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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️⭐️ | Disappointing Execution of a Promising Premise
Exquisite Ruin had everything I should have loved — Romantasy elements, a touch of mythology, forbidden enemies-to-lovers tension, and a high-stakes maze with deadly trials. It sounded like a dream setup. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t live up to the potential.
The pacing dragged, and the story often felt confusing and disjointed. I found myself rereading passages trying to make sense of what was happening, only to still feel lost. There were far too many loose threads by the end, and parts of the plot seemed to defy logic without offering enough explanation to justify them.
That said, I did enjoy the ending — it had emotional weight, and the sacrifices the characters made for each other were genuinely moving. I just wish the rest of the book had delivered with the same clarity and impact.
Overall, Exquisite Ruin was a frustrating read: full of promise, but ultimately lacking in follow-through.
First of all, many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book.
The premise of this book really showed excellent potential — a mysterious labyrinth, trials, with a daemon and human witch trapped inside. I loved the Minotaur myth retelling concept, but ultimately it lost me somewhere along the way.
The writing felt clunky and the plot was slow and repetitive. Admittedly it picked up at around the 60% mark but it was too much of “too little too late”, by which point the only character I really cared about was the animal companion, Pogli. The ending didn’t do much for me either.
The world-building and magic system was great, I loved the way the labyrinth shifted and changed along the way to confuse and challenge the main characters.
Unfortunately too much of this book was a slog for me.
The premise of this book really showed excellent potential — a mysterious labyrinth, trials, with a daemon and human witch trapped inside. I loved the Minotaur myth retelling concept, but ultimately it lost me somewhere along the way.
The writing felt clunky and the plot was slow and repetitive. Admittedly it picked up at around the 60% mark but it was too much of “too little too late”, by which point the only character I really cared about was the animal companion, Pogli. The ending didn’t do much for me either.
The world-building and magic system was great, I loved the way the labyrinth shifted and changed along the way to confuse and challenge the main characters.
Unfortunately too much of this book was a slog for me.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
I had been quite worried about this book based on it's overall reviews but I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed it.
I thought it was an interesting take on the labyrinth myth and I appreciated the fact that though it's clearly drawing directly on Greek myths and folklore, that there were changes so you didn't feel like you were just reading yet another retelling. Even the things as small as name changes helped with this.
I loved the fact this was such a limited tale as well, both in regards to the number of characters and the confined location. It's rare an author can have so few characters and pull it of but I felt like this book managed it well. I enjoyed the chance to get to know the characters so intimately and the small reveals being drip fed through flash backs were intriguing.
The atmosphere of the maze was eerie and quite well built upon and the differences of each layer in style and type of danger meant the repetition of the general idea of making it through the labyrinth didn't feel draining or annoying, at least to me.
The twist was unexpected and enjoyable and I thought it gave a nice depth to the story and another interesting layer to the relationship between the FMC and the MMC.
Interested to see what the sequel for this will be.
I thought it was an interesting take on the labyrinth myth and I appreciated the fact that though it's clearly drawing directly on Greek myths and folklore, that there were changes so you didn't feel like you were just reading yet another retelling. Even the things as small as name changes helped with this.
I loved the fact this was such a limited tale as well, both in regards to the number of characters and the confined location. It's rare an author can have so few characters and pull it of but I felt like this book managed it well. I enjoyed the chance to get to know the characters so intimately and the small reveals being drip fed through flash backs were intriguing.
The atmosphere of the maze was eerie and quite well built upon and the differences of each layer in style and type of danger meant the repetition of the general idea of making it through the labyrinth didn't feel draining or annoying, at least to me.
The twist was unexpected and enjoyable and I thought it gave a nice depth to the story and another interesting layer to the relationship between the FMC and the MMC.
Interested to see what the sequel for this will be.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really only picked this up because I love the two YA books from this author, and while the writing was beautiful, I would have never picked this up if it was written by literally anyone else.