Fantasy was the first genre I fell in love with, and I'm always looking for new stories with magic or empires or ambitious characters. I have a particular love of books with dangerous magic and promises of things going terribly wrong very quickly. From the synopsis, this book sounded like it checked all the boxes and I was thrilled to get my greedy hands on the ARC.

However, I really struggled to get into this story. I think we were thrown too quickly into action, without enough context to orient myself. I could see plot threads and relationship emerging, but felt overwhelmed by the characters and empire/country names and politics.

Unfortunately, a pass for me but I'm sure many other readers will love it!

First, The Obsidian Tower has phenomenal 🏳️‍🌈 representation that had me cheering from the get go. The main character, Ryx, is casually revealed to be bi/pan (not sure exactly if/how she would prefer to be labeled) early on, and the main cast includes non-binary, lesbian, poly, and demisexual representation.

But down to the plot. The premise is that Ryx is the member of a ruling family of Wardens guarding a secret magical artifact. Whereas her family members have the magical gift to nurture life, something went wrong with Ryx. Her touch or even proximity brings deterioration and death. This is a book about magical secrets that can't be kept, political maneuvering among enemy kingdoms, and a lonely girl trying to meet an impossible duty to her family and her people.

First, you better believe I shipped Ryx with everybody. Give me a sad, noble-hearted protagonist, and I will give you a full-service matchmaking business free of charge. Second, I burrowed right into the mystery of the Black Tower. It was tantalizing and left a definite feeling of foreboding. It had an almost Agatha Christie vibe-- everyone arriving for negotiations with their own secrets and agendas while impending doom lurks behind not-so-closed doors. When there's murder within the castle walls, everyone's a suspect and everyone has motive. I loved everyone and trusted no one.

I really enjoyed this! This is the only book I have read by this author but, I plan to change that.

Ryx lives with her Grandmother in Gloamingard. Ryx has faulty magic that kills anyone or anything she touches. Her Grandmother is a powerful mage, so she can still touch Ryx without it killing her. That is why Gloamingard is the safest place for her to be.
Gloamingard Castle has a Black Tower. No one but her Grandmother knows what is in there. All anyone knows is that it must be guarded. It must stay closed. It has been that way for thousands of years.
With people arriving from other countries for peace talks, it is even more imperative to guard the Black Tower.

This is fast-paced, full of political intrigue, and packed with interesting magic. I can't wait for the next one.

I liked this book well enough that I sent an email to the author asking when in the timeline of this world it was set compared to her first series, Swords and Fire, just because it made me wonder. She let me know it is set about 150 years later. You don’t need to have read the first series to enjoy this one as they are set in different countries and different times but I recommend that you do anyway merely because it was a fun read too. If you have read the first trilogy this one is in the lands of the witch lords.. These are fairly light adventure sorts of stories but now is a great time for a bit of escapism.

What I liked about The Obsidian Tower:
-I really enjoyed the family dynamics. Ryx has a huge family. They live with their Grandmother, but they have a slew of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Their family reminds me a little bit of my own, they are a bit dysfunctional, but they love each other and try to do they best by each other.
-There was a ton of court/political drama in The Obsidian Tower. Initially, Ryx and their Grandmother are to host and mediate a meeting between their neighboring countries while they work out a dispute. This quickly gets out of hand, but they drama just gets more intense as the story continues.
- The Obsidian Tower gave me Clue (the movie) vibes. There are several mysteries that the characters have to solve and slowly, but surely, the unlikely group of people gathered for the meeting start to solve some of the mysteries going on.

What I disliked about The Obsidian Tower:
-During the first third of the book, I felt like everything that could go wrong did and there wasn't any reason for why everything had to be crashing down. Later in the story this made more sense as more facts of the mystery came to light, but I felt like it slowed down the book for me.
-I felt that the characters did a lot of talking (sometimes in circles) and not a lot of doing to solve their problems. There were times where the characters would talk for chapters before they took any action to fix the problem.

