All Wren Graven wants is to pass Trial and become a Valkrye, proving herself to her grandmother - the head of the House of Bone and everyone else who ever doubted her. A betrayal during the trial finds her exiled to the the deadest part of the lands with hope of seeing little action. When a twist of fate puts her in the path of a prince and someone of a house long thought gone she finds that everything she'd ever learned was a lie and that there's more to the Breach than they were told.

I really enjoyed this YA book. The characters were likeable and the overall story was well developed and executed. Enough information is given at the beginning to get an understanding of the world that these characters are from and the battles that have lead up to what the story focuses on.

The ending had me dreading the fact that this book isn't even out yet and I'll have to wait for the second.

**Social Media Reviews will be posted closer to the release day**

Something that I remember very vividly about childhood is walking through forests. Looking at how pretty and otherworldly everything looked. The deeper I walked, the more I found things that looked ancient. Things shined in the right light and suddenly a perfectly simple branch looks like a bone. Either I watched too much Disney, or my mother read me too many horrific fairy tales, but I know this for sure. Nicki Pau Preto’s Bonesmith seems to have the right idea about making forests deadly.

Nicki Pau Preto’s Young Adult novel, Bonesmith, takes that escapist fantasy imagination with pure enthusiasm.

It’s about a teen girl, who we quickly learn wants to be worthy of her family. Wren wants to prove herself to her father but does not have the type of relationship with her family that you would describe as unconditional. Hoping to serve as a valkyr for the House of Bone, she hopes to live up to her family’s expectations. Told to protect Leopold, a House of Gold prince, Wren ends up in a conflicting situation between rescuing a kidnapped prince and dealing with an irascible exiled enemy. She and Julian, the aforesaid enemy, brave the haunted, ever-spooky Dominions in a reluctant alliance. They are both attacked and haunted by the dead (Wren is at the ready with a sword!). Up against one ghoulish thing after the next, they spend time talking about their people and their hurts, opening more nuanced revelations. Wren goes through life as a fan of the chaos approach: barging through a fight. That attitude goes against Julian’s more strategic approach to life. These are two young people in a world of adults plunging kids into the politics of their parents. They are just here to deal with the world given to them.

The author takes the reader to discover a very “word” enthusiastic exploration of people and their origins. The people in Bonesmith have smithing abilities, providing them with magical talents to spin or “smith” the world around them. Ironsmiths can magically craft with iron. Woodsmiths craft wood. Goldsmiths with gold. Bonesmiths, like Wren, can command bones and even ghosts. Bonesmith reminded me a lot of playing a video game. Warriors outfitted in bone armor walk a forest of bone, where skeletal creatures and necromancy haunt them. That feeling of smithing and metal feels very crucial to the gamer in me.

All the undead ghoulishness promises a story for teen and young adult audiences of The Locked Tomb. Throughout Bonesmith, we get a bit of the type of things fans will like or at least give a reminder of the comparisons sold on the back of the book. Bones are in every sleeve and pocket.

Bonesmith manages to delight in bones and hauntings. Although, I do have qualms about some parts of the novel feeling a little too heavy on descriptions without getting into the interesting bits of character work. Pick up Bonesmith to sate your thirst for bones, creepy forests, and twisty forests.

I was really excited to start Bonesmith! The mix of Gideon the Ninth meets Game of Thrones is what really sold the idea of this book to me. However, I found it to fall just a bit short. In my opinion there were issues of pacing which made it at times difficult to push through. But the characters were enjoyable. I especially enjoyed our FMC Wren and her feistiness. The tension between her and Julian was really well done. Overall the story was also enjoyable, but the pacing of it is what caused me to give a 3 star rating.

That was amazing! I haven’t read Gideon the Ninth so I can’t speak to that comp but oh wow did it give me Jon Snow and Game of Thrones vibes! The magic and world building in this book were so fascinating and I can’t wait to learn more in the sequel! The romance was perfect enemies to lovers complete with banter and so much emotional baggage!

Last but not least, the twist at the end! I saw part of it coming but not the whole thing so I loved being surprised and I can’t wait to see the direction the story takes in the second book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a copy of Bonesmith for free from Netgalley and am leaving this review voluntarily.

While predictable at times, Bonesmith was a riveting story with a new take on the magic of the undead, which I greatly enjoyed. The story starts a little rocky and slow, however, I do understand why all of the scenes happened the way they did. They were still a little slow, but overall interesting and integral to the story.

On the other hand, the romance felt like it moved entirely too fast. I, personally, didn't believe that they had actually developed any feelings for each other. It felt like a plot device and a way to throw the enemies-to-lovers trope in there that everyone loves. I love it, too, don't get me wrong, but give me suspense. Give me drama. Give me yearning. I don't know. Give me something rather than throw me into it.

