.If I’m being truly honest, I think this book is a three star read. I’m choosing to give it four stars, however, because it is the first book of a series and I was really into it after the 60% point. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like everything before that point but it was just more on the dull side.

There are three main characters and four kingdoms so that requires A LOT of world building. I really appreciated that Sebastain didn’t do a ton of info dumping, which is something often seen in YA fantasy. She provides the information about the characters and the world in a very natural way but it led to a lot of telling and not showing; basically, a ton of conversations between characters with little true action.

This book was also slightly confusing at times because of the multiple POVs. The sisters, Sophronia, Daphne and Beatriz, all have their own voice but it took me until about halfway through the story to really be able to tell them apart. Sophronia and Beatriz especially were much too similar, in my opinion.

However, I loved everything else about this book. There were so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. Each character had their own agenda and some of the things they did were very surprising. As I said above, the world building was really well done and I especially liked the star magic. It’s a unique magic system that gives the story a strong fairytale vibe. There wasn’t much romance but it’s clear that this book was laying the groundwork for some really interesting future relationships. Overall, Castles In Their Bones is a great book and I can’t wait to read the rest in the series.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. It took me a minute to really get into the swing of it, but I found myself becoming fond of all three princesses and their princes, in spite of all the treachery and betrayal and scheming. The ending left me thoroughly unsatisfied, but only because it’s going to be a long time before I can read the next book!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children's/Delacorte Press for allowing me to read and review this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Daphne, Beatriz, and Sophronia are triplets who were destined and trained since birth to rule over their own kingdom. Each sister is sent to three different neighboring countries to spy and cause irreparable damage to the courts they are in and start a war. Little do they realize after settling in and getting to know their courts and betroths, they would each have difficulty following through on their mother's plan to kill and rule all.

Ash Princess is one of my favorite trilogies and I was worried my expectations would be too high for Laura Sebastian to reach.

I am utterly and completely wrong.

She had reached them and also surpassed them. She is a Queen of building up the story and leading you off the highest of cliff hangers. I feel very betrayed and a little mad at that ending. How could you do that to us? I am in denial and I will not accept what happened to a certain person at the end of this book. There's no way I'm believing it happened.

Sigh... the curse of reading an ARC is now I have to wait very impatiently for its sequel.

I do have to say Daphne was my least favorite POV to read about. Each sister has their own POV and in the beginning it was difficult to tell them apart but as the story went on it became easier to separate them. I like Leopold and Bairre but I had a hard time liking Pasquale but he redeemed himself more towards the end.

The character development overall is really good and I absolutely love the world building. Laura Sebastian just knows how to tell a gorgeously dark and exciting story. The twists are great and I'm mad at a certain love interest who is now a butt.

Highly recommend this book!

5 stars

Triplets have been raised since birth to marry the Kings or Princes of 3 foreign countries. The goal? Why to bring the countries down from within, making their mother the Empress, of course. This story is told in three points of view (one for each sisters) and is utterly intriguing from page one! Each sister is either married shortly after arriving in their "enemies" kingdoms. After years of planning, the girls think that they will have destroyed their respective countries before the year is out, but things don't necessarily go to plan. I loved the premise behind the story, how each princess had her own personality and challenges. The world building was great, the characters were in 4 different countries throughout the novel and I thought it was really well done. This was a really enjoyable read and some great twists and turns. This will definitely keep you up past your bed time.

Oooh what a fabulous read! The second I saw it on preorder, and saw the cover and the blurb, I knew I needed to read this ASAP and I am sooo grateful to NetGalley for making that happen! A beautifully written royalty themed story, with sisterly love and intrigue! What else do you need?!

Triplets Beatriz, Daphne, and Sophie each have one mission: infiltrate their respective kingdoms through their marriage contracts to the royals and weaken their countries enough that their empress mother can swoop in and reunite the entire empire under her rule. If they succeed, they’ll be back together within a year, and all will be well. And if they fail…well, their mother won’t let the fail.

Beatriz gets sent to a kingdom where the stardust magic they use is outlawed to marry a prince who isn’t interested in her charms (but the lecherous king is). Daphne sets off to a cold and colorless country of warlords to marry the sickly prince amid the country’s growing unrest. Said prince is dead by the time she arrives, but luckily the king has another son—a bastard who doesn’t like her and never wanted the throne. Lastly, Sophie goes to marry a man who is already king, a man she might be in love with going by the letters they sent, but a king who seems to be running the country into the ground.

I loved Castles in Their Bones. The plots were devious and the twists wonderful. It was a bit hard to keep track of each kingdom at the beginning, but that is my only complaint. Other than that, Laura Sebastian wrote another wonderful book one that takes readers on a journey they won’t expect.

Castles in Their Bones follows Princesses Beatriz, Sophronia, and Daphne, triplets who are each sent to different kingdoms and their betrothed. Their tasks are to initiate their mother’s plan to drive the kingdoms to war with each other so that she can sweep in and take over. However, nothing goes according to plan, and as the princesses become more ingratiated in their new worlds, political intrigue, lies, betrayal, conflicting feelings, and harsh leaders and societies prove problematic. Will Daphne, Beatriz, and Sophronia complete their missions, or will they go against their mother and face her wrath?

The story is told from each of the sisters’ points of view, which I liked since they spend much of the book in different kingdoms. Daphne, Beatriz, and Sophronia are well-developed, layered, morally grey characters, and they each go through so much throughout the story. The sisters were raised to take over the kingdom, and they were trained in espionage, poisons, coding, fighting, seduction, and more. They each have special strengths but quickly realize that it will take much more than that to enact their mother’s plan.

I like how Daphne, Beatriz, and Sophronia grow and change and start to think for themselves once they are out from under their mother’s clutches. They begin to question and think about how their actions and the actions of their mother will affect the kingdom. Though their mother shows an immense thirst for power, the triplets look beyond that. They develop relationships in their respective kingdoms, and these connections change them and influence their actions. They also don’t seem to have the excessive ruthless immorality that their mother exudes, though this varies with each sister. I also like that, even though the triplets are very different, they still share a deep connection and are very close. That’s not to say that there isn’t rivalry and tension between the triplets, but their bond remains strong. The themes of sisterhood and sibling love are strong throughout the story, even though the sisters are not together for most of it.

The three kingdoms that Beatriz, Daphne, and Sophronia journey to are vastly different from each other. They are each so vivid and detailed with their own unique landscapes, customs, lore, and beliefs. The kingdoms stand in sharp contrast to each other in many ways. However, there is a lot of political maneuvering, backstabbing, and secrecy in each, which is fascinating. This story has so many twists and turns and surprising revelations, and the ending is intense and shocking! I was on the edge of my seat for the last chapters of the book and was stunned on more than one occasion by what happened. And the ending is one of the most shocking endings I’ve read all year!

Something else I thought was really intriguing was the magic system, which is not treated the same in each kingdom. Revered by some and shunned by others, it’s interesting to see how these different places treat magic and people with power. What some see as a gift, others see as a curse, and it all seems so arbitrary and dependent on where you live.

I love a good romance, and this story has several unique love stories. I enjoyed seeing these relationships grow and change. Of course, relationships that stem from lies and deception are difficult to cultivate, but some bonds are too strong to break. The sisters each struggle with their feelings, which often conflict with their goals, and it’s interesting to see how they reconcile them.

I loved Castles in Their Bones! The characters are fascinating, the story and settings are so immersive, and the plot riveting. I would definitely recommend the book to lovers of YA fantasy, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and find out what happens next! Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Such a good story. I really enjoyed each of the sisters, and their character development. I'm eager to see where this story goes. I think Barrie is my favorite character though. Thanks Netgalley, and Laura this is a great book!

(I will be posting on good reads as well)

Can we just talk about the cover first? I love it! The colors they picked go well together and I do like the illustration of one of the princesses. It’s just beautiful.

I have only read one other book by this author and it was one that I didn’t enjoy much and so I never continued on with the series. Before requesting this one, I didn’t realize it was by the same author, but I am glad I gave it a chance because this book was a wonderful surprise!

The book is told from the point-of-views of the three sisters who are triplets: Daphne, Beatriz, and Sophronia. There is also one from their mother, the empress, at the end. Let me tell you, the queen from The Lunar Chronicles looks like a saint compared to this one, haha! The girls have just turned 16 at the beginning of the book and are off to new kingdoms to marry and enact their mother’s plans. Each of the sisters is different from one another as each one excels in different things as well as their personalities being quite different. I liked them all and it would be hard to choose a favorite. The places they are being sent to are different. The girls will have a lot to get used to since they aren’t together anymore. I feel for them. It would suck for everything to change after 16 years.

The beginning lines of the book are very whimsical and fairytale-like. I really liked learning more about their customs when it comes to the stars and constellations. Who knew there could be those who can pull down a star for a wish? The magic system was unique and each kingdom has their own rules when it comes to it.

