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danielled75's review against another edition
4.0
Ruin of Stars is the second book in the Mask of Shadows duology. The book picks up right where Mask of Shadows pick up. Sal is now the Opal for the Queen had been granted permission to seek out the people responsible that helped kill his family.
Revenge, magic and assassinations, the internal struggle of right and wrong, if killing makes you just as bad a person or it can break you and change you. These are all things Sal struggles with during the story. Sal was doing everything in their power as an Opal to potentially stop another war and finding out the truth about Shadows and magic.
Maud seemed to have a more vital role this time around which made my happy, she’s snarky, strong and honest. She tries her best to keep Sal in line despite everything they do against her advice.
There is a good amount of action and killing in this one, but not as much as the first book, I guess since there are fewer people out to kill Sal since they are now the Honorable Opal.
One issue I had was that yes, we know that Sal is gender-fluid, but it felt like it was more forced this time around and every time it could mentioned when discussing the different nations and how they feel about those “outside of the normal.”
The best part of the book in my view was the Epilogue, did not expect that ending.
Revenge, magic and assassinations, the internal struggle of right and wrong, if killing makes you just as bad a person or it can break you and change you. These are all things Sal struggles with during the story. Sal was doing everything in their power as an Opal to potentially stop another war and finding out the truth about Shadows and magic.
Maud seemed to have a more vital role this time around which made my happy, she’s snarky, strong and honest. She tries her best to keep Sal in line despite everything they do against her advice.
There is a good amount of action and killing in this one, but not as much as the first book, I guess since there are fewer people out to kill Sal since they are now the Honorable Opal.
One issue I had was that yes, we know that Sal is gender-fluid, but it felt like it was more forced this time around and every time it could mentioned when discussing the different nations and how they feel about those “outside of the normal.”
The best part of the book in my view was the Epilogue, did not expect that ending.
kestrelfire's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
achilleanshelves's review against another edition
4.0
(3.5 stars, very nearly 4!)
I enjoyed Ruin of Stars more than I did its predecessor. I loved the pacing, the additional world-building and the character work done in this book! The politics deepened from the previous book and the stakes felt a little more personal and, as a result, a little higher. This was a very easy book to sail right through. The reason I didn't rate it higher is because I personally like a more immersive world in regards to description which was somewhat lacking in this series.
I highly recommend picking up this duology!
I enjoyed Ruin of Stars more than I did its predecessor. I loved the pacing, the additional world-building and the character work done in this book! The politics deepened from the previous book and the stakes felt a little more personal and, as a result, a little higher. This was a very easy book to sail right through. The reason I didn't rate it higher is because I personally like a more immersive world in regards to description which was somewhat lacking in this series.
I highly recommend picking up this duology!
ameserole's review against another edition
3.0
OMG IS IT OVER? FOREVER?
Ruin of Stars was so fun! Ugh, I missed everyone from the first book so I didn't really think twice before diving into this audiobook. Not quite sure if I liked this one better or worst than the first one, I'm way too lazy to look it up, but I know that I enjoyed the crap out of it.
With each chapter, we get farther into the Sal's world. It is filled with so many things - magic, love, and a whole bunch of stuff you should worry about. Well, maybe not her because she's an assassin and such. That being said, I had no idea how things were going to turn out. Which is why I couldn't put this book on pause or down in any way, shape, or form. I just wanted to know what was going to happen relationship wise and everything else.
In the end, it was bittersweet. Yes, I was happy with how things went down and ended. Yes, I'm sad because now it's done and over with. I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life and I need help!
Ruin of Stars was so fun! Ugh, I missed everyone from the first book so I didn't really think twice before diving into this audiobook. Not quite sure if I liked this one better or worst than the first one, I'm way too lazy to look it up, but I know that I enjoyed the crap out of it.
With each chapter, we get farther into the Sal's world. It is filled with so many things - magic, love, and a whole bunch of stuff you should worry about. Well, maybe not her because she's an assassin and such. That being said, I had no idea how things were going to turn out. Which is why I couldn't put this book on pause or down in any way, shape, or form. I just wanted to know what was going to happen relationship wise and everything else.
