I was not sure what to expect from this book. Emma and Julian go to Greece so that Julian can finish his publication. Emma has left her job and advertising and is that loose ends. She gets the idea that she wants Julian to have sex with another girl while she watches. This is where the plaque is tricky. Julian ends up getting the girl pregnant and this causes all kinds of problems. This book is a good study of relationships and how mistakes can destroy a relationship and help find new horizons. I recommend this book for all who like a good story.

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Publishing for the arc!

**3.5 stars** I really wanted this to be a 4-star read but that ending did not work for me. I loved everything about this up until the end.

Emma and her husband, Julian find themselves stuck in a marriage rut and end up in Greece to house-sit for a friend. There, they meet a Greek woman–Lena, who sparks a newfound interest in their relationship where they explore their intimacy in new ways. As the three of their lives entangle, their arrangement grows increasingly complicated and soon carries dangerous implications. Emma and Julian struggle to leave these extenuating circumstances but are hit with several obstacles–all while working on their marriage.

I loved Amy Taylor’s prose.While the narrative occasionally went off on tangents, I still found myself drawn to the story. It was almost like watching a trainwreck. You can’t help but continue reading to see what happens. It was such a peculiar, messy situation and I haven’t read anything like this. It felt like watching an indie movie–which as I’m writing this review, is in development to becoming a film featuring Sebastian Stan and Vanessa Kirby! (Also, I couldn’t help but wonder if the author is a Shadowhunters fan–Emma and Julian are key names in one of the series and both characters share similar physical descriptions: Emma with blonde hair, Julian with wavy brown hair.)

The beginning of the novel was a bit slow but it was necessary for Emma’s character progression. That said, it could have been cut down so that the ending had more attention. I almost wish the ending was more dramatic than it was but it still had me on my toes as this was a fast-paced read.

Though the ending didn’t quite land for me, I still recommend this book to those who enjoy a realistic thriller. I’m also excited for the film adaptation!

Really interesting premise and loved the unreliable characters. Ending fell flat to me it seemed unnecessary.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Dial press for providing me with this ARC. This was a great story that was provocative yet incredibly insightful, set in a beautiful location. The writing style is beautiful but never stuck up. I’d highly recommend this for a gritty summer read!

I recently traveled to Corfu and Athens and was excited to read this book set in those places. It was the story of a couple who made decisions that kept pulling them apart. I was stressed reading this and waiting to see what would happen next. If you like an introspection of a relationship with a lot of tension then you might enjoy this book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I took a chance on this book as it had an interesting premise but it turns out I didn’t enjoy it. With that said, I think someone else may love it. Thank you Netgalley for the arc.

this felt like a criterion collection film, something that éric rohmer would direct, all sun-slick tension and unbearably polite conversation until someone quietly detonates their life. i can't tell if that's because the setting is greece or because the characters are insufferable in a distinctly academic way: well-read, deeply insecure, and desperate to be seen as morally good despite being wildly out of touch. it is for these reasons that i loved it.

it's no surprise that sebastian stan is attached to the upcoming adaptation. that man has never turned down a role where he gets to do a sex scene. vanessa kirby? she can do anything she WANTS. honestly, this has all the makings of a very sexy, very uncomfortable prestige drama.

this isn't a book about a baby, not really. it's a book about female desire. about what happens when a woman reclaims her own sexuality after years of playing the docile, accommodating wife. i loved that julian didn't even want to sleep with anyone else. that this was entirely emma's desire - not for polyamory, not for chaos, but for some kind of control. watching him sleep with lena becomes its own form of expression, its own way of being alive again.

that said, i wasn't totally sold on the condom mishap. and every few pages, they're offering lena money, but they don't fully commit to their paternity test demands before they start shelling out money? that part was fuzzy. the dynamics between lena and darius and julian and emma feel like they want to say something sharp about gentrification and class disparity, but the novel never fully commits to that critique. and to be honest, darius came off a bit cartoonishly villainous at times, more archetype than person.

julian, to no one's surprise, was the least compelling part for me. despite the fact that he's struggling with his thesis, his whole arc boils down to "wants a baby" and then doubling down on that in the wake of emma's miscarriage even though, we learn, they'd initially agreed to remain childfree. his tendency to frame all of emma's choices as byproducts of her trauma rather than legitimate shifts in identity is frustrating, though very true to life.

emma, on the other hand, is fascinating. her internal world is layered and uncomfortable in the best way. her evolution isn't clean or redemptive - it's messy, selfish, defiant. i didn't completely buy julian's ending, but i bought hers. and honestly, that was enough.

this book is voyeuristic and slow and claustrophobic and morally queasy. but it wants you to feel like you're spying on something private. if you're into books where no one is truly likable but everyone is interesting, and where desire curdles into something thorny and alive, you'll find plenty to sink your teeth into here. this is literature for people who like their drama sun-drenched and existential. and yeah, i'll be seated for the film.

3.5 Stars

This was an interesting story about a married couple in their thirties who had agreed not to have children, but when Emma unexpectedly got pregnant...but then miscarried...her husband Julian realized that he did in fact want children. Emma was secretly relieved. With this backline, the story proceeds with this London based couple housesitting for a friend in Athens, Greece. Emma is happily unemployed at the moment, satisfied to drink in life, although Julian's collegiate type friends regularly query her on what she's "doing". Julian is endlessly holing up in university libraries in a quest to finish writing important papers for his academic career. One evening the couple is out dining at a bar/restaurant and an older, very confidant, sexy woman lures Julian to dance with her. Quite unexpectedly, this becomes a turn on for Emma. In a decision that becomes a critical point in their evolving marital relationship, Emma is on a quest to find a woman for her husband Julian to "get it on" with while she watches. This is the backdrop for the book with all its riveting, sensual moments and catastrophic consequences.

This was a very thought-provoking read, with clashing emotions as this marriage crossed what would be a red line for most couples.

Thank you to the publisher Random House / The Dial Press who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

Personally, did not enjoy this story. The first half of the book was promising and exciting and the second half was a mess. If I never again read a story about someone falling through a balcony railing it will be too soon. (Overdone, exhausted, etc) The characters were all so annoying (saying “i’m not going to do that” and then LITERALLY IMMEDIATELY DOING IT) and had zero redeeming qualities. Giving this 2 stars because I did highlight a few passages throughout the book. I do think this author has a lot of potential for future books. Thanks to Netgally and the publisher and author for this ARC.

This was a sexy summer book, chock full of more action than I expected!

When Emma and Julian opened their marriage while staying in Greece for a month, they never imagined the consequences. But the consequences are real, and they must figure out how to navigate something they never expected, all while trying to keep their marriage in tact.

I really really liked this book! The Greek setting was luscious and made it feel like I was there with them. The characters were complex and multi-faceted, which one would hope they would be in a book like this. I felt bad for all of them for different reasons throughout the book, and was shocked at the ending--I did not think that's how it was going to resolve!

I always love a book without a happy ending, that plays into the consequences of being reckless, so this really delivered on that.

there’s a very cerebral nature to this book that i really liked, until i didn’t. the ending was a little bit of a nothing burger, but appreciated the suspense and intrigue while we had it.

julian and emma have reached a stalemate in their marriage. they’ve come to greece to house sit for a friend and, while there, they meet lena who will quickly shake things up in their lives.
while reading, i couldn’t help but think “this is a bad idea!” about fifty times. i wanted to finish the book to know where the author was taking us but i definitely was not fully invested.
a quick read that left me feeling annoyed.

thank you to random house publishing house for providing this book for review consideration via netgalley. all opinions are my own.

Amy Taylor’s Ruins hits like a shot of ouzo on a hot Athens night. This isn’t just another relationship drama – it’s a sticky, sultry descent into desire that’ll make you squirm in your seat.

The setup is simple: Julian and Emma, a pair of well-heeled tourists, invite local woman Lena into their bed. Bad idea. Really bad idea. What follows is a masterclass in slow-burn tension as their carefully curated lives crack like ancient marble in the Mediterranean sun.

Taylor’s writing grabs you by the throat. She turns Athens into more than a backdrop – the city breathes and sweats alongside her characters, its crumbling ruins standing guard over modern ruins-in-the-making. Every scene drips with heat and tension, building toward an ending that feels both shocking and inevitable.

