![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Fall-of-Ruin-and-Wrath-Live.jpg?resize=461%2C461&ssl=1\")
<\/h4>\n<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
The first book in a brand new steamy fantasy series, this book sucked me in and did not let go. A feisty heroine, a sarcastically charming yet mysterious hero, and a well-developed, complex and fascinating world. I loved it!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Long ago, the world was destroyed by gods. Only nine cities were spared. Separated by vast wilderness teeming with monsters and unimaginable dangers, each city is now ruled by a guardian\u2015royalty who feed on mortal pleasure.<\/p>\n Born with an intuition that never fails, Calista knows her talents are of great value to the power-hungry of the world, so she lives hidden as a courtesan of the Baron of Archwood. In exchange for his protection, she grants him information.<\/p>\n When her intuition leads her to save a travelling prince in dire trouble, the voice inside her blazes with warning\u2015and promise. Today he\u2019ll bring her joy. One day he’ll be her doom.<\/p>\n When the Baron takes an interest in the travelling prince and the prince takes an interest in Calista, she becomes the prince\u2019s temporary companion. But the city simmers with rebellion, and with knights and monsters at her city gates and a hungry prince in her bed, intuition may not be enough to keep her safe.<\/p>\n Calista must choose: follow her intuition to safety or follow her heart to her downfall.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Review<\/b><\/p>\n 4.5 stars!<\/b><\/p>\n The first book in a brand new fantasy series, Awakening<\/i> from Jennifer L. Armentrout, this book sucked me in and did not let go. A feisty heroine, a sarcastically charming yet mysterious hero, and a well-developed, complex and fascinating world with new beings, lore, and language to discover. It has all of the hallmarks of a fabulous JLA read, and I loved this one!<\/p>\n Calista is a \u201clowborn\u201d in her world, and is hiding the fact that she has supernatural powers that allow her to see the future and sometimes read minds with a simple touch. After a life of poverty with only her best friend, Grady by her side, she lives within the home of the Baron of Archwood, who knows about her powers and genuinely cares for and protects her, and in return she provides him with information that she learns.<\/p>\n She is curious and stubborn, and it is those traits that lead her to the aid of a tortured \u201cHyhborn\u201d. Thorne is a powerful member of the ruling class, and despite his battered state, he takes an immediate interest in his rescuer. Their repeated run-ins spark attraction and mad chemistry, and their smutty banter and flirting is so freaking entertaining.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m focused on you enough that I can tell exactly what caused that hitch in your breath \u2013 when it\u2019s not fear that causes a change in your breathing and when it\u2019s pleasure.\u201d A pause. \u201cArousal.\u201d This is a realm where sex and sexuality is free and open, so the sexy time is hot, descriptive, and there\u2019s lots of it (I mean, the Hyhborn actually ‘feed’ on pleasure!), and oh holy hotness, the sexual tension between Calista and Thorne is sizzling! Given their situation, the differences between them, and the danger of the world that they live in, it\u2019s a slow burn, so we get a whole lot of flirting, inuendo, touching and intense eye fucking, and the anticipation builds so well. I was feeling it all and so excited for something<\/i> to happen between them. And when Thorne ends up moving into the Baron\u2019s estate to help with looming conflict in the city, the close proximity makes it all the more intense.<\/p>\n \u201cI want her,\u201d Prince Thorne repeated. \u201cFor the duration of my time here, she is mine.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n JLA\u2019s battles between feisty, opinionated heroines and charmingly arrogant and sarcastic heroes are a big part of what I love about her books, and the banter between Calista and Thorne is so good! I laughed, I was shocked out the outright sexiness, and I was so excited for what was to come.<\/p>\n \u201cThis should come as a surprise to no one, but just so we are all clear, what I want? I get. And what I want is for you to keep me company.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n It\u2019s hot and steamy, and more than sex, there is a deeper connection between Thorne and Calista, but it\u2019s only mildly explored. Thorne is wonderfully protective and possessive over Calista, and I\u2019m sure we\u2019ve only seen the beginnings of the depth of those particular traits. But we don\u2019t get too much time to explore romance between them because the realm is on the brink of war, and Archwood is right in the middle of the firing line.<\/p>\n There is action and excitement, suspense and lots of surprises along the way. There\u2019s a lot to wrap your head around with such a new and interesting world to understand, and the politics, mythology and supernatural elements of it all are only starting to be unraveled. I feel like there\u2019s so much to come with this series, and I\u2019m really excited to explore and learn more.<\/p>\n As always, there are a fabulous bunch of side characters who bring so much to the story. Grady, Claude, Bastian and Rhaziel are standouts for me, and I can\u2019t wait to see more of their interactions and get to know them better.<\/p>\n Of course, there is a cliffhanger, and it is nasty! Not only bringing a big shift to the story, and a twist for the series going forward, but it leaves us hanging right at a pivotal moment, almost mid-scene, leaving me desperate to get my hands on the next book (as intended).<\/p>\n I\u2019m loving exploring this whole new world and the fabulous characters who inhabit it, and I\u2019m looking forward to the series continuing.<\/p>\n 4.5 stars!<\/p>\n An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories\u2026.which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer\u00a0writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Tor, HarperCollins Avon and William Morrow, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney\/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her Wicked Series has been optioned by PassionFlix. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor\u2019s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014\/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON\u2019T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. Her adult romantic suspense novel TILL DEATH was a Amazon Editor\u2019s Pick and iBook Book of the Month. Her young adult contemporary THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER is a 2017 RITA Award Winner in Young Adult Fiction. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is\u00a0published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.<\/p>\n She is the owner of ApollyCon and The Origin Event, the successful annual events that features over a hundred bestselling authors in Young Adult, New Adult, and Adult\u00a0Fiction, panels, parties, and more.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Website<\/a>\u00a0| \u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Twitter\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Instagram\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Amazon\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Goodreads<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Bookbub<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Stay up to date with Jennifer by joining her\u00a0mailing list<\/a>\u00a0today<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L. Armentrout is live! The first book in a brand new steamy fantasy series, this book sucked me in and did not let go. A feisty heroine, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[522,9,29],"tags":[59,1504,43,48],"class_list":["post-71625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-awakening","tag-jennifer-l-armentrout","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fall-of-Ruin-and-Wrath.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-iDf","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=71625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/68959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=71625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=71625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=71625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nBlurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Fall-of-Ruin-and-Wrath-Teaser.jpg?resize=450%2C450&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n
\n
\nI inhaled sharply. \u201cI\u2019m not\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cGoing to lie to me? Because I\u2019d know better.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think you do,\u201d I countered as I scooted back, the shirt snagging around my thighs.
\n\u201cBut please do lie. It amuses me.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nAbout the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Jennifer-L.-Armentrout.jpeg?resize=202%2C303&ssl=1\")
#1 New York Times and #1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. All the rumors you\u2019ve heard about her state aren\u2019t true.\u00a0 When she\u2019s not hard at work writing. She spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, hanging out with her husband and her Border Jack Apollo. In early 2015, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of rare genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and death of cells in the retina, eventually resulting in loss of vision, among other complications. Due to this diagnosis, educating people on the varying degrees of blindness has become of passion of hers, right\u00a0alongside writing, which she plans to do as long as she can.<\/p>\nCheck out our\u00a0Jennifer Armentrout Author Spotlight<\/a>\u00a0for more amazing reads!<\/strong><\/h4>\n