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Samantha Towle

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Ruin (Gods Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Samantha Towle (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 4,399 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Gods Series

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From Samantha Towle, the New York Times bestselling author of Wardrobe Malfunction and Breaking Hollywood, comes a dramatically powerful and passionate new contemporary romance.

And the new heavyweight champion of the world is...

Those are the words that Zeus Kincaid has been waiting to hear since he first put on a pair of boxing gloves. He just didn’t think they would come with a tragedy that would change how he viewed the sport forever.

Cameron Reed was in her second year at Juilliard when her childhood sweetheart, Zeus Kincaid, walked away from her. A few months later, Cam realized that she would never fulfill her dream of dancing for the New York City Ballet.

Now working as a dancer in an upscale club in Manhattan, Cam is brought face-to-face with the man she once loved. And it’s her turn to walk away from him.

After five years of missing Cam, Zeus isn’t prepared to let her go again. But when he finds himself standing on her doorstep the next morning, things don’t go quite as he expected…

‘You’ll be smitten with everything about this entertaining, steamy and feel-good romance’ USA Today’s Happy Ever After on Breaking Hollywood

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About the Author

New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and international bestselling author Samantha Towle began her first novel in 2008 while on maternity leave. She completed the manuscript five months later and hasn't stopped writing since.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07945Y1BS
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Samantha Towle Writes Ltd (March 6, 2018)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 6, 2018
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2211 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 318 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,433 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #7 in Alpha Male Romance
- #23 in Alpha Male Romance eBooks
- #485 in Contemporary Romance (Kindle Store)

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4.3 4,399 ratings

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Samantha Towle

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Samantha Towle is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

A native of Hull, she lives in East Yorkshire with her husband, their son and daughter, and three large furbabies.

She is the author of contemporary romances, The Storm Series, The Revved Series, The Wardrobe Series, The Gods Series, and standalones, Trouble, When I Was Yours, The Ending I Want, Unsuitable, Under Her, River Wild, Dead Pretty, The Two Week Stand and Sacking the Quarterback which was written with James Patterson. She has also written paranormal romances, The Bringer and The Alexandra Jones Series. With over a million books sold, her titles have appeared in countless bestseller lists, and are currently translated into ten languages. To receive an email when Samantha releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter - http://samanthatowle.co.uk/newsletter-sign-up

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4.3 out of 5

4,399 global ratings

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Melanie

A second chance love story, Ruin is filled with romance and heartache.

Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2018

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True love is one of life's greatest anchors, and it has been the subject of some of the greatest country songs of all time and to me, Samantha Towle’s latest release is a perfect country song. A second chance love story, Ruin is filled with romance and heartache. I haven’t felt this level of swoon from a Samantha Towle book since The Mighty Storm because let’s be honest, that was perfection and who can top that? Well, Ruin comes a super close second to it. It had everything I love about this author. Her writing and prose are engaging and flipping through the pages becomes second nature because it is so addictive. There is no possibility of putting the book down after you’ve started. I was longing for more even before it ended. Yes, it was that kind of book! I wanted to hold it, hug it, squeeze it, and live through its pages.

Zeus “the God” Kinkaid has loved boxing all of his life. From the moment that he stepped in front of a punching bag, he’d known it was what he would do and do well. With an alcoholic father who isn’t able to take care of his kids, the pressure for Zeus to provide for his siblings keep mounting on him year after year. So Zeus sets his eyes on a lucrative and long lasting career in boxing. What he didn’t expect was to meet the love of his life at just seventeen. Cameron Reed is a beautiful ballerina—all legs and innocent doe eyes and a heart set on winning and keeping Zeus Kinkaid forever. She was his dove and he was her everything. Their love story is endearing in so many ways. Moments that many of us can reflect back on when we first fell in love ourselves. Being able to find that in this book was divine.

But of course, like all love stories theirs also takes a sharp turn for the worse. With Zeus needing to focus all his attention on his boxing career, he takes the “selfless” route – I do quotes on that because c’mon ladies, we all know it never turns out for the good. LOL. And that selfless act leads them living separate lives for five whole years. When they find themselves face to face years later, the connection and the love they continued to harbor for each other doesn’t miss a beat. Now that they both finally have a chance to right the wrong, will the secrets that they both have kept from each other break them apart all over again?

There are so many amazing moments in this book and the characters were so fun to get to know. From Aunt Elle to Gigi to the Kinkaid siblings and even good ‘ole Deputy Dick. The means in which Zeus goes through to win Cameron back is sweet and so flippin’ sexy. Ladies, we’ve got ourselves a dirty talker. Everything about this book just gave me the best chills. This second chance love story will win you over from start to finish. This has my bookshelf worthy stamp of approval and a definite Samantha Towle fave.

