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!

The Obsidian Tower is the first book in a new series by Melissa Caruso. Set in the same world as her previous trilogy, Sword and Fire, this book is centered in a small kingdom to the north of where the main action took place in the previous books. New characters, new magic, and lots of courtly conspiracy! Ryx is our main character, the self-described black sheep of a royal-magical family. In the opening chapters, Ryx explains (in beautifully written detail, rather than boring exposition) that her magic works in reverse, instead of creating things or manipulating things, she kills everything she touches.

The author really builds great tension through a complex narrative with lots of political intrigue! As other reviews have said, the plot isn't new, it's a book about a girl with a power that is different from her family, she gets pushed away by said family, discovers a group of people who understand her, and she tries to save the day. That's common, but don't we read books because we like elements of that plot? Because we love magic, politics, made up kingdoms and worlds, and reading intently as the heroine discovers that her power isn't bad, just different and different is okay.

I really enjoyed this book and would absolutely recommend it to a YA reader of any age. Fans of Leigh Bardugo, Victoria Schwab, Cassandra Clare, and Sarah J. Maas would love this book! I already have the Sword and Fire trilogy on my TBR list for when I finally get out from under this pile of ARCs!

I received a galley copy of this book from NetGalley and Orbit in exchange for an honest review.

You can find The Obsidian Tower on goodreads and on Melissa Caruso's website. This book releases June 4th (someone's birthday!) and be sure to pick up a copy from your favorite retailer!

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!

"The Obsidian Tower" by Melissa Caruso has a deceptively slow build, subverting the usual YA fantasy show of magic for planning and deception. Our main character, Ryx, is a mage in a long family line of mages, in a country where mages rule supreme. Yet her "broken" magic kills instead of heals, so our hero has devoted her life to peace through politics rather than through magical might.

The cast of characters and delicate world building are a neat trick, and readers will enjoy learning about the different countries and kingdoms, ruled by magic or technology or some mixture of both, and how all of these things are equally good and bad. But the politics and intrigue are only half the story; the other half is a family secret, housed in Ryx's kingdom - inside the castle where she lives, no less - that threatens to rip open a world war and something even worse.

There is no getting around the fact that the beginning is slow, not so much due to the pacing but more to the fact that a story about politics and plotting is told in the first person. Being able to read Ryx's thoughts expose her plans to the reader, so there is very little suspense during the politics phase of the story. Once the action begins, however, readers who stuck through the beginning will be rewarded with an interesting and engaging story - and a cliffhanger leaving you wanting more. Overall the story is satisfying, and readers who stick through the beginning will be rewarded with a world full of magic and action.

Well-crafted plot with a wide cast of characters, yet it was also a bit frustrating at certain times when you wanted to throttle these people and kick decorum to the curb.

It has the vibe of a whodunit mystery set inside a haunted house full of nervous politicians, witch magic, hot and steamy tension, and crazy relatives. If I had a nickel...

Caruso’s writing style leans a little too heavily on spelling everything out for you, but there’s quite a bit to keep track of, so that evens things out.

There’s some neat ideas regarding keeping mages on a leash, and it works well for Ryx’s character flaws. Things never get too dire, and although the story continues, things are wrapped up rather neat by the end. Perhaps too neat. I did enjoy how violence was always, always a last resort. Caruso never took the easy way out of a problem, and tried to solve everything with wit and diplomacy.

I liked it enough to check out book two, coming in 2021.

This was a book that sounded great from the outset, but had moments of amazingness bogged down by length and unnecessary wordiness. The story seemed to drag to the point where I was checking to see how much further I had to go; especially in the middle section once all the pieces were in play, the novel seemed to not want to reach a crescendo. It felt like the story had an editor cram most of the major plot developments into the last 20% of the book to force it to reach a conclusion. With that being said, Caruso writes well, her scenes and characters vivid and lifelike. The first in a series, I can understand worldbuilding needing to take a prominent role within the text, but even though this didn't feel like an exposition-fest, it didn't seem to flow naturally through the characters. Overall, the book was fine, but it doesn't leave me looking to pick up the next in the series.

#TheObsidianTower
#Netgalley
A solid read for fantasy lover's. It has some hiccups, but overall a adventurous, fast paced read.

I've been a fan of Melissa Caruso's writing since her first series, Swords and Fire (which is easily one of my all time favorites). So naturally, when I had the chance to read an early version of The Obsidian Tower, I jumped.

