Reviewed by NicoleDisclosure: This ebook was provided by the author in exchange for an HONEST and not necessarily positive review. This is the third instalment of Reine’s Ascension series and just like its namesake these books just keep going higher and higher in my estimation. The momentum pushes forward, the excitement escalates and the characters development progresses in every possible way. This one follows on from the cataclysmic events of the previous Oaths in Blood and Hell is about to spew forth and reign on earth which is where our protagonist steps up to do battle with her band of merry men…well, merry lycanthrope, angels and Greys anyway. The opening scenes are something out of a Hollywood blockbuster horror movie, sinister and thrilling and just portrays how utterly fearless and empowering Elise is, the lengths she is now willing to go to in order to fight for humanity. Elise is however still ultimately struggling with her champion mantle. Our ever-reluctant heroine really steps up to the plate in this beauty of a book none more so than when in the opening sequence of events where she helps liberate trapped human slaves. Her conscience is starting to make a lot of decisions for her now rather than her indifferent ‘I should probably help here because it’s expected of me’ usual stance on things. Ruled by Steele is a hell of a lot more violent and blood thirsty than the previous ones and that’s saying somethin’. I has a lot of descriptive writing rather than an abundance of dialogue between people, so we’re getting a kind of 300 slow motion blood spatter type of deal in imagining the battle scenes which to me is pretty awesome as what generally happens in these books is a whole lot of build up that fizzles out just when it should be kicking some lethal demon ass. That’s definitely not the case here. But the missing or rather scaled back dialogue kind of detracted from the experience of the book for me just a little bit because I like a lot of interaction between my characters. As with the first introduction of James I’m still on tenterhooks to discover if he and Elise get their happy-ever-after or at least if James gets absolution from his past mistakes with her and she reaches a level of forgiveness but Elise and James are such great complex characters and James indeed is one of those great multifaceted characters, believing in the greater cause but causing greater pain or destruction in order to accomplish what he thinks is right. So is he ever really allowed to be labelled a good guy? Summer, Nash and the werewolves all round out a catalogue of characters and if you haven’t associated with them before or even read the first two books, it would be quite easy to fall by the way-side on who was who and why exactly so many side characters appear and steal a good chunk of Elise and James limelight. And maybe that’s the point S.M Reine wants to make. Maybe the Ascension series isn’t supposed to have one hero/heroine standing alone, maybe the point is that a battle can’t be waged or won without a lot of effort and aid from your supporting army, and like I’ve said before we never truly have a shining example of a female and male hero, they’re flawed and for being so inhuman they all harbour very real human characteristics and tendencies. Ruled by Steele is another shining example of paranormal writing at its best. When Elise is in Hell you can pretty much feel the heat through Reine’s depiction and when you’re in battle you can feel the adrenaline pouring through you as if you were involved. I honestly hope this series goes on for at least another couple of books and my hope is too that the Elise/James love saga gives me a satisfactory conclusion. Amazing stuff. took a little longer for me to read this one, it's not that it wasn't a good book, just didn't have the time to read :( So for the book.....this does contain some spoilers. I'm bummed that Logan didn't decide to take Elise's offer, thought he would be more of a character with his change in future books, but he's just walking away. Who knows maybe he'll show up again when his mind is straight. Hate how James just show's up to save the day and leaves Elise more confused. Was hoping in the back of my head (heart) that somehow they could've saved Seth, or had Seth become an angel to provide more guidance. Have always read books with angels who want to help humans, here they only help when they're existence is threatened. So that's a diff take. Looking forward to reading the next one to see how the characters pan out.
What do You think about Ruled By Steel (2013)?
OMG! Love it! Can't wait for the next one; have to speed read them all again before number 4!!
—thespainwinner
Not the best of the series but if shows promise of getting better.
—Kim
