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A review by ariizolas
Ruinsong by Julia Ember
2.0
I really wish I liked this more - the set-up, the worldbuilding, and Cadence as a main character were all quite engaging. I've never watched/read Phantom of the Opera, so that comparison is lost on me; I just feel that Remi's perspective has a lot of wasted potential and I found myself skimming her chapters. Cadence and Remi are childhood friends, so I would hesitate to say instalove - just that the romance felt unearned by the end of the book. The antagonist here is almost a textbook manipulator as well. It's easy to hate her, but she's almost too real and one-note in her abuse of Cadence to be called an engaging antagonist. She and Ren are all-powerful when they need to be, but too easily dispatched of by the end of the book. So many qualities in Ruinsong's characters feel like cop outs, tacked on either for the sake of representation or plot reasons: Remi's weight, Cadence's dyslexia - hell, after being emphasized and over-emphasized as a meticulous and clever torturer, Ren becomes a drunkard for a scene so that Cadence and Remi can visit the latter's father. We never get a real reason for the Queen's switching allegiance to Odella as well, though this is presented as a huge scandal throughout the book.
Ruinsong's vague gestures at representation are truly what turn me off about it. The Queen, for example, is explicitly sapphic, polyamorous, and proud of it. It's said that among mages and commoners, this is very much accepted. However, for whatever reason, it isn't so among the nobility, and so Cadence and Remi struggle with internalized lesbophobia as the novel progresses. It just feels unnecessary, especially considering that Cadence and Remi's romance feels underbaked in the first place, and many YA novels have decided to do away with even mere mentions of homophobia within their worlds anyway. As one other reviewer has noted, the entire cast of this book is white (and the author makes sure to emphasize this). This is with the exception of Nolan, who, of course is The Black side character who eventually brings about the "revolution" portion of the finale. The credit goes to Remi and her father anyway. The Expelled revolution is just another concept that goes unexplained within the book, though it is the entire reason for the finale.
I understand this is comparatively quite a short novel and the end does explicitly hint at a sequel/series. unfortunately, I just don't think that Ruinsong does it enough for me that I'm looking forward to it.
Ruinsong's vague gestures at representation are truly what turn me off about it. The Queen, for example, is explicitly sapphic, polyamorous, and proud of it. It's said that among mages and commoners, this is very much accepted. However, for whatever reason, it isn't so among the nobility, and so Cadence and Remi struggle with internalized lesbophobia as the novel progresses. It just feels unnecessary, especially considering that Cadence and Remi's romance feels underbaked in the first place, and many YA novels have decided to do away with even mere mentions of homophobia within their worlds anyway. As one other reviewer has noted, the entire cast of this book is white (and the author makes sure to emphasize this). This is with the exception of Nolan, who, of course is The Black side character who eventually brings about the "revolution" portion of the finale. The credit goes to Remi and her father anyway. The Expelled revolution is just another concept that goes unexplained within the book, though it is the entire reason for the finale.
I understand this is comparatively quite a short novel and the end does explicitly hint at a sequel/series. unfortunately, I just don't think that Ruinsong does it enough for me that I'm looking forward to it.