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!

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins, for giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I really wanted to like this book because it has so many tropes that I love but I just couldn’t get into it. Calla and Grae’s relationship felt very insta-lovey and their backstory wasn’t really fleshed out all that well. I never felt the chemistry between them. Most of the characters lacked depth for me and I never connected with any of them. Around the halfway point, I started to skim.

I do really appreciate the non-binary representation and that character’s journey of self-discovery.

There were a lot of really unique qualities about this book that I really enjoyed. I do think overall that this series may not be for me, but I can absolutely see how a lot of people could have a lot of fun with this!

What it is:
- Wolf-shifter Romance
-Fated mates anddd childhood friends to lovers (not my fave combo, but it's definitely someone's cup of tea)
- This felt like a coming of age story in that the MC discovers a lot about herself throughout the book
- LGBTQ rep
- Lots of plot, a good amount of action

The ending seemed really... like fairytale-esque, so I'm really curious what direction the rest of the series is going to go.

The representation and inclusivity of this book was fantastic. I loved Callas self exploration and the absolute wonder that she felt upon discovering her true self. I also truly enjoyed the character development and storyline. I think with a bit more fine tuning, this will definitely be a 5⭐️ read. The beginning completely immersed and captivated me, painting such a vivid picture of excitement and adventure. Callas feelings were palpable and so well written. I also really enjoyed the way that Grae was portrayed and his devotion to Calla throughout the story. The “Easter eggs” were well placed and memorable enough to be easily recalled, but also did not completely give away the ending. I did feel that the pacing toward the end was off and I started to struggle with my mind wandering. I felt the plot was incredibly rushed from the time that Calla and Grae arrived in Olmdere and I would have loved a bit more nail biting. Each of the threats ended to quickly to be truly satisfying. The ending was alright, but upon finishing all I could think was, “that’s it?” I definitely was expecting a heart stopping revelation, or dare I say, even a cliffhanger? Overall I think this series has so much potential and I’m very excited to see where the story goes from here.

I just want to hug this book!!! I loved it so much for the comforting characters and the author's smooth storytelling. I am a huge fan of A.K. Mulford and this did not disappoint.

Calla is twin to the missing golden wolf princess, which, of course, makes Calla a missing princess too. They are the last of the golden wolves, wolf shifters, whose family were the monarchs of a kingdom. When Briar and Calla were born, an evil sorceress murdered their parents along with all the other golden wolves and took over their kingdom. Calla and Briar have been raised by a faerie who kept them safe until it was time for Briar to wed the prince of the silver wolves which also marked the time for both sisters to come out of hiding in secrecy. However, as per usual in any good book, things do not go as expected... at all.

Calla went through a journey in this story in more ways than one. There are so many meaningful and insightful quotes throughout this book that I definitely recommend a good highlighter or tabs for! Most meaningful to me is the author's incredibly kind and understanding way of expressing Calla's gender and the very real fears that go along with self-discovery. This not only made me feel seen but just so comforted by these characters (particularly Ora).

I definitely recommend this one!!

Out December 5, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

I’ve received an e-arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, feelings and opinions are my own.

In this book you will find: fated mates, LGTBQA+ characters/relationships, secret heir, best friends to lovers, caste system, on screen deaths, fairytale retelling, and shifter fun.

I’ve read the other series by this author, and generally thought they’ve gotten better book to book and for a first book in a series I really liked this one. It’s not the same shifter stories that I’m used to reading and I really like the use of the fairytales in this book.

The relationships were solid, it read like it was opened for future books, but not dragged out at all and you could stop at book one and be perfectly fine. I will be following along with this series as well.

