This book was sooooooo good. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I read it. I read this in one sitting and couldn’t put it down after I started reading. I agree this is for fans of Carissa Broadbent and I would also say for fans of ACOTAR or TOG. This book has everything romantasy lovers want. This book is fast paced but with good world building and character development. I loved the fae/human worlds, the magic system especially at the end, and I OBVIOUSLY loved the romance (can’t wait to see more development of this in the next book). 100% can’t recommend this enough and I can’t wait to read the next one.

I received an ARC of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Every book I read which involves fairy land, the characters may change, but many themes prevail. The questionable love interest, the darkness which threatens the heroine, the comedic relief characters. Brittle, by Beth Overmyer, had many of these themes in Brittle, but she also took her story in new directions, defying the tropes and leaving the reader at the end with possibly more questions than answers.

Plot (no spoilers).
When her father leaves her with a mysterious and ominous message about the land of the fae, Verity Springer, or Verve, leaves her well-worn desk where she is used to writing fanciful tales, and finds herself thrust into the very world she writes about. Caught between the world she knows and is trying to save and the intriguing world of the fae, Verve must learn to adapt to a new reality while staying true to herself and her goals of protecting her loved ones and finding the truth about her father.

I could not put this story down. From the beautiful writing of the fae lands, to the descriptions of the change our heroine goes through, this was a page turner until the very end. There were parts which left me scratching my head, and I sincerely hope this gets approved to be a series because I need some answers! Without spoiling things, I need to know how the situation at the lake ended up the way it did. How did Verve escape? Why do fae fall in love so easily? I was also really uncomfortable with some of the romantic scenes. Verve did not seem super into it and I don't know if it's just because Overmyer doesn't have a ton of experience writing romance scenes or it's integral to the plot. Still, I blasted through this book and was sad when it was over. Really looking forward to whatever Beth Overmyer does next; hopefully a sequel (or two!).

this was such a great start to the Blade and Bone series, Beth Overmyer does a great job in telling a story and have it be a good fantasy elements. The charatcers worked with the world and were interesting people. I had a great time in this world and look forward to read more in this series and author.

“How do I know you won’t—” “My word is my bond. If your information is of any worth, I will repay in kind.”That seemed to be the best promise she would get out of the stern old fae, so Verve nodded and took a sip of the hot drink. “I saw a drawing of the Cunning Blade. It’s on the desk in his study.”

(Spoiler free)
Welp, I've met my new book boyfriend...

This is the first book I've read in a while (since A Dawn of Onyx) that gives me the hit-you-in-the-feels ACoTaR vibes. If you're a fan of Rhysand, or any fae baes, this book is FOR YOU.

The author packs quite a punch for a book under 300 pages. There is no filler here. Every page has pertinent information or witty dialogue, flows nicely, and is deliciously bingable.

We've got a human FMC and some Fae MMCs. This has some intricate fae lore and an interesting system of magic pertaining to the fae and their realm.

FMC- Verity, but she goes by Verve. She is a writer (this book is set in the olden days where women did not easily have a career), has strong attachments to her family, is smarter & more capable than she realizes, and she suffers from Ptsd/Panic attacks. She is self-described as plain & thinks she's nothing special, but the MMC faes beg to differ.

MMCs- (To avoid spoilers, I'm going to describe them without names and let you figure out which one is the jerk and which one is swoon-worthy)
One fae wants Verve to fulfill a prophecy, claims he's in love with her, bosses her around, hurts her on several occasions, doesn't give her free will, etc & one just wants to save her, help her, empower her, teach her, and love her and is one of the best book bfs I've read in a LONG TIME.

Verve is taken from her home realm into the fae realm and has to navigate the abrupt change in her life while deciding who she can trust. Again, this is under 300 pages, so we've got a fast-moving plot. The author weaves a lot of detail into these pages and sets things up for the next two books in the trilogy quite nicely. I would consider this a 'clean fantasy'. You're getting an epic romance, but no smut yet (fade to black).

I will definitely be reading the next books in the series and giving away a copy of this on my tiktok page around release date. (@HauntedHouseBooks)

Pros:
-New Fae book boyfriend (Rhysand quality, god tier)
-Fast-paced
-Easily binged
-Likable & relatable FMC
-Great magic system
-Great world building
-Enjoyable prose, elegantly written
-Witty banter between MCs
-Mental health/trauma representation

My only cons (which may be pros for some folks)-
-fade to black romance scene (think Twilight fade to black) the build-up was strong, & I wanted more of them
-The MC says 'blast' like 20x anytime something goes wrong (but all books have their overused phrases, don't they?)
-The MC is a bit of a prude at first, but this is set in a time where women were expected to be modest, not cuss, etc. So it fits the book, but I wanted her to loosen up a bit (and she does a bit by the end)

In summation, I adored it and will be impatiently awaiting the remaining books. TYSM for letting me be an ARC reader and please keep me in mind for future releases in this series.

i am SO happy that i stumbled across this book

this went above and beyond my expectations. i've really been struggling lately to find fantasy romance that doesn't feel overdone, but everything about this felt fresh and interesting, definitely no tired tropes happening here.

this book set down the frameworks for the beginnings of an epic fantasy saga and i can already tell that i'm going to be all over the rest of this series too. i would hesitate to categorize this as fantasy romance, i felt that it read more like an epic fantasy that had a romantic subplot. although the romance took a backseat to the other machinations of the plot, the plot made up for it tenfold with how interesting and engaging the rest of the story was.

we have prophecies, evil fae lords, not evil fae lords, romance, a strong heroine, logical decision making, and newfound magical powers. need i say more? the great writing was just the cherry on top of everything else, the pacing moved things along at just the right speed and i never felt like anything was rushed or dragged along.

if you want a heroine with a brain, light romance, and a seriously cool fantasy world, look no further. cannot recommend this enough and am already anticipating book two

I could not put Brittle down! It is one of the first books I’ve read in a while that I wished I could be reading at all times. It’s mysterious until the very end, which kept me hooked. I had no trouble connecting to the main character, Verve, and I could easily imagine myself in the world that the author has built. I am already looking forward to a sequel!