A review by corriejn
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
4.25
First two thirds or so of this book were great: skilled worldbuilding, introduction of characters and storylines that were destined to clash. However, things fall a part a bit when the author actually gets to resolving how those various storylines interact and resolve. Brown seems to want to be N. K. Jemisin, but falls short. Too many flat, undeveloped characters who pop in to be major parts of the narrative, too many twists and turns that aren't foreshadowed or a logical part of the story, but just tossed in and basically rewrite the worldbuilding and characters that were more skillfully introduced earlier. I don't plan to read the rest of this series. It started off really promising through most of this volume, but ended up a jumbled mess.
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Racism, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child abuse, Alcohol, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, and Physical abuse
Minor: Cannibalism, War, and Torture