i didn’t realize this was part two when i requested it so i RAN to get book 1! and i am OBSESSED 😍 i need MORE!!! also the cover?!? i cannot get enough! it’s absolute perfection!

This book is the second on a dulogy, although it can be read alone. I would recommend reading book one first.

I wish there were a third book making it a trilogy. I already miss the characters.

I loved every moment of this book and I could not stop reading. It kept my interest from start to finish. The magical world is amazing as are the characters and setting. .

The romance hot and a huge plus for me.

This dulogy is amazing, but I find myself wanting more.

Five stars! Recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Hachette Children's Group, for this book.

Expected publication: July 30, 2024

Mirror of Beasts is a worthy follow-up to Silver in the Bone. It took me a while to get into this story as it had been quite a while since I read the first. I should have reread Silver in the Bone prior to starting Mirror of Beasts. A good YA tale.

The Mirror of Beasts
by Alexandra Bracken
Pub Date: Jul 30 2024

With the dream of Avalon in ruins, Tamsin and her friends are all that stands in the way of Lord Death's plans to unleash the horrors of Anwnn on the world of the living. As the Wild Hunt carves a bloody path across continents, Tamsin is mustering allies, tracking down powerful artifacts, and traversing into new otherlands in search of a way to stop him.

Legend tells of a “Mirror of Beasts,” powerful enough to trap even Lord Death in its accursed glass, but the mirror is not all that it seems. Tamsin must confront her own darkest secrets if she hopes to tap the mirror's strength to defeat her enemies.

Arthurian legend bleeds into contemporary action, and scars of the past are torn open anew by a starcrossed love that refuses to go quietly. This riveting conclusion to the Silver in the Bone duology will hold you in its thrall until the very last page.

I had high hopes for this book. I enjoyed silver in the bones quite a bit and I was not disappointed with this book. I personally liked this one a little better. The story was faster paced and the story continuation was great!

Rating - 4.25 stars

This was one of my highly anticipated sequel releases of 2024 so I had pretty high expectations for this book since I loved Silver in The Bone.

Unfortunately though, I didn’t love this sequel as much as I wanted to but I still enjoyed some aspects of the book!

I loved the dark atmosphere and setting that was consistent from the first book. The found family aspect was heartwarming and it developed pretty well. And as much as it pains me, I love that Alexandra Bracken shows no mercy when it comes to her characters.

Ultimately, I liked how the duology concluded! I couldn’t stop smiling and giggling by the end of the book despite crying a few times during the last half of the book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked The Mirror of Beasts better than Silver in the Bone. While both books followed a quest plot line, I felt that The Mirror of Beasts was more fast paced, had a lot of character growth, and I felt more invested in the journey and the various obstacles they faced.

The story picks up with the reappearance of Nash with a warning that with the unmaking of Avalon, things were even more dangerous in the real world. He begged Tamsin to stay in the apartment and not to try and stop Lord Death. Needless to say, Tamsin disregarded Nash's warning and left the apartment with Neve, Caitriona, and Olwen only to be captured by the Sistren who believe that they should be put to death for unmaking the the barrier between Avalon and the real world. Before they can be tortured and killed, they are saved by none other than Emrys, who has a letter from the High Priestess requesting that they be let go. As Tamsin, Neve, Caitriona, and Olwen decide to go in search of the Bonecutter, Emrys begs to come along to atone for his mistakes. He also claims to know where the Bonecutter is.

The Bonecutter is the start of everyone's adventure as the Bonecutter is able to put Vivian's skull back together and they are able to access her memories. They are hoping her memories will give them some clue as to how to stop Lord Death. Thus begins the journey to find The Mirror of Beasts.

In addition to finding the plot more compelling with higher stakes and more complications, I loved the character growth for Tamsin, Neve, Emrys, and Caitriona. Tamsin had to learn to trust others and believe that not everyone would leave her. Emrys had secrets and a damaged history that he needed to overcome to repair his relationship with Tamsin. Neve had to learn to be confident in who she was despite the Sistren constantly rejecting and dismissing her. I think Caitriona had the greatest growth. She had to overcome hatred, fear, and her desire for revenge. She also had to comes to terms with her feelings about being a Priestess.

