Reviewed by Ankita Shukla for Readers' Favorite

How far would you go to fulfill your forbidden temptation and what price might you have to pay if you surrender to these temptations? Evidently, this is the theme of Ruined by Jw Grodt. Brad Wallace has been a widower for a few years now. He has a son, Jared, who is in his late teens. However, his son's company does not help eliminate Brad's loneliness. He craves companionship; however, he has not been in a relationship since the death of his wife. While walking to his apartment, one day, he sees a naked girl on her deck behind a sliding door. Unable to control his lust, he does something that he would regret for years to come. As soon as the girl noticed Brad, she screamed and passed out. Brad thought of leaving, but his desire to hold her young body is so intense that he ends up raping the girl in her unconscious state. The moment he realizes what he has done, he runs from the crime scene and prays that she does not report her rape to the cops. Little does he know that one day Jared would marry the same girl and Brad would need to work hard to control his sexual desires to have sex with his own daughter-in-law.

The author, Jw Grodt, has done an incredible job of presenting a lonely (and horny) man's desire to get laid whenever he might get a chance. Brad Wallace is not a psychopath. He is an ordinary man who loves his family, misses his wife, and wishes to have a healthy relationship with his son. However, his sexual desires end up ruling over all other emotions. He knows that the path he craves to walk on might destroy his entire world, but that does not stop him from imagining how life would be if he could get his hands on his own daughter-in-law, whom he had once raped. The author has described the emotional turmoil that Brad goes through to perfection. Although I despised Brad for his lack of control, I was able to connect with his thought process. If a reader can connect to the characters of the book, then I believe it is tough for them not to like the book. For this reason, I enjoyed reading Ruined.

There is a lot of sexual content in it, but, given the plot of the book, it is quite expected. There are plenty of twists to keep a reader on the edge of their seat. Before reaching the end, however, I could predict the climax. Nevertheless, the author managed to introduce a little drama that made me wonder if my guess about the end would be right. Long story short, a reader would guess and re-guess the climax until the end. The author has kept the story short and that would keep readers from being bored by unnecessary page-filling drama. Brad's sexual frustration and Jared's love for his father are two main elements of the whole book that kept me turning the pages. Midway through the story, however, I realized that the story was moving in a direction that I did not consider. I would recommend this book to readers who like drama and thrillers.