So much fun; we've already put this book on our shelves and we can't keep it there. Good action, wonderful send-up, and great for the action-adventure fans.

3.5 Stars. This book is a really fast paced book that almost never lets up until the end of it. Its a sort of gender bent fairy tale retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" with Briar Rose being a beautiful prince who is saved by a princess and her grumpy friend. This does kind of mix in a little bit of the action romance and does have a sort of bitter sweet ending for all our protagonists, which is kind of annoying, but over all this is a fun jaunt that doesn't have much to add.

It feels like to me, it starts off as a bit of a buddy cop heist story with Fi, an adventurer hiring Shane to help chase down a 'treasure' was fun. It's also great that Fi and Shane become very close and their relationship becomes the emotional lynchpin of the story. I hope the sequel will be able to keep that up.

Because of that, the other relationships that develop are a little disappointing and do feel like there's a little something missing to them. I think each one has their downsides, but that both of them end up in a bit of a bittersweet (in one case, very bitter) place is disappointing. I do believe that this is mostly to do with it being a debut, and the author has some debut lumps, but I think for folks who enjoy fairytale retellings and some genre smashing, this will work.

*I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opi

Our middle graders and high schoolers will really enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

What a fun and adventurous story about two treasure hunters set in a world with queer normative society. More interestingly, the swapped retelling of Sleeping Beauty and action-packed sequences were amazing!! Good that this is a series, excited to see what Leslie has for us next.

Many thanks to Penguin Teen via Netgalley for the arc.

SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS STORY. I have been waiting for a retelling like this and nearly lost my mind when I started reading. I dove into this with every ounce of my being and was not disappointed. The characters were flawed yet believable, the plot was brilliant, and the world building was magical. I loved every aspect of this and cannot wait to read more from this author.

Fairytale mashups meet Indiana Jones in this immersive fantasy.

Content Warnings: spiders, death, manipulation and emotional abuse, curses, confinement

The Bone Spindle is a fun YA adventure book that doesn’t take itself too seriously. If you’re wanting action and fun character dynamics, you should consider picking this up!

Fi is a book-loving treasure hunter who has been working alone since her last relationship ended badly.

Shane is a tough, axe-wielding lesbian who convinces Fi to become her partner for one quest.

However, the two get stuck with each other for longer than they bargained for when Fi pricks her finger on a spindle while exploring ruins. After pricking her finger, Fi is bonded to the spirit of Prince Briar Rose, who has been sleeping under a curse for a century. Against her will, Fi experiences growing feelings for Briar while Shane is attracted to a mysterious girl she meets by chance during their journey. Witch Hunters, exes, and dark magic all stand in the way of Fi breaking the prince’s curse, but Shane is determined to help.

My favorite aspect of The Bone Spindle was, without a doubt, the dynamic between Fi and Shane. They start as reluctant business partners who end up appreciating each other more than a bit by the end of the book. Together, they fill the pages with lots of wit and snark to keep the reader entertained.

This book immersed me in its fairytale energy very early on- however, I wish there was more worldbuilding. Some of the worldbuilding felt hastily constructed and inserted in the story in places where it felt unnatural.

The author describes the book as her “love letter to… action movies that are like one long chase scene from beginning to end,” and I would agree that that statement is accurate. The endless action allows the reader to become fully lost within the pages of this book.

Overall, I was left with some mixed feelings. I didn’t love the writing style, worldbuilding, or romances, but I enjoyed the evolution of Shane and Fi’s relationship, so my overall rating is 3.25.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This reading experience was both an adventure and like piecing together a puzzle, and I had a monumentally fun time doing both.

Sleeping Beauty and Indiana Jones aren't stories I ever thought I needed mixed together, but I was wrong. Bone Spindle was fantastic! With Sleeping Beauty being a trend for retellings lately they are all starting to blend together, but Bone Spindle stands out in the best ways! I love the characters, and the world building. The romance is *chefs kiss*
I will be telling as many people as I can about this!

Reading this book was like watching a classic action movie that was starring teenage girls and written by someone obsessed with fairy tales. It was so good. Definitely pick this up if you want to go for a wild ride.

OBSESSED with this! Loved this queer, Indiana Jones-esque story! I can't wait to read more and see what else happens!

The Bone Spindle had a great hook that pulled me in, I love fairy tale retellings and one that was described as Indiana Jones inspired was one I had to get into. I loved the Point of view shifts and all of the characters were different and made me want to read more about them from their point of view. I loved the adventure and the ending left me wanting for more.

You know when a book completely blows you away and you’re speechless about everything because you’re just sitting there questioning your existence?
Yeah- this is the result if this book.

This book fits comfortably in the category of “liked it but didn’t love it.” Things I liked: genderbent retelling, treasure hunting, a ghostly prince who isn’t really a ghost. Things I didn’t like: Fi never really grew on me as a character, the relationships between characters just didn’t vibe for me, the “villain” was easy to identify.

Everything from the characters to the plot was just mediocre and I had expected so much cause it sounded so cool. It was supposed to be this adventurous mashup of Indiana Jones meets Sleeping Beauty and I guess my expectations were not met.

The one redeeming factor was the girl power that was shown in this book and I liked reading about the two MCs journey their way on their quest. They were smart and clever and demonstrated their intelligence multiple times throughout the book.

As debut YA fantasy novels go, I have a feeling this will forever be one of my favourites.

An addictively fun and adventurous plot that’s full of thrills! It’s really made me ache for more adventure stories in YA. Let’s make this the next big thing please.

I know I’m going to be actively climbing up onto my soap box to scream about how much I love Fi and Shane. They’re both so perfectly flawed and their narratives were incredible. The entire world and magic system is completely fascinating.

I seriously will be watching my calendar to count down the days until I can have the sequel in my hands.

This book is Sleeping Beauty-inspired but it completely different. It was fun, action-packed, romantic and not at all what I was expecting.

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

I really wanted to love this one, but unfortunately struggled with the pacing and the execution of the plot.

I'll start with what I loved:
- This was a queer-normative world!
- I loved Shane's personality and character arc.
- The imagery was gorgeous and I wanted to learn more about the world

Here's what didn't work for me:
- The instalove. The book immediately lost me at this point. "I've seen what I needed to see."
- Putting instalove aside, Briar Rose wasn't very interesting or compelling as a love interest.
- There were a lot of words and nothing happened. I felt like the pace was very stretched out and would have worked better if the book was shorter.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted eARC!

Fi hunts for books and historical artifacts. She’s been given a message to meet someone for a proposition. That someone is Shane, a treasure hunter that’s given up her inheritance to her brother. The two of them search the vacated woods known as the Witches Jewelry Box. Adventure and action make up most of the story along with the flashbacks and memories that build the characters’ backgrounds. Transitions were sometimes abrupt and jarring and the love between characters didn’t feel truly believable. Still a fun read, 4 stars!

This book is such a good mashup. Indiana Jones meets a gender-swapped Sleeping Beauty retelling. I loved the pacing of the plot, the characters were realistic, and the romance was a slow-burn. Definitely a must-read!