Wow! This is one of the best ARCs I have read in some time. It is a great first installment what is likely to be an amazing series. The book follows three princesses sent off to marry royals in other countries with the ultimate plan on taking over their kingdoms. True to Laura Sebastian's style there are plenty of twists and turns, even some that I did not anticipate that we see at the end. I won't spoil the story.....

If I had to give one critique, it is that the switching between points of view did not always seem seamless. But, by the end of the book I acclimated to the author's style.

Thank you net-galley for the free e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book ended up surprising me and the ending has a major twist, so I ended up bumping this to four stars. Castles in Their Bones has three alternating POVs: Princesses Beatriz, Sophronia, and Daphne, triplets who are each sent to different kingdoms and their betrothed. They were raised by their mother, an Empress, to help drive the other kingdoms to war with each other so that the Empress can conquer the entire continent. They have been tought how to seduce, how to manipulate people, how to use poison and how to fight, how to code, etc. Once they arrive to their respective kingdoms, however, their loyalties are tested as they grow closer to the people in their kingdoms, and as they try to discover what their mother's true goals are.

As a result of the setup of several different kingdoms, with different courts, and different cultures, I think this book did not dedicate enough time to really developing the personality of each sister other than the basic Beatriz is the eldest and a flirt, Daphne is cold and calculating, and Sophronia is the youngest and soft. I also felt that Daphne, whose situation was the most interesting to me, did not get as much focus as the other two sisters but it turned out there was a reason for that (no spoilers). There are some points in this book that really drag, but I do think the ending made up for that. It might be enough to keep me invested because I don't see how the second/third book could be anything but action packed but who knows. I also tend to enjoy books with a lot of court intrigue so I was able to stick with it. Additionally, while we are told that these girls have been training their whole lives, there were some very obvious court machinations and plots that should have been apparent to these girls but weren't!

But the ending....wow. Like. That I really was not expecting. It was pretty wild. Anyway Daphne and Bairre (bear) (no comment) are cute.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was a big fan of Laura Sebastian's Ash Princess series so I was excited to dive into Castle in Their Bones!
I very much enjoyed how the series was told from the 3 POV of the sisters: Beatriz, Daphne, and Sophronia (interestingly it was in the 3rd person). I find all the sisters to be well-developed characters with a complex, morally-grey view of the world and the task their mother, the Empress, has entrusted them with in 3 seperate countries. It was fun to journey with each of them through their betrothals to 3 different men that are from very different cultures to them and how they are able to adapt. The magic system and world building that Sebastian has developed was intruiging, especially because it was not treated the same in each country. There is a good bit of romance that happens with the sisters and each is very unique -- its fun to read about them navigating the challenges as they came into their relationships based fully on deceit.
This is a great YA fantasy book and I'm excited to see what happens in book 2!

This book wasn't entirely what I was expecting when I dove in. I expected some court intrigue, some assassination attempts, but we got that times 100. I thought the magic system (star dust/wishes) was super interesting, but not overly used throughout the story, which was a bit of a shame. Overall this story sits solidly in the LOVE column.

I loved all of the sisters, but the one who was surprisingly my favorite was Sophronia. She truly surprised me throughout the story because at the beginning I liked her the least. Her character growth and story arc was one of my favorites, as was Beatriz's. Daphne could have used some more growth throughout the story, but this was a foundation novel, so it was understanding. Ultimately all of the characters were really well written and well rounded.

Overall the plot was...honestly nothing I've seen in recent novels, but also not necessarily the most creative. The Empress of Bessemia marries off her three daughters to try and gain control of the whole continent...similar plot to several other novels where a ruler gets too greedy and decides to basically sell their only child. What made it for me was the characters and the setting and the author's writing. The writing was very similar to Sebastian's previous book, Ash Princess, which I adored.

I can't wait to see where this story goes in the future.

Empress Margaraux has wanted to take back the empire that her country once ruled over and reign over the continent of Vesteria. However, the once Empire of Bessemia has been divided into three separate countries and now are ruled by other sovereigns. However, Empress Margaraux has a plan. She has trained her triplet daughters in every art of deception and arranged marriages to three foreign princes so that they can weaken their new monarchies and give the Empress the chance to conquer.

