*Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader's Copy from Netgalley for review consideration. This does in no way affect my opinion, and all thoughts expressed in this review are unbiased and my own.*
Title: Ruin of Stars
Series: Mask of Shadows #2
Author: Linsey Miller
My rating: 4 hearts
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Pub. date: August 28th 2018
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Synopsis: The thrilling conclusion to the Mask of Shadows duology that weaves a tale of magic, shadows, and most importantly, revenge.
As one of the Queen’s elite assassins, Sal finally has the power, prestige, and permission to hunt down the lords who killed their family. But Sal still has to figure out who the culprits are. They must enlist the help of some old friends and enemies while ignoring a growing distaste for the queen and that the charming Elise is being held prisoner by her father.
But there’s something terribly wrong in the north. Talk of the return of shadows, missing children, and magic abounds. As Sal takes out the people responsible for their ruined homeland, Sal learns secrets and truths that can’t be forgotten. (synopsis from Goodreads)
I’ll admit, I had really high expectations of this book. When I read Mask of Shadows last year, I was shocked by how much I loved it, so I expected this one to be just as good. It didn’t disappoint. It was intense, with a lot going on all the time and a lot of action. And I liked seeing how the events of the first book affected Sal in this book, and all the character development they went through.
I love Sal. Okay, there were moments when I kind of wanted to hit them, but out of love. There were moments when they did stupid stuff, but the thing is, they learned from it and grew as a person. Sal went through a lot of character development in this book, and I liked seeing how everything that happened affected them, how their worldview changed and how they really grew up in this book.
The world-building was amazing. I fell in love with the country of Igna in the first book, I fell in love with the magic and all of it. If Mask of Shadows was the start of a relationship, all rainbows and unicorns and wonderful feelings, Ruin of Stars was twenty years later, the married couple who has issues and fights and still stay together. It made me want to hit something at times, but I still love it.
The plot was great. It was fast-paced, with a lot of stuff going on all the time, and it never gave me so much as a second to stop and breathe. It was just bad news on top of bad news on top of bad news on top of bad news. It made it impossible to stop reading, and I finished it in one sitting. And the plot twists. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this blindsided by a book, since I’ve been that surprised by a plot twist. And they just kept coming!
I can’t write a review of this book without mentioning the diversity. Mask of Shadows had a lot of it, but Ruin of Stars deeper explored these themes, and I loved it. It has themes like bigotry and racism, and seeing all of it from the point of view of Sal, who is gender fluid and a minority, was really eye-opening. Reading about how narrow-minded the people of Erlend were, was painful, because the world still has those views.
The Mask of Shadows duology is really one of those series that just stick with you, that change you. It was truly eye-opening, and painful to read because you know that a lot of people are going through what Sal was going through. It really changes the way you see things. Not only that, but it was a fast-paced, amazing fantasy story, and I loved it.
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