I really enjoyed the world and magic system, however. I thought that it was very well done and explained in a way that didn't feel like too much information was coming at me at once. I loved that there were different factions of "smiths" and that they each had their own thing. I was a little confused about the difference between "ghostsmiths" and "bonesmiths" because they felt like the same thing to me, but maybe I missed some critical information. Regardless, I really enjoyed the system and how the author made them the same but also unique. It was truly fascinating.

I highly recommend Bonesmith to anyone looking for a fun, new world with interesting magic. I'm very excited to see where the story goes after everything our characters went through.

Wren failed the Bonewood Trial and was exiled to the Border Wall. When the prince visits and is kidnapped, she hurries to rescue him and redeem herself in the eyes of the House of Bone. Julian, an ironsmith, is an unlikely ally, but Wren must work with him to succeed…

This book hooked me right from the start with tense action and immersive, detailed world-building. The magic system was intriguing. The tense banter between Wren and Julian was fun and I enjoyed getting a bit of the prince’s and Julian’s POV in the middle.

The mysteries and betrayals kept me on my toes all the way to the end.

So good! Looking forward to book two!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Solid start, slow middle, great ending. I’ll be picking up the next one.

Wren is a bone smith and all she wants to do is earn her place and the respect of her illustrious family. However after a cruel prank in her trials she’s shipped off to a remote posting in shame. While there she finally learns some truth about her fathers past, and gets asked to protect a golden prince.

When the prince is kidnapped she is forced to team up with her enemy to get him back and earn the respect she so desires. But during their quest more truths come out that threaten to shake her world.

This had a solid engaging beginning. The middle however dragged a bit as it was like you were waiting for something to happen. Once things STARTED to happen and the mysteries started coming together it sped right up and left me eager to read the comtinuation!

DNF at 25% - This was far too formulaic for me, but I think the intended audience will like it. Some of the worldbuilding was cool, but it was just too predictable for this reader.

I knew within a few chapters of starting this book that it would be a 5-star read. Unless something really annoying happened, I could tell that Nicki Pau Preto had come up with another brilliant idea for a YA fantasy story, and I am so here for it.

The magic, the world-building, the characters, the romance, all the twists and turns: this book does have it all. There’s so much excitement and action within the first few pages of the story and it doesn’t really stop, even up until the end. I absolutely love the smith-based magic system and how Wren, the main character, is a bonesmith. That is just such an epic idea. I wish I had thought of it myself. But the other “smiths” Wren meets during the story have just as cool and awesome uses for their magic. It’s really incredible and I can’t wait to see more of it develop in book two.

I also love the world-building and how everything plays together for the plot. I had my theories early on about what was really happening and it was so satisfying to learn that I was right. Nicki did a great job with foreshadowing without giving too much away.

But really, the best part of this book are the characters. Wren, Julian, even Leo have easily become new favorite characters. I love the enemies to lovers relationship that develops between Wren and Julian and I have high hopes of what might happen between them in book two. Leo was such a surprise. I thought for sure he would annoy me, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I adore him. I cannot wait for more of him in book two as well. Wren is an awesome protagonist, and I feel like the goals and ideas that drive her are different from typical YA fantasy, so it was such a relief to read this book. And Julian… *sigh* He's the perfect balance of brooding sad boy and honorable gentleman. I love him.

Bonesmith is a brilliant YA fantasy with epic magic, epic characters, and an even more epic storyline. This is one 2023 release you do not want to miss.

Honestly this is one of the covers on this list that won me over, it reminds me a lot of video game artwork which is the way to win my heart. This is being compared to Gideon the Ninth meets the White Walkers from Game of Thrones. That told me it was really dark and it was! I love me a good dark fantasy. We have Wren who is a bonesmith, a warrior who fights ghosts and she must journey into a haunted wasteland to rescue a kidnapped prince. I really enjoyed it! This is also a YA novel, the cover reminds me of an indie adult fantasy (which always have the coolest covers) so thought I’d clarify it is YA.
Full review to come on YouTube

I received a free copy of this book; all opinions expressed are my own!

Bonesmith took a little bit for me to get into, as it felt the introduction was a little slow and drawn-out. That said, once you get into the real meat of the book, it turns into a very satisfying action fantasy slow burn romance, with a solid enemies-to-lovers basis. I can't say it's necessarily treading new territory, especially when it feels very reminiscent of Throne of Glass mixed with Game of Thrones, BUT it's doing a good job of hitting the right notes and tropes in a solidly successful way. Basically, if you hear "Throne of Glass" and your interest is piqued, you won't go wrong with Bonesmith. I'm looking forward to more books in this series!

I ended up DNFing this book pretty early on and I'm so sad about it. I thought this sounded so interesting and I was so excited for this book but I was just not having fun and I decided not to try to force myself to continue. My problem is that the idea of this story and this world is very interesting but the writing is so clunky and aggressively heavy on the world building. To the point that there are side tangents that expand on every little detail and chapters would be like 60% background and world building details and then 40% the actual story we are supposed to be following. It felt like reading a textbook about this world with just a little bit of a plot every now and then and it was just not fun for me to read.

This is necromancy magic on another level. This whole story is grim and dark and I loved every minute of it. The magic system in this book was so freaking good. The territories and politics were so well crafted. I never wanted to leave this world. The plot and pacing had me hooked all the way through. Everything in this book was fantasy perfection.

Wren is so raw, real, and relatable. All her relationships (family, friends, and otherwise) are complex and nuanced. Wren and Julian… omg am I simping for them. I know you’re gonna love them just as much as I do. Even Leo captured my heart.

This was everything I could have wanted and I can’t wait for the next book in the series. I loved this story so freaking much and I am definitely considering getting a physical copy when it releases just to have it. All the stars - I can’t recommend this book enough. It is a must read for all fantasy lovers!

I did not read the Crown of Feathers trilogy but I know it was very loved by many readers. I was super excited to see she was writing something new. Even just the cover made me immediately want to read this one. I have to give kudos to the designer because it truly captures the vibe of the story, the world, and the main character super well and exactly how I would have imagined it while reading.

**4.5 STARS**

Content Warning: violence

I saw this book cover, saw who the author was and knew I had to read it. I was not disappointed!

What I really love about the story was the world-building and we do get a lot of it in the beginning which for a bit felt like info-dumping but once I pushed past through that, the story starts to flow. Wren is a bonesmith and has trained to be a valkyr – a warrior who fights ghosts. There are other smiths out there, like the ironsmiths, ghostsmiths, goldsmiths and we get a good sense of this world and a war that happened in the past that fractured alliances and sides. Wren’s family history is embedded deep into this climactic even.

I like Wren a lot – she’s fiesty, kind of rash in her decision making and wants glory but it’s mostly to appease her father and the grandmother who never approved of her. She never lets getting banished really get her down. She adapts, she keeps moving, she’s brave and even selfish but she knows when to say sorry. On the opposite side is Julian who is an ironsmith and her enemy but they are bound together to one goal, finding out who betrayed Julian and rescuing a Prince.

This is being compared to Game of Thrones and yes I could definitely see it because of the revenants, ghosts that attack, bodies coming back to life. It’s dark and filled with fighting, magic and adventure and I loved it all! There is even a tiny bit of a romance developing but it is not the main focus of this book. I love that Wren and Julian are both warriors, both trying to figure out who’s betrayed them, there is something growing between them, but they have to figure out a lot of things first. I’ll be rooting for them!

Despite the info-dumping in the beginning and me wanting a bit more romance, this was an entertaining read and I look forward to book two! I’m hoping we see more of Leo and maybe even Inara.

Tropes: enemies to lovers

Why you should read it:
*world-building, magic, fighting ghosts, political intrigue
*Wren and Julian

Why you might not want to read it:
*not into fighting the undead

My Thoughts:

I read this one in two days, only because I had to push through the beginning that was filled with information, but after that it was a quick, engaging and entertaining read. The world-building is great! I’ll be rooting for Wren, Julian and Leo and I’m excited to read book two!

Thanks to NetGalley & Margaret K. McElderry Books for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

A very fun, dark fantasy adventure full of fantastic world-building and magic!

Wren is a hardcore kickass yet complex character and she's a really fun protagonist to root for. The magic system is pretty fun and interesting and I'm excited to see it explore further in the sequel.

I really enjoyed the limited POV chapters, it's mostly focused on Wren but when she's out of commission, the other two main characters will get a POV chapter and it's really an insightful look into their thoughts and motivations.

Great political intrigue too, I thought it would be mostly action/adventure but it's got solid world-building and a focus on how the characters' decisions affect the rest of the world in the story. Can't wait to see more in the next one!

The beginning was a bit slow with info dumps but once we got into the story it grabbed your attention, I also really appreciated the pacing some books would linger and drag on certain events. but here they were acknowledged and dealt with and the progressed nicely. While I wish we got to know more characters the ones we did get to know were very distinct and had played of each other really well.

Great title, but just too morbid and complicated a plot for me to continue reading.
Thank you anyway to Simon and Schuster for the review copy.

This was EXCELLENT. As expected. I love Nicki's work and this delivered on every cylinder.

The world, the magic, ugh it fed every part of my brain that loves YA fantasy. The book definitely has a darker vibe than Nicki's other works, as the main character works in bone magic and the dead but as eerie as it was, it was also fascinating. My jaw was on the floor quite a few times with this book and I highly, HIGHLY recommend.

TW: death, betrayal, violence