The Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley || Dark Victorian Fantasy Brimming With Mystery

The Bones of Ruin

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.

As an African tightrope dancer in Victorian London, Iris is used to being strange. She is certainly a strange sight for leering British audiences always eager for the spectacle of colonial curiosity. But Iris also has a secret that even “strange” doesn’t capture…​
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.

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Perfect for readers who want:

• Historical fantasy set in a world modeled after Victorian London.
• Badass women stabbing people and not even caring about taking names.
• A squad of characters with personalities you’re bound to love.
• Aaaaand some you’re going to openly hate, which is also cool.
• A mystery that unravels little by little but will grip you until the end.
• Endings that demand you read the next book, darn it!
• No, seriously, why don’t I have the next book in my hands yet? T_T
• Diverse characters and backgrounds, including the Yoruba!

Many thanks to Simon Pulse and Turn the Page Tours for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product.

I don’t know that I’ve ever requested to be on a tour so fast as when this one popped up. A fierce Black girl in an adorable dress on a freaking tightrope with not one but two fierce stabby things? It’s everything I ever dreamed of!

The Bones of Ruin is a dark fantasy set in a world reminiscent of Victorian London. It’s filled with strong characters, squad vibes, fun banter, super cool powers, and a mystery that’ll grab you by your collar and refuse to let go.

. . . who still wears collars these days? But you know what I mean. It’s gripping.

I’m going to admit that there were a few things that didn’t work for me, like all the (very many) love interests (which is just a thing I’m not a huge fan of in general and definitely a me problem and not the book). Overall, though, this book was just … phew. Banter, stabbiness, fights, and freaking superpowers. They’re not called that, but let’s be honest, that’s what they were, basically.

The Bones of Ruin transports the reader to a fantasy version of Victorian London, where people are turning up with mysterious powers. But also . . . it’s a lot like Victorian London, so not great for our Black protagonist . . . or any woman or person of color, really.

As one might imagine, this brings up a lot of issues. There are discussions of classism, sexism, racism, and probably quite a few other -isms in this book that are guaranteed to boil your blood. These are all background issues, things slipped seamlessly into the overall story that are things the characters face only by virtue of who they are. I appreciated the way Raughley didn’t make a big deal out of it each time it happened, which underscored how commonplace these experiences were for the characters. They understood exactly what struggles they would face as far as the world in which they live (in that regard, at least).

This also leads to some powerful moments around autonomy and self and the ways people are used. It’s a topic that’s especially poignant for our protagonist, Iris, because it seems like everyone around her is out to use her in some way, and she’s constantly in positions where another character feels entitled to her in some way.

Iris herself is an enigma, and she spends the majority of the book trying to find herself—in a semi-literal sense, thanks to a nasty bout of amnesia.

Iris remembers nothing of her past or where she came from, and as the book opens, it seems like she wasn’t looking too hard for it, either. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately? I don’t know), she’s put in a position where she has the opportunity to learn the truth . . . except, she’s warned, it’s a dangerous one. Which of course doesn’t deter her, because why would you walk away from danger and death?! Pffft.

The tension is so delicious as Iris begins to piece together her past, little by little. Not all clues move the mystery forward. Some just complicate things and make you want to know the truth even more. I was entirely invested in this mystery and all the creepy twists and turns it takes!

There’s a definite squad going on here, full of characters with big personalities. And, best of all, they have powers!

Why they have powers, who’s to say? That’s part of the mystery. Suffice it to say, though, that these aren’t any old ordinary group of humans. I loved the mystery behind the powers, as well as discovering each new one. They’re all very unique and different and so perfectly suited to the person! Plus, they make for some really interesting fight scenes and situations.

The banter between the squad is absolutely delicious. Even when they’re technically “enemies” or competing against each other.

I am always in favor of banter, okay? In a dark fantasy like this, where there’s a lot of heavy material, it’s almost necessary. Plus, it just helps endear readers to characters. True story. I absolutely cannot wait to see where the next book will take these characters, after everything that happened between them in this book! They’re flirty, they’re messy, they’re dangerous, and they’re a squad that I definitely want to join again.

