The Road Beyond Ruin | Gemma Liviero

Title: The Road Beyond Ruin
Author: Gemma Liviero


I hated this book.

This was my December pick for Amazon First Reads, and I so wish I had gone with something different. I'm usually a huge fan of historical fiction, but this was just not good at all.

I'm a fairly intuitive reader, so I usually have a good idea of where a plot is headed before it gets there. I'm usually happy to be surprised. This, however, is only the case if the plot twist is well-executed.

This book has a few twists, but they are so poorly thought out that it makes what could have been an outstanding novel absolutely terrible. The twists don't even make sense. My advice to this writer is that if you're going to write from multiple perspectives, at least be consistent with your characters' thought processes. This book would have been far better if only told from the perspective of one or two people, probably Erich and/or Rosalind. If you want to surprise your readers, make it a surprise that isn't completely unbelievable.

I rarely write a review this harsh, but this book actually made me angry.

Two out of five stars.

---------------

Reading Progress:

The Tommyknockers by Stephen King: 26%
Hate Notes by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward: 70%
A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon: 27%
Serial Date by D.V. Berkom: NOW STARTING

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