A Song of Wraiths and Ruin
#4763.96 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 2020–2021 Reading commitment Low Roseanne A. Brown Last reviewed 2026-08-24
Overview
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin is a complete two-book West-African-inspired YA fantasy duology by Roseanne A. Brown, following Karina, a crown princess who seeks dark magic to resurrect her assassinated mother, and Malik, a refugee assassin hired to kill her to save his own sister from an evil spirit, as their fates intertwine during Solstasia, a citywide festival held once every fifty years to mark the return of a comet. The debut, published by Balzer + Bray in 2020, became a New York Times bestseller and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year, with Publishers Weekly praising its incorporation of West and North African folklore into "an action-packed tale of injustice, magic, and romance." The sequel, A Psalm of Storms and Silence (2021), completed the planned duology.
Mythic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin Roseanne A. Brown
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | A Song of Wraiths and Ruin | 2020 | core | 3.92 (18,139 ratings) |
 | A Psalm of Storms and Silence | 2021 | core | 4.11 (5,330 ratings) |
Complete West-African-inspired YA fantasy duology.
Quick answers
- How many books are in A Song of Wraiths and Ruin? A Song of Wraiths and Ruin's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for A Song of Wraiths and Ruin? Publication order, starting with A Song of Wraiths and Ruin. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is A Song of Wraiths and Ruin finished? Complete (2020–2021).
- How much reading does A Song of Wraiths and Ruin take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~466 pages).
- How is A Song of Wraiths and Ruin ranked? #476 in this site's official ranking, based on 23,469 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #476?
Ranked #476 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.96 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (23,469 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #475, Artemis Fowl (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 2 books · Complete · 23k ratings · Ranks #476 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (2020)
- A Psalm of Storms and Silence (2021)
Awards (verified)
- No confirmed award wins found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.96 across 23,469 ratings on 2 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin admitted (Roseanne A. Brown) accepted 2026-08-24
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-24
Rule: Core = the complete two-novel duology (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, A Psalm of Storms and Silence). No companion short fiction in this world was found.