This book left me speechless, it is a brilliant example of fantasy interwoven with betrayal and romance while keeping you on your toes through every page.

I was thrown for so many loops, found so many twists that shocked me, and had more wait what I just read moments than I can count, and everything led me to a fantastic experience reading this book. Have I mentioned yet that I love it?

Natasha, Braxton, and Elodie are back for another installment in this fabulous series and I couldn't be happier, through Ruling Destiny we see them growing, being tested, and having to learn for themselves that things aren't always what they seem.

All of this while opening up to each other, learning to trust, and seeing what can happen when you trust the wrong person.

Through friends lost and found our group of time-traveling art thieves find themselves in situations they never expected over and over again and each time they surprised me.

I found myself questioning all of our characters, could I have been wrong about E? Is B really evil and just a very good actor? Is N a time traveler or a timekeeper? Will K ever find his way? So many questions and now the wait for the answers begins. Bravo Alison Noel this is bloody fantastic and I need more.

Thank you to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this E-Book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Natasha is still unraveling the secrets within Gray Wolf Academy. She isn’t sure who she can trust. She knows that Arthur is rich and his rule is law, Killian is hard to read, and Braxton has her heart. Natasha is learning to be a better liar herself, she has to since she travels back in time to steal treasures to bring back to her present. She also has a gift that the other trippers don’t … she can see through time. Is there anyone she can trust? What is in store for her during this next adventure?

Ruling Destiny is the second book in the Stolen Beauty series. This fantasy adventure takes place shortly after the conclusion of the first book and Noel jumps right into a new story. Natasha must question everything she knows and everything she is learning along the way. What historical figures will she see as she goes to Renaissance Italy and Regency England? Goodreads doesn’t have a third book listed (yet), but once you finish this book, it is evident that Noel is planning more adventures for this heroine.

Alyson Noel was a new-to-me author with Stealing Infinity. It’s a time-travel fantasy with romantic elements, and while I’m not a time-travel fan for the most part, it came highly recommended, so I wanted to see what the hype was all about. The writing was excellent, the plot was intriguing, and the author wrote the characters in such a way that I still wasn’t 100% sure how I felt about any of them, which meant I couldn’t stop with book one, so on to book two I went.

Unlike the first book, Ruling Destiny hooked me from the outset and moved at a faster pace for its entirety. There were some parts where the author delved into history more than I cared for, but again, it’s all about time travel, and some people love that kind of thing. I skimmed those (very few) parts. And I still haven’t quite figured out how I feel about some of the characters, yet some I finally know I don’t like but wonder if they might redeem themselves at a future point, and some I do finally understand and like who they’ve been revealed to be. With this book ending on a cliffhanger, I eagerly await book three.

NICUnurse’s Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Alyson Noel's Ruling Destiny is the second installment in the authors Stolen Beauty series. The story’s jumping-off point is an academy called Gray Wolf Academy for teens who travel through time to collect/steal valuables, but it gets much deeper than that when we discover the heroine is linked to the (real-life) mysterious Antikythera. The Antikythera mechanism is an Ancient Greek hand-powered orrery, described as the oldest example of an analogue computer used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses decades in advance.

The story, which takes place 3 weeks after the first installment, is told in the first person narrative by Natasha Clarke. When Natasha was 9 years old, her father disappeared, her mother broke down, and Natasha all but gave up on doing well in order to be the adult in the family. After a series of events that didn't exactly go her way, Natasha was recruited to Gray Wolf Academy. The Academy is located on a private island, and owned by a extremely wealthy man named Arthur Blackstone who trains students for time travel missions.

The 90 plus students who call Gray Wolf home are separated by colors. Green means you are a newbie, Yellow means you've did well, and Blue is where a core of students like Elodie, Braxton, Jago, Oliver, and Finn belong. Natasha has been tasked by Blackstone to bring back certain items for Antikythera but he never did explain to her why she was so special. Natasha's next mission is to find where the Moon is and bring it back from Renaissance Italy in 1497. In order to do so, Natasha meets some interesting historical individuals which makes for a much more enjoyable story.

