YOU GUYS, THIS BOOK WAS SO FUN!

Road To Ruin is Fury Road x Death Stranding x Borderlands but add lightning and make it queer. It has magic motorcycles and love letters! Forbidden romance! Vengeance! Yearning! in a desert setting!

This is a perfect fantasy for people who want something light on the politics but heavy on action. There is a lot of movement and zoom zoom and pow pow. I think the main character literally says they don't care about politics and the topic is completely dropped. LOVE THAT. But there are heavy themes, diaspora and blood lines and other social issues. All of that is interspersed with some cute romantic tension.

If you're in the mood for an action-packed badass little romp, Road To Ruin is absolute perfection. I had such a blast and need y'all to read it asap okay thanks.

And thank you to my faves at SAGA for sending me a copy!!arc fantasy-adult fantasy-lgbtqia ...more16 s Maja35 3

E-arc provided by Edelweiss.

I really, really wanted to love this book! It had so many promising elements and seemed right up my alley.

Fury Road- inspired apocalyptic wasteland? Interesting worldbuilding, if a bit simplistic? Hell yeah.
Sapphic tension between a sheltered princess and the magical motorcycle courier who has reluctantly agreed upon smuggling her to freedom? Hell yeah.
Fighting back against a societal caste system and subjugation of women? BIG hell yeah!!!

I just wish more had been shown to the reader, rather than told. I was bored. The characters, interesting in theory, fell flat in action. I never felt Yi-Nereen or Kadrin’s connection to Jin to be more than superficial, and honestly didn’t care about Kadrin at all. Not for me, unfortunately!This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review9 s liv ?333 302 Want to read

what do you MEAN wasteland motorcycle wlw2024-anticipated-releases4 s Genoveva DimovaAuthor 2 books161

Is this the sapphic Mad Max fantasy we've all been waiting for? My answer is a resounding yes! Road to Ruin is an accomplished debut, featuring a vivid, atmospheric world, an intricately built mystery, and a cast of complex characters I loved getting to know.

I struggle to pick what was my favourite element of this novel. At first, I fell in love with the world. Part Mad Max, part Charlie Jane Anders's The City in the Middle of the Night, part Lee's unique invention, I felt fully immersed in this desolate, desert landscape where strange creatures roam and getting caught outside during a storm can cost your life. Sprinkled among the desert are city-states, each with its own distinct culture and politics. The magic system was both extremely imaginative and insanely cool—I mean, it includes motorcycles powered by mana!

Then, I thought it wasn't the world I loved most, after all, it was the way the mystery plot twisted, turned, and kept surprising me. Characters we thought we'd left in the past returned. Ancient ruins came back to life. Political struggles and old magic turned out to be more complicated than they seemed a first. At no point I could guess how it would all get resolved, and I kept turning the pages, hungry for more.

Finally, just our Jin coming to terms with her complicated feelings towards Yi-Nereen and Kadrin, I realised, along the way, I'd fallen in love with Road to Ruin's characters. Jin, our protagonist, quickly won me over with her sharp, snarky voice and her tough exterior only to reveal a much softer interior. The two royals, I'd dismissed at first as vaguely boring and preoccupied with their budding romance—I was completely wrong. They're both fully realised characters in their own right, both brilliant in their own unique ways. The supporting cast were all fascinating, from Faolin's desert people to Yi-Nereen's scheming father—but I have a particular soft spot for Sou-Zell. What a glorious bastard. I can't wait to see what he does next.

Overall, this is a very strong debut and I'll be impatiently waiting for the sequel.favorites10 s1 comment StarMarie252969 2

There had better be a book 2!!! I loved this book and I can't wait to reread it and I'm so mad that book 2 is not already here in my hands (even though book 1 hasn't even been published yet.) Seriously Road to Ruin was INCREDIBLE! High Fantasy Mad Max that I never knew I needed. Our protagonist, Jin, is wonderful. The type of girl who pretends to be tough and closed off but would give her last bit of food to the alley cat that just bit her. Kadrin and Reena are each wonderful in their own ways, both of them truly playing on the sun and moon imagery. Always bound together but still so unique. I hope we get to see more of Kadrin next time because I feel we really got to know Reena well, see her intelligence and her desire to do the right thing even when she's not sure what that is. I also want to see more of Sou-Zelle even. I fully expected to hate him the entire time and while he still has a long way to go I can see the seeds of change planted in him. Pre-Order this book! Read this book immediately! It was SO GOOD!! 4 s AnneAuthor 2 books279

