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A review by theespressoedition
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
4.0
I could see this becoming one of my favorite fantasy worlds and it's only the first book.
Recently, I saw someone request that we rebrand "strong female lead" to "complex female lead." This way, otherwise bland and empty characters wouldn't just be handed swords and given lines like, "I don't need to be rescued" or "I won't be silenced" and that's it. I appreciate this and I found A Song of Wraiths and Ruins to be exactly what I needed to cure my frustration and bring me a truly complex female lead.
Karina is imperfect but powerful, and that's what makes her such a complex character. She struggles with a desire for violence and has "anger issues." She's not necessarily likable, but she is incredible. I don't want to give away too much of the plot so I'll only say that her ending had me very excited for book two.
Malik is the perfect soft boy with a penchant for getting into trouble. He has so many inner demons, and I was floored by the way that the author portrayed dealing with anxiety. There were a lot of people saying that this trope was a generic enemies-to-lovers, but from the standpoint of someone who literally hates that trope, I can attest to the fact that it certainly wasn't generic. I honestly barely caught the enemies-to-lovers element because of the way it played out.
There are some standard YA tropes throughout, but as a whole, I really enjoyed this book. It was also narrated really well!
[TW: self-harm, depression, anxiety, death]
Recently, I saw someone request that we rebrand "strong female lead" to "complex female lead." This way, otherwise bland and empty characters wouldn't just be handed swords and given lines like, "I don't need to be rescued" or "I won't be silenced" and that's it. I appreciate this and I found A Song of Wraiths and Ruins to be exactly what I needed to cure my frustration and bring me a truly complex female lead.
Karina is imperfect but powerful, and that's what makes her such a complex character. She struggles with a desire for violence and has "anger issues." She's not necessarily likable, but she is incredible. I don't want to give away too much of the plot so I'll only say that her ending had me very excited for book two.
Malik is the perfect soft boy with a penchant for getting into trouble. He has so many inner demons, and I was floored by the way that the author portrayed dealing with anxiety. There were a lot of people saying that this trope was a generic enemies-to-lovers, but from the standpoint of someone who literally hates that trope, I can attest to the fact that it certainly wasn't generic. I honestly barely caught the enemies-to-lovers element because of the way it played out.
There are some standard YA tropes throughout, but as a whole, I really enjoyed this book. It was also narrated really well!
[TW: self-harm, depression, anxiety, death]