I didn't know anything really about this book before reading it. Didn't even know the synopsis. My sister gifted it to me and I couldn't be more thankful. The first 50 or so pages, I wasn't sure I could get into it. The magic system within and the overall cliche of certain aspects, had me thinking this was a book I want going to like. I was wrong. Very quickly after the story starts taking off, I feel in love with this book. The main character, Wren, is amazing. Overconfident, sarcastic, cocky. But not so much so that it's obvious that this will be a huge growth or point of the plot that she's "changed". Leo, another main-ish character, also great. Again, pretty overconfident and snarky, but behind it, a completely different guy. Probably my favorite character in the book, even with his limited page time. Julian's alright. My least favorite of the trio, but I'm not a huge fan of the overly serious, by the book characters. As I'm sure my description of the other two shows. 

However, getting into the actual story. Insane. There are some pretty obvious instances that you expect to happen, and "twists" you see coming. But the end of the book, I didn't see a lot of it at all. They were able to fit so much story into, honestly, one of the smallest books I've read in a while. It's pretty remarkable. I finished this book in 3 days, roughly, and the main reason is because I just couldn't put it down. Every single time the story was coming to a natural end of an "arc", an unforeseen twist happens and it's, "well, guess I'm reading some more", to figure it out. And the amount of political treason and backstabbing. Chef's kiss. 

I'm incredibly shocked I liked this book as much as I did. And luckily, the second one arrives tomorrow, so the story goes on! 

I can't believe you're making me, a Leo, wait until my birthday for the sequel 😭

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Format: E-book, Audiobook

Genre: Fantasy

When you tell me that a book is “Gideon the Ninth (one of my fave books of all time) meets Game of Thrones” I’m going to have insanely high expectations. Aside from the bone magic, I wouldn’t really compare Bonesmith to the Locked Tomb. Bonesmith has a much more straightforward fantasy vibe with its themes and conflict. I think I ended up being a bit impatient at the beginning because of this comparison, so that’s my fault. 

This book had a mix of good and not-so-good for me. The characterization, magic system, and atmosphere are all solid. I went back and forth on whether or not I liked Wren or found her annoying, but by the end I think her characterization and growth worked well. I liked Leo and Julian a lot, also. It was unfortunate that their POVs weren’t introduced until about halfway through the book. I enjoyed both of them and would’ve liked to have had more of an equal split between our main characters’ perspectives. The magic system for the different smiths and elements was very cool and a unique take on necromancy. The atmosphere of the Wall and the ghost-infested forests was immersive and I felt like I was there in the midst of danger alongside Wren.

Now for the not-so-good. There is a solid amount of lore-dumping in the beginning that hurt the pacing and made me struggle to get invested. Again, having Julian and Leo’s POVs earlier might have let us be shown more of different aspects of the world instead of just being told. I also didn’t really buy into the romance. The majority of the book takes place over the course of about a week, so the romance moved too quickly for me. I think that we could’ve spent the whole book just building relationships and maybe have the romance culminate in the second book. 

I was pretty conflicted on how I felt throughout most of the book but around the 70% mark things started to fall into place and I was excited to see the stakes start to ramp up. The twists??? The threads that came together??? I was SAT for the ending. Based on where things left off, I will definitely be reading the second book. This was a flawed book, but it wasn’t bad at all. There is a lot to enjoy here, especially for YA fantasy lovers.

Also, I swapped between the e-book and the audiobook and the audiobook narrator SLAYED. I loved her accent and delivery. Highly recommend the audio.