Such a great story! I love AK Mulford and her books. This story is loosely based on Sleeping Beauty but with wolf shifters. The characters are so well written and easy to relate to. AK Mulford’s world development is unparalleled. She draws you in and leaves you craving more. Highly recommend this book.

3.5 Stars Rounded Up

A RIVER OF GOLDEN BONES was such a heartwarming read. I don' know why Fantasy surprises me anymore, I should just KNOW that these gems are hidden out there in the world, full of heart and hope. But alas, I will keep being pleasantly surprised.

This story follows Calla and Grae as they face life-altering decisions on a journey of self-discovery-- and destruction-- and Calla's journey especially sat close to home for me. (As I'm sure it has/or will hopefully for many others). Growing up in her twins shadow hidden not only literally but in name and birthright as well, Calla must choose not only who she is BUT WHO SHE WANTS TO BE. By making these decisions… She brings a better world, where not only she wears the skins she is meant to, but allows others to wear theirs, to stop the divide from Humans and Were, and to KICK ASS while doing it.

If you came to this story for the romantasy, you will not leave disappointed. While this IS CALLA'S STORY, could we really survive without a hot, wholly accepting, man-bun, warrior bod love interest in tow? Well, probably, but I'm glad I didn't have to.

My critique here is for the worldbuilding, some minor details fell flat throughout in particular, a scene in the beginning where food is mentioned and can't be eaten/won't sustain Calla's werewolf even in her human body… but then is never brought up again and she enjoys several meals cooked by humans for the remainder of the book. It's the little things, and there aren't many, the story is absolutely wonderful as you'd expect by A.K. Mulford so read it, if werewolves, romance, and court politics are your jam.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love werewolf books and the plot was definitely something I was interested in. The ARC had a lot of mistakes in it that were distracting. Hopefully they are fixed for the real thing.

4.75 stars
Thank you to Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this eARC, My opinions are my own.

I purchased the physical book, because the US cover is absolutely gorgeous, but the story matches the cover. The story is gorgeous, filled with queer characters, hidden royalty, curses, fated mates, a powerful witch, music, wolf shifters. There’s plenty of steamy moments that fit the story pacing, but this really is about a rescue mission and voyage of discovery and I am really looking forward to what happens next,

Highly recommend for those who like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White retellings with twists.

4.5⭐️ - one of the best Fantasy books I have read lately

This book deserves more hype, I loved it so much! It was such a nice surprise and just the break I needed - I missed a story with strong stabby heroines, lots of action, adventures, fated mates and found family vibes. It has Throne of Glass vibes and if you love action packed Romantasy with strong characters, plot and a deep find yourself plot, you may want to order asap.

In essence, we have a shifters fated mates romantasy. A stabby heroine, a delicious alpha hero with "we were always meant to be" and "who did this to you" growly vibes and wolf packs politics and quests. But this story is so much more than that. It's about findind and accepting yourself, demolishing stereotypes, taking charge if your life no matter the cost, finding strength and courage to go fight for your life and for what you believe in, no matter the cost - even if it means your heart breaking in the process. It's adventure, strong heroine taking the reins of her life and going on a journey battling not only scary creatures and bruttal environments, but also her own guilt, beliefs and struggles. It's that "it's always been you" moment, it's that love that lives so deep in her heart, she doesn't realize it until she is face to face with her mate again. Finding her tribe, growing, accepting help and love from the others, fighting back to back towards the end.

Quotes:
If I couldn’t be a queen, then I’d be a warrior.

.. the room faded away as I held his dark gaze. I wished I could bottle up that awed expression and take it with me always.

“You’re my mate, Calla. You and I were always meant to be.”

“You are brave, and smart, and vicious,” he said, “and so breathtakingly beautiful that it hurts not to touch you.”

“I am a monster lurking in the shadows,” I purred. “Worse than any ostekke or ebarven. And if you ever think about laying a hand on someone again, I will be there. Tell your friends to think twice . . . if they survive.”

Grae slicked a wet hand over his hair. “Who we are to each other is infinite. Our bond will only ever grow and strengthen. It will always be you and me. Always.”

“And you are like every sound in a room going quiet until I can only hear your song.”

This was absolutely fantastic!!

