After reading Lore by Alexandra Braden, I knew I had to pick this book up. This book is about a mortal who fights for survival with her cursed brother teams up with her rival and exposes secrets in order to save him. The headline says it's an arthurian retelling but I wouldn't really call it that. There wasn't much retelling in it but more of Bracken's own story with her own created world. Though I really enjoyed the storyline but have to say that the beginning is slow though the ending makes up for it. There were many conflicts that kept me wanting to turn the pages. I do have to say that the setting/world building was confusing for me. I wasn't expecting it to be modern fantasy with the way the summary was saying. Though Bracken did have some great story to tell in this new world though I would have expected more ancient world. I enjoyed how the book was sectioned into three parts which made the story feel more developed in a way and with a physical copy it would also look so much nicer.

The main character in this book is Tamsin and I enjoyed her character. She is strong but man did she make no so many great decisions. It threw me off at times but her development improved her character and also knowing her backstory. I really enjoyed the amount of side characters in this book. They were heavily involved with the story which I enjoyed ad I can see so much potential for some of them in the next book. I loved Emery's character and hope to see/know more of him in the future. The romance is enemies to lovers with a lot of bantering and chemistry between our new couple. There is also a new family theme in this book along with sibling bond.

The ending was very well done and my favorite part of the book. After finding out that this book has parts, I knew the last part would be rushed with a lot of plot twists and action. I really enjoyed reading this book as Bracken truly knows how to write her fantasy book and she is killing it. I did have some minor issues but overall it was a great read. I truly recommend checking out this book especially if you have read her past book, Lore, which you know is good.

"Silver in the Bone" is a captivating new fantasy novel that draws inspiration from the Arthurian legend. The book follows the journey of Tamsin and her brother Cabell, as they embark on a quest to find their adoptive father, who disappeared several years ago. The majority of the book's setting is Avalon, where Tamsin hopes to find a magical ring that will break her brother's curse.

At the beginning of the book, I found it slow-paced and not very exciting; however, the story picked up around 40% into the book. The book introduced several new characters, but unfortunately, none of them was very memorable, despite the author's attempt to make them so.

The romance in the book was promoted as enemies-to-lovers, but it was a bit of a disappointment for me, as it felt like a pale imitation of the trope. Nevertheless, the story was still very engaging, and it stood well on its own, despite being inspired by the Arthurian legend. The author did a fantastic job of portraying Tamsin's character development as she slowly opened up to the people around her. The only other character I found particularly interesting was Neve, who added an additional layer of depth to the story.

The second half of the book had several plot twists that I didn't see coming, making it all the more captivating. The ending left me wanting more, and I was glad to find out that there will be a sequel. Overall, I found "Silver in the Bone" to be an enjoyable read, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I would like to express my gratitude to the publisher for providing me with an early copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I would highly recommend this book to fans of the fantasy genre who enjoy a good adventure story.

Alexandra Bracken has managed to weave an Arthurian retelling with moments of heartbreak, fright, loss and intent. This story follows the lives of Tamsin and her brother Cabell and their quest to find their adoptive father who seemingly abandoned them seven years prior.

Their journey takes them to Avalon in search of a ring that can help Cabell overcome his monstrous curse. The book introduces several memorable characters.

I didn’t see most of the ending coming. I’m excited for the sequel. This is one of the best Arthurian retellings I’ve read and I’d group it with another favorite of mine, Legendborn.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Silver in the Bone is a King Arthur-inspired YA fantasy from Alexandra Bracken (an author who I’ve been reading for a decade now). In my opinion, it’s more inspired by rather than being a retelling and doesn’t follow the mythology much at all. As other reviewers have pointed out, I would love to see more mythology in the next books!

For the first 80% of the book, this was sitting at a 3.5 stars for me. However, the third and final part pushed it over the edge to four stars. I read that final 20% faster than I read the other two parts. It was darker and gory and had some amazing twists and turns (especially that last line – I didn’t see it coming!). While that’s not to say the beginning of the book was bad by any means, it was considerably slower-paced than the ending and I wish we would have gotten more of that action throughout.

The strongest part of this book was the character relationships and dynamics. I thought their development over the course of the novel was so well down and I especially liked the burgeoning romance between Tamsin and Emrys. I wasn’t sure about it at first (it almost felt like it was moving too quickly) but at the end of the book, I was fully on board.

The pacing and world building didn’t work as well for me. As I’ve already said, the majority of the book moves pretty slowly. Also, I struggled to get through pages of world-building and info-dumping at a time. Stories are obviously an important part of any mythological retelling but I don’t love reading one character having a looooong monologue where they tell other characters a myth or story. I think the world-building could be done throughout and almost disseminated a little more rather than in giant blocks in the middle of the book especially.

Overall, however, I enjoyed reading this book and I’m looking forward to seeing how the storyline progresses in the sequel!

A really fun and inventive take on Arthurian legends. I haven’t read any of the author’s work before, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked her writing style. I did accidentally convince myself that this was an adult fantasy and had to reevaluate what I was reading early on when I realized it was YA, but that’s no fault of the author! Looking forward to the next book.