This book is every bit as well written as her other books, I'm pleased to say. I will note, however, that it's more for fans of political maneuvering and strategy vs. epic fantasy battles (though battles DO happen). The gist of this book lies within conversations and forming relationships - making friends, deciding who to trust, convincing others to act or not act. Similar can be said for the Swords and Fire series, though I felt the pacing/action in that one was kicked up a notch. I always like to note this so that readers go in with the right expectations!

That said, I loved returning to the Swords and Fire world here. Melissa's world building is off the charts. This series takes place in Vaskandar, so think wizards and mages and land-based magic and the like. Though we get to see hints of other places via their delegations.

I'm not going to be too spoilery here, though, so I won't get deep into the plot. Suffice it to say, the main character (Ryx) is a castle warden (& granddaughter of a Witch Lord), and her one and only goal is to guard a Very Important Tower and keep the 'door sealed'.

But no one knows what's in the tower, not even Ryx.

But when a freakish accident occurs at the beginning of the book, the contents of said tower are exposed - and ooooooh goodness just wait until you see what it is. So yeah, guarding the tower is going to become increasingly difficult for Ryx, especially as the rest of the world slowly but surely finds out what her family has been guarding all these years. Ah.

Another of Caruso's strengths is the escalating of tension. So just as you think 'ah, things are so bad they can't possibly get worse', she throws another wrench in the plot. It, ah, keeps things interesting. And those pages turning.

As far as the characters, I loved Ryx. She actually reminds me a bit of Amalia from S&F. She's levelheaded and tries to do what's right despite everyone pulling her in different directions. Also her power is super cool, if awful. There's also a 'squad' of sorts called the Rookery, all of whom I loved (and were delightfully diverse and bantery). I loved how well they worked together and accepted Ryx for who she was. Then there's Severin, who I have mixed feelings about. I loved him in the beginning (what can I say? I love awful characters). But then (a very very mild spoiler) he softens up a bit, and while he has his own character arc, I'm not sure if I ship them. I mean I should, and I kinda do, but I'm hoping to see more power and strength from him. Right now, it feels like a gust of wind could topple him. We'll see.

Anyway, all in all, it's a promising start and I had lots of fun going through it!

It's a story about Ryx, a Warden, with magic that is broken, twisted, and just not quite right when compared to the magic of the rest of her family. Despite this, she is determined to protect her family and people. Above all that means to preventing anything from opening the Door. When her grandmother goes missing and someone opens the Door, Ryx must somehow manage the fallout and protect her people while dealing with the consequences.

I picked it up, started reading it, and was quickly bogged down - trying to process the information overload that was the world-building or in this case world-understanding of the character Ryx. Her inner monologue of her place and how she fit in it was basically all the background I got. Everywhere the reader went with Ryx, that was how the world was built and processed around us. It was a very difficult thing to that in as a reader to be forced-fed the world around you through the first person setting like that. It left everything every flat for me.
The author clearly has talented, as the story is unique and does has quality about it that made me want to continuing reading. I did feel, however, that if it was a different POV she the plot wouldn't have been bogged down as much and the world-building would have flowed. I think the characters suffered and remained unchanging because they had to be used as mouth-pieces. Overall, it's a good book that could be great.

** I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. **

This is a really tough one to review, because it’s hard to put into words exactly what I disliked about it. It was just sort of… underwhelming. I went into it with high hopes. I’m a huge X-Men fan, and The Obsidian Tower’s protagonist, Ryx, sounded like a high fantasy version of Rogue, with powers that prevent her from getting physically close to anyone else. Unfortunately, the story didn’t deliver on its interesting premise.

By far the weakest element of this book was its plot. There wasn’t a lot going on, and most of what was going on was politics and diplomacy. Now, fictional politics can be interesting (hello, A Song of Ice and Fire), but only when you mix it with enough action to keep things interesting, which is what The Obsidian Tower lacked. At no point did I care about what was happening or how it would end, and reading felt like a chore.

Now, I can deal with a weak plot as long as the characters are strong enough to make up for it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case here. Maybe it’s because I went in expecting Rogue from the X-Men, but Ryx could not have been less compelling. She lacked development and her personality was ill-defined. She was passive and obedient and I can’t come up with any other words to describe her. She had so much potential: a bisexual mage, the warden of a castle with warped magic that kills everything it touches. How cool does that sound? She should have been awesome, which makes it even more disappointing that she wasn’t.

