Hello lovely readers and welcome to today's blog tour stop at The Ruining Blog tour that is hosted by Razorbill Canada! The ruining is actually a stand-alone novel (yay)! As you might already know, I'm a HUGE fan of mystery books, so you can read more to find out what I loved about this book!
Title: The Ruining
Author: Anna Collomore
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication year: February 7th, 2013
Genre(s): Young Adult (Mystery)
Source: Publisher
Format: ARC
Pages: 313
Annie Phillips is thrilled to leave her past behind and begin a shiny new life on Belvedere Island, as a nanny for the picture-perfect Cohen family. In no time at all, she falls in love with the Cohens, especially with Libby, the beautiful young matriarch of the family. Life is better than she ever imagined. She even finds romance with the boy next door.
All too soon cracks appear in Annie's seemingly perfect world. She's blamed for mistakes she doesn't remember making. Her bedroom door comes unhinged, and she feels like she's always being watched. Libby, who once felt like a big sister, is suddenly cold and unforgiving. As she struggles to keep up with the demands of her new life, Annie's fear gives way to frightening hallucinations. Is she tumbling into madness, or is something sinister at play?
The Ruining is a complex ride through first love, chilling manipulation, and the terrifying depths of insanity.
All too soon cracks appear in Annie's seemingly perfect world. She's blamed for mistakes she doesn't remember making. Her bedroom door comes unhinged, and she feels like she's always being watched. Libby, who once felt like a big sister, is suddenly cold and unforgiving. As she struggles to keep up with the demands of her new life, Annie's fear gives way to frightening hallucinations. Is she tumbling into madness, or is something sinister at play?
The Ruining is a complex ride through first love, chilling manipulation, and the terrifying depths of insanity.
Born in Ohio, attended the University of Notre Dame, moved to NYC in 2006 for my MFA. Worked in the NYC publishing industry for approximately five years as a literary agent’s assistant and later a book editor. Lived in India for a year and a half and now live in Paris. Primary loves: writing, reading, exploring the world, and bonding with my dog. Secondary loves: wine, cheese, thrift stores, lattes, paper products, good conversation.
The best part of starting a book with no expectations, is when you end up loving it. I started The Ruining without even knowing weather it was a contemporary or a paranormal. All I knew for sure was that I just LOVED the cover. The book starts off with the main protagonist, Annie, wanting to get away from the life she's living. Annie lives with a horrible stepdad, and an alcoholic mother. When she gets accepted to her dream university, and gets a job opportunity at the Cohens family, she doesn't blink to take it. First of all, I'm going to point out that this book was not revolved about us feeling sorry for Annie about her horrible parents (thank God), or else that would have been a typical storyline. That aside, it was very interesting to see how Annie would get accustomed living with the Cohens. There, we meet Libby. The gorgeous, young, wife and mother. Annie immediately feels connected to Libby, and I really liked how Libby made her feel welcome, and treated her good. Then we meet Zoe, the daughter. It was absolutely adorable reading about Zoe! I really loved that little girl!! Then there's Walker, the father, and lastly, the baby boy, Jackson (If im not mistaken). At first, Libby's family is a perfect portrait of how Annie would love hers to be.. That is until she figures out the truth behind it.
I feel like I could blabber on and on about this book, but I have to control it. *breathes* okay, back to topic. Annie starts going to college, but then she finds it hard to start getting friends. Libby still tries to encourage her, but when Annie wants friends to come over, she disagrees. After a certain incident, Libby starts acting VERY strange. It literally drove me crazy!!! Though there was the cute boy next door who kept me sane. Owen. That's his name. I really liked how Annie got to meet him, and I was very curious to as why he was always hinting at Annie to not trust the Cohens family that much. I really felt connected to Annie, and Anna Collomore did a fantastic job on making all the characters feel completely realistic to me! Later on, Libby was seriously starting to get to Annie's head. Libby was always acting one way, then another. Also, her strong neglect to Zoe made me suspicious of her even more!! I really do love mystery books, but this one made me scratch all over for answers!
Overall, I tried reading The Ruining whatever chance I got. It was shockingly addicting! I don't think there was any flaw in this book. I loved the characters, the writing style, and I just loved how the author was able to grab my attention at ALL times! This will definitely not be the last of what I read from Anna Collomore. I'm officially a huge fan of her. I think she did a tremendous job on her debut novel. Mystery lovers will eat this book up like a piece of chocolate cake. (If you love chocolate cakes)
I want to read this! Your review made me more excited. Thanks :D
ReplyDelete-Dannielle
Wow! I completely overlooked this book for some reason or another, but now your review has me really eager to pick it up. :) I love going into a book and not knowing what to expect. Even better when it turns out to be something brilliant. :)
ReplyDeleteMysteries and suspense are my absolute favorite genre so I'm super-excited to read this one.
ReplyDeletePenguin never approves me on Netgalley or Edelweiss, so I got dinged for this, but I'm going to try to make time to read it soon.
I love books that you have no expectations going into :)! It's awesome that you ended up loving it and it does sound like a pretty good read. I haven't heard of this before, but I will definitely be adding it to my tbr.
ReplyDeleteJanina @ Synchronized Reading
Yay for stand-alone! :) We need more of these. I'm so happy that you loved this one. It's totally new for me but I do like the cover. I hope I'll get a chance to read it. Great review :)
ReplyDeleteOoh, standalone? I'm scared that I might love it so much that I go stalk Anna Collomore, begging her to write a sequel. If it's enough to warrant five mustaches, I'm sure it's a fantastic story. (I mean, driving yourself crazy over a book is pretty serious.)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds amazing, I love addicting mysteries! Love your review, thanks for sharing! :-)
ReplyDeleteSo good to learn that this is a stand-alone. Your review makes me wonder if the Cohens are good people. I may have to get the book to find out what happens to Annie in the end. Great review, Farah!
ReplyDeleteYAY FOR 5 STARS!!! I am so intrigued by this book now, and I can't wait to see and find out what is going on with Annie. Plus, Owen sounds very promising! I also love not knowing about a book and ending up loving it! So, glad you enjoyed this Farah! Fantastic review! :)
ReplyDelete~ Maida
Literary Love Affair
YAY, so glad you liked it! I like psychological thriller books.
ReplyDeleteWow Farah, I'm really curious what the mystery is behind this story. It sounds perfect but I sense a darkness beneath it all. I love going into a story with no information and being totally surprised, in a good way, of course. I love this cover as well. Now I'm going to have to pick this up. Wonderful review! :)
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, you're making me SUPER excited to read this and find out what the whole mystery is!!! I DON'T LIKE BEING LEFT IN THE DARK. I WANT TO KNOW!!!! I'm so glad you enjoyed this so much :) There have been several books I started reading without any idea what it's about but ended up loving<3 Awesome review Farah:)
ReplyDelete"The best part of starting a book with no expectations, is when you end up loving it." Yes! I haven't heard much about this one but it sounds like a great read. And I'm very curious about the mystery aspect.
ReplyDelete