Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was an enjoyable romantasy about werewolf shifters that incorporated elements of Sleeping Beauty into the story. The fated mates and found family tropes were enjoyable and done well. It's a New Adult book with characters that are just turning 20, so predictably it also includes themes of self-discovery and the growth that comes along with claiming your identity and learning to be vulnerable enough to show the world your true self. This is a series opener but has a satisfying ending rather than a cliffhanger, which I really appreciated.

Another good one by A.K. Mulford! Loved the Sleeping Beauty aspect of this combined with the werewolf shifter romance. I’m a sucker for the fated mates & found family tropes and this book does both really well. It also has some good political intrigue + lost princesses in hiding. The representation was really good as it always is in A.K. Mulford’s books.

This was a quick & easy read and the pacing moved right along. If I had to mention something, I would say that it maybe got a little cheesy at times, but overall the romance and Calla’s journey to finding herself were really sweet. The ending was satisfying while also leaving some storylines open for the rest of the series.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

A River of Golden Bones was a unique fantasy with lots of action, adventure, found family, romance, and self-discovery.

Our story begins with Calla, the twin to Briar, the last of the Gold Wolf shifters. Briar is betrothed to the prince of the Silver Wolves, a neighboring Court. But Calla and Grae have always been close,and Calla is struggling to accept the marriage alliance. But Calla has always existed in their sister's shadow, a hidden twin that no one knows about forced to act like Briar's bodyguard rather than a royal princess. But when the evil sorceress Sawyn interrupts the wedding and curses Briar to a deep sleep, Calla knows they will do whatever is necessary to save her sister, even if that means leaving Grae behind.

There was a lot to like about A River of Golden Bones. The wolf shifters in this story were unique, being the ruling class and acting as protectors for the humans, We also had a fated mates situation which I always enjoy, as it creates a really rich romance. As Calla sets out to save her sister, she finds some unlikely allies in the Galen den' Mora, a troupe of travelling human musicians, and Grae and his two Silver Wolf guards. The found family was my favorite part of this story, as the characters were charming and added a lot of heart.

One element that was really well done in this book was having a main character that identified as non-binary and gender fluid. I found this to be such an important element to the story, and something that sets it apart in the NA fantasy landscape. We see more authors adding in queer elements, but often as side characters or relationships. So to have Calla as a main character that is non-binary, as well as many other queer and non-binary characters was really refreshing. It was well explained in the story, and I love how Mulford showed the richness of their relationships and journey of self-discovery.

The story has a nice wrap-up at the end, but the door is clearly open for more to happen with Calla and Grae. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series to see what happens next for the Golden Court. Overall, a fun fantasy adventure with a lot of heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an electronic ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Shifters, fated mates, hidden identity, questioning gender norms, self discovery, and a hint of sleeping beauty - this has it all. The beginning was fast paced and I loved it. It slowed down in the middle, but in that time we got to see Calla’s character development as she finally gets to step out of the shadow of what everyone expects of her and become the person that she is meant to be. While I loved the book, that was my favorite part since it touched on a very real situation that many struggle with. I felt the final battle was a little hasty, but I loved the plot twist. I appreciated that while there wasn’t this huge cliffhanger there was still a taste of what is to come next.

This book is in my top reads for the year. Not only does it include so many of the elements I want in a romantic fantasy book, but it also includes representation that we rarely see in these books.

Calla as our FMC was frustrating to me at first. Her constant need to do things on her own, remain in her sister's shadow, and continually push away the love that was being given to her unconditionally made me want to shake her UNTIL her confession of not truly knowing who she was came out.

The more vulnerable Calla becomes, and her growth once she is with those she trusts and cares for made me want to hug her and root for her success through the end. The found family trope in this book is strong and adds so much to the overall plot.

Overall, this book was fantastic. It was fast-paced, had LGBTQ rep that wasn't simply glossed over, and kept me on my toes.

