The Bones of Ruin

By: Sarah Raughley

Narrated by: Ione Butler

An African tightrope walker who can’t die gets embroiled in a secret society’s deadly gladiatorial tournament in this “bloodily spectacular” (Chloe Gong, New York Times best-selling author of These Violent Delights) 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 an unusual 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.

©2021 Sarah Raughley. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Butler’s accent captures the upper-class members of London’s elite, beautifully enhancing the setting and grounding listeners in the time period. The story features a wildly entertaining cast of characters, and Butler brings each of them to life with loads of personality and animation." (AudioFile Magazine)

cool lore with thirsty "love polygons"

I love romance, fantasy, and good lore and this is a good mix for me. While it's set in London, there's a heavy focus on racism and African culture. Nearly every character in this book had a crush or admiration of some sort with the main character, so that was a treat, haha! Sometimes I roll my eyes at how thirsty everyone seems to be, but I'm here for fun, not realism. I could tell the author is inspired by anime by some of the action scenes and cliches that are sprinkled throughout the book, and it was cool experiencing it in written form.
To me, it was such a unique and thrilling read.

Can I slap the main character…

Let me first say I enjoyed this story. I loved how the author blended the fantasy and science fiction together. I truly loved finding out the mysteries behind each character as the story moved along. With that being said I really want to slap the main character Iris around. Don’t get me wrong, she was hit by a lot of crazy revelations throughout the entire book, but she handled most of those situations with no common sense! I understand being under pressure and too emotional to think straight, but at some point in time I needed her to actually use the thing that’s housed 3 feet above her hind parts! The best thing I can say about her is she wasn’t whiny and didn’t have too much of a woe is me attitude.

stupid, stupid, stupid

while the book was initially entertaining, halfway through the reactions and lack of thought/ planning/ foresight/ and teamwork dragged the story down. finishing the book was a chore. i do not reccommend.