The story starts as the three princesses, Sophronia, Beatriz, and Daphne embark from Bessemia. Sophronia is finally meeting the charming prince presented in her letters but instead meets a country torn apart by high taxes and ruthless politics. The beautiful, Beatriz, is faced with a mad king who hates the magic of the stars, and a husband not attracted to her. Meanwhile, Daphne is sent to the devastatingly cold Friv, where rebels plot to steal the throne and her prince dies only for her to be betrothed to his mistrustful bastard brother. As they delve into their assignment, all three wrestle with the difficulties of finally being on their own and the choices presented.

Castle in their Bones masterfully weaves the intricacies of three separate courts and all their players. Each sister has their own strengths and weaknesses, which these courts challenge and upturn every plan set in place before these marriages. This is what makes the story enthralling as each sister discovers more about the court than their mother's training could have prepared them for. Furthermore, the sisters have three distinct personalities and react to these changes in different manners; Sophronia wavers, Beatriz questions, and Daphne seeming remains steadfast to the plan.

Overall, this is a story meant for those who love political intrigue and deception. All three sisters use their separate talents to deceive the court, serve their own agendas, and ultimately, make their first move independent of their mother. Even though the sisters are separated by distance and their own journeys, Sophronia, Beatriz, and Daphne's paths are intertwined in a way that makes this a tale of suspense. Sebastian sets high stakes and delivers on some unexpected twists [ including Sophronia's benevolent plot leading to her demise, and Margaraux's revelation that all her daughters will die to bring about her grand scheme (hide spoiler)] that only make it more thrilling.

I recently finished reading this one and I totally enjoyed it! I was so surprised by the ending and it definitely left me wanting more. I can’t wait for the next book!

I ended up really liking this one. It seemed like a three star read for a while because it was a little slow but I really enjoyed the last half. I did get a little confused with the 3 povs/storylines but that could have been because I wasn't able to read bigger chunks of this book at a time. Overall, I do think I'll want to pick up the sequel.

I literally just finished reading this 5 minutes ago and my head is spinning. I was SO shocked by the ending, and the final chapter. I am dying for the next book and this one is even out yet. This one will definitely be sticking with me. Just wow.

First off, I want to thank Delacorte Press, Random House Children’s, and Laura Sebastian. I was lucky enough to be able to read a arc of Castles in Their Bones by Laura Sebastian and it was the Royal setting and characters of my dreams. I love the relationships between these characters and oh complex their situations are. Also what a ending!!! An easy 4.5 ⭐️.

<i>Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for providing me with a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. </i>

I immediately gave Castles in Their Bones five stars upon finishing it, dropped it down to four after a couple hours, and now that I've had a few days to think about it, I'm bringing it back up to five. It's really riding that line between "this is great but nothing spectacular" and "this story will stick with me forever."

<b>The Plot</b>
Triplet princesses Beatriz, Daphne, and Sophronia have been raised by their mother, empress of a small kingdom, to be used as pawns to ignite a war and conquer the neighboring countries. On their sixteenth birthday they are sent off to marry various princes and kings in said countries. However, the princesses soon realize their simple plan to start the war is not so simple once you factor in things like betrayals, alliances, love, heartbreak, and magic.

<b>The Good</b>
I love, love, loved all three princesses. They were all completely unique people with distinct personalities. I really enjoyed many of the side characters as well. I loved Pas, Beatriz's new prince husband, plus King Leopold, whom Sophronia married, and his mother are maybe not super likeable but they're great characters. Less time seemed to be spent with Daphne so I didn't care quite as much for all the people she was chilling with, and I wish we'd seen more of Empress Margaraux, the princesses' mother, but I expect she'll play a bigger role in book two.

The plot was thoroughly enjoyable. I would call Castles in Their Bones part high fantasy, part lite YA political thriller/drama with an 100% fairytale aesthetic. I don't read a large amount of YA high fantasy but to me this didn't feel stale, though neither did it feel groundbreaking. Basically, it was a lot of fun, I didn't want it to be over, and I can't wait for the next book.

