A review by thebewitchedreviewer
Exquisite Ruin by AdriAnne May

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I was excited to read this as the first OwlCrate Romantasy subscription box and ended up starting (and finishing) with the audiobook.  I was disappointed, unfortunately.  The MCs are stuck in a labyrinth with only partial memories and have to learn to work together against various challenges to defeat the maze.  However, it felt disjointed and repetitive.  I could not connect with the storyline or the characters.  I felt like the challenges lacked a common thread, the rules of the world/memory loss/labyrinth were muddled, and there was a lack of logic to when the MCs worked together and when they did not.  I can appreciate the uniqueness of the story's approach, but ultimately it did not work for me.