Overall, I really liked the conclusion to this duology! It's worth every moment of the 500+ pages book.

i finished this and it was so good i forgot i had to review it.

mirror starts right where silver left off, and the girls (plus emrys and now nash) have to sort out the mess they made. alexandra bracken has written another banger with exceptional prose, incredible pacing, and beautiful characterization. the way she writes about grief, insecurity, and connection are stunning. i hadn’t expected to like silver after being disappointed by the darkest minds, but im so glad it found its way onto my shelf.

i feel so lucky to have been able to take this journey with tamsyn, cabell, and emrys. this was a heartfelt conclusion (and hopeful future) for the girls, a fitting redemption for cabell, and a lovely resolution for tamsyn’s and emrys’ torrid relationship.

thank you netgalley and knopf for the arc <3

5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: portal fantasy, Arthurian legends, quests, found family

This review has been posted to Goodreads as of 3/24, my review blog as of 4/9, and Instagram on 4/17.

This book opens exactly where Silver left off. Our main group is reeling from everything that happened in Avalon, and then are forced to deal with their unexpected visitor. Tamsin naturally has mixed emotions about the visitor, especially once it's revealed that 1) they're carrying surprising information, and 2) are about to pull their same old shit. Things quickly pick up as Death and the Wild Hunt begin prowling the mortal world and Tamsin and the others have to race to stop them. Like the first book, this is a very quest-oriented story and the characters have a clear end goal. That being said, there are a lot of curves in the road and more than one unexpected discovery.

In book 1 Tamsin had to learn how to open her heart to other people, and this book focuses a good deal on her learning to not close herself back off when things get rocky. She loves Neve, Cait, and Olwen, but she's also used to people leaving her and doubts sometimes that their bond is enough to sustain them. She has to choose optimism in this one, despite the fact that that's contrary to her nature. But as usual, once someone has gotten past her defenses, Tamsin will defend them to the end, and that includes fighting against her own pessimistic and anxiety-inducing thoughts. Despite this growth, Tamsin is still the funny and generally pessimistic person we grew to love in Silver.

Caitriona is dealing with a lot as a result of the fall of Avalon. Everything she had dedicated her life to is gone and that obviously leaves a mark on someone, especially someone who has fought as hard as Cait. We see her start down a somewhat dark path as anger and grief begin to take over. That being said, she is still fiercely protective of the group, particularly Olwen, and is determined to see Lord Death's end.

Cait and Tamsin are still the most similar to each other, and I liked seeing the moments when they leaned on one another because they knew their more optimistic counterparts might not understand. It was nice to see them having moments when they could rely on one another to understand their thoughts without having to explain.

Despite everything that's happened, Neve is still as sunny and optimistic as ever. She still sees the good in people, and the good in the sorceresses, though at the same time is protective of her friends and is willing to threaten people to protect them, even if the 'threat' is saying she'll send Tamsin or Cait after them. I like that Neve is able to bring brightness to the story and the group, and I do think her optimism is tinged with a little more realism now than it was in Silver.

Her and Tamsin have a strong bond, and I think it's helpful for Tamsin to have someone so naturally sunny to lean on. While Neve may not understand Tamsin the same way Cait does, she understands her in a different way and is able to help Tamsin see things from a different perspective. And speaking of Cait, I enjoyed seeing her and Neve's relationship develop beyond the hints in book 1. Cait is still wary of the sorceresses while Neve is hopeful about them, and while they may bicker about that, the two of them are past the initial antagonism and well into the kind of flirting a socially-awkward Cait can manage.

Olwen actually has a lot of off-page time in this book, but like Neve has maintained her relatively optimistic disposition. She's definitely weighed down somewhat by the grief of what happened in Avalon, and it's clear those events will haunt her for a long time. But she's also fascinated by the mortal world and is eager to explore it and learn more about her new home.

Emrys does turn back up pretty early on, though he's back to being his obnoxious self. To be fair, there's more going on behind the scenes than is initially clear (though imo it is clear that something is going on with him). We do get to learn a bit more about Emrys' past and his family life, which obviously isn't pretty. It was definitely interesting to see his relationship with Tamsin in this book vs. Silver, and he has a lot of making up to do before he can even hope to be on her good side, let alone the good side of her friends (Neve is especially pissed with him).

The main quest in this one is, obviously, stopping Lord Death. Like with Avalon, I did figure out what was going on fairly early on, but Bracken includes enough misdirection that at times I second-guessed myself. There was also still a lot that I didn't see coming and the plot revolves less around this 'mystery' and more around finding a tool/weapon that can stop Lord Death. The group also runs into trouble from various allies and enemies and enemies-turned-allies and people who don't quite fall into either category. There was a lot of really interesting things going on in this book and I loved it!

Overall this was a very satisfying conclusion to the duology and I think action scenes and character growth are well balanced. I definitely think there's potential for some novellas or a sequel story focusing on Neve + Cait or Olwen, and I would definitely be interested in reading those (and Bracken has done side-character novellas before, so it's possible!).

When I finished the first book in this series, I couldn’t WAIT for the second one. Huge thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to have an arc of the book.

This is not a light, quick read because you must understand the history of the characters through stories of Nash and riddles in the library books. When she is with Emrys, the story is fast. I was so curious to see what she decided to do with his character and if I could forgive him for his betrayal. I also love the sisterhood, and how they care for one another.

The end was phenomenal and action packed. I really loved this story! Thank you, Bracken, for writing such a many layers masterpiece.

I recently finished "The Mirror of Beasts" by Alexandra Bracken, the eARC was provided by NetGalley.

"Mirror of Beasts" picks up where "Silver in the Bone" leaves off, with Tamsin Lark and the other survivors finding themselves back in the "real" world after a cleansing spell goes horribly wrong and Avalon ends up slamming in to the UK coast. Tamsin, armed with new betrayals, new friends, and new information, must continue on her journey to break HER curse, and try to help save her brother Cabell from Lord Death's influence.

The events at the end of the first book place this book in the "real" world; we move from a more traditional fantasy to an urban fantasy in this one. We still have our fave gal pals Neve, Caitriona, Olwen, and Tamsin of course, sworn to stay together through the end (3 guesses as to how long that works!). Tamsin is fighting her feelings about everyone from Emrys to Nash as she tries to protect everyone and everything while pretending she doesn't care.

This was a satisfying end to the first book. I didn't love it nearly as much as Silver, but part of that could be because once we were set on a path, the answers seemed so obvious. In the first book there was a LOT of mystery, and this book spent most of it's time just wrapping up loose ends and bringing everything to a conclusion. The action wasn't quite as fun, and the story didn't feel quite as magical; the plot points seemed to be checked off a list and perfunctory (The trip to Lyonesse was too short, and too convenient in my opinion-- I would have loved to spend more time there!). I will say though, the Bonecutter may be one of the best characters I've ever met, except for the Hag of Bogs... err excuse me, Moors. I would read entire novels about either one of those characters!

This was such a good book! I really love this author so I was so excited to get to read this book. The plot was so good I could not put it down until I finished! The characters were unique and I loved the journey and turmoil they went through. I will be recommending this book to all of my friends and family.

Alexandra Bracken has been hit or miss with me, but when I read Silver in the Bone, I was pleasantly surprised. So I was excited to see the sequel and grabbed it. This was a great conclusion to the series and I highly, highly recommend this!

I stopped after chapter 1 but it’s well-written, flows well, and feels similar to book 1. Should go over well with the target. I’d guess 3-4 stars with 5 for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the ARC.

Ahhh! and NOooooo! and Good God! and How dare you!

Alexandra is one of my two favorite authors. Despite the anger and squealing, and everything else, she is the reigning champ.

How dare she! But also how clever! But also, I saw it! But also, I didn't see it!

Either way I loved it, and I'll be thinking about it for months.

