Review of Ruin of Stars by Linsey Miller & Giveaway

Read for: Recently Added & Loved the first book

Review of Mask of Shadows

Synopsis: "The thrilling conclusion to the Mask of Shadows duology that weaves a tale of magic, shadows, and most importantly, revenge.

As one of the Queen’s elite assassins, Sal finally has the power, prestige, and permission to hunt down the lords who killed their family. But Sal still has to figure out who the culprits are. They must enlist the help of some old friends and enemies while ignoring a growing distaste for the queen and that the charming Elise is being held prisoner by her father.

But there’s something terribly wrong in the north. Talk of the return of shadows, missing children, and magic abounds. As Sal takes out the people responsible for their ruined homeland, Sal learns secrets and truths that can’t be forgotten."

My Review: I loved the first book in this series, I adored the characters and the dark world and political structure. I was super excited for this book to come out, but for some reason I really struggled with it. Ruin of Stars picks up shortly after the cliffhanger ending of the previous book but it really felt like I missed something. I also found this book to be a lot darker than the previous book (even with all the kids assassinating each other), Ruin of Stars was a lot more internal with more almost PTSD type issues and flashbacks. I really missed the snark of Sal and Maud that added a fun element to the previous book. I did however really love Maud's character in this book, she is awesome and my favorite of the series. Miller also threw some really interesting twists in the story, things I was not expecting and that was fun to see. I also really enjoyed the ending, though it didn't go quite as far as I had hoped, it was still really well done. Even though it took me a while to get through this book, I did enjoy it but for me the first book was better; it is worth reading to the conclusion of the series though.

My Rating: It isn't often that I struggle with a book for several months, but I did with this one. The reason was that something felt disconnected for me, I felt like I was missing something in the dialog or the world but couldn't quite figure it out.  It was worth it to stick with it in the end though and I did end up enjoying it once I pushed myself to pick it up and read it straight through. I give it a rating of Two Paws and a Stump Wag.

Are you ready for another giveaway?!  (By the way congrats to Vanessa for winning the And I Darken giveaway, I will be in touch shortly to get your prize on the way).   Mask of Shadows was one of my top 3 favorite books last year, I enjoyed it so much that I had an extra copy signed by Linsey Miller at last years Boston Teen Author Festival to giveaway to one of you.  I also obtained an ARC of Ruin of Shadows to giveaway.  (Note: Only Mask of Shadows is signed, also I have some swag that I will add to the package)

So here we go, same rules as last time,

~You must be 16 or older to enter 

~This giveaway is for my followers, as a thank you for sticking with me over the years, or joining me now, I, of course welcome new followers!

~Enter the giveaway via the below Rafflecopter methods (I will be checking the required items and if you are not a follower as required, your entry is void, I have had too many entries in the past looking for quick handouts and not actually interacting with my blog).
 ~Open internationally but the winner is responsible for any extra customs fees that your country may add on.
~Giveaway ends midnight on the 22nd, winners will be selected the next day (I will be contacting you via email)

a Rafflecopter giveaway