While Natasha is trying to figure out what Arthur is really doing, her relationship with Braxton is about to get tested. Especially after Braxton is replaced by Killian. Natasha's biggest thing going for her is that she has the capability to not only see through the past, but if she touches an item, she can see the history of who held that item. Natasha has to also deal with Elodie who seems to be Arthur's favorite, and either a thorn in her side, or an ally that wants something from Natasha that she hasn't yet revealed.

Especially the reason why several students like Song seemed to have disappeared without a trace, and nobody seems to care that they have left. This book reveals some shocking and curious secrets while jumping from the present day to Regency England to Renaissance Italy. The author wants you to read the prologue so that you are not left out in the dark once she drops the reason by Braxton and Killian are so interested in gaining Natasha's trust and maybe her love as well. Natasha's ability to touch an object and see what happened finally gets some much needed explanation after she touches a certain pair of boots. Things are about to get really interesting. But can she truly trust either Elodie or Braxton or Arthur for that matter?

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

First and foremost, Ruling Destiny has to be read after Stealing Infinity, and I highly suggest reading them one right after the other. It’s been a year since the first book came out, and a refresher read will do wonders when it comes to certain plot lines and nuances.

Second, the books are grittier, with elements (including an attempted rape) that are better suited to more mature, older teens.

That said, Ruling Destiny certainly has the same devour-worthy essence as its predecessor. The pacing is strong, though it doesn’t quite have the same new luster, making it a fairly strong second book in the series.

Once again, time travel, tarot cards, numerology, art, history, mystery, intrigue, adventure and romance all play a role with some bits working better than others. For instance, readers without a background in tarot might get a bit lost there while others may get a bit bogged down in history. Still, there’s enough that overlaps to keep interest and fill in the gaps.

In Ruling Destiny, Natasha is still the main character, and she seems to have figured herself out a bit better. She’s grown in confidence and isn’t afraid to push some boundaries. And it’s fun to solve puzzles alongside her.

There’s a love triangle that comes into play in Ruling Destiny, which creates a nice bit of tension, but the love interests — Braxton and Killian — remain under developed. I really wanted more depth from both of them.

One of the highlights of Ruling Destiny is its cliffhanger ending, which makes me more than a little excited for the next book in this series. Noël has created an enticing setup there that I look forward to exploring.

This is book 2 in the Stealing Infinity series. Natasha is a time traveler. She and her friends travel through time finding pieces of the puzzle that they are trying to solve. Can they solve the puzzle, or will this travelling continue forever?

First let me say (though it feels a little obvious) this is the second book in the series and they should absolutely be read in order! This picks up from the first books cliffhanger, and does not slow down at all!

Truly. This is just really great YA fantasy! I read Alyson’s Immortals series back when I was in high school and loved it. Naturally, this new series was on my radar. I actually think that I might like this new series even more though! I don’t read as much YA as I used to, but the art, magic, and tarot just works for me and I’ve been sucked into this completely! The plot and relationships really amp up in book 2, the mysteries get darker and deeper and I can’t wait for the next to see how everything turns out!

Natasha continues to try to solve the mysteries of Gray Wolf and determine how they connect to her father. As she proceeds with the quest to restore the Antikythera Mechanism, she discovers that it may be linked to her ability to see through time. And what she learns is not just dangerous for her but for everyone and everything.

The book starts with an interesting prologue, somewhere in the past with a dead body, and... the intrigue sparks to life and accompanies you through the narrative. A narrative with a the-reader-is-my-confidant attitude. Even though it is 1st person POV, it remains insightful when it comes to the rest of the characters and you get a feel for them and all that is happening.

The mythology continues to impress, as do the worldbuilding and the puzzles which are as engaging as ever. There is much fun to be had reading about the time-traveling trips and they are genuinely exhilarating. The unfurling of the plot is enticing and the pacing is good. Generally, I like the protagonist's thought process, not only for the puzzle-solving but for the clarification of truths, events and her feelings.

There were some minor tweaks, in my opinion, needed to make the book as perfect as it can be: some scenes seem to be missing bits and others dragged a little (one fight on a trip I thought would never end), while other things I wish were explained more, but at least less of Natasha's musings are as repetitive this time around.

