Bones of Ruin is an incredible, unique and complex 1st installment in a new fantasy series by author Sara Raughley.


As you can gather from the synopsis, the premise is very unique and different and packed full of conflict.

We follow the story through the eyes of our main character, Iris, who is an African tightrope- walker in London, working in a circus.

She has no memories of her childhood, past a certain day when she was just a kid and, the strangest thing if all- she cannot die.


That is not a word joke. She literally cannot die. She has died and come back God knows how many times and all she wants is to find out where she came from and the answers to her murky past.


Strangely, she ends up crossing paths with a man named Adam Temple, who she has a vague memory of seeing in the past. Adam is a part of an uber-elite club called Club Uriel and he promises Iris answers to all her questions if only she would participate in a secret tournament of "Freaks" like her, as as his champion.

She agrees to this deal and that's when chaos starts rolling faster.


The character Adam Temple, although a sort of secondary, character also has a lot going on. He blues the line between morally-grey and actually evil.


The book also has a lot of interesting themes of Dooms Day, resurrection, rebirth of the world and such. That's kind of the main plotline or the major arc of the book that will include all the books in the series, even though our main characters are not always aware of it.


The first book is more focused on introducing the world and characters to us, and has sort of a Hunger Games- like competition with characters that have really X-Men like powers. (😜 Lok at me name-dropping all the pop-culture references like a pro)


Another thing that I wanted to note was the love triangle trope. Now personally I realy am not a fan of that trope and the romance was not such a huge thing in the story anyway, but if you would like know- there is very much a love triangle in this story and although I didn't really care much for it, it wasn't because it wasn't done right.

Just that it's not my favorite thing and I kinda felt that it was unnecessary. The girl could just have not have any sort of romantic feelings towards one of the characters and the plot wouldn't have been affected.


But despite that, the book ultimately was fantastic. I had a great time reading it. Truly unputdownable. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a fast-paced fantasy story, with a sinister mystery to unravel.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Bone of Ruin

Author: Sarah Raughley

Book Series: The Bones of Ruin Book 1

Diversity: Black MC, Salvadorian side character, LGBTQIA side characters and villains

Rating: 4/5

Recommended For...: young adult, fantasy, circus, secret society, all out fight

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publication Date: September 7, 2021

Publisher: Mcelderry Books

Pages: 477

Recommended Age: 15+ (Gore, Violence, Racism, Racist language, Human Auction, Human exhibits, PTSD, Death, Police brutality)

Explanation of CWs: Lots of gore and violence. Racism and racist language in a historical context in this book. There is 1 scene with a human auction. There is a lot of backstory involving humans on exhibits in a zoo. Death is frequent. One police brutality incident shown.

Synopsis: As an African tightrope dancer in Victorian London, Iris is used to being strange. She is certainly a strange sight for leering British audiences always eager for the spectacle of colonial curiosity. But Iris also has a secret that even “strange” doesn’t capture…​

She cannot die.

Haunted by her unnatural power and with no memories of her past, Iris is obsessed with discovering who she is. But that mission gets more complicated when she meets the dark and alluring Adam Temple, a member of a mysterious order called the Enlightenment Committee. Adam seems to know much more about her than he lets on, and he shares with her a terrifying revelation: the world is ending, and the Committee will decide who lives…and who doesn’t.

To help them choose a leader for the upcoming apocalypse, the Committee is holding the Tournament of Freaks, a macabre competition made up of vicious fighters with fantastical abilities. Adam wants Iris to be his champion, and in return he promises her the one thing she wants most: the truth about who she really is.

If Iris wants to learn about her shadowy past, she has no choice but to fight. But the further she gets in the grisly tournament, the more she begins to remember—and the more she wonders if the truth is something best left forgotten.

Review: For the most part I liked this book. It was a good story and I felt like the core of the story was entertaining. I was hooked in on the first few pages and I felt like the characters were well developed. I really loved how the author interwove the real life horrors I also liked the world building.

However, after the first few chapters, the book started to have a lot of issues for me. The story was good but what I thought was going to happen quickly evolved into something more than what I expected. There was a ton to this story and I feel like maybe it should have been split up between 2 books or maybe even scaled down.

Verdict: It was good, but there's a lot in this book.

