Path To Ruin (OwlCrate Romantsy April '25)

I recently finished reading Exquisite Ruin by AdriAnne May. This is book #1 in the Labyrinth series. This was the Romantasy book from April 2025.

This exclusive edition features an exclusive redesigned dust jacket by @wavyhues with stenciled edges designed by @wavyhues, a reversible dust jacket by @laura_sava_art, a hardcover case design by  @printyourselfmad , and end pages by @gildedruin. The book is also signed by author AdriAnne May on an author page with an author's letter bound into the book, as well as bonus content.

**POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT**

  Rating: 2.75/5 stars

"In this deadly maze, the most dangerous thing may be the passion between them.

Sadaré wakes in a labyrinth, remembering nothing except that she is a powerful sorceress. Her only companion is a hostile immortal named Daesra—beautiful, dangerous, and demonic—who bound his divine soul for power and revenge.

Despite their animosity, the two have no choice but to work together to reach the center and defeat the monster that prevents their escape. But the longer they wander, the more deadly and alive the maze becomes—and the more Sadaré finds herself drawn to Daesra in ways she can't explain.

As the sorceress and demon develop a tenuous truce, the labyrinth gives Sadaré glimpses of their shared history of passion and pain that make her question everything she knows. Unlocking the secrets of her past may be the only way to survive and heal their entwined fates—but as she learns more about the betrayals that brought them to the labyrinth, Sadaré begins to fear that the monster at the center could be Daesra ... or even herself."

Hmmm. This was… weird.

To begin, Sadaré, our MC, wakes up in a labyrinth having no idea who she is. With her is a demon, Daesra, who, in classic enemies-to-lovers fashion, hates her for reasons she does not yet understand. Together, they have to find a way to survive and get out of the maze.

A great premise! I was really excited for this one, but from chapter 1, something just wasn't clicking for me. I don’t know if it was the character interactions or the writing, but I really began to drag my feet.

However, after the first quarter, things started looking up. I still wasn’t completely sold, but the romance was getting interesting. I enjoyed a lot of the flashbacks.

Now I really don’t know why I had such a disconnect from this book. Maybe it was the characters or the writing style, I’m not so sure. The characters seemed to be flip-flopping a lot, and I didn’t quite understand the motives behind certain actions. I also didn’t understand the world-building that was happening. Things that were described were very confusing to me.

I also didn’t connect with either of the characters. While we did get a lot of backstory on their lives, I couldn’t resonate with them or their choices. They were hot and cold constantly, and I didn’t know what was coming next, and not in a good way.

The plot twist was good, but that was probably the best thing about this book, and even then, it took me a minute to grasp what was happening. And even after I grasped it, I couldn’t fully understand how that happened, and it really didn’t make much sense.

But that ending. That ending was weird. And not a good weird. A weird, weird. That makes no sense, weird. I will say no more. But that definitely dragged down the rating.

I’m sure some people will end up liking this. It's got some interesting romantic elements, some adventurous spice, and a truly bizarre twist. However, I wouldn't recommend it for most people.

Check out Exquisite Ruin, and discover what happens when you wake up in the middle of a maze with no memories.

Happy reading :)