Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a chance to read this advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

I throughly enjoyed this story, I was engaged from start to finish. I thought the cast of characters were likable and I enjoyed then main characters POV. The romance is light in this book which is nice as I felt it gave the plot the time to shine. I’m usually not a huge fan of Round Table retellings but this was quite good. I liked how it mixed the real world in with Avalon.

I would recommend this book to any YA fantasy lover. I cannot wait to read book two!

I was sold when Silver in the Bone was slated as influenced by Arthurian Legend!

I know people have hot takes when it comes to urban fantasy, but i've always really enjoyed it. I love how the characters were slowly introduced and as you go...you grasp the world building right alongside the main character. The search for mythical objects and the fight to break a deadly curse was done really well.

I felt like even though this is Urban fantasy, majority of the book is set in a mythical cursed city so it does still have that darker fantasy feel with a cast of creepy deadly creatures. The main character is prickly and unlikeable but I enjoyed her and her interactions with the supporting cast. I LOVE LOVED the romantic love interest. The proclamation was so incredibly sweet and I cannot wait to see where that leads. I am invested!

The middle is where it slowed and I thought the pacing was off BUT BUT BUT the last 25% was SO GOOD. It was full of plot twists and reveals AND ACTION! There are so many new avenues to explore heading into a book 2! I think overall the book just kept getting better and I do love when a YA feels truly YA and I could recommend this to all ages.

I will definitely be reading the sequel!

Overall this was a really enjoyable read!

I will lead by saying that my experience with this was kind of inconsistent. Sometimes I felt enamored with the plot, lore & magic, and others I felt myself losing a lot of interest. The number one reason for this is likely that I didn’t really care deeply about many of the characters (aside from Neve who I loved!). That being said, the story itself was still quite engrossing.

If you’re expecting something really deeply rooted in Arthurian myth, I also think it’s important to mention that the Arthurian aspect of this was quite loose. We have a magical realm version of Avalon, but everything else feels quite removed from Arthur and his round table. This isn’t a pro or a con, just something to set expectations.

The threat facing Avalon was absolutely frightening and made for some impactful battle scenes, which Bracken writes expertly. While I found myself a bit frustrated with Tamarin’s push and pull routine, I do believe that Bracken wrote her hurts and traumas with a lot of care and complexity, and her talent shows in this. Tam sun and Emrys had a fun dynamic, and I can see a lot of readers liking Emrys especially, even though he didn’t resonate much for me.

I think what really managed to suck me in was the lore and magic, and how the little found family bands together to try and save Avalon. And then… there’s THAT ENDING. I don’t know if I’ve ever been slapped with so many devastating events at once. The last 100 pages had me suspended in a state of shock and disbelief, and the way all of these events were written by Bracken just hit SO hard.

Overall, I think I will likely continue this series, but it also doesn’t stand out to me as one I will remember for very long. Thank you to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for the eArc of this title!

Absolutely in love with this! I am so stunned by the ending, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next!

4.5 stars

This book drew me in from the very first page – it was very hard having to put it down and do some adulting. The story line was superb. It took the mythology and lore of King Arthur and Knights of the Round Table and expended upon it in ways I could have never imagined.

Tamsin and her brother Cabell have been abandoned by their adoptive father Nash. Together they work on recovering folk lore type relics. But Tamsin often feels left out seeing as she doesn’t have the One Vision that helps her to see magic and curses. 7 years since Nash had disappeared, they now find themselves searching for the last relic Nash was looking for The Ring of Dispel.

The action and adventure was perfectly unpredictable and perfect. You should definitely one-click this today!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkeley for opportunity to read and review this book.

Anything. And I mean anything by Alexandra Bracken is something I know will always be five stars for me. I feel bad this review is coming so late but I began to read the arc and I knew I just needed a physical copy to be able to dive in.
First, I love how she interpreted the Arthurian legend and lore in this. Lore, get it? Hehe. Anyways, Emrys *swoon*.
I feel like I can’t say what I want to say because I don’t want to spoil this and want everyone to be able to go into it experiencing it as I did and let yourselves be ABSOLUTELY BLOWN AWAY. Need the second book ASAP

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Random House Children's, Knopf Books for Young Readers for this eARC for review!

50000/5 stars!

