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In Ruin: A Dark Dystopian Anthology
The Divine Beasts By M. Reeds
The Crossroads of America is no longer the land of the free. Not since we were invaded by extra terrestrial beings. They take what they want, when they want, and they don’t care how many humans perish in their wake.
What will I do when the Divine Beasts come for me?
Xena's Medallion By Aura Bud
Each year fifty people from the Dark Medallion territory are chosen to go on a mission. Communication is key to the survival of not only my life, but my teams lives too. Fighting our way through the Light Medallion territory should be easy, or so I thought. My mind got clustered with memories of my time with him, resulting in something that we didn’t plan for, our capture.
His Alien Flower By N.K. Allen
The world's problems belonged to us until that day that darkened the skies of humanity. Most of us never saw it coming. There were those that for centuries thought we were being watched, abducted, experimented on with some unknown purpose unknown to us anyway. How right those few were.
In the year 2032 alien men from the planet Lura invaded Earth with one sole purpose. Take over and enslave. They think that they need to save us from ourselves. For those of the human race that remain free, nothing else matters but staying that way.
A millennia later and the oppression still hasn't ended. A few groups of humans have eluded capture all these years. One group may have its timing running out. Lily is one of these survivors, and she finds herself conflicted by raw attraction and years of being raised that all Lurrians are the enemy. Orion is a general of the Lurrian force in charge of what's left of North America. He's yet to find the one to capture his heart. That all changes as he's literally caught by one of the "wild human females. He's been taught that women are fragile, and his little flower is definitely not.
Death of the Angler By TG Grem
It started with an explosive tragedy 11 years ago...
Now, Fredi, a mechanic from "the wrong side of town," strives to fulfill her mother's dream for equality under the guise of the mysterious rebel : The Angler.
Meanwhile, Evangeline, a sheltered debutante, brutally awakens to the horrors of reality beyond the prison-like gates of Cogswell Manor.
Can they both overcome the darkness and controlling fist of The ClockMaster who rules the town and seeks to destroy anyone who refuses to bow to his will?
Curse of Betrayal by Celeste T.
Supernaturals are real and have been walking amongst humans for centuries without them knowing, until one fateful day when an emergency broadcast is released revealing them to the public.
Now, Ren, a wolf shifter, and her mates must do whatever it takes to survive against the humans who are set on ridding the world of all supernatural beings.
The Crossroads of America is no longer the land of the free. Not since we were invaded by extra terrestrial beings. They take what they want, when they want, and they don’t care how many humans perish in their wake.
What will I do when the Divine Beasts come for me?
Xena's Medallion By Aura Bud
Each year fifty people from the Dark Medallion territory are chosen to go on a mission. Communication is key to the survival of not only my life, but my teams lives too. Fighting our way through the Light Medallion territory should be easy, or so I thought. My mind got clustered with memories of my time with him, resulting in something that we didn’t plan for, our capture.
His Alien Flower By N.K. Allen
The world's problems belonged to us until that day that darkened the skies of humanity. Most of us never saw it coming. There were those that for centuries thought we were being watched, abducted, experimented on with some unknown purpose unknown to us anyway. How right those few were.
In the year 2032 alien men from the planet Lura invaded Earth with one sole purpose. Take over and enslave. They think that they need to save us from ourselves. For those of the human race that remain free, nothing else matters but staying that way.
A millennia later and the oppression still hasn't ended. A few groups of humans have eluded capture all these years. One group may have its timing running out. Lily is one of these survivors, and she finds herself conflicted by raw attraction and years of being raised that all Lurrians are the enemy. Orion is a general of the Lurrian force in charge of what's left of North America. He's yet to find the one to capture his heart. That all changes as he's literally caught by one of the "wild human females. He's been taught that women are fragile, and his little flower is definitely not.
Death of the Angler By TG Grem
It started with an explosive tragedy 11 years ago...
