I've tried so hard to like Alexandra Bracken's work ever since I picked up The Darkest Minds about ten years ago. I've tried that series, Passenger, Lore, and now Silver in the Bone. Bracken writes all of the genres and tropes I typically enjoy, from dystopian, time travel, Greek mythology, and now Arthurian legend. I've felt very neutral to all of these books despite my best efforts.
I can't really put into words what I disliked about this book. I love Arthurian legends, and I liked Tamsin's standoffishness and determination as well as her relationship with Emrys. However, something about this book, much like with all of her other books, fell flat for me. I just wasn't very engaged.
However, I think this is definitely a me problem. I think this was an objectively good book, I can't define anything that's wrong with it; there's just something about Bracken's writing style that doesn't hold my attention. Definitely read if you enjoy reading about Kind Arthur, druids, and treasure hunting.

iSilver in the bone is the first in the series of YA novels inspired by Arthurian Legend! This has action, romance, curses, vampires? and plot twists that will make you want to throw the book but also need answers.

what stood out to me the most in this book was the characters and their relationships with each other. There are a lot of heavy themes here, with issues discussed like abandonment, bad parental figures and forming relationships with others. I felt for Tamsin the whole story and loved watching her character arc grow. she is not without flaws but she was very human and relatable. I felt I had found myself in very similar situations that she had been in, in my own life and understood why she made the mistakes she did along the way. I enjoyed all of the side characters as well.

The enemies to lovers romance was chef's kiss for me. I am a big fan when executed well and their relationship felt very believable to me. it drew me in and I loved the tension.

as far as the plot and world building goes, this is where i found there was a little struggle for me. The plot felt like it almost took too many twists and turns in the last 100 pages. The pacing was a little too fast in the end which made it slightly difficult to follow. The Arthurian legend portions of this story are also very limited and I would not consider this a retelling of anything, just a little nod to Avalon and King Arthur. I also wish the One Vision had been used more, it seemed very important to Tamsin in the beginning and then barely brought up after that.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I am excited to pick up the next in the series, I need it like yesterday as the cliffhanger ending has got me a book slump already!

thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House Children's, Knopf Books for Young Readers for allowing me to read this E-ARC early!

I was invited to read this one and I am so glad I was! In the email it said that this book is perfect for fans of Violet Made of Thorns and it is spot on because the MCs are both survivors willing to do what it takes.

Tamsin Lark is a Hollower, a retriever of magical artifacts, who is mostly in the business to survive. After her guardian disappeared it was up to her to continue to search for a way to free her brother Cabell from the curse that has plagued him since childhood.

First off I love Arthurian legend so when I saw this had some of that I was eager to read it. While it uses Arthurian legend it is set in the modern world. The world building was great with different types of magical beings.

Tamsin is written so well. She's independent, flawed, and a survivor. She cares deeply about her brother while she keeps everyone else at bay. She doesn't let people in easily. Her character growth was handled so well and it made me root for her every step of the way.

Emrys and Tamsin had great chemistry and their banter was so enjoyable. The romance in this one was handled so great. I love a slow burn!

A thing I've come to really enjoy about Bracken's books are the female friendships. It was great to read prickly Tamsin's interactions with the other female characters.

Then there was that ending!!!! I'm definitely going to pick up the sequel to this one and you should pick this one up when it's out April 4th 2023!

Thanks netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Silver in the Bone was a fantastic and enjoyable read, with characters that reflected each other and a deeper idea of trusting those around you. Tamsin has never felt secure in her life, taking care of her (not-biological) brother and trying to find a way to break the curse he is under-- she's been abandoned time and time again. Trusting is hard. Tamsin as a character can be broken down into a child hurt and unnoticed-- something that she secretly yearns for from a parent figure. The other characters around her are reflections of everything she is not on the surface. Kind, compassionate, trusting. Silver in the Bone uses that to draw it out of her throughout the story and teach her the lesson that it's okay to open up and trust people; even if it means risking getting hurt.

Up until around the middle of the book, Tamsin as a character was annoyingly stubborn, closed off, and rude. I could see, however, why this view was being given and boiling it down to a child pushed into a corner watching special people have special treatment and being left behind.

This is tested towards the end during the 'betrayal' where she could just huddle back into her shell, having trusted and had that trust broken. However, Neve (one of the duel opposites), insists that it's okay to feel and not to shut them out.

With characters that each have something to prove that then transfers into what Tamsin has to prove herself, this book really has much to delve into.

As for the Authurian Legend, it was incredible to visit the world of Avalon in such a unique way. One that enhances the legend as it is originally told and researched.