Who would I recommend The Obsidian Tower:
-Fans of Fantasy with lots of political intrigue
-Fans of complicated family dynamics


Overall Thoughts:
Overall, I think this was a strong start to a series and would be interested to see where the story goes in the follow up. There was a lot of foundation laid about the world and history that could come into play in the future.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Orbit Books for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable read. Fantasy with some political intrigue thrown in. I liked that it was easy to follow the story without things getting overly complicated.

A magnificent dark delight! Sharp edges, tenebrous magic, a heroine wrangling fractious politics AND her own deadly powers. Ryx's struggles are compelling, and you can really feel the tension as she's trying to hold the line between so many competing forces. I'm so glad Caruso is spending another trilogy in this fascinating world, and I appreciate getting the view from Vaskandar this time around. Highly recommend for readers looking for fantasy with complex politics, fascinating magical systems, queer casts, and thrilling action.

I am only about 50% through this book and I can say without a doubt it is one of the best world building I have read in a while! Full review to come, but I am loving it!!

The Obsidian Tower is Book one in the Rooks and Ruin series. The story sets up a second book, that I think I will enjoy even more than this one. While book one focused on character building and diplomacy, book two will be an adventure story.

This is a single POV story that is told by Ryx, a 21 year old mage with broken magic. Though Ryx has broken magic, in a country where magical power means everything, she is the Witch Lord’s granddaughter, so she still has power in society. Since Ryx can’t rely on her magical power, as the rest of her family does, she learned how to be a diplomat. Much of the story surrounds diplomatic meeting between Ryx and neighboring lands.

Lots of discussion, and little action.

The Obsidian Tower is a great example of representation in fantasy. There is a bisexual, asexual, non-binary, and lesbian character in the main cast.

ARC from NetGalley

3.5 stars

This book is full of excellent ideas that unfortunately ended up a bit lacklustre on the page. The magic system is excellent. The book started off with an almost Gormenghast-ish vibe. There's all this political intrigue, murder, mystery, magic. I just really wish it was better executed. The characters pretty much blurred into one. Ryx is really boring. She takes crap from everyone, gets walked all over, and has no personality of her own. Get mad for fuck's sake. I just wanted to shake her. Even her thoughts were cowed. Ashe has a personality, but it was really one-dimensional. Foxglove has a bit of personality. I didn't dislike him. The other dude and the other chick were also both forgettable, hence I don't remember their names immediately after finishing the book. Severin did an about-face at some point into a simpering little bitch.

I can appreciate diverse representation, but with Ryx it just felt like song and dance. It was completely superficial and self-serving. I saw a betrayal coming from the time the offending character was introduced. The romance was too little too late. When it was finally presented itself, my heart gave this desperate little rattle before it fizzled out when I realized that I actually didn't care if they got together. Too many things were predictable. There were some surprises, but they didn't have any impact. There was so much potential here. I really hope that the following books are better.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this e-Arc. Will read more from this author in the future. See star rating for my review.

I was a pretty big fan of this one! The pacing was good and the story kept me interested. I read a lot of fantasy, and it can often feel like the themes and plots are repetitive, but this was definitely a fresh take!

The Obsidian Tower is a book with an unusual premise, story, and magic system that stands out amidst a crowded book world of fantasy these days. Ryx is the unlikely guardian of Gloamingard Castle --her magic doesn't work the way it should (in fact, it kills anyone/thing she touches) and her grandmother has mysteriously disappeared after a mishap with a strange black magic-laden artifact in one tower of the castle. I was gripped by the story, entranced by the characters, and now I'm totally hooked and settling in for the long wait for book two.

Thanks NetGalley for the early read of this book.

So, this is my first time reading anything by Melissa Caruso and I was very pleasantly surprised!
This also happens to be one of my first reviews, so excuse me if it's a little scattered.