I was instantly drawn to A River of Golden Bones by the amazing cover design - but I stayed for the riveting story! My heart was racing, I went on an emotional rollercoaster, paced around my house & literally loved every single page! I’m so excited to see what A.K. Mulford has in store for us next!!

Thank you Harper Voyager for the advanced copy!

Took me a bit to get invested. I tend to enjoy A. K. Mulford's worldbuilding, but not so much the pacing and that was true of this book. Not sure I'm a fan of wolf-shifters either, so this might be a me problem. I liked the hints at the sleeping beauty storyline and the relationship between the twin sisters but wasn't interested in the romance.

Thank you Harper Voyager for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

A RIVER OF GOLDEN BONES was my first wolf-shifter romance and I really enjoyed it! I loved how A. K. Mulford explored themes of belonging and self-discovery, and queer identity through the lense of a twisted Sleepy Beauty retelling. I loved Calla as a main character and I am excited to see how her relationship with Grae develops in future books. Hopefully, we get Grae's POV woven in there!

My biggest complaint about this book was the pacing. There were long lulls between action scenes and those in-between scenes didn't keep me engaged as much as I wanted. That's just personal preference though.

I enjoyed this enough to continue on with the next books! 3.5/5 stars

A stand alone wolf fantasy novel that reminds me of a mix of sleeping beauty and snow white. My first true queer novel as well! The story is action packed and never gets boring, the pacing is spectacular. I really enjoyed Calla's journey not only in discovering what she wanted 8n terms of revenge but also her identity. Ora was my fave side character, they were delightfully original and a great mentor. Grae is a total cinnamon roll. My only complaint is Sawyn's little evil speech at the end felt a but overdone and simplistic, perhaps driving it home too hard. Will definitely check out author's other books!

I was really excited about this book and it did not disappoint! I love the strong female character and the romance that only builds as they find themselves in more danger. This was so good, I lost myself in the story and found myself eagerly awaiting bedtime so I could continue reading

I enjoyed this read. It was a surprise to me it's an homage to Sleeping Beauty with a twist - wolf shifters. It's also about Sleeping Beauty's daughters.
Normally I don't get into fairy tale retellings because it's a tired format with so many books clogging up what's good and what isn't. However, this one was so subtle about it, without it being in-your-face and practically a copy of the original story. I appreciated the change.
The cover art is gorgeous which drew me to the book first.
The wolf shifter part does have tropes but they weren't bad. The main character does obsess over the word "mates" but I can forgive it for the plot, if only a little predictable.
I appreciated the diversity of the cast, of finding who you are when you were never truly allowed or able to explore it.

Interesting premise and solid romantasy entry, but the instalove/mates storyline felt very overdone and a bit squick. If a reader is into it, they'll probably enjoy, but felt a bit divisive to me.

I normally don't pick-up fantasy books, but the wolves aspect and romance appealed to me. I enjoyed the overall plot of Calla trying to get her lost kingdom back from the evil sorceress.

One thing that causes me to lose interest in fantasy books is too much description of the scene. This book had detailed enough information to be able to picture the different lands, but did a great job at describing and bringing out the character's personalities.

Calla was really in the shadow of her sister her entire life since her twin was the one set to marry prince Grae, her childhood friend. Calla really becomes a stong atypical hero of the book. This book is about wolf packs, but really gives a nice nod to the value and strength of normal humans as well.

After this book, I am definitely interested in more in the series. I sense some big wolf kingdom battles in upcoming books.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

I have really been enjoying fantasy this year and this one did not disappoint! I was immediately drawn in and couldn’t put this down.

This is a Sleeping Beauty retelling, but following the twin daughters of Sleeping Beauty herself. I used to really like fairytale retellings, but they all seem the same after a while. This was not the case with A River of Golden Bones. It is set in a world where Wolves (shifters) rule over the humans as their protectors from monsters of the world. Over time, it has turned in to humans being ants under their feet, living in poverty, while the Wolf clans bask in their castles and riches.

I like our whole cast of characters. Calla is our strong FMC with Grae being her supportive partner and fated mate. Their relationship is sweet and supportive. While rocky at first, it really grows as the story progresses. I also love the found family throughout this book between some humans and the wolves.