4 stars
A River of Golden Bones is a LGBTQIA+ fantasy romance retelling, following the perspective of Calla. I loved the writing in this book, it read very quickly, even with the few slower parts in the story. The world in this book is very exciting, with magic and werewolves, which is one of my favorite supernatural's. There was a lot of politics in this book, which I found added a great element to the story, with a lot of backstabbing and leads to some great and shocking surprises.
Calla was a great character, she knew what she wanted, I loved her strength and differences, she really stepped up into a leadership role, and she was supported by a number of other characters in her life. The side characters I thought were unique, engaging and I think brought something special to the story as well. The spice was good, and the relationship development was ok, it felt a little fast at times.
There were quite a lot of things happening in this story so it was a little bit slow at times getting the readers information but there was still plenty of action, twist, and loved a number of touching heartfelt moments. Overall, I would really check out this new release, I think it is a great book, with a beautiful cover.
I received an advanced ebook, via netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

A River of Golden Bones is a romantasy set in a world where werewolves are the top of the hierarchy, for better or for worse. It’s an adventure reminiscent of classic fairy tales, like Sleeping Beauty. And while some of the characters are fun and some of the adventure is exciting, it feels a little like every other fantasy adventure story out there. It’s not particularly remarkable, even if fun. The fated mates aspect lent to the romance but the werewolf aspect had a few moments that took away from it, occasionally making their attraction more about the magical bond than any real feelings. Especially in later chapters where the main character stopped questioning their feelings to give in to the magic. Until that point it felt like it had a good thing going, the main character questioning everything about herself as a person and as a wolf, but giving in with everything to the fated bond after a look from her mate and the plot line of her questioning felt shoved aside. It would have been an interesting character development moment to have her explore it a little more. Overall it was a fun read but not super memorable.

A River of Golden Bones
by A.K. Mulford
Pub Date: December 5, 2023
Harper Voyager/Avon
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
From bestselling author and TikTok sensation A.K. Mulford comes the first riveting, enchanting book in the all-new Golden Court romantasy trilogy—A River of Golden Bones begins a journey of self-discovery, romance, and adventure for a young heir as she/they comes out of hiding to save her sister from a malicious, powerful sorceress and her dangerous sleeping curse.

A sleeping curse. A fallen court. A secret twin.
Mulford does a great job writing this book! I am a sucker for Wolf shifters so this hit the spot for me.
Must read!

Review: 4.25 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Voyager for a eARC in exchange for a honest review

I am a sucker for wolf shifter books and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. For a sleeping beauty retelling, and a romantasy book on fated mates, it hits all the vibes I was looking for in a good book aka the story building, the plot, the pacing and the ease of understanding, making it a refreshing read for New Adult fiction.

The story follows twins Calla and Briar who were borned into the royal wolf shifters family but their family underwent a tragedy when their parents were killed at birth by a sorceress who desired their kingdom. Calla’s identity was hidden as she was the surprised child that no one knows exist and always assume she would be in the shadow of her sister, Briar who was raised to be a Queen who is expected to have a marriage of alliance with a neighbouring kingdom to save her kingdom and birth heirs as woman are not meant to rule kingdoms.

Calla’s self growth and journey to find who she is and her self worth was amazing to read. I love how she finally stepped out of the shadows and embraced her true self. The queer and gender representation was normalized and wonderful to read. There was honestly never exactly a dull moment in the book and I find myself unable to put the book down.

Overall, this story satisfies my love for romantasy and I am compelled to read the next book in the series when it is out!

Read if you enjoy:
A hint of sleeping beauty retelling
Friends to lovers trope
Found family
Queer characters
Embracing and acceptance of oneself
Fated mates
Wolf shifters
Spicy scenes
Stabby main characters

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

A queer retelling of Sleeping Beauty with werewolves?!? Sign me up. This is a story of found family, self discovery, and hope. It is a story of righting the wrongs of the past and building a more inclusive, diverse future. The story not only includes a plethora of queer representation (both gender and sexuality), but there is also disability representation.

The characters are interesting and the plot keeps you engaged, but there was something in the writing that left something to be desired. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I feel like compared to other adult (non-YA) fantasy stories I read the writing style is a bit simplistic. If it wasn't for the spicy bits, this reads a bit more like YA.

This could've been a standalone story with a few changes but I am very excited to see where Calla, Grae, and company go in the next installment!