Now, Fredi, a mechanic from "the wrong side of town," strives to fulfill her mother's dream for equality under the guise of the mysterious rebel : The Angler.
Meanwhile, Evangeline, a sheltered debutante, brutally awakens to the horrors of reality beyond the prison-like gates of Cogswell Manor.
Can they both overcome the darkness and controlling fist of The ClockMaster who rules the town and seeks to destroy anyone who refuses to bow to his will?
Curse of Betrayal by Celeste T.
Supernaturals are real and have been walking amongst humans for centuries without them knowing, until one fateful day when an emergency broadcast is released revealing them to the public.
Now, Ren, a wolf shifter, and her mates must do whatever it takes to survive against the humans who are set on ridding the world of all supernatural beings.
Unknown Binding
23 people want to read
About the author
M. Reeds
4 books31 followersM. Reeds is a young Indie Author from a tiny town in the Midwest. She lives with her dog, and drinks way too much caffeine. Most of the time, she’s writing steamy, dark, and forbidden contemporary romances, but even she knows the things that go “bump in the night” need their turn in the spotlight. If M. Reeds isn’t typing away into the late hours of the night, she’s reading spicy books, taking a bubble bath, or watching her comfort shows.
Her books contain explicit content, and are intended for mature audiences only. You can access the Trigger Warnings in her books by clicking on the link in her Instagram bio. If you enjoy her work, please consider leaving a review on Amazon and Goodreads.
Want to stay up-to-date with her projects? Follow her on social media!
» Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/authorm...
» Instagram: https://instagram.com/authormreeds
» Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/M-Reeds-1004...
» M. Reeds’ Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/42017...
» Pinterest: https://pin.it/iKwVZK0
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/4tcsxgf...
» E-mail: authormreeds@gmail.com
Her books contain explicit content, and are intended for mature audiences only. You can access the Trigger Warnings in her books by clicking on the link in her Instagram bio. If you enjoy her work, please consider leaving a review on Amazon and Goodreads.
Want to stay up-to-date with her projects? Follow her on social media!
» Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/authorm...
» Instagram: https://instagram.com/authormreeds
» Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/M-Reeds-1004...
» M. Reeds’ Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/42017...
» Pinterest: https://pin.it/iKwVZK0
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/4tcsxgf...
» E-mail: authormreeds@gmail.com
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 24, 2022
I am so excited for these authors to release this Anthology!
If you are looking to broaden your reading horizons, or just love some good dark reads, this antho MUST be put on your TBR!
Five different authors, five totally different stories, and five different versions of spice and love.
I devoured each story, I didn't want them to end! It was so fun to get a taste of different writing styles and tropes.
I was not disappointed in any of these stories! And I can't wait for each and every author to come out with their full length story. 🤩
If you are looking to broaden your reading horizons, or just love some good dark reads, this antho MUST be put on your TBR!
Five different authors, five totally different stories, and five different versions of spice and love.
I devoured each story, I didn't want them to end! It was so fun to get a taste of different writing styles and tropes.
I was not disappointed in any of these stories! And I can't wait for each and every author to come out with their full length story. 🤩
September 24, 2022
To put it simply, In Ruin is a collection of chapters from five different novels. These aren’t short stories but the beginnings of novels around a Dark Dystopian theme, each ending with cliff-hangers. The premise of these stories ranges from War Of the Worlds type Aliens to The Hunger Games type of Dystopian society, all with one or more mature elements including sex (obviously), suicide, murder, brain wipe, hysteria and so on.
Overall, this anthology makes for a good book with mostly gripping penmanship. Stories do have varying degrees of charm so the result is a couple stories where I find myself yearning to read the author’s full vision in an upcoming novel, and stories which I would surely give a pass.
The Divine Beasts: M. Reeds’ Alien Invasion story describes the horror of murdering, mutilating aliens invading Earth and slaughtering humans. The ease with which the author describes the harrowing events is amazing. You feel the protagonist’s tension and gut-wrenching terror of knowing she will die a gruesome death now. The melancholy of lone survival and the defiance in the face of death are very compellingly written.
