This book is a standalone, with fated mates (insta-lust), bone magic based on magical creatures, with something going wrong. Adela is a matcher. Matchers perform ceremonies that pair skulls of creatures with novitiates - this is how they receive their magic. I’m not a fan of insta love or insta lust but I think it was done well in this story (not too much smut - lots of plot). I think there is a possibility of revisiting this world, but the plot wraps up nicely in this book.

Oh my goodness what a novel… 4.5 stars rounded up

Brief description: Ruinous Creatures is a standalone romantasy debut about a woman who accidentally awakens the power to siphon magic from two phoenix skulls, binding her fate to a vengeful stranger and forcing them to navigate the devastating cost of their unbreakable bond.

This book. The world building was small because it is a standalone, and I would’ve liked a little more information on the magic system, but that did not stop me from thoroughly enjoying this book. Adela is a great FMC and I loved seeing the sweet side of Kian. I absolutely would’ve read this book if it had 409 more pages, but I loved how concise it was and how it was a novel that I didn’t have to anticipate a cliff hanger for.

A massive thank you the Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Blessed be the triune goddess....
Adela is the matcher's assistant. She has always been able to hear the skulls, the thoughts and the emotions of the creatures that once lived ... she cares for them, anointing them with their choice oils... bedazzling them for the day where they will be matched with the novitiates of the Spinner, of the Pupil, of the Huntress... for when the magic that resides in old bones will be given a purpose again through these novitiates... She herself has always been told that she is forbidden from forging a bond with a skull... this has been the way of the matcher....
Then we have Kian, a novitiate of the Huntress... who is intent on using his possession in Her Holy Order to initiate his own revenge for what happened to his parents so long ago, intent on bringing disorder and chaos and tumbling their way of life to the flames by destroying what gives the Truine their power. The skulls.
And then their world changes when Adela touches the skulls that her mentor has always left alone...has always told her that they do not need the same care that the other creatures' skulls do. And when she touches them, she finds out that they are phoenix.
The touch of her bare skin somehow awakens them... And with the phoenixes' awakening comes a swirling path of sudden destruction.... her mentor's dragons rebel, the creatures are thrown into a frenzy...
And she suddenly finds herself in an unlikely relationship with someone who was once bent for revenge...
This is a stunningly unique and amazing standalone full of a beautiful magic system that I yearn to know more about. My only issue was the sudden "romance" zing with not much context or buildup towards it.

This was a great mix of spice and plot. I also love that it was a standalone, sometimes it's really satisfying to have a story be tied up in a neat little bow by the end of one book.
This story is unbelievably unique, magic creatures, a society and religion based around them. It was so interesting and well done. Thanks to Netgalley the author and the publisher for the advance copy!

The idea of this book was super cool to me. It’s unlike everything I’ve ever read. If someone asked me to explain this book or compare it to other reads, I honestly don’t know what I would say to them. It’s truly unlike anything I’ve ever encountered before.

It’s also spicyyyyyy. Like spicy spicy. There was way more spice in this book than I was expecting.

But I didn’t love the amount of telling and not showing in this book. There’s a lot of “I told her this,” “I told him that.” Why couldn’t we just see these conversations? Why couldn’t we see some of these things?

It’s solid as a standalone, but because it is a standalone, I feel like it needed to be longer to give us some of the information, dialogue, action that is described and not seen.

Thank you very much to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

En el corazón de un valle protegido, donde la magia surge de los restos de criaturas míticas, Adela dedica su vida a preparar los cráneos para las ceremonias de emparejamiento. Su rutina se quiebra cuando descubre dos calaveras de fénix, reliquias que creía extinguidas. Incapaz de resistir su atracción, despierta su poder dormido y desencadena una onda de energía que sacude al valle, desata el caos y la muerte de su mentor, y la coloca de golpe en el centro de una tragedia que quizá ella misma provocó.

Mientras tanto, Kian, novicio de la Orden de la Cazadora, se aproxima a la ceremonia con un secreto: no busca gloria, sino la oportunidad de destruir los cráneos y vengar a su familia. El destino los enlaza cuando ambos quedan ligados a las calaveras de fénix y a una magia más antigua de lo que comprenden. Unidos por un vínculo que es tanto peligro como salvación, Adela y Kian deberán decidir si su conexión es el principio de la redención del valle o el preludio de su ruina definitiva.


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Lo único que me gusto es que el libro incluye demasiadas escenas spicy para mi gusto; en fantasía no me entusiasma tanto este enfoque porque siento que resta un poco de protagonismo al trasfondo y al conflicto central. Aun así, la historia y el mundo que crea Jessi Cole Jackson son tan sólidos que puede dejar esto de lado.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.