City of Ruin (Witch Walker Book 2)

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.“𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬, 𝐛𝐨𝐲. 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚 𝐬𝐥𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤, 𝐈 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.”𝐈𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞. 𝐓𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞.“𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞’𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝, 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲. 𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐨. 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬, 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬.”“𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞,” 𝐈 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫. “𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥.”“𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞.”____________________Picking up after the events of The Witch Collector this book is a fast paced, entertaining, race against time with stakes that only continue to raise higher for Raina, Alexus, and the entire Tiressian empire. With the Prince’s plan in focus and lives near and dear to Raina’s heart hanging in the balance, the group sets out for the Summerland Queen’s citadel, better known as the City of Ruin, with enemies both before and behind them. But the closer they draw to a showdown with the Prince the more Raina’s powers develop, the deeper the feelings between Raina and Alexus grow, the more truths come out about both Raina and Nephele’s lineage, and the more the past begins to creep up on all of them.This book was absolutely mind blowing. On its own, reading it, it is excellent. This series is truly top tier fantasy and not just another romantasy series. This setting is lush, complex, and breathtaking. The world and the structure are rich, brilliantly laid out, and thoroughly captivating. The characters are strong and absolutely impossible to not fall in love with. And yet somehow all of this remains easy to follow, understand, engage with, and get completely lost in.There is a heaping helping of spice in this book compared to the first but it is still perfectly balanced with the story and the plot. Alexus is a force and watching his powers return was intense, terrifying, and let’s be honest entirely hot. Raina is still every bit the spitfire and seeing her both rage for and fearlessly love the people around her just continued to be stunningly beautiful. I love that we got more Hel and especially Nephele in this book and the new character additions only strengthened the cast even more.What made this book so spectacular though? The. Ending. This book was already 5 stars, but the final few chapters took absolutely everything to the next level and completely blew my mind. I have not had a story take me by surprise this much in a LONG time and I’m dying to get my hands on the next book!!If you love fantasy, don’t mind spicy romance woven in, adore strong characters, value representation, and of course love plot twists, high stakes, screaming crying throwing up, throwing your book, laughing like a maniac, and brilliant and mind blowing stories READ THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW!!

I don’t know where to start for the review of this book… my emotions are all over the place. I liked it and I think it was a great sequel for the Witch Collector! However, I must confess that I’m a bit anxious for the third book as, in addition to the awful cliff-hanger this book leave us in, it opens some doors I usually dislike.The story starts immediately after the Witch collector and I’m glad I reread the first book as I believe it includes some foreshadowing and it allowed me to have some details clearer in my mind.What I liked about the book:- Multiple POV, including the Villain. This book includes several morally grey characters and clearly shows that evil might be an issue of perspective- Good character development and world expansion- It has a lot of action, twists and turns, and I was surprised about some of thoseWhat I think it could have been done better:- I have a lot of issues with Finn and I wish he was just not included in the story. Additionally, I feel there are some inconsistencies with some characters personalities and actions that might spoil the series.- The book included, what if felt for me, unnecessary suffering and longing. I was hoping Clarissa would have a greater focus on the action and leave the main romance as it was. The book opens with the inclusion of several characters which we believe can create impediments to Alexus and Raina love. Luckily, Clarissa chose well and did not took that path, however, the later “conflict” created did not add anything to the plot. This is always an issue I have with Fantasy Romance as I always expect more of the fantasy side. Honestly, it is mostly my fault.I still think this is a great series and I absolutely recommend it to Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer Armentrout fans.I’m very curious about the next book and I wish I didn’t need to wait a whole year for it.P.S – The cliff-hanger… I can’t believe Clarissa left us hanging like this

I don’t even know where to begin with this review. Halfway through I knew it was 5 stars!First of all, the writing was perfection… descriptive without being long winded, expressive, it makes it so easy to get immersed in this world.Secondly, the plot is engaging and there’s so many little clues and foreshadowing. I will have to go back and read both books again at some point, but I loved putting the pieces together, despite many of those pieces ripping out my heart!Thirdly, the characters are complex and well developed. Even the main villain has so many facets. As Alexus said, we all play the villain in someone’s story. Even side characters are intriguing and I want to know more about each of them.Also, the romance and spice in this book features a lot more than in book 1 and I’m so here for it!Finally, the emotional rollercoaster this book out me through is unreal. While often painful, I loved how this story made me feel things, but that ENDING!!!!If you love fantasy romance, you need to pick up this series! I guarantee you will not be disappointed.5/5 ⭐️3/5 🌶️

