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Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
86 reviews
kim_kv's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I. loved. this book! Couldn't stop reading. Yes, I predicted some, but it was surprising/well done enough I didn't mind. It wasn't really a romance primarily but it worked for me. What make this 5 stars for me - it managed to be both creatively magical and fantastical and also be so real. The descriptions of the main characters' feelings/experiences including of grief/pain, anxiety, being bullied, re-discovering yourself, etc. really resonated with me. So to have that and also have this strong fantasy world and trope-studded plot (in a good way) was awesome. Mid-way through I realized this was kind of a fantasy take on How to Lose a Guy in 10 days and I didn't hate that. Excited for the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Death of parent
kayaj's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin is a fantastic YA fantasy debut, on all accounts. It does everything well: the worldbuilding, the characters, the plotting, the magic. On the other hand, it doesn’t quite excel at any of those aspects either.
let’s talk about the things i liked!!
- The folklore! I enjoyed all the different West-African inspired myths and legends come to life. I really loved how the author incorporated it into the world, with there being different temples: fire, water, sun, earth, and life. Since I’m pretty ignorant, all of this was pretty new to me!
- This book FLEW by. While the pacing was slow at times, I was genuinely just so invested in this world. There were chapters of the Trials, chapters with court politics, and chapters with magical discoveries. I also thought it was well-plotted for the most part? I guessed the big plot twist without much effort, but it was still enjoyable.
- I absolutely adored the representation in this book. Yes, it has a cast of diverse characters, but there’s also focus on one of our main characters, Malik, who has panic attacks. The author put trigger warnings at the beginning of the book too so heck yeah for that!
okay. i DO have some personal issues with this book, however.
This is a book that thrives in pushing forward the plot by way of our two main characters. The side characters are just sorta…there. I liked some of them, but I never felt truly connected to them either. Because this book relies so heavily on its main characters, let’s talk about them!
Malik was such a freaking cinnamon roll. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. It was so very refreshing seeing a humble, soft male character. He also suffers from panic attacks, and the way he deals with them is just so realistic??? Like, props to the author for including that. I also just adored his relationship with his two sisters.
Malik was such a freaking cinnamon roll. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. It was so very refreshing seeing a humble, soft male character. He also suffers from panic attacks, and the way he deals with them is just so realistic??? Like, props to the author for including that. I also just adored his relationship with his two sisters.
Karina…is my biggest issue with the book. Her chapters were technically more interesting! But her character. It’s been so long since I found a main character I truly didn’t enjoy reading about. She’s both clever and stupid, incessantly obnoxious even at her most vulnerable moments, and terribly frustrating.
And that’s the thing: this book hinges on its two main characters. Everything from the romance to the high stakes is driven by them. If you don’t like one, it’s hard to fully appreciate the story. For example, the enemies-to-lovers trope is my favorite! But I can’t ship it if I don’t like half the ship!
With that in mind, I also struggled with understanding the rules of the magic system. That could just be because I listened to it on audio (and uh…we all know how that goes when it comes to me) but I was definitely more than a little confused as to why certain characters could just use magic to do anything? Like, there’s a point where Malik goes from conjuring up a simple illusion to suddenly being able to cast invisibility over multiple people with zero training or consequences. I’m hoping that this is explained better in the sequel!
To summarize, I definitely enjoyed this a lot! I think I would have loved this more if I’d actually liked Karina. Overall, I’d give this 3.75 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Grief
Moderate: Violence
kharpstead's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
monicalaurette's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“Do not underestimate the strength it takes to be kind in a world as cruel as ours.”
I am so upset with myself for how long it took me to get this book, and then to start reading it after acquiring it because this book was so good. I don’t even know if I could accurately describe in words what I really liked about it, and I have notes!
One aspect of this book that I really loved was Malik’s anxiety. I loved how real it was and I was able to relate to the feeling each time. “Breathe. Stay present. Stay here.” When I first read that as the tool Malik uses for his anxiety, I found myself closing the book and rethinking my own panic attacks. If I had followed those rules before, my senior year of college may have been easier to handle. And when Adetunde gave him the elastic to help I fell in love with him. Which made the ending that much harder.
The characters in this story were so well-flushed out and truly individual to me. And being so flushed-out it helped move their individual arcs across while not completely rewriting a character (which I’ve seen). They were each able to grow, change, adapt, but still stay themselves and fight for the things most important to them, even if that thing changed over the course of the book, it was still a driving force for Karina & Malik.
So many twists in this book that I didn’t see coming, characters that I loved in the beginning that turned out to be on the wrong side and I had to rethink my choices; at one point I even looked down at my notes and saw that I wrote down how much I liked a character after they were revealed...like damn. Hit me in my darn soul.
“I don’t think you’re weak for being scared. I don’t think you could be as strong as you are if you weren’t.”
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin receives a 5-star rating from me. The world building was amazing, and never something that was ‘too much’ or overbearing to me while reading, I can’t wait to see more of it in the next one (please release soon!).
One last thing I want to say, because I thought it was funny, was that the three sibling’s names were in alphabetical order; I don’t know if anyone else saw that, maybe it was done on purpose. Either way, it gave me a chuckle. LMN: Leila, Malik Nadia.
“But the fear that centuries of brutality had instilled in his people propelled him forward.”
There are things I want to add to this but can’t get the right words written out, like how Eshra is an occupied/colonized land, and the Eshrans are a hated people for it. It brought a whole new level to the story of the siblings and I know my words on it won’t do the sentiment justice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Vomit
chelseawrites21's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
After a spirit adducts his sister, Malik must win a contest, emerge as King, and kill the Crown princess for his sister's freedom. Meanwhile, struggling with the death of her mother, Princess Karina seeks the heart of a king to resurrect her. Yet, against all odds, the two fall in love with each other.
