I loved the first book in this series, Empire of Exiles, and I’m happy to say Relics of Ruin is even better. It builds on the events of the first book, adding more depth to the characters and more layers to the world. Evans deftly handles a well-plotted mystery while also managing a larger, overarching plot. It’s been a long time since I’ve been really invested in a fantasy series, but these books have me HOOKED and I cannot wait to see where this series goes.

Erin M. Evans proved herself a master in the dungeons & dragons playground of the Forgotten Realms, where her 7 novels stand out among hundreds. In Empire of Exiles, Evans introduces us to her own world and characters. Here she cements them, and in all ways it’s better than the first book. Evans is definitely an author to keep both eyes on.

3.5

Almost all I remember from reading Empire of Exiles over two years ago was that I wanted more Tunuk and my wishes were granted in this one. I also very much appreciate the quick refresher at the start of this book because like I said, my memory was Not Great. I also think that my enjoyment of this might have been limited if I had reread the first book directly before going into this because the plots feel very similar. This is a bit slower and more focused on the characters, but the mysteries themselves never really blow me away though I'm not sure they're intended to. What is so fun about this series is the characters and the worldbuilding. The characters are snarky and loveable and I love that the magic system is basically an anxiety spiral. And the world takes a lot of classic fantasy elements and slightly subverts them. For me, this has the solid mystery with weird what's beyond the wall elements of Robert Jackson Bennett's The Tainted Cup or Marina Lostetter's The Helm of Midnight. I think this is a solid series and look forward to seeing how it ends. I also recommend the audiobooks, narrated by Imogen Church.

A decent follow-up, but does suffer from mid book syndrome. I liked the mystery in this book more, and the development of Quill was welcome, but it felt like it needed to be shorter.

This has rapidly become one of my favorite recent fantasy series, and I can't wait for more!

A wholly unique magic system mixed with a diverse cast of characters and a perfect balance of fantasy and mystery. I will always keep coming back for more.

This series is perfect for fans of Jemisin and Sanderson, and I was so impressed by this sequel. It's always nervewracking when you find a new fantasy book that you love and you are just waiting impatiently to see if the second book will live up to you expectation, and this next installment only delivered more of the things that I loved in book one.

Erin M Evans just became an auto-buy author for me!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Relics of Ruin is the second book in the Usurper series and while I loved the first book, I wasn't as sold on this one. Evans has outstanding world building and characters, but I found the plot to be confusing and the pacing felt off. There were long stretches where the characters were doing things, but they didn't make much sense to me and I found myself putting the book down and then having trouble remembering what was going on. I wasn't as enamoured with Tunuk's POV and his chapters weren't as compelling for me. The book started with a bang and ended with a bang, but the middle just left me wanting more. I'll read the next book and I'm excited for the next book, but Relics just didn't satisfy the itch the first book created.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for the arc for review purposes.

This is book 2 in the Books of the Usurper trilogy, books 1 being Empire of Exiles, a book that I loved so I was super pumped for this follow up. This takes place directly after the crazy events in book 1 following our same cast of characters. This series is set in a rich world filled with detailed history told through the eyes of archivists who study collected works of cultures lost to time and war. It’s fascinating, it’s epic and I can’t wait to see how this story continues, especially with how it ends but I’m getting a head of myself, we got a bit of a wait for that.

This is the second book in the Books of the Usurper series by Erin M. Evans. I really enjoyed the first book but I liked this one even better. The characters and world-building are top notch and I highly recommend this series.

Relics of Ruin by Erin M. Evans, the second book in Books of the Usurper series does what every second book in a series should do: expands the world, digs deeper into the characters, introduces new information, and builds on what was set up in the first book while raising the stakes with new conflicts. Quill, Amadea, Ynni, and Richa are back and dealing with the fallout of Empire of Exiles. In addition, Tunuk, the archive specialist with an affinity to bone, is added to the points of view we get in the second book.