Magic, fantasy, mystery. A little bit of everything rolled into a fantastical story. The characters were great and easy to love and hate. Gram was utterly terrifying, I see this as a series on Netflix or Hulu. However, it took forever to read, I think it could use a good edit for word count. I did feel the synopsis was a little misleading, I went into this book with a whole nother mind set, only to be whipped 180 degrees. I good Halloween/October read I think.

I won’t lie, what first attracted me to The Bones of Ruin was the cover. The depths it explored was beyond me AND IT IS SOOO GORGEOUS! I knew right then that I wanted to read this book anyhow and now here I am!

I really enjoyed reading the book, which is to say something as I don’t really read Historical Fiction. However the starting itself was intriguing and dark enough for me to pick up the book and read it and boy was I invested. The setting of the story is Victorian London and I cannot gush enough about how beautiful it looks in my imagination. Not to mention that Iris is a tightrope dancer and such an amazing protagonist that it is hard to not fall for her.

The pacing of the story felt really balanced for me as well – there were some parts that seem to not end soon enough but the plot revolving around Iris and her quest and determination to find out her memories kept me going forward with this book. As someone who is more interested in reading books with good character development, there was plenty of the same to be found here. Stories set in a heavy setting can seem to revolve majorly around the plot but I really enjoyed the way it was managed in this book.

Moreover, the book discussed the themes of racism and slavery (*TW) in this book… which was something I appreciated to read. Most of the time, at least in the Victorian novels I have read, authors seem to completely neglect this, which doesn’t sit right with me considering the time was the height of events around racism, slavery and colonization.

Oh oh and did I mention there’s magic in this book? I honestly adore any and every book with the theme of magic in it ❤

Thank you to Turn the Page Tours for providing me with an advanced copy of The Bones of Ruin. This is in no way shown in my review.

And another thank you to the nice lady at the bookstore who squealed with me about this book!

The Bones of Ruin is a book to get you thinking! With a passionate tightrope walker as the main character and shapeshifters for the side characters, it’s sure to pull any reader in. The writing styles of the books I’ve been reading have been very similar and fast-paced which is great for my brain. I really enjoyed the writing style in this one! It got to the point and each character had a great voice. I really loved the world building and the author made the settings come to life!

I read this book really slowly (5 pages a day slowly), which was a mistake on my part. I loved being taken into a world of carnivals and immortality, but reading it slowly messed with my head. I loved the main character, Iris! Even though I’m not immortal, she had such a realistic personality and was what I love in characters (compassionate, fierce, and unique). I also loved the other characters, but Iris was definitely my favorite. I’ve also been reading a lot of historical fantasies lately, and this definitely satisfied my need and expectations!

I fully recommend it to historical fantasy readers and people who love stories with great characters!

A fantasy story with influential people in politics, dark secrets, and too much power play – set in Victorian London, as we follow a “Strange” girl Iris, who is strange not just because she is an African tightrope dancer but because she can never die. Iris has no memories of her past and is hell bent on discovering who she is, when she meets the alluring and handsome Adam Temple, who seems to know much more about her than he lets on. The Enlightenment Committee, a mysterious order, conducts a Tournament of Freaks to help them choose leader for the upcoming apocalypse.

As expected, Adam wants Iris to be his champion and promises the truth about her in return.

Who doesn’t like a fierce competition with vicious fighters blessed with fantastical abilities?

Personally, I think that it was very brave for the author to give Iris such an ability because it does somewhat lower the stakes. This book gives off very heavy Hunger Games vibes, and to some extent the competition felt a lot like the one in Throne of Glass. Nevertheless, Iris is an incredibly interesting character and it was really intriguing to watch the author push her into extreme situations despite her invincibility. Her character for some reason reminded me of the big guy from the Jessica Jones tv show.

The book opens with Adam’s pov and I am not exaggerating when I say that you will immediately find yourself drawn to the book, the plot, the concept, and the character. Although, the book succeeds in grasping your attention at the very beginning, the slow pacing did kinda draw me out of the book but the element of mystery makes up for it. The language was not exactly smooth flowing but it was fairly easy enough to follow. There were certain twists and turns to throw the reader off track, but nothing too surprising or unpredictable.

I think Iris’s friends were my absolute favorite part of this book! It has a mild found-family trope feel to it and their interactions, constant saving each others lives, and looking out for each other was everything. I wish there was more context and content in regards to the side characters because some of them felt more compelling that Iris’s character, while some felt a bit too underdeveloped because of the focused focus on Iris.

Which brings me to the most admiral aspect of the book and that is how the author seamlessly ties in pretty heavy topics such as life for a woman of color (Iris) in Victorian London. I loved how she subtly shed light on racism and sexism and it was endearing at times because it felt like she was literally calling out people.

All in all the book was pretty enjoyable with the puzzles, the enchanting setting, the fantastical elements. What bugged me though was – the romance.

I mean, what was it? I really didn’t get it. Honestly, I am still not sure what exactly it was all about. It was like this weird love square of sorts? I don’t know. This brought the rating down by one star for me. There was little chemistry and the bickering felt a bit forced for me. The romantic sub-plot of this book is still a huge question mark for me.

Overlooking the romance, I would recommend this book if you are a fan of Hunger Games, Throne of Glass series, and Marvel Movies. If you love secret orders, dark personalities, and intense political power play – definitely check this out!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of The Bones of Ruin!

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it. The premise seems cool - historical fantasy featuring a deathless African woman in Victorian England - but the storytelling just didn't work for me. I didn't connect with Iris quickly enough to care about her quest, and the writing style was just too slow. I expected it to be a bit more fast-paced, but I think there was too much going on for it to really work. Like many recent YA fantasy novels, it was just too long to be good, and it would have benefited from some serious editing and streamlining.

Happy Tuesday y’all! And happy release day to The Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley! I loved Sarah Raughley’s Effigies series, so I was the most excited when I was given access to the eARC via Netgalley (thanks Simon Pulse).

The Bones of Ruin 4/5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads:

As an African tightrope dancer in Victorian London, Iris is used to being strange. She is certainly a strange sight for leering British audiences always eager for the spectacle of colonial curiosity. But Iris also has a secret that even “strange” doesn’t capture…​

She cannot die.

Haunted by her unnatural power and with no memories of her past, Iris is obsessed with discovering who she is. But that mission gets more complicated when she meets the dark and alluring Adam Temple, a member of a mysterious order called the Enlightenment Committee. Adam seems to know much more about her than he lets on, and he shares with her a terrifying revelation: the world is ending, and the Committee will decide who lives…and who doesn’t.

To help them choose a leader for the upcoming apocalypse, the Committee is holding the Tournament of Freaks, a macabre competition made up of vicious fighters with fantastical abilities. Adam wants Iris to be his champion, and in return he promises her the one thing she wants most: the truth about who she really is.

If Iris wants to learn about her shadowy past, she has no choice but to fight. But the further she gets in the grisly tournament, the more she begins to remember—and the more she wonders if the truth is something best left forgotten.

I loved the premise of this book so much! And it was super action packed- so much happened throughout, so I was definitely never bored, but there were times where I was like huh? How does this go with what just happened? I loved the tournament and the way that was executed. The teams were all so different and had different strengths that they played up and that made things so interesting. I also really liked Iris as a main character. I wasn’t as much of a fan of the love triangle/love polygon that was going on (like everyone was in love with Iris), but thankfully she was more focused on her end goal than getting distracted by al of the people in love with her, so that was good. The whole end of the world storyline was interesting and I’m excited to see where it goes in book 2! Overall, The Bones of Ruin is a fun read and a great beginning to this series! I can’t wait to see where these books go from here!

Iris, an African tightrope walker, does not remember much of her life. All she knows is that she cannot die. When her secret is revealed, she becomes a piece in a tournament for a London secret society, and the stakes are high: as she gets further into these games, more about her past is revealed and Iris must come to terms with who she really is.

I really enjoyed this book! I think it was a solid debut with great world building and a fascinating cast of characters. I loved the slow reveal of parts of the mystery of Iris's past, and the abilities of the different characters was great. I loved the secret society aspect of the book too.

I do think perhaps the author was trying to do too much? There was a tournament, a love square, a mystery of the past as Iris is trying to discover her life prior to what she remembers, and the Victorian London/secret society/circus setting. I think a lot of it is done really well, but the book just felt too long. All in all, a good solid story, and I do know teens that will love it. I'm excited to put it on my shelf.

The Bones of Ruin is the start of an exciting new fantasy series. Iris is an African tightrope walker with a secret: she cannot die. When a man from the past she has forgotten appears at one of her circus performances, it sets off a chain of events that lead to her participation as a champion in a sinister competition hosted by a secret society that is a fancy doomsday cult.

I really enjoyed this novel! I really enjoyed the main crew: Iris, Jinn, and Max. And the jury is still out on Adam, who actually gets some POV chapters here and there amongst Iris’s.

The plot of The Bones of Ruin is in a league of its own. The author, Sarah Raughley, has masterfully crafted this story and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next books!

All in all, The Bones of Ruin is an excellent series starter that is perfect for older YA readers or NA readers who want a new take on “superpowers,” Victorian England, violent tournaments, or fantasy in general.

Thank you to Turn the Page Tours for the inclusion on the Book Tour and Simon Pulse / Simon Teen for a NetGalley eARC and physical copy of The Bones of Ruin! I really appreciate the opportunity to read this!

Tour Stop will happen on September 8, 2021 at 8:00am (Central) on my Instagram @delightful.reading
Full review will be on my blog on September 8, 2021 at 8:00am (Central)
https://caitlynbarlow.wordpress.com/2021/09/08/book-tour-the-bones-of-ruin-by-sarah-raughley/

The premise of The Bones of Ruin hooked me instantly- Victorian London, a Hunger Games-esque competition, throw in a circus, some mystery, and magic? Yes please! I just had trouble with it, and I can't even wholly pinpoint why. So at twenty percent, I put it down, but perhaps not forever? Usually, by the time I have let a book sit until it's time to review, I have decided to not finish, or give it another go. This time, I haven't.

See, like I said, the premise is awesome. And I really did feel for Iris! I mean, how could I not? But even twenty percent in, I didn't feel like I could connect to her. And that makes sense! Because she doesn't even know who she is! But I also found things to be moving quite slowly, which compounded the situation.

And even though part of me did want to see what was going to become of Iris, I just could not muster the motivation to keep on keepin' on. So my new plan is, wait for some more reviews, see if things pick up, and then maybe I will give it another go.

Bottom Line: I genuinely think this is a case of "it's not the book, it's me" so read it! And then tell me if I should!

5 stars

<b> "My body is my own. My heart is my own. My fate is my own." </b>

rep // Black MC. mlm

cw // murder, blood, gore, racism, poverty, guns, cannibalism, explosion

The Bones of Ruin is one of the most stand out fantasy novels I've seen in a LONG time. Full of incredible diverse characters with diverse powers set in Victoria London and a reverse harem plot point, I knew I'd be dragged in from the very start. While it's around 450+ pages, I think this book needed every page of it.

The MC, Iris is an African tightrope dancer in a circus. She showed up one day without a single memory of her past. She also... cannot die. She is desperate to regain her memories, so when Lord Adam Temple offers to assist her in remembering, she is willing to accept his help. In return, Adam needs two things from Iris. The first, he wants her to join the team he is building to compete in the “Tournament of Freaks” which we find out is a competition to decide which member of the Enlightenment Committee gets to rule after the end of this world. The second, he needs Iris to find his father, who was a previous member who ran away with secrets crucial to the elite club.

This book highlighted the barbarity and racist practices of the nineteenth century. We see that Iris was kidnapped from Africa and tested upon due to her ability to not die. We see the poverty that many of the "freaks" went through due to their inability to stay in society and how it's twisted many of their minds. On the other hand, there's lots of touching found family moments between the "freaks".

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this. There’s a decent amount of world-building without any info-dumping. The Tournament was fun, seeing everyone’s powers displayed. There’s a shapeshifter, a mind-controller, a teen who can warp time, and many other characters with fantastical abilities. I love a good tournament & riddle based book, and this one definitely delivered. It was so much fun to see the pieces of Iris's life put together leading to the final puzzle piece clicking in.

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The Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley is intricate, to say the least. I can see why it has mixed reviews. A lot was going on throughout the story, and it deserves a detailed breakdown. Some may love it; some may be looking at the book like what the fuck, but the story will take you on an exploration nonetheless.

I liked that Raughley wrote a story about an African female character in the Victorian ages and didn’t beat us over the head with the obvious fact that she’s black. Don’t get me wrong, she noted the lack of respect towards her gender and her skin color, but it wasn’t the leading focus of the story.

As far as the lovey-dovey portion of the book, I have never seen a love square before. A triangle, yes. But not a square. That was new for me. I’m not sure if this aspect of personalization was needed. I won’t say it felt forced, but it did add something to the story.

The ending has me highly confused. It is entirely too much to process, and I probably need to reread to grasp the intentions of the plot fully. To be fair, the book was left off as a cliffhanger, and we’ll probably get more answers in the sequel, but right now, I have questions.

3.5 stars

A chilling tale of fantastic deeds and devastating secrets, set in late Victorian London. Whether good, evil, or inhabiting the grey area between, the characters engage and entertain, and watching the many puzzle pieces fall into place is great fun. Perfect for spooky autumn nights and recommended for fans of dark urban fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is said to be like The Last Magician and The Gilded Wolves, which I can definitely see with the clues, Orders, artifacts, challenges and mystery.
The book starts in a circus in the late 1880s with the usual oddities and attractions. Iris the African tightrope walker is a big draw but when she gets distracted by someone she sees in the audience, from her past, she slips and falls.
This someone belongs to an Enlightenment Committee and wants to recruit her to his team for the Tournament of Freaks. There seem to be quite a few individuals like herself that have unique gifts and abilities. Hers being that she can not die.
There was a lot of history that was woven into this story and the history of what Europeans did to Africans by way of entertainment was appalling. There is mysticism, history, fantasy and real world all woven in and the storytelling is richer for it. The story of the bones was very intriguing but I don't want to give any plot points away cause it was pretty cool unraveling that and it's the title of the book.
The committee is like a CIA/MI6 but working outside the government and against the government in a way. They are very powerful and anyone with too much information will be disposed of if they are too chatty. The freaks they have on their teams are all cutthroat and the challenges range from deadly physical exhibitions to riddles to be solved.
Iris and her former performer partner Jinn also have growing chemistry during their act as The Nubian Princess and The Turkish Prince and again during this challenge as he finds her after she leaves the circus. As they share a bed during the competition (don't worry it's YA, no sexual activity noted in this book, chemistry and slow burn though). There was also another team mate that showed interest in Iris that set up a possible love triangle. But Iris was also not trying to be with anyone, she was trying to uncover her past with the help of her patron who knew who she was. I didn't mention she had no memory after an explosion that happened years before. So much mystery and intrigue you need to read it! I didn't tell you all the millions of details you need to piece all this mess I just gave you together. But I hope it convinces you to add it to your TBR and read it!
This gave me some Queen of the Damned type vibes since it ended on a cliffhanger with someone we hadn't met but had heard mentioned.
Goodreads is already showing that this will be a trilogy so I am excited to see where this story leads us and if there will be an apocalypse or if someone will save the day.
Honestly, I can't tell if anyone is a hero at this point. And please Gram stay the hell away, blech!

Definitely recommended for those fantasy lovers, it is a bit bloody so be prepared for that!


TW: Cannibalism, violence

I was immediately hooked by the premise of a historical fantasy set in Victorian London that was akin to a supernatural Hunger Games. And I'm ridiculously happy to say that The Bones of Ruin in the slightest did not disappoint!

It follows Iris, an African tightrope dancer who, for lack of a better word, cannot die. She has no memories of her past until she gets recruited by the mysterious Adam Temple to compete as his champion in his Tournament of Freaks, a magical, but deadly competition held by a secret society to determine leadership.

> A promise made between a young man and a corpse in the middle of the night.

With many of the historical fantasies I read, my favourite aspect of The Bones of Ruin would be the historical one. As mentioned earlier, it is set in Victorian London and I absolutely loved how immersive it was. The atmosphere just permeates and with the steampunk vibe (one with aesthetics reminiscent of the 19th century, a subgenre of science fiction) in the midst of a post-apocalyptic world, the setting was perfectly executed. Be it the barbarity in dealing with threats, or the racist practices and attitudes, or even the dominance of secret society and other lucrative avenues, this book completely encapsulated the late 19th century with a touch of dark magic, and I savoured every bit.

> Knowledge and power are dangerous commodities when one monopolizes them.

Another aspect I could go on a lengthy rant about it would be the crafting of the story because it was truly an engrossing and adrenaline fuelled adventure. We're already being hit by the fact that our main character cannot die, then introduced to a group of BIPOC teens with abilities of their own, thrust into a Hunger Games-sque kind of competition with a darker edge that turns them into all but puppets in the hands of secret society members who pull the strings in their ardent grab for power. It's cutthroat, it's thrilling, not only in action alone, but through the secrets that are leaked out slowly until it's a flood that turns the entire course of the book upside down.

It's fast-paced and fun with elements of magic powers, tournaments but balanced by instances of astoundingly dark themes of slavery and human zoos which foreshadowed the post-apocalyptic setting well.

> “My body is my own. My heart is my own. My fate is my own”

However from prior experience, I've witnessed the folly of many books unable to balance both character and plot, and I'm afraid to say that The Bones of Ruin fell into that hole with its poor characterisation. iIris, our main character (the African tightrope dancer) was honestly given so much potential, the author quickly implanting themes of race and identity into her character journey, however they all descended into a lackluster, special snowflake personality that she embodied. She was perfect, even in her flaws, she was brave, heroic and alluring to all - don't even get me started on the love triangle (or perhaps even a square) that was insidiously growing until it irritatingly took up the later half of the book.

Speaking of the later half of the book, I'm sorry to say that it took such a drastic turn in quality compared to the initial promising set up. Perhaps it was mostly my ire towards the blossoming love triangle/square and the increasingly patronising personality of Iris, but I felt that The Bones of Ruin slacked. So many bits of information, albeit intriguing were thrown sporadically without any warning, the plot also switched to bullet-train mode and quickly plunged into something epic that had me question how the book even ended up there. It may be a satisfying experience for some, but I was left behind, thoroughly and utterly confused by the huge scale things had abruptly taken.

> How can people who believe so much in reason become easily enraptured by what they outwardly consider to be the reason's opposite? But perhaps that's the paradox of the modern age.

Nonetheless despite the poor characterisation and inferior 2nd half, The Bones of Ruin was an enjoyable and immersive read whose historical setting I fell in love with and plot which never failed to astound me as well as cause me to devour it in a few sittings! Definitely recommend you're in for an atmospheric, albeit dark, and fast-paced YA historical fantasy!

Thanks to NetGalley & Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, I DNF'ed this at 20%.

Iris is a circus performer recruited by a mysterious benefactor Adam who wishes for her to participate in this weird Hunger Games-style competition where Iris is pitted against extraordinary people with extraordinary abilities.

My least favorite bits was the love interests. Unfortunately, there were more than one. Jinn was one of the major ones and he was pretty bland as a character so that wasn't fun. Adam and Max were insta-love and snooooore. I feel like the romance could have just been removed in favor of the plot parts because they were miles more interesting. Alas.

The writing style is a bit off, it feels almost...chaotic and too spread out instead of tightly woven into a story. There's a lot of plot points going on in the writing and I just didn't feel like pushing through to keep up with it. I was getting a headache trying to keep up with it all which isn't fun and cemented my decision to stop reading.

Like others said, it's basically X-Men but shoved into a Hunger Games. Problem is, the set up to it is dull as rocks and Iris isn't a very interesting character. Sure, she's got this mysterious backstory, but it's the *only* thing Iris thinks about .She doesn't have much of a personality beyond her """"""mysterious"""" backstory.

This book does have a really cool concept, I think the writing style and execution wasn't for me. If anyone's into a historical fiction/hunger games/X-Men combo and has the patience to make sense of the chaotic writing, go for it.

Bones of Ruin takes off quickly, several important characters introduced in the first few pages. I was drawn in immediately and wanted to keep reading, except I had very early work the next day! Soon, the novel took a turn for the worse, too many characters and repetitive storytelling lulled me into boredom every time I tried to read. While I find Iris to be a compelling character, the repetitiveness of her narrative, her search for information about her past and recovery of her memories, made for a boring read. While it sounds like this book has everything I want: mystery, found family, queer characters, a tournament, magical powers and skills, a circus, I just couldn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

With so many characters introduced in so short a time, I had a hard time keeping track of any of them, other than Iris and Adam. I expected the point of view to switch every chapter, too, but it only did so sporadically. Every man falls in love with Iris instantly: Adam and Max especially. But even Jinn, who was set up to be the man in every enemies to lovers fantasy, fell short. They had some tension in the beginning but flashbacks and the few interactions after that were just friendship and lust, no hint of enmity or competition. Iris ‘trusts’ Adam too easily. She asks him blatantly if she can trust him, which I feel like doesn’t fit her personality at all--she’s been in the circus for years and years, with a manipulative leader as her boss. She knows better than to ask outright. Rather, she should observe and form her own opinion, not ask outright at the very beginning. I thought she was supposed to be smart.

The fight scenes are abrupt and clinical--they don’t feel chaotic enough, especially when it’s often more than one assailant against a single person.

As hyped up as this book was, and as amazing as it sounded, it fell short of my expectations in terms of plot and characters. The first quarter was great but everything that was set up in the exposition didn’t deliver. Part of that may be because this is the first in a series, a thing I didn’t realize until I went to double check the summary to write my review. Still, that does not change my opinion. I will not be continuing with this series.

3 Stars

Welcome back to another review! Today's review will be on The Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley! When I saw Turn the Pages Tour post the signup for this tour, I just knew that I wanted to be a part of it! Now let's get into it!

The Bones of Ruin takes place in a post-apocalyptic world with a Victorian London setting. Fierce competition with supernatural kids, hidden secrets, and a society full of influential people.

Even though this book takes place in Victorian London, full of dark magic and secrets, the author isn't afraid to show that it's not so great for our black main character, Iris, or any person of color.

She isn't afraid to tackle deep subjects such as racism, sexism, and much more. Raughley tied these things seamlessly into the story and made it present enough that it stuck out in your mind.

“My body is my own. My heart is my own. My fate is my own”

Iris was a compelling character to follow in this story. She remembers almost nothing of her past life and spends the book trying to unravel all of the secrets. At first, she is hesitant to find out the truth, but when she thrusts herself into a competition forced to trying to put the puzzle together.

Iris almost seems like this untouchable character, since you know, she can't die. But the author doesn't allow this to be the case. Due to this little detail, it turns the tension down a lot. You never expect Iris to die, and you'll know she'll survive in every single fighting scenario. Raughley pushes Iris into extreme situations displaying her vulnerability. But Iris tends to lean towards the mary sue character type despite these advancements.

The puzzle is put together, piece by piece. Tension rises as the mystery slowly unravels. Here and there, misleading clues take us off track. By the end, all comes to light. A brilliant mystery crafted with such elegance that you don't realize how much time has passed.

“I won't let you people take anymore away from me!”

The romance was a bit questionable in this book. I know a bunch of readers tends to dislike love triangles. This book does not only contain a love triangle but a love square. The first time I've ever seen a love square, but I don't know if I'm a fan of it. Out of all of the potential love interests, there was only one that I could see working out. Iris and this particular love interest had chemistry, and you could see they had a bond with one another.

The squad surrounding Iris was a definite hit from the countless times they planned together and save each other from near-death (except Iris). The constant bickering between them had me cracking up at times. Some of the characters did feel undeveloped at times, so I wish more time was spend on getting to know them more besides Iris all the time. But Iris isn't the only one to contain superpowers but all of them. But they don't know how they got them.

"What?" Max and Jinn both said at the same time but for different reasons.”

“Max seemed to perk up at the sound of his name even if he hadn't heard the context while Jinn responded to Iris's offhand remark with an awkwardly stiff expression.”

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book! Though some flaws held it back, some elements such as a puzzle needing to be solved, an interesting main character, and a setting that help to enhance the story.

A big thank you to Turn the Pages Tours as well as the author and publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book! Quotes are taken from an unfinished version and may be different when the book is published.

Id been wanting to read this one for months, so the fact that I disliked it has me so angry. I mean come on, we have a deadly tournament, circus scenes, and a gorgeous cover. Somehow though, not one of these elements managed to hook me.

I think the reason for this is because this entire story was so jumbled. So much was happening, there were way too many moving parts. By the end, I was just watching the story happen because I had no idea what was happening. I lost all interest in the characters, and even though the stakes were high, didn't feel a single emotional connection to any aspect of the story.

Speaking of the characters, similar to the plot, they all faded into one mass. A few names stick out to me, but even then, I couldn't manage to describe them. I can't even tell you why this is. The author attempted to give them development, but it didn't work at all.

After suffering through 500 pages of this, I just wish it had gone through some harsher editing. If 100 pages and a plotline had been chopped, this could've been amazing. That didn't happen though, and this just ended up being a read I'd like to forget.

Thanks to Turn the Page Tours for providing a free copy!