Happy Wednesday!!! I am so thrilled to be reviewing Queen Of Ruin for you shabby lovelies today! I adored the first book, Grace and Fury (see my review HERE), and have been waiting to find out the fates of Nomi and Serena ever since.

A huge thank you to Rockstar Book Tours, check out their website for all the latest and greatest tours, and to Little Brown for Young Readers, for including me on this tour and sending me a review copy!!!

“It’s difficult to expect much of yourself when the rest of the world doesn’t bother.”

Before I proceed, be warned, there will be spoilers for Grace and Fury. A lot happens in Queen of Ruin, and it can’t be helped!

When last we left the sisters, things were very precarious for them both. Their futures were not what they envisioned and they couldn’t predict what would possibly happen next. Spoiler alert: neither could I!

Queen Of Ruin is a rollercoaster of a book. And I loved it!

In the first book, we really see a lot of development in Serena. Even though Nomi is placed in a position she doesn’t want, it isn’t quite the same, with the same lethal consequences that Serena faces. So her progression didn’t occur until later, and even then, it was definitely more subtle. Which worked perfectly for the story. But this time, Serena knows who she is and what she wants. It’s Nomi that struggles to figure that out within herself.

As in Grace and Fury, the girl power woven into the characters and story are fierce and unapologetic. This is a society that is awful for women, and Asa isn’t making it any better. But in this strong feminist story, can I give some ah yeah props to my boy Malachi? That Heir, man, he listens, he learns, and he is so much better for it. His characters shows that men can be feminist too, and I really do adore that message.

The rebel road is a perilous one, full of starts and stops, and things that never go according to plan. This book is a breathtaking ride, full of action, thought-provoking dialogue, and a mounting tide of suspense. If you loved Grace and Fury, you will devour the sequel.

I loved how by the end, things were wrapped up, but there is also room for more. Things have been decided, and it’s a satisfying ending, but we all know that the road is not going remain easy for any of the characters moving forward. I’m not sure if the author plans to return to this world, but I for one, am here for it if she does.

Grab your copy today by following any of the links below!

Title: QUEEN OF RUIN (Grace and Fury #2)

Author: Tracy Banghart

Pub. Date: July 2, 2019

Publisher: Little, Brown Books For Young Readers

Formats: Hardcover,  eBook, audiobook

Pages: 336

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

A fierce sequel full of sisterhood, heart pounding action, betrayal, and intrigue in the royal court in a series that “breathes new life into the feminist story of oppression and resistance” (Publisher’s Weekly).

Banished by Asa at the end of Grace and Fury, Nomi and Malachi find themselves powerless and headed towards their all-but-certain deaths. Now that Asa sits on the throne, he will stop at nothing to make sure Malachi never sets foot in the palace again. Their only hope is to find Nomi’s sister, Serina, on the prison island of Mount Ruin. But when Nomi and Malachi arrive, it is not the island of conquered, broken women that they expected. It is an island in the grip of revolution, and Serina–polite, submissive Serina–is its leader.

Betrayal, grief, and violence have changed both sisters, and the women of Mount Ruin have their sights set on revenge beyond the confines of their island prison. They plan to sweep across the entire kingdom, issuing in a new age of freedom for all. But first they’ll have to get rid of Asa, and only Nomi knows how.

Separated once again, this time by choice, Nomi and Serina must forge their own paths as they aim to tear down the world they know, and build something better in its place.

The stakes are higher and the battles bolder in Tracy Banghart’s unputdownable sequel to Grace and Fury.

About Book 1:

Title: GRACE AND FURY (Grace And Fury #1)

Author: Tracy Banghart

Pub. Date: July 31, 2018

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 320

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other in prison.

Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace–someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir’s eye, it’s Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding.

Now trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one way to save Serina: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to release her sister. This is easier said than done. A traitor walks the halls of the palace, and deception lurks in every corner. But Serina is running out of time, imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive and one wrong move could cost her everything.

Tracy Banghart grew up in rural Maryland and spent her summers on a remote island in northern Ontario. All of that isolation and lovely scenery gave her the time to read voraciously and the inspiration to write her own stories. Always a bit of a nomad, Tracy now travels the world Army-wife style with her husband, son, cat, and sweet pupper Scrabble. She wrote Grace and Fury while living in Hawaii.

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3 winners will receive a finished copy of QUEEN OF RUIN, US Only.

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

7/1/2019- Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews– Review

7/2/2019- PopTheButterfly Reads– Review

7/3/2019- Jena Brown Writes– Review

7/4/2019- What A Nerd Girl Says– Review

7/5/2019- It Starts at Midnight– Review

Week Two:

7/8/2019- Do You Dog-ear?– Review

7/9/2019- A Gingerly Review– Review

7/10/2019- Smada’s Book Smack– Review

7/11/2019- Starlight-Reads– Review

7/12/2019- Books Coffee and Repeat– Review