Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Just finished book 1 of the series and gotta say it’s definitely something unique and not for the weak. The story is well written but slightly lacks in world building department. The first half of the book had me struggling just trying to keep up with 6 different POVs. Once the plot got more established it was hard to put the book down.
Overall I liked the story and where it is going. Cannot wait for book 2 and hoping for a bit more spicy content along with diving deeper into character development as there is definitely a lot of potential.

With atmospheric tension, Blood Iron & Bone is a nail-biting kickoff to the much-anticipated fantasy romance series-The Lightbringer Series-blended with threads of prophecy, thick political intrigue, and forbidden magic. The world created here consists of minute details with a lot of Faes, various dark omens, and its heroine pursued continuously by both dream and destiny.

The story is about the life of a young woman, Aurelia Bartlett, whose prophetic nightmares make her believe they are more like memories rather than simple dreams. She has grown up feeling like she lives on the fringes, cloistered away in a small rural town with cold parents who have abandoned her emotionally, leaving her to want so much more than life's routine seems to have in store for her. Her dreams drag her toward an ancient prophecy, binding her fate with that of a forgotten realm and a winged prince.

Running parallel is the story of Andar of Áithrim, a prince reared under the weight of a prophecy that he and his betrothed, Princess Lark, are foreordained to balance their world once more, threatening as it is to fall into darkness. But as he starts doubting everything, dreaming hauntingly of another girl, so, too, does Andar begin to question his true destiny.

Her tales collide when Aurelia is abruptly pulled into Áithrim-a world of warring factions, political intrigue, and ancient magic. Secrets come undone: the meaning of the prophecy, her own origins, and the war that brews on the horizon.

As tensions rise, Aurelia is thrown into a fatal game of power, torn between duty, fate, and the stirrings of her own heart.

Aurelia Bartlett
Aurelia is full of contrasts, bold yet unsure, determined yet lost. Her dreams and visions mold her perception of reality into one in which she is forever straddling two worlds. Turmoil runs deep inside her: to belong, to be afraid that she was never meant for this ordinary life that she had been living. And these interactions with Andar and the court of Áithrim push her to question even further who she really is.

Andar of Áithrim
Andar is a prince born into prophecy and striving under the burden of expectation. From the frustration of feeling belittled by his father to his on-again, off-again relationship with his betrothed, Lark, it lends a three-dimensional quality to him and also one that begets sympathy. This longing-for agency, for a choice outside of prophecy-is increasingly palpable throughout the story as an inner struggle between duty and desire really appeals to him as a layered character.

Princess Lark
Lark is supposed to be the High Queen, yet she too has her insecurities. Confident in public, her private moments reveal a woman afraid of failing, afraid the prophecy has dialed the wrong number. The connection with Andar is for expectation, not love, further layering tension into the unfolding drama.

Supporting Characters
Fionn: Andar's childhood friend, a soldier of Áithrim, loyal yet pragmatic; he shows class differences in the Fae world.

Queen Regent Lasáir
Lark's mother, an influential player in the story, clings to belief in the prophecy when others no longer do.

King Regent Odáir & Commander Wáymar
The political ruling figures of Áithrim-the prophecy to them both guiding light and weakness.

It tends to the balance of power-from personal to big political sceneries. Suddenly appearing in Áithrim places Aurelia literally at the mercy of forces so far beyond her control. Perhaps one outstanding imbalance of power has to be in the relationship of Andar and Lark as it stands for expectation rather than any real connection; this will bring small rebellions by both.

I think the sealed or carved-out idea gets thrown around throughout the novel. Andar and Aurelia both try to work out what part they have in some big plan.

Aurelia has dreams that function as warnings or echoes of something from her past she can't quite understand. It's these blurred lines between reality and prophecy that drive much of the tension throughout the book.

Ultimately, Aurelia is driven by a deep-seated longing for connection and meaning. And for the first time in her life, in Áithrim she has an opportunity to be connected-but at what cost?

The court of Áithrim is full of tension-from power-hungry nobles to an external brooding force that waits to strike. Layering and consequence are added to this fantasy world through the complex political intrigue of the world.