This will most ly be my favorite book of 2024. This is one of the most unique adult SFF books I've ever had the pleasure to read. Lee has crafted an amazing world of dinosaur- creatures, mana magic, and purple and blue lightning storms ravaging a wasteland. Add to that a courier who delivers packages on a motorcycle, and how much cooler could you get? The politics and world were built so intricately that the world felt REAL. The main character Jin was easy to love, and her snarky voice lent a great humor to the book that really added to the story. And of course, I loved the queer poly w/w/m romance. The Mad Max: Fury Road vibes were perfect! I honestly can't believe this is a debut. It reads a seasoned SFF author wrote it. Safe to say I am a fan of Hana Lee's work from now on and can't wait for the sequel!3 s Grant Little76

I have very conflicting thoughts on this book, and honestly a strong argument could be made in favor of either lowering it to 2 stars or rasing it to 4.

I loved this book up until about the 60% mark, at which point. From then on the book just felt increasingly more and more rushed, with characters being suddenly added with entirely too much significance (looking at you, Vann), only to barely do anything other than just move the plot forward slightly. And then the ending. Truly, from the bottom of my heart: fuck you all the way to hell, Hana Lee. That ending was so genuinely awful that it has the potential to make me never read another book you write. You managed to make an ending that combined some of the worst tropes in fiction, from power loss, to denying a character the chance to grow and develop in any way. And then topped it off with the having the book leave off without doing the thing you were building to the entire time with zero explanation and a sudden cut to black.

Seriously: FUCK that ending.

And as I write this, I realize the book does only deserve 2 stars.3 s1 comment Liana28

thank you very much to the publisher and edelweiss for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

this book has it all it's got gay people it has bisexual disasters it has hot women on dirt bikes it has a love triangle it has yearning it has off-brand dinosaurs it has deeply flawed characters you can't help but connect with, even if they only get a few POV chapters.

if that wasn't enough to convince you, i'd to start by saying this is the best book i've read in 12 months. it drew me in from the first page with a main character full of personality, and i stayed for the stunning worldbuilding and story.
i don't have anything that i didn't about this book. there was no point at which i set the book down and was not extremely excited for when i could next pick it back up. i was having physical and audible reactions as i was reading it, and i cried at least once. i absolutely cannot wait to hold this book in my hands and to have it in my store so i can get other people to read it.3 s Julia VeeAuthor 20 books137

Road to Ruin is a gritty, messy anthem to freedom. Strap in for a wild ride through ancient ruins, mana storms, and desperate raiders. Root for our disaster courier Jin as she navigates old secrets and new loves. I loved this book and can't wait for the next installment!royals4 s rachel x276 11 Want to read

"An electrifying, gritty fantasy that takes a royal messenger on a high-speed chase across a climate-ravaged wasteland, featuring motorcycles, monsters, and magic"

a sapphic mad max? preordered!age-adult c-hosp-chauffeur genre-fantasy ...more3 s Benji306 19

2.5 stars- Mad Max-inspired science fantasy with an FFM romance subplot. The world has been reduced to a post-apocalyptic wasteland with dystopian cities, a classist society that only values people with magical abilities, and magic-less people are thrown out into the wastes to become raiders. Magebike courier Jin has been delivering love letters between Prince Kadrin and Princess Yi-Nereen for years while slowly falling in love with them. Out of the blue Yi-Nereen tells Jin that an arranged marriage has been set for her and asks to be smuggled out of her city to be united with Prince Kadrin. Things go south quickly.

I think this book is more fun in theory than in reality, the world was too simplistic and Yi-Nereen is a terrible villain who only needed a minute of convincing before she was ready and willing to commit genocide yet she was written as a sympathetic heroine. There’s a lot of infodumping that makes the book drag in spots and some one-dimensional antagonists. On the other hand, Kadrin was charming in a dandy kind of way and I d the prickly ex-fiancé Sou-Zell.

CWs: eugenics, classism, genocide, child death, misogyny, murder, abuse, kidnappingThis entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review2 s Feliciana99 19 Shelved as 'dnf'

DNF @ 50%

It’s probably a “me, not you.” I think others will enjoy this more than I did.2 s Katy139 1 follower

I always tend to start with negatives, so to be whacky and different this time, I'll say this was fun first! And then move onto the things I found weakest. Which were mostly character and politics. Politics don't have to be a big deal in all SFF but they definitely play a big role in why the characters in this book are doing what they're doing, so I would have preferred to hear more about them. I didn't really understand Yi-Nereen's goals throughout the book because the politics were so vague. I didn't feel I had the appropriate grasp of the situation to know a) where she was coming from, b) her actual plan, or c) the stakes.

As for character, I felt this weird barrier. I think they're good characters that I can fully see being beautifully fleshed-out inside the author's mind, but I don't think that made it fully to page. They don't feel 2 dimensional or cliche or any of that, but instead I feel Lee wanted to hold back certain pieces of information from the reader and so limited what we were able to experience of each character's thoughts. But rather than building suspense or creating opportunity for big reveals, it made the characters feel somewhat far away, despite being inside their minds.

The biggest success in this book was the worldbuilding. It feels complete and unique and is written in a way that is fun to imagine. The romance in this book can be summarized as "y'all stupid," but it's entertaining and doesn't occupy too much focus to turn this from an adventure story into a romance novel. It was fun.2024 g lgbtq ...more2 s Hana LeeAuthor 1 book126

shelved as I've-read-this-book-so-many-times-that-I-deserve-to-give-it-a-rating-even-though-I'm-the-author

Seriously, though, I hope you enjoy this book. It's a love letter to my favorite film (Mad Max: Fury Road) in the form of a fast-paced science fantasy adventure in a gritty wasteland. A few elements you can look forward to:

- F/F/M three-sided love triangle / burgeoning poly triad
- motorcycles that operate on magic and vibes
- bisexual MC & LI(s)
- dinosaur-coded megafauna
- second-world setting w/ climate anxiety

Content warnings for misogyny, homophobia, ableism, and murder.

Welcome to the first book of the Magebike Courier series. There are no seatbelts in this book, so hold on tight and don't forget your helmet.19 s Mary AverlingAuthor 2 books117 Want to read

Alright but this sounds so good I might combust if I have to wait until 2024. MAGEBIKES. M A G E B I K E S. Ernie29 36

Hana is an outstanding writer, and every one of their books will be on my TBR list. 1 Michelle36 7

I READ THIS A YEAR AGO AND I'M STILL OBSESSED1 Caroline807

Sapphic Mad Max fantasy! Fun! Angsty! Action packed!2 s AK651 36

Five stars. Easy five stars. I feel Road to Ruin came out of nowhere. I'd heard nothing about this book until this tour and I can't imagine why. A fast-paced, diverse, dystopian fantasy full of magic, monsters, complex relationships, and love, this book is brimming with everything I love about early 2010 dystopian fantasies.

This book was a setup for the bigger series but still had it's own full chaotic plot. We have Jin, the courier, and her sparktalent; Reena, a shieldcaster and a princess trying to escape a sexist and classist city; and Kadrin, the Talentless prince of what was viewed as a refuge for Talentless refugees. I loved all three of them as we get to know them through both the main plot and the letters Reena and Kadrin send each other. Full of action and betrayals, the main plot was a wild ride.

That being said, the setup was no less interesting. I enjoyed hearing about Reena's research into the Talented versus the Talentless, the mana pools, and the overall world building we were given. It all felt so organic and effortless, and there was a wonderful balance between that and the main plot. I loved Screech, too, and how there was a peek into the lore of the world's monsters, which I'm sure we'll explore in the future.

This book also tackles some bigger issues, including race purity, sexism, classism, and environmentalism. Similar to the world building, it's not in your face, but it's also a huge part of what triggers the plot and the exploration of it was really well done.

I will say, if you were a fan of the 2010s dystopian craze, this book will definitely be for you. This gave me that buzzy reader feeling I've been chasing for the last while and I love it! This book isn't even out yet and I'm now anticipating it's sequel!

TW: death, murder, blood, injury detail, blood, violence, alcohol consumption, kidnapping, sexism, classism; mentions death of a parent, incest

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.72/5

eARC and FC gifted via Colored Pages Book Tours by Saga Press via Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review.colored-pages-tours netgalley simon-and-schuster1 Mary793 13