Utterly surprising and certainly cinematic, this sequel amps up the stakes and makes us excited for the next installment.

Ruling Destiny is the action-packed, angst-filled sequel in the Stealing Infiinity series. All of the amazing characters from book one are back. I particularly enjoyed getting to know Braxton and Killian better. The world building continued to be excellent and the timetravel was handled very nicely. Ruling Destiny picks up where Stealing Infinity ends with Natasha dealing with the aftermath of the Duke's attack, while simultaneously attempting to start a relationship with Braxton and mending her friendship with Mason. Ruling Destiny is full of secrets, lies, and betrayals; the reader has no idea who to trust throughout the entire book. I found myself cheering for different characters at various points throughout the novel. I enjoyed Ruling Destiny as much as, if not more than, Stealing Infinity. It is an absolute fantastic sequel! I highly, highly recommend this series. I love the characters, the world, and the timetravel. It is so difficult for an author to get timetravel right and Alyson Noel absolutely does!

I enjoyed this follow-up to Stealing Infinity, but I have to be honest (of course).

This one was a little confusing to me. There was a LOT going on, and I found myself lost a couple times. I did enjoy all the references to art, and I liked the character development, particularly with Nat and Braxton. But there were still a couple times with Nat that I just wanted to shake her and ask WTF ARE YOU DOING?!?!?

Overall, I enjoyed it, and I will read the next one.

NOTE: If you have not read the first book in this series, there may be some spoilers in this review.
Having read the first book in this series, I was anxious to get my hands on the second one to see where the story would lead. We are thrown back into the world of time travel with the characters we have come to know: Natasha, Braxton, Kilian, Mason, Arthur. As we found in book one, Arthur is still looking for his pieces to build his machine.
Natasha travels and finds what she needs but becomes increasingly suspicious of what exactly this machine will do.
Killian and Braxton still battle for Tasha's attention, and we are not sure who we can trust and who we cannot. Both holding secrets back from her.
The story is intriguing but once again we're given a lot of tarot card information which I just cannot seem to grasp (maybe it's me?). I feel like this particular plot point is very hard to follow. I also feel there are plot holes, which often happens in time travel books because of the nature of the way they need to be written.
The relationship between Natasha and Braxton and Killian is fairly tense. It's up in the air who she will end up with, for sure.
I still enjoy the time travel element. The descriptions of the clothing in the time periods are spot on.
There is definitely more mystery and tension in this book than there was in the first book. And the darkness of the Grey Wolf continues to intrigue me.
This book definitely tied up a few of the pervious book's loose ends while also introducing new areas of mystery,
Of course the cliff hanger ending has me wanting the third book now.

I appreciated going back into this unique world that Noël has created and the writing style definitely reminded me of her previous books that I read when I was a teenager. I wasn’t really a fan of the love triangle that was written into this book and wish that it wasn’t included. The last twist does still have been intrigued to read book two though.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Thank you to Entangled Publishing, LLC, Entangled: Teen and NetGalley for an electronic ARC of this novel.

Ruling Destiny is the second book of the Stealing Infinity Series, which follows Natasha, who is slowly uncovering the secrets of the Grey Wolf Academy and why she is there. Trying to deal with her emerging romance with Braxton, she is still intrigued by the charismatic Killian. She and her colleagues are able to take "Trips" into the past to seemingly steal expensive jewelry and pieces of art, but the main benefactor, Arthur, has additional plans for Natasha.

Ruling Destiny is an entertaining book, much like the first novel, Stealing Infinity. This book uncovers more about her past and her destiny. It's well written and seems fairly unique. I wish Noel fleshes out Natasha's relationship with her friend Macon, but I hope it's covered in the next one - looking forward to seeing where this series goes.

Really enjoyed this solid second entry of the 'Stolen Beauty' series. Author Alyson Noel gives readers more of everything that made 'Stealing Infinity' great: more action, more mysteries and secrets, more art and tarot puzzles to decode, and more romantic tension between our main character and her two love interests. I'm excited to continue the story, when will book 3 be released?

#RulingDestiny #NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

Ruling Destiny amps up the tripping, the art, the secrets, and even the spice and I adored this second installment in this gorgeously imaginative series.