The second part of the story is completely different, though, and it goes to show the story is but an introduction to this world. The cliff-hanger ending comes at the zenith of explicit tease. This is intriguing enough to look forward to the full story.
Xena’s Medallion: Aura Bud’s futuristic dystopian divided society story is the best out of the five stories in this anthology in my opinion. Although a bit predictable, the story depicts depths of human emotion very sharply. The emotional tension between two lost lovers and the sexual culmination are very moving and fulfilling. The setup of war for survival keeps the events crisp and the reader’s attention taut. The full story is set to release as a novel in 2023 and I am really looking forward to it.
His Alien Flower: N K Allen’s Alien, Mind Control, Fated Mate story is the weakest one in the anthology. Mature and explicit sexual contents notwithstanding, the plot drivers and some story elements feel more like young adult fantasy than the dark dystopian fiction that I expected. I shall pass on the full story, if it came out as a novel.
Death of The Angler: T G Grem’s world is a mix of Victorian era society with elements of dictatorship and rebellion. The lead titular character is extremely well written in the limited number of pages. And the title: the title is fulfilled in the very last line of the story (or the part of the story that is in this anthology) and it is goosebumps inducing. My second favourite story in the anthology. This is a gripping story even without any explicit or implied sex, but there is no shortage of grit and grue in this story of one person’s defiance against a dictator.
The romance element was unexpected and sweet. It is something that will surely feature more prominently in the full novel, but in the core, this is the story of strength in the face of maniacal cruelty.
Curse of Betrayal: Celeste T’s Shapeshifter romance has elements of random murder and violence (and sex) - but it lacks depth. The casual outlook of the protagonist actually reflects into the story, too. Out of the five stories, Curse of Betrayal is the only one with some comedy. That is a nice change of pace, but, again, with the limited number of pages, with the incomplete story, it all seemed a bit random.
The tone and the premise aside, the writing is quite good. The cliff-hanger surely left me wanting more but the portion of the story available in this anthology did not, in my opinion do justice to the story title, nor the genre.
With this brief about the individual stories, I must repeat to say that collectively, the book is a gripping read. Although I couldn't finish it in one sitting, I finished it in one day. I would surely recommend it for readers who don't feel squeamish about mature and dark stuff.
Thanks to all five authors for giving me an ARC. The review, however, is not sponsored and the words represent only my personal opinion.
Overall, this anthology makes for a good book with mostly gripping penmanship. Stories do have varying degrees of charm so the result is a couple stories where I find myself yearning to read the author’s full vision in an upcoming novel, and stories which I would surely give a pass.
The Divine Beasts: M. Reeds’ Alien Invasion story describes the horror of murdering, mutilating aliens invading Earth and slaughtering humans. The ease with which the author describes the harrowing events is amazing. You feel the protagonist’s tension and gut-wrenching terror of knowing she will die a gruesome death now. The melancholy of lone survival and the defiance in the face of death are very compellingly written.
The second part of the story is completely different, though, and it goes to show the story is but an introduction to this world. The cliff-hanger ending comes at the zenith of explicit tease. This is intriguing enough to look forward to the full story.
Xena’s Medallion: Aura Bud’s futuristic dystopian divided society story is the best out of the five stories in this anthology in my opinion. Although a bit predictable, the story depicts depths of human emotion very sharply. The emotional tension between two lost lovers and the sexual culmination are very moving and fulfilling. The setup of war for survival keeps the events crisp and the reader’s attention taut. The full story is set to release as a novel in 2023 and I am really looking forward to it.
His Alien Flower: N K Allen’s Alien, Mind Control, Fated Mate story is the weakest one in the anthology. Mature and explicit sexual contents notwithstanding, the plot drivers and some story elements feel more like young adult fantasy than the dark dystopian fiction that I expected. I shall pass on the full story, if it came out as a novel.
