“All magic is beautiful…and terrible. Do you not see the beauty in yours, or the terror in mine? You can stop a heart, and I can stop your breath.”
She is heir to a Sultanate that once ruled the world. He is an unwanted prince with the power to destroy.
She is order and intellect, a woman fit to rule in a man’s place. He is chaos and violence and will stop at nothing to protect his people.
His magic answers hers with shadow for light. They need each other, but the cost of balance may be too high a price. Magic is dying and the only way to save it is to enlist mages who wield the forbidden power of death, mages cast out centuries ago in a brutal and bloody war.
Now, a new war is coming. Science and machines to replace magic and old religion.
They must find a way to save their people from annihilation and balance the sacred Wheel—but first, they will have to balance their own forbidden passion. His peace for her tempest, his restlessness for her calm…
Night and day, dusk and dawn, the end, and the beginning.
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My Review of Ruin & Wrath
I only enjoyed one aspect, which warranted half a star because it was done so well. This book is 420 pages of nothing please for the love of god stop making fantasies unbearably long when it has no plot or character development. I had a hard time not falling asleep through this book. No stakes were established, and it was all tell and no show. I was hoping it would pick up eventually, and we’d see some evidence of conflict. I’m not coming after this author’s writing; she is a great writer, and I enjoyed how she wrote in this book. That being said, there was no apparent conflict, plot, or motivation (which made it boring).
What I Liked
Naime’s Father: As someone who cares for a parent with a similar condition, I really appreciated the way that this was represented and executed. You can tell that the author handled it with care and did an excellent job writing about the difficulties of dealing with someone whose mind is slipping.
What I Didn’t:
Conflict: I understand both main characters want better for their territories? Countries? (I’m not sure because it wasn’t explained). We are told that the Republic is the big bad, but we see no proof for that. We are also told that one particular magic is bad, but again, there’s no reasoning for it.
Magic System: The magic system initially drew me to this book. Unfortunately, it wasn’t executed properly. We get an info dump about it at the beginning, which doesn’t help the reader retain anything. Then, we are told that the magic is powerful, but we don’t see much proof of that.
Bland Characters: These characters have only one dimension. The main characters and side characters felt like cardboard cutouts. There was little motivation in the beginning, and then they seemed to abandon it after the romance, which had no chemistry due to their lack of personality.
Would I Recommend Reign & Ruin
I wouldn’t. I recommend holding off and reading a book that this author produces in the future. As I said, you can see her talent as an author in this book, but the execution and structure of this book needed to be better with her writing. Then again, I know many people who loved this book and know that every reader is different. If this feels like something that might interest you, and you like a slower-paced fantasy – this might be your read. I’ll leave a link to get it on Amazon below – it’s currently on Kindle Unlimited.
J.D. Evans
J. D. Evans writes fantasy and science fiction romance. After earning her degree in linguistics, J. D. served a decade as an army officer. She once spent her hours putting together briefings for helicopter pilots and generals. Now she writes stories, tends to two unreasonable tiny humans, knits, sews badly, gardens, and cultivates Pinterest Fails. After a stint in Beirut, J. D. fell in love with the Levant, which inspired the setting for her debut series, Mages of the Wheel.
Originally hailing from Montana, J. D. now resides in North Carolina with her husband, two attempts at mini-clones gone rogue, and too many stories in her head.
If you read this book, leave a comment and please let me know what you think or if you have any recommendations for me.