After loving The Witch Collector, I didn't think it was possible to top it. Well, consider me corrected, because this sequel was even better. I loved every second of it. From start to finish, I could not put it down. It was an absolute pleasure to see Raina, Alexus and the others again and I was really excited to see what was next for them. The story was enthralling, full of twist and turns, action and romance, and I just couldn't stop reading. My feelings were all over the place, I cried, I laughed, I gasped, and the ending has had my mind reeling ever since I read it. My heart got broken several times and I can only hope the next book will be able to mend it. As for the romance, it was perfection once again. I just loved how their relationship evolved and how the author managed to balance it with the rest of the plot. The spice was AMAZING as well, I loved it all, very unique and beautiful in that Raina/Alexus way that I can't get enough of. The worldbuilding is once again very precise and easy to understand and the writing is exquisite. I also love the diversity in this series and I can't wait to see what's next. I need the sequel yesterday and I will not rest until I have read it.Just read this series please. It's worth everything!"What torture is this now to desire and loathe someone so wholly at the same time?"TW: death, violence, torture, mutilation, blood, gore, war, weapons, kidnapping, abuse, assault, sexual content

Holy hell, this book was so good!!! I‘m still not recovered. I think this is turning into one of my all time favorite series.We have multiple POVs in this book and I love this so much because you get insight to so many different characters and I fall in love with the found family easier.The book started right were we left off in the first book and it got me so excited for the character development, the story development and world building. Then we hit the 50% and it effin broke me. I literally had to take a break because I couldn’t stop crying. Then the author slowly started mending me back together until the ending hit and I was just left speechless.Alexus is such a FINE man, I can’t with him. 😮‍💨🥺🥵😏😳🔥The Prince of the East got an interesting character development and even Nephele had me hooked for her role in this world.The ending tho… the ending… mind blowing but it also makes sense. We were being fed so many little pieces throughout the book and the ending kind of brought it together and I was just shocked, but also happy, nervous, excited.The spice 😮‍💨When is the next book coming out? Because I need it now.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the second instalment of the Witch Walker series and City of Ruin exceeded all my expectations; it’s left me wanting more from this fantastical world that’s stunning in its immensity and exquisitely crafted bringing it so vividly to life. It’s captivating, action-packed, full of danger, and gives us sweeping romantic fantasy that’s next level. Weaks had total control of my emotions throughout – the story’s brimming with angst, drama, love and sacrifice and had me filled with joy one minute and heartbroken the next!We get to delve deeper into the characters’ past and discover more about who they are and the tragedies that have shaped them. I’m invested in each and every character and the multiple points of view perfectly enables us to experience the story through each set of eyes to know what they know and feel how they feel. This had surprising results as some of the characters’ motives aren’t as black and white as they first seem, and I love a morally grey character that brings such mixed emotions boiling to the surface! There are also some intriguing new characters adding layers to the story and bringing past demons clawing into the present.The book has fantastic pacing, I was gripped throughout. We are gifted several different threads to follow the different journeys and I was hooked by each one as they seamlessly intertwine culminating in an ending that I never saw coming, I couldn’t read the final chapters fast enough!Alexus and Raina share the ultimate bond through their Runes, they are completely connected; we see how their intimacy, passion, and love for each has grown despite the rising tension and war brewing with the Prince, and the devastating affects of a cruel twist of fate. I enjoyed seeing how they grow stronger individually too, Alexus’s power is reawakening and Raina is discovering new powers and learning to listen to her instincts.I loved seeing more of Noelle, who is a force to be reckoned with, and learning about her and Raina’s parents’ history. The banter and growing flirtation with a surprising character was great to read and I’m sure we’ll see more of how this plays out in the next book.There are inner conflicts, deals made with duplicitous Gods, unexpected allies, with loyalties being tested, feelings and motives clashing, and many unique powers being discovered in this thrilling adventure – it definitely has something for every reader.City of Ruin is the perfect escape, I was absorbed in the story from the first page right through to the end, and I would have happily carried on reading! With a sensational plot, characters who grab your heart and don’t let go, and suspense and twists aplenty this is a must read for any fantasy lovers.With thanks to @EscapistBookCo, @charissaweaks & @CityOwlPress for a place on the Tour.

This is my favourite book on the history of forever!! Alexus is my new book husband!! Wow he is the best!!! I’m actually in love. The plot is fantastic and is a great balance to the romance. The side characters have a very good purpose and they are essential to the storyline - and with fantastic banter to match!! And that CLIFFHANGER. I am unwell.6 stars ⭐️2 spice 🌶️