Death of The Angler: T G Grem’s world is a mix of Victorian era society with elements of dictatorship and rebellion. The lead titular character is extremely well written in the limited number of pages. And the title: the title is fulfilled in the very last line of the story (or the part of the story that is in this anthology) and it is goosebumps inducing. My second favourite story in the anthology. This is a gripping story even without any explicit or implied sex, but there is no shortage of grit and grue in this story of one person’s defiance against a dictator.
The romance element was unexpected and sweet. It is something that will surely feature more prominently in the full novel, but in the core, this is the story of strength in the face of maniacal cruelty.
Curse of Betrayal: Celeste T’s Shapeshifter romance has elements of random murder and violence (and sex) - but it lacks depth. The casual outlook of the protagonist actually reflects into the story, too. Out of the five stories, Curse of Betrayal is the only one with some comedy. That is a nice change of pace, but, again, with the limited number of pages, with the incomplete story, it all seemed a bit random.
The tone and the premise aside, the writing is quite good. The cliff-hanger surely left me wanting more but the portion of the story available in this anthology did not, in my opinion do justice to the story title, nor the genre.
With this brief about the individual stories, I must repeat to say that collectively, the book is a gripping read. Although I couldn't finish it in one sitting, I finished it in one day. I would surely recommend it for readers who don't feel squeamish about mature and dark stuff.
Thanks to all five authors for giving me an ARC. The review, however, is not sponsored and the words represent only my personal opinion.
September 30, 2022
4⭐️
3🌶️
Really enjoyed this anthology! This was full of authors I haven’t ever read before so it was a nice way to read their work. I absolutely loved the theme and felt like each of the short stories fit well. If you’re looking for a quick grungy read or to discover new authors I recommend picking up this antho & giving it a try!!
3🌶️
Really enjoyed this anthology! This was full of authors I haven’t ever read before so it was a nice way to read their work. I absolutely loved the theme and felt like each of the short stories fit well. If you’re looking for a quick grungy read or to discover new authors I recommend picking up this antho & giving it a try!!
October 1, 2022
Every story in this book is amazing. I enjoyed everyone, Some I wish hadn't finished. I would highly recommend this anthology to anyone
October 6, 2022
4 stars
First of all, I'm so glad I was able to read these stories. Each story has a feel to it that I thoroughly enjoyed. Every authors writing theme is unique and I'm intrigued to say the least!!
M. Reeds - GOD, the few chapters I read made me want to keep reading and we were left with a cliffhanger!!!
TG Grem. - I NEED more of Fredi and Evangeline. The two MCs are from extremely different backgrounds and I'm just here for it. And they're both women! My bisexual heart was there for it.
Aura Bud - Xena's Medallion was by far my favorite read out of this and I truly hope I get to see this work come out. I was LIVING for the plot. And the spice was a bonus.
N.K. Allen - His Alien Flower was great! It was a tease to see a glimpse of Tesha, and then immediately go to Lily. I was so excited, I wanted to learn more of Tesha's story, her badass-ness, and compare it to Lily in the mannerisms and character building. Still enjoyed.
Celeste T. - Curse of Betrayal was a wild one. It went from supernatural beings being out and about, living amongst humans, and then BOOM, supernatural beings and humans just clashing it out, and then immediately to a hot and heavy sex scene between the MC and her two mates. It is definitely fast paced but still one I liked.
I genuinely look forward to seeing what else these creative authors come out with.
First of all, I'm so glad I was able to read these stories. Each story has a feel to it that I thoroughly enjoyed. Every authors writing theme is unique and I'm intrigued to say the least!!
M. Reeds - GOD, the few chapters I read made me want to keep reading and we were left with a cliffhanger!!!
TG Grem. - I NEED more of Fredi and Evangeline. The two MCs are from extremely different backgrounds and I'm just here for it. And they're both women! My bisexual heart was there for it.
Aura Bud - Xena's Medallion was by far my favorite read out of this and I truly hope I get to see this work come out. I was LIVING for the plot. And the spice was a bonus.