We start off, meeting Ryx, who, comes from line a very magically powerful family, but sadly, her magic is 'broken' her touch is fatal, which, obviously, has led to a lot of people avoiding her.
Their family is tasked with guarding the Tower. Keeping the door closed, and keeping whatever Bad things that lurk on the other side, locked away.
They receive a visitor, and through a series of events, this door is opened and then that's when the story starts to get interesting. I won't go into what's behind the door, obviously, or the conflicts that arise due to this but I will focus on the characters.
We have the MC who I really enjoyed. She was tough, and she cared very much about keeping her family safe. But she was also very obviously effected by the fact that no one can touch her. I really enjoyed her interactions with her Grandmother. It gave her a vulnerability that made me just want to protect her. ALSO, Whisper. A chimera, who was supposedly created long ago, by a Witch Lord. His loyalties are very grey and he's pretty mysterious. I got kitty cat vibes from him instantly. He's one of the only friends that our lonely Ryx has. D:
We meet the Rookery, and it's members. A group of people who are responsible for handling strange and dangerous magic.
I adored every single one of them, as well as the diversity of the friendships and relationships they represented.
Then there's Severin, who, is a weakness for me since I adore broody, snarky wizards. So I knew I was going to like him as soon as he was introduced. He was also very multidimensional, and his relationship with his family was also quite complicated. I enjoyed seeing the different sides of him. Just as we get to see with Ryx.
All in all, I very much enjoyed this book. The magic, the world building and the characters all kept me intrigued and interested.
I would definitely recommend this book and I'll be patiently waiting for the next installment! 5 out of 5 for me!

This book scratched a literary itch I never realized I had - a political intrigue wrapped in an epic fantasy. Rather than a grand adventure sprawling over kingdoms and lands, most of the action in The Obsidian Tower takes place in a single castle as Ryx, the Warden of Gloamingard, has to expertly navigate tense political factions, magical mysteries, and her own destructive magic.

Author Melissa Caruso creates a full, thriving network of allies and enemies that Ryx has to rely on to not only save her own kingdom, but also the entire world. I enjoyed the magical systems that Caruso creates, and I found the heroine Ryx to be a smart, capable woman.

While this story does end in a bit of a cliffhanger, I’m excited for the second book!

Great start to a series. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. If I had read Caruso’s other series based in the same world, maybe I would have been able to better predict things, but I’m glad I could be surprised by the direction the story took. I don’t know how to talk about the things that surprised me without spoiling the plot, but I’ll say that there are demons, and I loved it.

This was a first person past tense narrative, and it’s been a while since I’ve read a story like that. I missed it. First person is always appealing to me, better to completely immerse myself. I also loved the Rogue from X-Men vibes I got from this (and it’s so strange that I read this right after another book that was also about a powerful girl who couldn’t be touched or she would kill any human or animal, and they’re both bisexual MCs, and they’re both smart but initially submissive). There’s a good amount of diversity in this book as well, with a nonbinary character, bisexual character, and lesbian characters.

My main complaint here is that it was a pretty stressful and frustrating read. It felt like almost everyone was either stupid, greedy, or selfish and almost nothing good happened. I was grinding my teeth so much I gave myself a headache. I know that’s a petty thing to complain about because it takes nothing away from the talent of the author, I just personally prefer not to be an emotional wreck the whole time reading. I was furious at almost every decision made by every single character, even Ryx, who made some seriously stupid decisions despite her inherent goodness. I’m looking forward to the release of the second book, but honestly, I’m more interested in how the author plans to fix everything that happened in this one, and I have a feeling things might not get fixed if this is a trilogy. The second book would have to have everything get worse, I guess. I can only hope there are some solutions to the insane horror of the situation we’re left with at the end of this book.

I’ll wait to post my review on Goodreads until closer to the date of publication, per Orbit’s preferences.

My thanks to Orbit Fantasy, Melissa Caruso and Netgalley.
I flat out loved this book! Heck, I'm as surprised as anyone. I would love to say that I was expecting nothing but awesomeness. That would be a lie. I really did expect some teenage angst, bad romance and a whole lot of suck!
No, these people hit me in my heart! I didn't expect it. I am not a fan of the magic system. I absolutely hate the Witch Lord's. I am not a fan of the distribution of power. I did love Ryx. She and her "friends" are who I loved most. The love interest? Well, Severin may have finally picked sides, but that man needs to seriously step up! I don't like cowards.
I am just waiting for Ryx to come into her own.
There is just something about this kingdom. I love that when they get tweets, it really is a tweet! A bird. At night, an owl!

