Publisher: Self Published
Date of Publication: December 21st 2021
Genre: Romance, Suspense
Purchase Links: Amazon
Goodreads Synopsis:
What if surviving a murder attempt, a heartbreak, and the loss of the family business wasn’t the hardest thing you ever faced?
Carol is the sole heir to a broken empire, Ricardo the newest celebrity in the rock world.
When they came together, their fire blazed. When their past caught up, they were left burned, scorched to the ground.
When a psychopath decides its payback time, Carol is faced with an impossible choice – save her son or sell her life.
Ricardo wants nothing to do with the woman who played him for a fool but finds himself moored by circumstances, half-truths, and memories of the past.
They say time can heal anything. So far, time’s brought nothing but complications.
This is a standalone romantic thriller told in alternating timelines and points of view. Warnings include character overdose and mentions of child abuse.
First Line:
Lurking under the shadow of a tree and the mouth of a nearby alleyway, they watched.
from fame to ruin: a romantic thriller standalone novel by jina s bazzar
When I read the blurb for From Fame to Ruin, the book caught my interest. I love reading romance and suspense, so when I get a book that combines them, I usually read them. So, it was a given that I would read From Fame to Ruin, and oh boy, am I glad I did!!
From Fame to Ruin is the story of Ricardo and Carol. They met at Heathrow Airport, and after their flight to Rio is canceled, they spend a passion-filled weekend together. When they land in Rio, Carol’s fiance (well wannabe) meets her and destroys whatever relationship was forming between them. Fast forward four years later. Carol’s almost 3-year-old son is kidnapped when he is out with his nanny. The kidnappers are demanding a ransom that Carol cannot afford. But she knows who can. She approaches Ricardo for the money, and after that, all hell breaks loose. Who kidnapped Gabe, and will he come back alive? Will Carol and Ricardo forgive past hurts and move forward with their lives? And why has the kidnapper targeted Carol?
From Fame to Ruin is a fast-paced book that starts off running and doesn’t stop. I am glad that it is fast-paced because any other pacing wouldn’t have done the book justice. There is no lag which I was very thankful for.
From Fame to Ruin goes back and forth in the timeline before merging towards the end of the book. The author was able to seamlessly go from 4 years ago to the present with no hiccup. I was very pleasantly surprised. She also clarified if you were in the present or the past at the start of each chapter. So there was no confusion about if you were in the past or the present.
I liked Carol, but man, she grated on my nerves during parts of the book. I understood why she was so upset with Ricardo. I would have been too. But her hatred was over much during crucial parts of the book. I wanted to reach into the book, shake her and say, “Dudette, just let him help.”
I liked Ricardo too. But, I felt that he jumped to conclusions and assumed things way too fast. I get that his past relationship hurt him but still. And I did want to smack his face for what he said and did to Carol at the music studio. Unfreakingcalled for.
The real MVP in the book is Otto. I hope that he gets his HEA in another book!! The talk he gave to both Carol and Ricardo was fantastic, and I wished he had done it way earlier in the book.
As the author warned in the blurb, there is child abuse in the book’s first half. The author didn’t go into how Gabe was abused, but she described the aftermath. My heart broke for him, and I will admit, I cried.
I did figure out two of the people who were involved in the kidnapping. The third, though, was random. I honestly thought it was going to be another person (who was mentioned in the book).
The end of From Fame to Ruin was action-packed. The author was able to tie everything together and give an insight into why a very powerful man protected Carol. And the epilogue was one of the cutest that I have read to date!!!
I would recommend From Fame to Ruin to anyone over the age of 21. There are sexual situations (actual sex is not described), violence, and language.