Let’s be clear: these aren’t particularly likable people. They’re privileged, self-absorbed, and prone to terrible decisions. But that’s exactly the point. Taylor isn’t interested in making you comfortable – she wants to make you think. About power. About desire. About the ways we destroy the things we claim to love.

Following her debut Search History, this second novel proves Taylor isn’t just a rising star in Australian literature – she’s already burning bright. Ruins is sharp, sophisticated, and sexy in all the right ways. It’s the kind of book that makes you cancel plans just to read one more chapter.

Sure, you might struggle to connect with these wealthy protagonists and their champagne problems. But if you can get past that, you’ll find a razor-sharp exploration of modern relationships that cuts deep and leaves a mark.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars – A seductive, unsettling read that proves Taylor is the real deal.

Writing this review without revealing too much of the plot is quite challenging. However, this book, contrary to my expectations, turned out to be an unexpected surprising reading experience.. And something unlike anything I’ve read before!

Emma and Julian, the main couple in the story, captivated me with their intriguing and flawed characters. It became evident early on that not everything is as it appears. Once Lena is introduced, the narrative takes a thrilling turn, leading to a wild and unpredictable ride. Lots of parts in this book really make you wonder what’s the right thing to do if you were in this situation.

While I had anticipated a more explicit and spicy storyline, the literary writing surpasses my expectations. It reminded me of my reading experience with “The Rachel Incident” a few years ago.

If you’re seeking a captivating plot with subtle twists and turns, this is a good one!

The blurb got me!

But overall struggled with the execution of this one. Shallow characters. Too much in spots; not enough in another spot. Veryyy slow burn.

I have been putting off this review because I kept thinking I might find something positive to say about this book. However, I was unsuccessful. Simply put, I.did.not.like.this.book. The characters were shallow, vapid and narcissistic. They were completely careless with another person's life, wondering only how their complicated relationships with her would affect and potentially ruin their lives.

The plot was slow for the first two thirds of the book. Things got interesting, then we’re resolved too quickly. The last part was a discourse on how they moved on to new lives. What a terrible commentary on Western cultural values.

I can't believe they are making a movie out of this book. Probably all the sex (; which will be much more graphic than described in the book) made it salable.

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Did not like this. It was readable and I was too far in once I realized what was going to happen and I just wanted to finish. The first part of the book is fun and somewhat interesting with the relationship dynamics of Julian and Emma but it very quickly devolves into something else and it just felt so pointless by the end. The characters were hollow and everything that happened to them was just bizarre.

Emma and Julian are spending the summer in Athens, house-sitting. Emma quit her successful, yet unfulfilling job, while trust fund baby Julian struggles to find his path writing. Their marriage is unraveling at the seams, until Emma finds herself drawn to the thought of watching Julian with another woman. Enter Lena, a local twenty-something, eager to become part of the plan. Everything is going great until it’s time to stop. Emma and Julian agree it’s time, but Lena does not. Lena has some secrets, & her nefarious brother, Darius, will do anything to get what he wants.

Ruins is an aptly chosen title for this novel, nodding to the history of Greece, as well as how a few bad decisions can leave the lives of many in “ruins”. The story was well written, yet felt kind of predictable. I enjoyed the descriptive nature of Amy Taylor’s writing, feeling like I could picture myself in the shadows of Emma’s path. I found the thriller part of the story addictive, and found the conclusion to be satisfying… enough. But that’s life, isn’t it? Some things just end the way they do, without greater meaning or impact. I Amy Taylor did a great job reminding us all that life doesn’t always wrap things up in a silk bow. Sometimes our stories wrap with twine from the local fish market, and we get on with life.

3.5 / 5 stars

I just finished reading this book. The plot was absolutely fantastic! It was quite the page turner, and I could not put the book down once I began reading it. I can't wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

I was not a fan of this book. Normally I don’t feel the need to actually like characters in books - I’ve enjoyed many a story where the main characters were terrible. Unfortunately, I found Emma, Julian (and Lena to some extent) absolutely unbearable.

The writing was technically good, but it felt very self aware and self conscious (not in a good way). I could feel the labor that went into every sentence. Sadly - this was not a good read for me.