A lot of times with book series the second book can become the “filler” however, with Ruling Destiny I think I actually liked it even more than Stealing Infinity which is so rare for me. Alyson Noel really dives head first into the adventure and suspense in this one while still moving the story forward.

It is also hard not to spoil anything for the series as a whole, so I’ll tread lightly here but my heart breaks for Braxton in this. I’m not 100% sure why since every character has their own share of lies and secrets, but I felt like Braxton’s heart constantly got trampled on and I adore him and all the pieces we see of him.

Tasha is still trying to figure everything out in this installment between the boys, Arthur, Elodie, friendships, Song… there are just so many secrets and deceptions to wade through. However, we do get a lot more insight to some secrets and witness some beautiful time traveling. I am definitely excited to see where the third book goes.

This book continues a bit after the first book with Natasha needing to find the next piece to continue building the device for Arthur. Except now, Natasha is beginning to question a lot of things, especially those she works with, and has to figure out who she can trust and whether she should be finding these items to help Arthur or not.

I have such mixed feelings with this series. I LOVE the concept and the story idea. I love the time travel, the heists, and the odd sort of found family in this series. My biggest issue is with the characters, specifically Natasha.

In the first book, I did not like Natasha because she never questioned anything. She would ask the wrong questions and just go along with everything. She never thought "hey this is probably not a good idea". In this sequel, she's the same, only a bit worse, because she FINALLY starts to ask the right questions and questions everything, but she still just goes along with everything despite feeling unsure, and super paranoid. She starts to just look at everyone and everything with suspicion, and yet still just won't do anything about it. Like with Braxton, that just frustrated me so much. I mean clearly there are secrets everyone has, and yet she demands none of them, just says "okay it's fine", when it's really not!

My other issue with this sequel is that there was such a missed opportunity for a twist with a new character in here that could have happened. It would have made the series and story soooo much more interesting and exciting! And I am not one for love triangles, but seriously, I was all for it. Not to mention an awesome redemption arc.

Overall, it is well written, and I love visiting the past and time traveling through this book. I am curious to know how it ends, and so I do plan on reading the next book and see if maybe Natasha improves.

I received a free digital copy to read. Thank you to NetGalley, and the publishers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ruling Destiny is the second book in the Stolen Beauty series and picks up right where Stealing Destiny left off. I loved everything about this book and finished it in less than a day. I couldn't stop reading! The world that the author has built is captivating to me along with the history, time travel, numerology and tarot references. Natasha is determined to uncover secrets and lies and make sense of things while deciding who she can and cannot trust. This book has many layers, and I don't want to give any spoilers, but I will say it was such a satisfying second book and I cannot wait for the third book.

While I really enjoy this series thus far, this sequel just fell a little flat for me. It didn't feel like a whole lot actually happened, especially compared to the first book. And the tropes in this one were some of my least favorite; love triangle and miscommunication.

We do get a lot of plot twists and more character development, which is great! I love to see these characters interact and build more intricate relationships. We're left on another cliffhanger, and I am looking forward to the next one.

I was unaware that this was a sequel. I tried to read it but because I haven't read the first one yet I was lost. I will be going to read the first one then this one and will update.

I received an E-Arc by the publisher and Netgalley for an honest review.


This second book picks up from the first book. What will happen next?

Natasha tries to focus on simple things but that does not happen. One thing after another and yet she realizes there are agendas everywhere. What is the truth? What is the lie? Who has what secret? Will Natasha be able to figure it all out? Who’s her enemy and who is her truth? I liked how she had to figure things out. It made the story interesting.

I loved the history and time traveling and magic aspects of the story!! It was so intriguing to me. The tarot cards were a nice touch. It felt like a puzzle. Twists and turns!

There is a triangle love interest here which I could see coming. I don’t mind them once in a while. I enjoyed both Braxton and Killian but while reading you have to be thinking one of them is a villain right? You gotta read the book to find out. I liked both characters but I think I leaned towards more to Killian. I blame the accent!

So if you are looking for mysteries, drama, time traveling..then this book is the one to read. You should probably read the first book “Stealing Infinity” then this one! The book comes out June 6, 2023!

Psstt…aren’t the covers pretty though??