Welcome to my stop on the A Song of Wraiths and Ruin book tour! Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club for organizing the tour and allowing me to participate as a tour host!

---

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin #1)
Author: Roseanne A. Brown
Release: June 2, 2020
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Genre: YA Fantasy

For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts Malik’s younger sister, Nadia, as payment into the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal—kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom.

But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic . . . requiring the beating heart of a king. And she knows just how to obtain one: by offering her hand in marriage to the victor of the Solstasia competition.

When Malik rigs his way into the contest, they are set on a course to destroy each other. But as attraction flares between them and ancient evils stir, will they be able to see their tasks to the death?

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository | Kobo | iBooks

---

REVIEW

ARC provided by Balzer + Bray through Edelweiss.

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin is a debut West African-inspired fantasy novel featuring a merciless princess and a refugee boy. Princess Karina is grieving the assignation of her mother and is facing the threat of a coup. She plans to marry the winner of the Solstasia competition and then use his heart to perform the dark magic necessary to resurrect her mother. Malik is a refugee who’s sister has been stolen by a malevolent ancient spirit. He must kill the princess to win his sister’s freedom.

The book is told through two alternating POVs: Malik’s and Karina’s. I really enjoyed reading Malik’s chapters! He and his sisters are refugees looking for a better life and a way to support their family back home. He’s the definition of a soft, cinnamon roll. He’s very attached to his little sister, Nadia, and is willing to do whatever to get her back. He suffers from anxiety, panic attacks, and what he has been told his whole life are hallucinations. It was great to watch him discover his magic and learn to control it!

Karina was the total opposite of Malik. I wasn’t as big of a fan of her, but she started to grow on me a bit towards the end. I loved her strong-willed, self-assertive, doesn’t take no shit attitude, but she was overly brash and her tendency to make impulsive decisions didn’t win my favor.

The worldbuilding was very intriguing, but a bit confusing at times. The book seemed to volley back and forth between info-dumps and having to figure it out along the way. I really appreciated the history and folklore of the world; it was creative and intriguing and brought and extra depth to the story. I also thought the chapters with the Solstasia competitions were extremely fun to read!

Overall, an enjoyable and well-written debut novel! A Song of Wraith and Ruins features fast-paced action, plot-twists, and plenty of magic to entertain readers!

★ ★ ★ 

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Roseanne “Rosie” A. Brown was born in Kumasi, Ghana and immigrated to the wild jungles of central Maryland as a child. Writing was her first love, and she knew from a young age that she wanted to use the power of writing—creative and otherwise—to connect the different cultures she called home. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor’s in Journalism and was also a teaching assistant for the school’s Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House program. Her journalistic work has been featured by Voice of America among other outlets.

On the publishing side of things, she has worked as an editorial intern at EntangledPublishing. Rosie was a 2017 Pitch Wars mentee and 2018 Pitch Wars mentor.Never content to stay in any one place for too long, Rosie currently teaches in Japan, where in her free time she can usually be found exploring the local mountains, explaining memes to her students, or thinking about Star Wars.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram

---

GIVEAWAY

Enter to win A Song of Wraiths and Ruin swag, including a bookplate, bookmark, two trading cards, and access to an exclusive short story (Open Internationally).

✨ ENTER HERE ✨

---