Thank you so much to NetGalley and Alexandra Bracken for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Silver in the Bone coming out April 4, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Tamsin Lark was born without magic. She knows she is no match for the sorceresses and Hollowers who live in the magical underground of Boston. One day the only parent she’s ever known disappears without a trace. She has no choice but to pursue the enchanted relics to keep herself and her brother, Cabell—alive.

Ten years later, rumors are swirling that her guardian found a powerful ring from Arthurian legend just before he vanished. She runs into her rival Emrys who ignites Tamsin’s hope that the ring could save Cabell from a curse that terrorizes both of them. But they aren’t the only ones who need the ring.

As rumors spread, greedy Hollowers start circling, and many would kill to get their hands on the ring. Emrys is certainly not who Tamsin would choose to partner with, but she knows she needs all the help she can get. Together, they dive headfirst into a pit of dark magic, exposing a deadly secret with the power to awaken ghosts of the past and shatter her last hope of saving her brother. . . .

I’ve read a couple books by Alexandra Bracken. I really loved The Darkest Minds, so I wanted to check out Silver in the Bone. I think this book was a little too long for me. I probably would’ve enjoyed a more condensed story. It took a while to get into the Arthurian mythology of it. I did enjoy it more when there were references to that. I love King Arthur stories. I think things picked up action wise at the end, but there were times when I lost interest in the characters. I would give this book 3.5 stars if I could.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys slow burn fantasies featuring Arthurian legends.

I happen to love both Alexandra Bracken and Arthurian stories, so I knew I would like this one before I ever read it.
It was not what I was expecting, but that made it so much better. I loved all the plot twists and secrets that were revealed just as much as the legends that were woven in. This version of the tale of King Arthur and all of the things that followed was so interesting, and so was the magic system.
I loved all the characters and the way their relationships with each other evolve throughout the book. Tamsin starts the story as one of the most distrustful characters and her path to the found family they create was heart warming and relatable. And let's not forget our charming, moody rival, who has a special nickname just for her.
It was much creepier than I thought it would be, but I loved it. There were parts that I found myself holding my breath, hoping they would make it through.
I enjoyed this book as much as I knew I would, and I can't wait until it's out!

Was drawn to this book by the blurb. So I took a chance on this book and I'm so happy I did
I couldn't put it down at all I highly recommend it
5 star book and it kept me pulled into it big time
Not sure if I'm letting fan of the cover but oh well but on other terms I have told a few people that they need to read this and I hope they do

I really liked this one! Other than that cliffhanger... I need Book 2 now!!! The way this left off is pure evil, especially because I had this as an ARC. Now I have to wait ages :((

My favorite thing about this was definitely Emrys. Gosh, I loved him. I don't care how the end of this made him look. I still love him. The rivals to lovers between him and Tamsin was SO good. Like, ugh, so good. Talk about a slowburn. They were so adorable together, and I really hope we get more of them in Book 2.

I also liked the pacing of this one. I know that some have complained, but I loved how slow and contemplative the beginning was. It got me invested in the world and I loved that as I got more invested, the story got more complex. It was tons of fun! And the ending was EXPLOSIVE

If you're eyeing this one, I'd definitely recommend it! I've owned The Darkest Minds for ages, and this might be the reason I finally read it!

Thanks to Netgalley and TBR Beyond Tours for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Alex Bracken is one of my all time favorite authors. She weaves YA fantasy tales so effortlessly with humor and heart, and she did not come to play when writing Silver in the Bone.

Thank you to the publisher for the Advanced Reader’s Copy!

King Arthur retellings/books that incorporate that lore are not my thing. At all. I usually run from books with this just out of personal preference, but for Alex Bracken I will read anything.

And I’m so glad I did! I LOVED this book. The plot is well executed with magic at every corner, steady pacing, and plenty of action. Not to mention a cast of well-flushed characters that not many can pull off from the first person single pov that she wrote in!

Characters are one of Alex Bracken’s specialties. Especially in a group dynamic like in this one! They interact so organically and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next one.

Because there were some definitive plot twists that had me mentally unwell 😭

All the emotions were felt and I love this story.

Tamsin Lark would do anything to break the curse on her brother Cabell. Anything including going to look for their adoptive father who vanished in the middle of the night ten years ago. Rumor has it that Tamsin's father was the last keeper of a magical ring that could lift Cabell's curse. Of course, Tamsin isn't the only person set on finding the ring. As she sets off to beat others to the prize, Tamsin takes on alliances she never wanted to survive lands she was certain were lost to legend.

Silver in the Bone is a treasure hunt wrapped in Arthurian legend and cynicism. Tamsin has no faith in those around her or even in herself. But instead of dragging the book down, Bracken's world and characterization of this cynicism balances really well. Tamsin is not a particularly likable lead but she never tries to be and that plays off well.

The greatest strength of this book is the thought that Bracken clearly put into the world and the mythology there of. The sections that came through the most for me was the stories told of the past in this book. There was intent and care taken in the world building. This was were Bracken's writing was strongest. Moving away from the treasure hunting trappings of the set up and into the world that Bracken had created was so much more interesting than any other part and I could have stay in those parts for much longer even at the cost of the actual story.

I really enjoyed Alexandra’s book Lore, but this one was kind of a miss for me. First of all, the slow pacing. I also did not particularly care for any characters because they all felt one-dimensional. I wish that the book was less travel scenes and more action, and I think that this should have been more of a character driven book than one that speeded through the plot with so many details and revelations.

Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken snuck up on me. It is one of those novels I didn't know I was enjoying until something big happened. When it did, I was SO upset, and I knew Ms. Bracken got me. I love when that happens, don't you?

I didn't think I was enjoying Silver in the Bone because it lags in the middle. There is a big rush to get to a specific place, which is exciting and interesting. Then, the story drags as Tamsin learns everything there is to know about this place and the people who live there. However, the last third of the book makes up for the slowness, and the ending has more than a few shocks to make you scream.

What I love about Silver in the Bone is this new world of magic. It is unlike anything I've read before, with its magical community, Sorceresses, fae, monsters, curses, and legends that are real. Ms. Bracken adds edges of reality to her world by using genuine locations across England and touches on legends we all know, namely King Arthur and Camelot. The lengths Tamsin goes to not just survive but thrive in this world only increases my interest.

I also love Tamsin herself. We know she is fierce because she is one of the topic relic hunters in this magical world. We also know she is capable because she survives independently, caring and providing for her brother when their foster father leaves them one night. What we don't know but learn about her is how alone she is. We see the barriers she erects over her heart to prevent herself from feeling too much, but there is an emotional fragility to her all the same. It breaks your heart to see but invests you in her fate that much more.

Then there is Emrys. It is evident from the moment we meet him that Tamsin's perception of him is inaccurate. There is an entire story behind his behavior and actions, more than what Tamsin assumes about his lineage. Like with Tamsin, we get glimpses of the truth, and Emrys becomes a much more interesting character as a result. Then, Ms. Bracken does something with his character that still upsets me. There better be a damn good explanation for it, Ms. Bracken!

In the end, it turns out I loved Silver in the Bone. Despite the slow pacing at times, I loved it so much that it would have been a five-star review if it weren't for what happened with Emrys.; it loses a half-star because I'm still pissed. Tamsin's world is dark and dangerous, something I always appreciate and love, and Tamsin is one hell of a scrappy fighter. The ending leaves plenty of unanswered questions and a surprising plot twist I never saw coming. I can't wait to read what happens next!

I’ve read Lore by Alexandra Bracken and I didn’t care much for it so when this came up I was a bit skeptical. I had adored Brightly Woven when it came out so I was wanting to try this author out again, and I am SO glad that I did.

This book, after a quick prologue, is full of curses, adventure, and lore. Tamsin, our POV, is a Hollower. She researches and retrieves objects out of sorcereress vaults with her brother(who is cursed.) She is offered a job to compete against a rival Hollower and thus the race is on. I don’t want to give too much away since the book isn’t released yet but I definitely give this book a 4/5. Will have a more completed review once it’s released (:

I had a lot of fun with this one, we have Tamsin and her brother Cabal who is cursed and was abandoned by their foster father. They spend their time as treasure hunters, and when a job comes up that could pay enough for them to be set for a while and could also help Cabal with his curse Tamsin jumps at the chance.

This takes our group of characters to the magical place of Avalon.. and it's not what they thought or were hoping for. Enter a group of priestesses, a horde of the dead, and a whole lot of misdirection that have us suspecting everyone of everything.

I really enjoyed everything about this, the magic, our main group of characters and I also love the kitten, and weirdly the saucy hand of glory! The writing, and characters really had me invested in what was happening and I flew through the book. the twists and turns were great, especially that big one at the end before the cliffhanger! I can't wait to see where the story is going to go from here!

This is a difficult book to rate. I definitely think this books shines in the final third of it. But there were definitely moments when I felt like I was struggling through the plot. We started one way and then suddenly there is a whole new plot line before we pick the original plot line back up. I also did not feel the Arthurian ties were strong until the end. It felt like a book set in modern times with a hint of Arthurian setting. I also didn’t really fall for the love story. I think there wasn’t enough between them two. We are told that a lot is happening between them but never really shown that. I’m assuming that we will see more of Emrys in book 2 since he just disappears. I enjoyed the ending and the final cliffhanger so I will definitely pick up book two. Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

My first book by this author so i wasn't sure what to expect. Compelling characters draw you in, orphans abandoned by their foster who treasure hunt magical items for a living. Tamsin and her cursed brother take on a job to find a ring and possibly their missing guardian. Here the world building goes off into arthurian legend where camelot is now a wasteland. There are sorcerers, priestesses,knights and goddesses. Even a possible enemies to lovers trope.
There is a lot follow with almost every theme thrown into the mix. I did enjoy where the story seemed to be going and we have a major cliffhanger ending. Thanks to netgalley and Random House for this ARC

I went into this book as a big Alexandra Bracken and not sure what to expect. I came out of it an even bigger fan of Alexandra Bracken and absolutely destroyed. I loved the world building and how we learned it slowly through the story. At no point did I know what was going to come next. Whatever guesses or theories I had were all turned on their head and left me with my jaw open. Alexandra Bracken, the queen of found family, made me once again fall in love with her characters only for her to burn them alive in front of me as I wept. I love her so much. All of them were complex and developed so well. I want to struggle all of them in a warm blanket, give them hot soup, and get them lots of therapy. Tamsin is an amazing main character and I can't wait to see how to grows and changed through this series. I adored my plant boy, Emrys, and I KNOW he would never betray me. I KNOW HIM OKAY. Neve is my baby girl and I will protect her at all costs. Cabell...I'm going to get you out of this sweetheart. This whole book did NOT LET ME BREATH. I WAS GASPING FOR AIR ALEXANDRA NEVER LET ME GET. The ending gutted me and I loved it so much. Every bad thing that could have happened...happened and I don't know how I will recover from this. I knew Alexandra loved to hurt me but I thought was would at least save it for book two. There's so much to do in the next book and I can't wait to see how this series will progress.

I'm inundated with books right now that as much as I want to finish, I can't. However, despite that, I totally was digging the vibe and I absolutely ADORE Arthurian retellings . I will read this when it comes out next week though!

DNF at 20%
I was really looking forward to this book, especially since it's going to be featured in a couple monthly book boxes I'm subscribed to. Sadly, I was very disappointed with the first 20%. The book was extremely slow, and I didn't feel invested in the story or the characters at all. I definitely recommend that anyone who is interested in reading the book check out the trigger warnings because there were a lot. Likewise, the world-building was practically nonexistent, and I think that is what made me stop reading. 20% into a 480 page book, I should have a pretty good idea of what the world is like, but it was extremely underdeveloped.

(I won't be rating the book in my reviews, and I only plan on posting to Goodreads and StoryGraph.)

3.5/5 ⭐️
This book felt like Indians Jones meets Arthurian Lore.
I really enjoyed how much of the Arthurian legends were woven into the story while simultaneously taking a life of its own, making it feel new and less like a retelling. I would not say this is an enemies to lovers. But I would say it’s more like Pride & Prejudice where the one character has such a strong hatred towards the other, only to have it chipped away to reveal that the other person’s life is not perfect either.
I think the beginning was not amazing. It took until we met Emrys for me to really become invested. Honestly, while I was intrigued by the greater plot and all the lores and legends and quests, I mostly kept reading for her and Emrys.
Overall, this was a fast, entertaining read with a lot of twists, especially at the end. I didn’t hate it, but I equally was not loving it. It was good enough that I might read the sequel.
Thank you to the NetGalley & Random House Children’s Publishing for providing an advance reader copy for my honest review.

This is the story of Tamsin Lark, a mortal doing the work of a Hollower. She has no magic and together w/ her foster father, she breaks into crypts. (Basically, they're graverobbers.) But when the foster father disappears without a goodbye, it's the only way for Tamsin to keep herself and her brother, Cabell, alive.
10 years later, rumors start that the foster dad disappeared with a very powerful ring from Arthurian legend. Tamsin must partner with her rival, Emrys, in order to secure the ring and break the curse upon her brother.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and PRH for this e-arc.*

This book follows Tamsin and Cabell, who are siblings living in a magical world who complete tasks and perform treasure hunts on the behalf of sorceresses and other magical beings. As orphans, they were fostered by another treasure hunter, who abandons them on one of their quests. Ten years later, as they are enlisted to complete another hunt for a ring of Arthurian legend, it turns out he might not have abandoned them at all and was actually looking for the exact ring when he went missing. They join the ranks of a novice sorceress trying to prove herself, Neve, and a competitor turned ally, Emrys, in order to locate the ring.

Generally speaking, I enjoyed the book but it was a bit slow paced, and I found myself frequently losing interest in the slow segments.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC!

I absolutely CANNOT with that cliffhanger of an ending! How long do we have to wait for the second book????

Okay, so wow. I don't usually care too much about cliffhanger endings because I'm fine with waiting, but this is now a series that I absolutely cannot wait for the next installment. This is the type of YA sword and sorcery novel that I've been waiting for. It deals with some really dark and heavy themes and at certain points, it becomes more adult fiction than YA. Which, honestly, is something that I absolutely love.

I loved the cast of characters (Tamsin, Cabell, Emrys, Neve, Caitriona and the rest of the Avalon crew). Everyone had their own personalities and were varying degrees of likable. By the end of the story, I actually ended up caring for the entire gang. And lbr, you know how hard it can be to care for a whole crew of people.

I loved how the author redid the Arthurian legend and made it her own. You can tell she cares about the original stories. The world of Avalon seemed so real with her descriptions of the setting, its history, and the people currently living there. I could literally picture everything in my mind as if it was a movie or tv show. It was that good.

Tamsin, the MC, might rub some people the wrong way with her directness and negative outlook on life, but honestly, she reminded me of myself so ymmv. She does show character growth near the end, but without saying any spoilers, the author does tear her down again and I'd love to see how Tamsin pushes through in the next book.

My only criticism is that the ending with the Big Bad seems a little rushed. I wish there were more hints along the way that showed us who the real Big Bad was. There was a ton of misdirection. Some I liked, while some were meh. There were several scenes where it turned into a mystery type story and the stakes seemed really high, but the reveal turned out to be pretty mild, but still interesting enough to keep me reading. But at the end, the Big Bad reveal felt like it was sort of out of left field.

But despite that, I'd still wholeheartedly recommend this book for any YA fantasy lovers.

Thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for this arc.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. It was simultaneously a bit predictable and a bit confusing, but I didn't not enjoy it. I had a hard time remembering who was who in a way and what the reasons for some things were, but again, I still liked it.
I really don't have a ton of thoughts to share altogether, but I'd overall just say that I liked the characters and relationships, just couldn't keep track of a lot or find a reason to truly care.