Sera Foxe's prose is so lush and evocative that the reader is plunged into a world older than time but very much alive.

The settings are full of rich detail, from the mist-laden forests of Áithrim to the eerie dreamscapes of Aurelia's visions. Conversation is natural, with balance between exposition and character development. There are many good points of view by Aurelia, Andar, and Lark.

Blood Iron & Bone is an excellent start to The Lightbringers series, balancing deep world-building with an emotionally weighted narrative. It is in its deep characters, political intrigue, and in its main thread of fate versus free will that this novel rises to the next level.

Deeply immersive world-building. High emotional stakes with engaging character dynamics. A nice mix of slow-burn romance, prophecy-driven conflict, and action.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5 Stars)
Writing Style: ★★★★☆
Characters: ★★★★★
World-Building: ★★★★★

Trigger Warnings:

Blood and violence
Themes of fate and sacrifice
Political manipulation

Recommended for readers who love intricate fantasy worlds with rich lore.
Fans of star-crossed lovers and destiny-driven romance.
Those who enjoy court intrigue mixed with dark fantasy elements.

This book is very unique as it is Part 1 of a trilogy that is rapid-releasing throughout 2025. It’s perfect for Romantasy readers who don’t like waiting years for the next book to be released. It’s also co-written by 2 authors under the one name Sera Foxe. The storyline is rather interesting. Aurelia, a girl who feels out of place in the modern day mortal world dreams of a boy with wings and a land she’s never seen. Andar, a soldier and the prophesized king consort prepares for his marriage to the future High Queen Lark. Even though the prophesy says Andar and Lark have a fated love for the ages, they only feel like good friends. However the prophesy states that their marriage will save the world, so what do they do?

I love that the Fae world is more closely modeled on actual Fae lore than most of new books in the category these days. The Fae in this book are varied, having different features, sub-species, and gifts. There’s also separate mortal and Fae worlds that are linked with ways to travel in between. There’s also some recognizable elements like mortals avoiding a certain food and Fae revelries, lest they be enchanted into danger.

Unfortunately, the first two-thirds of the book dragged on. The chapters jumped back and forth in time, location, and POV frequently, then pulled together and explained a lot (but not everything) at the end. There was a fair amount of information that did not seem necessary and could be skipped to increase the pacing. However, with two more books in the series, they might be important to later events. There was also helpful information left out that would have made reading easier. For example, it’s never directly mentioned that Aurelia lived on the Isle of Man. There were only some general details about the area, like it’s an island with farms, and a few buildings mentioned that hint at it.

The ending was fast paced with a lot happening all at once. I was very frustrated by one scene towards the end. To prevent spoiling anything, all I can say is it was obvious there was a time the motley crew could have made everything way easier on themselves, but they let the opportunity pass them by. I assume this was done to allow for more drama later in the story, but it just made me mad that they missed such an obvious opportunity.

The book seems like it should be in the YA category. The main characters act like immature teenagers, barely ever speaking to any of the elders. Aurelia is 20 in the beginning of the story, yet she still lives with her abusive/hateful parents. Why didn’t she find a job and move out? Andar is a guileless pawn who seems to just go with whatever he’s told. He didn’t really have a strong presence in the book. I feel like they could have left him and the romance out entirely and it still would have been a good storyline.

I enjoyed the side characters a lot more. I hope we see more of them in the next books. Nova and Maw are humans brought to the Fae world through trickery, in order to become servants to the Fae. I find how they navigate the perils of being powerless in a land of magic to be fascinating. Cillian a member of the “misfit” company of soldiers has to also around being considered “other” as well. My favorite is Graymalkin the cat. He’s very loyal, following Aurelia around and trying to help when he can.

As much as I struggled with the book in the beginning, the ending intrigued me. I’ll be looking out for the next books to see how everything comes together in the end!

Thank you to NetGalley and Agency Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a chance to read this story.
*Releases 3\21\25⭐️

I am an avid fantasy reader and adore finding new stories that have a captivating bio and Blood Iron & Bone had exactly that.

Political intrigue, multiple pov, fated mate, found family, and betrayal.

Things I Liked

-the world was captivating
-Nova’s story line
-the way each pov seemed like ending on a little cliff hanger of its own.
-the glossary helps understand context through the book.

Dislikes

-pieces seemed to drag and sometimes it seemed like a chore to read.
-I did have a hard time with the 3rd person pov and it seemed at times it jumped in the middle of the character that we were following.

Recommend for fans of Multiple povs, slow burns, betrayal.

Can’t wait to see what comes in book 2.

Wow.. this book. What an adventure! I felt like I was sucked into the otherworld of the Fae and it was all I could do to keep up! (Which I loved)

The writing in this book was absolutely immaculate, and big kudos to the author for her writing, it can't have been easy with all the names and language.

I appreciated that although this story has some romance, the romance is not the main plot. I loved figuring out who was who, and how important each character was. Aurelia's story being the most interesting. The twist was fantastic too and I didn't see it coming!

My only issue was it was a little too many POV and I had a hard time remembering who's POV I was reading from. But I think that was also part of the fun of the book!

I can't wait to read the next one! I need all the answers!

DNF this book. I’m very sorry!! The book had all the tropes: Fae + Humans
Multi POV (6)
Curses & Prophecies
Magic & Powers
Fated Mates
Intricate & Unique World Building
Explicit Content but Sparse

But keeping up with the plot was just too much in the end for me! I made a New Year’s resolution to not continue with a book if it wasn’t giving me the feels as life is too short!

Good luck to the authors and I’m sure there will be people out there that will love this!

I enjoyed Blood Iron and Bone!

It took me a minute to get into the story but once it got going it was hard to put down.

There is a lot of names of things and places that I honestly have no idea how to say and this was a bit jarring alongside the six different points of view!

I did enjoy the story and the world building. I loved the twins/seperated sister idea though I could tell where this part of the plot was going.

I definitely would love to read the next book as it definitely left us on a cliffhanger and I am looking forward to seeing how this story plays out and wraps up all the characters and how they intertwined!

A thrilling, darkly atmospheric fantasy that pulls you into a world of magic, secrets, and danger. Sera Foxe’s world-building and character development are top-notch, and the stakes keep escalating in the best way!

2.5 /5

This book was really tough for me to get through. I first want to say that I felt that this book had a lot of potential, which is why I continued reading it, even though I struggled a lot with the formatting and editing of the book. First there were at least 5 main characters, that all had times throughout the book where their POV was depicted, however the reader needed to figure out whose POV was being described. There was also a lot of changing to the timeline, without much warning, which made it super confusing to know when the story was in the past or present time. I felt confused reading this book but love a prophesy and fated mate trope, so I wanted to see how this ARC ended.

All in all, the reason for the lower star rating is that I was way to confused with the multiple MC but no POV identification as to whose POV I was reading. The other reason was the confusion on the times lines. The writing just felt very jumpy and made it hard to get through and process what exactly was occurring.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC for this honest review.

This book was a mental workout for sure! There were six different POV’s to keep up with but it was sort of like a fun brain game trying to keep up with the twists & turns!

If you like books about fae and enjoy world building this is a book for you!

This book may be a skip if you enjoy lighter, quick reads.

4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨ Thank you to Sera Foxe & NetGalley for this ARC! All opinions are my own.✨

Blood Iron and Bone is a fantastical read that will have you by the chokehold. This book is told from six points of view, so it can be intense and a little intimidating at first, but stick with it because it's worth it! The story is intricate and keeps you guessing as the mystery unfolds. Set in a massive world filled with magic and romance, you will fall head over heels for these characters. I can't wait to read more from Sera Foxe!

Definitely an intense fantasy read! It was a lot to figure out and kept up with, especially with 6 different POVs but if you can follow along it feels like it’s setting up for something big! I do wish the romance had played a little larger of a role but that’s just me.

Blood iron and bone
- As there was a large number of povs there was a lot of information to take in straight away … which took a large amount of brain power to keep up with at some points.
- Good character descriptions and detailed world building.
- Good introduction to Aurelia’s family and unhappy upbringing. Adds depth to her character, with flash backs to her childhood.
- Three main characters Andar, Lark and Aurelia. Aurelia is human whereas andar and lark are fae from another world.
- Destined mates, fae (alike those seen in the cruel prince) and courtly politics make this an interesting read.

