Reviews

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

tildy08's review against another edition

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3.0

Although I enjoyed this book, I found it VERY confusing trying to keep all the characters straight especially with the soul swapping. The writing at times was weird…cliche but not…3/5 stars and I plan on reading the next one. The storyline is pretty griping so I want to see what happens next!

will_o_the_wisp's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

casein's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

centophennni's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

canaanmerchant's review

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3.0

The writing is good and I can appreciate the work that went in to building out the world and the pieces necessary to carry out the plot. If you’re into this then it has a lot of

That said,

- hard for me to get into a book where everyone bar the main character is cruel, even when they’re good.

- complicated plots are one thing. Following along in a society where people are constantly reborn, no one is actually related to who they say they are, and a society that seems to hinge on inheritance but also just doesn’t makes things needlessly complicated.

arrk33's review

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5.0

I’m confused. Told 90% by split flashbacks to 2 different times. Disorienting to figure out which story is happening. The climax was….anti-climactic at best and also confusing. We moved from just a story about a boy to gods and demons and reincarnation really fast and I don’t feel like I was prepared for it. Will continue with the next book since I already own it but still not sure how I feel about it.

gilmargirl's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

katieinca's review against another edition

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3.0

We (book reading partner and I) we were in the mood for a long, sweeping, epic fantasy series... with an ending. And the final one of these just came out! It's got a scrappy thief protagonist, and dragons, and demons... wait, demons? Yep, demons. Okay.
We liked the action, the humor, and the structure. It alternates between two timelines, but it's very clear which one you're in. There's a looking-over-your-shoulder narrator/compiler who provides footnotes that are either snide, informative, or both. There's a wide variety of skin colors and hair types. The sky is a funny turquoise color, and there may be multiple moons. So that's fun.
We did not so much like some of the vastness. All the places! All the history of all the places! All the lineage! Plus
Spoilersome characters swapping bodies, or being reincarnated
. It feels like maybe the book expects you to keep track of more of this than is reasonable. The one of the appendices (yes, plural) is a family tree, which I kind of wish I would have found sooner, except a) spoilers and b) it doesn't help with the emperors, who you have to look up in the glossary.

jikb's review against another edition

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Framing device was irritating and broke my immersion, characters were bland, story didn’t spark my interest

kimbordon's review

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Main character started to grate on my nerves.

Thought I was going to be reading about more aged characters. 

Dialogue felt a little too contemporary in this setting.

Didn't really like how the story was being told from two different points in time, especially when one narrative was picking up stream.