When we meet Tamsin Lark and her brother Cabell, they’re with their adopted father, Nash, on a job to find magical artifacts. They are what are called Hallowers, those who can sense and see magic in our world, and most have one magical gift that gives them certain skills. Cabell is an Expeller, able to redirect curses from one source into another – very useful when they’re thieving for artifacts where the (previous) owners protected them with spells. Tamsin, however, isn’t able to see the magic around them which leaves her vulnerable. Cabell has a curse which turns him into a wolf-like monster when experiencing heavy emotions – the term werewolf is not used. All of this exposition in the prologue is helpful because by the end of it, Nash has left his two foster children alone in the world with only enough skill to keep them alive and on the path of magical thievery until we meet them again seven years later.

I love Arthurian Tradition, and this new take brings me back to Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon in the way Avalon is shrouded from the world by magical mist and the priestesses of the goddess work their magic to protect the island from those who would use the powers and artifacts for evil. However, unlike the decades long tale from Zimmer Bradley, besides the prologue, Bracken’s tale occurs over the span of about a month. I AM SO READY for book two in this series because of that ending. I am giving Silver in the Bone a solid 4 stars. All the recommendations, but I probably won’t need a full re-read before book two.

Lore was one of my favorite reads from 2021 so I was excited to see this new work from Alexandra Bracken. Bonus for me is that this novel is loosely based within Arthurian legend.

Tamsin is a non magical human living in a world of magic gifted humans who spend their time searching for ancient magical treasures, the most famous of which are artifacts of King Arthur, his knights, and the island of Avalon. When her father figure/caretaker disappears in the middle of the night she is left to care for her brother. Years later they find out their father was searching for the Ring of Dispel when he disappeared, which has the power to break curses. So Tamsin decides to finish his quest and locate the ring so she can cure the curse her brother once and for all. Unfortunately, she isn’t the only one looking for the ring. The quest is full of mystery, intrigue, legend, and betrayal.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The characters were well written and interesting. Tamsin is a great main character, I liked her immediately and immensely. Fair warning, you will find some typical and perhaps overused YA tropes in this one… specifically enemies to reluctant partners to perhaps more, etc etc.

The ending broke me a little bit, not gonna lie, and I’m pretty mad at Bracken for putting me through it, so she better redeem herself with book 2, just saying.

4 stars

I have had trouble getting into Alexandra Brackens other titles but decided to give this one a try because I love King author or mists of Avalon retellings. This was by far my favorite book I have read of Brackens. This story is action packed and the romantic intrigue keeps you reading way past your bedtime.

What an ending! I need book two now! Fair warning, this book ends on a cliffhanger. However, if you’re looking for an urban fantasy with Arthurian legend mixed in and a slow burn romance, then read this! Tamsin is eager to find a way to help her brother and embarks on an adventure to do so. Along the way, she is joined by others who help her to grow and balance out her more prickly nature. This book seems to be setting up a lot of what’s to come - there are so many reveals I’m eagerly awaiting. The last third of the book really picks up the pace and there are twists that I didn’t see coming. Now I’ll be impatiently awaiting the next book. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the arc.

Why did you leave us with that ending though 😩!?! If you don’t like cliffhangers… maybe wait for the sequel to release before reading this one 😅.

Silver in the Bone is a YA urban fantasy set in a world with magic, lore, artifact hunters with a splash of King Arthur mythology. Parts of the book take place in his world and him along with one of his knights are involved in the story but it definitely is only a light dusting of his lore sprinkled throughout the book.

I think this book was super fun and action packed with amazing support characters. The main character kind of was annoying in my opinion though lol. It definitely kept me entertained and curious thanks to various plot twists and turns. I did have a tiny bit of a hard time getting into the story, I didn’t realize it was an urban fantasy so was very confused at first. Along with some of the action scenes just being confusing?? However, overall I enjoyed the lore and magic system along with the side characters and actually do have really high hopes for the sequel!

Thank you Knopf books for my early copy!

I really enjoyed this book. Alex has always been a master at slow burn stories and espeically slow burn series! I think this book overal had such a fun merln esc world and i love the female focus of this book and this book was def more bloodthristy then i was expecting i really loved the found fmily eleemnt in this story and grew to love the main character. This book was a ton of set up but the last 50 pages was a wild ride!! I am excited for book 2!!

Bracken always seems to write interesting stories. Some are better than others. This one was happily right it the middle. Not as good as her Darkest Mind series or Lore but better than some of her other efforts.

I'm sure this book is fine, but there's something about Bracken's writing that just doesn't work for me. Plus, I'm not a huge fan of Arthurian Retellings (except Legendborn) so I just wasn't invested enough to finish this.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Alexandra Bracken for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Silver in the Bone coming out April 4, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Tamsin Lark was born without magic. She knows she is no match for the sorceresses and Hollowers who live in the magical underground of Boston. One day the only parent she’s ever known disappears without a trace. She has no choice but to pursue the enchanted relics to keep herself and her brother, Cabell—alive.

