Mistress of Bones follows a young necromancer who is thrust into a world of dark magic, secrets, and ancient power. As she struggles to master her craft and uncover the truth about her past, she’s drawn into a dangerous game that could change everything she knows about life, death, and her place in the world.

I really liked the idea of the story! It felt fresh and intriguing from the start. The main character’s journey was compelling, and I enjoyed seeing her grow stronger and more confident as the book went on. Her character development felt earned and added depth to the plot. That said, I do wish the worldbuilding had been clearer early on. There were moments in the beginning where I found myself a bit lost, and a stronger introduction to the world’s rules and structure would’ve helped.

Overall, it was an engaging read with a unique premise and a strong heroine at its center. I’m curious to see where the story goes next!

I read this as ebook and audiobook together.
I loved the audio as it brings those Spanish names to life.
I usually read audio books 1.5-1.7 speed as I read along.
But I found myself needed to replay the first few chapters over again until I understood the world building enough to follow along.
Once I did things picked up and started to click together.
This is a high stakes fantasy in the sense that multiple parts are moving and at a fast pace. You get a wacky timeline but it makes you draw yourself back to what was happening along that same timeline just told in a different pov. SO, the povs eventually line up. This is not an easy read, It's intricate and you definitely want to take your time reading through and pick up the clues to the mystery along the way. And get the world building down.
This is a story of wills and belief of who is right or wrong.
The opposites of life and death, and a great understanding that you

I greatly respect the author and this book but unfortunately after multiple attempts, I was unable to finish it. The overall premise of the story is interesting and unique but I found it challenging to follow the storyline and to connect with the characters.

I am very grateful to NetGalley and St.Martins Press for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

Mistress of Bones by Maria Z. Medina is an epic, multi-POV debut fantasy.
And it was one that has got to be one of my top 5 reads of 2025.
Y’all, this book had me on the edge of my seat.
The world-building? Chef’s kiss.
The magic? Pure perfection.
Every little detail just pulls you in.
This phenomenal duology is about love, loss, and death.
I can’t wait to read the second book.

Thank You NetGalley and Wednesday Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7795577746

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mistress-of-bones-maria-z-medina/1146167677

This book in theory sounded super cool, we have concepts of love, grief and death. With magic and necromancers yet the execution in this novel doesn't hit the "complex and enticing" energy I was looking for.

I think something that really impacted my experience going in was thinking "Six of Crows?? as part of the pitch?? Sold."

This book is written in a multi-POV perspective but there isn't enough time in the "present" timeline to really feel connected to these characters and their missions as a group and as individuals.

You also find yourself becoming confused with the constant timeline flips, almost each chapter has one and that really in my opinion can set a reader off from the book and leave them feeling confused.

Overall great premise but the conflicting set up of the timeline impacts your experience as you read through.

One important thing to note is that this is not a romance YA fantasy book. Therefore, if any readers are picking this up for the romance this book might not be for you

Thank you St Martins Press & Wednesdays Books for the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Net Galley and Wednesday Books for the ARC. The blurb sounded so interesting, and I loved the prologue. The first few chapters were super intriguing, that I am so disappointed that I did not love this book. The plot started to meander and things became so boring and slow.

🦴 From the very first page, Mistress of Bones sunk its skeletal fingers into me and did not let go. Medina weaves a haunting tale of necromancy, betrayal, and long-buried truths that claw their way to the surface. Imagine a crumbling manor drenched in secrets, a protagonist who commands the dead, and a magic system that's as eerie as it is poetic—yes please.

💀 This is not your average gothic fantasy. It’s lyrical, lush, and deeply unsettling in the best way. Medina explores themes of grief, legacy, and what it means to wield power over the dead. The worldbuilding is darkly immersive, and the bone magic? Deliciously macabre.

🧵If you love morally gray heroines, ancestral curses, haunted houses, and prose that feels like a spell—Mistress of Bones needs to be on your radar.

Mistress of Bones was an intriguing read, no doubt about that, but it just wasn't for me. While the bonds of sisterhood featured were heartwarming, and the writing style was beautiful, there were several less wonderful aspects.

For example, the time jumps. The perspectives switched from past to present and back again fairly often. This ended up making the story a bit hard to read, and broke me out of the flow of the story.