With the reveal to the reader and the cast that Redolfo Kirazzi escaped his execution and is somewhere outside the salt wall, presenting an equally compelling mystery with the same amount of political tension was quite a tall task. Luckily, Evans has built an edge of the world where many different people and cultures are squeezed together in one nation, which is ripe for just those things. The Orozhandi, the people of Orozhand with horns and a third eye who worship their sorcerers as saints, were primarily seen through Yinii and her family. In this one, when the bones of one of their saints are discovered unsafe in the Imperial Archives, their political figures, their different families, their culture, and their roles in Redolfo Kirazzi’s coup are explored through the book’s politics and mystery.


By putting the Imperial Archives under political turmoil due to the discovered bones, Evans boldly chooses to have them no longer be the sanctuary it was when Quill ran to it in the Empire of Exiles after his best friend’s death. Likewise, Amadea, dealing with multiple avenues of stress, is no longer able to be the emotional sanctuary for Yinii, Tunuk, and Quill to the point where they are outright disobeying her for her own good. While it puts the characters in greater danger, we also get to see more of the different locations, factions, and people of Semilla.

The pressure on Amadea in Relics of Ruin is even heavier than in the previous book. She served as a pillar to all the other characters despite the secret of her earlier life as the grave-spurned princess used by Redolfo Kirazzi for his coup and all the trauma that went with it. Evans has decided to test how much that pillar can take upon it. She often refers to herself as the problem solver, but her problems in the second book are becoming too large, too out of control, and too much. There is also the lingering question of whether or not she is really Lireana Ulanitti, which Evans does not ignore but reinforces as an internal conflict in her mind while trying to cope with the external conflict around her. Amadea had one of the most robust characterizations in the previous book, so to take who she is (or who she doesn’t know she is) and squeeze her like coal til she turns into a diamond is fun to read.

Like Amadea and Quill in the first book, the overarching conflict of this second book becomes personal for both Tunuk and Richa Langyuan as the story delves into their personal history as much as both want to avoid it. Relics of Ruin recaptures the magic of the first book by adding Tunuk, a bone specialist of the Imperial Archives who lost one of his fathers in the previous events, to the points-of-view and have him go through a similar arc to Quill in Empire of Exiles. Sometimes, side characters who are abrasive don’t translate well to the main characters, but Evans writes the complicated Tunuk with deft skill where others may not accomplish such a task. His past is revealed and directly connected to the mystery of the discovered bones of a saint, but Tunuk could not have more of a different reaction to it than Quill did in book one. He is frustrating in the way a well-written character is that makes you want to keep reading to see their development, change, or realizations rather than wanting to put the book down.

The growing friendship and working relationship between Quill and Tunuk is vital to this. As they spend more time together and the plot unfurls, their role-reciprocal personalities play off each other. Quill, like in the first book, wants to put the pieces of the puzzle together of what is going on but is much less manic than he was about Karimo. Tunuk doesn’t want to face the situation at all. To run away or push away his problems is less painful, even though the truth may not match up with the adverse scenario he has made up in his mind. Quill is still good at both reading people and talking to them, while Tunuk lacks any sort of tact but does tend to get straight to the point. The dialogue is a strong suit of this series so far, often making the exposition feel like an organic part of the conversation, and the duo of Quill and Tunuk showcases this.

The way the interpersonal relationships change by jumping just a couple of months was a good choice because it allows them to change and grow, but it’s not too much time to take away from them growing further. It feels like a real tease after a whole book of a meet-cute in the middle of traumatic events with the promise of coffee at the end to place Yinii and Quill so far apart at the beginning of Relics of Ruin and then make them both so busy they don’t have time to further their relationships.

A lot changed about Yinii in the climax of Empire of Exiles, and she puts change into action in the sequel. She’s more outspoken, takes more responsibility upon herself, and seems to have new control over her ink affinity, her magical ability to control ink. There is only one rather considerable problem: she might be more than a specialist; she might be a sorcerer. Between her Orozhandi culture and the Empire’s rules and laws about sorcerers, Yinii has an internal and external crisis similar to Amadea. She also, more than Quill and Tunuk, can see the cracks in Amadea, thus making some impulsive decisions she never would have made previously. When the three of them, Tunuk, Ynni, and Quill, are together, they make quite the trio of young adults. On top of the mystery of the saint’s bone, they’re trying to figure themselves out and how to navigate their relationships with each other.

