A Song Of Wraiths And Ruins by Roseanne A. Brown - BLOG TOUR - Playlist and Spoiler-Free Review

Before we get started here is a link to a carrd with multiple resources to support for Black Lives Matter. Please take some time out of your day to donate, sign petitions and boost Black voices.

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/?fbclid=IwAR3OsiZ6z_zVRu3aCmq6tYaJJCnJ1erdscqAB27bvtIzVfM0tQIma4p79NE

Hello everyone! Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for A Song Of Wraiths And Ruins by Roseanne A. Brown!

Here is the Tour Schedule: http://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2020/04/tour-schedule-song-of-wraiths-and-ruin.html

Synopsis:

The first in an fantasy duology inspired by West African folklore in which a grieving crown princess and a desperate refugee find themselves on a collision course to murder each other despite their growing attraction.

For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts Malik’s younger sister, Nadia, as payment into the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal—kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom.

But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic . . . requiring the beating heart of a king. And she knows just how to obtain one: by offering her hand in marriage to the victor of the Solstasia competition.

When Malik rigs his way into the contest, they are set on a course to destroy each other. But as attraction flares between them and ancient evils stir, will they be able to see their tasks to the death?

Roseanne “Rosie” A. Brown was born in Kumasi, Ghana and immigrated to the wild jungles of central Maryland as a child. Writing was her first love, and she knew from a young age that she wanted to use the power of writing—creative and otherwise—to connect the different cultures she called home. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor’s in Journalism and was also a teaching assistant for the school’s Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House program. Her journalistic work has been featured by Voice of America among other outlets.

On the publishing side of things, she has worked as an editorial intern at Entangled Publishing. Rosie was a 2017 Pitch Wars mentee and 2018 Pitch Wars mentor. Never content to stay in any one place for too long, Rosie currently teaches in Japan, where in her free time she can usually be found exploring the local mountains, explaining memes to her students, or thinking about Star Wars.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18395190.Roseanne_A_Brown

Website: https://roseanneabrown.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosiesrambles

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosiesrambles/?hl=en

I read A Song Of Wraiths And Ruins shortly after coming out of a year-long reading slump. The only books I’d read previously were rereads of old favourites. A Song Of Wraiths And Ruins immediately became a new favourite that I can see myself rereading in years to come for a pick-me-up.

As soon as I opened the book, the first sentence grabbed me and refused to let go, each sentence following the opening drew me further and further in. This book is a rare example of a book with no “good parts” because the entire book is good and just gets better and better as you read. It follows two riveting point-of-views that battle for your attention and favouritism until they both sit at the top of your heart. Neither comes out on top. They’re too flawlessly executed to choose between them.

Malik pulls your heartstrings as the definition of a soft boy cinnamon roll tasked with the impossible task of murder. He balances delicacy and sugary sweetness with his nack for magical manipulation and his fierce driving motivation to save his younger sister. A beautiful representation of sibling love and the reality of making impossible choices to save your loved ones while dealing with anxiety and your own mental health.

Karina, on the other hand, is what many may describe as unlikeable, however, still manages to make you love her as the narrative shows you exactly why she is the way she is and how it’s justified by her environment and her life. She is not your damsel in distress, she’s your queen and she takes what she wants. She’s direct and as a reader, it’s impossible not to admire her for her ambition, her drive and her unbending passion.

The key to a good romance is for the reader to care deeply about both characters and in this case that was done beautifully. Just as you are falling in love with both protagonists, they are falling for each other. It makes for a compelling and beautiful romance you just can’t help but root for. Fans of enemies to lovers need to pick up this book to watch two hopeless idiots with one brain cell trying to kill each other in the middle of falling in love. The stakes and romantic tension are higher than Everest.

The world leaves nothing out, though I’d say ASOWAR is character-driven that by no means leaves anything to be desired with the world-building or plot. Brown paints a picture of an intricate and believable world where magic and the extraordinary is ingrained in reality with a magic system unlike anything I’ve seen before.

The plot grabs you and keeps you enthralled through to the very end, and the ending is the definition of the perfect plot twist. It’s both set up by the narrative that precedes it and is realistic to the story while being unexpected and surprising. Plot twists can be either so unpredictable it makes no sense or so obvious it’s not a plot twist and this book does the perfect middle ground that had me gasping on the edge of my seat without being thrown from the story. I will be using it as an example of a perfect plot twist for years to come.

All in all, this book is a perfect 5-star read and I will never shut up about how much you need to read it.

BUY Links! (and Goodreads):

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49629448-a-song-of-wraiths-and-ruin

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3bb61Do

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-song-of-wraiths-and-ruin-roseanne-a-brown/1134858719?ean=9780062891495

iTunes: https://books.apple.com/book/a-song-of-wraiths-ruin/id1478613303

Bookdepository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Song-Wraiths-Ruin-Roseanne-Brown/9780062891495?ref=grid-view&qid=1587062543544&sr=1-1

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/a-song-of-wraiths-and-ruin-1

Google Books: https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details/Roseanne_A_Brown_A_Song_of_Wraiths_and_Ruin?id=AQAAAEBs_nG-DM