✨Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken ✨ 4/5 ⭐️

Genre: YA Fantasy
Synopsis: Swipe

The jist of it: this was good, while a little slower in the middle…and get ready for a cliffhanger.

Spoiler Free Thoughts:
- This story follows Tamsin and her brother, in a world where Arthurian Legends and magic actually exist. If that isn’t your jam you won’t like this.
- Book is very “tell not show” IMO, which didn’t necessarily bother me but does impact in some ways how we view character relationships. Our FMC is also *very* YA.
- Features battles, plot twists, moving among worlds and creepy deadly creatures.
- There was a *lot* going on in this one, and you really have to pay attention to make connections. This causes a little bit of a drag in the middle of the novel but the last quarter is really action packed and pulls things back together.
- I wanted to feel more connection to Cabell and Emrys, and Tamsin was a bit eye-roll-y at times with her self depreciation (we get it, you’re afraid to be left by everyone you love…) - but this is YA so we can overlook that.
- Generally I found the story to be unique and interesting, and I cried a little towards the end. This is number 1 in a series so there’s also a lot of world building happening here. Will I be reading the next one? Yes.

I love the story and the style of writing. The way she was able to almost seamlessly works build with out it feeling out of place or too much information at once. It was a little slow to read but I didn’t mind the pace. I can’t wait for book 2!

Originally I thought this book was a little slow and was concerned I wasn’t going to like it. But that changed.
The quest vibes with the King Arthur and the modern world was a good combo. It was interesting and intriguing. I’m glad I stuck with this book!

I don’t know much about Arthurian legends and I still don’t after reading this. Reading the lore for this felt as complex as learning the wars of religion in AP Euro.

What saved this book were the multiple twists. However, those also did not feel rewarding because I I spent most of the time waiting for another character to not know a term or what was going on so someone could explain it again.

None of the characters were that memorable and while the MC was very unlikable, I appreciated their character development ~70% into the book. The world building needs work but surprisingly, I’d read the next book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an arc.

I am not sure if it is just me, but the start of this book was beyond confusing. The mythology became better the farther I read into it, but initially I felt so lost. It is not a bad book, and it definitely is interesting to read about another type of mythology aside from Greek or Roman. I was a huge fan of the world building in and the magic system that Bracken had created. I am definitely excited for book #2 to see what comes next!

I think that maybe I’m just not a fan of Arthurian legend. Everything about this had the potential to be so great. Curses and grave robbers and just all sorts of shenanigans but I got very bored as soon as they entered into Avalon.
The only redeeming quality to me was the romance but it came soooo late in the book. By then the entire climactic sequence was flying and I was intrigued by how it was all going to end. Definitely a cliff hanger there and I *do* want to know what it means but I’m not sure I have the willpower to power through the next.
I will say, knowing that book likely takes place in the modern world it may alleviate some of the issues I had with this one so I’ll probably give it a try.
The writing is excellent and the main characters internal struggles were really well written. It was just the external plot that got a little muddy to me.

I have no other way to describe Alexandra Bracken's SILVER IN THE BONE other than it was just okay. A very okay story. Did I love it? No. Did I hate it? No. Would I recommend this text to others? Not enthusiastically--and maybe not at all since there are other "descendants"/retellings involving Arthurian legend that I think are better. It's just okay. I felt lukewarm about the writing, characters, and story overall. It just wasn't compelling enough for me.

Stories inspired or influenced by Arthurian legends will always pique my interest, and while Silver in the Bone eventually won me over (sort-of), I struggled just a bit.

One thing I really liked about this book is FMC Tamsin. I thought she had such a unique and well developed personality and as the reader learns more, her actions and motivations are more clear.

I also really liked the enemies to maybe more subtle romance. There are some great moments between these two characters, and I appreciated that the romance is kept YA-level appropriate.

What I struggled with was the world building. There is a lot going on in this story: Magic in the modern world, a portal to Avalon, sorceresses, priestesses, druids, curses, knights. It was a lot of story elements that at times felt overly complicated.

So did I like this? In the end, yes. The last 25% made me interested enough to pick up the next book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Age Level: Young Adult
Content: kisses, some violence

Oh my!  This was a wild ride.  I didn't know who we were supposed trust and this author kept you guessing right up until the very end.