There are many aspects that make this book quite intense. From the first meetings between the girls and their betrothed to executing the plans flawlessly. Not everything goes the way that it should and it makes for some surprising plot twists! I only guessed one out of them all and it was minor compared to the others. The ending was by far the most intense and I felt like I couldn’t read fast enough. Even while trying to fall asleep, I couldn’t help but think about the ending. I really hope that what happened didn’t actually happen but only time will tell when I am able to get my hands on the next in the series! I seriously need it now.

Besides action, this book also has a bit of romance. Not every relationship is as it appears to others. I did like seeing how the girls handled themselves in this new position as wife, princess, or even queen. It’s a lot for anyone to handle, especially at their age.

Overall, this was a really good book. I know I said a lot without saying much but it’s one of those where it’s good to go in knowing as little as possible. It makes the surprising twists all the more exciting!

I received a copy through NetGalley for review.

Man, this book is a wild ride.
Born of a Empress who was once an ordinary woman, a mistress of a King, who sought power and stole a throne. Three beautiful, cunning daughters were raised to destroy a kingdom. So their mother can move in and take them over when they fall. In a year they hope to be back home, together.

4 countries, 3 kingdoms they will go to. One is wild, another magic of the stars is outlawed- run by a mad king, the third ornate and ostentatious.
People called Empyera are born of the stars, with the ability to hear and see their patterns, with wishes they can even call them down, harnessing stardust. Which can be used to make smaller wishes.

Each daughter is given a duty to help tip their respective country into chaos. But they all begin in a way to question if it is right. And find their own power and if handing a country over to their mother after triggering catastrophic wars is right. They see the damage they will wreak if they do. The human consequences are more than they can handle.

But their mother has so much more going on. More than they know and they can't stop it. They are just pawns in a much larger game. The Empress is full of many, many secrets. And she's a stone cold bitch.

4.5 Stars out of 5 Stars. I was surprised how quickly this 500 paged novel went. I enjoyed it and it had a lot of Game of Thrones vibes. The Young Adult Fantasy follows three sisters, triplets, who are married off to different kingdoms and are going to sabotage them as a way to get her mother control of the region. I enjoyed all of the points of view and loved how many twists and turns Sebastion put within the 5o0 pages. I cannot wait for more in this series. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the early copy!

The premise is intriguing and I was quite excited to get to read this arc! We follow three princesses who are sent to their respective kingdoms to wreck havoc and start a war. I had no idea where the plot was going until the end, and even so it was still quite devastating to get there.

My biggest struggle throughout the book was following the three sisters. They each have their own personality, but it felt rather like telling instead of showing the readers through their actions as at various times, a sister will try to explain the difference between them. Each had different skillsets but ultimately I struggled to keep their storylines apart which was pretty detrimental to my enjoyment of the book because I was pretty confused the whole time.

I'd be interested in the sequel now that the setting and characters have been established which should keep confusion to a minimum.

Thank you so much Random House Children and NetGalley for an eARC of this book!!

Castles in Their Bones is the first book in a new series. The book is about three sisters (triplets) who were all betrothed to prince’s of neighboring countries during infancy. The sisters, Beatriz, Sophie, and Daphne, have been raised by their mother to infiltrate the courts of their betrothed and cause war to occur between the countries. The plan is for the Queen (mom) to be able to sweep in and take over all the countries to form an empire and make herself Empress.

The book is a little slow paced in the beginning and it switches POVs between the sisters. It can get confusing until you get a grip on who is where. I really enjoyed the story and how the sisters were working as spies but developing feelings and Independent thoughts from mom’s agenda.

The book definitely has plot twists and the ending was such a shock and cliff hanger. I will be reading book 2!

Thank you so much Random House Children's for allowing me to read this book early! From the moment I first started reading I knew this would be a book that I’d throughly enjoy and I was correct! This is a tale of triplet sisters who are trained knowing that once they are sixteen they will each be sent to different countries to help destabilize those in power so their mother can swoop in and take over.

Each sister has tasks set out that they must accomplish, yet there are those who start to second guess what they are doing and things don’t go according to plan.

This is a book full of secrets, intrigue, and mystery. I could not put it down! The ending had me SHOOK!! I cannot wait until the next book. When I tel you this is a must read it is a must read!!

I thought this was a good start to a new series. It took me a bit to get the three sisters straight since the chapters alternate and there's three sisters and the three different kingdoms and princes that they interact with. But it didn't take long to keep it straight. There was a lot of romance, magic elements and so much scheming. I'm interested to see how the story turns out as there's a lot of moving pieces in just the first book.

