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A review by sethxo
Ruinsong by Julia Ember
dark
slow-paced
3.75
Ruinsong is a gorgeous read, with fantastic worldbuilding and amazing descriptors. I was incredibly into the magic system, the aspects of religion presented to us, and how beautiful everything was described.
Unfortunately, this strength made glaring other weaknesses, at least for me. Cadence and Remi were interesting characters in their own rights, but while I cared about their problems, I found myself more into the world of Bordea itself, and learning about the people in and around it. Every time the book ventured farther out, I was compelled.
Still, I had nothing against the main characters. Cadence’s motivations, while complicated, were understandable, and on the other side of the table Remi’s motivations made just as much sense. You could really feel Cadence’s conflict and Remi’s stubbornness.
Queen Elene, on the other hand…while the book explains well enough how she got to where she is, it inspires no care for her character whatsoever. I spent the entire book actively rooting for her downfall, and outright despising her. It’s good to develop your villains, but in this case, it felt so pointless because of just how awful she is.
There is also some animal death, something that I’m never cool with on any given day, so that was equally unpleasant to read. We get it, the queen is awful. Driving the point home like this feels like beating a dead horse, and in her case, I’d believe it was literal! Honestly though, the book is very dark. Unpleasant things happen every so often, so at least it’s staying true to its theme?
In general, this was a slow book. The pacing was never rushed, and this extended to the main relationship. It was certainly a slow burn as well, but in a way, it almost wasn’t, because there’s a mild percentage of the book where the main characters haven’t even met up. Still, once it got there their build-up romance was very sweet, for all these characters have been through.
The ending itself isn’t entirely satisfying. I enjoyed the direction they were leading it towards, but despite this book claiming to be a standalone it felt like it ended on too much of a cliffhanger for my liking.
Overall, I did enjoy it. My investment wasn’t always at peak levels, but I was certainly engaged and eager to finish it. Like I said, it’s a gorgeous world with a unique system, and I’ll love it for that alone (but certainly other things, as well).
Unfortunately, this strength made glaring other weaknesses, at least for me. Cadence and Remi were interesting characters in their own rights, but while I cared about their problems, I found myself more into the world of Bordea itself, and learning about the people in and around it. Every time the book ventured farther out, I was compelled.
Still, I had nothing against the main characters. Cadence’s motivations, while complicated, were understandable, and on the other side of the table Remi’s motivations made just as much sense. You could really feel Cadence’s conflict and Remi’s stubbornness.
Queen Elene, on the other hand…while the book explains well enough how she got to where she is, it inspires no care for her character whatsoever. I spent the entire book actively rooting for her downfall, and outright despising her. It’s good to develop your villains, but in this case, it felt so pointless because of just how awful she is.
There is also some animal death, something that I’m never cool with on any given day, so that was equally unpleasant to read. We get it, the queen is awful. Driving the point home like this feels like beating a dead horse, and in her case, I’d believe it was literal! Honestly though, the book is very dark. Unpleasant things happen every so often, so at least it’s staying true to its theme?
In general, this was a slow book. The pacing was never rushed, and this extended to the main relationship. It was certainly a slow burn as well, but in a way, it almost wasn’t, because there’s a mild percentage of the book where the main characters haven’t even met up. Still, once it got there their build-up romance was very sweet, for all these characters have been through.
The ending itself isn’t entirely satisfying. I enjoyed the direction they were leading it towards, but despite this book claiming to be a standalone it felt like it ended on too much of a cliffhanger for my liking.
Overall, I did enjoy it. My investment wasn’t always at peak levels, but I was certainly engaged and eager to finish it. Like I said, it’s a gorgeous world with a unique system, and I’ll love it for that alone (but certainly other things, as well).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death