Tamsin and Cabell are orphans who end up in a world where magic and the hunt for artifacts from King Arthur's court rule.  For Tamsin, an orphan girl with seemingly no magic, it was a rough place to be.  She was left by her parents and it always seemed she was left behind by her caretaker and her adoptive brother.  She did her best to fit in, but she struggled.  Metaphorically encasing herself in ice to survive while taking on odd jobs finding artifacts for sorceresses and Cunningfolk while trying to find the reason her guardian, Nash, disappeared ten years prior.

It was a hard place for Tasmin to be because she didn't have magic and was seen as less than by everyone in her world.  Her brother, who had some kind of curse, was her sole reason for being.  She did whatever she had to to keep Cabell grounded and with her.  Her desperation to keep what she had with Cabell was the driving force behind everything that she did...including trying to decipher Nash's journal and accepting the bid to search for another Arthur artifact.  So when she has to go back to where her life changed ten years ago, she found herself on another wild ride courtesy of Nash.

A lot happens to Tamsin in this book.  With her upbringing and the way she was made to feel inferior to others, I could understand why Tamsin pushed everyone, even the brother she loved,  away.  Tamsin didn't have much faith in anyone, including herself.  But when she found herself back in Avalon and surrounded by people she wasn't sure were friend or foe, especially when one her rival, Emrys.  But as she works to discover what Nash might have been doing with the ring everyone is chasing,  she finds that she's wanted and needed by these people...especially Emyrs.  She starts to realize that she needs this group she found herself with and starts to believe in herself and her worth.  Even when the unthinkable happens (and let me tell you, the ending of this book will throw you for a loop) Tamsin embraces the small group that has stood by her, her sisters.  I have a feeling she's going to need them as this story unfolds.

This has a cliffhanger ending, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this story.  I loved the interwoven history of King Arthur's court with magic and archaeology.  If you're a fan to King Arthur and his knights of the roundtable, this is definitely a book to pick up.

Alexandra Bracken is one of my favorites if not my number one fave author. Her opening lines always feel so strong and engaging. The characters were wonderful and her magic/world-building is fantastic. That being said, I struggled with this at the beginning just because I was reading it in my brain like a Harry Potter fanfiction when it is very clearly not - except Emrys who very much reads as Draco Malfoy if he wasn't raised a bigot. Eventually, I pulled myself out of the reading slump, and I'm glad I did. As usual, Bracken has knocked it out of the park. The dialog is fun, the magical system fascinating, and the relationships felt genuine.

A solid and compelling introduction that made me want for more. I enjoyed this, and I will be bumping Lore up my forever long TBR because of it. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity with the title.

3.5 out of 5 stars (3.5 / 5) OK, I admit, the pretty cover drew me in. And the fact that it was based on the Authurian legend. I’m a sucker, I admit it. It has curses, legends and villains and just screams for me to read it. It was good, but not good enough for me to set aside other ARCs and stress myself out over deadlines. Such is the life of a Bookstagrammer.

As an orphan, Tamsin relied on a foster father to care for her and her foster brother. Her foster father left without a trace and the siblings have been chasing legends and ancient crypts since. Their hope is to find a magical artifact that could free her brother from a curse.

The setting was a huge confusion for me. It felt like a fantasy world but then they’d refer to Boston, texts and headphones. I’m guessing they came from the modern world and at some point crossed into another world. But if so, I totally missed that scene. This is my best guess. However, I’m seeing many other reviewers were confused also.

The end saved this book. Honestly I was not enjoying it much until about the last third then it picked up and threw a bunch of twists in. And that ending! Ok that was a great ending. So I’m definitely not 100% willing to read book 2 but would definitely consider it.

AUDIO REVIEW: Sophie Amoss did a great job as the narrator. She had a tone of voice that made the story magical and mysterious. She definitely added a lot to the story.

Thank you to Random House Children’s books and Libro.FM for the copies!

