The Obsidian Tower

The Rooks and Ruin Series, Book 1

By: Melissa Caruso

Narrated by: Senn Annis

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 unseal 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.

©2020 Melissa Caruso (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

I thought one character was like Gollum

I listen to books while doing other activities, so maybe it could have been more clear but because it's fantasy I figured one of the characters was housing multiple personalities when I actually think the author is using they/them for a single person.

Trust No ONE!

A thrilling magical mystery steeped in political intrigue, demons, and my personal favorite high stakes with a dash of world-ending consequences.

This had me at the edge of my seat guessing and second-guessing everyone and their motivations. My anxiety towards the end was through the roof, rooting for our MC to come out on top.

So much fun to read.

subpar

I couldn't tell if this book was subpar due to the wimpy characters and lacking storyline or the narrator is terrible accents. would not recommend.

Looking forward to more.

I enjoyed meeting these characters and getting into the world. Such a joy! I really want the hero to succeed and love the supporting characters.

Does not disappoint!

THE OBSIDIAN TOWER is about a girl with broken magic whose family has kept a secret locked away in a tower for thousands of years. When her magic accidentally unlocks that secret, her world starts to unravel. She fights to keep it all together through pain, loss, and heartache. Every chapter of this book kept me guessing, and I never knew what would come next. It’s an excellent page-turner and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ms. Caruso has a deft way of mixing magic, political intrigue, and betrayal that constantly keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. She crafts detailed characters I fall in love with in books filled with tension, hope, heart-break, and longing. It’s a world filled with complex history, lore, secret societies, and competing factions, which all makes for wonderful conflict.

She mixes swords and sorcery in a new way, in this book in particular. One character laments that not all things “can be fixed with stabbing,” while steampunk-like spectacles “let you perceive certain flows of magical power.”

My favorite aspect, though, is the way she weaves romantic tension throughout the book. Lines like “The memory of his hand on my back set a flush in my face that had no business being there” were perfectly placed to add a little heat here and there. A touch, a look, an almost caress… it’s all so well-written and keeps the reader hoping something more will happen. It’s delightfully tortuous.

As the first book in a new series, THE OBSIDIAN TOWER does not disappoint. You do not need to have read her previous series set in the same world, though I highly recommend her Swords and Fire Series. Same world, same skillful writing, different characters and types of magic and politics.