Eternal Ruin sinks its teeth into you and will not let you go. It is an incredible sequel that adds so much to the world, story and characters of the original but still leaves you desperate for more.
Immortal Dark was a new obsession for me and fed perfectly into the vampire renaissance we’re seeing at the moment. It was a dark, suspenseful, and seductive Dark Academia vampiric fantasy mystery with more than a touch of romance. Therefore, the sequel had a lot to live up but Tigest Girma smashed every expectation and delivered an elevated continuation that heightens the stakes, the world and the depth of our central characters. It is a smash-hit and you’ll be left demanding more.
This sequel gives us even more insight into the lore and history that informs the magic system at play and the mythos that underpins the culture around Uxlay. It is fascinating and adds even more rich texture into the complex tapestry of this world. Girma heightens the stakes further by introducing these new elements that tap into the extended mythos—there is a sense of fate and foreboding. It sets up even more for going into the final act of this trilogy. There are plenty of exquisite surprises in store, even as they may break your heart. These new elements have far-reaching consequences and the twists serve to truly change the course of everything.
This lore and history adds further layers to our central characters as well—primarily Kidan and Susenyos. Their perspectives are so interesting to follow and we get even more details about their lives and that of their families, with Kidan delving into the secrets of her parents and how this intersects with the power plays in the present. You get the sense of everything being on the cusp of ruin. The school politics of the first book are about to explode out into the world and nothing will ever be the same.
Intertwined with this is Susenyos’ past which he too must confront with the return of both friend and foe from that brilliant conclusion at the end of the first book. It is a searing exploration of colonialism and oppression that speaks to the deep-seated rage and atrocities hidden by history. His history is one that is steeped in blood and sparking the rage he has fought to control—you get a fuller sense of his motivations and his single-minded goal that may have become more complex. Kidan’s character arc continues to be a masterclass, with that palpable anger and grief threatening to consume her. She has to channel this somewhere and her investigations continue as she must learn the secrets of her house in order to survive. Her classes also escalate as the classmates she went through thick and thin with are also now having to navigate their positions as house heirs in this intricate web of nepotism, power and history. With the two of them combined, the relationship is sizzling and moves from love to hatred within just a few pages. They feel like a powder keg that could explode at any given moments and the consequences from this will change the world as they know it.
Nothing is quite as simple as it seems and we have an introduction of other perspectives that serve to deepen the story. They link in with the mythos expansion Girma offers and I am very very excited to see how this will play out. There are plenty of twists and turns to enjoy here and Girma delivers a masterclass in tension and pacing. You will keep racing through the pages as you just have to know what will happen next. Everything builds to a phenomenal conclusion that is heart-breaking and thrilling in equal measure. Both of these books have had brutal endings that make you crave the next story immediately. Girma certainly does not hold back and the story is all the better for it.
Eternal Ruin is an unmissable sequel that heightens the original and makes you desperate to pick up the next book. It enriches the story and delivers plenty more shocking surprises.
Eternal Ruin is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
Will you be picking up Eternal Ruin? Tell us in the comments below!
The breathtaking sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller, Immortal Dark!
Like all ruinous things, he came from the abyss.
Kidan Adane has finally embraced her darkness. She’s killed without remorse, lied, and broken Uxlay University’s most sacred law by inviting elusive rogue vampires, the Nefrasi, into Uxlay.
Trapped with a violently unstable vampire, and reeling from her sister’s return, Kidan wields her anger like a weapon. She vows to master her house and protect the sacred artifact hidden inside, even if it means forging an alliance with the depraved leader of the Nefrasi, Samson Sagad–and betraying Susenyos.
A dangerous new philosophical text seems to hold the answers and promises the very thing Kidan has lost: control. Even as the dark pages consume her, Kidan knows no soul at Uxlay is trustworthy—least of all Susenyos. For Kidan and Susenyos, the lines of loathing and attraction may blur, but the quest for power rules them both. And neither is willing to surrender.
As devastating secrets resurface from the past, Kidan and her sister, June, must finally confront each other and take their rightful places in the looming war.
