Review – Rage and Ruin (Harbinger, Book 2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 468 pages
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Release Date: June 9, 2020
ASIN: B07YF3B7MF
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Harbinger series
Source: Bought eBook for Kindle
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Half-angel Trinity and her bonded gargoyle protector, Zayne, have been working with demons to stop the apocalypse while avoiding falling in love. The Harbinger is coming…but who or what is it? All of humankind may fall if Trinity and Zayne can’t win the race against time as dark forces gather.
As tensions rise, they must stay close together and patrol the DC streets at night, seeking signs of the Harbinger, an entity that is killing Wardens and demons with no seeming rhyme or reason. Forbidden to be with each other, Zayne and Trinity fight their feelings and turn to unusual sources for help—the demon Roth and his cohorts. But as deaths pile up and they uncover a sinister plot involving the local high school and endangering someone dear to Zayne, Trin realizes she is being led…herded…played for some unknown end. As anger builds and feelings spiral out of control, it becomes clear that rage may be the ruin of them all.”
Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Harbinger series. I bought this as an ebook for my Kindle.
Story (5/5): This story starts out right where the last book left off. The identity of the Harbinger is a mystery that Trinity and Zayne must solve. The Harbinger has started killing Wardens much more publicly and they must turn to Roth and his demons for help. Meanwhile Zayne and Trinity are also having a difficult time controlling their feelings for each other and, although they know they are forbidden to be together, they don’t understand the true consequences of what will happen if they are.
This story is intense and full of action and very fast-paced. It also has some humor throughout and some amazing scenes between Zayne and Trinity. I was sucked right into it and couldn’t put it down.
Characters (5/5): I absolutely love Zayne and Trinity; they both try so hard and are such amazing characters. The relationship between them is both sizzling and caring all at once and I loved it. I went back and read “The Dark Elements” series featuring Roth and Layla before reading this second book in the Harbinger series and am happy I did. Reading “The Dark Elements” series helped me to understand Roth a lot better and follow some of the things Zayne is going through as well. Armentrout did an amazing job with these characters.
Setting (4/5): The book is set in DC which is fine but doesn’t really feature much in this story. This story is much more driven by the characters and the mystery of the Harbinger than anything else.
Writing (5/5): I am absolutely loving Armentrout’s writing style, her books remind me a lot of Annette Marie’s books. Her writing is fast-paced, and she does an amazing job writing action scenes. She also does a wonderful job with witty dialogue and making you really love the characters in the story. I think this series is a lot more polished than “The Dark Elements “ series which precedes this series in this world. Reading the Harbinger series makes me want to go back and check out other series by her. For a while I was getting her confused with Jennifer Armintrout (with an “i”) who wrote the Blood Ties series, which was pretty awful…don’t do that…stick with Jennifer L. Armentrout.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this addition to the Harbinger series. This is an urban fantasy with heavy romance elements and an excellent mystery. It’s a very guilty pleasure type of read. I read the whole thing in a couple sittings and struggled to put it down. If you love fast-paced urban fantasy with amazing fight scenes, an excellent mystery, and some sizzling romance I would definitely recommend this series to you. I can’t wait to read the next one!
