I received a copy of Bonesmith for free from Netgalley and am leaving this review voluntarily.

While predictable at times, Bonesmith was a riveting story with a new take on the magic of the undead, which I greatly enjoyed. The story starts a little rocky and slow, however, I do understand why all of the scenes happened the way they did. They were still a little slow, but overall interesting and integral to the story.

On the other hand, the romance felt like it moved entirely too fast. I, personally, didn't believe that they had actually developed any feelings for each other. It felt like a plot device and a way to throw the enemies-to-lovers trope in there that everyone loves. I love it, too, don't get me wrong, but give me suspense. Give me drama. Give me yearning. I don't know. Give me something rather than throw me into it.

I really enjoyed the world and magic system, however. I thought that it was very well done and explained in a way that didn't feel like too much information was coming at me at once. I loved that there were different factions of "smiths" and that they each had their own thing. I was a little confused about the difference between "ghostsmiths" and "bonesmiths" because they felt like the same thing to me, but maybe I missed some critical information. Regardless, I really enjoyed the system and how the author made them the same but also unique. It was truly fascinating.

I highly recommend Bonesmith to anyone looking for a fun, new world with interesting magic. I'm very excited to see where the story goes after everything our characters went through.

Wren failed the Bonewood Trial and was exiled to the Border Wall. When the prince visits and is kidnapped, she hurries to rescue him and redeem herself in the eyes of the House of Bone. Julian, an ironsmith, is an unlikely ally, but Wren must work with him to succeed…

This book hooked me right from the start with tense action and immersive, detailed world-building. The magic system was intriguing. The tense banter between Wren and Julian was fun and I enjoyed getting a bit of the prince’s and Julian’s POV in the middle.

The mysteries and betrayals kept me on my toes all the way to the end.

So good! Looking forward to book two!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Solid start, slow middle, great ending. I’ll be picking up the next one.

Wren is a bone smith and all she wants to do is earn her place and the respect of her illustrious family. However after a cruel prank in her trials she’s shipped off to a remote posting in shame. While there she finally learns some truth about her fathers past, and gets asked to protect a golden prince.

When the prince is kidnapped she is forced to team up with her enemy to get him back and earn the respect she so desires. But during their quest more truths come out that threaten to shake her world.

This had a solid engaging beginning. The middle however dragged a bit as it was like you were waiting for something to happen. Once things STARTED to happen and the mysteries started coming together it sped right up and left me eager to read the comtinuation!

DNF at 25% - This was far too formulaic for me, but I think the intended audience will like it. Some of the worldbuilding was cool, but it was just too predictable for this reader.

I knew within a few chapters of starting this book that it would be a 5-star read. Unless something really annoying happened, I could tell that Nicki Pau Preto had come up with another brilliant idea for a YA fantasy story, and I am so here for it.

The magic, the world-building, the characters, the romance, all the twists and turns: this book does have it all. There’s so much excitement and action within the first few pages of the story and it doesn’t really stop, even up until the end. I absolutely love the smith-based magic system and how Wren, the main character, is a bonesmith. That is just such an epic idea. I wish I had thought of it myself. But the other “smiths” Wren meets during the story have just as cool and awesome uses for their magic. It’s really incredible and I can’t wait to see more of it develop in book two.

I also love the world-building and how everything plays together for the plot. I had my theories early on about what was really happening and it was so satisfying to learn that I was right. Nicki did a great job with foreshadowing without giving too much away.

But really, the best part of this book are the characters. Wren, Julian, even Leo have easily become new favorite characters. I love the enemies to lovers relationship that develops between Wren and Julian and I have high hopes of what might happen between them in book two. Leo was such a surprise. I thought for sure he would annoy me, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I adore him. I cannot wait for more of him in book two as well. Wren is an awesome protagonist, and I feel like the goals and ideas that drive her are different from typical YA fantasy, so it was such a relief to read this book. And Julian… *sigh* He's the perfect balance of brooding sad boy and honorable gentleman. I love him.

Bonesmith is a brilliant YA fantasy with epic magic, epic characters, and an even more epic storyline. This is one 2023 release you do not want to miss.

Honestly this is one of the covers on this list that won me over, it reminds me a lot of video game artwork which is the way to win my heart. This is being compared to Gideon the Ninth meets the White Walkers from Game of Thrones. That told me it was really dark and it was! I love me a good dark fantasy. We have Wren who is a bonesmith, a warrior who fights ghosts and she must journey into a haunted wasteland to rescue a kidnapped prince. I really enjoyed it! This is also a YA novel, the cover reminds me of an indie adult fantasy (which always have the coolest covers) so thought I’d clarify it is YA.
Full review to come on YouTube

I received a free copy of this book; all opinions expressed are my own!

Bonesmith took a little bit for me to get into, as it felt the introduction was a little slow and drawn-out. That said, once you get into the real meat of the book, it turns into a very satisfying action fantasy slow burn romance, with a solid enemies-to-lovers basis. I can't say it's necessarily treading new territory, especially when it feels very reminiscent of Throne of Glass mixed with Game of Thrones, BUT it's doing a good job of hitting the right notes and tropes in a solidly successful way. Basically, if you hear "Throne of Glass" and your interest is piqued, you won't go wrong with Bonesmith. I'm looking forward to more books in this series!

