April 18th, 2024
Home | Log in!

On Top Shelf
FORTUNE IN NAME ONLYFORTUNE IN NAME ONLY
Fresh Pick
THE BELOVED
THE BELOVED

New Books This Week

Fresh Fiction Box

Video Book Club

April Showers Giveaways


April's Affections and Intrigues: Love and Mystery Bloom

Slideshow image


Since your web browser does not support JavaScript, here is a non-JavaScript version of the image slideshow:

slideshow image
Investigating a conspiracy really wasn't on Nikki's very long to-do list.


slideshow image
Escape to the Scottish Highlands in this enemies to lovers romance!


slideshow image
It�s not the heat�it�s the pixie dust.


slideshow image
They have a perfect partnership�
But an attempt on her life changes everything.


slideshow image
Jealousy, Love, and Murder: The Ancient Games Turn Deadly


slideshow image
Secret Identity, Small Town Romance
Available 4.15.24


The Bones of Ruin

The Bones of Ruin, September 2021
by Sarah Raughley

Margaret K. McElderry Books
496 pages
ISBN: 1534453563
EAN: 9781534453562
Kindle: B08W5FVX1S
Hardcover / e-Book
Add to Wish List


Purchase



"Reminiscent of The Hunger Games"

Fresh Fiction Review

The Bones of Ruin
Sarah Raughley

Reviewed by Carol Pennington
Posted September 16, 2021

Young Adult | Young Adult Fantasy | Fantasy

Iris is a circus performer.  She performs her role as a tight rope walker very well because she has no fear of dying.  That life has suited her well until now.  Due to an unfortunate incident, Iris’ deepest secret has been revealed.  Iris knows she is different, but she doesn’t know why.  She doesn’t even know who she really is because she has lost all memories previous to ten years ago. What she does know is that she can’t remain at the circus. She flees with no real plans other than to search for the truth of her identity.

THE BONES OF RUIN by Sara Raughley is a young adult novel set in London and is reminiscent of THE HUNGER GAMES but with a fantasy spin to it. Though it is not a dystopian novel, it has does share common themes with THE HUNGER GAMES.  Both novels have overbearing political forces that demand compliance.  Both novels also pit champions against one another, and both novels feature characters who try to beat the game by allowing more than one champion to prevail.

I found THE BONES OF RUIN a bit difficult to follow at the beginning, but as the story unravels it becomes very intriguing.  This novel contains a small amount of romance, but is predominately a fantasy thriller.  There is mystery, suspense, and a lot of action scenes found within the book.  The plot is deep and reveals itself at a slow, but steady pace.  There are several good twists thrown in to keep it interesting.

THE BONES OF RUIN is appropriate for the young adult/teenage reader for which it was written, but I would not recommend it for younger readers for a few reasons.  First, there is a lot of violence contained within the story and it is very graphic in nature.  There are also a couple of sexually explicit, but not graphic, scenes in the book. Finally, the book does contain some profanity, though it is not vulgar in nature.

If you enjoy fantasy thrillers that contain dark secrets and lots of action, you will enjoy THE BONES OF RUIN.  As a warning, this book does end in a cliffhanger.        

Learn more about The Bones of Ruin

SUMMARY

An African tightrope walker who can’t die gets embroiled in a secret society’s deadly gladiatorial tournament in this thrilling historical fantasy set in an alternate 1880s London, perfect for fans of The Last Magician and The Gilded Wolves.

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.


What do you think about this review?

Comments

No comments posted.

Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!

 

 

 

© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net  all rights reserved Privacy Policy