Pros
+Malik personality. You don't see much soft bois in YA. Malik was so soft and adorable and empathic. It nice change from these brooding bad boys about we always see.
+anxiety rep. The anxiety rep is so good especially when Malik had a panic attack. I am so glad to finally see some good mental health rep. I especially since love or anything else didn't cure his anxiety by the end.
+competition. I like the idea of the Champion competition and the different Aligned champions
+the twists and turns at the end redeemed the book for me and made me look forward to reading the sequel.
+history. Learning some of the history and how it all came into play at the end was interesting.
Cons
-slowpaced. I feel like the focus is so heavy on emotions and not enough on the characters task. I feel like that got nothing done until late in the book.
-Karina. Karina was so immature and infuriating to read about. She was constantly making rash decisions in her hot headness. She was also pushed everyone away and damaged her image. I mean, I know she's a teenager dealing with a lot of unprocessed grief, but that did make it any less frustrating to read. She gets better by the end but it doesn't erase the first half of the book.
-infodumps. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a history textbook. Characters would record history of the city and while it was interesting, I was left wondering what the importance of it was.
-development. Character development didn't come until exactly 65% percent of the book.
-lack of chemistry. The protagonists spend so time apart for more than first half of the book. Their chemistry felt rushed and sudden.
This book was different than I thought it would be. It was more tame. I thought it would have more action and less dialogue.
Pros
+Malik personality. You don't see much soft bois in YA. Malik was so soft and adorable and empathic. It nice change from these brooding bad boys about we always see.
+anxiety rep. The anxiety rep is so good especially when Malik had a panic attack. I am so glad to finally see some good mental health rep. I especially since love or anything else didn't cure his anxiety by the end.
+competition. I like the idea of the Champion competition and the different Aligned champions
+the twists and turns at the end redeemed the book for me and made me look forward to reading the sequel.
+history. Learning some of the history and how it all came into play at the end was interesting.
Cons
-slowpaced. I feel like the focus is so heavy on emotions and not enough on the characters task. I feel like that got nothing done until late in the book.
-Karina. Karina was so immature and infuriating to read about. She was constantly making rash decisions in her hot headness. She was also pushed everyone away and damaged her image. I mean, I know she's a teenager dealing with a lot of unprocessed grief, but that did make it any less frustrating to read. She gets better by the end but it doesn't erase the first half of the book.
-infodumps. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a history textbook. Characters would record history of the city and while it was interesting, I was left wondering what the importance of it was.
-development. Character development didn't come until exactly 65% percent of the book.
-lack of chemistry. The protagonists spend so time apart for more than first half of the book. Their chemistry felt rushed and sudden.
This book was different than I thought it would be. It was more tame. I thought it would have more action and less dialogue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Self harm
anna_23's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Moderate: Self harm
megloveswords12's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Violence
Moderate: Xenophobia
arkenst0ne's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
5.0
I read this for a buddy read and wow, it was hard to put down and keep to the schedule! The world of Sonande instantly drew me in - the author is great at immersing you in the scene. The griot called me to Solstasia and I'm not sure I've left yet.
One of the things I really loved about starting this book was the page with potential trigger warnings. I'll include them below, but the fact they were just included as if it were normal was great to see.
Karina was instantly a delight. I love her snark and slow journey to responsibility. "Hire uglier stable boys." XD She's definitely a reluctant heiress and I found myself rooting for her in spite of her occasional childishness. I cannot wait to see what she does in the sequel.
Malik - oh, Malik. My heart hurts for him. Things go south so fast at the beginning of the story and he spends most of the book trapped and desperate. Despite that, he's for sure not helpless. ;) And the final challenge...well can't say anything because spoilers!
I spent most of this book being completely wrong and it was fantastic. ASOWAR will keep you guessing and screeching, so go read it!!
One of the things I really loved about starting this book was the page with potential trigger warnings. I'll include them below, but the fact they were just included as if it were normal was great to see.
Karina was instantly a delight. I love her snark and slow journey to responsibility. "Hire uglier stable boys." XD She's definitely a reluctant heiress and I found myself rooting for her in spite of her occasional childishness. I cannot wait to see what she does in the sequel.
Malik - oh, Malik. My heart hurts for him. Things go south so fast at the beginning of the story and he spends most of the book trapped and desperate. Despite that, he's for sure not helpless. ;) And the final challenge...well can't say anything because spoilers!
I spent most of this book being completely wrong and it was fantastic. ASOWAR will keep you guessing and screeching, so go read it!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Self harm
nicolewhopickedthisbook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5
Oh my gosh, this book was so freaking good!! That ending?!?! Can’t wait to read the second book and get to the “lovers” part of this “enemies to lovers”
The first part is a slow build but once you hit the first plot twist it’s just non stop action.
Karina did have to grow up super fast and her struggle with making decisions and “acting like a sultana” sometimes pushed the people closest to her away to her detriment.
There were many similarities in this book to other YA Fantasies but I didn’t mind them.
Waywardathon Prompt: Hookman (lore or mythology based)
Black Author Readathon Prompt: Fantasy/Paranormal
Oh my gosh, this book was so freaking good!! That ending?!?! Can’t wait to read the second book and get to the “lovers” part of this “enemies to lovers”
The first part is a slow build but once you hit the first plot twist it’s just non stop action.
Karina did have to grow up super fast and her struggle with making decisions and “acting like a sultana” sometimes pushed the people closest to her away to her detriment.
There were many similarities in this book to other YA Fantasies but I didn’t mind them.
Waywardathon Prompt: Hookman (lore or mythology based)
Black Author Readathon Prompt: Fantasy/Paranormal
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent