I'm giving this book a solid 3.75 stars out of five. I was invested in putting together the pieces of Sadare and Daesra' past. The chemistry between the characters is there but I was wanting more as the story progressed. The final third of this book captured me the most, you get a chance to find out the truth and the FMC's inner monolog is something you don't want to miss. Poglie was a cute and entertaining addition to the story.

The ending was not at all what I was expecting, it was perfect for what the MC's have gone through. The twist that led to the ending, was not one I saw coming at all.

I don't think this writing style fits with what I enjoy, it felt a bit clunky and repetitive at times. To me it was a great premise with a slight lack of execution.

Exquisite Ruin sounded like it would be exactly my kind of read, but it just didn’t work for me...

I found the premise interesting, with the mix of Greek mythology, amnesia, dark romance, but something about the execution just fell flat. Sadare, our FMC, started off strong, but her character development felt inconsistent throughout the book. The amnesia could have been a great way to add intriguing elements, but instead, it made the story feel very disjointed. Daesra, our MMC, was the usual broody love interest, but his backstory was dumped into the narrative rather than slowly woven into the plot. The magic system was interesting, but the way it was used was really confused and I would have appreciate more explanation in the story. Some of the romance scenes felt forced, and one in particular crossed a line that made me uncomfortable.

Thank you Gallery Books for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I don't know what I was expecting but this one was a complete surprise to me. I didn't see the the major twist of the story coming at all but it was an interesting one for sure. This is a dark, sensual take on the classic Minotaur's labyrinth myth that you should check out the content warnings for before starting if you have any reservations with dark romance tropes and themes. Since the FMC, Sadare, has no memory of herself/her past and the MMC, Daesra, seems to have most of his memory but not all of it, the characters and the reader experience many of the big reveals at the same time through flashbacks. I am generally a fan of flashbacks in novels and this is one of the few times where the flashbacks are memories being revealed to the characters rather than being thought back on which was different. Sadare's character develops more with each piece of memory she gains, so it was cool to see how who she thinks she is balances with who she starts to remember being. Daesra is both the big bad and a softie throughout which was not surprising as it's supposed to be a dark romance, but he also felt like a fully formed character from the start with not much growth to go through until the end. The magic system is unique and so is the Gods/Demigods/Demons history but I would have loved a bit more on that. Honestly, it was a trip and if you go into it without any real expectations, it's entertaining or if you just like spicy, dark romance, retellings with a twist then this might be a good fit!

Exquisite Ruin is a kinky romantasy with touches of inspiration from Ancient Greek mythology. It centered Sadare, an amnesiac witch who thirsts for more power than she has, and Daesra, a daemon whom Sadare betrayed in her quest for it, as they stumble through a maze built by the gods as a trial for the pair. At the center lies the promise of one of their hearts’ desires, if they can make it past the horrors of the maze, Sadare’s slowly returning memories, and a rekindling of lust between two powerful players who cannot trust one another but need each other to survive.
Sounds great, right? I thought so too. Unfortunately, for me, Exquisite Ruin was less than the sum of its parts (as detailed in the back cover trope list of the ARC I read).
It is possible that romantasy, at least in its most common and most popular form, just isn’t for me. I liked Sadare at first, because she seemed to break some of the tropes of a romantasy FMC: though she was predictably Small and Feisty™️ and On The Back Foot and Weaker™️ than the MMC in the primary storyline, we were quickly introduced into a memory revealing flashback device wherein we learn she is ruthless, ambitious, and multivalent, capable of deep love and just as capable of sacrificing it for her own ends. She’s also unashamed of her physical wants in a way that was really refreshing, and I enjoyed the “chosen pain for chosen power” magic system with her as the avenue for exploring it. Past Sadare made me keep reading even through present timeline’s Sadare moments of insipidness. But the reveal at the end that retconned so much of her character choices without giving an in-chronological-timeline justification soured the experience of her tremendously.
And what to be said about Daesra? If you’ve read one ethnically ambiguous, monstrous-but-only-enough-for-vanilla-girlies-to-feel-edgy, broody and growly and quippy Shadow Daddy romantasy MMC, you’ve read them all. He has blue skin and horns, I guess? And he doesn’t do shadow magic, he does basically every elemental sort. But he’s Ungodly Powerful (god forbid the FMC outgun him!), and centuries old (can’t forget that age gap!), and flips on a dime to being a goner for the FMC when the plot demands, “there’s been enough enemies it’s time for lovers now, ok?” He might have been compelling if his backstory hadn’t been infodumped the way it was. Which is to say, it was infodumped, and only after he was like “why would I tell you, Sadare? You betrayed me. And also I like to see you suffer and your amnesia is funny to me. But also here’s the deets.” So exhausting to read in all ways.
The world building was your standard romantasy fare, too: convoluted, but don’t tug at the logic of any one part of it or the whole house of cards tumbles. The gods lore at the center of everything could’ve been cool if it was integrated into the story more, maybe as a parallel to what S and D were doing? But what fell most flat was the maze. The statue monsters were cool, but the Amnesia of it all meant we didn’t get their significance until it was stated outright at the end. In fact, the whole Several Page Infodump about how we got here as a justification for the conceit of the story was so bad that only the fact I had under 50 pages to go kept me from DNFing.
It’s clear the author’s heart was in the tension between the characters and nowhere else. (Maybe her heart was also in the pug stand-in, who is proof positive that not everything you put in your first draft should make it to the printing press). Which is fine! The sexual tension and the sex scenes were fun! I just really wish more authors who want to write erotica would woman up and do it, instead of pretending their stories have something else to offer than that. But as that seems unlikely to change here, I will not be continuing with this series.
I recommend Exquisite Ruin to romantasy readers who love what’s already being foregrounded in the genre, who love a little monster in their MMC, and who aren’t afraid to dabble in thinking about BDSM.

* Thank you to NetGalley for gifting me this ARC*

This is about a Minotaur daemon and a witch who are trapped in a together. They both have complicated pasts and while they both have no memory before the dangerous maze, he knows that he has good reason to hate Sadare. It's a dark, super spicy fantasy and well written at that. I do feel like at times it was like I was on a huge acid trip. For those that have issues with self harm, should definitely take the content warnings seriously. Sadare uses pain to activate her magic and at times is self inflicted.
I enjoyed that fact that they were into kink exploration in a fantasy setting. I don't think I've ever read something like that, which is refreshing. Definitely sets this book apart from all the other Romantasy books out there.

I wanted to read this book because I loved the idea and have never seen a book with the minotaur re-telling. Although I still think the idea is unique and interesting, this book fell flat for me. There was just enough to keep me interested to see where it was going. But honestly I was confused and had no idea what was happening. I did like the little glimpses back in time but they were to far spaced out for me. The thing that did me in was the first present time sex scene (43%). I get non-consent consent but this was not that at all. Two people who despise each other basically being drugged by the maze to forget everything other than their underlying passion for each other. which I would have been able to get past but the fact that Daesra basically pleaded for it not to happen before he was taken over was the line for me. I stopped reading at that point and will not be moving forward.

This book took me quite a bit of time to get in to. Overall, it was a very unique book and unlike any book I have ever read before. There were many twists and turns, which kept me interested. There was a lot of jumping around in the timeline that made it harder to keep track of where you were, but overall it kept the story going. An interesting read!

An absolute masterpiece of a Romantasy! The SPICE, the plot, the characters. I ate this book up. The spice was so well written. The character development was top tier. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

This was a very interesting story. I thought I knew where the plot twist was going and I was right in a way but also... wrong? Honestly I was slightly confused by the optics of it all. It didn't help that the main characters were also confused on what happened. I was also hoping to find out their real names but... Oh well??? I'm curious as to why this is labeled as Labyrinth 1. The ending seemed pretty final to me. I did really enjoy the worlbuilding especially with the god eating the other. It was fascinating to say the least.

Alas, I wanted to like this one more than I ended up liking it! The premise alone drew me in, but there were moments when I found myself largely skimming through various sections, mostly just to get past them — which, in part, may have been more to do with my own headspace rather than the book itself. The amnesia angle was compelling, and this had a somewhat unique take on the labryinth/minotaur myth, but other elements like the BDSM tinge to the main relationship and some worldbuilding felt a little more half-baked and were made even more confusing by the ultimate twist (that I won't spoil, because I LIKED it as a reveal, but it made some previous scenes a bit confusing in hindsight).

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this edition from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love a book centered around myths/legends throw in some spicy dark romance and you have me hooked. I absolutely loved every second of this read and found the story compelling to find out the truth the only draw back was the pacing seemed slow. If you enjoy a monster romance with bondage kink you'll definitely enjoy Exquisite Ruin.

This has everything I want in a novel. The writing was beautiful and I really enjoyed following all the characters. The end was well executed and I really loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I love dark romance books, and I like most retellings. It seemed like something that would be right up my alley. I was fine with the memory loss, and I enjoyed the idea of them trying to escape the labyrinth. I didn't love their interactions. I knew there was a secret past, but it just seemed off. Her personality also seemed to change very frequently. The whole bondage for pain thing didn't make sense either. How is she supposed to run and climb with her arm tied back.? And if she uses pain to use her magic, why did she have to hurt herself to fix her injuries.? Wouldn't the injuries be enough.? The needles made more sense, but of course he had a problem with that. While having no problem of leaving her to herself to potentially die in the labyrinth. It was just too much not making sense for me.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this story. The premise of this book was intriguing however it felt a little flat to me. I enjoyed some parts however I was not as hooked as I thought I would be and took me longer to finish.

4.5⭐️
If you’re a sucker for a dark, twisted, Greek mythology retelling, with lots of angst and spice, then this needs to be next up on your TBR. Cuz DAMN… this was an absolutely delicious romp through some of my all time favorite tropes, and I loved every minute of it. Umm… a sentient labyrinth? Ex lovers hit HARD with some forced proximity? An adorable sidekick? YES PLEASE.🖐️

Sadare awakens in a stone labyrinth, devoid of all memories, save the knowledge that she is a sorceress. To make matters worse, she’s trapped in the maze with a dangerous, sexy, demonic immortal, who just might be the death of her. In order to survive, and eventually escape, they need to team up, and conquer all manner of deadly challenges, as they work their way towards the center.

The tension and banter were top-tier, and the chemistry between the MCs was off the damn charts! When the spice hit, it was lucious and all consuming, and I was living for it. 🥵 The heated scenes were ample, but played in beautifully to the story, and did not overtake the plot. I thought it was the perfect balance between spice and story.

So much angst and action woven through this beautifully crafted Minotaur retelling, with enough plot twists and mystery to keep you guessing. There was a dark, emotional layer to the story, as well, which had me fully invested in the characters and their journeys. This book ticked so many boxes for me, and I’m so glad I was drawn to it by those gorgeous gilded edges. 👀 10/10 recommend. 👏🏻👏🏻

Exquisite Ruin by Adrianne May

A dark and unique romantasy set in a deadly maze.
I really enjoyed this story! I loved that the FMC had amnesia and had no idea what she had done to end up in the maze. Experiencing the mystery alongside her made the journey even more intriguing and kept me hooked.
The humor woven throughout the book was a great touch, and the animal companion, Pogli, was one of my favorite elements. He’s such a unique creature, and I adored every scene he was in—especially when he came to the FMC’s rescue. I imagine him as the kind of “so ugly, he’s cute” creature, which just made him all the more endearing.
There were a couple of twists toward the end that caught me completely off guard. I’ll admit, I had to pause and rethink everything that had happened, but it didn’t take away from the story or make it difficult to follow—just added to the wild ride.
Overall, this was a fresh and enjoyable read with an eerie, immersive atmosphere and some truly unexpected turns. If you're looking for something different in the dark romantasy genre, this is worth checking out!

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for this ARC copy.

Exquisite Ruin by AdriAnne May is a dark and steamy fantasy inspired by the Minotaur myth. It follows Sadaré, a sorceress who wakes up in a mysterious labyrinth with no memory, and Daesra, a powerful daemon who seems to hate her. As they navigate the shifting maze, secrets unravel, and their connection grows in unexpected ways.

The book is atmospheric, with vivid worldbuilding and a tension-filled enemies-to-lovers romance. It’s packed with twists, morally gray characters, and some intense moments. While the plot can be a bit intricate, fans of dark fantasy romance will love the mix of mystery, magic, and passion. Just be ready for some mature themes!

A big shout out and thank you to the publisher and Coloured Pages Book Tours for including me in the book tour for Exquisite Ruin and providing me with a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review!

I think reading Exquisite Ruin was certainly an experience quite unlike any other. Books that truly pull you into its world and enthrall you with its words are always special and Exquisite Ruin is definitely a book that you can get lost into (ha!) rather swiftly.

The first perhaps… ten percent of the book was a bit slower on the pace. While the set up was unique and the two main characters were introduced within the first two pages, I found myself leaving and returning to the book a few times. But the moment we toe the ten percent (or a little above) mark, it’s quite the racing game. I only sensed a mild dip at around 70% in the pace but it soon evened out and took off again. It was rather exciting to see yourself keeping pace with the characters as they race against unpredictable dangers, disturbing monsters, maybe even their own past and feelings.

(FYI—for no reason at all—I think it’s important to share that this is the first time ever I’ve started a review by talking about the pace in the book)

The world building in this book has all the advantages it needs. The best way to introduce a world to readers is by making the main character someone who’s unaware of the world themselves. One of the most common strategies for world building is when the protagonist enters into a completely new world and learns the ins and outs along with the readers. The other—perhaps trickier—method is when the protagonist develops amnesia. It’s both a fantastic way to introduce the world and adds a wonderfully complex knot to unravel in the plot. It is, however, not as easy to write because it’s a slippery slope of puzzle pieces that, when they come together, have to fit perfectly because all of it links back to the plot.

The smart thing that the author has done with how the world unravels is create a very recognisable pattern for it. The intervals for it may be unpredictable but you’re always aware what’s going to happen once that particular pattern marker appears. The author also ensures you’re mostly aware of what is going to be revealed…. Until you’re not. (But that’s a story for a different paragraph)

Given how wonderfully similar some aspects of the story are—like the God hierarchy—it’s extremely simple to make sense of most of the rules that follow it. I found it rather easy to piece together the basic rules of the world rather early on in the book, which is always amazing to experience. So woot woot for that!

The plot of this story unravels like … I would say … maybe a little like the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. A lot of it initially has a certain tone of being discombobulating, before the picture begins to fill in. As the pieces start to fall into place, there’s more clarity and confusion in turns before the final puzzle piece gives us an answer that turns everything on its head. The primary plot point reveals itself wholly only at the end but the suspense of it all keeps you on your toes as you wonder where this is all going. What are they chasing? What’s chasing them? Who can be trusted? There are several such questions that plague the reader that keep us guessing and reading and racing with the characters.

I would say this book is more character driven than anything else. While, yes, the very visible setting of the labyrinth, the immediate dangers and hidden pasts seem to take center stage; to me it always felt like it was the characters and their stories that was what the book was truly focused on. I think for the longest time, as a reader I struggled to understand their motivations and decisions but I still always felt curious enough to continue.

✨Also, the banter. 🤌🏻✨

Loved the banter.
Swam in the banter.
Spread it on my toast and ate it whole.

I think the first 75%-80% of the book was very interesting, even with all its flaws, nicks and dents. But after that, when the true plot is revealed, I personally felt the story went down a very … mind-bending path that I’m still not sure how I feel about. I think the strange became stranger, the vague became vague-er and everything turns on its head. Until that moment everything we knew about the world—of sorts—fit in well with the plot; and then well I think it depends on the reader if it’s a hit or a miss on how they feel about how the book resolves itself. For me personally it was a bit of a miss. Unfortunately.

There are many themes in this book that can be hard for some so please check trigger warnings before reading! I’ve been metaphorically shifting my feet between a 3.5 start rating and one closer to a 4. So it’s dealer’s choice! Check out the blurb and that beautiful cover (that makes SO much sense!), and if you find them interesting, do dive into this magical adventure with lots of banter and thrill!

This book exceeded my expectations; it was such an amazing story, and the characters were so memorable. I was totally engaged throughout the entire novel.
The book was full of vivid descriptions and vivid imagery to the point where I felt like I had slipped into the pages.

Exquisite Ruin is the romantic story of Sadaré and Daesra. This is a story that beautifully entwines romance and fantasy. When Sadaré wakes in a labyrinth, she finds herself accompanied by the perplexing Daesra. Sadaré must unlock her memories in order to make it out of the maze alive. But who is the real monster in the center of the maze?

Exquisite Ruin is one of my top books so far this year. I was enthralled by the romance between Sadaré and Daesra. They have an incredible chemistry and AdriAnne May expertly teased out their past so that readers put the clues together along with Sadaré. I loved the spicy scenes between them. The emotions felt so vivid! As the labyrinth becomes more treacherous, the tension between them escalates. I also loved all the twists and turns of the story! The ending was incredible and unputdownable.

Readers who enjoy Katee Robert, mythology retellings, and spicy romance will love Exquisite Ruin. I can’t wait to read what AdriAnne May writes next!

Thank you so much to AdriAnne May, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.