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A review by sumayyaha
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
2.0
Rating - 2 Stars
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For what it's worth, the writing was beautiful. It was extremely immersive and Brown shows true talent at describing all the cultures surrounding the characters. The mental health of the main character, Malik, was done in an interesting way especially at the end though I can't say I connected with it. Maybe for other sufferers, it was accurate though.
As for the characters...
They were completely lackluster. I wasn't expecting anything from them and yet I was still disappointed. Each character had problems that sound terrible to deal with but for some reason, I just did not care. I wouldn't have cared if the two main characters died by the end, to be honest. I was much more saddened by the death of a side character that was made out to be quite a mean and rude person. And you know, he was mean and needlessly rude but the circumstances he lead his life in demanded that. He seemed like he had more nuance than they gave him credit for and he was forgotten within a page of his death, I found that a mite despicable of the characters. And Karina gave off arrogance in waves, it was, needless to say, very annoying.
And their love? Where did it even come from? How do you go from wanting to slit someone's throat and them wanting to rip out your heart (literally) to selfless sacrifices and thoughts of love. They could've been cutthroat enemies till the end and this book could've been a tome of loss and revenge and I would've liked it more than a fated connection between the two that stops them from doing what they ultimately set out to do from the beginning. They were not the least bit compatible in my eyes, it was random, forced, and weird.
I will not be continuing with this duology.
I had to finish it via audiobook because every time I picked it up, I put it right back down after 20 pages. I do not recommend the audiobook if you can't stand female narrators who do nasally male voices, they sound ridiculous like that and not the least bit convincing I can't take them seriously.
____________________________________
For what it's worth, the writing was beautiful. It was extremely immersive and Brown shows true talent at describing all the cultures surrounding the characters. The mental health of the main character, Malik, was done in an interesting way especially at the end though I can't say I connected with it. Maybe for other sufferers, it was accurate though.
As for the characters...
They were completely lackluster. I wasn't expecting anything from them and yet I was still disappointed. Each character had problems that sound terrible to deal with but for some reason, I just did not care. I wouldn't have cared if the two main characters died by the end, to be honest. I was much more saddened by the death of a side character that was made out to be quite a mean and rude person. And you know, he was mean and needlessly rude but the circumstances he lead his life in demanded that. He seemed like he had more nuance than they gave him credit for and he was forgotten within a page of his death, I found that a mite despicable of the characters. And Karina gave off arrogance in waves, it was, needless to say, very annoying.
And their love? Where did it even come from? How do you go from wanting to slit someone's throat and them wanting to rip out your heart (literally) to selfless sacrifices and thoughts of love. They could've been cutthroat enemies till the end and this book could've been a tome of loss and revenge and I would've liked it more than a fated connection between the two that stops them from doing what they ultimately set out to do from the beginning. They were not the least bit compatible in my eyes, it was random, forced, and weird.
I will not be continuing with this duology.
I had to finish it via audiobook because every time I picked it up, I put it right back down after 20 pages. I do not recommend the audiobook if you can't stand female narrators who do nasally male voices, they sound ridiculous like that and not the least bit convincing I can't take them seriously.