Other details
⭐️ magic
⭐️animal companion
⭐️some explicit content
⭐️ fae and human love story

I just finished the book and it was great! This book is a Romantasy with Fated Mates. Though in this first book it is definitely a slow burn in the romance factor. GIVE IT TIME! (Lol!) My only downfall to this book was trying to actively remember whose POV I was in when I put the book down! It has 6 different POVs and sometimes I had to go back and reread the chapter due to being confused. I really only began to keep up about 40% of the way into the book. It was a mental work-out just to keep up.
I can tell that this is the first book of the series with the sheer amount of world building (I loved the description of the other realm). The Author made me feel like I was walking next to the characters the entire time while describing the world around me.
I truly can't wait for the next book to be released. To me this was the perfect distraction I needed from reality. Slipping in and out of the minds of Fae.
Thank you NetGalley, Booksprout, and mostly the Author Sera Foxe for allowing me to read this ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Agency Press for the ARC for this book. I was really excited to read this book based on the premise. Fates, humans & fae, high queens and kings, curses - these are all absolutely some of my favourite things in books. This story absolutely had so much potential, but unfortunately it just did not work for me. The first 20% of this book was really tough to get through - a lot of info dumping, repetitive prose, and basically no action. I nearly gave up on the story many times.

This book isn’t a quick pull—you have to work for it. With multiple POVs, it takes some time to settle into the story, and I’ll admit, the first 200 pages felt like a challenge. But once I found my footing? I was completely hooked.

The way all the storylines weave together reminded me of Crash (yes, the 2004 film—I may or may not have gasped when I looked up the release date). At first, it was a bit disorienting, but as the threads connected, the payoff was so worth it. The twists kept me guessing, and I was fully invested in the characters by the time everything clicked into place.

If you love intricate plots and a slow burn that rewards patience, strap in—this one delivers. I went in unsure and walked away pleasantly surprised!

DNF @ 10%

I tried my best to like this book, I really did. Ever since I read the synopsis, I had high hopes for it, and my expectations just weren't met.

The writing style, in particular, did not work for me. I only read a few chapters, but the writing made me cringe on so many occasions. There was a combination of modern terms and outdated words that did not work well together, in my opinion, and it made the story really hard for me to read. The writing itself is also pretty simplistic, but at times, it felt like the author was trying to cover up this fact by using over the top words that felt completely out of place.

I also can't say I liked Aurelia, one of the main characters, from the few chapters that I read from her perspective. She felt incredibly cartoonish to me. I did not like how she kept saying that she didn't belong, that she's different, that she was special. Can we please retire this trope?

In the end, this book just wasn't one that aligned with my tastes, but I hope others can still find it enjoyable!

Most of this book was actually amazing. I love how the story progressed and while there was a lot of POVs, it was fun to have a bunch of characters to follow. There was a time during the book where I felt a small bit of boredom was nothing was really happening. Aurelia is probably my favourite character If not a little naive and her relationship was definetely good during the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

4 ⭐!

What a brilliant debut! It has everything I ever wanted. I can't sit to add this beauty to my collection

4 ⭐️ Blood Iron and Bone by Sera Foxe is a fantasy full of secrets and adventure. We follow our main character Aurelia who is in the mortal world and has always felt like she doesn’t fit in. When she is sucked into another world where she meets Andar, she immediately feels attracted to him. But one problem: He is engaged and soon to be married!! To none other than the next Queen 😱

Andar has always loved Lark, his betrothed but only as a sister, and when he sees Aurelia, his immediate attraction brings problems for him. He is a man of his word and he has promised to marry Lark. Dive into this epic fantasy of Blood Iron and Bone.

In the beginning, it’s a bit slow but it picks up. My favorite character was Nova and I enjoyed how she was portrayed in the story. I also loved the chemistry between Andar and Aurelia as this moved the plot forward.

You will like this if you like

✨ Fated Mates
✨ Slow Burn
✨ Fae Fantasy
✨ Other World

Thank you, NetGalley, Agency Press, and Sera Foxe for this Advance Reader Copy of Blood Iron and Bone.