Book Review: In the Wake of the Ruined by Kalie Cassidy

⭐️⭐️⭐️ | It’s Okay. Still Recommend.

Read In the Wake of the Ruined if you like angst, quests, and emotionally messy relationship dynamics.

✨Heads up! Some links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. That means if you click and buy, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for helping me keep this blog running and my TBR endless! 📚

*This review is of the second book in this duology. If you want to read my thoughts on book one, here’s my review of In the Veins of the Drowning

*FYI: I read this as an eARC (aka an early digital copy), and as always—you’re getting my honest, unfiltered thoughts. This one hits shelves 7.7.2026.

📖 What’s Inside:

Dual POV
💔 Yearning and angst
On-page intimacy 🔴
🌈 Inclusive
Mages + sirens
🧭 Quest
Explicit language
Blood and gore 🩸
Forbidden love

Book Boyfriend Meter: 🧡

Would consider. Would absolutely regret something.

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✨ Vibes:

To Kill a Kingdom — sirens, danger, and ocean adventure with romantic tension

💭 My Thoughts:

First of all—We got a map.

And I need you to understand how happy that made me.

There’s a lot of traveling in this story, and finally being able to see the world?

10/10. No notes.

Also—Theo’s POV??

We were off to a strong start.

And then things got rocky. Like, rocky.

The biggest issue for me?

There’s a storyline here that skirts very close to the cheating trope.

And I did not like it.

At all.

Without getting too deep into spoilers—The MMC marries someone else (duty, politics, etc.), despite being in love with the FMC.

And we don’t just hear about it.

We see it.

And listen, that completely disrupted the romance for me.

Because once vows are said? Contracts signed?

That changes everything. I’m all about forbidden love. Just not like this.

There were SO many ways this could’ve been handled differently—and I genuinely think it should’ve been.

I almost DNF’d right there.

The plot:

Beyond the romance, there were multiple moments where I just sat there like:

“How is this even happening?”

The FMC is barely clinging to life… but still pushing forward, still using magic she’s supposedly afraid of?

For way too long.

It felt like a plot device more than something grounded in the story.

And it pulled me out of it.

This book is divided into three parts and part 2 was where it slowed down.

A lot.

There’s lore introduced here that honestly could’ve been in book one—and instead of enriching the story, it just made this part drag.

I was bored.

I said what I said.

But the ending?

Now THIS part was probably the best.

There was more action. Higher stakes. Things were actually moving.

And most importantly—it felt like a satisfying conclusion to the duology.

Overall, this book is a mixed bag.

✔️ Strong start (map + dual POV = yes)
❌ Rough, uncomfortable first half
❌ Slow middle
✔️ Solid, satisfying ending

Did it live up to book one? No.

But did it give me closure? Yes.

And sometimes… that’s enough.

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC copy of this book. Keeping it real with my honest thoughts as always.

📚Read Alikes:

If you’re here for sirens, angst, and emotional tension:

To Kill a Kingdom — sirens + dark ocean vibes + enemies-to-lovers tension
The Ever King — dark fantasy with pirates + fae + political intrigue (read my review)

Should you add In the Wake of the Ruined to your TBR?

If you started the series, it’s worth finishing—just be prepared for a rocky ride.

🛒 Buy Now

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