Carved in Ruin by Valeria Fox
by Valeria Fox
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For years, she’s waited for him, longed for her best friend to return, to love her again. But when he comes back to her, he’s no longer that boy. He’s a man—powerful, dark, and full of the scars of the past. They’re caught in a dance that burns with both fire and ice. One moment he’s everything she’s ever wanted, the next he’s a stranger, determined to hurt her. There’s too much betrayal between them, too much pain. Love. Hate. Neither can survive without the other. And when she dares to try and break free, he’ll drag her back. Every single time. They are each other’s salvation and damnation, carved in ruin.
- File Name:carved-in-ruin-by-valeria-fox.epub
- Original Title:Carved in Ruin
- Creator:Valeria Fox
- Language:en
- Identifier:MOBI-ASIN:B0DSTF54Y5
- Publisher:Independent
- Date:2025-01-10T00:00:00+00:00
- File Size:1.251 MB
Table of Content
- 1. Foreword
- 2. 1. The Monster at the Table
- Mila
- 3. 2. A Dance of Fire and Ice
- Mila
- 4. 3. The Russian’s Return
- Mila
- 5. 4. A Feast for Hunger
- Rafael
- 6. 5. The Tradition
- 7. 6. Unspoken Desires
- Mila
- 8. 7. The Doll and the Monster
- Rafael
- 9. 8. Always Together
- 10. 9. Dinner with the Devil
- Mila
- 11. 10. Crossing Lines
- Mila
- 12. 11. Art of a Monster
- Rafael
- 13. 12. Burned Bridges
- Mila
- 14. 13. Scorched Truths
- Mila
- 15. 14. The Flames
- 16. 15. Jealousy Ignites
- Rafael
- 17. 16. Pinky Promises
- 18. 17. The Taste of Rebellion
- Mila
- 19. 18. When Kingdoms Collapse
- Mila
- 20. 19. No One Else
- Rafael
- 21. 20. Destruction Incarnate
- Mila
- 22. 21. The Ring and the Chains
- Mila
- 23. 22. Bound to Burn
- Rafael
- 24. 23. Stick Figures
- 25. 24. The Initiation
- Rafael
- 26. 25. Trust me, or Don’t
- Mila
- 27. 26. Half a Million Lies
- Mila
- 28. 27. Barbed Cage
- Mila
- 29. 28. Buried Secrets
- Mila
- 30. 29. Ashes in Her Wake
- Rafael
- 31. 30. Crawl Inside Me
- Mila
- 32. 31. The Devil Kneels
- Rafael
- 33. 32. No Mercy
- Rafael
- 34. 33. Sinking, Drowning, Rising
- Mila
- 35. 34. Tearing us Both Apart
- Mila
- 36. 35. Fresh Start
- Mila
- 37. 36. The Devil Repents
- Rafael
- 38. 37. The Storm is Coming
- Mila
- 39. 38. Mila’s Worshipper
- Rafael
- 40. 39. No Space, No Escape
- Mila
- 41. 40. Peace
- Mila
- 42. 41. Epilogue: A Happy Ending
- Rafael
Valeria Fox
Book author Valeria Fox45fans
Carved in Ruin was about 28-year-old Rafael Ivanov, the Pakhan of the Russian Bratva based in New York, and 23-year-old Mila Jovanovich, the eldest daughter of the Don of the Serbian Mafia, also located in New York.
Author's Trigger Warnings: Dubious Consent → Ambiguous or Coerced Sexual Consent, Non-Consent → Sexual Violence or Assault, Violence → Graphic Depictions of Physical Violence, Suicide → Themes of Self-Harm and Suicide, Death → Explicit or Graphic Depictions of Death, Gun Use → Firearm Usage or Gun Violence, Murder → Homicide, Pedophilia → Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Stalking → Obsessive and Invasive Behavior, Manipulation → Psychological Manipulation or Gas-lighting, Torture → Infliction of Severe Physical or Psychological Pain, Incest → Inappropriate Familial Relationship
Rafael and Mila used to be childhood friends, but when she was 9 and Rafael was 13, his father was killed and Rafael disappeared from her life. Although they saw each other at various events over the next 14 years, he never acknowledged her, barely glancing her way each time. When they all attended the most recent party, a fight broke out that had bullets fired, and Rafael protected Mila, even though he had brought a date. Soon after, her father had him over for dinner to thank him for saving his daughter. A few days later, she ran into him again. They slowly started becoming friends again. But that was not to last. While Mila thought they were getting closer, Rafael was making plans to break her.
In a matter of days, Mila's world fell apart when Rafael asked her father...for her sister's hand in marriage, and it was agreed upon between her father, her sister, and Rafael. Mila pretended to be okay with the situation, endured her sister's "happiness", and watched as the man she loved planned to marry her sister. (Even though her sister didn't love Rafael, Layla believed marrying him was the only way to get out from under the control of their father. But what she didn't realize was that she was a pawn being used by Rafael so he could exact his revenge on their family...and destroy them all.)
During the celebration dinner, Mila did so well pretending to be excited about the wedding that it angered Rafael. She wasn't acting the way he expected her to. It was when he confronted her about her non-reaction that Rafael revealed that he blamed her for his father's death. He said because she did her father's bidding that she was just as responsible as her father was for starting the fire that took his life, and that of many other Russian Bratva members. But things didn't go the way Mila thought. Rafael ended up forcing HER to marry him...not her sister.
Things took an unexpected turn (at least for me) with a plot twist that was only partly figured out. The readers need to be prepared for what happens in this book. Pay close attention to the trigger warnings posted above, but also have a box of tissues handy for the teary-eyed sections as well.
This book was full of angst, drama, heartache, plot twists, push/pull, and controversy. The emotional rollercoaster was in full effect with all of the twists and turns many readers (me included) love to read about.
Both main characters were fully developed, and mature, and did plenty of growing up as the story progressed. It was a pleasure to see how these two changed as quickly as their relationship did. They truly only had eyes for each other.
Were there areas that needed work? Sure, just like most stories, this book had its fair share of errors. However, unlike some, the errors in this book didn't detract from the flow of the story. Perhaps it needed a little more tweaking here and there, but the mastery of the twists and turns kept the reader glued to the pages and not focused on the grammatical errors. That's rare.
I gave this book a full five-star rating. It was just as enjoyable to read as Veiled Vows, and it will also be added to my Keeper for the Shelves collection. I can't wait for the next book by Valeria Fox!
5/5⭐️
5/5🌶️
Felt like it was written by two different people. There was a good flow for maybe 16 chapters and then there was a more rushed and less structured style I guess. Plenty of gaps. Didn't get past chapter 23. Wouldn't purposely read again. There were too many unrealistic scenarios too. Like the sister falling in love with the best friend because she was desperate to feel something.