In the end, it was bittersweet. Yes, I was happy with how things went down and ended. Yes, I'm sad because now it's done and over with. I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life and I need help!
smiley7245's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
I LOVED book 1 in this series and while this one was good, it wasn't AS good as the first. I enjoyed it. I listened to the last 20 minutes while I was setting my classroom up for the day because I couldn't not finish the last 20 minutes after I got to work. But, it wasn't as strong as the first. Yes, I'm glad that Sal and Elise both survived, but I was kind of hoping that Elise wouldn't be redeemed; that she would hold on to her belief in Lena and refuse to see the truth. I knew Lena was too good to be true; and she was super bad. She was one of the ones on the list. Sla made new friends. She lost her best friend when Lena killed him. Number 2 from the auditions showed back up and played a huge part. The shadows were real and they were back, but not in the same form as before. The last star was creating and controlling them so they were sort of on the good team. All of the people from Sal's list were killed, either by Sal or by Moira (I think that's how you're supposed to spell it since I listened to the audiobook and didn't ever see the name spelt). Sal kills the final bad guy in a fire and it seems like they both die. I wish we would have seen how Sal got out and survived, but instead we get an epilogue with the results of the new trials for the new Ruby. They will hold new Opal trials later. Emerald and Amethyst show up wondering where all of the bodies are and the surviving Ruby candidate, number 4, says probably home by now. Sal won the trial without killing any of them. And they were so shocked when 4 was unmasked and shown to be Sal. Sal is taken to Ruby's quarters and requests Maude, their former servant who has been out of sorts since the deaths of Lena (who she worked for for a bit) and Sal. Then Sal takes off the mask and Maude is mad, then happy. And Sal and Elise are reunited at the naming ceremony. Sal asks the queen to make them Moira's guard because they will not be protecting her anymore and the queen agrees. Everything worked out. There was a lot of action, vengeance, and resolution in this book, but it wasn't as good as assassin school/tryouts like the first one. But, still glad I read it.
infinity7211's review against another edition
I had a hard time reading the first book Mask of Shadows as well. I decided to DNF so I’d stop wasting time in a book I was not enjoying. I like the concept but the writing, characters, explanations were not cutting it me for.
vorpalblad's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. ⭐
Hmmm. Well, the plot line, once it got going was really good. We know as the story opens that Sal, as Opal, is intent on hunting down the Erlenders who helped destroy her country. Miller did a good job of moving the story beyond that linear narrative. There are a lot of plot twists here that expand and build the story and the tension. Five of five for me on the plot.
Here's where I had problems. While Miller discussed magic in the first book, there wasn't a lot of detail on how it worked because no one could access it any longer. In this entry there is more need to understand the magic system for several reasons, and yet, the explanation never comes. And this isn't the only place logic is missing.
At several points in the book I felt like the author had made some sort of logic leap that she expected us to follow, but I missed the jumping off point. Conversations shifted, people knew things out of the blue... it all led to some awkward reading. Sal and Rath have an argument and suddenly Sal is certain they are dead to Rath? What? You go from family to enemies in less than a page? I was lost. Take this conversation for example:
"'Weylin has been exaggerating the greatness of his Erlend pieces and the weakness of Igna for so long, but it seems many have finally seen the truth.'
He could operate without all his lies and propaganda. But not everyone bought into it.
'Opal.' Emerald turned to me. 'If you were sent to kill Our Queen, how would you do it?'"
All in all there were just a couple of things that took away from what could have been a stronger novel with additional editing.
Hmmm. Well, the plot line, once it got going was really good. We know as the story opens that Sal, as Opal, is intent on hunting down the Erlenders who helped destroy her country. Miller did a good job of moving the story beyond that linear narrative. There are a lot of plot twists here that expand and build the story and the tension. Five of five for me on the plot.
Here's where I had problems. While Miller discussed magic in the first book, there wasn't a lot of detail on how it worked because no one could access it any longer. In this entry there is more need to understand the magic system for several reasons, and yet, the explanation never comes. And this isn't the only place logic is missing.
At several points in the book I felt like the author had made some sort of logic leap that she expected us to follow, but I missed the jumping off point. Conversations shifted, people knew things out of the blue... it all led to some awkward reading. Sal and Rath have an argument and suddenly Sal is certain they are dead to Rath? What? You go from family to enemies in less than a page? I was lost. Take this conversation for example:
"'Weylin has been exaggerating the greatness of his Erlend pieces and the weakness of Igna for so long, but it seems many have finally seen the truth.'
He could operate without all his lies and propaganda. But not everyone bought into it.
'Opal.' Emerald turned to me. 'If you were sent to kill Our Queen, how would you do it?'"
All in all there were just a couple of things that took away from what could have been a stronger novel with additional editing.
luna_starisms's review against another edition
dark
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? It's complicated
4.0
wayfaringbibliomaniac's review against another edition
4.0
This was an incredibly interesting series! It dealt with a lot of controversial topics, which I haven't seen much in YA novels, and I totally loved it! Sal is such a badass... I only wish there was more to it.
Update: https://wayfaringbibliomaniac.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/ruin-of-stars-by-linsey-miller-earc-review/
Update: https://wayfaringbibliomaniac.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/ruin-of-stars-by-linsey-miller-earc-review/