The pacing was a little wonky for me at times, but not too bad. I did get a little bored in the middle, but it picked up, especially the last 20%.

All in all, it was entertaining and I look forward to reading the next in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Calla is the hidden sister the one the world never knew exsist. She has been raised in hiding with her twin Briar. Born on the night her parents were killed by Sawyn. An evil sorceress who killed her parents and whole pack. Her sister the is the hidden princess and she is a shadow. A River Of Golden Bones is the story of Calla finding themselves and figuring out where they fit in the world. A fated mates, sifter romance that is a Sleeping Beauty retelling. Its found family, friends to lovers. I loved the way Calla found themselves. It was a beautiful self discovery tale. The only issue is that the end felt a bit rushed. Butnover all it was a fun story. Thank you Netgally for the copy.

Rating; Loved It, 4.5 Stars, rounded to 4

A River of Golden Bones follows Calla, the secret twin to Briar, the heir to the conquered wolf kingdom of Oldemere. Nobody knows who Calla is, except for their childhood friend and betrothed of Briar, Grae. He is the prince of a nearby wolf kingdom and they are engaged to marry on Briar's 20th birthday, uniting the kingdoms. Calla will then lead the army of their allies to retake their kingdom from Sawyn, the evil sorceress who killed the pack of Gold wolves. However, the sorceress crashes the wedding and Briar ends up under a sleeping curse. Calla must journey to the kingdom of their birth to rescue Briar and defeat the sorceress.

This was such a wonderful story of empowerment, self-discovery, and love. It was told in first person, and while it wasn't perhaps the most beautifully written of stories, I did love the story itself. It was a lot of fun, and a fantastic adventure. There are some elements that I was rolling my eyes at a smidge when they were first introduced, but they ended up being different enough and there was enough other things going on that I actually ended up really liking them. The biggest one was fated mates. I feel like this can be heavily overdone in wolf-shifter romances especially, but I actually quite enjoyed the way it was utilized here. And this is definitely a romantasy in that the romance is focused more heavily on than the fantasy worldbuilding elements. However, even the romance isn't quite as important as the self-discovery and the character development that Calla undergoes. I really appreciated Calla's character arc, and I felt like it was very satisfying.

I felt like there were also some important things set up here looking at class structure, power dynamics, and disparity of wealth. It didn't get delved into super deeply, but I appreciated that essentially once Calla leaves the very rigid and traditional wolf society that dominates this world, there was a questioning of that tradition and rigidity. It was an opening up to think for oneself and ask questions that had not been permitted in the past. Both about society and about yourself.

I think that the societal commentary will come more into play in the following books, but overall this was a very satisfying story in itself. I am very glad I read it. I'm not sure how much I will be itching to pick up the next book, but I definitely am not ruling it out. The found family in this was wonderful and I definitely cried at the end.

I definitely think that there are things that I could critique, but overall it gave me what I was looking for: a satisfying romance, a found family, and a fast-paced fun adventure.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for an eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

3.5/5 stars

This was pretty good! It had me hooked in the beginning....but somewhere along the way, it just felt a little more flat. I can't quite place it, but it wasn't everything I wanted it to be. Though, I'll admit - the last 10% or so did take it from a 3 to a 3.5 - I honestly think the issue was just length and pacing, meaning it didn't need to be as long as it was. And I'm all for fantasy romance and have no issues with some spice.....but there were times where it felt like it was unnecessary, and the constant "I want you, let's do this now"....inevitable interruption...."Let's try again!".....interruption....became a bit monotonous.

But, overall, I did love some of the characters - Ora, Sadie, and Calla (mostly). Grae felt a bit generic but I did love his support of Calla as she discovered herself. The writing was good and the story was an interesting and engaging twist on Sleeping Beauty. I think it was just longer than it needed to be and the amount of spice was a bit much once it got going, but that could be a preference thing.

I think fantasy romance lovers will really enjoy this one, and I will likely continue the series to see what happens next.

I adore AK Mulford's writing. They create beautiful fantasy worlds that I easily get lost in. I also listened to the audiobook version of this with Vico Ortiz narrating and it was perfect. Their voice added more depth to the story being told.

Some keywords for ya:
- SPICEY!
- Werewolf shifters
- Fated mates
- Battles
- Forbidden love