4.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A.K. Mulford's "A River of Golden Bones" is captivating from start to finish - this story is beautifully written with a great rhythm to the pacing of information. I fell in love with our main character, Calla. Calla goes through so much within these 400 pages - she is the secret twin of her sister, they are the last of the Gold Wolves & descendants of one of the greatest love stories known throughout the lands. Her twin was dubbed The Crimson Princess at birth, with a duty to fulfill by marrying the Heir to the Silver Kingdom, Grae. Calla must stay in the shadows, keeping her identity as the Gold Wolf a secret.

However, Briar is cursed at what should have been her wedding and put under a spell by the evil sorceress -- and Calla must step out of the shadows and adventure to save her sister and the kingdom. There's lots of secrets that we learn as we turn the pages...

Calla has struggled with her identity throughout her entire life - she finds herself identifying with the feminine and masculine parts of herself but doesn't feel like she completely fits one or the other. During her journey to rescue her sister she meets up with some musical humans who help her see the world with a new perspective. This "found family" help Calla realize who she truly is, meanwhile her childhood friend, crush and turned mate, Grae helps her accomplish her goals and shows her that she can be accepted and loved just the way she is.

I wasn't expecting the level of spiciness in this book - which was certainly a satisfying surprise!

This is definitely an LGBTQ+ positive and inclusive book which is one of the first that I've read to tackle being non-binary and challenging the traditional gender roles. I would highly recommend this book to those who are fans of fantasy, royal politics, fated mates, wolf shifters, and seeing the world in a new way. I look forward to consuming more from A.K Mulford in the future and continuing with the series.

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a free arc* *all thoughts are my own*
*mild spoiler for one small scene*
This was a really good book and was very enjoyable. It had me giggling and smiling through a good chunk of it. too.
First half and ending were really good, second half was pretty good too, just got a wee bit cheesy at parts like with a whole "beautiful singer starts singing without realizing other people were listening and the crowd applauded the wonderful voice" trope.. which did have me cracking up a bit, I will admit.
I really really liked the self-discovery of the main character though. it felt super natural and I loved how Ora helped by just being there and understanding. When Ora and Calla were talking, and Calla finally put the feelings to words was just great, I loved that whole scene so much.
It wasn't the best book ever and I had some issues with parts of it but overall I had a very very fun time reading it which is more important to me lol. It had was kinda cringey and silly and points, but if you want a fun read with a lil touch of smut, and self-exploration from the main character exploring/ figuring out their gender, check this out for sure!

One of my first ventures into a more 'shifter'/werewolf romance. I enjoyed how the book was written, with Calla being a strong character who didn't think they needed anyone but learns they cannot save their sister or their kingdom on their own. The representation within this book is also magical, I liked how it showed the breaking of the binary with different words. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It had more 'spice' than I had anticipated, but it wasn't bad. There is a lot of 'fated mate' trope which I haven't read too much of in this sort of world, but would be excited to see it used again.

Here are the ingredients.
Princess
Princess.....the heir to spare and kept in secret (of course).
Prince........best friend to secret princess BUT engaged to older twin (because, of course)
Sleeping Beauty
a little Anastasia
A curse
so, more Disney princess 'things'
The royal family's plans
a planned marriage
Werewolves
fate
New Adult
coming of age
NOW stir it all together and you get a book I originally wanted to read because of the cover and then fell in love with the pages laid inside. Phenomenal!

I'm having a tough time reviewing this one because I am generally a huge fan of A.K. Mulford. She's a sweetheart and I've loved her previous works. This one, however, had a lot of potential but still fell flat.

A River of Golden Bones is a sleeping beauty retelling with just enough twists and turns to make the story feel refreshing and new. It included all the elements that you might want in a romantasy: LGBTQ+ rep, fated mates, political intrigue, wolf shifters. However, it almost felt like all these elements and tropes were layered one on top of another with no seamless integration or reasoning. It felt more like a checklist than anything and I never quite felt engaged. I didn't really care about Calla or Grae, I didn't feel sad for Briar, I didn't feel conflicted about Sawyn during the climax. Nothing hit home the way it should've if the story were crafted better.

I genuinely think that this series has potential and I have hope that future installments will resolve some of these issues.

Thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for giving me this arc in exchange for my review <3

The laughter, the tears, the SPICE!

This is the fantasy wolf shifter romance I have always wanted. Calla faces down not just the enemies of the family, but Calla's own preconceptions of gender and human versus wolf ways. Although I recognize elements similar to Mulford's Five Crowns series, The Golden Court is definitely a uniquely beautiful journey. Super excited for book 2!

DNF at 40 percent.

I really tried with this one. I just couldn’t get into the romance of it and that is a big part of it. I think the idea and the world are amazing but I found myself dragging my feet when it came to picking this book up because I didn’t like the characters. I think this will be a huge hit with the right audience!!

This book will be a challenge for me to review. This is a good example of separating the author from the art but in the opposite way than usual. The author is the most precious person and I love their content on TikTok. They are very engaging, and I had a chance to talk with them a couple of times. Yet, the book, as much as I wanted to love it, was both for me - fun and disappointment. Overall, the story of the young wolf finding her mate, and trying to discover herself while getting her rightful place in her kingdom was amazing. I love how the world worked, the intricacies of world-building and all. But despite being an adult in her 20s, the book with the main characters comes across as a horny young adult. The thirst was unbearable, and it was out of place many times. Yes, there were more than a couple of instances where the main couple went there at the most inconvenient times just because. It turned off the mood completely for me. Besides that, and if you are a reader who doesn't mind it and even prefers it in your books, you have my blessing - you'll love it. Let me finish with something on a positive note: the author has potential with dialogues. I loved how honest and raw they were sometimes. There was no space for keeping stuff to themselves just for the sake of it. I appreciate that.


* the book's reviews will be on all of my SM in the day of premiere in December.

2.5 / 5.0

I am being generous and rounding up because the writing and idea of the plot are good.

A River of Golden Bones is a sleeping beauty retelling with gender bending, fated mates, friends to lovers, and found family tropes. We meet a set of twin princesses cloistered away in hiding (except that the ruling family of the kingdom they are in knows they are there) on the eve of their birthday when they will come of age (20). The older princess, Briar (as in Briar Rose) has been raised to marry the prince and reclaim her throne from an evil witch that killed her parents, sending her into exile. The younger princess, a secret hidden princess, Calla (who smells like lilies) is raised to be her guard, sword, and shield for the coming battles that will vanquish the witch and bring them both home. It is all set and sounds good.

Now, it gets original because this world has magic, it is ruled by werewolves (the upper classes), gender fluidity and free sexuality is an accepted lifestyle, and humans are the vital “other” in the society. Everything works together smoothly and snags only occur when someone (the witch, the greedy king, the bigots) messes with this formula. It still sounds good.

The characters are the first misstep. They are one trick ponies. Even the main character, Calla, is very monotonous and doesn’t really have growth by the end of the story. Milford needs to give her characters more personality and some faults. It is not to say they don’t have them but they are never shown to be affected by a mistake or some past experience that guides their decision in the story. It’s really too bad because the idea of the book is so strong.

The pacing is the second thing in this story that causes me to rate it lower. It is very chaotic. I would almost think this is a debut piece and the author doesn’t have the experience to quite master this, but that’s not the case and besides, where is the editing team then? The book moves, then slogs, then moves, then slogs, then sprints at 250 mph to the near end, then drags and finally peters out. And though it has an end, it’s a very soft cliffhanger/maybe transitional to a second book ending. The pacing made reading the book difficult because it was stumbling filler in between over exact action scenes.

Overall, this is fine, it’s good and bad, it’s interesting but not un-put-down-able to me. If you like fairytale retellings and werewolves and NA romantasy, this is a book for you.

Until Next Time,
MC

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley. I accessed this eARC for my review.

