Summary Of Tricia Mingerink's Destroy

Are you ever haunted by a less-than-stellar moment in your past? Have you ever been given a responsibility you knew you were not qualified to carry out? So have Keevan and Addie, the main characters of Tricia Mingerink’s latest book, Destroy.
Prince Keevan, second son of the King of Acktar (in the days before it was taken over by a tyrant) is quite the ladies man until he nearly goes too far with a servant girl one day and vows never again to take advantage of another person. A year later, when his entire family is killed and he nearly dies, a different servant girl saves his life and helps him flee.Addie is a scullery maid who comes from a long line of scullery maids. When the castle is besieged and she finds Prince Keevan gagging in his bed from a knife wound to the throat, she does not stop to think if she is qualified for the job, but immediately tries to save his life.  Prince Keevan has no choice but to put his life in her hands over the next several months as they go into hiding from the evil Blades. As the prince recovers from his physical and emotional wounds, he has to face the terrifying truth that he is the rightful king and will one day have to take back his throne for
the good of his people.
When I read Defy and first met Prince Keevan, I was immediately dying to know his backstory, so I was ecstatic when I found out that his was the next story to be told.As usual, Tricia did a wonderful job of making me love her characters, Keevan and Addie.
I appreciated the different personalities of both Keevan and Addie, and their chemistry together. Keevan’s past and his wounds make him a gruff and closed-off person at first, he protects a very tender heart. I loved seeing that come out. Addie is quirky, nervous, and talks to herself, especially when she is stressed out about something, which I love because I do that too. She also does not hesitate to go above and beyond the call of duty, regardless of how qualified she feels for the job, which is very admirable in a
heroine.
I loved the parallels between Keevan’s inner turmoil and Leith’s from the other books. Keevan struggles with insecurities about himself because of his poor choices in the past, his father’s failures as king, and the scars he bears from the attack that killed his family. Re-reading the scenes between Keevan and Leith from a new perspective made me ache all over again for different reasons. I love it when I can sympathize with both characters plights in a conflict!
My only complaint is that this book was not long enough. I really wish it had been a full-length novel. I felt there were some things that were rushed in the development of the story. For instance, Keevan’s “former self”. When we first meet him he is immediately regretting his mistakes and vowing to be a better person. Which is great, but I felt that in order to fully appreciate his struggle to be different we should have seen more of his struggle. I also really, really wanted to see more of the developing relationship between the two main characters. There was enough development that it was still believable, but I wanted to see and experience more milestones in their story as their forced acquaintance turned into friendship and then into something else. Such is the struggle with novellas: having to tell so much in so short a time.
If you love the Blades of Acktar books and want to know more about Prince Keevan and how he escaped the attempt on his life, you will very much enjoy reading this book. You will enjoy falling in love with these new characters, and experiencing your favorite characters through new eyes. For my part, reading this book made me want to go back and re-read Defy. If you have not read the other books, stop what you are doing right now and return when you have finished all three. Shame on you for reading spoilers. I loved the characters, I loved the backstory, and I loved the writing. I look forward to seeing more of Keevan and Addie in Book 4 alongside Leith and Renna.