Richa Langyuan, a Vigilant from the first book who primarily served in a detective-like role, has a much more personal story in the second. If Tunuk is the Quill of this book, then Richa is the Amadea. Like Tunuk, Richa’s past as a young street thief collides with his present as a vigilant sworn to uphold the law. The author’s use of another vigilant to dig into his past when a peddler gets murdered in the city Richa used to be a street thief is entertaining because a few months ago, he was the one doing too much digging. The frustration, the excellent storytelling kind, with Richa is different from Tunuk’s because Richa is not only suspected of a crime he didn’t do but suspected of being the person he hasn’t been in many years. To change and become a better person, only for someone to accuse you of having never changed at all, is relatably painful.

Ultimately, amongst changelings, affinity magic, salt walls, and sorcerers, what Relics of Ruin by Erin M. Evans comes down to is the characters, their relationships, and the questions they ask themselves. Questions we all ask ourselves: who am I? What is my purpose in life? Who do I confide in? How do I move on? What is the truth? Who do I trust? Can I trust myself? Amadea, Quill, Yinii, Richa, and now Tunuk are all looking for these kinds of answers in the last bastion of civilization, all the while a usurper with a possible army of changelings waits to make his move.

Relics of Ruin by Erin M. Evans captivates with its character-driven narrative, diving deeper into the intricate lives of its protagonists. Evans includes more history, enriching the reader's understanding of the world she has crafted. What sets this sequel apart is its thoughtful recap, ensuring both new and returning readers are fully immersed in the story. As the plot unfolds, a tantalizing mystery emerges, laden with twists that keep you guessing until the very end. A must-read for fans of richly layered storytelling."

***Thank you to Orbit Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

I hate that I didn't love Relics of Ruin as much as its predecessor. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure why this book didn't work as well for me because it had so many of the same elements as Empire of Exiles. There was a twisty mystery, political machinations, and plenty of magical shenanigans. Maybe the problem was that it was too similar to the first book? I don't know.

The pacing in Relics of Ruin made me dread picking it up at times. There were a lot of things going on, but somehow, I was still bored for large swaths of the book. It didn't help that the mystery was quite convoluted and felt too much like a side quest by the end. I wanted way more progression of the main plot points, especially the conflict with the usurper, but the major things happening in this book were only tangentially related to that conflict, at best.

Despite most of the story taking place within the capital of the Empire, Relics of Ruin did manage to meaningfully add to the world-building. There was more politics in this book than the first, and I liked getting to see how the different ducal states and the imperial authorities worked together to govern the territory. There were even a few glimpses of things beyond the Empire, and I'm hoping the last book will explore the abandoned homelands even more. The story in this book also provided opportunities to learn more about the different races/cultures, which I loved getting to know better.

The character journeys were my favorite thing about Relics of Ruin. Tunuk and Richa really shined in this story, and I loved learning more about them. They both had to come to terms with some secrets from their past. I especially appreciated seeing the growth in Tunuk. He became more aware of how his attachment issues impacted his current relationships, and I loved that he, Quill, and Yinii became closer once he started letting his walls down a little. There were so many great character moments in this book, and I've now become even more attached to this crew than I was before.

Unfortunately, the focus on character in Relics of Ruin slowed things down a bit too much for me. It seemed almost like the story was crafted just to let the reader learn the backgrounds of Tunuk and Richa before moving on to more important things in the next book. That is how it felt to me, at least. While I enjoyed learning more about the characters, I wish it hadn't come at the cost of effectively side-lining the main antagonist of the series for most of the story. Therefore, I give Relics of Ruin a rating of 3.75 out of 5 stars.

This book is PHENOMENALLY good. I am blown away. I loved the first book, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5041880729">Empire of Exiles</a>, but the second completely avoids the frequent "second book" curse by taking everything amazing about the first book and somehow making it even better. There are even more incredible characters. The mystery is just as engaging as the first one and has even more layers. Everything is queerer -- it went from acknowledging that queerness exists in the world to showing you the queerness in the characters (and a variety of it, as well!). The romantic complications are even more intense. And it balances it all so at NO point do I find myself with too much of any one thing. It's all perfectly balanced and I cannot WAIT for the third book at this point.

