Ruins by Amy Taylor is a Greek tragedy set in modern times in Greece. What starts as a summer in Greece ends in a couple on the brink.
This book is a slow-burning tale that starts about a couple on a dream summer vacation, then turns into a nightmare. Ruins focuses on a couple whose marriage is going through a rough patch, and they decide to invite a young woman into their lives. This woman ends up creating havoc and makes the couple question everything.
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Ruins Overview
Title: Ruins
Author: Amy Taylor
Pages: 306 Pages
Publish Date: August 12th, 2025
Genre: Literary Fiction
My Star Rating: 4/5 stars! (I loved this book and would recommend it to most people.)
Grab your copy here: https://amzn.to/41hCow6
Synopsis From Amazon
At a crossroads in their lives, a couple arrives in Greece to house-sit for a friend. Emma is searching for a meaningful next step beyond work or starting a family, and Julian is struggling to come to terms with the failure of his academic career. Their visions for the future seem to be pulling them in different directions, and they hope that this summer away will help them mend their frayed connection.
Emma and Julian’s plans take an unexpected turn when they meet Lena, an enigmatic young Greek woman, who presents an opportunity for them to explore their relationship in uncharted and excitingly risky ways. However, as the heat in the city grows stifling, Emma and Julian find themselves far more entangled in Lena’s life than they’d bargained for. Engaged in a three-way struggle for control, Emma, Julian, and Lena are suddenly faced with consequences far greater—and far more explosive—than they could have predicted.
Voyeuristic and thrilling, Ruins delivers the drama of a modern Greek tragedy while exposing the tensions between privilege and power, desire and intimacy.
My Review of Ruins by Amy Taylor
As always, thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Amy Taylor for this Advanced Reading Copy of Ruins in exchange for my honest review. This book had me questioning what I would do if I were in their situation. It was such a beautifully written book.
What starts as a fun and exotic novel becomes a dark and uneasy story about a couple trapped in a nightmare of their own making. The whole time I kept thinking, “Oh man! What have you done?”
I loved the little flashbacks that gave more light to Julian and Emma’s relationship. They showed up throughout the book, and I thought they added more layers to the story. Also, I loved that it read like a Greek tragedy set in Greece in modern times.
Emma and Julian were not a perfect couple, but they were both trying to move forward. I enjoyed the story being told from both Julian’s and Emma’s points of view. It gave insight into what each person was thinking. It also helped to see just how much Lena was manipulating them.
Amy Taylor writes with such eloquence, and her prose is incredible. I can’t wait to read more from her.
The only reason this book didn’t get 5 stars is that it features my least favorite trope. I won’t reveal the trope because it contains a spoiler, but every time this trope appears, I want to close the book. Ruins is probably one of the few books that pull this trope off well.
This is a great summer read if you are looking for a summer drama that feels like the walls are closing in on the main couple.
Grab your copy here: https://amzn.to/41hCow6
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Final Thoughts
Ruins is a great book to read when you want to read a tale similar to a Greek tragedy. It’s a great book to read to close out the summer. If you have any questions or comments on this book, let me know in the comments below. I love hearing from all of you!
Also, if you liked this review, don’t forget to share it. I appreciate all the love and support.
Thanks for reading,
Kel
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