This isn’t necessarily a sticking point, but it was for me. Not even a love triangle, The Bones of Ruin has a love . . . square? Parallelogram? Rhombus of death?

On the one hand . . . banter! I’m always a huge fan of banter, especially between love interests. It’s my guilty pleasure. Gets me every time. On the other, love triangles are probably my least favorite trope because I usually feel like they’re kind of contrived. That was especially the case for this book. If you, however, enjoy love triangles, you’ll probably love this quirky cast of lovers.

There’s not even a triangle here, as three different men profess their feelings for Iris and Iris is . . . confused. Why, I’m not entirely sure, because this situation feels a bit like a no-brainer to me. But okay, she’s young and doesn’t know what she wants yet. Fine. It’s not a deal breaker, but it definitely came up enough for me to start rolling my eyes every time it did.

Iris is a little too perfect, and in some ways that’s almost necessary given what we learn as the book progresses, but in some ways it also undermines the tension of the plot.

Iris’s secret power, in case you missed it, is that she can’t die. It’s not a spoiler; it’s in the blurb. As one might imagine, in a high-stakes scenario, that sort of turns down the tension intensity. At no point was I particularly concerned about Iris or felt that she was in danger. The secondary characters, sure, but Iris, just by virtue of her power, was like, yeah, okay, so what? I concede that this is entirely necessary for the story Raughley is trying to tell. I really enjoyed some of the plot twists and surprises that come out of this. So it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it was a little odd, especially with how much everyone worried about her, despite knowing this.

That being said, Iris also had a weird case of everyone either falling in love with her or becoming friends way too easily. Including enemies. Maybe especially enemies? I don’t know. I didn’t get it. There were several times I felt friendships/alliances weren’t earned but given just because the plot needed them to be that way. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t always the case, but it did stick out in the instances where it happened!

About Sarah Raughley

Sarah Raughley grew up in Southern Ontario writing stories about freakish little girls with powers because she secretly wanted to be one. She is a huge fangirl of anything from manga to SF/F TV to Japanese Role Playing Games, but she will swear up and down that she was inspired by ~Jane Austin~ at book signings. On top of being a YA Writer, she is currently completing a PhD in English, because the sight of blood makes her queasy (which crossed Medical School off the list).

She is represented by The Bradford Literary Agency.

So far, you can also find her on Twitter, where work ethic goes to die.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr

Up for grabs will be TWO (1) finished copies of The Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley. U.S. residents only.
August 29th to September 13th at 11:59 PM CST.

Find the full tour schedule here.

August 29th

Turn the Page Tours – Welcome Post
DJREADSBOOKS – Review
The Reading Chemist – Review

August 30th

Books, Tea, Healthy Me – Review
Curls, Pops & Spines – Review

September 1st

The Bookwyrm’s Den – Review
Whimsical Dragonette – Review

September 2nd

Kayla’s Book Nook – Review
Library of a Book Witch – Review

September 3rd

A Book & Chai – Review
Brinns Books – Review
Brownish Bookish – Review

September 4th

The Offbeat Human – Review
Inking & Thinking – Review

September 5th

Belle’s Archive – Spotlight
Starlight Reads – Review

September 6th

Radusreads – Review
The Litt Librarian – Review

September 7th

Book Lover’s Book Reviews – Review
TheReadingCornerforAll – Review

September 8th

Justice for Readers – Review
Melancholic Blithe – Review

September 9th

JD’s Book Journal – Review
Balancing Books & Beauties – Review

September 10th

The Reader’s Game – Review
The Ink Slinger – Review
For the Love of Fictional Worlds – Review

September 11th

A Bolt Out of the Book – Review
Book Briefs – Review

September 12th

Reading Stewardess – Review
The Momma Spot – Review
The Fictional Journal – Review
Stuck in the Stacks – Review

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