I ended up DNFing this book pretty early on and I'm so sad about it. I thought this sounded so interesting and I was so excited for this book but I was just not having fun and I decided not to try to force myself to continue. My problem is that the idea of this story and this world is very interesting but the writing is so clunky and aggressively heavy on the world building. To the point that there are side tangents that expand on every little detail and chapters would be like 60% background and world building details and then 40% the actual story we are supposed to be following. It felt like reading a textbook about this world with just a little bit of a plot every now and then and it was just not fun for me to read.

This was such a great dark fantasy young adult novel, it had everything that I was looking for from the description. I enjoyed how good the concept worked and the characters were well written. I was hooked from the cover and glad I read this. Nicki Pau Preto wrote this perfectly and I hope there is more in this world.

This is necromancy magic on another level. This whole story is grim and dark and I loved every minute of it. The magic system in this book was so freaking good. The territories and politics were so well crafted. I never wanted to leave this world. The plot and pacing had me hooked all the way through. Everything in this book was fantasy perfection.

Wren is so raw, real, and relatable. All her relationships (family, friends, and otherwise) are complex and nuanced. Wren and Julian… omg am I simping for them. I know you’re gonna love them just as much as I do. Even Leo captured my heart.

This was everything I could have wanted and I can’t wait for the next book in the series. I loved this story so freaking much and I am definitely considering getting a physical copy when it releases just to have it. All the stars - I can’t recommend this book enough. It is a must read for all fantasy lovers!

I did not read the Crown of Feathers trilogy but I know it was very loved by many readers. I was super excited to see she was writing something new. Even just the cover made me immediately want to read this one. I have to give kudos to the designer because it truly captures the vibe of the story, the world, and the main character super well and exactly how I would have imagined it while reading.

**4.5 STARS**

Content Warning: violence

I saw this book cover, saw who the author was and knew I had to read it. I was not disappointed!

What I really love about the story was the world-building and we do get a lot of it in the beginning which for a bit felt like info-dumping but once I pushed past through that, the story starts to flow. Wren is a bonesmith and has trained to be a valkyr – a warrior who fights ghosts. There are other smiths out there, like the ironsmiths, ghostsmiths, goldsmiths and we get a good sense of this world and a war that happened in the past that fractured alliances and sides. Wren’s family history is embedded deep into this climactic even.

I like Wren a lot – she’s fiesty, kind of rash in her decision making and wants glory but it’s mostly to appease her father and the grandmother who never approved of her. She never lets getting banished really get her down. She adapts, she keeps moving, she’s brave and even selfish but she knows when to say sorry. On the opposite side is Julian who is an ironsmith and her enemy but they are bound together to one goal, finding out who betrayed Julian and rescuing a Prince.

This is being compared to Game of Thrones and yes I could definitely see it because of the revenants, ghosts that attack, bodies coming back to life. It’s dark and filled with fighting, magic and adventure and I loved it all! There is even a tiny bit of a romance developing but it is not the main focus of this book. I love that Wren and Julian are both warriors, both trying to figure out who’s betrayed them, there is something growing between them, but they have to figure out a lot of things first. I’ll be rooting for them!

Despite the info-dumping in the beginning and me wanting a bit more romance, this was an entertaining read and I look forward to book two! I’m hoping we see more of Leo and maybe even Inara.

Tropes: enemies to lovers

Why you should read it:
*world-building, magic, fighting ghosts, political intrigue
*Wren and Julian

Why you might not want to read it:
*not into fighting the undead

My Thoughts:

I read this one in two days, only because I had to push through the beginning that was filled with information, but after that it was a quick, engaging and entertaining read. The world-building is great! I’ll be rooting for Wren, Julian and Leo and I’m excited to read book two!

Thanks to NetGalley & Margaret K. McElderry Books for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

A very fun, dark fantasy adventure full of fantastic world-building and magic!

Wren is a hardcore kickass yet complex character and she's a really fun protagonist to root for. The magic system is pretty fun and interesting and I'm excited to see it explore further in the sequel.

I really enjoyed the limited POV chapters, it's mostly focused on Wren but when she's out of commission, the other two main characters will get a POV chapter and it's really an insightful look into their thoughts and motivations.

Great political intrigue too, I thought it would be mostly action/adventure but it's got solid world-building and a focus on how the characters' decisions affect the rest of the world in the story. Can't wait to see more in the next one!

The beginning was a bit slow with info dumps but once we got into the story it grabbed your attention, I also really appreciated the pacing some books would linger and drag on certain events. but here they were acknowledged and dealt with and the progressed nicely. While I wish we got to know more characters the ones we did get to know were very distinct and had played of each other really well.

Great title, but just too morbid and complicated a plot for me to continue reading.
Thank you anyway to Simon and Schuster for the review copy.

This was EXCELLENT. As expected. I love Nicki's work and this delivered on every cylinder.

The world, the magic, ugh it fed every part of my brain that loves YA fantasy. The book definitely has a darker vibe than Nicki's other works, as the main character works in bone magic and the dead but as eerie as it was, it was also fascinating. My jaw was on the floor quite a few times with this book and I highly, HIGHLY recommend.

TW: death, betrayal, violence