N.K. Allen - His Alien Flower was great! It was a tease to see a glimpse of Tesha, and then immediately go to Lily. I was so excited, I wanted to learn more of Tesha's story, her badass-ness, and compare it to Lily in the mannerisms and character building. Still enjoyed.
Celeste T. - Curse of Betrayal was a wild one. It went from supernatural beings being out and about, living amongst humans, and then BOOM, supernatural beings and humans just clashing it out, and then immediately to a hot and heavy sex scene between the MC and her two mates. It is definitely fast paced but still one I liked.
I genuinely look forward to seeing what else these creative authors come out with.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2022
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏 𝒆-𝒂𝒓𝒄 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘.
I am looking forward to reading an intriguing dystopian concept of a monster/alien romance anthology, and I was very excited to get my hands on this ARC copy and finally read it.
So, how did it go?
First and foremost, the concept and promise of compelling storytelling of the monster/ alien romance are there, and I was really hoping that each title gave me what I was expecting or hoping for, but I'd say that it's already there but it wasn't enough.
In my opinion, the execution and writing of some of the titles could be improved because some of them were too awkward for my taste while also dragging.
I assumed that some of the titles would be full-length novels, so I hoped that changes and improvements would be present in the finished novel, particularly in the writing, execution, and, of course, the characters and development.
I am looking forward to reading an intriguing dystopian concept of a monster/alien romance anthology, and I was very excited to get my hands on this ARC copy and finally read it.
So, how did it go?
First and foremost, the concept and promise of compelling storytelling of the monster/ alien romance are there, and I was really hoping that each title gave me what I was expecting or hoping for, but I'd say that it's already there but it wasn't enough.
In my opinion, the execution and writing of some of the titles could be improved because some of them were too awkward for my taste while also dragging.
I assumed that some of the titles would be full-length novels, so I hoped that changes and improvements would be present in the finished novel, particularly in the writing, execution, and, of course, the characters and development.
October 19, 2022
I have never read any of these authors before. I plan to read more. Each of their writing styles was unique. This was a fun read. These stories will grab you and won't let you go until the end. It's a nice little tease of what's to come. You'll want more after reading this. There are many emotions deep within this book.
October 8, 2022
4/5✨ 2/3🔥
This anthology was definitely out of my comfort zone considering I don’t typically read dystopian books. But I’m glad I picked it up! All of these authors except one are new to me authors, so it was fun reading their stories and seeing how much I enjoyed them.
I can’t wait for the full length books for each of these short stories. Highly recommend checking it out if you’re into dark, monster, dystopian kind of reads! Each story has a list of triggers before going in, so please read them over before you get into the story if needed.
This anthology was definitely out of my comfort zone considering I don’t typically read dystopian books. But I’m glad I picked it up! All of these authors except one are new to me authors, so it was fun reading their stories and seeing how much I enjoyed them.
I can’t wait for the full length books for each of these short stories. Highly recommend checking it out if you’re into dark, monster, dystopian kind of reads! Each story has a list of triggers before going in, so please read them over before you get into the story if needed.
October 15, 2022
First and foremost, this book needs an award. The authors if this book did an amazing job as they always do. I really had to read this book over and over again because of who good this was. If anyone would ask me what book was my favorite, I would say this one without hesitating. This book is so good that it NEEDS to be in a movie. If it were to be one, I would watch nonstop. I give this book 5/5 and would (and did) recommend this book to everyone I know. Thank you for making this book amazing guys.
November 4, 2022
This was such a great read. Each of the authors gave us a short introduction to their full stories and a great promise of what's to come in the full novels. All five authors and their books where completely different and all ended in cliffhangers which is annoying but I want to find out what happens next! Great read for anyone who loves dark, dystopian books.
October 23, 2022
I loved all the stories in this Anthology. They are all different and bring so much to the book. Each short story had me wanting more. Can't wait to see what these authors have in store next.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews