My biggest problem with Ruinsong is that I do not like Remi. Not even a little bit. I think it would have benefited from being just from Cadence's perspective, with more fleshed out scenes. Remi is naïve and annoying; she knows nothing about how magic works but somehow points out that “Cadence, of course, there are spells to protect yourself. Why don't you learn some? It can't be that hard.” For someone who has also done nothing to stand up to the queen and has been in relative safety, she's swift to judge Cadence and expect the worst.
The magic was cool, but I think it would have been even better with more development. I love more exploration of the other types of song magic. Why is the magic sung? What happens if you sing a song differently?
The whole world should be more developed. More explanation of the belief system. Why is such a big deal the Elene worships a different goddess? How big is this country? There was too much time angsting over what Remi thinks of Cadence and not enough time spent making their world make sense.
It seemed like the book was very rushed in regards to the time frame. It's been, what, a month from the beginning to end, and they're going to try to start a revolution, but Remi and Cadence can't talk to each other and work out some issues?
Ruinsong sounded very promising but fell short for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I selected An American Marriage for the library's first book club meeting for several reasons. It was at the top of almost everyone's Best Books of 2018 lists, every patron who read it only had good things to say, and someone donated a couple copies while I was trying to decide on a book.
I may have put off reading it for a few years if not for the book club because of all the hype surrounding it; it's hard to be disappointed when you don't have any expectations. An American Marriage fully lived up to its praise. I also wasn't drawn to the plot. It seemed like something I should read but probably wouldn't like. I enjoyed this book because it was driven by the characters and their relationships.
I wasn't, however, prepared for how frustrating the characters would be. I didn't like them, but I couldn't stop reading in order to find out what happened to them. And that's a testament to Tayari Jones' skill as an author. These people she crafted were flawed and real, but I wanted everything to turn out alright for them.
It took me quite awhile to start enjoying this one - it was a little too weird for my tastes. But it grew on me, and by the end I was charmed by the antics of Sputnik and Prez.
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