RUINED by Sholih Walker is book 4 in the Barnes
Brothers series. It's a short book entry, clocking in
at just 218 pages, but it packs a punch, as Walker's books
usually do. Walker really puts Sebastien through the
wringer here, and he comes out the other side chastened
and
wiser, and with a heart that contains so much love. It's
a
great tale about a man growing up, and leaving his
immature
self behind to find love and personal satisfaction.
Walker
does this kind of personal growth story so well, with the
fillip of erotic interludes to make the story really zing.
One of the five Barnes brothers featured in the series,
Sebastien is a Hollywood star who is one of the golden
boys
of film right now. He's just been voted People's Sexiest
Man Alive! Things have come fairly easily to him, except
for the woman that he wants-Marin Lassiter. Marin worked
with Sebastien's older brother Zach on a sitcom years ago,
and even worked with Sebastien in a movie where they had
to
kiss. Sebastien has had the hots for Marin for years, and
finally plucks up the courage to ask Marin out. But Marin
is looking for a real relationship, and Sebastien is just
all about image and having fun.
Then a tragic accident befalls Sebastien, leaving him
scarred in both body and mind. Marin is one of the very
few people he will talk to for a year, while he hides from
his family and the world, nursing his misery in self-
imposed exile. Marin undertakes the job of coaxing
Sebastien back out into his community. I love how Walker
does not shy away from all the poor coping mechanisms that
Sebastien uses to try to ignore the trauma that he's gone
though. Walker definitely demonstrates the bad and the
ugly of what Seb has sunk to. It makes his redemption all
the more satisfying. Marin becomes unwittingly caught up
in the drama when Sebastien makes some super-poor choices.
While I feel sorry for her, she is no angel in how she
deals with the secret that develops as a result of Seb's
bad behavior, and I do want to shake her vigorously for a
while, and maybe yell at her a little bit. It makes her
feel more real, not just a perfect Pollyanna of a heroine.
I'm looking forward to Travis Barnes' story, which I am
assuming will be book 5. Each of the brother's stories
has
made me fall in love with the Barnes family all over
again. I will happily read anything Shiloh Walker writes,
and Walker's RUINED does not disappoint. It's a sexy and
erotic friends-to-lovers story with plenty of drama and
angst.
As one of the Barnes brothers, Sebastien has always felt blessed. Not only does he have an amazing family, but he’s become a Hollywood golden boy who has everything he’s ever wanted—with one exception. He’s had a thing for Marin since he was a kid, but when he finally summons the courage to ask her out, she turns him down. Marin is ready to settle down, she wants commitment and stability, and Sebastien is still too much of a playboy, caught up in the wild life of the spotlight. Still reeling from the rejection, Sebastien’s luck runs out later that night when he saves a girl from an assault. The shining knight role fits him just fine, but his armor—and his perfect life—become tarnished when the near-deadly attack lands him in the hospital. Physically scarred, he gives up acting and retreats from everybody. If anyone can pull Sebastien back from the abyss, it’s Marin. But first she has to convince him that beauty is not only skin deep...
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