silver in the bone – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 496 pages
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: July 30th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

With the dream of Avalon in ruins, Tamsin and her friends are all that stands in the way of Lord Death’s plans to unleash the horrors of Anwnn on the world of the living. As the Wild Hunt carves a bloody path across continents, Tamsin is mustering allies, tracking down powerful artifacts, and traversing into new otherlands in search of a way to stop him.

Legend tells of a “Mirror of Beasts,” powerful enough to trap even Lord Death in its accursed glass, but the mirror is not all that it seems. Tamsin must confront her own darkest secrets if she hopes to tap the mirror’s strength to defeat her enemies.

Arthurian legend bleeds into contemporary action, and scars of the past are torn open anew by a starcrossed love that refuses to go quietly. This riveting conclusion to the Silver in the Bone duology will hold you in its thrall until the very last page.

Thank you GetUnderlined for the gifted copy.

THE SECOND HALF WAS BETTER.

The first half of this book was really drawn out. I know it was building to the conclusion, yet I felt like most of it didn’t go anywhere. And this isn’t a romance book, which isn’t a bad thing, but I thought it would play a bigger part and it didn’t. I did like what I got from it, though I needed more to truly fall for them. The found family aspects were great though. I think I was more invested in them and even one of the side romances than I was the main story line. I love endearing side characters.

A bit of a rambling plot that led to a honestly strong ending. I loved the action and climax of the moment and seeing how the downfall of the antagonist came to be. There were a few good reveals that I didn’t see coming and I was ultimately satisfied enough with the ending.

And while urban fantasy usually isn’t my favorite, I felt like this wasn’t urban enough to be an issue. It definitely was heavier on the fantasy and I loved that dynamic too.

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy
Language: low
Romance: one closed door
Violence: moderate

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 480 pages
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Publisher: Knopf Books
Release Date: April 4th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A series opener inspired by Arthurian legend and fueled by love, revenge, and pure adrenaline!

Tamsin Lark didn’t ask to be a Hollower. As a mortal with no magical talent, she was never meant to break into ancient crypts, or compete with sorceresses and Cunningfolk for the treasures inside. But after her thieving foster father disappeared without so much as a goodbye, it was the only way to keep herself—and her brother, Cabell—alive.

Ten years later, rumors are swirling that her guardian vanished with a powerful ring from Arthurian legend. A run-in with her rival Emrys ignites Tamsin’s hope that the ring could free Cabell from a curse that threatens both of them. But they aren’t the only ones who covet the ring.

As word spreads, greedy Hollowers start circling, and many would kill to have it for themselves. While Emrys is the last person Tamsin would choose to partner with, she needs all the help she can get to edge out her competitors in the race for the ring. Together, they dive headfirst into a vipers’ nest of dark magic, exposing a deadly secret with the power to awaken ghosts of the past and shatter her last hope of saving her brother.

THE ENDING SAVED IT.

I didn’t know how I would end up liking this one because Arthurian legend + urban fantasy is not usually my combination. What is about King Arthur legend books that totally goes over my head??? But I digress. Things did get better and I will read the sequel.

The romance in here is subtle but very sweet. I liked the development of it and the contrast of that versus the rest of the book. I have SO MANY questions about that ending and it was the perfect dose of a cliffhanger.

Plot wise I was lost for a the beginning, figured out what was happening for awhile, completely lost in the middle and then found my way back one more time. The middle is slowed down quite a bit and I’m grateful I had the audiobook to keep the pace up or I think this review would have gone more south.

I liked Tamsin and her brother, Cabell. They have some interesting character arcs I want to further explore and the decisions and actions all felt true to the nature of everything happening.

Overall audience notes: