Review: Ruin
Ruin by Jolie Vines My rating: 3 of 5 stars Ruin (Dark Island Scots, #1) by Jolie Vines ★★★☆☆ 3 stars — brooding Scottish atmosphere, uneven execution The setup hooked me immediately: a bloodied stranger in handcuffs on a ferry to a remote Scottish island and a heroine who can't look away. Jolie Vines knows how to build tension and the dark, isolated setting does a lot of heavy lifting here. What worked: The hero is brooding perfection, magnetic, dangerous and exactly what this genre promises. The lust-to-hate-to-love pipeline is deliciously angsty and the Scottish atmosphere is genuinely atmospheric. Some lines hit hard enough to highlight. What didn't work: The pacing felt uneven in places and the story didn't fully stick the landing for me. I enjoyed it, but it had flaws I couldn't ignore. If you love dark romance, enemies-to-lovers and a morally grey hero, this is absolutely your read. Just go in knowing it leans into the angst ...