One person found this helpful

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Jessica Hull

A second chance fighter romance that came out of nowhere and knocked me right out

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2018

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4.5 STARS

It's true that readers take very different things away from the same exact book. We all go into a book from different places, in different moods, hoping to find very different things on those pages. For me, just before I started Ruin, I'd just come away from reading 2 phenomenal books back to back that were richly layered, full of detail and emotion that made it completely impossible NOT to connect with those stories. So when I first started reading Ruin, it was impossible not to compare it to those previous reads even though I tried my hardest not to. My first impression of Ruin was that I wanted more detail. It felt rushed at times, details were glossed over at certain moments that I so wished had been explored more thoroughly. We were teased with a few flashback chapters that took us into the past relationship between Zeus Kincaid and Cameron Reed and I longed for more of that. Ruin is a fast paced story that would've been kicked up a few notches if it had been slowed down just a bit, the build a bit more drawn out, the story fleshed out a little more.

But...

It was not difficult to get over what I initially thought was missing when I got caught up in everything that Ruin actually is. There's a lot to be said about a fast paced romance that you can easily devour in one sitting. Truth be told, I had a hard time putting this book down. It completely consumed me and I couldn't NOT think about it even when I was forced to step away. Ruin gave me all the angsty feels I can so clearly remember getting from Jake Wethers in The Mighty Storm. This book is heavy with angst, heavy with raw emotion and rippled with that delicious push and pull I crave in a good second chance romance. I honest to God LOVED every bit of it.

Zeus is a fighter and winning back the one that got away shapes up to be the biggest fight of his life. They were each other's first love but lies and mistakes tore them apart. But there's a lot more to their story. There's one monster surprise Zeus never sees coming when he knocks on Cameron's door determined to win her back. It sets in motion a turbulent roller coaster of heartache and hope that I never wanted to end. It demands these two characters face everything that tore them apart in the first place and everything that stands in the way of their second chance. It hurts and it's sexy and it's intoxicating and I couldnt get enough.

I loved this book. Sure, Ruin is not without its flaws. i could sit here and list a handful of things i wish were said or done or drawn out, but nothing changes the fact that Ruin was a deliciously angsty, unputdownable, unbelievably romantic story that I ABSOLUTELY LOVED. I love second chance romances. I love love love Zeus Kincaid in this book. I love his delicious words and his sexy smirks and his determination in getting the girl. I love Samantha Towle's storytelling and the way she creates lush romance that cuts deep before sending her reader off completely fulfilled by all of it. By the end of this book, Ruin was easily near the top of the list of my Sam Towle favorites. Ruin is an absolute MUST READ second chance fighter romance that came out of nowhere and knocked me right out with how much I enjoyed it!

4 people found this helpful

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Kassie Marie

loved it felt so real

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2024

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God did i love this book so much it felt so real and i had so many emotions while reading this there love was real and powerful and there was heartbreak but in the end they made it work and love did conquer all ❤️

Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2023

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I actually like the plot. I do kinda of wish we had more before flashbacks to establish the love they both shared for each other, but the present had enough drama and light angst that I was satisfied.

I do wish we had more of Zesus's POV, we only it for one chapter and I really wanted more from him.
I also wish we found the aftermath of the Marcel situation and what they did about the negative press Cam was getting.

Other than that, Gigi was too cute and loved how everything worked out for her and their family.

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Brooklyn

In Love ❤️

Reviewed in Canada on January 25, 2023

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This book made me cry and laugh so many times. The relationship between Cam and Zeus made me realize that you need someone to fight for you as hard as Zeus was when he was reunited with Cam.

I thought that maybe I wouldn't love Cam as much as I did, but she was someone that I thought developed through the story well. She was so afraid to have her heart hurt by Zeus again and that was written in a way that to some could be annoying but honestly for me it brought in more emotion and brought her to life for me. She never stopped loving Zeus, and that showed through her many different emotions through the book and her struggle to be able to forgive.

Now Zeus "the god" Kincade is a man worth risking your heart. He proves through actions that he is there to stay, and it made my heart warm at the fact he was willing to fight to have the woman he loved back in his life. He takes on so much responsibility that it is crazy and no wonder he is who he is. I feel in love with him pretty much from the beginning. I love his nickname he gave Cam "Dove" and the reason behind the name. It is just so beautiful and makes me so happy and have fuzzy feelings. He told her he loved her, and after realizing she needed more than words, he showed Cam he loved her.

I am now going to get a hard copy of this book so I can have it in my collection. Because I am absolutely in love with this story of second chances and true love.