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for the early copy! The Obsidian Tower was my first title by Melissa Caruso, and it was a fantastic book. Filled with a diverse group of characters, magic, and a dash of politics. The story centers on Ryx, whose magic is considered damaged/broken by everyone because it destroys life instead of cultivating it Though the story starts out a bit slow, the plot does pick up and increases the tension dramatically. I am very interested in what will happen in the sequel, and would recommend this title to anyone looking for a story featuring magical intrigue.

Ryx's chances of becoming a Witch Lord of Vaskandar like her formidable grandmother crumbled to ash the day her magic broke when an illness almost killed her as a child. While the rest of her family's powers create, sustain and enhance their kingdoms Ryx's magic drains every last drop of life from anything that she touches. Secluded except for her duties as the warden of Gloamingard - a position given by her grandmother; Ryx has become resigned to her fate, flourishing in the ways she can be helpful without magic.

In the heart of Gloamingard a sealed black tower sits, constricting a menacing secret for thousands of years. A sly and reckless decision leaves Ryx in the aftermath, hands stained with blood and inadvertently releasing an unknown threat to everything she holds dear.

I really love the concept of the magic in this world - especially that the Witch Lord's have a connection to every living thing within their kingdom. If magic like this existed in our world I could definitely see all of the factions that are in this novel being real and more than possible - even more frightening. Magical creatures are a big soft spot for me and this book features one that doesn't see a lot of limelight, the chimera, and they have an interesting role in this series. Whisper is one of my favorite characters in The Obsidian Tower - the twist in his story was interesting and I want to know even more about him now.

"But Whisper was right. Everyone changed, and nothing could make you again who you were before."

There's a map! I happen to LOVE fantasy books that include maps. I wish there was an actual map and/or actual depiction of Gloamingard. I wish that you could manipulate it to actually read it in the Kindle format and it really made me wish for a physical copy. The cover of the book is what initially drew me to this book on NetGalley - I'm a sucker for covers. Now that I have finished the book the cover has a whole additional meaning.

This book does feature LGBTQ themes but is extremely PG on the romance aspect. I wasn't expecting the possible romance to spring up for Ryx especially considering the character but I am interested to see where that leads. The wording of they/them referring to one person still gets me. The concept I obviously understand and in this case Ryx has enough background with the character for the reference to have ground to stand on. It just takes me additional time to remember that she's not referring to more than one person when it does pop up.

"They didn't care that my magic was broken -- no; they celebrated it. They were all broken too, in their own ways, and ultimately stronger for it."

The only thing that I can think of that could keep someone away from this book is the LGBTQ aspect which is a shame - it really is a beautiful book and I cannot wait for the second book in the series The Quicksilver Court. I would highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy young adult, high fantasy, magical and fictional political intrigue, LGBTQ and magic. A big thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

First, let me just say, I need a Whisper in my life. Honestly, I could read a book that was based solely on his character. He so freaking cute and sassy. I just want to snuggle him.

Right, on to the rest. I LOVE the lgbtq+ representation in this book. The MC and many of the other main characters fall in the lgbtq+ spectrum and I am here for it! All of the characters are so fun! I really enjoyed all of the dialogue and the banter. It lead to such a fun and engaging story.

The plot is so intriguing, though at times the story gets a little overwhelming. There are so many aspects kind of thrown at you that you can’t tell up from down for a moment. With that said, as the story progresses there are so many more moments that you just kind of go, “ohhh now I get it.” Which, honestly, made it that much more enjoyable. I loved all of the twists and turns! This book seriously kept me on the edge of my seat.

Unfortunately, the world building is a little under developed, or at least, not clearly laid out. I’m still not sure of what all the lands and territories are. Not to mention, all of the Witch Lords and other “governments” spread across the lands. Hopefully, that will all be more clearly explained in the next book.

The Magic system is so intricate and interesting but it’s also lacking. By that I mean, I have no idea where the different magical people get their magic from and there seems to be a multitude of different magical beings with different magics. With none of it being explained, it takes away from the story.

Suffice to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I can NOT wait for the next installment in this series. I am giving Obsidian Tower 4 stars!