Fantastic conclusion. I love all things Arthurian, so this called my name from the beginning. It was a completely modern, fresh take on a classic. I thoroughly enjoyed every word

The second book of the Silver in the Bone duology picks up just after the first one leaves off. Tamsin and her friends are licking their wounds and regrouping after their losses in Avalon only to get a surprise visitor that drops a bit of a curveball into their game and disappears as quickly as he came. The adventurers are off again on a quest to take on Death (or Arthur). The writing style and pacing are much like the prior book, some new characters come into the mix, and some themes of Arthurian legends resurface. The story resolves, a bit predictably but still an enjoyable read. The romance and violence levels are appropriate for young adults and the story is entertaining enough that older adults may pick it up for a light read. Anyone who enjoyed Silver in the Bone will surely enjoy this end to the story.
I received advanced digital access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Random House Children's - Knopf Books for Young Readers) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

I've been a fan of Alexandra Bracken for so long. Her books are always action packed with a side of romance and comedic relief from certain characters, and this series was no different. Bracken definitely expands on the world of Avalon and King Arthur, so you're in for a real treat. You could tell that Tamsin really grew as a person through the two books, especially when it came to friends. In the beginning, she would push people away due to abandonment issues. But in this book, we see her grow more comfortable with the ideas of having loved ones around. I also really liked seeing Cabell's perspective, though there weren't as many chapters from his POV compared to Tamsin's. I wasn't a huge fan of Nash. His plot twist was okay, and to be honest, his whole presence in the book was just meh to me.

Overall, I enjoyed this book!

Alexandra Bracken always has a great story and it worked with being a sequel to the Silver in the Bone. It had everything that I was looking for and thought it worked with a conclusion to this world. It had everything that I wanted and glad it had that love perfectly. I can't wait to read more from Alexandra Bracken and I loved the cover to this book.

The action-packed adventure of a lifetime sequel to Silver in the Bone! I absolutely adored this sequel. I devoured it in a day and a half (only because I had to work).

Tamsin, Olwen, Cait And Neve are finally back in our world. Devastated by loss and angered by betrayal, they must find a way to stop Lord Death before he opens the gates of Anwnn and destroys the world with his death magic. Along the way they must make allies with new friends, learn to trust those who they thought abandoned and betrayed them, and save those that they hope can still be redeemed.

While I ate up the Avalon/King Arthur Mythos in book one, AB takes it a step further in this twist on the Once and Future King’s Return, only this time he is possessed by Lord Death and seeks to destroy the world instead of save it. To stop him, the girls must find the Mirror of Beasts (aka Excalibur),the only divine weapon that might have the power to stop him. Except Excalibur was lost after the fall of Camelot and even though the Hollowers have been searching for it forever it still remains hidden.

The friendship between the girls was the driving force behind this book. I know most people will probably read for the romance and to find out if Tamsin and Emrys get back together (more on that in a minute), but I think the found family the girls created by unfailingly supporting and uplifting each other was far more important. Though they had their doubts they never stopped trying to protect each other. Though they had all been horribly betrayed time and time again, it didn’t kill their ability to trust in each other, and that became their greatest weapon against Lord Death. Though they parted ways they always returne to each other to fulfill their promises.

The foreshadowing for Neve being the Goddess’s daughter was an excellent Red Herring. I fully believed she was the soul they were supposed to be searching for and Tamsin was some sort of magical creature destined to protect her up until Lyonesse. What a wonderful twist! And Nash being Lord Death’s brother, thwarting him time and time again to protect Tamsin was the beautiful reveal we had all been waiting for. I was so happy she finally got answers and to hear him call her his daughter.

Now like everyone else I was pissed with Emrys after the ending to SITB, so I was a little confused about how he popped up again after his father killed him in the prologue. I spent a good chunk of the book convinced he was the spy that Lord Death had brought back to infiltrate the girls’ circle and learn their plans. In a way I suppose he was after it was revealed Madrigal brought him back and controlled him (since she was the spy all along). The banter and tension between them remained perfect. While I do feel it was a little too easy of a reunion between them, I was happy for it all the same. His second death wasn’t as emotionally cutting as I expected since he had already been brought back before. I knew Tamsin would find a way.

The Bonecutter had to be my favorite of the new characters. I adored her no nonsense, mischevious attitude and her quirky one liners. The Hag of the Moors was a close second, much needed comic relief in such dark and tense moments.

I do feel the book wrapped a little quickly but not in an unbelievable way. I would be interested to see more from this universe but I am pleased with the ending and could happily leave it there.

This book is perfect for lovers of British folk tales and mythology who are looking for fun and spunky, realistic lead characters and a new spin on modern fantasy that will leave you craving more!