The rest of the cast of characters were equally two-dimensional. Ryx’s romance with Kessa was poorly developed, which I especially hate to see in a lesbian romance. In fact, all of Ryx’s relationships were all telling and no showing. I was particularly disappointed by Ryx’s family relationships, which, again, had so much potential: her mage father, her diplomat mother, neither of whom we even meet. Her grandmother, who appears just long enough to give badass female leader vibes before disappearing from the plot. The only family member who gets any meaningful page time is Ryx’s nasty aunt Karrigan, who I hated.

The one highlight of The Obsidian Tower was the worldbuilding, which was complex and interesting. My only complaints were with the magic system, which was relatively simple, and with Melissa Caruso’s use of the cliché “magic eyes” trope. (In this world, mages have colored circles around their irises, called “mage marks.”) And despite my problems with the characters and plot, I think Caruso has a good writing style that lends itself well to high fantasy.

Ultimately, where this book failed is that it didn’t make me feel anything. The pacing was all wrong, and it fell awkwardly between young adult and adult fiction, with none of the excitement of YA and none of the maturity of adult fiction.

This seemed like something I could really get into, reading the summary.

I'll confess that I was vaguely disinterested for the first couple of chapters. There wasn't necessarily anything that I could pinpoint as the reason. The introduced characters seemed interesting, and the beginnings of plot were more than adequate. I had to chug through the first little bit, and admittedly real life could have contributed to my distraction.

However, there came a point before halfway that I found that I was no longer working through and I was actually slightly anxious about having to stop reading to do other things.

The characters are pretty well fleshed out, the plot pulls you in, and the writing does them both justice. I certainly intend to read the sequel whenever I can get my hands on it.

Worth the time and effort to read.

This book was a perfect mix of politics and magic, something that is hard to balance. I really liked the main characters powers/problems with said powers and how they affected the plot, although I feel like the story set readers up for something big down the road that I’m impatient to get to.

Such an amazing story! What can I say? The character arc was such a roller coaster of emotions for me. I couldn’t put down the book. A riveting tale that’ll maintain your attention.

FIVE OUT OF FIVE OBSIDIAN TOWERS

Melissa Caruso has done it again!

In The Obsidian Tower she introduces us to a brand new cast of characters, including our new main character Ryxander—our clever, heartful vivomancer with broken magic. Caruso brings her skills with political intrigue, mystery, and the ever constant escalating tension as we race through this twisty plot as we find out just why Ryx must guard the tower—and ensure that nothing unseals the door.

First of all thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
"Guard the tower, ward the stone. Find your answers writ in bone. Keep your trust through wits or war--nothing must unseal the door."
If that teaser doesn't get your blood pumping for this book I kindly suggest you check your pulse.
There is honestly NOTHING about this book that I didn't love. There aren't many YA books I would buy a physical copy of but this just might be one of them. I can defiantly see myself re-reading this book in the future.
I read a few other reviews after I finished this book. I feel like it sometimes helps me put hot I feel into works. I agree with another reviewer who said that this book is less about waiting for something to happen than dealing with the consequences of those choices. Things come to a head very quickly in this book and just keep rolling from there.
For me this was a refreshing change from usual YA books I read. I'm still not sure what to call this world of demons and mages.
Ryx is everything I love my heroine to be. She can kill easily but that is not where her strength lies. She is good and kind and does the right thing even when it's the hardest thing to do. She makes tough choices and always tried her best to do her duty. She is quick to trust and forgives much easier than I would. Maybe it's because I'm a mother but there were so many times I just wanted to hug her. She had a rough upbringing due to her defective magic that makes ALL physical touch impossible. She is defiantly the outcast of the family but she doesn't wallow in self-pity. She finds a way to make a meaningful life for herself despite feeling like a monster. I feel like I'm gushing, aren't I? I'll move on.
I will throw in a little critique. I feel like a little LGBTQ was added for political correctness. Not my cup of tea. It felt a little forced. I did see another review comment on how Ryk was attracted to several other supporting characters. I feel this this was a reflection of being raised sheltered from most affection and personal touch. I think she was a little starved for love and it was something she deeply wanted and needed.
I didn't find this book to be overly predictable. I know someone was going to betray my lovely Ryx but it ended up not being the person I expected.
See, now I have another problem that plagues all readers. I WANT MORE but I'll need to wait a whole year for satisfaction. I'll be watching Netgally and following this author for hints of book two. Because without a doubt I'll be back for more!