Three princesses and three princes? Need I say more...This book had all of the feels and had me captivated at every turn. I loved the plot and character development of Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz. It was so great watching them each become their own person away from their mother, who only saw them as a pawn in a larger game.

I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a book with a lot of twists and turns. I will be awaiting the second book in the series to see what happens next.

I received an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review. I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy.

This book is designed for fairytale lovers at heart, and that’s what I love most about it. My biggest book weakness are anything involving princesses, castles, far away kingdoms; give me ALL the fairytale tropes. So obviously when I saw this was a book about three princesses, I jumped at the chance to request an arc. I feel like fairytales are often underrepresented by mainstream publishing companies (the majority of fairytales/fairytale authors are either indie or self published and release ebooks through the kindle unlimited program) so it’s always refreshing to see an actual fairytale coming from a big publishing company, and one that surprisingly isn’t Bloomsbury this time!

This book was a bit slow to start and takes too long to set up the story. However, this book truly is designed for fairytale lovers, so if you are captivated by kingdoms, princesses, and royal life, the pretty world building will be enough for you to want to keep reading. I also love that there are three princesses with three different personalities, in three very different kingdoms. The chapters switch back and forth between the three, transporting you to different kingdoms and different political situations.

However, plot wise, this story was just too slow for me. It clearly is book one in a series and this book is clearly designed to setup the story. The problem is that this plot did not need an entire novel to set up an intro; all this could’ve been done in half a book or less. This entire thing could’ve been condensed in with book two and the whole book consisting of both plots could still be under 400 pages and perfectly well developed. It was just too much setup, too much of nothing. Pretty world building, but lacking in plot.

Does this book bring anything new to the table plot wise? No, not really. But the worldbuilding and dazzling setting is a big plus. Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

I liked this young adult fantasy novel, but I wasn't blown away by it. Laura Sebastian has improved in her writing, but I think her characters still need more context and there should be more world building than there is. But I did enjoy it nonetheless.

~4.25 stars
Three princesses are sent to three foreign kingdoms to be married and, unbeknownst to their new spouses, to take down the kingdoms from the inside. The princesses, Sophronia, Daphne, and Beatriz, have been training since birth for this; they know how to break codes, use poisons, seduce men, and kick ass. Once they destroy each kingdom from the inside, their mother, the Empress, will be able to take total control of the land.

I adore fantasy books where there is political maneuvering and espionage, so I was SO ready for the girls to carry out their missions. Here's the thing, though: the princesses, in all honesty, initially came off as somewhat inept. Don't get me wrong, I liked all three of them, and enjoyed how they were each masters of their own thing (Sophie, the brainy one; Daphne, the cunning one; and Beatriz, the seductive one), but once they arrived in their respective kingdoms, they started making some not-so-smart choices.

Obviously, these characters are teenagers trying to navigate an adult world, but they have also been training for this their whole lives. However, this issue was, mostly, remedied in the second half of the book, when the story picked up and some plot twists propelled the princesses into action. We then got to see them utilize their skills and individual strengths, as well as engage in some self-reflection and discovery.

Overall, this was a really good YA fantasy with an interesting plot and likable protagonists. The magic system was unique and well-explained, and I am very much invested in the princesses' story and plan to continue on with this series. I would recommend this if you enjoyed The Bridge Kingdom or the His Fair Assassins trilogy! Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this! Get your hands on Castles in Their Bones on 02/01/22.

Castle in Their Bones by Laura Sebastian is the dark fantasy we've all been waiting for. Get ready to hunker down in a comfy chair because once you start reading this book, you won't be able to stop.

The premise of this story is very clever, and the execution was superbly done. Castle in Their Bones revolves around triplets sent to three kingdoms to marry the king or prince heir and drive their people to war. The girl's cunning mother plans to sweep in behind them and conquer the kingdoms, uniting the continent under one ruler. The princesses have trained for their roles accordingly, and it was delightful to see their skills in weaponry, poison, forgery, and subterfuge come into play. I won't say any more on that account out of respect for prospective readers, other than the fact that it made for a phenomenal read!

In my opinion, there are three major aspects that distinguish a mediocre book from a fantastic one. These include writing style, originality of the plot, and the amount of world-building/character development that occurs. Castle in Their Bones hits all three of these marks and is one of the best books I've read in 2021. This is coming from a person who reads over 100 books a year, so this is no small praise.

The twist at the end was clever, and I know I'll be rereading the book several times to look for the hidden clues sprinkled throughout it. A Castle in Their Bones isn't without its flaws, but overall it was a fantastic read and one I'd definitely recommend.

I received an ARC courtesy of Random House Children's Books and Netgalley; all opinions are my own.