March 15, 2017

These Ruthless Deeds Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway


 

These Ruthless Deeds (These Vicious Masks #2)
Author: Kelly Zekas, Tarun Shanker
Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal

Publication Date: March 14, 2017
Publisher: Swoon Reads

Description:

England, 1883. Still recovering from a devastating loss, Evelyn is determined to use her powers to save other gifted people from those who would harm them. But when her rescue of a young telekinetic girl goes terribly wrong, Evelyn finds herself indebted to a secret society devoted to recruiting and protecting people like Evelyn and her friends.

As she follows the Society’s orders, healing the sick and embarking on perilous recruitment missions, Evelyn sees her problems disappear. Her reputation is repaired, her friends are provided for, and her parents are newly wealthy. She reunites with the dashing Mr. Kent and recovers the reclusive Mr. Braddock (who has much less to brood over now that the Society can help him to control his dangerous power). But Evelyn can’t help fearing the Society is more sinister than it appears…


These Ruthless Deeds is the exciting second book in a fantastic young adult historical/paranormal series. The story is set in Victorian England, and gives it a more gloomy and Gothic feel - which I think is a perfect setting for the book. Our main character, Evelyn, is a member of high society and the perfect age to be getting married (or so her mother thinks). Evelyn doesn't care about the suitors, the balls, the theater, and all the other silly things involved with matchmaking. She's a fantastic lead for the series - smart, down to earth, a devoted and loving daughter and sister, curious about all the world has to offer, and incredibly determined. The story is told from Evelyn's point of view, which I thought was another great fit for the book. I love when an author uses the first person POV, because it allows the reader to connect on a much deeper level with the narrator than any other writing style. We get to know their deepest fears, inner thoughts, memories, hopes and dreams, and so much more. I found Evelyn to be a realistic character and I was able to identify with her almost immediately. I found her sarcasm and thoughts about their society's rituals to be quite funny. I felt like we would definitely be friends if I could slip inside the story alongside her, which it sort of felt like anyway - due to the use of the first person POV.

The plot itself was original and completely intriguing. I found myself reading as quickly as I could to see what was going to happen next. The story is a great mix of historical fiction, paranormal, and fantasy - and I felt the author did a wonderful job presenting all of the strange aspects and having it all blend together so effortlessly. The addition of the secret society upped the tension and made the story even more exciting. Evelyn's character experiences a lot of growth throughout the book and I liked watching her mature in several ways. I'm anxious to see how she'll handle the events that crop up in the next book of the series, and I hope to see her continue to change and grow on several levels. Overall, this is an awesome second installment in a compelling series that had me lost inside its pages until the very end. I got so wrapped up in the story and all the various things happening - that I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting. I can't wait for the next installment of the series to release to find out where things will go from here. I definitely recommend this book to fans of YA paranormal fiction, along with readers who enjoy historical fiction, fantasy, supernatural, and romance. You're going to want to pick this one up!
Tarun and Kelly met in a freshman year writing class at NYU and started writing These Vicious Masks a few years later.

Tarun is a writer living in Los Angeles whose idea of paradise consists of kung-fu movies, David Bowie and chai tea. Since completing his first horrible screenplay in high school, he’s written everything from one-act plays and film criticism to humor pieces and strongly-worded emails. He’s also magnetized, crushed and burned the hard drive where that first screenplay can be found.

Kelly is a writer and actor living in NYC. YA is her absolute favorite thing on earth other than cupcakes and she has spent many hours crying over fictional deaths. She also started reading Harlequin romances at a possibly too early age (12?), and still loves a good paperback romance.

Links (Tarun):
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
Links (Kelly): Website / Goodreads / Twitter






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4 comments:

  1. Great review! This sounds like a fun read and definitely very unique!

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  2. Excellent review--you've made up my mind that I should read this exciting book if it kept you turning pages. Love the cover!

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  3. Im really excited for this one!

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  4. When someone says that they had to read as quickly as possible to see what happens next I know it's going to be a good book! Thanks for the post.

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