Silver in the Bone is for anyone looking for a gut-wrenching fantasy, with enemies to lovers tropes, trust, betrayal, and a wonderfully flawed main character.

3.5 stars thank you NetGalley for the ARC

I enjoyed this book, the writing was good, I liked the development of the characters and the story. Although the world building to me felt like it was lacking. I don’t know if I’m just dumb and need to reread it already but I just felt like I couldn’t understand much of it in the beginning at all. But I did like it by the end.

After reading - and absolutely loving - the authors' previous book 'Lore', I knew I was going to devour this new book and love it just as much - and I was mostly right. It's a slow start but gradually picks up speed (and oh my god the CLIFFHANGER at the end had me ready to scream!) but it's the characters themselves that truly made me enjoy this. To be honest, the romance was only okay to me, but I still loved the characters on their own. Tamsin, Cabell, Emrys, and even Neve (who honestly took a while to grow on me but I think that's just a me thing and other readers will love her quickly) all stood out to me - especially Tamsin. I love a grumpy lead! Her relationship with her brother was far more interesting to me than her romance with Emrys.

One thing I do wish (and hope for in the sequel) is that we got more of the Arthurian lore. It was sprinkled throughout the book but it didn't feel Arthurian to me if that makes sense. So, I'm hoping it'll be expanded in the sequel which - like I said before THAT CLIFFHANGER - I desperately need! Can't wait to get a physical copy of this for my bookshelf.

This was a bit hard to get into at first, but as it progressed I was captivated by the book. The only part of it I didn't like was the romance because because it was a typical enemies/rivals to lovers without any development. Despite this, I would definitely read the sequel because that cliffhanger was just :/

Actual rating: 3,5 stars

Inspired by Arthurian legend, Silver in the Bone starts in our modern world. We follow Tamsin, a human without magic, trained from a young age with her brother by their foster father to find magical artefacts. His disappearance seven years before the event of the book left our main character and her brother alone in their quest to find a magical ring that could break her brother’s curse. A quest that will lead them to the fantastic world of Avalon.

I loved the magic system. As someone who isn’t a big fan of urban fantasy, I almost wish we had more scenes in the actual world for how intriguing it was to see how humans live with magic. The fact that our main character didn’t have magic was very interesting. At least initially, she quickly takes basilisk venom which allows her to have the One Vision and what made her somewhat unique is simply gone. It also seems really easy for a human without magic to suddenly have it. Sure, it didn’t look fun at first, but then it felt like she was just another magical human with very few side effects.

I found the romance very bland. With a strong taste of déjà vu. A boy and a girl who didn’t like each other at first (why? No other reason than to have an infamous enemies to lovers), but who slowly but surely found themselves falling in love with each other? A good old trick that always works but brings nothing new and exciting.

Starting off quite strong with the introduction of a very fantastic world, the story then slowed to a pace that made it difficult to pick the book up again. But then things pick up again until a spectacular ending that almost made up for it. I was surprised by the twists and violence of the last chapters which left me interested in the continuing the series.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is a book meant to be savored. The deeply atmospheric writing style and the way the author uses the setting to draw the reader in is absolutely perfect. I loved Tamsin's snark and her dark personality born of being rejected time and again. Her fierce love and loyalty drive her forward while her fears keep everyone at arms length. She's complicated and messy and will do anything for her brother. The mixture of fantasy and Arthurian legend combine in such a way that I found myself wanting to delve deeper into King Arthur and his court. I could not put this book down. Just when I thought I might have things figured out, something completely unexpected happened to keep me on my toes. Right now, Silver in the Bone is my favorite book of the year, and it will take something extraordinary to knock if from the top spot.

I'm usually a huge fan of Arthurian mythology retellings, but this one didn't really capture my attention. I wish the actual mythos has played a stronger role in the story - I liked the magical objects and the way they tied into classical references, but still felt like I was looking for more. I did enjoy Tamsin, the protagonist - jaded and grumpy but still emotionally vulnerable. I guess my biggest issue was that beyond the use of the mythology the story didn't feel especially unique.

This is so awesome!! A mortal that has magical abilities and trying to win a ring to break a curse. So wonderful I can't wait for the next book to come out!
I just reviewed Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken. #SilverintheBone #NetGalley
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Wow, did I really enjoy this book. I’ve never read an Alexandra Bracken book so I went in to this without any expectations. Arthurian legends, complicated family dynamics, and magic all mix together to make a really interesting novel. Tamsin’s emotions are put through the ringer but she always battles through. The last 1/3 of the book I couldn’t read fast enough! There’s heartache and unexpected betrayals with an ending that sets up a really great premise for the next book. If you like contemporary fantasy, definitely check this one out. I’ll be impatiently waiting for the next one. Thank you to the publisher, author, and netgalley for the digital ARC!

This book was not for me. Read other reviews. I wish I would have liked it because the cover was very captivating, but the story was not as captivating.

Thank you to Random House Children's, Knopf Books for Young Readers for the eARC of Silver in the Bone!

Let me preface this review by saying: I threw my phone across the room and yelled, "SHUT UP." Arthurian legend and lore, twists, turns, betrayals, adventure, romance, Silver in the Bone has it all. Alexandra Bracken's writing is action-packed from start to finish- there is NEVER a moment during Silver in the Bone that you will feel bored. I read this book from start to finish in one sitting!

I am so excited to see how this world and its characters grow, to see more magic, and to feel even more emotions than I did while reading this first installment!

Silver in the Bone was a steadily building story with such a cliff hanger ending I yelled ‘what?’ It took things I thought I knew about King Arthur and caused me to look back at the story line of the original story to compare or contrast. It was unique with strong women characters. It was not a predictable story line which took me longer to read because I thought about what was happening. The character development grew with the story. Tamsin matures as the story goes along and we are shown more of her world. But the twist at the end!!!! I’m speechless.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive the ARC for this book!!

This book started off a little slow for me, but it picked up in a big way, and I couldn’t put it down. The characters were well thought out, and the twists and turns were unexpected. I truly cannot wait until HOPEFULLY a sequel comes out or if this is turned into a series. Also, I hope there is a redemption arc for Emrys because I am deeply in love with him.

This book follows the story of a girl named Tamsin, and her struggle to help her brother control his curse (which sounds a lot like he keeps turning into a werewolf without any rational thought in that form) after they’re abandoned by their guardian. Mostly the story revolves around the Arthurian land and legends of Avalon but there’s also an interesting (if somewhat unexplained) magic system in place. Overall I really did enjoy this book even though there were some heartbreaking betrayals and one hell of a cliffhanger at the end

This book left me with a number of mixed feelings. I got sucked in right away, and read quite eagerly to find out what would happen with Tamsin, Cabell, and the other Hollowers. That is, until the middle of the first half, where I felt things slowed down.

There was quite a bit of world building that dampened the pace of the story. I felt the characters got side tracked by other things as an excuse to talk about the place they were in.

By the true middle of the book, things picked up again. And by the end, I couldn't read fast enough.

This book had some incredible twists that wrenched my heart and had me setting the book down so that I could grieve with the characters. I felt the author went for where the truest pain lay, and didn't shy away from anything that would lead the story in the direction it needed to go. This is a story about sacrifice, and there's plenty of that throughout.

This is not the book I expected to read when I read excerpts about it online. In many ways, it's just as good as I'd hoped. In others, I wish we would've had more collaboration from the Hollowers as a whole. I hope that we get to really dig into them more in the next book...something I'm quite eager to get my hands on!

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Random House Children's, Knopf Books for Young Readers, Alexandra Bracken, and NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review. BY GOD I NEED THE SECOND.

This book took me a few days to read, it's almost 500 pages long, and the world Alexandra created was a bit hard for me to understand, I read quite slowly. I felt that I had to read each sentence well because otherwise I was already lost.

It's like a world where there is magic, supernatural beings and all that, but in the present. Like an urban fantasy but not because most things happen somewhere else (can't say much bc spoiler).

I think I fell in love with this book little by little, slowly. It wasn't love at first read (hahaha) because I admit that it was hard for me to get hooked and enter the world. But the last 100 pages just flew by and clearly now I need the second book in my hands, or in my ebook to read because WOOOOW.

The world is so huge that I think it lacked a bit of development based on where we found ourselves at the beginning of the story. But at the same time I feel that being a saga, it will be able to delve into other topics in the next book.

I loved the characters, I feel that he developed them perfectly. That I was able to delve into their thoughts, become fond of them and feel with them everything that was happening.

The PLOT has for many more pages and I think it was a slow and safe development to culminate with fireworks (without sound, because it harms people and animals), and with some tremendous plot twist that one is left recalculating everything that was happening in the book and could not see.

I wanted to love this one. The premise sounded great especially with the Arthurian legend playing a role. It just fell flat for me. Maybe this author's writing style just isn't for me. I had a hard time getting into the story right from the beginning. I was confused as to what was going on. I felt like we were thrown into the middle of a story and had to catch up. I couldn't get invested in the characters. I think this will be a big hit for most readers but it just wasn't for me.