Another thing that contributed to the breaks in the flow was the multitude of perspectives. There were so many povs, which made the story more confusing and contributed to the characters not being as developed as they could be. Of course, this is only the first book, so perhaps said characters will be developed more in later books.

After being so negative, you may think I dislike the book. I don't. The care between the sisters and the siblings in general was truly lovely, and the prose was wondrous. These two things kept me reading. But in the end, I feel that Mistress of Bones was simply an okay read. Not a standout, despite the interesting premise, but not a horrible story either.

Thank you to the author, St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Press, and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed the premise and overall vibe of this one!! I think it could've benefited from being just a little longer, there were so many interesting characters with cool dynamics, but because of the pacing and relatively short page count, I feel like i didn't see enough of each character. I'm super intrigued to see where the second book goes, and will probably read that one as well!! A solid idea that i was was longer

always down for necromancy though, really really cool.

I ended up enjoying Mistress of Bones more than I originally anticipated. The world building could use some work, and I do think the plot felt messy at times, but I did enjoy the characters for the most part. There is a lot to latch onto, and the writing was intriguing enough that the book flew by without feeling like any sort of slog.

On a positive note, I love the cover art, and the premise sounded so interesting.

In reality, the execution of said premise was lacking. I will say that I was neither a fan of the writing style nor the pacing. Additionally, a lot of the word choices were interesting (maybe too complex?) for what is supposed to be an upper YA novel.

There were a lot of POVs in this book, which normally I do not have a problem with. However, it just did not work for me this time. Also, it was difficult to keep all the people and storylines straight. A lot of the names were similar enough to cause confusion, plus all the random swapping of POVs and backtracking in the story to cover scenes from another character's perspective.

I believe this writing style is what made it impossible for me to really connect with the characters, especially the FMC. I just did not feel the need to root for her and the excitement for her to succeed. Do not even get me started on the MMC. I am not new to fantasy books, but I just really struggled to get into this book enough to finish it.

I will most likely not read the next book when it releases. However, reading is subjective, and this book may hit all the right buttons for another reader!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press/Wednesday Books for gifting me this e-arc. All opinions are my own, and voluntary.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an e-arc copy of this novel.

I’m so sad to say this book was not for me. I applied because I absolutely loved the premise of this book but the writing fell very flat for me and missed the excitement I was looking for. There were too many character POVs and the flashbacks made absolutely no sense to the progression of the story and for that reason I have to give it a 2 star rating.

I think with more editing this could be a really great novel, but for me it’s going to be a no.

A dark, bone-chilling fantasy with gorgeous ideas, but I struggled to connect

I wanted so badly to love this one — with necromancy, gods, a grieving sister, a deadly island, and magic systems steeped in death and sacrifice, Mistress of Bones had a setup that absolutely screamed my name. It promised epic stakes, lush worldbuilding, layered politics, and morally complex characters. And to its credit — it delivered on many of those fronts. The prose is atmospheric and haunting, the world imaginative and intriguing, and the themes around sisterhood, power, and defiance of divine forces were right up my alley.

But the execution left me feeling… adrift. The constant shifts in timelines and POVs pulled me out of the story more often than they pulled me in. I often found myself flipping back to figure out where I was, whose head I was in, and how it tied to the previous chapter. And for a character-driven reader like me, that made it difficult to build emotional investment — even in Azul’s compelling arc. I wanted to feel her desperation, to root for her fight against death itself. But with the structure jumping so rapidly, it was like trying to hug a ghost — beautiful, but never quite tangible.

Still, there were moments that glimmered. The bones-as-magic concept is original and haunting, and I truly appreciated the Spanish-inspired mythos. Characters like Azul, Nereida, and Enjul had the strongest emotional presence, and I’m hoping the sequel gives them even more room to grow. There's so much promise buried in these pages, and despite my disconnect this time around, I'm tempted to revisit the story once book two is out — maybe it’s the kind of duology that reveals its magic better in hindsight.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / Wednesday Books for sharing this teen fantasy romance digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Mistress of Bones has a strong foundation with its necromancer heroine, intriguing lore, and high-stakes plot, but it doesn’t fully deliver. The worldbuilding is imaginative but underdeveloped, and the cultural elements feel more like surface details than a true influence on the story. While the cast of characters shows promise, many arcs feel rushed or incomplete. It’s an engaging start with potential, but it left me wanting more depth and follow-through.

