I started out really enjoying this book, but then it fell apart. Some of the risks it took didn’t pay off, and while the atmosphere and world was really interesting, the characters fell flat for me and seemed underwhelming.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

If I’m honest I struggled to read this and stay entertained. I didn’t find myself enthralled by the story it’s definitely unique but I was really bored and just couldn’t connect with the characters and if I did I lost interest in them midway through. It’s unique though just not my taste.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

This thriller was exactly what I expected in the sense that I was intrigued from page one and could not put it down!
Great book characters were intriguing ! Highly recommend

I loved this book! I was very excited to read it when I first heard about it and I’m so glad that I enjoyed it so much. It did not disappoint! The beginning is full of action and tension that keeps you reading and asking questions. The characters are great and you want to root for them the whole time. I thought the setting was so well done, the descriptions of the landscapes are captivating and add another layer to the book. The mix of fantasy and sci-fi was really cool! Overall, the story was fast-paced with a great cast of characters and wonderful writing! It was a fun read!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding in this one. Strong characters and interesting premise, I would read more in this world!

I gave Blood Metal Bone a three star rating. I enjoyed this book but it wasn’t a favorite. Unsure if I would want to read more about these characters or not at the moment.

I was very excited about this title, but I have had difficulty getting into the book. I have currently marked as DNF, but will be reattempting in the future as I am a mood reader. However, from what I did read I really enjoyed. I think the main problem for me was the book didn’t instantly hook me and I felt like I was having to work a bit to get started on this story. I am excited to try this book when I am in a different headspace and will be updating my review.

I genuinely enjoyed the world building of this book but I was aching for romance, something I thought this book would include but instead I’m met with a slow pace, no romance and kind of a lingering want of -more-. I think it’s got amazing bones and I can see inspiration from amazing books like Six of Crows, as it is a dark adventure for Sonara but I’d have liked more character and less plot as it developed. Especially with it being so slow you’d think that you’d grow to love the characters.

3/5 Stars

This just was not the book for me. This book was a lot honestly. I felt bored as a lot of the things that happened I felt like I saw them coming. I think the ideas were there and just weren't executed well. I kept wanting to put the book down and would lose interest quickly. I'm just going to go ahead and just say that I just don't think the writing was for me and that affected my enjoyment. However, as I said before there were some good points to the book and even rereading the synopsis it still sounds interesting so do with that what you will.

I love the way Lindsay builds this world and the characters that she has built into the world. A great read!!

While Lindsay is a much better writer on her own. The genre that she writes in isn't one that I find myself drawn to. But like her previous single author titles you get sucked into the story. And it feels like you are actually there.

I decided to go ahead and finish this book after setting it aside for a long time. I really wanted to like this book and although some of the parts were interesting on their own, as a whole it just seemed to miss its mark. It seemed to have too many components to try to fit together and in the end it just didn't work.

Relentless thrill ride, the action never stops. Engaging fantasy adventure, a "mini epic" if you will. Intertwined storyline weave a complex tale rich in characters, emotion and intrigue.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book but it was not for me. I picked it up several times but I just could not get into it. The writing style was not for me

3.5 stars Rounded up

This book threw me off a little when I first started reading. It is a Young Adult Fantasy/ Sci-Fi story. It started with medieval castles, horses, and swords for weapons and then switched super quickly to advanced technology, international space travel, and weapons beyond imagination instead, which was pretty confusing at first. After reading about seventy-five pages into the story and getting the plot straightened out, I found that I liked the mix of new and old, it gave the book an interesting twist. It actually reminded me of the Movie Avatar a bit but with magic. This story was full of action, heartbreak in spades, and a couple of good surprises thrown in. It follows mainly two perspectives, one of which is Sonara, who is a shadowblood, which is a type of magic that I thought was a unique take on how characters develop magic in this world, her life is spent on the run after she is accused of murdering her half-brother the prince. It follows her desperate mission to find out what really happened to him. This book was full of heartbreak, betrayal, and suffering so just be aware there are quite a few trigger warnings. Overall, while I did enjoy this book, I found it a little hard to get into at first and some areas a bit confusing and jumbled, but still a good time.
Trigger warnings: abuse, torture, imprisonment, murder
I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

I dnf this book. I have read Cumming's books in the past when she co-authored with Sasha and those book were okay. When I started this book, it was great until the writing wasn't it for me and there was way too much sci-fi then needed. I was expecting this to be a fantasy story and picked it up because it said it was perfect for fans of Throne of Glass but was disappointed. It also could have been my mood during the time I was reading it because currently I'm into fantasy romance or just romance. But it can also mean that the author's writing is just not it for me. Don't let me dnf discourage you to read this book because it might be wonderful for you.

I read this as an ARC from the publisher.

I really wanted to like this book, but it seems to be made up of every tired YA trope possible with some old timey Western stuff in there for good measure and the Indigenous magic of the planet vs. a big corporation like Avatar and those all amateurishly thrown against the wall until it turned into an awful slog.

Not only is our heroine the chosen one, she’s also the daughter of not one, but TWO rulers on her planet so a DOUBLE PRINCESS but she didn’t get all the pretty from her mom and so she looks really unique and so people can’t see she’s SPESHUL and are mean instead. Almost every important person from the planet turns out to be from the local nobility. Not only does she have special magic, but she’s secretly bound to the very destiny of the world she inhabits and,…. Oh just spare me.

I read it all the way through, hoping it would get better. It didn’t. And every big reveal was handled with utter lack of foreshadowing. She just dumped a plot point she’d never mentioned before on you that changed the course of the whole story. Like huge information that someone would have mentioned.

I couldn’t even care about the big baddie because you don’t learn anything about him until 2/3 of the way through and then it’s all just magical handwave it’s DESTINY instead of having a coherent plot. Just no. I’m too old for this crap. I have actually read other books before. Better books than this. And I have seen literally every single trope and situation in this story done better elsewhere. Please go read those books instead.

I have read better fanfiction written by 15-year-olds. I'm giving this two stars for professional editing and presentation.

I first read Lindsay Cummings when she was a brand new debut author with her Murder Complex series!

This one is very different.

If you go into this (like I did) expecting a fantasy, you’ll quickly be shocked.

For me, I had to readjust and do some research to discover this book is a fantasy/sci-fi, and really it’s like a fantasy/sci-fi/western all in one,

Having said that though, if you’re a fan of sci-fi, this book will be a treat!

This isn’t a fantasy romance, or an epic fantasy, it is truly a sci-fi with fantasy elements and horses.

It was difficult for me to get into it at first, but as someone who isn’t familiar with sci-fi I don’t think I’m the target audience.

Definitely recommend to those into sci-fi!

It’s a rare book that has such a surprise, it makes you pause and reread the synopsis. These sorts of things don’t always go so well, but Cummings does it well. I actually couldn’t put the book down until I was sure we were still reading the same book and I figured out what was going on. Frankly, I ain’t mad at it.

Our heroine is wonderful. I love the darker powers here and that tragic past, which you would think would make for a big meanie of an MC, but there’s a good balance there where we can really see why her character is the way she is.

The magic and the world building were phenomenal, and I think a really unique take where we’re starting to see the same setting and magic systems recycled. Cummings took something a little out of left field but made it comfortable for readers like me who rarely stray out of their comfort zone.

Overall, I probably wouldn’t go out and buy a physical copy for myself, but I’m happy to have read this. I would say it’s a good book for YA fantasy readers who want to dabble in something unique without the whiplash of an entirely new genre.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this eARC! All thoughts are my own and given honestly.