2.5 stars rounded up because of Screech
This is such a bummer because this one gripped me in the start. I found the characters compelling at first and I really d how the letters were interspersed between chapters- it gave us insight into why Yi-Nereen and Kadrin love each other and their initial sparks and flirting. So often I’ve said that when it comes to romance formed before the book starts I want flashbacks to see some of that development and finally I got it! Plus I adored all the moments with the raptor (Screech).
But eventually I found myself losing interest as we got deeper in. Even the letters became less fun since we found out that Yi-Nereen was faking or at least exaggerating her feelings for Kadrin to get him to fall for her so she could manipulate/ use him. Sure, I bet later on in this book and in the series things will work out and they'll end up a happy polycule family because she prob does have some real feelings for him, but why would I want to read letters that we know are full of manufactured feelings? Totally lost my investment in the letters at that point.
I've seen this book touted as sapphic/ wlw/ and lesbian and I don't think that's accurate. Our mc had a sapphic relationship in the past that we only hear about after the fact and don’t get to experience. Otherwise it’s poly (w/w/m) where everyone is into everyone else in the group. The current relationship we see building to in this book is a polyamorous one so it's a little annoying to see it be misclassified. This is actually the fourth new release I've read that is fantasy and poly so I think 2024 is poly era haha.
But speaking of the relationships, I unfortunately didn't feel either of their chemistries with Jin. If anything I felt more chemistry between Jin and Sou-zell. Maybe it's because we got relationship building between Yi-Nereen and Kadrin through the letters but the feelings for Jin and her feelings for them happened off page before the book starts.
Honestly at this point, I'm just really bored and don't feel forcing myself to continue when I know the highest this will get is a 3 star. So I won't.
DNF @ 73%


read-no-physical-copy1 Jennifer2,646 59

This was so much fun to read! What a rollicking fun debut novel. The author has room to grow, in my opinion, in terms of emotional immediacy of writing, but her skill for writing action and maintaining strong pacing is fantastic. I loved the mash-up of favorite geeky settings and magic (Borderlands/Fury Road, gothic/bone accents, Torchlight), fast-paced action, soapy romance, and epistolary element. I describe it as "soapy" romance, because I wanted to see "how it turns out," and I d the characters, even if I didn't feel deeply emotionally tied to them. Ugh, that ending, though. It ties up the the story enough to make this a standalone, but is clearly made to dangle a second volume just out of our reach. fantasy glbtq sci-fi1 Chloe652 65 Want to read

A QUEER DESERT APOCOLYPSE WITH MAGIC MOTORCYCLES ALL SHOVED INTO ONE BOOK. OF COURSE THIS WAS AMAZING.

Everything about this is freaking cool, from the barren world cut through with magic highways to the excellent angst of the romantic plot where each of them believes the others could never them that. Then, at it's core, it's a book about learning to tear down the empire in a way that exemplifies love for others. Basically, if you think "wow this would be really amazing," the chances are this book does it, and does it well. 1 Stas19

This book was SO good. I ate it up so fast. It has everything I could ask for, motorcycles, magic, cool animals, insane women, and so much Pain. I did cry about it, I am lowkey mad at the ending but only because I loved the book so much amd grew to care for the characters. It was surprisingly plot twisty and I can usually call next steps but nope not this one it kept catching me off guard. Highly recommend, the audiobook is available with spotify prime!polyam recommend sci-fi1 A.R. HellbenderAuthor 3 books95

I loved this book. It’s post-apocalyptic with a clever magic system, and those without magic are thought to not have souls. All 3 of our main characters are in love with each other, and as a poly person I love to see it. I only wish that the love story had the same high stakes urgency as the actual plot had. I definitely found myself thinking “oh no please don’t die” but when main characters are in love I also want to get invested enough to think “oh no please end up together”.1 Andi1,386

This was a book that was of interest to me because you have a poly protagonist, in a Mad Max fantasy world, who works as a 'for hire' courier to deliver letters of love from the Prince of a city that is at war with another a city that is where is Princess is. But, the Princess has feels for her and she as well.

Add also magic users. She has the power to channel bikes. The Princess has the power to bring forth storms.

Add a female bounty hunter who is after the Princess - and also has some beef with our courier, an Evil creator who is bent on changing the world, and a spurned suitor who may or may not be after the Princess.

I enjoyed the characters but I felt the plot was a bit weak. It is the first book though, so maybe the real meaty things are coming in the second book. The end of the book has me curious as to where it is going to go. I'll stick around and make my decision then.4 s Audrey1,793 105

This was so. much. fun. This world, which is harsh for those without magic, is fast paced and leave you guessing as to what happens next. Mad Max meets Tatooine and it has politics, intrigue and a queer love story.

I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.first-reads1 Annine527 12

Really d this one! Can't wait to explore this world further. Also, Jin, you're an idiotasian-rep lgbtqi-rep1 Ian193

Between 4 and 5?dystopian lgbt missing-sequels ...more1 Rey Hawke1,004 6

3.51 Ness65 3

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