Ruin (Gods Series Book 1)

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 6,711 ratings

Price: 4.99

Last update: 10-04-2024


About this item

From Samantha Towle, the New York Times bestselling author of Wardrobe Malfunction and Breaking Hollywood, comes a dramatically powerful and passionate new contemporary romance.



And the new heavyweight champion of the world is...



Those are the words that Zeus Kincaid has been waiting to hear since he first put on a pair of boxing gloves. He just didn’t think they would come with a tragedy that would change how he viewed the sport forever.



Cameron Reed was in her second year at Juilliard when her childhood sweetheart, Zeus Kincaid, walked away from her. A few months later, Cam realized that she would never fulfill her dream of dancing for the New York City Ballet.



Now working as a dancer in an upscale club in Manhattan, Cam is brought face-to-face with the man she once loved. And it’s her turn to walk away from him.



After five years of missing Cam, Zeus isn’t prepared to let her go again. But when he finds himself standing on her doorstep the next morning, things don’t go quite as he expected…



‘You’ll be smitten with everything about this entertaining, steamy and feel-good romance’ USA Today’s Happy Ever After on Breaking Hollywood

Top reviews from the United States

Melanie
5.0 out of 5 stars A second chance love story, Ruin is filled with romance and heartache.
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2018
True love is one of life's greatest anchors, and it has been the subject of some of the greatest country songs of all time and to me, Samantha Towle’s latest release is a perfect country song. A second chance love story, Ruin is filled with romance and heartache. I haven’t felt this level of swoon from a Samantha Towle book since The Mighty Storm because let’s be honest, that was perfection and who can top that? Well, Ruin comes a super close second to it. It had everything I love about this author. Her writing and prose are engaging and flipping through the pages becomes second nature because it is so addictive. There is no possibility of putting the book down after you’ve started. I was longing for more even before it ended. Yes, it was that kind of book! I wanted to hold it, hug it, squeeze it, and live through its pages.

Zeus “the God” Kinkaid has loved boxing all of his life. From the moment that he stepped in front of a punching bag, he’d known it was what he would do and do well. With an alcoholic father who isn’t able to take care of his kids, the pressure for Zeus to provide for his siblings keep mounting on him year after year. So Zeus sets his eyes on a lucrative and long lasting career in boxing. What he didn’t expect was to meet the love of his life at just seventeen. Cameron Reed is a beautiful ballerina—all legs and innocent doe eyes and a heart set on winning and keeping Zeus Kinkaid forever. She was his dove and he was her everything. Their love story is endearing in so many ways. Moments that many of us can reflect back on when we first fell in love ourselves. Being able to find that in this book was divine.

But of course, like all love stories theirs also takes a sharp turn for the worse. With Zeus needing to focus all his attention on his boxing career, he takes the “selfless” route – I do quotes on that because c’mon ladies, we all know it never turns out for the good. LOL. And that selfless act leads them living separate lives for five whole years. When they find themselves face to face years later, the connection and the love they continued to harbor for each other doesn’t miss a beat. Now that they both finally have a chance to right the wrong, will the secrets that they both have kept from each other break them apart all over again?

There are so many amazing moments in this book and the characters were so fun to get to know. From Aunt Elle to Gigi to the Kinkaid siblings and even good ‘ole Deputy Dick. The means in which Zeus goes through to win Cameron back is sweet and so flippin’ sexy. Ladies, we’ve got ourselves a dirty talker. Everything about this book just gave me the best chills. This second chance love story will win you over from start to finish. This has my bookshelf worthy stamp of approval and a definite Samantha Towle fave.
Stacey
4.0 out of 5 stars What may Ruin you, may also make you stronger…
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2018
A friend of mine reached out to me to let me know there were Aussie review copies available for Ruin. I have never read a book by Samantha Towle but a lot of my friend have and loved her work. Being the Sassy lady that I am, without hesitation, I requested it. Blind. Yep, you read that right, I didn’t even look at the blurb before requesting it. Even when I was approved and downloaded my review copy, I was still in the dark. So, I loaded Ruin so I could start reading as soon as I got home. With a quick squiz to make sure it loaded OK, a few words caught my notice…

ZEUS
GOD and
FIGHT

HuH??? I didn’t see that coming…

Yep, you guessed it, I went to work thinking that I would be coming home to a Paranormal/Fantasy Romance. To be honest, I was a wee bit surprised, as that cover did not lead me to think of Gods at all. Obviously, I didn't look past the hot guy with guns of steel, or I may have noticed the boxing gloves around his kneck (DOH!!!). So, I spent the day talking myself up to enjoying a romance where the God’s were fighting and I’d see some clashes between the big men. Wasn't planning (or in the mood) for a paranormal but Deep breath…I CAN DO IT!!

Totally wrong, I had a bit of a chuckle as I started Ruin. Well, I wasn’t totally wrong, there were some big guys having fights. The only difference was these guys used fists instead of bolts of lightning.

Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, real funny.

Anyways, I really enjoyed my first Samantha Towle. It was an emotional story about dreams being broken, love sacrificed, and mistakes made. Young love is tricky at the best of times. In the case of Zeus (not sure about that name) and Cam, they also have the pressure of both having intense career dreams. Zeus plans to be a boxer and Cam, dreams of being a ballerina. They train and work hard to give themselves the best chance of reaching their goals. Their love for each other always took priority, until, Zeus hits the big time. What follows is surprises, heartbreak and betrayal.

Cam has no choice but move on and make a life for herself without Zeus. She’s hurt and finds it hard but luckily she has the support of her very sweet Aunt Elle. Zeus was supposed to be it, "the one", but you don’t always get what you want. When Zeus comes back into her life 5 years later, she’s not so excited to see him, and it’s going to take a lot of work on Zeus’s part, to fix what he broke.

Zeus thought he was making the right decision when he let Cam go. Yep, turns out he’s a numbskull who took the wrong advice and he paid for it for 5 lonely years. His first look at Cam after their time apart nearly brought him to his knees and now he will do anything to fix what he broke.

I really enjoyed this romance and accepted the highs and lows for what they were. Life, throwing a spanner in the works now and again. The storyline was a little predictable and I saw each conflict as a flicker before the flame took hold. I did rolleth my eyes a few times, but the storytelling made the predictability not so bad. There was plenty of sexual tension between the main couple and when they finally hit the wall…literally…my heart was beating fast and I was squirming in my seat. Pretty damn HOT!! I loved the additional characters and found them easy to “see”. I strongly believed in Zeus and Cam’s HEA and thought they could survive any hurdles that would come their way.

I’m glad I got the opportunity to read Ruin and I will be reading more of Samantha Towle’s books in the future.
Kimberly Conrad
5.0 out of 5 stars great read, couldn’t put it down
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2024
Great story line, kept me intrigued and well written. The author brought the characters to life with a side of humor.
Gabrielle Letsinger
3.0 out of 5 stars for me
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2024
This book was okay. The book seemed too long. They also seemly just having sex and we didn’t get to really see that connection they have. The guy with his daughter was cute and the ending was pretty cute too. Overall it was just an average book. Want super good but not bad. 3/5
J McKenzie
4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet and spicy
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2024
This is a well written romance with plenty of angst. It's about falling in love young and not communicating as well as the manipulation by other people. About finding each other again and trying to right wrongs.
Anita
5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious second chance at love novel
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2024
I keep re-reading this book because I absolutely adore the story. I’m a sucker for second chance romance but this one is chef’s kiss. I love the tension you feel between the characters and the banter. The little girl is just adorable. The groveling is perfect and I love all the feels. There’s no third act break up and no cheating.

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