Destroyed by Indie Black & Sienna Cousins

Destroyed is the second installment in the Tainted by Ruin Trilogy from Indie Black and Sienna Cousins. This book brought great energy and continued developing this story in such a phenomenal way. I often feel a bit of a lag in the middle books of a series, but we got several new elements in this part that really helped keep the story moving.

Indiana is back in a big way. This book starts out right where we left off, but our girl is struggling to figure out if our cliffy from book one actually happened, or if it really all was just a dream. Unfortunately, she finds out pretty fast that all is not good in her little world. As if trying to figure out how to get back in the good graces of Maddox, Otis, and Weston isn't hard enough, Indiana's foster parents, Sloane and Keaton, are getting more sus by the minute. Jameson's attitude continues to blow hot and cold, and even best friend Jen is getting a bit weird. Presley is just a creeptastic as ever, but Tinsley's new boyfriend is having an impact on her attitude, and even she is a bit off. Jagger seems to be one of the few steady characters in this book, never wavering in showing his interest for Indiana.

This installment includes several new POVs, including flashbacks to brother Brett's teenage years, and adds in some chapters from Maddox, Weston, and Jagger, in addition to the Anonymous character we met in book one. While it seems busy to be in so many minds, I think Indie and Sienna did an amazing job moving amongst the different perspectives. There was a purpose to each POV, and the chapters played really well off each other. Indiana's relationship development with all her perspective suitors gets hot and heavy. She's come a long way since living the better part of her teenage years in a basement. We got another heart-stopping cliffhanger at the end of this book that has destroyed me (hehe, see what I did there?).

I love the direction this storyline is going and can only hope the end of this book is going to come out differently, but I guess we'll have to wait until book three to find out.

Character development: 5/5

Dark elements: 4/5

Steamy scenes: 5/5

Overall storyline: 5/5

Triggers: Yes, indeed - bullying, self-harm and mental health struggles, abuse (including that of a minor), dead bodies