Ten years later, rumors are swirling that her guardian found a powerful ring from Arthurian legend just before he vanished. She runs into her rival Emrys who ignites Tamsin’s hope that the ring could save Cabell from a curse that terrorizes both of them. But they aren’t the only ones who need the ring.

As rumors spread, greedy Hollowers start circling, and many would kill to get their hands on the ring. Emrys is certainly not who Tamsin would choose to partner with, but she knows she needs all the help she can get. Together, they dive headfirst into a pit of dark magic, exposing a deadly secret with the power to awaken ghosts of the past and shatter her last hope of saving her brother. . . .

I’ve read a couple books by Alexandra Bracken. I really loved The Darkest Minds, so I wanted to check out Silver in the Bone. I think this book was a little too long for me. I probably would’ve enjoyed a more condensed story. It took a while to get into the Arthurian mythology of it. I did enjoy it more when there were references to that. I love King Arthur stories. I think things picked up action wise at the end, but there were times when I lost interest in the characters. I would give this book 3.5 stars if I could.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys slow burn fantasies featuring Arthurian legends.

I happen to love both Alexandra Bracken and Arthurian stories, so I knew I would like this one before I ever read it.
It was not what I was expecting, but that made it so much better. I loved all the plot twists and secrets that were revealed just as much as the legends that were woven in. This version of the tale of King Arthur and all of the things that followed was so interesting, and so was the magic system.
I loved all the characters and the way their relationships with each other evolve throughout the book. Tamsin starts the story as one of the most distrustful characters and her path to the found family they create was heart warming and relatable. And let's not forget our charming, moody rival, who has a special nickname just for her.
It was much creepier than I thought it would be, but I loved it. There were parts that I found myself holding my breath, hoping they would make it through.
I enjoyed this book as much as I knew I would, and I can't wait until it's out!

Was drawn to this book by the blurb. So I took a chance on this book and I'm so happy I did
I couldn't put it down at all I highly recommend it
5 star book and it kept me pulled into it big time
Not sure if I'm letting fan of the cover but oh well but on other terms I have told a few people that they need to read this and I hope they do

I really liked this one! Other than that cliffhanger... I need Book 2 now!!! The way this left off is pure evil, especially because I had this as an ARC. Now I have to wait ages :((

My favorite thing about this was definitely Emrys. Gosh, I loved him. I don't care how the end of this made him look. I still love him. The rivals to lovers between him and Tamsin was SO good. Like, ugh, so good. Talk about a slowburn. They were so adorable together, and I really hope we get more of them in Book 2.

I also liked the pacing of this one. I know that some have complained, but I loved how slow and contemplative the beginning was. It got me invested in the world and I loved that as I got more invested, the story got more complex. It was tons of fun! And the ending was EXPLOSIVE

If you're eyeing this one, I'd definitely recommend it! I've owned The Darkest Minds for ages, and this might be the reason I finally read it!

Thanks to Netgalley and TBR Beyond Tours for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Alex Bracken is one of my all time favorite authors. She weaves YA fantasy tales so effortlessly with humor and heart, and she did not come to play when writing Silver in the Bone.

Thank you to the publisher for the Advanced Reader’s Copy!

King Arthur retellings/books that incorporate that lore are not my thing. At all. I usually run from books with this just out of personal preference, but for Alex Bracken I will read anything.

And I’m so glad I did! I LOVED this book. The plot is well executed with magic at every corner, steady pacing, and plenty of action. Not to mention a cast of well-flushed characters that not many can pull off from the first person single pov that she wrote in!

Characters are one of Alex Bracken’s specialties. Especially in a group dynamic like in this one! They interact so organically and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next one.

Because there were some definitive plot twists that had me mentally unwell 😭

All the emotions were felt and I love this story.

Tamsin Lark would do anything to break the curse on her brother Cabell. Anything including going to look for their adoptive father who vanished in the middle of the night ten years ago. Rumor has it that Tamsin's father was the last keeper of a magical ring that could lift Cabell's curse. Of course, Tamsin isn't the only person set on finding the ring. As she sets off to beat others to the prize, Tamsin takes on alliances she never wanted to survive lands she was certain were lost to legend.

Silver in the Bone is a treasure hunt wrapped in Arthurian legend and cynicism. Tamsin has no faith in those around her or even in herself. But instead of dragging the book down, Bracken's world and characterization of this cynicism balances really well. Tamsin is not a particularly likable lead but she never tries to be and that plays off well.

The greatest strength of this book is the thought that Bracken clearly put into the world and the mythology there of. The sections that came through the most for me was the stories told of the past in this book. There was intent and care taken in the world building. This was were Bracken's writing was strongest. Moving away from the treasure hunting trappings of the set up and into the world that Bracken had created was so much more interesting than any other part and I could have stay in those parts for much longer even at the cost of the actual story.

I really enjoyed Alexandra’s book Lore, but this one was kind of a miss for me. First of all, the slow pacing. I also did not particularly care for any characters because they all felt one-dimensional. I wish that the book was less travel scenes and more action, and I think that this should have been more of a character driven book than one that speeded through the plot with so many details and revelations.