The Blood Bell tolls, marking the death of the pirate king and the start of the Trials—a heart-stopping competition where the reward is the Bone Crown. Only one contender can claim the coveted island throne; each will gamble life and limb to win. Csilla Abado yearns to prove her strength to the seasoned pirates who balk at her youth and to her elder sister who has always craved Csilla’s captainship. Kane Blackwater wants to leave behind the dirty gold and shady trades he’s made to keep his father’s ship, the Iron Jewel, alive. Lorelei Penny longs for nothing more than to avenge her mother’s death.

I was immediately drawn into the plot of this novel, it starts with high tension and the stakes only increase from there. But I got the feeling in the first few chapters that I was starting in the middle of the story or in a sequel since many of the characters have a past and the book begins in the middle of a precarious situation. Since this book features a large cast it takes a bit longer than I’d prefer to dig into each character’s drive, but the author does a great job keeping the reader engaged until then.

The narrative alternates between three protagonists: Csilla, Kane, and Lorelei. Normally, I get frustrated by novels that alternate points of view, because it often feels like the novel could have been told in a more streamlined way with just one point of view. But that was not at all the case with this novel. Each character’s leg of the story offers a unique perspective and I enjoyed seeing them come together. I enjoyed each character’s part equally and was impressed by how well-rounded even the supporting characters were for a book with such a large cast.

The author has created an immersive world in this novel. Each scene features lush descriptions and expansive details of the role this place plays in the wider world. The rules of the pirate kingdom (or lack thereof) were interesting and a unique aspect of this setting. There is also a subtle magic system in this book that plays an essential part in the plot.

Fans of Pirates of the Caribbean and All the Stars and Teeth will love Crossbones, the debut novel of Kimberly Vale. The main characters are unique and exciting while the world is immersive. The book’s plot is engaging but does feel as if you’re starting in a sequel. I’ll be eagerly waiting for the next book in the Kingdom of Bones trilogy.

3.75/5 Stars

The Blood Bell tolls, marking the death of the pirate king and the start of the Trials—a heart-stopping competition where the reward is the Bone Crown. Only one contender can claim the coveted island throne; each will gamble life and limb to win. Three worlds collide trying to prove themselves and make it out alive.

First off - I really enjoyed this book. While reading I could note issues or that certain things weren't the best, but I really enjoyed reading it the entire time. The writing was easy, the story was interesting, and the characters were fun. It gave me Pirates of the Caribbean vibes but in a YA fantasy way.

The book does read very much like a Ya fantasy (take that as you will). I will there was more exploration of the world and the magic in it. I was confused about the magic even when the book ended. With some edits this book could have easily been 600+ pages and an amazing epic fantasy. But that's not what it was, and it accomplished what it set out to do.

I will say, the trails don't start until the 50% mark, and I was a little disappointed in them. The first part of the story where the trials aren't happening yet were a lot more interesting to me than the actual trials - which is so odd for me because I love book competitions.

I am so glad this was a standalone. I loved the world and would have totally read a series about it, but part of what pulled me in was seeing a standalone pirate fantasy.

Overall - if you want a fun easy book with found family, pirates, trails, strong women, magic, and lots of angst this is a great pick.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wattpad publishing for sending me a copy of this book in exchange or an honest review!

This is the second Wattpad Books title I have read in the last couple of months to really surprise me (the other being “Big Boned”, which I was blown away by). They must be putting something in the water over there (figuratively speaking), because this book is excellent. It’s everything I like about pirates and leaves out a whole lot of the stuff I don’t like to think about when I think about pirates.

It’s no secret to people who know me that I have… issues with pirate fantasy novels. Mainly because when there’s romance involved authors tend to gloss right over all the things I find gross and nasty about pirates and I can only suspend my belief so much before I get grossed out. I don’t care how hot the Captain of that pirate ship is: he probably still has scurvy, rickets, missing teeth, and who knows what else.

Luckily, this pirate fantasy novel takes care of most of those worries for me by having the characters spend most of their time on land, and by leaving the romance to almost-entirely romantic tension and off-screen love scenes. The pacing (which was deftly edited and wielded effectively) and the plot (in which, for the most part, time is of the essence), doesn’t lend itself to long and tender heartfelt moments or a lot of alone time for any of the romantically-paired love interests. Really, it doesn’t leave a whole lot of alone time for anyone. This is mostly a treasure hunt with a tiny bit of heist, a dash of puzzle-solving, and a sprinkling of fighting for your survival with whatever you can get your hands on under a lot of pressure and a time limit.