As a sucker for fated mates and ak mulfords writing I knew I would love this book! The way Mulford writes inclusive characters is beautiful and doesn't feel forced.

This twist on sleeping beauty was perfectly done adding in a shifter focus.

~ARC recieved for review, comes out on December 5, 2023~
🦊 A River of Golden Bones
🦊 A.K Mulford
🦊 The Golden Court (book #1)
🦊 400 pages
🦊 4 stars
🦊 Summary 🦊
A sleeping curse. A fallen court. A secret twin.
Twins Calla and Briar have spent their entire lives hiding from a powerful sorceress who destroyed their kingdom...and from the humans who don't know they are Wolves. Each twin has their own purpose in life: Briar's is to marry the prince of an ally pack and save the Golden Court. Calla's purpose is to remain a secret, her twin's shadow...the backup plan.
No one knows who Calla truly is except for her childhood friend-and sister's betrothed-the distractingly handsome Prince Grae. But when Calla and Briar journey out of hiding for Briar's wedding, all of their well-made plans go awry. The evil sorceress is back with another sleeping curse for the last heir to the Golden Court.
Calla must step out of the shadows to save their sister, their kingdom, and their own legacy. Continuing to hide as a human and denying who she truly is, Calla embarks on a quest across the realm, discovering a whole world she never knew existed. Outside the confines of rigid Wolf society, Calla begins to wonder: who could she be if she dared to try?
🦊 My Thoughts 🦊
Really enjoyed this one over all, Calla is so caring, brave, and I adored getting to see them unfold into who they truly are. A big thanks, as always, to A.K Mulford for allowing me to read this ARC and be a part of her street team!

At first I was disappointed that AK Mulford’s next book wasn’t the conclusion to the High Mountain Court series but this book was pretty decent!

In keeping the current trend to set your fantasy romance in a world with Courts, fated mates, and retelling fairytales/mythology, this book isn’t going to win points for creativity. However, it’s a fun and quick read, especially if those are things that you want to read (which I guess I do because I keep reading rip off after rip off of A Court of Rose and Thorns, which isn’t the most well written book or series either).

Calla is the (secret) twin to Briar, (progeny to their “sleeping beauty” mother who was awoken by a kiss) and they are both waiting for their 20th birthday in which they will be allowed to leave their confinement with the fairy Vellia and introduce themselves to the world. Chaos ensues when the bad fairy learns of Briar’s existence and puts her in a trance. Calla must gather her strength to rescue her sister, their kingdom, while juggling her newfound mate.

I enjoyed reading this alternate version of A Court of Rose and Thorns, I mean, A River of Golden Bones.

Thank you netgalley for the arc!

I was looking forward to this book and unfortunately it didn’t live up to the expectations😭 the story felt simple and was easy to guess. I also wasn’t fond of the writing style and the romance wasn’t swoon worthy. It’s still a fast paced read so I’d recommend it to someone looking for a simple read w decent queer representation

Thank you to Harper Collins & NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

I have been a fan of AK Mulford since before they were picked up by HC. (Shout out to #AKSMOUNTAINEERS!)
Anyways, I knew going into this book that it would be a well thought out romantasy with a lovable cast of characters, a unique plot line and exquisite representation. The pacing was on target. The character development was intriguing. Despite the main plot of this book being Calla's story to defeat a sorceress and save their twin, Calla's journey of self discovery was probably the the loveliest part of the story. Calla & Ora's interactions were like warm hugs. Through all this, Calla is fighting patriarchal tradition, prejudices and oppression.

Calla is such a multidimensional character. The cast of characters that were supporting Calla's journey were so entertaining and I am left wanting more! (Hopefully we get more background info on them in the next books)

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, Harper Voyager for an eARC of A River of Golden Bones!

AK Mulford is one of my favorite authors and I love the way she is so inclusive with her writing and she’s always an auto-request, auto-buy author for me. This sleeping beauty retelling features wolf shifters and fated mates and if that’s not enough for you, I don’t know what is!