Awakening: Book 1
Publication Date: September 12, 2023
SHE LIVES BY HER INTUITION. HE FEEDS ON HER PLEASURE.
From Jennifer L. Armentrout, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of From Blood and Ash, comes a searing fantasy romance for adults, Fall of Ruin and Wrath.
Long ago, the world was destroyed by gods. Only nine cities were spared. Separated by vast wilderness teeming with monsters and unimaginable dangers, each city is now ruled by a guardian—royalty who feed on mortal pleasure.
Born with an intuition that never fails, Calista knows her talents are of great value to the power-hungry of the world, so she lives hidden as a courtesan of the Baron of Archwood. In exchange for his protection, she grants him information.
When her intuition leads her to save a traveling prince in dire trouble, the voice inside her blazes with warning—and promise. Today he’ll bring her joy. One day he’ll be her doom.
When the Baron takes an interest in the traveling prince and the prince takes an interest in Calista, she becomes the prince’s temporary companion. But the city simmers with rebellion, and with knights and monsters at her city gates and a hungry prince in her bed, intuition may not be enough to keep her safe.
Calista must choose: follow her intuition to safety or follow her heart to her downfall.
Breathtaking suspense and scorching romance meet in this immersive new fantasy from a mega-bestselling force, Jennifer L. Armentrout.
Fall of Ruin and Wrath by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout is a fantasy tale of suspense, darkness, passion, and the reliance on instinct to survive.
Our heroine, Calista, was born with incredible instinct and the gift of foresight. Abandoned as a baby, Calista was placed in a Foundling Home where she met Grady. After a visit to the home from two Fae males, Calista saw in one of the male’s faces that her life was about to be forever changed. Thanks to a small mercy from that same Fae male, Calista and Grady left the Foundling Home and spent the next ten years learning how to survive the unforgiving streets of Caelum.
Calista and Grady’s luck turns when they join The Baron’s services. Calista as a Courtier and Brady as part of the Guard. It is at the Baron’s home where Calista’s foresight comes to fruition. All these years later, Calista comes face to face with her Fae male, who saved her life. This time, it is Calista who has the power to save his life.
While Calista and the Fae male fall into a passionate romance, one the Fae male is at a loss to explain, great darkness looms towards Calista’s Kingdom. We read as the truth behind the connection between Calista and the Fae male is revealed and find out that Calista may be more powerful than everyone believed, including herself.
Since Fall of Ruin and Wrath is Armentrout’s first book in this series, I tried to be generous in my review. Two of my main reasons for the 4-star rating are the storyline/plot and the characters, specifically the relationship between Calista and Thorne.
The storyline. Fall of Ruin and Wrath is the first book in the series which can mean things will move a bit slower because the author is setting the stage for the future. However, I expect detailed character development and tidbits that will stick with a reader to be revealed later in the series. Unfortunately, the details and character development left me wanting more.
Calista and Thorne. I found the relationship between Calista and Thorne to be possessive. Early on, Thorne takes ownership of Calista, which, in my opinion, depicts her as a weak character, which I don’t think was the intent. I also felt the interactions between the two to be a bit juvenile at times, which took away from the story.
While I felt this book was a bit lacking, I look forward to the second book of the series. I hope more character details and plot development will fall into place.
When Calista comes face to face with her destiny in Fall of Ruin and Wrath, will she trust her instinct? Or flee into the unknown? 
#1 New York Times and #1 international bestselling author JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT lives in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, hanging out with her husband, her Border Jack Apollo, Border Collie Artemis, six judgemental alpacas, two rude goats, and five fluffy sheep. In early 2015, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of rare genetic disorders. Due to this diagnosis, educating people on the varying degrees of blindness has become of passion of hers, right alongside writing, which she plans to do as long as she can. Jennifer has been nominated and won numerous awards for her young adult and adult fiction.