This book absolutely blew me away. Since I missed pub day, I grabbed the audiobook on Audible and that was hands down the best decision I have ever made. I was DEVOURING this on my drives to and from work, walking from my work parking garage, literally any chance I could get and yet I never wanted it to end.
When I say I cried on my drive to work tonight and SCREAMED during chapters 42-the end of the book, I am not kidding. This book was high-octane start to finish and was such a great balance of being plot and character based. I got so attached to every small character and all of their little moments, so the ending of this book absolutely sent me straight into oblivion.
Everything about the plot to the character's features/storylines were interwoven so beautifully, and nothing was EVER obvious or turned out to be what I tried to guess. The world that Alexandra wove together with Arthurian legend/zombies??/treasure hunters/the real world was SO unique, and was completely immersive. There was also a perfect balance of sprinkled in light-hearted/joke moments throughout the constant tension and intensity of the events taking place. Neve also deserves a gold metal for basically just everything.

***SPOILER*** I will be screaming in agony about Dary and Flea for the REST OF MY LIIIFFEEEEE.

I devoured this book and need the next one as soon as possible. Tamsin is such a tough character and has a stubborn personality but I loved her. I love all the Arthurian legends and stories that were included and how the story was told. I also how in the end it also became a story of found family and how some people are worth caring for and there for you. I already can’t wait for the next one to come out

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and the lovely Alexandra Bracken for providing me with an eARC of this book. I am voluntarily leaving a review, all opinions are my own.

I'm a sucker for anything Arthurian, for the fantasy and magic involved, and this one was no exception. I love the way Bracken writes and I was so excited to see this was coming out.

This was such a good book, I loved the world-building and the weaving of the tale as it went- definitely cannot wait to have this book in my hands physically. Some potential enemies to lovers, magic, and action, this book has something in it for everyone.

I had a difficult time getting into this book. While I loved the Arthurian themes, it felt it was more put on than organic, just to make it interesting. Had to DNF at 30%.

Still getting the book for the collection though, because while it wasn't for me, I'm sure other readers will enjoy it.

She did it again, amazing world building, characters and development on the story. Alexandra has such an amazing way of telling stories this book is definitely one too look for .

I know this book had some mixed reviews (like most books), but let me just tell you about the absolute chokehold AB had me in while reading her book. I don't usually love retellings (Romeo and Juliet, King Arthur and the Round Table, etc). So I didn't have super high expectations for this book. But boy was I wrong about everything this book has to offer (thankfully)!

AB weaves the old tales of Arthur and his knights together with magic and sorcery, and created a world that I was happy to be sucked into. The world-building was detailed enough for me to picture exactly where our main characters were pretty much at all times. There were a few more characters for me to memorize than in other books, but I love the relationships that were built and torn apart, the drama that ensued, and the danger and battles that don't always have a victorious or happy ending - it all came together to create a compelling story.

There were some parts in the story that felt a little drawn out to me, but they are details that become important later as the past and present come together piece by piece. I also found Tamsin to be a fairly relatable character as I'm certain that everyone at some point in their life has felt unwanted or unseen and put up a wall because of it. As with any "scarred" character, she did become too closed off at points and left me as the reader yelling at her to just tell someone about her findings, but alas, the drawn-out pieces did serve a purpose in the long game of the plot.

I absolutely would recommend this book to anyone looking for potential enemies to lovers, the strength of family given or chosen, mysterious riddles, nail-biting battles, and an FMC that grows beyond her learned coping mechanisms.

Thank you to Alex Bracken, Random House Children's, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Silver in the Bone is actually the first Alexandra Bracken novel I've read, despite following her for a long time. I'm a big fan of BBC's Merlin, so the premise of an Arthurian fantasy novel was very compelling to me.

I was overall a fan of this book. I loved the characters - Tamsin, Emrys, Cabell, and Neve were great. The world building and the magic system - and especially the way in which magic and the "modern" world co-exist but remain separate was well done and compelling. However, I found most of the middle of this book a slog to get through - I thought the pacing was kind of slow, though this is the first fantasy novel (that isn't cozy, low-stakes fantasy) I've read in a long time, so maybe I am just losing interest in these kinds of fantasy novels? The ending was super compelling though (no spoilers here!) and I am interested in reading the next book in this (I believe) duology.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.

It's also a cool feeling to read a new Alexandra Bracken book, and this one is no different. I always enjoy her writing, her worlds, and most of all her characters.

I love this unusual King Arthur retelling!
Tamsin, 17, and her brother Cabell are Hollowers. Their guardian Nash left them behind after taking them on hunting trips for artifacts and now they have to make it on their own. The two of them have been trying to decipher Nash’s journal and break the cipher so they can solve the mystery of what happened to him and rescue him. Tamsin realizes the artifact they’re looking for is the Servant’s ring and believes that they need to travel to Avalon, King Arthur’s resting place, to find the ring and Nash. They find their way to Avalon in the company of prestigious Hollowers who have their own agendas, falling headfirst into danger beyond anything they expected and into the unknown that will change everything.

Likes/dislikes: I love the clever humor. I enjoyed the creepiness of the unknown and the danger that follows. The mysterious tone kept me reading.
Mature Content: PG for thievery and thoughtful kissing.
Language: R for 52 swears, no f-bombs.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: mixed

Silver in the Bone dips into Arthurian legend and myth taking it's characters to Avalon and the home of Arthur's tomb. In the book, readers are introduced to Tamsin and her brother Cabell. Both are Hallowers, or thieves for hire who search out magical relics on contract. Told through Tamsin's point of view, the two are contracted to find an artifact that fits closely with their search of their adopted father and a ring that is said to dispel any curse. This is vitally important as Cabell's shifts to a beast are happening more often and are harder to stop. As always, things are not as easily gained or solved in this case. The two are thrown into an adventure with Neve, a self taught sorceress, and Emrys, fellow Hallower and trust fund baby.

I really enjoyed this fantasy young adult read. The story is pretty straight forward with elements of mystery, adventure, and even light horror. The worldbuilding is a bit on the light side. Not much is really explained about the magic system and the Hallowers portion of the story is short and for the most part felt like a device to bring the characters together. The Arthurian legend part of the story is also pretty on the surface. There are elements, characters, and lore in the story; however, it's a relatively accessible approach. While I'm sure some readers would like a little more in regards to that part of the story, I think how it is written does a lot to engage the readers while avoiding alienating them with too much information.

The characters are interesting. There is character growth, both good and bad, through the story. This growth also occurs for some secondary characters. I enjoyed the action in the book. The mystery element also had me guessing. While I had an impression of where the story was leading, it was not so much that I felt it predictable. The writing is really nice as well. Bracken does a wonderful job of showing instead of telling. We learn about the characters, the world, and the history as the story progresses.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I was unaware it was a series, so I will admit to some disappointment when the story ended with loose ends. I definitely continue to follow the series. I plan on adding it to our library collection and already have some patrons in mind that I know will love the book.

I was given this book via Netgalley in return for my honest review. I described this book originally as a magic world where King Arthur is the boy who lived and there are people that can see magic and curses but regular humans who can't.

This is before I realized what a treacherous witch Alexandra was. The whole time you think the story is going one way and she blows it up. But no that's not good enough she blows it up once more. And like the children it's still not dead so third time a charm or is it?! The twist, my heart it's just too much.

She brings you into this world. Makes you love characters, trust them, be wary and route for them.

The story is a little slow to start but it quickly pulls you in. Tamsin my prickly stabby goddess. Cabell (I see why you named him after that particular family tie now Alexandra, dirty Dick indeed). You've got your enemies to lovers, enemies to friends and a lot of disappearing men. Honestly at this point I wouldn't blame Tamsin for being her prickly guarded self. I don't know if I'll ever recover.

You should absolutely read it 4.75 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ for the slow start but the next holds so much promise!

An epic fantasy mixed with Arthurian lore? OMG, yes, please!

I love how this wasn't the standard take on Arthurian folklore, and the various twists and turns make the plot epic.

I want to say so much more, but I can't, or I'd give the plot away and this is one of those that doesn't deserve any spoilers.

I seriously want to know when the next book is coming out!

I loved it! I found the characters to be realistic and I easily invested in Tamsin. I enjoyed all of the Arthurian legend aspects that were pulled into the story. It was definitely its own story though and not a remake of classic Arthurian tales. The twists and turns were done well and kept me on my toes. It kept me up too late reading when I couldn’t put it down. I look forward to the next installment!

I liked the urban setting and how the book started off. I read through a couple chapters and I just don't think this was it for me. I ended up DNFing because it was taking a bit for me to get into.