Book Review: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (ASOWAR) by Roseanne A. Brown has been popping up on my feed for several months now, so when a friend offered to send me a copy, I knew I had to give this a read!

The story follows the lives, trials and misadventures of Karina and Malik: two unlikely, star-crossed lovers who must overcome a deadly competition/ritual set against the backdrop of forbidden magic and colourful festivities in order to save their loved ones (now, where have we heard this before?). Although the synopsis gave me pause at first, the opening chapter had me hooked. The sights and sounds of the city of Ziran, the deep-set racism and poverty clouding Malik’s little world, the gilded prison of Karina’s lavish palace… I hung on to every word!

A few chapters in, though, and I was left feeling a little jarred by inconsistencies in narrative voice and setting/period — instances of discernibly “modern-day” phrases really pulled me out of the story, and parts of Karina’s monologues felt like plot-holes (possibly in an effort to establish her as an unreliable narrator, but given that this wasn’t followed through to the end, it didn’t appear to serve much purpose). I wasn’t expecting ASOWAR to be quite so rooted in contemporary YA — I was hoping for something grittier, akin to a young-fantasy Hunger Games but without the love triangle and ‘telling’ versus ‘showing’.

I loved the rich worldbuilding, the weaving of lore through storytelling, and the occasional bursts of dry humour. Unfortunately, while the first 50 pages had me absolutely hooked, the plot-point leading up to the middle of the book lost me for a while, and I almost DNF’d this one as a result.

Given that the book is narrated solely through two POVs, it struck me as odd that its characters appeared to lack scaffolding. The protagonists paled in comparison to Brown’s detailed worldbuilding, and this unfortunate realisation tends to crop up every few chapters, like a splinter gnawing at one’s peripheral. Malik and Karina’s mental health struggles felt somewhat overdone, like a narrative crutch to bolster otherwise empty, gratingly repetitive characters. While I didn’t appreciate the insinuation that characters (people) are wholly defined by these attributes and cannot be more, less, or anything other than their anxieties, I knew that this was wholly subjective and not necessarily the author’s intent. What I did love was how refreshing it felt to read realistic yet sensitive portrayals of class discrimination, casual racism, and the debilitating effects of panic attacks. I also really enjoyed the antagonist’s compelling backstory. And so, I kept reading — and boy, am I glad I did.

Although I found Karina’s cookie-cutter “angry princess” personality to be utterly unlikeable, from the very beginning, Malik’s naïveté made me want to hug and protect him from the big, bad world. And although the more emotional scenes didn’t leave much of an impression — I was neither grinning madly nor sobbing away at any point in the story — I was acutely aware of just how skilfully Brown had created two delightfully contrasting, realistically flawed protagonists.

The conclusion was thoroughly satisfying, and I was proven wrong. Malik and Karina’s anxieties were entirely relevant to the plot, granting me a deeper understanding of character motivations and making this an enjoyable read overall. The ending did leave me with a lot of questions — not the kind you hope will ultimately be resolved in the sequel (and there were plenty of those!) — but rather, the kind that left me pulling at loose threads in the existing plot, making me question its soundness as the ends unravelled before me. But perhaps that can just be attributed to me being an exceptionally nitpicky reader 🙂

I know this book has been hyped beyond belief, but I do believe it’s worth a read, and despite a few hiccups here and there, I adored the worldbuilding and overarching plot. I’m curious to see what Roseanne A. Brown has in store for the world next!

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

PS: I’m so glad I opted for paperback as opposed to e-book. Just look at that cover!

PPS: Why in the Great Mother’s name is it called ‘A Song of Wraiths and Ruin’, given that neither wraiths nor ruin make much of an appearance? 🤦‍♀️

View all my reviews