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A review by jackiestone
Exquisite Ruin by AdriAnne May
2.0
Hmmm. This was… weird.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
To begin, Sadaré, our MC, wakes up in a labyrinth having no idea who she is. With her is a daemon, Daesra, who, in classic enemies-to-lovers fashion, hates her for reasons she does not yet understand. Together, they have to find a way to survive and get out of the maze.
A great premise! I was really excited for this one, but from chapter 1, something just wasn't clicking for me. I don’t know if it was the character interactions or the writing, but I really began to drag my feet. (Hence, why it took me over a month.)
However, after the first quarter, things started looking up. I still wasn’t completely sold, but the romance was getting interesting. I enjoyed a lot of the flashbacks. I love amnesia storylines. Something about them is just so dramatic! We also got some good lines like:
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
To begin, Sadaré, our MC, wakes up in a labyrinth having no idea who she is. With her is a daemon, Daesra, who, in classic enemies-to-lovers fashion, hates her for reasons she does not yet understand. Together, they have to find a way to survive and get out of the maze.
A great premise! I was really excited for this one, but from chapter 1, something just wasn't clicking for me. I don’t know if it was the character interactions or the writing, but I really began to drag my feet. (Hence, why it took me over a month.)
However, after the first quarter, things started looking up. I still wasn’t completely sold, but the romance was getting interesting. I enjoyed a lot of the flashbacks. I love amnesia storylines. Something about them is just so dramatic! We also got some good lines like:
“I’ve wanted you more than I’ve ever wanted anything on this godsforsaken earth. I would burn down the world to find you.”
We love a villainous king, thank you very much 👏
But that ending. That ending was weird. And not a good weird. A weird weird. A that makes no sense weird. I will say no more. But that definitely dragged down the rating.
I’m sure some people will end up liking this. It's got some interesting romantic elements, some adventurous spice, and a truly bizarre twist. However, I wouldn't recommend it for most people.
Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for providing me early access to Exquisite Ruin in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
⚠️: sexual sadomasochism
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
Pre-read:
Alright let’s go!! I got this on NetGalley for two reasons:
1. Amnesia
2. Labyrinth
Enough said
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content