Silver in the Bone is overall a very good fantasy. It is slow to start. Once it does, the story is very good, fast paced and full of adventure. The ending is a "cliffhanger" leaving the reader to wait until the sequel is written. For this reason, I will recommend, for those teens that ask for my opinion, to wait to read this book until the sequel is out.

Although I found this book to be quite slow, I really did enjoy it. The lore, the plotline, the plottwists: they were really thought out well, and made for a very enjoyable read. The ending makes me want to read the next book right away!

This book had me really intrigued in the beginning. My interest waned a bit in the middle, but the ending was good! Overall, I think this is a good YA story for younger YA.

First things first, I am a sucker for anything and everything King Arthur. I blame it on watching the BBC's Merlin at a very formative age. So, anything that promises to have anything to do with the legend I am all about, and this book was no different. It somehow managed to use the well-known aspects of the legend into something new and fresh against the backdrop of a treasure hunt that everyone needs to win and a deadly curse-- well multiple curses really. With such a large cast of characters, each character somehow still had their own motivations and traits that were balanced well, though it did get confusing at times to keep track of everyone and some characters were rather shallow.

One of my biggest complaints about this book was that at times the main plot line got convoluted with everything going on, especially in the middle. But, the way everything ties together in the end more than made up for that and this book managed to keep me hooked from the very beginning. It was somehow nothing like I expected it to be yet everything I wanted it to be and I am itching for the sequel.

First of all thank you so much to #prhinterational for the invitation to read this arc.
I've really appreciated the Passenger's duology, so I was absolutely excited to read this new series.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid this story isn't my cup of tea.
I've found myself confused since the very beginning with the setting: I thought we were in ancient times, then I found insted the book was in a sort of future with everyday elements and objects that are considered something "vintage". It was a little bit too chaotic to give a great start. Same for other details regarding this "new world", the magic and the main characters. They weren't totally clear and it didn't help me with focusing and being involved in the plot.

That said, I didn't feel affectioned to te heroine, who was often quite harsh without a reason, and I didn't understand some of her choices of action. I think we already have too many main characters that don't want relationships with other people because they don't trust anyone. Ok, it's a normal trope and a even more normal way to defend ourselves from people that want to exploit us, but I'm afraid that it has been presented in too many books in the last years to become boring.

I'm really sad I couldn't enjoy it.

Great characters, world building was on point. A very well told tale based on Authurian lore. Started out a bit slow, but picked up pace and had a great end.

Bracken's words are like water in the desert. She's so smooth and enticing in her word choices and world building that it makes any book I've read by her stand out.
This book was good. I enjoyed every aspect and read the whole thing cover to cover in an afternoon. I was wholly invested in the character development, the relationship building, the world collisions themselves. That said, however, for something that was publicized heavily as being a retelling of the Arthurian legend, I didn't feel that it held a strong part in the story. In fact, if Bracken hadn't blatantly said "this is Arthur's body, his knight's, etc." I honestly wouldn't have known otherwise. I think the publicity got too far ahead of the book and enticed readers in a way that left us disappointed in it's hope. All in all, this book was great, even if it didn't stand up to the Arthurian legends. I will definitely be reading the next ones.

Silver in the Bone (Silver in the Bone #1) by Alexandra Bracken, 480 pages. Random House (Alfred A. Knopf), 2023. $20. lgbtqia
Language: R (52 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Seven years have passed since Nash abandoned Tamsin and Cabell. Living in the space between the reality humans know and the magic of the Cunningfolk, Tamsin is desperate to take care of her brother and break his curse—even when it means making uneasy alliances and finding a way to Avalon.
Bracken has pieced together a story using elements of modern-day life, tales of King Arthur, magic, and zombie fae creatures. The strange combination fits oddly well together, though it didn’t keep my attention the way I wanted it to. I struggled to add each new piece to the story, especially with the incorporation of tropes I am not fond of, like dead characters not staying dead. The imagination of the story is incredible; I’m just not invested enough to care about when the sequel comes out.
Tamsin (or at least her hand) is depicted as White on the cover, and most of the characters are implied White. Neve is described as having “dark brown” skin, along with a couple other characters. The mature content rating is for mentions of alcohol and innuendo. The violence rating is for mentions of murder, blood and gore, and fantasy battle scenes.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen