger little tail off to get there. It’s through her journey to recover her magic that you realize that Ruby may be a “wicked fairy tale queen,” there is a depth to her that very few get a chance to experience. With Ruby Killingsworth, "Rites & Desires" gives us a complex female driven story where the reader gets to see both sides of good, both sides of a villain.
It's available for pre-order on Amazon NOW.
Rites & Desires is the first book by author Amanda Cherry. It follows Ruby Killingsworth, an enchanting music mogul who doesn’t always play by the rules. Without access to her magic, Ruby is forced to go to extreme lengths to influence her neighbors and regain her power. Things take a turn when she finds herself compromising her moral center to realize her goal of wining the heart of Cobalt City’s very own superhero, Stardust. More remarkable when she realizes that she may have found herself in the predicament of actually caring.
It’s always a bit surprising to realize that you’re following the villain, more so when you realize you care about them. Ruby is a delightful rogue, equal to any Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne, as she simultaneously builds and breaks her community through her exploits to regain her magic. She’s a billionaire, but she worked her ginger little tail off to get there. It’s through her journey to recover her magic that you realize that Ruby may be a “wicked fairy tale queen,” there is a depth to her that very few get a chance to experience. With Ruby Killingsworth, "Rites & Desires" gives us a complex female driven story where the reader gets to see both sides of good, both sides of a villain.
It's available for pre-order on Amazon NOW.
September 21, 2020
This is a page turner of a book with compelling characters. The main character Ruby is a villain you can sympathize with, on her quest to get her power back. The Blights are fun minions and the hero of the story is an excellent foil for Ruby. This novel had the right amount of action, along with character development, to keep you reading and wondering what would happen next, and how Ruby would react to it, in order to get what she wanted.
May 20, 2022
A different view.
I liked this story from the perspective of sort of a villain who is perfectly content with herself. Ruby is out for herself and makes no bones about it. But she's not terrible and I found her to be interesting.
I liked this story from the perspective of sort of a villain who is perfectly content with herself. Ruby is out for herself and makes no bones about it. But she's not terrible and I found her to be interesting.
September 28, 2018
Unique and wickedly fun
Not your typical 'good' protagonist and more than a little cunning, it will be fun keeping up with Ruby's next adventures.
Not your typical 'good' protagonist and more than a little cunning, it will be fun keeping up with Ruby's next adventures.
Currently reading
September 1, 2021Eh.
May 22, 2019
Really 2.5 could have been interesting but plot was slow and characters flat
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews