Wren has been having the worst week since forever. After getting betrayed and hunted, she discovers who truly is her mother, and she has a brother, aka twin brother. Yes, Wren has been through it. Unfortunately, she is short on time if she wants to save the kingdom. She has to trust her former nemesis, aka lover, aka enemy, Julian, and the king’s youngest son, Leo, for help. It’s a bit of an of an unlikely team, but they are all willing to do what needs to be done for the kingdom. 

I have been waiting for this book for months. After that shocking ending, I needed to know what was going to happen next. Thankfully, Ghostsmith picks up right after the book's ending. I wasn’t left in suspense for too long or confused about what the timeline was. And things were happening. 

I got to say that my favorite part was Wren and Julian figuring out their emotions for each other while they were trying to save the kingdoms without getting captured or killed. These two characters are very complex in their backgrounds. Wren and Julian each have their reasons for disliking each other again, but they can’t deny how much they still care. It’s just going to be hidden for awhile because Wren and Julian are very stubborn with their emotions. 

Besides Wren and Julian figuring out their feelings, there are a lot of questions regarding Wren's dead mother and twin brother. I won’t say much because it will spoil the story. Just keep your guard up.

+ Once I got this arc I read it right away because I loved Bonesmith. The world-building in this book is consistent and it widens up now that we meet Hawke, who is Wren’s brother. He’s lived a very different life from Wren where he is help making the revenants as Wren is on the opposite end trying to kill them. We get more information about their horrible mother, Ravenna.

+ I like how this story keeps moving forward with action, betrayal and the conclusion. I think it’s a great duology!

+ The story has a lot of things going on with Ravenna’s plans to rule with her undead army, Julian and Wren trying to forgive one another, Prince Leo trying prove himself, and Hawke coming to terms how his mother is not a good person and Wren might be the only sane family member he has. I loved that the romance didn’t overtake the story – I like how Julian and Wren eventually work things out in the end. I also liked Hawke and Wren’s story – it was hard to trust Hawke, but he’s got some issues to work out with himself and his mother. They eventually team up together and I love that for them.

+ And how can I not mention Leo who is as charming as ever and brought the humor in the story where it needed it since it’s kind of a dark read.

~ I honestly love how tightly edited this duology is and it wasn’t too long! But I do wish there was more time for Hawke and Wren to get to know one another. I was surprised at how fast Wren forgave Hawke but it did show how Hawke was basically abused and controlled by Ravenna. Still, I wish the siblings had more time to get to know one another.


My Thoughts:

I appreciate how nicely this story actually moved. I loved the action which kept me interested in the story. It’s a dark story about the undead but I also liked the discussion about the dead – one side thinking they need to be set free, and the other that thinks the dead wants to be close to the living. Wren’s mother is an awful person but I’m glad despite having two horrible parents she turned out to be a fighter who was on the right side of things. The characters are great, the romance was just enough, and it’s a great conclusion to the duology!

**review to be published on my blog nearer to publication date**

WOW! Bonesmith was a book that I just could NOT stop thinking about after I finished, so this sequel was one of my most anticipated of this year. It did not disappoint!

This finale made me extremely happy! I was a smiling, giggling, crying mess by the end. I finished it in one sitting! These characters are so fun and I absolutely loved how everyone’s journey wrapped up. It never felt slow, and the action kept on coming. I LOVEE when series finales give you a breather at the end, no rushed endings here!

Wren and Julian were incredible again, both their individual and relationship arcs were handled very nicely in this. Their romance actually took a bit of a backseat in this one which if you had told me before, I would’ve been wary about, but I thought the pacing was great! Leo was amazing and I loved seeing Inara get a more featured role, too. But the highlight of this finale was definitely Hawke and Wren. Seeing their bond develop (with some DEFINITE ups and downs) was so endearing and I’m really happy with where they ended up. The bits with the animal familiars were especially touching. TAIL???? I cried.

I think this world and these characters are so much fun. I don’t know if there’s more story to tell from this world but I definitely wouldn’t say no! Will be checking out the author’s previous series after this.