This just didn't do it for me. It felt a bit info dumpy and too convenient like the author couldn't just show us stuff or work out how to get the characters to work stuff out. Great idea, just not executed in a way I enjoy.

The premise of this book sounded too good to pass up initially. Unfortunately, that changed a quarter of the way into this book. I just got stuck & I don't know if it was the writing/plot or if it was more of a me issues. I think that's part of the beauty of reading, some things hit and some things don't. I hate to say that for me, this one was a miss but I am so glad others seem to enjoy it.

Was interested in this topic as a paleontologist enthusiast. I felt the narrative could have been tighter, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Take a bad spy movie and age everyone down to make them dumber and more ridiculous. No thank you.

**Thank you NetGalley and Inkshares for the eARC**

As someone who grew up watching Jurassic Park and loving archaeology, the general premise of this book intrigued me.

Overall this book wasn't bad, but the writing could have been a lot neater. I am assuming this is the author's first book? There a lot o f concepts throughout that I think younger readers might have a hard time catching on, but the writing itself seems to appeal to a slightly younger audience - maybe preteen or early teen years.

It's a fun mix of archaeology and mythology with some suspense. Overall I think its a book that kids could get into, but I would be interested in seeing how more books in this series develop.

I held high hopes for this book based on the description. However, the reading experience did not quite match my expectations. I think it is easy to tell this is the author's first book. I believe she will improve as she hones her craft. This is not a knock as many fine writers have improved over time, Grisham being a prime example. A Time to Kill is my favorite Grisham novel. Even so, it is not as polished as his later publications. I imagine the same will be true of Ms. Evans. This book has a great protagonist and nice scientific facts. However, at times it felt more like an infodump than a riveting story. To be clear, it is not a bad book in any way - it just isn't a standout title either.

Great premise but the pacing was sloppy and the characters too over the top. It felt too much like a cheesey Bond film.

Here's the thing.

I don't really read sci-fi and I definitely don't read YA anymore. Something about the writing style just always screams YA in a way that doesn't really work for me anymore. So when I see YA novels pop up on here, I normally steer clear.

But I love dinosaurs, and I love dragons.

I was THAT kid growing up, and it's something I often forget until I'm standing in line for the Disney ride based on the 2001 film Dinosaur, or, say, reading a YA novel about paleontologists discovering dragon fossils in the Badlands of Montana. I'm a simple woman. You give me bones and I wanna know what the bones are and what they're about. And this is a great YA book about bones, what they are, and what they are about.

Now, if you're hoping for your dragon bones book to be more fantasy than magical realism, I don't know that this will strike the right chord. I'll also say some parts of this were a little messy. The pacing was great, but even for a magical realism plot, this book forced me to overlook things more often than I generally like. Though the were distinct in the sense that you're not likely to mix up our plucky 16-year-old protagonist with the good Dr. Oliphant, they didn't really have distinct enough voices to make the multiple POVs an effective tool.

Still, all in all, I enjoyed this. Solid read and the first YA I've enjoyed in a long, long while. Thank you muchly to NetGalley and Inkshares for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Totally ridiculous, unbelievable, and a bit messy at the end, but a ton of fun! I enjoyed every second of it and even learned a thing or two about paleontology, or at least I think I did. It's very possible I was enjoying myself so much I fell for a few fake dragon facts along the way. This book could easily find a home with a reader who loves fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, or mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley, Erin S. Evan , and Inkshares for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Bone Wars was a super fun YA adventure drama, great for fans of Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, and National Treasure. You can really tell that the author has a background in paleontology, and the history and context provided throughout the book really lended to the authenticity. There are a couple places where my suspension of disbelief was tested just a little, but I am absolutely anticipating the next book in this series.

Take a headstrong summer intern, add in feuding paleontologists, secret organizations with Dan Brown level secrets, strange fossils, and add in secrets from times past with globe-trotting adventures. It will be interesting to see what a second volume in this series will reveal!

⭐⭐⭐,5

The Bone Wars by Erin Evan is an intriguing novel that combines history, paleontology, and nonstop action... 

Montana in A.D. 2020, sixteen-year-old Molly Wilder finds a mysterious fossil with a wing structure, horned skull, and black bones. The fossil baffles experts and raises questions about its origins and significance. But just as the acclaimed fossil hunter Derek Farnsworth and the renowned paleontologist Dr. Sean Oliphant are attempting to comprehend the discovery, it's snatched away from them. In their quest to unravel the mystery, they embark on a global journey, tracing the breadcrumbs left by esteemed paleontologists of bygone eras.

Despite my initial hesitation due to some negative reviews, I found The Bone Wars to be a highly enjoyable read. The plot is gripping and reminiscent of a Dan Brown novel, with its blend of history, dinosaurs, paleontology, myths, and secret organizations. The book kept me hooked from start to finish, offering a thrilling and entertaining experience.However, there were some notable issues that detracted from the overall reading experience. Firstly, the frequent changes in point of view among the four main characters were poorly executed. It often took me several pages into a new POV section to realize that the narrative had shifted. Additionally, all four characters had similar voices, which made it difficult to distinguish between them. Despite these shortcomings, I believe that Erin Evan has great potential as a writer, and I look forward to seeing improvement in future installments of this series.

In conclusion, The Bone Wars is a captivating novel that combines history, paleontology, and action-packed storytelling. While it has its flaws, the book’s strengths outweigh its weaknesses, making it an enjoyable read for fans of adventure and mystery. I eagerly await the release of the second book in the series.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Wow! What a ride that was.

In this book, we follow a team of paleontologists as they uncover fossils, secrets, and truths about the world we live in.

I’ve read the reviews for this book, so I honestly went in without high expectations, but now I have to say, this deserves more love. I understand that many didn’t enjoy it because of the “information overload” but for me, it was done so seamlessly. I enjoyed learning new things (and I have done my own research along the way). Learning these things made me feel like I was uncovering new information with the characters. I love how the author filled us in with real facts while weaving fiction into it. I think that was beautifully done.

I like the group’s adventure in uncovering this “monster”. It was neither too slow nor too fast.

My only problem with this book is that there isn’t more action, but I expect there will be more in the next book (there will be a next book, right?). Some parts toward the end also didn’t make sense (e.g. the kidnapping & how easily they seemed to get over it). Also, I’m cringing thinking that they’ve handled so many delicate things without using gloves!!

I’m also not sure if it’s because of the writing or my own experiences, but I don’t feel sorry for Sarah at all.

Other than those small details, I really enjoyed and love this book. Looking forward for more!

There’s a little bit of suspended belief in this book but I honestly loved it! Is it believable that an organized religion would try to hide something like this from the world? History points to yes – or incorporate it somehow into their own religion. Throughout this book there is a representation of religious zealotry that may throw some readers – so if that’s you, you’ve been warned. I think the multiple POVs could be trimmed a little bit and you get readers might have a hard time connecting with the older characters (no matter how childish they may be acting).

"Farnsworth nodded. “Yup. Zealots are always frightening, religious or not.'"

I enjoyed our motley crew of paleontologists and hopeful paleontologist, Molly. I wasn’t expecting the person behind the big twist towards the end but I can definitely see how they were wooed to the dark side. I enjoyed all of the explanation and details behind the paleontology shown in the book. The technology that the crew were able to use (well, once haha) sounded immensely cool and something I would love to see used in person.

“'God’s will?” Oliphant barked a strangled laugh. Brave man. “And what exactly is that, Raley? Murder innocents while breaking rocks that make you feel bad? Sounds more like a massive tantrum with a high body count than an epic and righteous religious quest. But, as history has often demonstrated, those can be the same thing'.”

If you are a fan of paleontology, mythological creatures, and/or The Davinci Code then I believe you would enjoy this book. My daughter is REALLY into dinosaurs right now and if she were old enough to grasp this I would read it to her or have her read it. By default, that means I am really into dinosaurs too haha. It is cool that the author has actually spent time in this field – not a full paleontologist but she actually worked in the Denver Museum of Natural History. Which is really cool – because that’s the museum I’ve been visiting since I was a kid. I would like to thank Inskhares for the chance to read this fun little paleontology book flushed through with secret societies, traveling, clue following and mythology.

a perfectly serviceable start to a series, but it skews younger than i thought it would. reminds me most strongly of the old 39 clues series i used to read as a kid. but not bad

I have such mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I forever love anything about dinosaurs and Erin S. Evan manages to make this story feel like a cross between Jurassic Park and The DaVinci Code but for teenagers in a fun way. The way the actual science and paleontology fields were portrayed was realistic and intriguing but easy enough to understand that the story didn’t get bogged down by minute details. And the DaVinci Code/secret society thriller aspects of the story kept the plot moving at a quick pace so I didn’t have a hard time feeling compelled to keep going.

That being said, I did struggle through parts of this book. For one, each POV is written in the first person and at times I found that they started to feel too similar. I also couldn’t get over the fact that our main character was 16 and jetting off all over the world without checking in with her dad. And like the book even acknowledged that she knew her dad had no clue and would be pissed if he found out.

While this wasn’t a hit for me, I think this book would be a good introduction to sci-fi thrillers or hard science elements for young adult audiences.

Hard Sci-Fi meets young adult. This book kept me engaged from start to finish. This book spoke to my inner child. When I was a child I dreamed to be an archaeologist.

This was a slow read for me, however the story did keep me engaged.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of the bone wars. I lost this during the crash a while back. i did get the chance to read it separately. this was interesting, we jump through different times and even see some cool stuff. like dinosaurs. so if you like Jurassic park with a spin this is it.

This book was all over the place. I'm not sure if it's a teen, YA or adult fantasy novel. I lean towards the YA, considering the POV of Molly, but I think that audience will not connect to the older characters' POV's in the other timelines, especially since it is difficult to differentiate who's who at first.
The premise sounded great, and to be honest it is, and you can see that fossil hunting is one of Ms. Evan's passions because the knowledge bleeds through. That's also kind of a problem because we get showered with information that, in my opinion, does not matter and bloats out the book (even though it's barely 300 pages).

I finished it, but had to struggle through. The writing was below average, but Ms Evan has potential. It's very apparent that it is her first novel, but the ideas and the story are there. With some proper editing and a good team in general (and IMO a re-write), this could become a great book and a good YA series.
At the end of the day however, I feel that I've read a beta manuscript instead of a full-fledged novel.

I thought this book was good but definitely could have been a tad better! Otherwise ld good read
and wow purchase as a gift for my family and friends!