Read Our Lips! Book Review Blog: 4 Kiss Spoiler Review: Ruby Shadows (Born to Darkness #3) by Evangeline Anderson

Nothing is for free when it comes to demons…a fact that Gwendolyn LaRoux finds out the hard way when she summons Laish, a minor demon from the Shadow Lands to help her cook up a little black magic. Unfortunately black magic has a way of growing and soon Gwendolyn finds herself drowning in darkness. Still, she’s determined to clean up her own mess. But when a creature from the Abyss enters our world and threatens her beloved grandmother, Gwendolyn has to admit she needs help—which means summoning the infuriating Laish, even though she swore never to call on him again.

Answering Gwendolyn’s incantations in a moment of boredom was a mistake for a demon who keeps what little heart he has left under lock and key. Laish immediately fell for the Creole beauty with jade green eyes and creamy, café au lait skin and now he’s determined to have her—no matter what the cost. And thanks to Gwendolyn’s sticky dilemma, the price just went up.
When it turns out that the intrepid witch must travel through the Shadow Lands and close the door she left open to the Pit, she knows at once she can’t make the dangerous journey on her own. Of course Laish is more than willing to act as her escort and bodyguard…for a not-so-small fee. Gwendolyn doesn’t want to use her body as a bargaining chip but the lustful demon will accept no other form of currency. And since her grandmother’s life is at stake, she has no choice. Little by little she must give in to his demands.
As Gwendolyn and Laish travel further and further into the interior of Hell, will he be able to keep her safe? And will she be able to keep her innocence? Or with they lose themselves and each other among the… Ruby Shadows?

My Spoiler Review:

In the third installment of the Born to Darkness Series, we get Gwendolyn’s (Gwen) story. Gwen is the powerful witch who’s so far singlehandedly saved everyone since book one. Finally, we get to see what’s driving her and why she’s doing the most in every book.

Gwen and her sister were left orphans due to a spell gone wrong and were raised by their grandmother. She grew up super close to her sister, so when Gwen’s sister discovers boys and drugs, it takes everything in Gwen to try to save her. But Gwen’s sister can’t be saved by any traditional means and it doesn’t help that her sister keeps going back to her pimp/pusher.

In order to save her sister, Gwen must delve into the dark magic at the risk of her own soul. Still, Gwen’s on the good side camp and tries to help people along the way, but when she pulls Taylor out of the Abyss, Gwen fails to completely seal the door to our realm.

Laish, the demon Gwen summons to help her do dark magic has his hands full with Gwen in more ways than one. Gwen’s spell summoned a minor demon, but since he was bored, Laish (a big deal of Demon) answers instead. He’s instantly mesmerized with Gwen and won’t stop until she’s his.

But there’s just one problem. Gwen’s powers remain intact as long as her purity does, too. The only way she can experience love and keep her powers is if she binds herself to her true love. In other words, no drive-bys or one-night-stands are allowed in this world.

Laish doesn’t know if he can commit long term to anyone, but he sure wants to take a taste out of Gwen and never wastes a moment to let her know this. Still, he keeps things somewhat business and tells Gwen the danger she could be in because of venturing into the Abyss, but Gwen dismisses his warning until a demon attacks her in her home. Now in order to protect the ones she loves, she must venture into hell with Laish and seal the door for good.

But not everything is as easy as it sounds. The journey will be filled with danger and so many twists and turns, it will definitely keep you turning pages very quickly!

We also meet Eyrin, a trapped angel who Gwen frees from hell and delivers to none other than Shadowlock – the warlock from book two who tried to harm Taylor. The ending of Ruby Shadows sets up their story for the next book (Cardinal Sins) and I just couldn’t wait to see the warlock cowboy defend the runaway angel from those who want to keep her imprisoned.

Anyhoo, back to Gwen! I really enjoyed her and Laish’s quest through hell – especially paying the Sin Tax to allow Gwen and Laish passage to the next circle of hell. But for me, the ending was a complete let down. The reason I fell in love with Laish is because of his power, and the fact that this changes at the end doesn’t work for me. Gwen is a let down in some areas, too. I just wanted her to unleash her powers already, and stop being so naive.

All in all, I liked this book – except the ending – and I was really looking forward to the next book in the series, Cardinal Sins. However, that book was stated to be released in 2015 but there’s been nothing at all as far as updates or mentions on it. I would venture to say the author abandoned this series, which is a shame. It was really engaging to read!

Ruby Shadows features: