Title: A song of Wraiths and Ruin Author: Roseanne A. Brown
Site | Twitter | Instagram
Series: A song of Wraiths and Ruin #1
Genre: Young Adut |Fantasy
Length: 480 pages
Published: June 2nd 2020
Goodreads link
Synopsis:
For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts Malik’s younger sister, Nadia, he strikes a fatal deal—kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom.
But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic . . . requiring the beating heart of a king. And she knows just how to obtain one: by offering her hand in marriage to the victor of the Solstasia competition.
When Malik rigs his way into the contest, they are set on a course to destroy each other.
Review:
I want to give this more than five stars, I want to make a new special rating just for this book. I came into this book not expecting a lot and it was a big mistake. Everything about this book is fantastic and well done. The world is so rich, the characters are so three dimensional, the magic is so perfect explained.
It took me a second to get into the story, as everything was new and different but oh Gods was it worth it! It was not your classic enemies to lovers, even if this was what I heard about it at first. This took the trope to a new level. And really I feel this is not a book about enemies to lovers, this is a book about dealing with grief and tackles racism, police brutality and emigration. It is so raw and real, way above anything I read in a YA fantasy book before.
Karina is my new favorite strong female character, she is so nicely done, with flaws, strengths, and room to grief, be angry and grow. I think this was the first thing that amazed me about Karina, and how well she was written, the raw emotions she has, how she is allowed to grieve and be angry, but still, she steps up and gets things done. We, or at least I, more often than not internalize the pain we go through, and seeing it so true and painfully accurate described is everything I ever need and had no idea I needed.
This story was so packed I had no room to breathe, I feel like Rosanne Brown made every word count. Every little moment had its meaning and purpose, no fillers, no dragging along.
All the moments I screamed while reading this book are testimony of how good it was. I wish I was half as good with words as the author is to be able to explain just how good and utterly perfect this book was.
5/5 stars
The Booksnom 