Monday, August 1, 2022

Bad Guy by Ruby Dixon [Review]

Bad Guy (Risdaverse, Villains in Love) by Ruby Dixon
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: May 1, 2021

Risdaverse
The Alien's Mail-Order Bride
Prison Planet Barbarian
Pretty Bride
When She's Ready
When She's Married
When She Purrs
When She Belongs
When She Dances
When She's Bold
When She's Lonely
When She's Pregnant
When She's Merry
When She's Fearless
When She's Wary
Bad Guy - Paperback | Kindle
Worse Guy

Villains in Love
Bad Girl
Bad Guy
Worse Guy
Evil Twin

Ruby Dixon
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):
Crulden the Ruiner is the name of a fierce gladiator who’s broken the rules…and broken anyone that approaches.
It’s *my* name.
It’s a name that strikes fear into the hearts of all….all except the small human female who comes to clean my cell and glares at me the entire time.
My new owners want things from me. They want me to play in their games. They want me to win battles for them.
Well, I know what I want in return.
I want her.
And I don’t care who I have to destroy to get her.

But Mina doesn't want to be owned...and certainly not by one as terrible as me. How does a bad guy woo the girl when all he knows is death and destruction?
Thoughts on Bad Guy: Hoo-boy. Crulden the Ruiner is...well, he's kind of a hot mess. Considering he was artificially created in a lab to be a killing machine, this isn't his fault. I mean, the guy was created to kill and maim and bring destruction whenever he steps into an arena. It's coded into his DNA and he's very much a product of his creation.

Except he isn't exactly. He might strike out without provocation (although he really was provoked considering the circumstances he found himself in when first waking up) and go a little rampage-y upon occasion, but he's not completely terrible. In fact, he's surprisingly gentle when it comes to dealing with Mina. Everyone might expect him to play the bad guy around her, but he just can't do it. Not with her.

As for Mina, she's a human who's sort of treated like an unwanted pet. Lord Sir doesn't quite know what to do with her. He can't outright get rid of her, but he doesn't want her around. Which puts her in a weird place. She's smart. She's managed to fly under everyone's radar for the past few years. She has no intention of remaining an enslaved human forever. Being given to Crulden as an incentive for good behavior is pretty much her worst nightmare. Not because of who he is or what he could do, but because it doesn't allow her to fade into the background.

No lie, after the dire warnings about Crulden sprinkled about, I had no idea how he was going to redeem himself enough to deserve a happy ending. The dude is a menace and a killer and...well, this Crulden is a cinnamon roll whenever Mina's close by. And the reasoning for his different attitude makes sense. In other words, I didn't know if I'd like Crulden, but he managed to sway me toward his side. *thumbs up*

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