Review: ‘Sweet Ruin’ by Kresley Cole
Sweet Ruin
by Kresley ColeSeries: Immortals After Dark #15
Published by Gallery Books on December 1, 2015
SubGenres: Paranormal Romance
Format: AudioBook, Paperback
Pages: 529
Source: Purchased
Add to Goodreads
Purchase at Amazon | Barnes & Noble
An immortal assassin is caught between desire and duty...
A foundling raised in a world of humans
Growing up, orphaned Josephine didn’t know who or what she was—just that she was “bad,” an outcast with strange powers. Her baby brother Thaddeus was as perfect as she was flawed; protecting him became her entire life. The day he was taken away began Jo’s transition from angry girl...
to would-be superhero... to enchanting, ruthless villain.
A lethally sensual enforcer on a mission
A threat to the Møriør has brought archer Rune the Baneblood to the mortal realm to slay the oldest living Valkyrie. Whether by bow or in bed, he never fails to eliminate his target. Yet before he can strike, he encounters a vampiric creature whose beauty conceals a black heart. With one bite, she pierces him with aching pleasure, taking his forbidden blood -
and jeopardizing the secrets of his brethren.
A boundless passion that will lead to sweet ruin...
Could this exquisite female be a spy sent by the very Valkyrie he hunts? Rune knows he must not trust Josephine, yet he’s unable to turn her away. Despite his millennia of sexual conquests, he can’t ignore the unfamiliar longing she arouses deep within him.
When Jo betrays the identity of the one man she will die to protect, she and Rune become locked in a treacherous battle of wills that pits ultimate loyalty against unbridled lust.
Sweet Ruin is the fifteenth book in Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series. I read this book for the first time in 2019 and reread it this year, 2022. I think the second time around; I may have enjoyed the book a little more than my first time. It helped when I annotated some of my favorite parts in the book. I actually liked the secondary characters more than the primary characters in the book. I have my reasons. I promise.
Storyline/My Thoughts: Sweet Ruin didn’t grasp me like the previous books in the series, and it’s due to me not being fond of Rune and Josephine, especially when it comes to their relationship.
Rune is not my favorite male protagonist because he is a big-time player. He also uses the nymphs, and they adore him too much. Readers get a glimpse into his life and how he became a player, but it still does not persuade me to like his character. He’s over 7000 years old, and he’s an Immortal Assassin. In Sweet Ruin, his task is to assassinate Nix. (There’s another reason I was not too fond of his character. No one messes with Nix. I know he was told to it, but as I said, no one messes with my all-time favorite character in the series.) Unfortunately, he has a beautiful vampire distract him from his task, and he believes she may be a spy for Nix. Josephine is no spy, though. She’s trying to live her life as a creature that she is still getting used to in this book.
Josephine’s story starts from the beginning, where she’s an orphan and takes care of her younger brother. Unfortunately, one day, she ends up in a predicament that causes her to lose her life. She never expects to wake up and become something supernatural. She ends up losing her brother because of it. She’s forced to stay away and ends up living her life as a superhero/villain, depending on how readers perceive her in this book. She’s not sure what she is as far as an immortal, but she knows she drinks blood. She also has another ability, but she’s not familiar with it. When she meets Rune, she realizes there are more immortals out there. Rune is an experienced Dark Fae/Demon, and he is taken back by Josephine in the book. He doesn’t realize that she’s very young and is new to this world. These two end up hooking up together to go after Nix, but Nix is not someone who will go down easy. This is one of many reasons why I love Nix because she’s crazy and knows how to handle everyone. She does see things before anyone else does, and proof of this has happened in previous books.
Unfortunately, it took me a while to read this book because I couldn’t get past Rune’s character. He’s an assassin who sleeps his way through women to get his way or get answers. Women crave him. Josephine even desires him but in different ways. Rune is supposedly poisonous, and he can never be with a woman without killing her. There’s instant love between the characters, even though Rune denies the attraction. The end of the book threw me off more with Rune. I know he’s lived this way for eons, but he can find another way. Josephine deserved better.
I did like how Kresley Cole introduced the Møriør in this book, although I’m not sure if I should like them since the main guy, Orion, wanted Nix killed. Nope. I don’t like him. I am interested to find out if all of these characters will get their books.
There were also shocking moments in the book when finding out more about Josephine and her brother. These two characters are going to be unstoppable and powerful together.
I give this book 3.5 stars. Even though this book was not my favorite, Kresley did introduce some critical points in this story. I can’t wait to continue my read-through of this series. Each book connects with the other, which is why Kresley Cole is one of my favorite authors. I love her world-building and characters and can’t get enough of the Immortals After Dark series.
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Immortals After Dark series and I highly recommend reading in order.
Steaminess: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Trope(s): Fated Mates; Age Gap (the male protagonist is 7000 years old compared to 25).
Would I recommend this book? Yes. I recommend this book to Paranormal Romance readers.
This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. It will help sponsor future giveaways but costs you nothing extra. You can read the full disclosure underneath the Privacy Policy.
About Kresley Cole
Kresley Cole is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the electrifying Immortals After Dark paranormal series, the young adult Arcana Chronicles series, the erotic Game Maker series, and five award-winning historical romances. Her books have been published in 23 countries and consistently appear on the bestseller lists in the U.S. and abroad.
A master's grad and former athlete, Kresley has traveled over much of the world and draws from those experiences to create her memorable characters and settings.
She lives in Florida with her family and too many pets.
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
- Book Blitz + Giveaway: ‘Intimate Secret’ by D.C. Stone - May 8, 2025
- ARC Review: ‘Shield of Sparrows’ by Devney Perry - May 7, 2025
- ARC Review: ‘Archangel’s Ascension’ by Nalini Singh - May 6, 2025