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popthebutterfly 's review for:
The Bones of Ruin
by Sarah Raughley
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Bone of Ruin
Author: Sarah Raughley
Book Series: The Bones of Ruin Book 1
Diversity: Black MC, Salvadorian side character, LGBTQIA side characters and villains
Rating: 4/5
Recommended For...: young adult, fantasy, circus, secret society, all out fight
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication Date: September 7, 2021
Publisher: Mcelderry Books
Pages: 477
Recommended Age: 15+ (Gore, Violence, Racism, Racist language, Human Auction, Human exhibits, PTSD, Death, Police brutality)
Explanation of CWs: Lots of gore and violence. Racism and racist language in a historical context in this book. There is 1 scene with a human auction. There is a lot of backstory involving humans on exhibits in a zoo. Death is frequent. One police brutality incident shown.
Synopsis: As an African tightrope dancer in Victorian London, Iris is used to being strange. She is certainly a strange sight for leering British audiences always eager for the spectacle of colonial curiosity. But Iris also has a secret that even “strange” doesn’t capture…
She cannot die.
Haunted by her unnatural power and with no memories of her past, Iris is obsessed with discovering who she is. But that mission gets more complicated when she meets the dark and alluring Adam Temple, a member of a mysterious order called the Enlightenment Committee. Adam seems to know much more about her than he lets on, and he shares with her a terrifying revelation: the world is ending, and the Committee will decide who lives…and who doesn’t.
To help them choose a leader for the upcoming apocalypse, the Committee is holding the Tournament of Freaks, a macabre competition made up of vicious fighters with fantastical abilities. Adam wants Iris to be his champion, and in return he promises her the one thing she wants most: the truth about who she really is.
If Iris wants to learn about her shadowy past, she has no choice but to fight. But the further she gets in the grisly tournament, the more she begins to remember—and the more she wonders if the truth is something best left forgotten.
Review: For the most part I liked this book. It was a good story and I felt like the core of the story was entertaining. I was hooked in on the first few pages and I felt like the characters were well developed. I really loved how the author interwove the real life horrors I also liked the world building.
However, after the first few chapters, the book started to have a lot of issues for me. The story was good but what I thought was going to happen quickly evolved into something more than what I expected. There was a ton to this story and I feel like maybe it should have been split up between 2 books or maybe even scaled down.
Verdict: It was good, but there's a lot in this book.
Book: The Bone of Ruin
Author: Sarah Raughley
Book Series: The Bones of Ruin Book 1
Diversity: Black MC, Salvadorian side character, LGBTQIA side characters and villains
Rating: 4/5
Recommended For...: young adult, fantasy, circus, secret society, all out fight
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication Date: September 7, 2021
Publisher: Mcelderry Books
Pages: 477
Recommended Age: 15+ (Gore, Violence, Racism, Racist language, Human Auction, Human exhibits, PTSD, Death, Police brutality)
Explanation of CWs: Lots of gore and violence. Racism and racist language in a historical context in this book. There is 1 scene with a human auction. There is a lot of backstory involving humans on exhibits in a zoo. Death is frequent. One police brutality incident shown.
Synopsis: As an African tightrope dancer in Victorian London, Iris is used to being strange. She is certainly a strange sight for leering British audiences always eager for the spectacle of colonial curiosity. But Iris also has a secret that even “strange” doesn’t capture…
She cannot die.
Haunted by her unnatural power and with no memories of her past, Iris is obsessed with discovering who she is. But that mission gets more complicated when she meets the dark and alluring Adam Temple, a member of a mysterious order called the Enlightenment Committee. Adam seems to know much more about her than he lets on, and he shares with her a terrifying revelation: the world is ending, and the Committee will decide who lives…and who doesn’t.
To help them choose a leader for the upcoming apocalypse, the Committee is holding the Tournament of Freaks, a macabre competition made up of vicious fighters with fantastical abilities. Adam wants Iris to be his champion, and in return he promises her the one thing she wants most: the truth about who she really is.
If Iris wants to learn about her shadowy past, she has no choice but to fight. But the further she gets in the grisly tournament, the more she begins to remember—and the more she wonders if the truth is something best left forgotten.
Review: For the most part I liked this book. It was a good story and I felt like the core of the story was entertaining. I was hooked in on the first few pages and I felt like the characters were well developed. I really loved how the author interwove the real life horrors I also liked the world building.
However, after the first few chapters, the book started to have a lot of issues for me. The story was good but what I thought was going to happen quickly evolved into something more than what I expected. There was a ton to this story and I feel like maybe it should have been split up between 2 books or maybe even scaled down.
Verdict: It was good, but there's a lot in this book.