Mistress of Bones is an atmospheric and beautifully written story, with writing that’s often lyrical and haunting. The time jumps were handled smoothly, and there’s a definite sense of intrigue throughout. However, I found myself struggling to understand the world, there were many names, titles, and unfamiliar terms that weren’t fully explained. The ending left me with mixed feelings, poetic, but not entirely satisfying. Still, Medina’s talent for crafting mood and language is undeniable. I highly recommend pairing the audio book with it if you enjoy immersive narration and don’t mind feeling a bit lost in a mysterious world!

Thank you NetGalley and Maria Medina for allowing me an ARC of Mistress of Bones.
While I did struggle with names and places (I need a visual map to help me around these continents!), I was surprised at the story. The necromancer, Azul, wants to resurrect her dead sister but must confront the Lord Deaths emissary, Virel. Get ready for an epic adventure, enemies to lovers and some slight confusion with shifting timelines along the way. Over all, there are bits I’m still quite confused about but it was a good read.

This was tough for me to review because Mistress of Bones has so many things I should’ve loved - necromancy, gods and magic, morally gray choices, an intriguing world built on bones and sacrifice - and yet, I never quite clicked with the story or characters.

The writing itself is lovely, and the premise had so much promise. I really appreciated the layered plot with political tension, divine meddling, secret pasts, and complex character dynamics. However, the frequent shifts in POV and time were disorienting for me, especially early in the book, and made it difficult to get immersed in the story. Because of those shifts, I also sometimes had trouble keeping track of who was who and where we were in the timeline, and that distance made it hard to get emotionally invested in the stakes.

There were some intriguing characters. Azul’s desperation to save her sister was compelling, and Nereida stood out in a way that made me wish she had a bigger role in the story. The magic system tied to gods was unique and had some really fascinating moments, though I wanted more clarity and depth around how everything worked. Some aspects of the world felt undefined.

In the end, I think this is one of those books that will really work for some readers—especially those who enjoy intricate, non-linear storytelling and don’t mind piecing things together as they go. It just didn’t quite land for me the way I hoped. Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

I genuinely dislike giving anything less than 3 stars. I can tell a lot of work went into this book.

The cover and title caught my attention immediately. Then I read "necromancer" and new I wanted to try it. The premise was SO cool. Some very neat ideas and fun worldbuilding, especially around culture.

Which probably made it even more disappointing when I struggled to get into the actual plot. Some of this is a "me" problem - I get frustrated pretty easily when I have to hold too much in my head. So, for me, the timeline jumps and constant shifts in point of view made it hard to get invested. Every time I started to connect with a scene or character, the story ran off of me. The worldbuilding was dense and an overall strength, but there were still places that felt unclear. Instead of deepening the experience, the different layers and multi-threaded plot left me feeling pulled in too many directions. I also struggled to connect to the characters even though their challenges should have anchored the story.

This is the first in a duology. I think (hope?) there’s a chance the second book will clarity or help deepen the characters. I ended up frustrated but I saw enough promise of something good that I would consider picking up the sequel.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Maria Z. Medina for the opportunity to give an honest review on the ARC.

Soft DNF for now - I just can’t get into this story.
I mainly think my issue is with the writing style, it’s just a touch too flowery for me!!

Thank you so much, Wednesday books, for the eARC.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Mistress of Bones by Maria Z Medina
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Dark Fantasy
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: August 5, 2025
📖 329 pages

🖤 Romantic Subplot
✨️ Necromancy
📚 Lush World Building
🗡 Enemies to Lovers
🍻 Multiple POV
⏳️ Nonlinear Timeline
⚫️ Devastating Betrayals

When a necromancer's sister turns to dust after stepping foot on a guarded island, she must work with her enemy and a group of strangers in order to retrieve a bone from her sister to resurrect her once more.

The prose is absolutely gorgeous and the world-building immaculate, but I did find myself feeling a little confused by the abrupt changes of POV and timelines. We bounce back and forth a lot and it's not always clear initially whose POV you're reading in. The characters were interesting and fleshed out well, and I enjoyed eventually seeing how all of the stories came together. The end leaves you not necessarily with a cliffhanger but with a lot of unanswered questions. I'm hoping there's a sequel to answer these!

While this one had it's issues, I enjoyed quite a few elements of the story and I'm certain there are many who will absolutely LOVE it!

Thank you so much Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy!