Melissa Caruso

One woman will either save an entire continent or completely destroy it in a captivating epic fantasy bursting with intrigue and ambition, questioned loyalties, and broken magic. 'Guard the tower, ward the stone. Find your answers writ in bone. Keep your trust through wits or war--nothing must unseal the door.' Deep within Gloamingard Castle lies a black tower. Sealed by magic, it guards a dangerous secret that has been contained for thousands of years. As Warden, Ryxander knows the warning passed down through generations: nothing must unreal the Door. But one impetuous decision will leave her with blood on her hands--and unleash a threat that could doom the world to fall to darkness. Praise for Melissa Caruso: 'A must-read for lovers of high fantasy' C. L. Polk, author of World Fantasy Award-winner Witchmark 'I think [Caruso] is sublimely talented . . . A phenomenally well-written, engrossing political fantasy series' Fantasy Book Review 'Caruso's world-building is brilliant and complex' Library Journal 'A dashing, compelling and exciting story, blending magic, assassination, conspiracy and diplomacy . . . I'll make no bones about it, I loved this book' Blue Book Balloon on The Defiant Heir

The Obsidian Tower

Every chapter there was a new twist, every page there was more depth, every word held more magic!

The characters were filled with depth, and Ryx is without a doubt one of my new favorite protagonists. The side characters were all distinct and different, with their own flaws and shining moments.

The politics in this book were my bread and butter. It’s going to be hard to find another book that does a twisty political drama this way. And the mystery of the black tower was always revealing new layers; I genuinely had no idea where it was going!

Overall, I cannot think of a single thing I didn’t like about this book! I just hate that it took me so long to read it. Highly recommend!

Emily B

5.0 STARS:

I. Loved. This. BOOK!

Every chapter there was a new twist, every page there was more depth, every word held more magic!

The characters were filled with depth, and Ryx is without a doubt one of my new favorite protagonists. The side characters were all distinct and different, with their own flaws and shining moments.

The politics in this book were my bread and butter. It’s going to be hard to find another book that does a twisty political drama this way. And the mystery of the black tower was always revealing new layers; I genuinely had no idea where it was going!

Overall, I cannot think of a single thing I didn’t like about this book! I just hate that it took me so long to read it. Highly recommend!

Colleen

3.5 Stars
 
*An engaging Fantasy story that could have used a little conversation, a little more action*

ARC provided by Orbit Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


As with almost any Orbit book, I was eager to get my hands on The Obsidian Tower. I was so excited to get an ARC. I was intrigued by the premise, and I loved the series title of Rooks and Ruin. And just look at that cover!

The story is about a young woman named Ryx whose family is tasked with guarding a dangerous, mysterious artifact locked in a tower. So naturally someone wants to steal it and use it for evil. Because, duh.


  "There are two kinds of magic. There is the kind that lifts you up and fills you with wonder, saving you when all is lost or opening doors to new worlds of possibility. And there is the kind that wrecks you, that shatters you, bitter in your mouth and jagged in your hand, breaking everything you touch.

Mine was the second kind."

I enjoyed the story but wasn’t particularly wowed by it. The plot was entertaining but pretty standard. And the narrative does tend to hold the reader’s hand too much. I was expecting more action, but The Obsidian Tower is primarily about political struggles. Which boiled down to an awful lot of political dialogue while Ryx tried to avoid a diplomatic incident. Some political machinations are enjoyable, but they do need action to balance things out.

I was unaware that The Obsidian Tower was set in the same world as Caruso’s previous trilogy – which explains why I kept feeling like I was missing something. While this story apparently takes place over a century later and seems to be a new plot arc, I think I would have gotten much more out of this installment if I was already attached to the world. The Obsidian Tower did explain the world well enough that reading the first series is not necessary, but I’d say it’s a good guess that it would enhance the experience of reading the Rooks and Ruin series.

It was nice that The Obsidian Tower has a lot of diversity in it. Even better that all sexualities were accepted in their world with “casual queerness.” The great thing about creating a world is that you can create whatever equality you want. But can the English please, please, please follow in Sweden’s footsteps and just create a gender neutral pronoun? Then people could stop using plural pronouns to refer to a single person.

I was surprised that most of this book felt more YA than Adult. It was a fairly light story with very little violence or adult content. It’s almost too PG. And the writing did have a young feel to it. I think that was mostly due to Ryx’s voice since she was the first person narrator for the story. Because her magic killed anyone she touched, it left her extremely isolated and lacking in both friendships and relationships. So although her responsibilities made her mature in some ways, she was completely inept at anything relating to interpersonal conversations. Thus her conversations mostly sounded too young. I also wished Ryx had been less of a passive people-pleaser. I expected a guardian with deadly magical powers to be a bit more badass. 

The rest cast of characters was good but all of them could have used more depth and development. Whisper the chimera was by far my favorite character, but he was barely in the book. Hopefully that added character development will come in the future installments of the series. Although The Obsidian Tower took a little while to fully capture my attention, by the end I was engrossed in it. And I do look forward to continuing with the series. 


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Nickie Mohler

I really enjoyed this! This is the only book I have read by this author but, I plan to change that.

Ryx lives with her Grandmother in Gloamingard. Ryx has faulty magic that kills anyone or anything she touches. Her Grandmother is a powerful mage, so she can still touch Ryx without it killing her. That is why Gloamingard is the safest place for her to be.
Gloamingard Castle has a Black Tower. No one but her Grandmother knows what is in there. All anyone knows is that it must be guarded. It must stay closed. It has been that way for thousands of years.
With people arriving from other countries for peace talks, it is even more imperative to guard the Black Tower.

This is fast-paced, full of political intrigue, and packed with interesting magic. I can't wait for the next one.

I received a copy from Net Galley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Kess Burdin

Aditi

Hannah Conard

Dan Peterson

The Obsidian Tower begins a bold new epic fantasy trilogy in which the broken magic of one woman will either save an entire continent-or completely destroy it. As the granddaughter of a Witch Lord of Vaskandar, Ryx was destined for power and prestige. But a childhood illness left her with broken magic that drains the life from anything she touches, and Vaskandar has no place for a mage with unusable powers. So Ryx has resigned herself to an isolated life as the warden of Gloamingard, her grandmother's castle. At Gloamingard's heart lies a black tower. Sealed by magic, it guards a dangerous secret that has been contained for thousands of years. Until one impetuous decision Ryx makes leaves her with blood on her hands-and unleashes a threat that could doom everything she loves to fall to darkness. Rooks and RuinThe Obsidian Tower For more from Melissa Caruso, check out: Swords and FireThe Tethered MageThe Defiant HeirThe Unbound Empire

The Obsidian Tower

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