So, in a way, you can see influences and inspirations from Pirates of the Caribbean, Six of Crows, The Hunger Games, and even Throne of Glass (I can’t help but draw some parallels between the crew of the Scarlet Maiden and The Thirteen, I’m sorry). I’m not saying these books/movies have anything to do with this book, necessarily, but it’s like I can see those properties looking down on this book and nodding with some sort of approval in their eyes.

I was surprised, I wasn’t repelled by it being a pirate fantasy, and I had a good time reading it. It was a rather fast read for me, given I didn’t really want to stop reading. I’ll definitely be back. You’ll want to come back too.

Crossbones by Kimberly Vale is a bit too simplistic. There isn't any world-building, considering this is a standalone, and the plot is super basic.

Crossbones was an epic adventure on the high seas. It reminded me of a darker One Piece. The character development was outstanding, the pacing was fast, and Kimberly Vale really made her characters come to life. Crossbones is for anyone who wants adventure, love and a wild ride.

Was it the best book ever? No.
Was it fairly predictable? Yeah.

But was it also action-packed, fun and full of lovable characters and piretes? Also YES.

DING DONG 4 STARS, DARLING!

I could make this review really short by just screaming GO READ THIS BOOK!

But I won't.

This is a pirate lovers dream - we have pirates (obviously), magic, found family trope, family vs. family, and so much more. I really loved how this book started, though it shocked me a little bit. I didn't expect to jump right into someone's hanging, but we did, and it was intense! Csilla is tried for her crimes of being a pirate and for that, she must hang. We get Csilla's hopes that the rope will simply break her neck rather than choke her to death, which I read with wide eyes, and the hope that someone from her crew would save her. Like I said, intense!

Alternating between Csilla, Kane, and Lorelei's points of view was really nice, though occasionally inconsistent. I love multiple POVs and Csilla's strength paired with Kane's anxiety and Lorelei's quest for revenge is just such a good mix! Especially with all the moving parts going on behind the scenes. 

In terms of plot, I loved how the story progressed. But, truth be told, I wasn't a fan of one specific thing at the end. I won't spoil it because this is a spoiler free review, but let's just say it's very deus-ex-machina-esque. Which is a trope that I genuinely hate, so I wasn't a big fan of that. But everything else leading up to that moment was so well done! And the final scene of the book made the journey worth it. It was a great way to end the book. 

I can't go too in depth with favorite scenes or moments for me because it's all spoilers, but I will say that the relationships between characters, how they change and grow, was perfect, especially regarding Csilla. I loved her character growth and how she overcame her challenges, both physically and emotionally. 

Overall, read this book! If you like pirates, if you like adventure, twists and turns, and lots of humor, then you will love this book! I've already starting hounding my friends to read it because I need people to talk to about it.

d like to premise this by saying I’m a pretty easy to please reader and I never dnf a book but I’m gonna have to put this one aside for a while. I had a really hard time getting into it and even at 25% of the way through it’s still not pulling me in.

I will most likely pick it back up at a later date when I think I can power through it, but since it is an arc copy I wanted to give an update.

Overall the concept is interesting and I love the multi povs but they don’t seem evenly spread like they should be.

This book was addicting from page one. I loved the different POVs and the world. The MC is a kick butt female! I loved this book and can’t wait to read more by this author.

I absolutely love me a good pirate story, and Crossbones by Kimberly Vale did not disappoint!

Our three main characters are Csilla, a young captain of an all female crew, Kane, an even younger captain who struggled to build his crew up under the shadow of his father’s legacy, and Lorelei, an unlikely girl who lives on the coast, and whose fate is nothing anyone could have foreseen.

Their paths are crossed when the Pirate King dies and each captain of his fleet must present themselves to a trial that will determine who wears the Bone Crown…

Crossbones is a solid, fun, pirate adventure. The characters are excellent, and each ship having their own set of governing rules really gave a sense of distinction between each group. The “big twist” is fairly easy to spot early on, but the author doesn’t dwell on it too long and continues with the story regardless, so that was appreciated. There are fights, betrayals, monsters, and dramatic escapes. Crossbones is all around a very good time for a standalone YA fantasy.

The one thing I wanted more from was that pirates historically arise when there is a severe imbalance of power tied with colonialism or expansion, and I wished that the author would have dug into that a little more, because it makes for such interesting discussion and story. But then I do understand that the majority of the focus of this book was on the trials and the fight over the Bone Crown - so think more inter-pirate conflicts rather than pirates vs the nation they are up against.

Overall, if you like pirates or any sea adventures, you can’t go wrong with Crossbones!
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Content‌ ‌warnings‌ ‌for‌ violence, murder, & death of a parent
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*Thank‌ ‌you‌ Wattpad Books ‌and‌ ‌NetGalley‌ ‌for‌ ‌the‌ ‌ARC in exchange for my honest review*

This more or less met my expectations. I found that I didn't mind this as it did hit a soft spot as I love a good pirate novel. Was this the most well-crafted story ever though, that would be a no? That is why I said that this met my expectations as I wasn't exactly expecting greatness when it comes to a novel published by Wattpad. Don't get me wrong, I have read a good amount of fantastic stories on Wattpad, granted they were fanfiction though. My expectations for this were based on the track record of previously published books, which didn't exactly have great receptions.

The concept and the plot were okay, again nothing spectacular, but nothing horrible. My main crux with the novel comes with a name, or several in fact. The characters and their development, or rather lack of it, were by far the weakest point of the entire book, and it did kind of ruin most of the potential it could have had. Let's get into the details, shall we?


Writing:

For the most part, I don't have any major issues with the writing as I found it to be easy to digest. There were some issues with the font not being consistent, but I will give the book the benefit of the doubt as this is an arc and will assume that it would be fixed for the release. Another minor detail I wasn't a big fan of was the extension of the words when spoken by Magnus, making him sound like a snake. It was rather awkward to have to read those words in my head.

As for the format of the book, this is a multi-pov with the story being told through the eyes of three characters. I don't think it was necessary to have this many perspectives, but I will talk more about that in the characters section.


Plot:

Overall, the plot really isn't bad and is rather straightforward. When the king of Cerulia dies and rumours of a possible heir is circling, pirate crews are called forward to participate in trials for the Bone Crown. It was an interesting enough premise, but it was ultimately bogged down due to the characters whose stories you follow. The book starts with a scene that is fitting for a pirate story but unfitting in terms of clarity. I thought there was a lot of context that was needed at the beginning that was missing. There is a lot of history between the characters that we don't really get to know much about it which ends up affecting their dynamics and stories.

One issue I had with the plot was its pacing as it did take a good amount of time for things to get moving. A lot of time was spent introducing the characters and building up the different storylines rather than moving towards the main conflict. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but this could have benefited from picking up the pace a bit as the story gets a bit dragged down with all the added story. In a similar fashion, the time skips present an issue as well. When skipping between character perspectives, a certain amount of time would pass. These gaps in between leave a lot of questions as you are then missing a part of each character's story.

Another issue with the plot was its predictability. While not every book has to have plot twists that catch you off guard, it does ruin the reading experience a bit when the reader is ahead of the characters. It was rather obvious where the direction of the plotline regarding the heir would go, among other details. To be a bit nitpicky, I also wasn't a big fan of how, for the most part, the plot moved forward due to dramatically bad decisions that could have been avoided. The ending also left a lot to be desired. It was convenient, rather cheesy, and unsurprising but unsatisfactory.


World-Building:

I thought that the world-building in this story wasn't bad at all, especially for a standalone. A lot of standalones suffer from either building a world that is too complex, or not complex enough. This hits a nice balance right in between. We are introduced to an expansive world full of creatures and a religious system as well. A good enough job was also done explaining the lore whenever a new creature was mentioned.

What I would have liked, however, was for it to include more of the world into the story. Certain creatures like dragons and the kraken were mentioned that piqued my interest, but they had no involvement in the story.


Characters:

There was a severe lack of complex character development both individually and between characters. We follow a decently large cast of characters, but our main characters are Csilla, Kane, and Lorelei. Every character just fell really flat to the point where the emotions they were feeling didn't feel genuine and felt more like a bad performance. We also didn't get specific descriptions of the characters which was a huge problem for me as I was then unable to properly picture them as I read. Now let's move onto the main characters.

