A Song of Wraiths and Ruin

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Because sometimes, it's not the muscular, 500+ year-old, experienced magic/weapon wielder that makes a good character. A refugee escaping his crumbling war-torn home alongside his sisters, seeking a better life in the very city that wreaked havoc on his country - only for a dangerous spirit to steal his younger sister and trap him in an impossible deal. That being said, the set up for the second book in this duology looked pretty cool, so I will probably check it out. I know that there are parts in which an author can't divulge too much for the sake of plot development; however, I truly feel like the magic system and world building in the beginning of this novel were confusing.

But wishes are dangerous (as anyone with a lamp or a genie would know) and Nadia ends up being the payment for such a wish.Not everyone knows about magic, even fewer people can use it, but it is present in folklore and history. Desperate to escape the prison of her bedroom and find the other ingredients needed for the resurrection ritual, Karina starts a small fire in her room, which causes panic since it was a big fire that killed Karina’s father and sister. They have come to try and make enough money to send back to their mother and grandmother back home to bring them to Ziran to join them eventually. I wanted to linger over moments of beauty, yes, but I also wanted to linger in pockets of drama, in moments of mystery, in those little scenes where the characters stopped and took a breath to re-evaluate or recenter themselves and their goals.

Fully-realized complex characters with dual points of view, rich world-building, gripping plot and a romance to root for - I wish this was the kind of YA fantasy I'd read in my teens. Brown's debut novel inspired by West and North African folktale was published on 2 June 2020 by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins as the first book in a planned duology. Each alignment temple chooses a champion to compete in Solstasia, with the winner gaining ultimate glory and a position in court, and their alignment will be the alignment that defines the next era until the next comet cycle. There’s a lot of love written for Brown’s culture and it’s infused in everything from the folklore to all the delicious food that gets described.But this does not kill Karina, it only frees Idir from his prison realm and breaks the barrier that protects Ziran, and darkness briefly falls over Ziran as Idir disapears, but not before revealing that he (nor anything crafted by him like the blade he gave Malik) can kill her because she’s his descendant. The only thing I can really say that is even close to a criticism is that there is so much lingo in here (which I love), but I wish there was a glossary in the back. I didn't hate this book, but it was really hyped as an Aladdin inspired enemies to lovers epic, and I just didn't get out of it what I was hoping to.

It is also about Malik, a young man from an underprivileged background who is trying to save his sister from a monster that has ensnared her. They have such a believable and painfully real sibling dynamic; one thing that stood out to me was when Malik wondered whether he and Leila would have ever been friends if they weren't siblings.After admitting that her mother is dead, Karina enlists Afua’s help with the eventual ritual that needs to happen.

But it’s not really set up as a retelling of the original tale, even if Aladdin was an accidental or purposeful influence. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin alternates chapters between the perspectives of Malik, a refugee hoping to find work in the glittering and wealthy city of Ziran alongside his two sisters, and Karina, the seemingly spoiled princess of all of Sonande, the country where Ziran sits as the seat of power. Malik and his sisters have arrived just in time for Solstasia, the week-long festival that only comes along every 50 years to celebrate the comet that can be seen crossing the sky for a whole seven days.I think this comes with the territory for debut authors and it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story too much. A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN is the first in a fantasy duology with Black characters, "in a world inspired by West African folklore. The story's confrontation of colonialism was also great to see, with the Zirani occupation of Malik's home, the Eshran Mountains. But I have to say with the hype the romance in this book has gotten, there's honestly not much of it. representation: all Black cast (own voices West African inspired fantasy), anxiety and panic attacks.