One person found this helpful

C. C.

dolce, emozionante e romantico

Reviewed in Italy on February 1, 2019

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RECENSIONE SUL BLOG LEGGEREROMANTICAMENTE

Ruin racconta della seconda possibilità tra Zeus e Cameron. Dopo quattro anni in cui non si sono mai visti, Zeus incontra per caso Cameron e capisce che ci sono ancora dei sentimenti tra di loro. Solo che scopre ben presto che lei è diventata madre di una bambina, Gigi, e che ha lasciato la Julliard per badare a lei, in più ha due lavori, tra cui uno in un club per adulti. Ah, e che Gigi è figlia anche sua.
Solitamente non amo i romanzi in cui l’eroe scopre di avere un bambino e in cui l’eroina glielo ha nascosto per anni. A difesa di Cameron, però, c’è da dire che lei non glie l’ha nascosto. Anzi, ha provato a dirglielo quando si erano lasciati, ma l’agente le ha detto che a Zeus non importava nulla di lei e del bambino.
Devo ammettere che mi sono piaciuti tutti e due i protagonisti. Cameron è una donna forte che ha paura di essere ferita di nuovo, e lo stesso vale per Zeus. Sapere di avere una figlia l’ha ferito, ma sapere anche perché non ne fosse a conoscenza l’ha distrutto.
Questa lettura è stata piacevole. La Towle trova quasi sempre il modo di intrigarti e di farti continuare a leggere la storia. In più, ho adorato i fratelli di Zeus, infatti non vedo l’ora di leggere il prossimo romanzo con protagonista Ares. Nel totale, darei a Ruin quattro stelle e lo consiglierei alle amanti dei romance, specialmente sport romance.

“Sei stata mia dal momento in cui ti go visto. Questo non cambierà mai.”

- Punto di vista: punto di vista di entrambi, prima persona
- Sensualità: scene hot
- Caratteristiche: dolce, emozionante e romantico
- Stile narrativo: scorrevole
- Tipo di finale: conclusivo

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Kindle-Kunde

Großartiges Buch

Reviewed in Germany on September 9, 2018

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Ich kann es wirklich nur empfehlen. Man sollte es aber nicht in der Öffentlichkeit lesen. Die erste Hälfte des Buches hab ich fast nur geweint und war froh, allein in meinem Zimmer zu sein. So gut ist es. Ich kann es kaum erwarten, die anderen Geschichten zu lesen.

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Angela ~ Jezabell Girl & Friends

A second chance romance which packs a punch!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2018

Verified Purchase

This is one fight that Zeus must win outside of the boxing ring and it's a fight for the love of the woman he spurned but never forgot.

It's a really long time since I've read a Samantha Towle novel and I'm so glad that I decided to take this particular journey with her. I absolutely loved the story and the characters.

I was a little hesitant at the outset when the story started right from inside of the boxing ring. Not a fan of this particular sport, I was a little worried that the focus may be too deeply embedded within boxing but fortunately, this initial scene was brief and merely set the story up by introducing us to Zeus Kincaid as he adds another belt to his world title collection.

From the boxing ring, the story then heads off in an altogether different direction as we’re introduced to GoGo Dancer, Cameron Reed. Once a talented ballerina in training, Cam and Zeus fell in love at an early age after meeting when they were 17 (Zeus) and 15 (Cam) but then Zeus unexpectedly ended their romance just as his boxing career was taking off. With her heart still in tatters years later, Cam is stunned when she comes face to face with Zeus when she finds him stood at the bottom of her podium. Seeing Zeus again is too painful for Cam and she has no option but to resign from her dancing job, which was more of a hobby anyway, and she returns home, to her aunt and daughter, Gigi, assuming that she won’t have to see Zeus again. Zeus is determined to find Cam again though and comes to her house to try to resurrect the love they once shared. When it becomes obvious that a big secret has been kept from him, Zeus is stunned but soon realises that Cam is not to blame for the subterfuge.

Zeus soon realises that he clearly made a mistake when he pushed Cam away all those years before and decides that he wants both her and Gigi in his life long term. Whilst spending time with Gigi, Zeus determinedly works to win back Cam’s affections but she struggles to trust him after the way he crushed her love for him in the past.

Zeus is not only a Greek God, he’s also a God in the boxing ring and also in the way he fights to make Cam see that his love for her is unbreakable, despite his previous misguided intentions. As a result, their relationship is brutally complicated at times and even though Cam can see that Zeus is good for her and Gigi, she still tries everything to push him away. At times, Cam’s numerous rejections of Zeus becomes a little frustrating, especially for this impatient reader, but ultimately, their story is just a long fought battle and one which is in no hurry to claim its prize.

Gigi for me unexpectedly brought the most to this book. I loved her childish voice which is captured within the pages of this story. I also loved Zeus’s brothers and sister and their stories are just crying out to be written as well.

I really did enjoy this book and it’s definitely a story I’d like to revisit. Whilst the drama is palpable and long-winded at times, it’s definitely worth persevering in order to reach its knockout ending!

7 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Fantastic story

Reviewed in Australia on July 11, 2022

Verified Purchase

I'm so happy I purchased this amazing book!
It has a fantastic storyline and I couldn't put it down!
Has highs & lows & everything in between!
I can't wait to read more books from Samantha Towle

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Ruin (Gods Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

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Samantha Towle

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