<b>The Not-So-Good</b>
I'd have to get nitpicky to fill in this section; there were a couple minor little plot holes, some characters weren't as developed as I maybe would've liked, but those were very small things.

I will say, while I had no issues with mixing up the princesses themselves, I had a terrible time remembering who was in what country marrying which prince/king. An easy fix would be adding the name of the country next to each princess' name at the start of the chapter so I could've kept track of who was where. This was frustrating for the first 1/3 or so and then I get the hang of it.

<b>I highly recommend Castles in Their Bones to any YA fantasy fan, </b>particularly those looking for fairytale vibes and strong heroines who don't suffer from NLOG syndrome.

I was not prepared for how good this is! Three sisters, trained from birth to takeover kingdoms, master weapons, magic, and ruling. How could that not be awesome?! Each sister is great in her own way and watching them grow once they're out of their mother's sight was fun, exciting, and a bit sad. I so enjoyed this and now I'm already dying for the sequel.

The rotating points of view helped the plot move along and there are political games, assassination attempts, and some love that fills the story up. I loved how smart and cunning the girls are and the way they started making moves and getting people to follow them was a lot of fun.

I can't get over the ending, so many things I didn't see coming. This book isn't even out yet and I'd like the sequel now please.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all opinions are my own. Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the copy.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The basic premise of Castles in their Bones involves three sisters, triplets, who are sent to marriages in three different princesses. Their mother intends for them to provoke these kingdoms into war so that she can then exploit their weaknesses and conquer the whole thing. Intriguing premise, and immediately we wonder, will the girls go along with this ploy? Will their loyalties be tested?

This book is perfect for fans of YA fantasy, fairytales, and books that are heavy on political intrigue. There are betrayals, unexpected allies, twists and turns, and of course, there is plenty of romance. That said, the bond of sisterhood between the three girls is strong, and the most important relationships at the core are familial bonds.

I enjoyed Laura Sebastian's Ash Princess and some of the elements I enjoyed about that series are here as well. Moral questions about power, conquest, and the limits of loyalty and love are central to this book's themes as they are in Sebastian's previous books. I think Castles is a solid read for YA fantasy lovers and while it is not groundbreaking, it is a good entertaining read, and one I would be happy to put on the shelves of my classroom library.

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

Castles in Their Bones was hands down a wonderful adventure. It gave me Tangled vibes in the beginning and then turned into Hunger Games meets Game of Thrones in a way. No, there's no sibling romance but there's so much family betrayal. It's insane!

Each twist, turn, and secret coded message kept me fully engaged in the lives of the three princesses, Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz, and their mother, Empress Margaraux. From the very moment they were born, these three were trained and formed into the perfect bride for their prince. Well, almost.

Lurking in every corner, and inside them, was betrayal waiting to happen. Trust doesn't come easy in these kingdoms, but it also makes you underestimate your own family too. There was so much going on throughout this, that I wasn't surprised when certain things happened in a certain way. Mostly because it seemed like power was the main thing and once you had it - you wanted more.

In the end, I'm secretly hoping they have this kick ass plan to take down their mom. I also hope everyone is alive and well because I don't know how I will act if I find something is definite in the next book. I'm just sitting here freaking out because of the unknown. I can't wait for Laura to drop the sequel because I need it.

’m going to start with my obligatory shout-out where I thank the publisher, NetGalley, the authors, the editors, and the everyone involved in this book at some level so that it ended in me getting a digital ARC of it to read because. Holy. Shit. This shout-out isn’t just obligatory this time, it is very serious. I am very grateful to all of you that this incredible book exists.

I finished this book at eleven o’clock the night before writing this review, and I am still so hype about it. Look, if you know me, you know I am a sucker for court intrigue in books, and this book is chock full of it. First, you have to know that we have three point-of-view characters (well, four, but the fourth only has the final chapter, so I’m not counting it), Beatriz, Daphne, and Sophronia. So when these amazing ladies leave their home to their new kingdoms to marry crown princes and kings, we get to follow each of them on their journey. That means we get to see the individual intrigues of each of these courts. Rebels, embezzlement, crazy people on the throne, poison, assassination attempts, secret lovers. This book as it all because each country has its own heaping mass of problems. But above all of that is the overarching plot of Beatriz, Daphne, and Sophronia having instructions to work behind the scenes to undermine their husbands/fiancés and/or fathers-in-law in order to help their mother Empress Margaraux (that fourth POV character we get in the last chapter) gain power over these other countries so that she can rule the whole continent… I know, right?! There’s so much drama, I can’t even put it into words.

Plus the love stories! Despite the princesses going into similar situations of arranged marriages, they have three very unique love stories, and so do the people who orbit them. Enemies to lovers? Got it. Arranged marriage becomes true love? Got it. Falling for someone other than the man you’re married to? Got it. Friends to lovers? Got it. Secret love? Got it. Seriously, what doesn’t this book have? It’s even got an incredible and unique system of magic that I am just obsessed with.

Castles in their Bones isn’t even out yet, and I already can’t wait for the sequel to hit shelves.

Castles in their Bones is a new release in February 2022 by the same author as Ash Princess! I was able to get an ARC from @netgalley, and let me tell you, this book was absolutely fantastic!!!

5/5⭐️

You have it all, enemies to lovers, sisterly bond, magic, the evil stepmother, political intrigue, betrayal, revenge, mystery, and so much more! There is a super unique magic system based on fallen stars that gives me Greek mythology vibes, I loved it so much! The story is based on 3 sisters (triplets) who are trained from birth to rule faraway countries where they must marry into royal families. Each of the sisters has a story to tell, and when they travel to their respective countries they become Princesses/queens and must deal with their new roles in a foreign land and court, which does not quite go as expected! The story is anything but predictable and kept me reading far into the night!

Book Description:

Empress Margaraux has had plans for her daughters since the day they were born. Princesses Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz will be queens. And now, age sixteen, they each must leave their homeland and marry their princes.

Beautiful, smart, and demure, the triplets appear to be the perfect brides—because Margaraux knows there is one common truth: everyone underestimates a girl. Which is a grave mistake. Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz are no innocents. They have been trained since birth in the arts of deception, seduction, and violence with a singular goal—to bring down monarchies— and their marriages are merely the first stage of their mother’s grand vision: to one day reign over the entire continent of Vesteria.

The princesses have spent their lives preparing, and now they are ready, each with her own secret skill, and each with a single wish, pulled from the stars. Only, the stars have their own plans—and their mother hasn’t told them all of hers.

Life abroad is a test. Will their loyalties stay true? Or will they learn that they can’t trust anyone—not even each other?

3.5 stars

I have loved everything that Laura Sebastian has written. Ash Princess was an amazing YA trilogy, and Half Sick of Shadows was an amazing standalone adult book. Therefore, I was BEYOND excited when I got an e-ARC of this book. I was literally drooling with happiness. You have no idea how much I was dancing around. I went into this series expecting to be four or five starring it. And then I started reading the book. And I was <I>disappointed</i>. I felt my stomach drop and my heart sink. I was imagining it right? I was hoping that I was imagining it. Because this couldn’t be one of my most anticipated reads letting me down, could it?

Sadly, it did. I struggled over what I was going to rate this book in the end, because the concept was fabulous. It seemed like something that I would adore – written by a favorite author!! How dare it let me down? And yet, there were aspects of this book that I struggled with overall.

First, the writing didn’t feel up to par as with <I>Ash Princess</i>. It just didn’t read the same – and something about it bothered me, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.

Then you have the three POVs, and sisters, all of which were very different, and had different personalities. I thought it was nice that you could see that they were distinct. However, the downside is that I was more interested in Daphne’s story than anyone else’s. I felt that she was more fleshed out of the three sisters.

Another aspect I struggled with was that I felt the pacing and the balance of intrigue and action just wasn’t working for me the way that I wanted it to.

I was absolutely desperate to love this book, and I just feel overall for me, the book wasn’t as good as I had hoped. There was something missing for me...and I don’t know what that spark is. No one is more disappointed that I that I'm not giving this a four or five star rating.

I am giving it a three, because I did enjoy the book. But I'm still sad that I didn’t love it. That ending though...that ending was something and gives me hope for the sequels!

I am so sad to finish this book. And that ending? Holy crap! It's going to be a long year+ until the second book is out.

I loved the Ash Princess trilogy, but was wondering if I would like everything else by Laura Sebastian. I think this book answered my question and I'll be buying everything the author writes.

There are points of view from all three triplets. Sophronia (Sophie), Beatriz (Triz), and Daphne have been raised with a goal since birth. Their mother, the empress, betrothed them to three princes right after they were born. The goal was to go into these countries and cause problems/war. Then the empress would come in and take over everything. The girls weren't raised with love, but each wanted to do what their mother said was right. She convinced them that it was the best way for everyone. Beatriz is the beautiful flirty one that can use that to get what she wants. Daphne is good with poisons. Sophronia is good with codes. Sophie is the soft one. The weak link and my favorite. She was falling for her betrothed just by his letters, but she was still determined to do her duty.

When they end up with their princes, things aren't as easy as they thought. Sophie does fall in love and questions her moms plans. One of the princes dies and will be replaced with another person. And one prince isn't into women which is illegal in their country. There are rebel groups and people working together secretly. The empress is into everything and doesn't always update her daughters. For her, winning is everything and she doesn't care if her children end up hurt.

There is a unique magic system based off the stars and stardust. It's illegal in one country. The girls are star born, so their eyes are silver. One girl must hide that with eye drops. Anyone caught using magic in her country is killed right away. One king is going mad. Things are just a mess everywhere.

I loved everything about this book. The sisters are all very unique and so are their princes. The empress is evil. There is a lot of magic, politics, friendship, betrayal, and even love.

I gave this book 5 stars and it's a new favorite. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy.

Warnings for blood, death, fighting, poison, talk of sexual assault, parental abuse, mentions of sex.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!


Man, I really love the concept for this book.

Three sisters and each daughter is given a duty to help tip their respective country into chaos so their mother can take control.

Each country is a little different their beliefs and their culture, so it was fun to experience them all.

It did feel like it took a little long to get into each story as we were switching between three POV’s. So, the pacing for me was a little hiccup in the beginning. I did eventually get dragged in (60% into it) and like the story though the sisters still seemed very similar to me. There is insta-love but there are also plot twists and betrayal. I do like that each plot for the sisters is different.

I will start by saying I am not a fan of present tense but that is my own thing.

I loved loved loved the magi system. I thought it was fun and creative.

The book leaves you on a cliffhanger so I will be getting book 2.

This book is full of political intrigue with three sisters sent to neighboring kingdoms to marry and eventually turn their countries against each other in war so their mother can reign over everything. But things don’t go according to plan and it turns out their mother has betrayed them.

Sophie falls in love with her King and chooses to help him help his country and then save his life, fully knowing she will be executed after she figures out her mother’s betrayal.

Beatriz has the power to call on the stars but doesn’t share this info with many and finds out the kind is being poisoned and her Prince is gay. However his cousins work against him with Beatriz mother to take the throne and send them to the mountains.

Daphne’s first Prince dies and then she gets another and it turns out he’s working with the rebels and doesn’t want to be king. But her mother is working on assassination attempts to kill Daphne, who is her most loyal daughter. But so far she remains alive.

The mother’s betrayal is slow building as secrets start to spill and I loved reading about the sisters finding friendship and love. I’m not certain I believe Sophie is actually dead. Daphne is probably my favorite I like how put together and resourceful she is but Beatriz is a close second.

Overall great book. Thanks NetGalley for an ARC.

Castles in Their Bones is a solid follow-up to the fantastic Ash Princess series. Told from the perspective of 3 princesses who have been trained and dispatched by their mother to aid in the destruction of nearby kingdoms in order to create one dominant empire. Having this many alternating narrators, along with their subsequent experiences, places, relationships etc...can be a bit confusing and it does take a some time to get acquainted with the myriad of characters. The story itself suffers a bit from a lack of originality in that this trope has been done several times before. There are also pretty implausible character arcs, which with greater time (perhaps without 3 separate stories going on) could have been written with greater nuance. However, the ending twist packs a pretty big punch, and really sets up a potentially exciting and unique sequel. Overall, as a fan of the author, I was excited to read a new series, and I am now highly anticipating book #2.