Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book, unfortunately I wasn’t able to get to it before it was archived but will review in full when I do.

This es an interesting book. The cover definitely draws you in and the description will pick your interest even more .
I can’t say I loved it as I can’t say I hate it either. It was good with great writing and characters, an interesting story overall but it wasn’t for me or my moods at the time And I did tried to pick it up a few times over the last year, hence my late review ( for which I apologise).
Many fans will enjoy it much more than I have for sure.
Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

This sounded like an interesting premise. I was enjoying it at the start, it was enjoyable (nothing to blow my mind). Unfortunately, after a point I found it became very hard to continue and it took me a long time to read. Not a bad book, but it felt like a mix of too many things and I really wanted to love it more, but didn't.

This was a story in two parts, a mix of Sci-Fi and fantasy. .There was a great storyline and some appealing characters. A new way of writing an adventure in Sci Fi and Fantasy

The book started so well. There’s the set up for an awesome fantasy series and characters who have a genuine bond. Yes not something that hasn’t been done before but some amazing world building in such a short time. I wanted to know more.

Then one of the main characters gets abducted by aliens. Yes, you read it right. Like a spaceship shows up and takes the crown prince.

It doesn’t get better form there.

Arc provided by the publishers and netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

This book was not what I was expecting - in a good way. This books melds together typical fantasy with space odyssey, which I thought wouldn't work, but it does! It is great how all the characters come together at the end and all our questions are answered!

This is a sci-fi/fantasy mash-up that completely surprised me with its unique plot and rich world-building. My one criticism is that the author tries too hard to include as many elements as possible which sometimes doesn't quite work.

Unfortunately I could not get into this book at all. Neither the story nor the characters kept me interested enough and I ended up dnfing it.

I found this one really difficult to get into unfortunately, I found the pacing to be really difficult to get into and I can’t tell if I actually enjoyed the sci-fi/fantasy aspect.

‘Blood, Metal, Bone’ followes Sonara, who was wrongly accused of her brother’s murder and sentenced to execution by her own mother. Punished and left for dead, the shadows have cursed her with a second life as a Shadowblood, cast out and hunted by society for her demon-like powers. Known as the Devil of the Deadlands, Sonara survives as a thief on the edge of society, fighting for survival on a quest to uncover what really happened to her brother and whether he is even dead at all.

I requested this on Netgalley from the cover and synopsis alone, falling in love with the concept and it provoking curiosity. However, reality was a little disappointing.

Sonara was a difficult character to sympathise with, having a cut-throat attitude from beginning to end of this novel with very little development in between. She’s heartless, making for a very difficult read and a lack of emotion caused by her actions. I didn’t care for her, finding myself more intrigued by the character’s horse than the character herself, who was continuously described in detail.
Karr was interesting, finding his situation difficult and being able to sympathise with him slightly. He doesn’t want to be where he is, and yet he continues to support his family and gradually developing confidence the further we step into the story.
The other characters seemed to fall flat with me, there being a lack of introduction to them or not really having much to support them in terms of development or authenticity. I didn’t care for any of them, hardly remembering who was who as the story developed and found myself uninterested by them all.

Cummings’ writing style is incredibly well-written, with intriguing dialogue and a gripping premise to pull you in, however, that’s what leaves you the most surprised. By the title, cover and concept alone, you’d picture a medieval fantasy novel, with luscious language and world-building that competes with other novels in the genre. However, this novel is a merge of two genres, one being that gripping Fantasy, and the other being a surprising Sci-Fi, that doesn’t really click with the other genre it’s slotting with. There never seemed to be a need to set the novel in a Sci-Fi setting, it causing no purpose other than to shock, and occasionally disappoint the reader. Unfortunately, that’s the trap I fell into.

Overall, I was disappointed in this read, having psyched myself up for an epic fantasy, and being let down by the sudden appearance of the Milky Way.

Interesting premise and lovely prose, but it just didn’t engage me. I think I must fall outside the target audience for this one. However, new enthusiasts of YA fantasy will find a lot to enjoy here. Decent fantasy novel, just not for me.

I felt a little confused by this story with it's mix of sci fi and fantasy. Ultimately, it wasn't really for me. The premise and blurb really intrigued me but I struggled to read this one and it took me a long time to finish as I just didn't feel very invested. There were a lot of interesting ideas and concepts, probably too much, which is probably what left me feeling a little flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Most Fantasy novels are grouped into the "Sci-fi and Fantasy" genre, however this book succeeds in being both Science fiction and Fantasy. The book follows Sonara, the bastard daughter of the Queen of Soreia, who is charged with the murder of her brother and the heir of the kingdom. She is sentenced to die, however, Sonara comes back from death as a Shadowblood and is now known as the Devil of the Deadlands. Her aim? To find out who took her brother and whether he is still alive.

I loved the fantasy world-building in this book and the opening chapter was fast-paced and gripping. While I went into this book knowing there was a sci-fi element, the transition between old-world fantasy and outer space threw me out of the storyline and the linking between these opening chapters felt very disjointed. This does, however, improve as the story progressed and I did enjoy the unique element of the book. While reading, I had a number of different theories and yet, I still did not guess the ending. Also, the fact that this book contained minimal romance made it incredibly refreshing, especially within the current YA fantasy genre.

For me, the pacing was too slow and it took a while for me to actually finish this book. The MC's magic seemed temperamental and I would have liked more information about it and the Shadowbloods. This being said, I would still recommend the book to readers who love both fantasy and sci-fi in equal measure. As a predominantly fantasy lover, I found it difficult to acclimatise to the shifting of genres.

Huge thank you to the publishers for sending an ebook on Netgalley my way for an honest review.

Sadly DNF'd at 50% as I just couldn't get into it. I found the pacing and the time differences quite patchy and felt no interest in the characters or the plot whatsoever. The fantasy and sci-fi mash up is definitely unique and an interesting premise and I'm sure some people would love it so am giving it 3 stars. I don't feel fair giving it less than that as I haven't finished the book, sadly from what I have read, it just wasn't for me.

✨Blood Metal Bone✨

Thank you to Netgalley, Lindsay Cummings and HQ for my copy.
✨
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review:
I went blindly into this book and was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the mix of sci-fi and fantasy elements and for me it had a great balance between the two.

I love Sonara and her journey, living up to her name of the Devil of the Deadlands, perfectly flawed but with redeeming qualities. The plot was interesting enough to keep you engaged and guessing with a few surprising plot twists however I do feel this would’ve made a good duology rather than a standalone and I will live in the hopes that a second book will be written. There were a few details that, in my opinion, weren’t concluded in a satisfying way, particularly the last chapter. However, it was an enjoyable read and a little out of my comfort zone. There was no romance in this one but I didn’t feel the story was lacking in any way because of it! I definitely recommend!

Going into Blood Meta Bone I was expecting a pure fantasy story, one where the magics of the Shadowbloods and the warring kingdoms would be the focus. And whilst this is mostly true, and this is a book that deals with themes of magic, destiny, and mystical forces, it’s also got a dash of science fiction thrown into the mix too, which really makes it stand out. It turns out that Dohrsar is just one of many worlds in the galaxy, and that humans have an interest in it for their own gains, putting those who live there at risk. This is what the book is really about, and in a lot of ways mirrors historical colonialism, of a more technologically advanced force coming to a land because they want the resources, and willing to kill those who live there to get it.

Ok so I have mixed feelings on this one. Let me start of by saying the synopsis for this doesn’t really explain the plot to this story very well. Or at least made me think this was just a straight up fantasy instead of also being part of the sci-fi genre as well! When I started reading this book I was enjoying the writing style. Most of the books has good characters with great development and the overall story I really enjoyed. Sonara POV is what we start of with and I really enjoyed it. However early on we also go to another POV set in space and I was so confused because I didn’t realise it was going to have futuristic elements!! I guess if I’d known it might not have been as jarring. So whilst I still enjoyed the second POV I didn’t expect to halfway through the book get another POV! So all these things took me a while to get into. Also that it feels like a normal sort of medieval world when we read sonara pov and when we switch it became that we were actually on a different planet and they were not entirely human. It was just weird to picture! I would have preferred this to be shorter too as I felt it dragged in places. I did still enjoy what I read but I didn’t love it.

I have been a fan of Lindsay since she first came on the scene with The Murder Complex way back in the day and I have been so excited to follow her career in which ever way it went. I have to admit I wasn't the biggest fan of Zenith, didn't read the sequel so I was happy to hear she was releasing another book and that it was going back to fantasy.

I loved this. Such a fun read full of intrigue and tension. I am sad that this seems to be a one off because I would love to read more of this world. The writing was great and a real step up from her previous books. I couldn't stop turning the page and that's all you can ask for with a good book!

This was such an unexpected delight for me! Blending genres left, right and centre, the plot went through so many twists and turns that I did not see coming and that I really enjoyed. Starting out as a somewhat traditional fantasy, the book takes a sharp left turn into science fiction and I was immediately hooked. The writing was really accessible and I thought that the characters were really well developed. I also particularly appreciated the lack of romance in the book. Instead, we had some fabulous sibling relationships and platonic friendships between the sexes that were so refreshing. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book and will keep my eye out to see what Lindsay Cummings comes out with next!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.