REVIEW: ‘These Ruthless Deeds’ by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas

 

Our brave heroine, Evelyn, is back! Will she be able to live a more honorable life or will death always follow her?

These Ruthless Deeds brings us back to an intriguing world set in Victorian London, where there is more than just society rules to worry about. All of our favorite characters from These Vicious Masks return, determined to live more honorable lives after the destruction of their previous actions.

The blurb:

England, 1883. Still recovering from a devastating loss, Evelyn is determined to use her powers to save other gifted people from those who would hard them. But when her rescue of a young telekinetic girl goes terribly wrong, Evelyn finds herself indebted to a secret society devoted to recruiting and protecting people like Evelyn and her friends.

As she follows the Society’s orders, healing the sick and embarking on perilous recruitment missions, Evelyn sees her problems disappear. Her reputation is repaired, her friends are provided for, and her parents are newly wealthy. She reunites with the dashing Mr. Kent and recovers the reclusive Mr. Braddock (who has much less to brood over now that the Society can help him to control his dangerous power). But Evelyn can’t help fearing the Society is more sinister than it appears. . .

Although each power is slowly reintroduced, I recommend re-reading These Vicious Masks or checking out this recap. The beginning will be less confusing as the story picks up where the previous book left off. Evelyn and Miss Grey are continuing their search in looking for other gifted people.

Their current rescue attempt of a young telekinetic quickly goes horribly wrong. Evelyn and her friends soon find themselves inside the Society of Aberrations being offered a proposal they might not be able to refuse. A new element is introduced into this already intriguing story as we learn more about the Society, who are they?

As well as the Society, there are a lot of new characters introduced as the story continues! We see familiar faces as well, such as Evelyn, Mr. Kent, Mr. Braddock, Mae, and more. I didn’t think it was possible for me to love them more than I already did, but I fell even harder for these lovable characters! Evelyn is still a brave heroine, but more flawed as she deals with her grief. Mr. Kent is still charming as ever, and Mr. Braddock is still amazingly brooding. Also, there are plenty of swoony moments in this book! I continuously questioned what team am I even on here?

The new characters are just as great! The cast of characters are incredibly diverse, and you’ll be able to connect with at least one of them. I won’t spoil their powers, but they all bring something new and fun to the story.

As the story continues, the Society slowly gains their trust but just as they do they begin to discover more about the people they work for. Once again, the family/society drama mixes well with all the action! There is plenty of drama in London’s society, but the action takes up more pages this time around! I couldn’t stop turning the pages as it continued revealing all this death and destruction. Probably makes me a little bit evil? I have no regrets, though.

I may love These Ruthless Deeds a little bit more than These Vicious Masks. The writing from Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas continues to grow and be brilliant! They make such a great team. I always find problems within two authors writing a story, but these two obviously share one brilliant mind. The outcome of their writing is amazing. I must know all their secrets!

As the story wraps up with one crazy final act, readers will be left on the edge of their seat until it’s all over. If you found the ending of the previous book brutal, just you wait! My jaw was left wide open. If you loved These Vicious Masks then check out the sequel, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! There are plenty of plot twists, revelations, and fun throughout the pages! These Ruthless Deeds felt more its own outside of the X-Men and Jane Austen inspiration, too.

If you haven’t checked out this series then I highly recommend it to fans of fantasy or historical fiction! You’ll instantly fall in love with these lovable characters and their journey!

Overall thoughts

5
Plot
Characters
Writing
Theme/Message

These Ruthless Deeds holds a steady pace of introducing new plot points while growing ones in the previous book. There are twists and revelations that will constantly have you on the edge of your seat! Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas are still a fantastic team, and their writing has only grown since These Vicious Masks. Each of their characters brings something different to the story, and are all lovable! They are constantly questioning what they will do to protect the people they love.

"And she is the reader who browses the shelf and looks for new worlds but finds herself." - I'm a writer who enjoys telling you all about the things I love, which includes a lot of books!

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