On the first book I complained about the Changelings being forces of chaos only -- and I see I was right to do so, actually, because this book addresses that directly as a piece of propaganda, and the one thing I had been a bit reluctant on is now even more interesting and exciting. It's nice to go "this seems to be very much what the characters believe, not the narrative" and then see that borne out in book 2.

I have full faith this series will stick the landing. And I will definitely be here to see it -- I did, in fact, message at least three different people telling them to go read this so I'd have someone to talk with it about!

I had read the first in this series just prior to reading this one and I wasn't enamored with the world building or plot lines of it so I was hoping the second in the series would raise the stakes and bring some more interesting and exciting action into the story. Unfortunately, it didn't. While the characters had interesting backgrounds and compelling motivation, the overall conflict just fell flat for me.
I am not sure where this book, and series, is trying to be. It doesn't feel like an epic fantasy in its story but it could fit in regards to the magic system and world setting.
There just seemed to be too much dialogue and not enough action. The story plodded along for me and I found myself not as interested in finishing it as I would normally.
Overall, this book didn't capture me in a way to want to seek out the end of the trilogy when it releases.

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this prior to publication by the publisher.

I found this ARC a page turner and I totally got enough sleep last night…. It was slightly slower paced than book one but having gotten to know the characters in the first book I really enjoyed the viewpoints from different characters seeing how they felt and reacted to things. I also enjoyed learning a bit more about the world and why everyone is huddled behind a wall scared of changeling shapeshifters. I think this series would be a good choice for someone who just wants a straight up fantasy adventure. No great depths here but it’s a fun read.

Relics of Ruin is book two in the Books of the Usurper Series by Erin M Evans.
Ok, after reading this one I’m going to need book one now.
This was a terrific book that will have you sucked in its intrigue and mystery from the first page to the last.
A well written fantasy novel!

Thank You NetGalley and Orbit for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

A satisfactory sequel in this ongoing trilogy but I felt the execution could’ve been better. Similar to the first book, I found the descriptions and world-building to be occasionally dense and cumbersome especially in the beginning. This was definitely a more character-driven novel compared to Empire of Exiles but I did appreciate the time spent on the characters and delving into their past. Having said that, the plot was meandering which made it hard to follow what exactly was going on. The pacing was inconsistent as well. The end however has set up the story for the third novel to be potentially exciting and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed book one a lot and was excited for book two of this fantasy trilogy. It didn’t disappoint! It starts with an entertaining summary of book one. I needed a refresher, but you can easily skip it if you don’t. The archivists have more mysteries to solve, while an old enemy of the empire is loose on the other side of the wall that protects them. The specter of the Usurper hangs over everything. The people are growing more fearful, and one of the archivists is more powerful than they imagined and might be losing control of her power. Something might be wrong with the empress and enemies are circling. We also get to see more of what’s going on over on the other side of the wall, which was cool.

The story starts as a slow burn and then really picks up the pace! Things keep falling into place. Buried secrets are threatening to come out. The book gets deeper into the characters of this world, who are interesting, likeable, and have a unique system of magic. The end was sooooo good! I can’t wait for book three- it’s going to be amazing. I highly recommend books one and two! Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the eARC.

A stronger followup to a solid series start, a slowburn plot with a character-focused engine that makes for relatively engaging reading. Strongly recommended for fans of the series, and all around a great followup that makes me excited for the next book in the series given the revelations of this one.

Thank you so much to Orbit and NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Let me tell you something about the first book in this series. I read it when I had a one month old, and finished it, and loved it, while I was in the new parent stupor where everything is a haze and nothing makes sense. If that doesn't tell you how good the first book was, nothing will.

I can't go into too much detail (there were saw jaw-dropping reveals at the end of book one that are really explored in this one), but man if you love a complex fantasy with rich worldbuilding and thoroughly fleshed out history and an AWESOME magic system you've never seen before, with some cute romances packed in? This is for you. I LOVED the first book, I really enjoyed this second one, and I am so so excited to see what happens next.