The Elemental Ruins

Circle the Square, Book 2

By: Sam Burns

Narrated by: Greg Boudreaux

This blurb contains spoilers for book one, so proceed with caution!

What do you do the day after the world doesn’t end?

If you’re River Keyes (yeah, me), you try to figure out how you’re going to live without the internet. Because we might have kept two worlds from being destroyed, but now I’m trapped in a place with no electricity, no takeout, and no phoning home.

Worse, it’s a world where my absent father is not just present, but in power, and even more of a jerk than I remember.

At least if I’ve got to be trapped away from home, there’s Lasya Zarani, hot elven general and best eye-candy ever. Once he decides whether he wants to cut me to ribbons or take me to bed, things might get interesting.

But that’s only if my father doesn’t kill one or both of us first.

The Elemental Ruins is the second of two books featuring travel between two very different worlds, a snarky criminal trapped far from home, the angry elven general he’s lusting after, his terrible father, and a few surprises along the way. It concludes the story begun in The Elemental Keyes with happily ever afters all around.

©2023 Sam Burns (P)2023 Sam Burns

The Elemental Ruins

The Elemental Ruins turns the volume up from its predecessor in all the right ways: River is stuck in a foreign world, family betrayals run deep, and every step feels like gamble with fate. Sam Burns layers humor and heartbreak through River’s snark and Lasya’s fierce loyalty, making their emotional bond stronger than ever. The epic stakes—two worlds, power plays, and danger at every turn—feel both personal and all-encompassing. It’s a powerful, satisfying conclusion that pulls at your heart while delivering magic and redemption.

Excellent end!

I loved this action/adventure story with lots of political intrigue, surprise revelations, and steamy sexy times. I liked that River and Blaise came across as different people even with the same narrator.

Amazing!

loved it the ending was well written had just the right amount of ✨️spice✨️ great story 10/10

amazing performance

you just can't find a better voice actor than Greg Boudreaux. he truly brings the story and each of the characters to life

Not as good as the first book

I really enjoyed the first book and was looking forward to this one because both River and Lasya seemed like great characters that could be really fun together. Tbh the fact that Lasya is such a goody goody guy was a bit of a let down.

My biggest beef with this book might be the weird inclusion of Russian stuff into the fantasy world. It seems totally random that elf demons on a different world would be cooking Russian meals and stuff and calling them by Russian names.

Also the reveal at the end of all those characters being related secretly and so on was a bit far fetched.