qraveline's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Blood
Moderate: Torture, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Lesbophobia, Abortion, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Body horror, War, Genocide, and Cancer
tinysierra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
-I love the idea of song magic! That was the coolest part of the book
-Friends to lovers
-polyamory (side characters)
-As other reviews said… it was kind of bland and there was no real build up. It was a decent story but the plot and the romance in it were not really strong.
I recommend Of Fire and Stars over Ruinsong because it still has a sapphic couple, elemental magic, royalty/court politics, a similar scene to one in this book and the romance in that book stands out more.
-Friends to lovers
-polyamory (side characters)
-As other reviews said… it was kind of bland and there was no real build up. It was a decent story but the plot and the romance in it were not really strong.
I recommend Of Fire and Stars over Ruinsong because it still has a sapphic couple, elemental magic, royalty/court politics, a similar scene to one in this book
Spoiler
where the couple rides a horse together. it’s cute lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia and Vomit
Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage
sarah984's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I thought this was a really fun idea for a story, and the singing magic was cool. Everything was tense and the stakes felt high. Most of the characters were interesting.
However, the characters we spend our time focused on are probably the least interesting of the bunch. They spend a lot of time complaining and making impulsive decisions (and then complaining that people don't trust them not to make impulsive decisions) and you only kind of hear about other characters doing cool things in the background. The ending wraps up extremely fast so a lot of the victories don't really feel earned. I get the idea of noting every character’s skintone instead of making special note of who wasn't white, but it really drove home how white the core cast still was so I don't know if it helped.
Also this is a nitpick but if you're retelling Phantom of the Opera and you drop ZERO chandeliers? You're doing it wrong.
However, the characters we spend our time focused on are probably the least interesting of the bunch. They spend a lot of time complaining and making impulsive decisions (and then complaining that people don't trust them not to make impulsive decisions) and you only kind of hear about other characters doing cool things in the background. The ending wraps up extremely fast so a lot of the victories don't really feel earned. I get the idea of noting every character’s skintone instead of making special note of who wasn't white, but it really drove home how white the core cast still was so I don't know if it helped.
Also this is a nitpick but if you're retelling Phantom of the Opera and you drop ZERO chandeliers? You're doing it wrong.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, and Sexual content
starccato's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Abortion, Confinement, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Body shaming, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content
cameronreads's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I really liked the magic system in here - using songs as spellcasting was super interesting and unique. I liked the world as well, and the author did a good job of showing just how awful the queendom was, although I would have liked to see more of the Expelled settlement. In fact, that whole section of the book could have been expanded on, in my opinion. I also would have liked to see more of the rebellion. I don't know if I just love books with loads of POVs, but for me it would have been cool to see from Nolan's POV (not just because he was my favourite character). In general, actually, I just felt like more could have happened. There were practically zero side plots, and considering this book is quite short for a fantasy it wouldn't have been any harm to add some, and I think it would have been helpful to expand the world a little more. Most of the book felt almost like build up, and I was actually expecting it to be the first book in a duology until I got to the end. However, I did really like how the plot progressed, and I was engaged throughout the story. It wasn't entirely unique as uprising plotlines, but the magic system brought something new to the table, and the fact that the nobles were discriminated against by the queen was unique as well. I liked that it was set in court, and that said court was pretty different from most you read in fantasy.
I did really like the main cast, and both the queen and Ren were really interesting antagonists to read about. However, and this is complete personal preference, I did think the romance was a bit lacking. When I was expecting it to be a duology, I was really liking the idea of a slow burn, and thought the hints of romance were being done really nicely, but when I realised those 'hints' were the romance, I was a little underwhelmed. It could have been utilised really nicely and been a great side plot, but it was barely there at all. Again, that's personal preference, but still.
I did really like the main cast, and both the queen and Ren were really interesting antagonists to read about. However, and this is complete personal preference, I did think the romance was a bit lacking. When I was expecting it to be a duology, I was really liking the idea of a slow burn, and thought the hints of romance were being done really nicely, but when I realised those 'hints' were the romance, I was a little underwhelmed. It could have been utilised really nicely and been a great side plot, but it was barely there at all. Again, that's personal preference, but still.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Torture, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Lesbophobia, Cancer, Abortion, Alcohol, and Vomit
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
RUINSONG is a slow burn sapphic tale of falling in love under brutality, and daring to hope for a better future even after being groomed into complicity. The opening chapters are brutal, slowly but inexorably describing a reign of death and torture in which a powerful queen demands complicity and service in exchange for life. The plot is at least 90% slowly inching towards maybe doing something concrete about it while an ever escalating series of discomforts befall the main characters, then the ending is very dramatic and sudden. I refer it to a series of discomforts because the worst stuff happens around Cadence rather than to her (very early on bad things happen to Remi and then keep happening). There's a sense (usually backed up by dramatic asides and tales of woe) that much worse things are constantly happening somewhere to somebody, but since they aren't literally happening to Cadence she's been reluctant to try and change things. I don't have a great sense of what the revolutionaries want other than to not be tortured and killed by the Queen (this is, admittedly, a very sound basis for a revolution so it's okay that other demands aren't a focus of the narrative). I think that I personally prefer books with more specific political intrigue with their revolutions, but that's not what this book is trying to be. The romance is slow burn, since Remi and Cadence don't feel free to do much of anything, let alone broach the topic of being girls who like girls. It barely feels safe for them to be friends, since Remi's very proximity is being used to control Cadence.
The worldbuilding is fine, it's not very complicated because the story invests its detail in the Queen and the two girls, and the people around them. One thing this portrays very well is emotional abuse and manipulation, and the way that a combination of threats plus unpredictable enforcement can be used to break someone down and make everything feel pointless. The story is about whether Cadence will finally have something that it's worth standing up for, and I appreciate how the story shows why she didn't fight for things before. Even if her reasons seem silly or you can imagine yourself doing more in her shoes (some of her fellow characters think they might have done more), the characterization is so well done to explain why she hadn't before, but without excusing what she's done and continues to do.
The worldbuilding is fine, it's not very complicated because the story invests its detail in the Queen and the two girls, and the people around them. One thing this portrays very well is emotional abuse and manipulation, and the way that a combination of threats plus unpredictable enforcement can be used to break someone down and make everything feel pointless. The story is about whether Cadence will finally have something that it's worth standing up for, and I appreciate how the story shows why she didn't fight for things before. Even if her reasons seem silly or you can imagine yourself doing more in her shoes (some of her fellow characters think they might have done more), the characterization is so well done to explain why she hadn't before, but without excusing what she's done and continues to do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Homophobia, and Vomit
Minor: Abortion and Death of parent
spookynerd00's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I thought the concept was beautiful, but I found the plot too rushed. The description made me think there would be more . I found Remi a little annoying, and Cadence was alright but I did not love her. The romance was cute but could have been more developed in my opinion. And the ending was even more rushed than the rest of it.
It’s an interesting world and enjoyed reading about it, but the world and magic system were the best part.
Spoiler
More rebellion and actually plotting by both Remi and CadenceIt’s an interesting world and enjoyed reading about it, but the world and magic system were the best part.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Torture, and Grief
Minor: Abortion and Fatphobia
caidyn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I've been excited about this book since I started hearing about it. A dark, queer story about magic and breaking out of an abusive realm? Sounds fantastic. It fell a bit short of my expectations, but it was still a good read. I'm not quite sure exactly what I expected, but I felt that the book could have used a bit more polishing. Such as, with the worldbuilding and pacing. At times it was an infodump and that really jacked with the pacing. Still, it's a good standalone fantasy that I would gladly revisit one day!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Abortion
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