Lorelei's character at best made no sense to me and, at worst, annoyed me. When you are introduced to her, she has been living a bit of a solitary life with her mother as, what I would presume to be, a peasant (if that is the right word in this case). The actions that she manages to successfully pull off make no sense for someone of her upbringing and I found that they didn't match her character. It felt like her character was stuck between two different people and couldn't meet in the middle. Half of the time spent reading from her perspective was spent in disbelief as to how she was getting away with what she was doing. The other half was spent very annoyed by her reckless and impulsive behaviour.

It is not a sign of a well-written character when you actively want a character to be killed off rather than her achieving her goals. For the entirety of the book, she was more or less useless and kept getting in the way. For some context, without giving away any spoilers, her character can be summed up by one particular scene in the book when she expressed that she could take care of herself, and then proceeds to trip over a log and fall on her face. She was more of a walking cliche than a fully fleshed-out character. I wish that her story was given a different direction and that she had more presence as besides annoying me, she didn't stand out at all as a character.

In all honesty, while her character is pivotal to the story, I could have done without her POV entirely. It would have been better off with having Kane's perspective alone where you get her story through his eyes as Kane, out of the three, was the most interesting character. He wasn't perfect by any means and did lack some personality, but at least his gruffness was able to keep me the tiniest bit interested in his story.

Now let's move on to some side characters, starting with Rhoda who is Csilla's sister. I was not a huge fan of her character, not in the sense that I didn't like her (even though I didn't), but because her entire arc was directionless as she was used in order to fulfill another character's arc. Flynn was another character whose arc also felt directionless. His character was completely hinged on Csilla, and thus he also didn't feel like his own individual character.

Setting aside Rhonda and Flynn, some of the characters I thought were more interesting than the main characters, which is a bit sad. Borne, Arius and Nara were far more intriguing and had way more personality than the rest of the characters. Arius, for example, was the comedic relief which really worked as I enjoyed his quips and nuances.

In order for a story to have good motion and motive, you need to have a good villain that can propel the characters into achieving their goal. Unfortunately, the villain aspect wasn't the greatest. Rove was a decent antagonist as he was simply just a bad guy, but my issue is with Magnus. I am not a fan of villains who are absent for the majority of the book. I want my villain to be present and actively doing things, and not just whispering in people's heads. He also didn't have enough backstory to solidify his character as being a fully fleshed-out villain.

Finally, I will talk about the relationships between the characters. The tension between Csilla and Flynn was known since the beginning, but their relationship suffered more than just what was on-page. We are aware that they have a long history between them, but because of the point in which the story starts, we miss a good chunk of their relationship and are thus missing the connection the reader needs in order to connect with them.

Comparing that to Kane and Lorelei, they are more believable as you get to see them meeting for the first time and see their relationship develop. That being said though, I still didn't believe in their relationship either. It felt more like they were strangers whom the author was trying to force feelings onto both them and the reader. There was just no chemistry between them and even though we got to see them get to know each other, I felt like they didn't actually do so.


Concluding Thoughts:

There was not much about this book that had any impact on me or made me feel emotional. It checked off my box for pirates but severely lacked in the character department, which was a disappointment as this leaned more towards being character-focused than plot-focused. Would I still suggest that you give this a shot, yes? It was still enjoyable to read despite my issues with it.

The way this book started had me hooked. I won’t spoil anything but it reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean and also the 4th Uncharted game - which is one of my favorites.

At first I wasn’t so sure about the switching POVs but the characters grew on me. Some more than others. Csilla, Kane and Lorelei had such different lives and yet their stories entwined quite nicely. I was impressed. I’ll admit I did guess one part of the storyline pretty early on but it didn’t take away from the book. If you enjoy pirates, betrayal, secrets and morally grey characters, you just might enjoy Crossbones.

Absolutely a thrilling 5 star YA adventure.

The characters were relatable. I could feel what they felt and could put myself in their shoes. Well all except I’m not a pirate. Still trying to work out how to be one of those. I should start by getting a tall ship and a parrot. Maybe a peg leg too!

Let me get back to the review though because my future aspirations are not your concern here… just get this book. You want to I promise.

The King of Bones has died. The death bell tolls signaling to all in the pirate kingdom. With no known heir, the captains all compete in the trials to see who shall wear the Bone Crown and be the next leader of their people. Whispers of an heir make their way to few of the captains and they must decide whether to take the throne for their own or offer it to an unknown.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Wattpad books, and Kimberly Vale for an advanced copy of this book.

