I did enjoy this book as Ivy tried to weasel her way into Lola’s life because she found out she was responsible for killing her parents. Well Ivy might think she has the upper hand but she is wrong. There are other players trying to take Lola down. Unexpected twists!

Thank you @bibliolifestyle @kensingtonbooks for the gifted copy. ( )

Like a Lifetime movie where most of the characters are psychotic, liars, despicable, or all three.
Not at all believable, and the ending is left open for a sequel.
It is is entertaining in a funny way. Perfect book to read for noisy airports, beaches and pools as concentration, is not required, to blow through this book. ( )

Well that was an unexpected ending. I love how Shanora Williams lulls you into believing we are just learning Ivy's story, then BAM! she throws you for a loop and you are left wondering how you missed all the signs. I will definitely looks for more books written by Shanora in the future. ( )

Slow burn but interesting listen. Ending left me wondering. ( )

The Perfect Ruin by Shanora Williams is both a book that compels you to keep reading at the same time that it makes you question whether you should. All in all a fun read but one I am hesitant to recommend to very many people.

First of all, I don't need "likeable" characters, some of the greatest classics lack such characters, so that isn't an issue for me. I thought Williams made them interesting enough to make me want to know what would happen with them next. What didn't work for me was the tremendous disconnect between what types of mental illnesses result from what and how they generally manifest. I don't need perfection, some license is given, but to seemingly rewrite the entire field just undermined what the characters did.

Once you tell yourself this is a bit of a fantasy thriller, not like the genre but as in this is a made up world rather than a fictionalized version of our own, it can be quite fun to read. The writing is fine, I do think some of those criticizing the writing are really talking about the plot points and their convolutedness.

I will likely only recommend this to people I can explain how to approach it. I can think of a few people who enjoy reading books that are weak in plotting and stretch the suspension of disbelief well beyond breaking but are also page turners for one reason or another.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Goodreads. ( )