I know some of you are going to look at the publisher and be like🙄 but don't be a judging Judy. I really don't know why Wattpad writings have such negative connotations in the reading world. I've found some really fun reads there in the past. Also, if you read this book while it was on Wattpad then you are way ahead of a lot of us here! This is one of the most action packed books that I have read in a long time. I know books without much dialogue aren't for everyone, but Crossbones kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The main characters, plot, and world building blended so easily together into this beautiful tale of a world at war and the hidden Gods who guide it.

Let's talk about Csilla for a moment. I had to stop to google how to pronounce the name because my brain kept pronouncing it in different ways. In case you were wondering, it's phonetically pronounced chi-ya. Her character has a weakness for those she loves and is emotional, but unlike her sister, she doesn't allow her emotions to rule her and is able to keep her head for the most part. Her character has a strength that she isn't even aware she has until the very end. Every single moment of the book is important. There isn't a single sentence that isn't reflected on at some future point within the story. I love a good action adventure story with a quest and journey to find oneself in the process. Crossbones will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. It does leave an opening for future books, but there isn't a cliffhanger. Just a possibility.

I would recommend Crossbones to anyone ages 12 and up. While the book does mention a night between two characters, it doesn't go into depth about what took place. This book is great for lovers of the Percy Jackson series. There isn't anyone I wouldn't recommend this book to as it has just about everything. Action, adventure, fantasy, romance, myths, and you can't forget pirates!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 stars for this Wattpad adventure!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I blindly requested this book and I must admit I'm amazed. With a unique and fully developed world, a heart warming found family trope and deadly pirates, this is an underrated book you for sure do not want to miss. One thing I've realized is that we need more books with competitions and trials because I loved the stakes, consequences and the things peoole would do because of greed that this book offered. The characters had depth and were complex and I could easily understand why certain characters did certain things but of course that does not excuse their crimes at all. This was a very fun, light and fast-paced story that I enjoyed more than I'd like to admit. All in all, I would definitely recommend this to people who love friendships more than love stories like me.

4 stars!💖

First of all… that cover?! Gorgeous, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t what attracted me to this one. Overall, there was a lot of potential here, but it fell a little flat. The MCs were likable enough, and I enjoyed the world building. The story as a whole wasn’t horrible, but the plot tended to be predictable and too simplistic; because of this it lacked any real impact.

PERFECT.

Seriously though, this one is a can't miss.


Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was originally drawn to this book because of the beautiful cover and was enticed when the plot was surrounding pirates. Having three separate POVs enriched the reading experience and gave the reader a broader understanding of how the plot unfolded/impacted multiple characters.

This is an enjoyable easy read, with action and good prose. I am always a big fan of a heist and I think it was executed in away that was predictable but highly enjoyable. This book is a good pallet cleanser/will get you out of a reading slump because its easy to follow and the characters are relatable

When I first started this book, I thought that this would be a stand-alone novel. The author has recently posted that Crossbones has been extended by the publisher into a full trilogy. After reading this book, it really makes sense.

If I was rating this book as a stand-alone, it would be 3 stars. The pacing was rushed throughout a lot of the book, and there wasn't nearly enough world building for such a large plot. At times the world seemed too basic and small- I had a hard time gauging how long pirates would be at sea between destinations. They always ended up where they needed to be, when they needed to be there.

Knowing that this is a part of a trilogy, I would give this book 3.5 stars, rounding up because I do want to give this trilogy a chance. There are a lot of fun adventurous moments (Honorable pirates making a mess doing things a bit too honorably, ha!), some perfectly timed betrayals, and plenty of material to work with to make the rest of the series interesting.

I was able to enjoy a "sneak peak" of this book before reading it fully. 'Crossbones' starts strong- the main character is about to be hanged for being a pirate (she's the MC, so you can probably guess how that will go).

Thank you Netgalley and Wattpad Publishing for an advanced copy of this e-book. I received a copy of this book through Bookishfirst and have published the review on Goodreads with that link. I'm sorry for double-requesting this book- I was just a bit too excited to read it!

I absolutely love pirates, so this book seemed perfect for me. And I mostly enjoyed it overall! While the plot and characters are really fun, the world-building wasn't as full as it could have been and I had some issues with the writing itself. If you're looking for an adventurous and swashbuckling book, though, definitely check CROSSBONES out!

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)